Essay on Formation of the Chinese Civilization

    Earlier this week we focused on ancient eastern China during the Han Dynasty and the east asian philosophies that arose during this time period. We reviewed three great asian philosophers, Confucius, Lao Tzu, and Buddha. In class we also picked from a list of quotes from these three philosophers a quote they said that really resonated with us and wrote a descriptive essay on it and shared it in class for extra credit.

The Great Wall of Ancient China: Did the Benefits Outweigh the Cost? The Great Wall was built by the Qin and Han Dynasty in order to protect China from the Mongols. However, the benefits of building the Great Wall of China did not outweigh the costs for building the Great Wall. In accordance to Document C, the soldiers had to leave their homes and families in order to work on building the Great Wall. This supports the claim because the soldiers had to sacrifice their families when they had already been sacrificing their lives to fight for China.

“Warning states”. Stability means to be strong. A dynasty is a family thats continues to rule for a very long time. Ancient China created stability by landowners,creating cities, and Great Wall Of China.

“ All our civilization is based on invention; before invention, men lived on fruits and nuts and pine cone and slept in caves “ - Reginald Fessenden. All major civilizations have a significant influence on mankind and the different inventions the civilizations produced. Although, it is evident that the Chinese Civilization has the greatest impact on the development of man out of all of the civilizations due to the innovation of gunpowder, and the discovery of the silk road.

During the Warring Sates Period there were three main philosophies in china, that influenced their actions and way of thinking. The three perspectives were Confucianism, Daoism and Legalism. For each there was a social thoughts, political thoughts, ethical teachings, and a way of public life. These three philosophies where created because of the political fragmentation. (McKay,Pg.70)

When the Chinese and Europeans first came into contact with each other, there was a mutual fascination for the other's culture, or way of life. The Chinese began to look at the European culture. They became interested in Western thinking. They were also beginning to look at the religion that the European missionaries were preaching about, Christianity. On the other end, the Europeans who came in contact with the Chinese were fascinated by their culture and their philosophy, mainly the philosophy of Confucius. While the two cultures seemed to be a good match, each respecting and admiring the other, it came to an abrupt halt. The end result was China and Europe both rejecting the other culture.

History has shown us, that Daoism and Confucianism have many things in common as well as many differences, let me start with what is Daoism and Confucianism. Daoism is also known as Taoism, is a religious tradition originated from China in the 550 B.C.E, it was founded by Lao Tzu, a great philosopher and the author of the “Dao De Jing” .The “Dao De Jing” or “Tao Te Ching” is a Chinese text that contains 81 chapters explaining the “ways” of Chinese life, it is often used by the monks or persons that practice the Daoism. Daoism’s main focus is on nature, and not on the social world. Compassion, moderation and humility are also focuses

Confucian and Daoist views were important for the shaping and development of mankind in the past. They were views that existed among the eastern Asian countries. They had both similarities and differences in the way they shaped out self-knowledge and self-cultivation. Also there was other outside forces that played a major role in their theories. Nature and art were said to have helped shape the human race as we know it.

Confucian ethics focused on groups, humans living in communities and in societies advancing human culture and civilization in harmony and balance with each other. Taoist(Daoist) ethics focused on individuals separate lives and personal moral advancement in harmony and balance with nature. Both Confucian and Daoists focus on cultivation of Wen and virtue of Te-power without force. Both also focus on a kind of humility. In Confucianism this is Chun Tzu; in Daosim it is humility to nature and natural order. Both honor the past, tradition, and ancestors, and both have a concern for the future. However, the

Chinese Dynasties: 1. Shang: Also called Yin, dynasty that was China's earliest historically verifiable state 1766 B.C. to 1122 B.C. A. Reason's for Rise: Unlike the early accounts of history by the Chinese, there is archaeological evidence of the Shang, who built their cities in northern China around the eastern parts of the Yellow River. For this reason they are called the Yellow River civilization. They were a bronze age people; bronze-working seems to have entered China around 2000 BC (about one thousand years after its invention in Mesopotamia). B. Territorial Location & size at height of power (map): The Shang ruled the area from the North China Plain northward into present-day Shantung Province and westward to the tip of Honan

Early chinese civilization was very well in control of Asia and assumed the role of ‘big brother” to its neighboring Asian countries of Japan, Vietnam, and Korea. Japan, Korea, and Vietnam were absolutely affected by China, being affected by Chinese religion, government, and sky’s the limit from there. Even if you look at current day Asia, those countries still possess a lot of Chinese influence.

The civilizations of ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt and China all contributed their own intellectual outlooks and advances to history.

Daoism is synonymous with Taoism; in this religious philosophy, the way of nature is central theme of life. It was founded by Lao Tzu in 500BC in China. Lao is believed to have authored the “Dao de Jing”, which details the Daoist beliefs. Dao is a concept, a way, a principle that will lead a person to a happy, peaceful life. Dao can be achieved by incorporating the Three Jewel of Taoism that are humility, simplicity and compassion in one’s life. According to Dao, de Jing “The Way to Heaven is to benefit others and not to injure”.15 Further, there is no concept of good and evil, the Dao is simply the universe, which is perceived as a self- sustaining entity that generates energy called qi. Like other Chinese traditions, Daoist also have great reverence for the spirits of ancestors as well as spirits of nature that is plants, animals, rivers, etc. 16

As many other countries around the world China has its long history of a struggle for equality and prosperity against tyrants and dictatorships. The establishment of People’s Republic of China in 1949 seemed to have put an end to that struggle for a better life. “The Chinese people have stood up!” declared Mao Tse-tung, the chairman of China’s Communist Party (CPP) – a leading political force in the country for the time. The people were defined as a coalition of four social classes: the workers, the peasants, the petite bourgeoisie and the national-capitalists. The four classes were to be led buy the CPP, as the leader of the working class.

Confucianism and Daoism are both chinese religions. They both incorporated religious practices with daily activities in a way that it pertained to philosophy as well as religion, making the secular sacred. Confucianism was grounded in ethics and virtuous socio-political conditions. Daoism, also known as Taoism, sought to establish the proper relation between humans and the cosmos through discernment of the Tao, or Way. Confucianists are more concerned with social relationships and Taoism is of a more broader nature and more mystically oriented and more philosophical. They both focused on relationships that humans had with each other as well as the relationships that humans had with nature. They were atheistic in a sense that they had no