 | 4 Culture |  |
| |
| 4 Scenic Spots | |
| |
| | | | |
Chinese Culture Interpretation
| | "Chinese Culture Interpretation" provides historical and cultural background information in Chinese traditional values that have great influence on Chinese society throughout its history and today. (Note: this web page needs the simplified version of Chinese font to display the content correctly. Click on the link to your right to see if the font can be displayed properly. If not, say 'yes' to download from Microsoft automatically) 
中国 [ZhongGuo2 - China], on the other side of the globe, is an East Asian country with a large territory, a huge population and an ancient history. With written records dating back 4,000 years, it is recognized as one of the four great ancient civilizations of the world, together with ancient Egypt, Babylon and India. Moreover, it is the only ancient civilization that has continued to this very day.
China was one of the cradles of the human race. The Chinese nation is not only the most populous but also one of the oldest in the world. Fossils that have been found in Chinese territory include those of 元谋[Yuan2Mou2] Man , the first Homo erectus, who lived 1.7 million years ago, those of 蓝田[Lan2Tian2] Man, who lived 750,000 years ago, and those of the 北京[Bei3Jing1] Man, who lived at 周口店[Zhou1Kou2Dian4] in today's suburban Beijing 600,000 years ago. The fossils of Shu Ape, a primate that lived 45 million years ago, which is known as the "first anthropoid", were discovered in China in 1994.
The first light of Chinese civilization revealed itself 7,000 to 8,000 years ago, as indicated by the ruins of the Daxi Culture in Sichuan and Hubei provinces, the Majiapang Culture in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, the Hemudu Culture in eastern Zhejiang and the Yangshou Culture along the middle reaches of 黄河[Huang2He2 - the Yellow River] and its main tributaries.
According to legend, the primitive tribes that inhabited the middle and upper reaches of 黄河[Huang2He2 - the Yellow River] were unified into two powerful tribes under 黄帝[Huang2Di4 - the Yellow Emperor] and 炎帝[Yan2Di4 - the Fiery Emperor], and began their push southward 5,000 years ago. After years of warfare, they conquered the Sanmiao and Jiuli tribes active in south China under the leadership of 蚩尤[Chi1You2]. Part of the defeated tribe was incorporated into the tribes under the Yellow and Fiery emperors to become a component part of the 汉[Han4] people, which marked the beginning of the Chinese nation. This history has also given rise to the term "descendants of the Yellow and Fiery emperors" 炎黄子孙[Yan2Huang2Zi3Sun] that Chinese often use to refer to themselves.
Archaeological studies have revealed that around 5,000 years ago the Chinese entered the stage of patriarchal society. Not only did villages begin to appear but also the initial forms of cities began to become evident. Extensive communities indicated that the population at the time had already reached a fairly large size and agriculture had made great headway. The earliest discoveries took place during this period. 神农[Shen2Nong2] tried and tasted various kinds of wild plants to select crops appropriate to be cultivated for food and herbal medicine to cure disease. The Yellow Emperor invented the compass, which helped him defeat Chi You. More importantly, the appearance of chariots greatly reduced labor intensity. Lei Su, wife of the Yellow Emperor, discovered silk making by raising silkworms, and produced the first garments, which allowed the ancient people to bid goodbye to the period when they wore animal skins and tree leaves. The tribe under Chi You in the south learned how to make weapons with copper, creating the conditions for making bronze vessels, metallurgy and alchemy of later times.
During the 夏[Xia4] Dynasty, 4,000 years ago, China entered the period of slave society. The 商[Shang] Dynasty (16-11th centuries B.C.), which replaced the Xia, saw the height of bronze culture, when superb smelting and casting techniques brought forth beautiful wares made of bronze. Pottery making also developed very rapidly with the appearance of primitive pottery wares. Sericulture and silk weaving reached maturity at this time.
From 475 BC to the end of the 19th century, China went through a long feudal period. Before the 15th century, China was one of the most powerful countries in the world, occupying a leading position in the development of productivity and technology. Ancient China enjoyed a developed agriculture and advanced irrigation system, an independent tradition of medicine and advanced botanical knowledge. China's four great inventions, namely, the compass, gunpowder, movable type printing and papermaking, not only changed the world but also accelerated the evolution of world history. Besides, China was rich in ceramics and silk textiles which were great inventions that exerted a great impact worldwide. China also kept the world's most detailed and earliest astronomical records. The first people to take note of such astronomical phenomena as comets, sunspots and new stars were all Chinese. It was also the Chinese who produced the most advanced astronomical observatory apparatus of the time. In metallurgy, China long held a leading position. When Europeans still could not turn out a single piece of cast iron in the 14th century, Chinese people had already produced cast iron on an industrial scale four centuries earlier.
In the field of thought, 孔子[Kong2Zi3 - Confucius], founder of Confucianism, not only had far-reaching significance for China, but for the whole of East and Southeast Asia. The warfare strategies introduced by the noted military strategist 孙子[SunZi3] are still studied and referred to today. Taoism was an important school of thought, and is known for its simple dialectical elements. Its position of "quietude and inaction" has many identical views with the thoughts of modern man. Taoism, based on the Taoist doctrines, is an independent religion established in China.
This web site presents selective works of some famous ancient Chinese philosophers, scholars, strategists and artists in China's long history as to explore a distinctive system of writing, philosophy, art, and political thought that came to be recognizable as Chinese civilization. | | | |
|
