Introduction to World Civilization Dersi 8. Ünite Sorularla Öğrenelim

Sinic Civilization is the oldest one in the world which is continuously in practice for 4,000 years of the recorded history and another 1000 years of the unrecorded history.

The Sinic Civilization’s 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).

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

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 core of the Sinic Civilization is the ancient Chinese Civilization.

Historians believe farming began in China about 7,000 BCE. The first crop grown was a grain called millet. Rice was farmed around the same time, and may have come before millet.

It is agreed upon by almost all Chinese people that the Yellow River is the structure of Chinese civilization, the spiritual home of the Chinese people.

The Chinese ruler was not a divinity like the Egyptian pharaoh, but he became an object of worship after his death, and sacrifices were performed to the departed spirits of both rulers and their wives. The royal tombs were lavish affairs. A large pit was excavated, provided with stairways, and a wooden tomb chamber was constructed at the bottom. The royal corps was surrounded with magnificent furnishing, including figured bronzes and pottery, marble statuary, and richly, adorned implements and jewels. After the funeral ceremonies, the entire excavation was firmly filled ground.

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.

The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is the current spiritual leader of the Tibetan Buddhists.

What are the five precepts that Buddhist ethics is based on?

• 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

  Buddhist monks and nuns, on the other hand, follow more than 200 rules of discipline described in detail in the Vinaya pitaka; some Zen Buddhist monks and nuns do not have to follow the vow of chastity or poverty (they can get married and work).

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,

• the Nong, or peasant farmers,

  • the Gong, or artisans and craftsmen,

• the Shang, or merchants and traders.

It is not known when Chinese writing originated, but it apparently began to develop in the early 2nd millennium BCE. 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), but, by then it was already a highly-developed system, essentially like its present form.

Chinese painting has a rich history as an enduring art form and is well known throughout the world. Traditionally, Chinese painting is done on rice paper or thin silk, using a variety of brushes, Chinese ink, and dye.

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.

The earliest Chinese literature that we know of probably comes from the later part of the Western Zhou Dynasty about 800 BCE (the same time as Homer in Greece) and was written on silk.

Yin-Yang describes the two opposing and complementary fundamental forces, which are found in all things. The Yin is the feminine principle, the earth, the darkness, the passivity, and the absorption. The Yang is the masculine principle, the sky, the light, the activity, and the penetration.

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.