...Part 1 -- The History of China Before we discuss individual technological developments, you should read the following three essays that will give you a historic context for these developments. Concise Political History of China, an online article by Paul Halsall compiled from Compton's Living Encyclopedia on America Online, http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/core9/phalsall/texts/chinhist.html Chinese Periodization in Light of Economic Developments by Paul Halsall, http://www.mastep.sjsu.edu/history_of_tech/chinese_chronology.htm China, Technology and Change, an article by Lynda Shaffer, from the World History Bulletin, Fall/Winter, 1986/87, http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/core9/phalsall/texts/shaffer.html China's Gifts to the West by Professor Derk Bodde, for the Committee on Asiatic Studies in American Education Reprinted with permission in China: A Teaching Workbook, Asia for Educators, Columbia University, http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/song/readings/inventions_gifts.htm Part 2 - Science and Technology in China Science in China has a long history and developed quite independently of Western science. Needham (1993) has researched widely on the development of science and technologies in China, the effect of culture, and the transference of these principles, unacknowledged, to the West. The Chinese contribution to Western science is particularly interesting because it serves...
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...This article is devoted to the analysis major historical traditions of China’s international relations. Chinese specialists have long been urged to establish a distinctive school of international relations , rejecting the hegemony of “Western” social science theory and turning back to China’s history. Under the leadership of propaganda officials, Chinese authors increasingly invoke the premodern, sinocentric model of international relations in Asia, reviving the label “tianxia” (all under heaven). Reflecting Hu Jintao’s “harmonious world,” imperial China’s tribute system is now often cited as a model. These developments have thrown the spotlight on views of China’s traditions in international relations, not only inside China but across all of East Asia, where China’s rise evokes memories of a long history of interaction. Although Chinese foreign policy since 1949 has had distinctive characteristics, the forces that shape Beijing's foreign policy and many of its overall goals have been similar to those of other nations. China has sought to protect its (sovereignty) and (territorial integrity) and to achieve independence of action, while interacting with both more powerful and less powerful countries. As with most other nations, Beijing's foreign relations have been conditioned by its historical experiences, nationalism and ideology, and the worldview of its leaders, as well as by the governmental structure and decision-making process. At times China's domestic policies have had...
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...------------------------------------------------- History of China From at least 1766BCE to the twentieth century of the Common Era, China was ruled by dynasties. A dynasty is a family that passes control from one generation to the next. A dynasty does not have to last for a long time. One Chinese dynasty lasted more than 800 years while another lasted only fifteen years. The ancient Chinese believed their ancestors in heaven had chosen their leaders. They called this the Mandate of Heaven. The Chinese people often rebelled against a weak leader if they believed he had lost the Mandate of Heaven. There are indications of an earlier Hsia Dynasty, but the Shang were the first dynasty to leave written records. The Shang also developed a lunar calendar consisting of twelve months of 30 days each. The Shang Dynasty ruled China from approximately 1766BCE to about 1040BCE. Shang rulers expanded the borders of their kingdom to include all of the land between Mongolia and the Pacific Ocean. The Shang practiced human sacrifice. If a Shang king died, many of his subjects would join the ruler in his grave. Some people were beheaded first but others were buried alive. When a Shang king died, his next oldest brother replaced him. When there were no brothers, the ruler’s oldest maternal nephew became king. A maternal nephew would be a child of one of the deceased king’s cousins – that is, a son of his mother’s siblings. The Chou were initially nomads who lived west of the Shang. They overthrew the Shang and ruled China from...
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...Although fireworks today are used as entertainment, the Chinese used it to scare-off enemies in the time of war. Chinese firearms, fireworks and gunpowder were also popular items of trade along the Silk Road to Europe. As we can imagine this invention had a profound effect on human history and although gunpowder was invented by the Chinese, it gave rise to the powerful western world while it inevitably left China and the Eastern World behind. B. Description of the Chinese Culture (Brandy Miller) 1. Chinese Society: Understanding a people's culture exposes their normalness without reducing their individuality. There are many different realms of Chinese society. China is well known for its centuries of traditional values, customs and beliefs. These beliefs are deeply linked with the language, religions and collective values which have always been the center of traditional festivals, customs and everyday life of man as a collective in harmony with nature (Needham, J., 1986). Despite the strong Chinese cultural traditions, the last century has seen a great deal of social change in China. Most recently, increased involvement in the global economic market has led to a high level of prosperity in China which is unfortunately not shared by all. Global influences have also led to the increased interest in science and technology, which are...
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...000 years of Chinese history using music, dance and song to aid the portrayal of China’s ancient history. This performance was conducted by William Kuo. Shen Yun Performing Arts is one of the most unique types of performances I have seen. There was not any dialogue, it was just dancing and singing along with the music, which portrayed the ancient Chinese stories. There were, however, two narrators that described what the audience was going to see. They exchanged telling stories and introducing the acts in both English and Chinese. While each individual act was performing, there were things to think about, which were prompted by the narrators. The narration is what helped the play be realized by the audience. Without the narration, I’m not sure many people would have known what they were actually watching. In saying that, the purpose of this performance was to inform people of the 5,000 years of ancient Chinese history that is hidden underneath the current communist government. This performance was very educational. Using the methods of expression listed above, it taught me about the ancient history of China. Chinese mythology was also used to represent the beliefs of ancient China. As stated before, I could follow along and understand what was taking place thanks to the narration before each performance. The narration explained what was being performed and the relevance it had to the historical aspect of China. Furthermore, I learned about the current political...
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...The Ancient Chinese culture was a very successful culture that created many inventions and contributed to the advancement of not only the Chinese civilization but also to the civilization of the world. In the history of the world there has been many important inventions, Ancient Chinese were great inventors. This essay will point out some of the great inventions that Chinese culture introduced to the world. The impact that these inventions have made in our day to day lives and how without these inventions the world would have not enhanced and progress the way it has. These are eight inventions that Chinese has contributed to the world and their usefulness. ) Identify eight to ten of these useful inventions or contributions. . The top ten inventions and contributions and inventions by the Ancient Chinese included: the wheelbarrow, seismograph, paper, compass, gun powder, map, glazed pottery, hot air balloons, and silk. The ten most useful contributions that the ancient Chinese made in our contemporary society were: paper money, kites, iron and bronze, gunpowder, printing press, umbrellas, clocks, compasses, porcelain, and alcohol (Yinke, 2009). (2) Nominate four that you believe are the most ingenious or innovative. However, out of those ten, the four most significant innovations are paper money, gunpowder, printing press, and clocks. (3) Explain why you believe these four inventions or contributions are the most useful inventions or contributions from the ancient Chinese...
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...1 ANCIENT CHINA 1 Introduction and General Remarks for Ancient China Ancient civilizations of the Egyptians and Mesopotamians have long disappeared, but Ancient Chinese civilization and its transformation to modern times has lasted as the largest and most enduring one in human history. This is even more remarkable when observing the numerous leitmotifs of the Chinese society that were inaugurated so long ago, and many of these themes still resonate today. Ancestral worship, the Mandate of Heaven, and the numerous philosophical ideas, especially of Confucius, have been practiced or used for thousands of years. Remote and mysterious are two adjectives that Western Society has applied to China until recently. China is the only civilization where western thought had no influence until modern times, and also practically the only large region in the world where western men never ruled. For westerners, Chinese customs seem reversed to theirs. White is the color of mourning for the Chinese not black, and for them the left side is one of honor not the right side. Writing is read vertically from the top right-hand corner downward. These few differences reveal that Chinese culture evolved independently of western influences. One can only marvel at the longevity of Chinese civilization. Influence of Geography 2 Geography has played an important role in Chinese History as in most ancient, medieval, and modern cultures. While 85% of China is arid or inaccessible steppes...
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...Society like Qing China had an influential ideology in making laws which is Confucianism. Specifically in this paper, I will focus on Chastity law in Qing China. Most of scholars, who had previous studies about the law, had written from the viewpoint of state that is based on patriarchal system. It makes sense somehow because states were the lawmakers and law was exercised as an instrument to control and maintain the state power at that time. So, in this paper, I would like to see the chastity law from the view point of women because I study that there is gender inequality and the consequence problems of chastity law in Qing society. I also think that the Qing law served the interest of the women of the rich household but not the poor women. For example, it is hard for a common widow to survive while keeping chastity since they are economically weak. In one study, it mentions that the widow populations were dramatically increasing dynasty by dynasty in China since 17th century. Thus, at one glance, chastity law seemed to be successful in its application to society. However, I do not think that the rise of widow population means the chastity law is perfect. Thus, my hypothesis is that whether the widows really satisfied with chastity law that was strictly imposed on them. In other words, I would examine whether all widows follow the chastity law or not. Also, I would also examine that weather the chastity law is the protection of widows or not. In case of poor widows, they might...
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...Chinese Men Buy a House? Mr. Zou, who did not get married until he bought a house when he was 35 years old, sold his house last year and earned an extra profit about 200,000 RMB. In China, much more men did not get married because they did not own a house; however, housing price keeps soaring. According to National Bureau of Statistics of China, from 2001 to 2011, during the 10 years, the average selling price of commercialized buildings in China has increased 147% from 2170RMB to 5357RMB per square meter, especially in metropolitan cities like Beijing, Shanghai which increased 243% and 310% respectively. Nowadays, most youth and their parents in China are concerned about the price of apartment and hesitate to buy it; however, during the hesitation, the price has reached a high record. In my opinion, Chinese men should not only buy a house but purchase it as soon as possible because of the impact of traditional custom, fierce marriage market and the best investment strategy. To begin with, if people especially men want to get married; they would better possess a house at first because of the traditional customs. Confucius, who was born in 2500 years ago, was a philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history. The philosophy of Confucius has a great, deep and persistent impact on each generation in China until now. One of his most famous proverbs is “to rightly govern the state, it is necessary first to regulate one's own family” (Dawson, 1915) which in Chinese,...
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...NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC READING EXPEDITIONS Civilizations Past to Present CHINA KEVIN SUPPLES INTRODUCTION I magine living in the oldest civilization in the world. You could have been the first person to walk along the Great Wall or to use paper money. You wouldn’t get lost if you had the latest invention, a compass. And for good luck, you would be wearing red. These are just some of the things that you could have done in ancient China. The Chinese created many wonderful works of art. They invented many things that we still use. Today, people have found art and writings that tell us about ancient China. They have even found a huge army that the Chinese made from clay. This clay army was buried underground for thousands of years! Let’s take a look at the Chinese people and their history. There is a lot to learn about them. CHINA: THEN AND NOW C hina is in East Asia. The Chinese word for China is Zhongguo. This name means “middle country.” In English, the country’s official name is the People’s Republic of China. China’s capital is Beijing. The official language of the country is Mandarin. People in different part of China speak different languages and dialects. Putonghua, the common speech of Chinese language, is the standard Chinese pronunciation. China has many kinds of landforms. In the west there are tall, snow-covered mountains. Among them is the tallest mountain...
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...Urban of Ancient Chine: Xi’an City 1. Physical Geography and History of Development The name of Xi’an city reflects its relative location in China. Literally, Xi’an means “peace in the west” in Chinese and it located in the central west part of China in the Wei River valley with Qinling Mountains in the South and Loess Plateau in the North. The Wei River has its source in the mountainous area in Western China and flows eastward into the Yellow River. The Wei River valley was largely formed by the deposition of loess that washed off the plateau to the north (G. Brent Hall and Ji Dong Zhang, 116). The climate in this area is temperate and humid. The spring and early summer are the dry time and most of the precipitation is between May and October. The fertile and abundance of arable lands together with the temperate climate gave birth to the early Chinese civilization and the rise of Zhou people, who established their reign in northern China. Later, China was divvied into seven independent states, thus entering the Warring States Period (476B.C. ~ 221B.C.). Xi’an, as the capital of Qin, has great advantage in terms of national security. Surrounded by mountains and hills, Xi’an was only able to be reached by forces from Northern China Plain by entering the narrow pass near the confluence of Wei River and Yellow River. According to Chinese history document, Shi Ji, literally means “Historical Records”, the other six states launched two separate joint operations against Qin’s expansion...
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...Authoritarianism Authoritarianism is a form of social organization characterized by submission to authority. It is usually opposed to individualism and democracy. In politics, an authoritarian government is one in which political authority is concentrated in a small group of politician. Characteristics Authoritarianism is characterized by highly concentrated and centralized power maintained by political repression and the exclusion of potential challengers. It uses political parties and mass organizations to mobilize people around the goals of the regime. Authoritarianism emphasizes the rule of the few; it often includes election rigging, political decisions being made by a select group of officials behind closed doors, a bureaucracy that sometimes operates independently of rules, which does not properly supervise elected officials, and fails to serve the concerns of the constituencies they purportedly serve. Authoritarianism also tends to embrace the informal and unregulated exercise of political power, a leadership that is "self-appointed and even if elected cannot be displaced by citizens' free choice among competitors," the arbitrary deprivation of civil liberties, and little tolerance for meaningful opposition; A range of social controls also attempt to stifle civil society, while political stability is maintained by control over and support of the armed forces, a pervasive bureaucracy staffed by the regime, and creation of allegiance through various means of socialization and...
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...Journal 1 Maggie Liu ENGL107901 Lynne Anderson My hometown is a country of a long history. Five thousand years of growth has turned Chinese culture into a broad and profound museum that concludes countless poets, plays and other spiritual inheritance. Chinese born and Chinese bred, I’m deeply immersed in my hometown’s cultural background and that I’m proud of all the literature works that my ancestors have left for us. When I was a little kid, I was required to recite those real famous poems so that I could have a better understanding of how ancient people expressed their love, hatred, sorrow, and happiness. When Chinese characters were combined in different ways, beautiful sentences would turn up and I enjoyed all the tricks in them. Also manners of writing had everything to do with the poets’ integrity and righteousness. When I was reading great works that were blaming traitors who sold out our motherland, I was shocked and ignited by the fire of fury. Usually an integrated poet could do nothing except writing passages or poets to let off just because fatuous emperors would always listen to ideas of sycophants, which eventually led the country to disaster. However, works from these sycophants were not preserved or passed down to today for the simple reason that Chinese culture would not tolerate these evil winds blow. For over a thousand years, more and more people began to pay attention to these fabulous spiritual works. With great ancestors being idols for...
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...civilizations but I have chosen a few to discuss here. For starters, let’s discuss religion and some of the earliest forms of religion in recorded human history. Early Chinese religions were classified into Buddhism and Confucianism. As the culture spread to Japan, citizens of China felt the need to almost force Japan and its citizens to make a choice as to which religion they were going to follow. “Confucianism, a systematic religious belief system, had a lot to say about governance and society and proved attractive for the Japanese,” (Char4u, 2011). As the Japanese found this as a favorable form of religion, they adopted this and have continued with this religion steadfastly. Another way that China influenced Japanese cultures is the language that is now spoken and written. There was a time when Japan did not have a form of written communication or recording. This did not sit well with citizens of China as they had their system of written communication established and felt that other nations and countries needed this. This was considered a favorable change by the emperor at the time and not only did it give Japan a chance to be able to record historic events, it also gave them a chance to provide a sort of unity or a feeling of togetherness in a nation that needed unity. Another way that Japan benefitted from the influence of China was how they helped to form and organize a form of government. “The method of organization of the Imperial Court, a significant element of ancient...
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...Chinese Inventions What do you think about when you think of Chinese contributions and inventions? This paper will show that, the contributions of ancient Chinese culture dates back thousands of years. It is known that China has an ancient and well known history which traces back to Chinese culture. Ancient Chinese inventions and contributions have contributed to America’s society by helping jobs to exist, fighting wars and the everyday life of a modern society today. Ancient China has contributed to ancient and modern society in many ways. I will identify nine of ancient China contributions and inventions that we still use today. Row Planting was the planting of crops in rows sometime in the 6th century. This technique allows the crops to grow faster and stronger. Farmers normally would adhere to this. The Seed Drill was another invention that was used in 202 BC – 220 AD. The Seed Drill is used to plant seeds into the soil at a uniform depth and covers it. I’m pretty sure this has save abundant amounts of time out in the fields. Many years ago and in modern time, people planted and grew all their vegetables. Not to mention if someone does not grow it, we will not have it. Growing is the only way to produce fruits and vegetables, so this invention in a good one. Toilet paper was another invention and great contribution. One of the first recorded accounts of using hygienic paper was during the Sui Dynasty in 589. In ancient Chinese history, I recall the wealthy or the upper class...
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