Ancient China: Towards the Golden Age Understanding Our Neighbours Dr Aravind Yelery China spans from Central

Asia to the Far East and from Indo-China to the fringes of Siberia, hence it becomes essential to understand the historical legacy of t his country and how it shaped the Chinese. Chinese cultural history is almost as long as that of India s. Perhaps, it is the only example in the history of nation s that two civilisations prospered, thrived and re-emerged throughout the millen nia and remained prominent in the present, modernised world. Both nations went t hrough the same circles of dynastical power transitions, golden age of innovatio n, spiritual-ethical awakening, feudal wars, foreign aggressions and rounds of p olitical revivals, nationalism with an unending task of nation building. The references to silk, paper, gun powder, porcelain get us closer to understand what China was in the past. They represent a China which had rich natural resou rces, a trained pool of human resource and disciplined centralised power. The Ch inese recorded dynastical history starts approximately from 2100 BCE; it was a t ime when Harappan Civilisation in India was in its bloom. The earlier recorded d ynasty in China is Xia Dynasty which existed parallel to the timeline of Indian Indus Valley Civilisation. Xia Dynasty was later replaced by Shang and Zhou Dyna sty. Similar to many ancient kingdoms, the political succession was hereditary; the underlying beliefs were based on ancestral spirits and God. The tombs in Chi na indicate that the sacrifice to the heavens and ancestors were an important pa rt of ritual life. As the Zhou Dynasty was weakened, the smaller states engaged in the power struggle causing political chaos and anarchy. But the chaos gave Ch ina the identity it was looking for, the unified China under single banner. The warring states period lasted for about 200 years in China (475-221 BCE). At th e end, the Qin state emerged victorious. In 221 BC, Qin leader Shi Huang took co ntrol of the collapsing political powers of Zhou dynasty by conquering neighbori ng city-states and unified them. Although, the Qin dynastical rule lasted for 20 years, it was the beginning of emperor-centred states. This was essential to bu ild a strong, centrally unified nation-state. It was the beginning of unified Ch ina. His tomb is famous for the terracotta warriors found in Xian. Shi Huang ado pted a non-hereditary bureaucratic system in his new empire. Centralisation was seen as the most realistic option to build strong empire to fight against northe rn invaders as well as a way of standardising legal codes and bureaucratic proce dures and bringing customary forms of writing and coinage. During the same perio d, the Mauryan Empire was in its rise and fame in India. When the Chinese politi cal terrain was getting unified under Qin, Asoka brought the major areas of Indi an subcontinent under a single flag. Qin approached a rational way of rule and M auryans had similarly adopted ethical view of state and society. Buddhism was gi ven royal patronage. Buddhism was destined to spread across Asia, including Chin a. As Han dynasty replaced the Qin dynasty, Buddhism found the much sought place to spread. It was mere a coincidence or destiny that Asoka s agony over Kalinga W ar helped Buddhism get prominent space in the Indian subcontinent and wait until Qin Dynasty come to an end. The Qin were legalist and neither entertained Confu cian teachings nor Buddhist beliefs. The last years of Qin Dynasty and beginning of Han Dynasty overlapped with the disintegration of Mauryan Empire in India. T his allowed Buddhism to strive and re-emerge in China. The ideas, innovations which were introduced during Qin Dynasty were carried for ward with some alterations until the end of Chinese monarchy in the 20th century . Han were moderate and allowed Confucius and other thoughts to blossom further. Confucianism was adopted to define the practice among imperial family, civil bu reaucrats and other social classes including artisans, gentry, merchants, etc. W hile Confucius ideas held China together as a prospering kingdom, in India Vedic culture and its discourses of Buddhism and Jainism did enrich the Indian societ

y. The Chinese early history is also marked with intrusions by nomads and foreig n aggressions. While India faced the foreign aggression from Persians and Greeks during 600 BCE, Xiongnu on the northern borders troubled the Han emperors, thro ughout their rule, destabilizing the economy and social harmony. By 220 AD, Han Dyanasty ceased to exist. The political instability in China resulted in the growing number of civil wars, feudal conflicts and plight of masses. China had to wait for another three and half centuries for a respectable status as kingdom under Sui Dynasty (580 AD). W hen it was reunified, the Indian golden age had already begun in the subcontinen t under Gupta Dynasty (320 AD) when the vast parts of India were brought under t he single umbrella rule of Chandra Gupta I. The two great civilisations were going to build their early contacts as Chinese travelers set to embark their journey to India. (The writer is convenor of Sewa International and Zonal Coordinator of ICCS) http://www.organiser.org/Encyc/2013/8/18/Ancient-China--Towards-the-Golden-Age.a spx?NB=&lang=4&m1=&m2=&p1=&p2=&p3=&p4=&PageType=N