One of the oldest civilizationsin the world.

The Chinaraceis the combinationof 5 largepeoplethatare

calledZhonghua Minzu. They are: theHan(red); the Manchus
(yellow); theMongols(blue); theMuslims, known at the time
as the "Hui" (white) i.e MuslimTurkic peoplesin Western
China; and theTibetans(black).
Earlyperiod, the Chineseracewas knownas Huaxiarace i.e a
group (or confederation of tribes) of ancient people living
along theYellow Riverwho formed the nucleus of what later
became theHanethnic group in China of the Handynasty
(221207 BCE) and, later on, the Tangdynasty(618-907).
In other words, the Largeethnicgroupsthat make up
Chinesewere Han, Hui,Manchu,Mongoland Zang (Tibet).

The National conceptinChinese civilization

is ZhongGuo (Tiongkok) meaning Middlekingdom/Country
The concept ofZhong Hua(Tionghua) - is
acombinationofthe terms ZhongGuo
andHuaXia.It refers tothe colonial
territories under the Chinese dynastycalled
Han(Hanrace)whichpractice the
ZhongYen culture.

'Country' refersto the spirit of'integration'

among the wholeunitof a nation which isa
combination ofGuo(the nation)andJia(Family).
ConceptZhong(faithful)was
fundamentalinnationhood.
ConceptXiao(devotion) is emphasized infamily
system.
Thisfamily systemleadstonationhood and in
Chineseculturenationhood spiritis given more
prioritythan countryspirit.
Thisdynasticnationhood
systemhowevercollapsewith the Revolution of
1911 and it was replaced witha Republic.

Northern Chinese civilizationgrowth centre

isinSungai Huang He (Sg Kuning) i.e Yellow
River Southern Chinese civilization growth
centre is in ChangJiang.
Earliestcivilization artifactsare found in;
o The Culture of Yangshao society in
Shanxiprovince
o The Culture of Longshanwhich is centred
atShandongprovince
o Bronzecivilization which islocatedin
Jiangxiprovince.

Sungai

kuning/Huang ho

Chinasociety systemis based ona systemof

pedigree and emphasizes valueandethics
Thefamily systemis patriarchy andmen
folklineage (patrilineal)
whichemphasizethefather heir.
In Chinese political values, the king has
absolutepower
Society hierarchyare made upof thenobleand
thedowntrodden.
The system SANGKANGstresses3tiers:King with
noblemen,/fatherwithchild/husbandwith wife.

WuChang consist of Five principles which are

emphasised in chinese society and theyinclude;
Ren (humanity)
Yi (equity/justice)
Li(code of ethics/politeness)
Zhi (wisdom)
Xin(trust/belief)
Careful cultivation of the wu-chang is necessary
both for the healthy functioning of society and for
the healthy functioning of the individual.
ZhongFasystemstresspedigree heritage of
ancestorsin relationships among humans

AncientChinese society is anagricultural society.

Their cultureis based
onConfucianismthatthicken until it
becomesinfluentialin allaspect of their
life,ethic,culture,political,societyandcountry
system.

Spoken languageof Chinese

peoplevariedbased onrace.
In the period of Han Dynasty -spoken
languageandwritingwere
standardizedand knownas Hanyu
(language) and Hanzi (writing) respectively.
Mandarinwastermthatwas used
byforeign authorityto Chineselanguage.
NowChineselanguage spellingusePin
Yingsystembased onRoman spelling.

 Chinesewriting

systemis formed
based onthe combinationof
3primary element
namelymeaning,soundandfor
m.
Although there are many
dialectspeech, China only have
asinglewriting system.

 The

Concept of Tian:

In the period of Zhou Dynasty, this

conceptrefers to4 majorideologies:
1. Tianas the sourceof allcreaturesin the
world
2. Tian as the greatestdivinethat is above
everything
3. Tian as decider of the Fateof a dynasty
4. Tian as decider of human
Happinessandmisery

 The

Concept of Dao

Thisconceptrefers toDaode Jing

whichrefers to4things:

1. Road(the

way)
2. Naturalconcept
3. Great principlewhich isabsolute,the
originof everything/creature(wanwu)
4. Daois primordial from which
allcreaturesoriginatedandwill be return
back to at the endoftheir life.

Accordingto Yijingbook(the Books of

Changes) Taijiconceptrefers to the
essence of substance which isabsolute

YinYangtheoryis continuous
contradictionandconflict between
twoaspectsnamely positive and
negativewith 5strands(wuxing) namely
metal,wood,water,fireandland.

ZhongyongPrinciple

Moderationisvirtue

1-Confuciusnism
Founded byConfucius (551479)includephilosophical
aspect,education andpolitical
sciencewhich includein Lun
Yubook(Analects)
Thedoctrine of Confucianismwas ren
(humanity),Li(morality), xiao (filial piety),
junzi (pious/magnanimous).
2- Chinese Buddhism
widely spread inChina in the first century
It was modify to suit Chinese nature

3-Daoism
Founded by2 greatthinkersnamely Laozi
and Zhuangzi,
Dividedinto 2branchesnamely
daophilosophical thought(daojia) and
religious school(daojiao)
Moism
The founder is Mo ZiFounder(479-381M)
Theimportant concepts are:
jian'ai (globallove)
Feigong (condemningfight)
Feiming (notdepending ondestiny)
Shangxian (intellectuals)

Moism is contrary to Confucianism in

this last concept.

 4-

Fa school of Thought (legalism)

Founderwas Han Feizi a
Chinesephilosopherin Qin Dynasty
Fa (law)
Shi (authority)
Shu (principle)

Thisschool of thought insist on sociopoliticalthought andthe power of

government overthe people.

5Islam
Islam entered Chinathroughland and sea
asearlyas 7th century.
Arab and Persian Muslimtraders whodocked
atsouthernChinahave built mosquein
Guangzhou andQuanzhou.
Traderswho came byland/silk route
throughPersiaandAfghanistan formed
aChinese Muslim societyin Xian.
The golden era of Islamin Chinaoccurred inthe
timeof Yuan Dynasty(1271-1368m)
At this timethere were many prominent Muslim
figures who contributed greatly in thefield of
astronomy, calendar,medicine,science and
technology.
In the timeof Mingdynasty there was a
Chinese Muslim sailor,Zheng He,who
succeeded in going round the worldincluding
Malay land.

There are three theories put forward by researchers:

1. According to historical records of the Tang dynasty, Islam was
brought by the missionaries, led by Saad bin Abi Waqas during the
reign of Emperor Yung-Wei- in the 7th Century.The number of
missionaries is a total of 15.Proof of acceptance and establishment
of a government in China is the oldest mosque in China, Huai-Sheng
Mosque, in Ch'ang-an.
2. Next there is the view that it was brought by Abu Hamza bin
Hamzah at the time of Thai Sung (627-655M).He, along with almost
3000 people, migrated to China and settled in San Gan Foo.
3. In addition, the local historian of China, Ibrahim T.Y.M. holds the
opinion that Islam was brought by Saad bin Lubayd.Saad emigrated
to Abyssinia in the time of Muhammad, from Abyssinia he sailed to
China and eventually arrived in Canton in southern China in
630M.He built a mosque known as Kwang Tah Se Mosque.

There are three stages in the development of Islam in China, the beginning
stage, the middle and progressive stage and the dark stage.Islam began
to be accepted in the Tang dynasty in (618-907M) bc its ethics is close to
the old teachings of Confucianism that have been deeply ingrained in the
soul of the society.In addition to the community, the government also
received and provide opportunity for Islamic preachers to preach.Next, at
the time of Sang dynasty (960-1279M), Muslims began to be entrusted
with several positions. Among them are the Director of Ports and
Shipping.Trading activities in the ports grew rapidly.Besides the fact that
there is moral good in Islam and good relationship btw Muslims and the ppl
there was no prejudice against Islam & Muslims.
The golden age of Islam in China occurred in the era of the Ming dynasty
(1368-1644).During the reign of Emperor Cu Yaung Cang, Muslims were
not allowed to come and reside in China.This prohibition caused the
Muslims to take action by marrying the Han Chinese women as a way to
get citizenship of China.The effect of this form of marriage is the
production of a new culture by the integration of Islamic culture with the
culture of the Han Chinese.


1.
2.

3.

4.

5.

Muslims were assimilated into the Chinese society through:

Integration in terms of food & clothes
Setting name: names that start with the letter 'M' like
Mohammed, Mustafa will put the word 'Ma'.
The names of the Muslims also started with Ha for Hasan,
Hu for Hussein and Sai for Said.
Muslims are also involved in the political, administrative,
arts and culture.For example, a Muslim military
commander named Muhammad Cheng Ho or Ho Ma was
sent to establish diplomatic relations with countries in
Southeast Asia, India and Arabia.
In addition, a ruler of China Su Ming Tsai implemented
alcohol prohibition.

Generallyspeaking Chinese political

systemand government is
baseonfeudalistic dynasty.
Chinesepolitical thoughtis much influence
byConfuciusphilosophy.
A dynastywillhold onto different
philosophical teachings at a time;
Confucianism(stresses onmoral
government)
Moism(based onwelfare)
Fa (basedonlegislation)
Daoism(based onnature [wiwei] )