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Ancient Chinese inventions influenced other countries to create things as well, and inspired
people to make things easier for themselves by daring to dream of a device that did not exist yet.
We still use the inventions from ancient China to this day, such as umbrellas, the abacus and the
parachute.
Printing is another invention created by the Chinese, and one of the most well known too.
Printing was created by the Royal eunuch, Cai Lun. People carved characters into flat, wooden
tablets so that they stood higher than the rest of the block. After mashing bark, rags, hemp stalks
and water squeezed from crushed bamboo and mulberry bark and laying the mixture out to dry,
they created paper. This was then pressed to the tablet, and only the characters showed up. Of
course, there was the minor problem of having to carve the characters in reverse so that they
turned up on the paper the right way. The magnetic compass was invented around 250 BCE and
gunpowder was made about 850 CE. There were the canals and the first seismograph as well. But
the invention of silk garments and textiles was the most successful of all of these. Huang Di’s wife
was said to have dropped a silk cocoon she was holding in water by accident and watched it in
awe as it unraveled. It obviously felt wonderfully luxurious to her, and so she had the idea of
having it as clothing material or something like that. She told everyone about it, and China
decided to trade with silk once they mastered how to make it. China quickly became wealthy and
achieved a high status.
In Ancient China, there are many different beliefs and religions, some are similar, and some could
not be more different. This could be because the Chinese needed something to believe in,
especially during the last half of the Zhou dynasty when conflicts and poverty were a problem.
Luckily, Kong Fu Zi and Lao Zi were around during that time.
Kong Fu Zi (551-479 BC), or ‘Confucius’ was responsible for Confucianism. This religion strives
for a happy life filled with good deeds and intelligence. The wandering scholar provided his many
followers with guidelines about how to behave towards your family, society and the government.
Confucius was said to have been a very wise man, and was referred to as Master. Here are a few
beliefs of his:
“Do not do to others what you would not like yourself.”
“Your family comes first.”
“Those who are born wise are the highest type of people; those who become wise through
learning come next.”
“Women are a lower state from men.”
Lao Zi (604-531 BC) was the man responsible for Daoism/Taoism. He was a philosopher that
believed in the Dao/Tao or ‘The Way.’ This was a natural force that you could live by. ‘The Way’
stated that by living simply, and being one with nature, you could find true happiness. The
Daoists/Taoists did exercise, breathing techniques, Kung Fu and had a balanced diet in order to
obtain that happiness and live forever. They also had science and herbal medicine.
As well as Confucianism and Daoism/Taoism, there was also Buddhism and Legalism. Buddhism
was passed on to China from India. A wealthy Indian prince named Siddharta Gautama created
this religion. Buddhists believed that you were to be reincarnated when you died until you
reached Nirvana. Nirvana is a state of mind free from the poisonous thoughts people can have. A
pure goodness. No pain or suffering.
Legalism arose during the period of the warring states. It is very different to the previous
religions. Legalism insists that strict rules, laws and governments would unlock a happy world.
That if people were easily manipulated by the aristocracy, and obedient…well then they were
living in a good place. A well organised and efficient society was the goal. It was an order that all
followers of Legalism were to act self-centred for their own financial benefit. Wow!
DYNASTIES
A dynasty is a series of rulers from the same family. There were many dynasties in Ancient China,
all of them making a difference. Even though there were some that caused conflict and hardship,
there were others that brought prosperity and happiness.
Before we begin our walk through the timeline of major ancient Chinese dynasties, we must first
understand why the dynasties ended. The Mandate of Heaven is the permission to rule given by
the gods. But if you abuse this privilege and rule without wisdom, justice and balance, the
Mandate of Heaven will be given to another family. Alright, let's begin!
CULTURE
Let us dive into the everyday life of the ancient Chinese, and understand the culture and
traditions that they had. These are the 6 things that the people of China were to have.
1. Respect
2. Morals
3. Fairness
4. Obedience
5. Courteousness
6. Self-discipline
The basic social unit of ancient China was the family, and according to their main religion
everybody had to treat their society and government like you would if they were related to you.
All of the members of the family were living inside the same house. This includes in-laws and all
the generations. The rich family were different to the poor family as you would expect. The head
of the household is the oldest man, and usually he had more than one wife to make sure that he
had sons to take his place when he died. His orders were not to be refused, or punishments were
given. Rich men also tended to have concubines. Concubines were women that were not married
to him, yet acted like his wife. Unfortunately, women did not get the same social status as men
and were considered worthless unless they had sons or had wealth. Daughters were even less
important. They spent their childhood learning household duties, such as cooking rather than
going to school as their brothers did. Well, not all boys went to school or had an education. But
they could have! For girls it was out of the question. Even when they wed, it was their husbands
family that benefitted, not their own. The family mostly lived on grains, rice, millet, sorghum and
wheat. Meat was expensive and not easy to access. Rich families that could afford it had chicken,
pork, lamb and beef. Also they had fish if they lived near the sea. Tofu or bean curd was an easy
substitute though. China does not have vast forests, so wood was limited. Food was cut into small
pieces so that they cooked quickly and the wood was not burnt too much. They had to use as
much of it as they could. Fruits they ate included apricots, cherries, peaches, lemons and oranges.
Millet wine and rice wine were drunk, but tea was the most popular of all the drinks.
GEOGRAPHY
Ancient China was forced to be independent because of the unfortunate geographical set-out.
China was isolated from the rest of the world due to the huge Pacific Ocean to the east, impossibly
tall mountains to the south, and merciless deserts to the north and west.
The third longest river in the world is called the Yangtze River, and it is located in China. The
sixth longest river in the world is called the Yellow River or Huang He and it is also in China.
They both flow from west to east through central China and they are great sources of food, fresh
water, fertile soil and transportation. They both play a big part in this country’s history and are
very special indeed. It is along the Yellow River that the Chinese civilisation formed. It is 3,395
miles long. The rich yellow soil gives it its name and is great for growing millet. The Yangtze
River is 3,988 miles long. The land along this river soon became wealthy and important because of
the perfect conditions to grow rice. The well-known battle of red cliffs took place along the
Yangtze River. The next landmarks of China are the Himalayan mountains. These are the highest
in the world, and obviously virtually impassable. They are considered sacred in Chinese religion.
The Gobi desert is to the north of China, and the Taklamakan desert is to the west. Sadly, the
Mongols lived in the Gobi desert, and loved to raid northern ancient China for goods. That is why
the Great Wall was built. To protect China from the northern invaders.