Unit 8: The Sinic Civilization

Introduction

Sinic Civilization, whose territory covers the territory between and beyond of two basins of great Yellow and Yangtze rivers, flowing inside of the borders demarcated by Himalayas (south), Gobi Desert (north) and Pacific Ocean (east), Kirgizstan and Uzbekistan (west). This territory is the third largest in the world (after Russia and Canada), is the oldest one in the world.

The ancient Chinese society is strongly hierarchical and is composed of four professional classes; scholars, peasant farmers, artisans, and craftsmen, merchants, and traders.

There are four great technological inventions; paper making, print, dynamite, magnetic compass which have been applied by the remaining world civilizations ever since.

The Chinese history is traditionally investigated through the accomplishments of 25 dynasties and several kingdoms. Among them four dynasties are the most important; Shang (founding), Han (education), Ming (isolation behind the Great Wall), and Tang (examination for administrative jobs). The fall of the ancient Sinic Civilization was the result of the Opium Wars and Civil War which led to the formation of People’s Republic of China in 1949, followed by several changes of goals and strategies, among them the strategy of modernization (1978) led to a new political system – market socialism with the Chinese character which eventually in the 21st century developed the Chinese economy to the level of the second in the world after the U.S. economy.

The Spatio-Temporal Boundaries of the Sinic (Ancient Chinese) Civilization

Silk Road; which means modern coinage, derives its name from the lucrative trade in silk (and horses) carried out along its length, beginning during the Han dynasty (207 BCE – 220 CE).

China contains two massive river basins; those of the Yellow River in the north and the Yangtze in the south. The Yellow River carries tons of loess, a very fine lightcolored dust whose color gives the river its name. Loess is exceptionally fertile and easy to cultivate. The Yangtze River [6,380 km (3,964 miles)] is the largest in China and the third largest in the world after the Nile in Africa and the Amazon in South America.

Religion Of The Sinic Civilization

Folk Religion: In ancient China, religious beliefs are evident in the Yang Shao Culture of the Yellow River Valley, which prospered between 5000-3000 BCE. he Yang Shao Culture was matrilineal, meaning women were dominant, so this religious figure would have been a woman based on the grave goods found. There is no evidence of any high-ranking males in the burials but a significant number of females.

By the time of the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BCE) these religious beliefs had developed so that now there was a definite “king of the gods” named Shang Ti and many lesser gods of other names. Shangti presided over all the important matters of state and was a very busy god. He was rarely sacrificed to, because people were encouraged not to bother him with their problems.

An important aspect of Chinese religion, whether Taoism, Confucianism, or Buddhism, was known as hygiene schools that instructed people on how to take care of themselves to live longer lives or even achieve immortality. Hygiene schools were part of the temple or monastery. The priests taught people how to eat healthy, exercise (the practice of Tai Chi developed through these schools), and perform rituals honoring the gods so the gods would bless them with a healthy long life.

• Taoism: Taoism was developed by the philosopher Laozi (Lao-Tzu, c. 604 BCE). He defined his quasireligion as follows:
  • It advocates: Harmony of man with Tao, to the ethereal and dialectical course of events.
  • It rejects: War, resignation, greed, prejudices, conventions, taboos, inequality, submission, dogmatic subjection to absolutist norms or prejudices (filial loyalty, nationalism, legalism, submission to the cult, etc.).
  • It guidelines: It does not have a dogma to which the faithful should limit themselves.
  • It promotes virtues: pity, generosity, self- denial, kindness, personal sacrifice, planting trees (giving something to nature or other humans), making paths (in the same ways as trees), being introspective, analytical, contemplative and meditative, honesty and fairness, and teach to those who do not know.
• Confucianism: Confucianism was developed by Confucius (c. 551-479 BCE) who encouraged ancestor worship as a way of remembering and honoring one’s past but emphasized people’s individual responsibility in making choices and criticized an over-reliance on supernatural powers.
• Buddhism: In the 1st century CE, Buddhism (defined by Buddha Shakyamuni 563-483 BCE) arrived in China via trade through the Silk Road. Buddhism is a means of individual and social transformation that simply offers its practices and teachings to anyone who wishes to learn. Buddhism is a path of practical teaching. Buddhist practices, such as meditation, are a means for one to transform oneself, developing the qualities of consciousness, goodness, and wisdom. The ethical Buddhist is based on the principles of ahimsa (not cause damage) and the Middle Way (moderation, not suppress nor cling to anything). Buddhist ethics is based on the five precepts :
  • Do not take anyone’s life
  • Do not take what does not belong to you
  • Do not have harmful sexual behavior
  • Do not tell lies
  • Do not consume intoxicants

The Civilizing Society Of The Sinic Civilization

Social classes: In ancient Chinese society, the Fengjian social class structure of circa 1046-256 BCE gave rise to Confucian or Legalist scholars’ classification of the Chinese people into four broad categories. From highest to lowest social strata, the categories were:

• the Shi, or Gentry scholars: Scholars – even those who owned land – were never very rich, but they were respected because of their knowledge.
• the Nong, or peasant farmers: Farmers were landholders like gentry scholars, and agriculture long played a key role in the rise of Chinese civilization.
• the Gong, or artisans and craftsmen: They were like farmers in that they produced essential objects.
• the Shang , or merchants and traders.

Government: Ancient China had monarchy , i.e. government headed by an emperor and a royal family. Chinese rulers (also called monarchs) based their government on the Confucian model, which taught that the ruler was a virtuous man who led by example. The government was composed of the following levels:

• Despotic leadership: the king would be the leader and would be more of a dictator than a king who had unsurpassed power in all areas, be it economy or governance or agriculture which was the livelihood of the people.

• Enlightened leadership – Perhaps Emperor Shun (2233 BCE-2184 BCE) can be given credit for being an enlightened leader.

• Military - In military, the casualty was very high in the battles against the Huns or the invaders.

Labor: was engaged in intensive farming; “an agriculture without waste”.

Family: Subordination of women – women became subordinate to men in the patriarchal family and in Chinese society at large, although their position was utterly intolerable. The Chinese family was not only an economic and sociological unit but a religious and political one as well. The family gave the individual a greater feeling of security and support than has been typical in most societies.

The Civilizing Culture Of The Sinic Civilization

Writings: The earliest known inscriptions, each of which contains between 10 and 60 characters incised on pieces of bone and tortoiseshell that were used for oracular divination, date from the Shang (or Yin) dynasty (18th– 12th century BCE).

Paintings: Traditional Chinese painting is known as “ guo hua. ” Like calligraphy, the painting is done using a brush dipped in black or colored ink, usually on paper or silk. ang Dynasty also saw the beginning of landscape paintings, often referred to as Shanshui (“mountain water”) paintings. These are less precise and allowed for individual freedom in interpreting the subjects.

Theatre: During the Shang dynasty (c. 1766–1066 BC) hunting dances as well as dances imitating animals were performed. The so-called chorus dances were popular during the Zhou (Chou) dynasty (c. 1066–221 BC). They were divided into two groups: wu dances performed by men and xi (hsi) dances performed by women.

Chinese martial operas and their acrobatic fighting scenes as well as the 20th century gongfu ( kung- fu ) movies later developed.

Before the beginning of the current era it was customary at the court and at public festivities to organize grand-scale spectacles called baixi (pai- shi) or a hundred entertainments or hundred games circus.

Literature: In the Warring States period, a general called Sun Tzu wrote a very important book called the Art of War , about the best ways to organize armies and battles.

In the Han Dynasty, in the first century CE Ban Zhao wrote many books, including poetry and a history of the Western Han .

During the Tang Dynasty, about 700 CE, people in China invented wood-block printing. The poet Bai Juyi wrote a famous poem, the Song of Everlasting Sorrow .

During the Song Dynasty, about 1000 CE, people invented movable clay type and this made books even cheaper and more popular than before.

One of the most famous novels of ancient China is the Romance of the Three Kingdoms , which was written about 1330 AD, during the Yuan Dynasty, by a man named Luo Guanzhong

Philosophy:

• Confucianism: It is a system of moral, social, political, and quasi-religious thought. The major Confucian concepts include ren (humanity or humaneness), zhengming (similar to the concept of the Mandate of Heaven), zhong (loyalty), xiao (filial piety), and li (ritual). t introduced the Golden Rule (essentially, treat others as you would like to be treated), the concept of Yin and Yang (two opposing forces that are permanently in conflict with each other, leading to perpetual contradiction and change), the idea of meritocracy, and of reconciling opposites to arrive at some middle ground combining the best of both. Confucianism is not necessarily regarded as a religion.
• Taoism: Tao more often used as a meta-physical term that describes the flow of the universe, or the force behind the natural order. The Three Jewels of the Tao are compassion, moderation, and humility. Taoist thought focuses on wu wei (“non-action”), spontaneity, humanism, relativism, emptiness, and the strength of softness (or flexibility).
• Legalism: t is a pragmatic political philosophy, whose main motto is “set clear strict laws, or deliver harsh punishment”, and its essential principle is one of jurisprudence. According to Legalism, a ruler should govern his subjects according to Fa (law or principle), Shu (method, tactic, art, or statecraft) and Shi (legitimacy, power, or charisma).
• Buddhism: it is a (quasi) religion, a practical philosophy and arguably a psychology, focusing on the teachings of Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama).
• Mohism: it was founded by Mozi (c. 470 - 390 BCE). It promotes universal love with the aim of mutual benefit, such that everyone must love each other equally and impartially to avoid conflict and war. Mozi was strongly against Confucian ritual, instead emphasizing pragmatic survival through farming, fortification, and statecraft.

Chinese Cuisine:

• Three Meals. Confucius advocated three meals practice of breakfast, lunch and dinner.
• Salt Production . They first produced salt by boiling brine water
• Vegetarian. Buddhists were prohibited from killing animals and began eating vegetarian food.
• Tea Production . Tea was first considered a medicinal beverage.
• Chopsticks.
• Ice Cream. Probably as a dish for the country’s rulers.
• Bean curd. Bean curd, also called Tofu, is a food made by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks.
• Wine Production. Ancient Chinese were the first to discover wine and invent the technique of making wine and liquor.

Clothing

• the Pien-fu . It is an ancient two-piece ceremonial costume, including a tunic-like top extending to the knees, and a skirt reaching to the ankles; one had to wear a skirt on certain occasions in order to be properly dressed. A pien is a cylindrical ceremonial cap.
• the Chang-pao , long robe.
• the Shen-i. It is a cross between the pien-fu and the chang-pao; it consists of a tunic and some skirt or trousers like the pien-fu, but the tunic and the skirt are sewed together and essentially one piece like the chang-pao.

The Infrastructure Of The Sinic Civilization

Villages and towns: Most rural Chinese have traditionally lived in villages in the plains and river valleys.

Chinese architecture: Ancient Chinese architecture is mainly timberwork. Wooden posts, beams, lintels, and joists make up the framework of a house. Walls serve as the separation of rooms without bearing the weight of the whole house, which is unique to China. As a famous saying goes, “ Chinese houses will still stand when their walls collapse .”

Transportation: It mainly constituted of horse carriages, wheelbarrows, ox carts. Ox carts were the means of transport for common people and used for freight, and horse carriages were mainly used for military purpose.

Technology: The four great inventions of ancient China refer to the following:

• Papermaking (105 CE)
• Gunpowder: a mixture of charcoal, saltpeter, and sulfur (9th century CE),
• Printing techniques (first Chinese printed book - 868 CE)
• The compass (11th century CE).

The Timeline Of Major Events Of The Sinic Civilization

• 1600 to 1050 BCE - The Shang Dynasty is the first civilization in China for which there is a written record.
• 221 to 206 BCE - During the Qin Dynasty, construction on the Great Wall of China begins.
• 206 BCE – 220 CE - Han Dynasty promoted education, encyclopedias were written.
• 207 BCE – 220 CE – The Silk Road went along the northern borders of China, India, and Persia and ended up in Eastern Europe near today’s Turkey and the Mediterranean Sea.
• 618-907 CE Tang Dynasty - civil service system improved by recruiting scholar-officials through standardized examinations and recommendations to office.
• 1271 - Marco Polo, an Italian explorer, visits China.
• 1368-1644 Ming Dynasty - emergence of novels and other written literature
• 1433- Emperor Ming halts Chinese voyages.
• 644 – 1911 – Outsiders (the Manchus and British) rule China;
• 1839-1842 – Opium war. The first Opium War (1839– 42) was fought between China and Britain, and the second Opium War (1856–60), also known as the Arrow War or the Anglo-French War in China, was fought by Britain and France against China.
• 1911-1949 - The Chinese Civil War
• 1912-1943 – Republic.
• 1937 – 1945 – Japan took the advantage of the Civil War and invaded China.
• 1949 - China becomes a Communist nation after a 20- year civil war.
• 1966 – 1976 - Leader Mao Zedong begins China’s “Cultural Revolution,” a 10-year campaign that changes China’s politics, economy, and social system.
• 1972 - U.S. President Richard M. Nixon visits China.
• 1978 – Deng Xiaoping (leader of China) declares the modernization plan of China and states that “it is not a sin to be wealthy,” and that “no matter how the cat is white or black, the important thing is that he catches mice.”
• 1989 - Protests of the Tiananmen Square mourning over Hu’s death, a reformist who had been removed from power two years earlier, gradually transformed into a large concentration of people, mostly young students.
• 2003 - China launches its first spacecraftwith people on board.
• 2008 - China prepares to host theSummer Olympics
• 2010 - China passed Japan in the second quarter to become the world’s second- largest economy behind the United States.
• 2013 – Xi Jinping declares the Chinese Dream – Wealth, Strength, and Pride and promotes market socialism with the Chinese character
• 2014-2016 China expands its presence in the Pacific region politically and economically
• 2017 – President Trump asks President Xi Jinping to stop North Korea’s path to the Atomic Bomb, aimed at Japan and the United States.