ANCIENT CHINA

Art
Since the early ancient ages, art forms such as painting, poetry, and calligraphy were displayed. The three almost always went together, since somehow they all were related in some way. For example, calligraphy was used to write poetry, the theme of the poetry was usually about landscapes and scenery, and landscapes and scenery were described in calligraphy in the form of poetry! Hee, hee!
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To traditional Chinese, porcelain paintings and architecture are not truely considered art. In fact, most think the two are totally two different subjects. What do you think?


Beliefs


The Chinese have had many beliefs, one of the oldest and most popular is ancestor warship. Since as long as anyone could remember, the Chinese have made offerings to their ancestors, whom they thought were there guardians. There were other beliefs also though, such as :

Confucianism, which is a set of moral philosophy, comes from the teachings Confucius. Confucius lived from 551 to 479 BC, he stresses life was at its best during the times of love between parents and children, That's why traditional parents are very strict with teaching their children about respect. It' also said that those who respect their parents, can also be faithful to friends and loyal to the emperor.

Taoism, is a religion emphasizing harmony between a man and nature. It is believed that harmony with nature is the only way to find peace.
Buddhism, shows that life is just hardship and suffering, and that unless a person can rid him/her self of greed and desires, that person shall be reincarnated( reborn into a new body) till he/she does.

Chinese Fashion


During the late Chou Dynasty, a basic set of clothing was created. It was a two-piece outfit consisting of a long tunic-usually belted or sashed, and over it was a jacket. The style was the same for all the Chinese no matter what class they were in, but there was a difference in material thought. The richer you were the finer the fabric
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Shoes also played an important role in fashion for the Chinese, for it separated them from barbarians whom went barefooted. Like the set of clothing, the shoes were made from different materials according to your class. Peasants usually wore straw sandals while the higher classes wore fine slippers made from damask or brocade.

Games


Games. Oooooo, everyone likes the sound of that, but who would have ever guessed that many of the modern games originated in China thousands of years ago! Well, it's true. Back then, noble Chinese ladies and gentlemen played games and had various kinds of entertainment. Hunting, Polo, and a type of football were just some of the more active games. The ancient Chinese also had quieter games. One ancient game called Liu Po was played long ago. Although the rules of this game were lost to modern times, it is known that it consisted of 6 game pieces, which the player moved around on a board. Other games such as Parcheesi, Chess, and Backgammon are still played today. Use this website's links to other web sites that have these games and enjoy playing some of the same games the ancient Chinese played 2000 years ago.

Chinese Chess at Chess Space


How it began


The history of China goes quite a ways back....back to around 3,000 B.C. when some of the first signs of civilization was spotted. That's almost 5,000 years ago! Wow! About a 1,000 years later, a complex picture writing system was developed, using forms we know of as ideograms, pictograms, and phonograms. The writing was inscribed on oracle bones, which were used to keep records and tell fortunes.

In 1766 B.C., China's first documented dynasty began. It become known as the Shang Dynasty (1766-1122 B.C.). The Shang people were identified for their use of horse-drawn chariots and their greatly organized armies. After the Shang Dynasty came the Chou Dynasty (1122-221 B.C.). During this era, an empire was united and use of iron was discovered. After more than 900 years, the Chou Dynasty collapsed and the Ch'in Dynasty (221-206 B.C.) arose. Although this dynasty did not last long, it left two lasting traditions; the name China and the structure of the empire.

The Earlier, or sometimes called Western, Han Dynasty (202 B.C.-A.D. 9) followed the Ch'in Empire. The early Han emperors encouraged talented young men to join the government as well as study and restore the classics. Soon, due to the support of the emperors, the number of scholars increased from 50 to 30,000! But tragedy struck when Wang Mang, the nephew of Han Empress Lo, seized the empire and created a new dynasty called the Hsin (A.D. 9-23). The new kingdom didn't quite please all the people though, so it was not long before rebellion ascended and brought the dynasty to an end.

The next ruler descended from the Han family, so yet another Han Dynasty (A.D. 23-220) began. Although the emperor tried, he could not restore China's splendid days of the early Hans, but he did succeed in gaining back lost territory. The later Han Dynasty, however, encountered many rebellions, and after almost 200 years it came to an end.

After the fall, the empire was divided in to 3 different dynasties (A.D. 220-581). They were the Wei, Shu Han, and Wu. It was not until almost four centuries later when finally a general, from the Northwest, united the separate dynasties. The general became Emperor Wen Ti, and started the Sui Dynasty (A.D. 581-618). The Sui empire lasted less than half a century though, and a new dynasty came to be. Thus started the T'ang Dynasty (A.D. 618-907). During this dynasty, China reached its greatest expansion ever, and many other outstanding reforms were made. But as you could probably guess, the T'ang Dynasty, like all the others before it, collapsed after 289 years of ruling China, and another Dynasty arose, and yet another after that.......

China History

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Inventions


Whenever a student wants to know how much longer until the next holiday from school, what is used? Whenever people go exploring, what must they bring? Why a clock and a compass of course! Although few realize it, much of today's things were invented more than 2000 years ago by the ancient Chinese! The Chinese created things like the seismograph, mechanical clock, compass, and bicycle chain hundreds or maybe even thousands of years before the Europeans. Gunpowder was another substance invented by the Chinese, although back then they only used it for fireworks. Even things like silk, paper, and printing were first discovered by the Chinese. Amazing, isn't it! Below are pictures of some of their inventions, try to recognize some of them with out looking at the subscript! Good luck!
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Seismograph (earthquake recorder)-
was created in the second century AD, almost 1,600 years before the Europeans. A tremor caused one of eight bronze balls to drop into the mouth of one of eight bronze frogs. The path of the ball indicated the area the tremor came from.
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Compass-
Most believe that the compass was invented by the Chinese in the 1100's, but the world's first compass may have actually been devised during the Han period. It was used for sea navigation back then, and still is today!

Locations


China today is filled with great sites built hundreds of years ago. Many of these astonishing creations seem like the impossible, but don’t worry, they’re real. Ancient sites such as the Great Wall of China, Terra-Cotta Warriors, and the Longmen Caves are just some of tons! So, if you’re ever going to visit China, be sure not to miss them. Coming next is a brief description and history of those three sites, that way you’ll be sure to recognize them if you do ever go to China. You’ll also be able to tell others about the origins of that specific site, and not to mention some pretty surprising facts!

When the Ch’in Dynasty arose, Emperor Shih Huang-ti ordered a great wall to be built so that China would be protected from Northern invaders. Several small walls, built before the Ch’in Dynasty, were connected, and that’s where the great wall began. Building the wall took almost 14 years, and many lives of the 300, 000 or more workers. In the end though, the wall was around 2,000 miles long, and was wide enough in some places to fit nine horses abreast. Not to mention that it’s also the only man made thing ever to be seen from space! Wow!

When Buddhism became a popular religion, thousands of statues of Buddha were carved on the walls of caves. A few of those caves can be located near the city of Loyang, and are known as the Longmen caves. The sculptures there ranged in size and in one cave alone would be 10,000 statues of Buddha!
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When Emperor Shih Huang-ti became king at age 13, he wanted a vast army and kingdom that he could rule after his death, so he commanded his burial tomb to be started. It’s said to have taken 36 years to build, for within the tomb is an enormous army of around 8,000 life-size warriors and chariots all made of clay. Amazingly also everyone of the soldiers have a different face! As the years passed after emperor’s death and time went on, the roof of the tomb collapsed, leaving it hidden from humans until 1974..............

Bibliography


1. McLenighan, Valjean. China, a history to 1949. Copyright(c) 1983 by Regensteiner Publishing Enterprises, Inc.

2. Schafer, Edward H. Ancient China. Copyright(c) 1967 by Rhett Austell.

3. "China." Lands and Peoples: Volume 2. Copyright(c) 1995 by Grolier Incorporated.