Chinese

civilization

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THE RIVER
 Chinese
civilization
more or less
uninterrupted
since ancient
times

Birth place:
Yellow River

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WRITING SYSTEM
Writing system:

Characters

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 Chinese
characters in
their oldest
preserved form:

Oracle bones
(tortoise shells,
cattle bones;
used for
divination,
record-keeping)

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Judo: 柔道
Taekwondo: 跆拳道
Aikido: 合気道
Chinese as East Asia’s lingua franca:
Ancient Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese
literature written in classical Chinese
language, using Chinese characters

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GOVERNMENT
 夏
Xia

商
SHANG
Periodisation: Dynasties
周 Xia = semi-mythical
Shang : 18th -12th century BCE
ZHOU Zhou : 1100 – 256 BCE

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A number of proto-states fighting
for supremacy (leadership)
Warring States period (475 – 221
BCE)
China = Zhongguo (Central/Middle
State/Kingdom)

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PHILOSOPHY
 Born into this unrelenting,
escalating violence, in the ancient
state of Lu, was
Confucius
551-479 BCE
China’s greatest teacher
Itinerant scholar (had very
little influence in his own
state)
Trying to persuade political
leaders that his teachings
were a formula for social
and political success

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 Confucianism
Eventually, Confucius’s
philosophies came to dictate
the standard of behaviour for
all of society--including the
emperor – in China and across
East Asia
Community; relationships;
social harmony
State as a family
Importance of ritual

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 Confucianism
•Thinking is not a process of abstract
reasoning or truth formulation, but
a performative activity that is always
social
•No clear distinction between the
individual and the society
•Therefore no separation between
personal, moral, political and social
questions
•Reality is relative
•Truth is a matter not of correspondence
but of “appropriateness”
•Allusive rather than a referential
language
•Aesthetic” rather than a “rational”
understanding
•
•
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 Confucius’ Analects
At fifteen my heart-and-mind
were set upon learning;
At thirty I took my stance;
At forty I was no longer of two
minds;
At fifty I realized the ming 明 of
tian;
At sixty my ear was attuned;
And at seventy I could give my
heart-and-mind free rein without
overstepping the mark.
•
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RELIGION
 The best way to refer to
religious traditions in
China:
Chinese
religion
Pluralistic
Non-exclusive
Syncretic (= bringing
together opposing principles,
ideas)
Religious practices chosen
based on their efficacy
Overlapping with cultural
practices, thought systems,
philosophies
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Chinese religion
Daoism (Taoism)
Buddhism
Confucianism
Astral deities
Ancestor worship
“Kitchen gods”
Other: e.g. in Malaysia,
pre-Islamic Malay ‘ghosts’
In Singapore: keramat inside
Chinese temple

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 Daoism
Philosophy
Religion,
especially in South China
Also science
Chemistry
Alchemy; manipulating time
Potions, elixirs
Ecstatic flights to the Moon
Quest for immortality!

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 Daoism
Malaysia: A Daoist priest opening
the gates of hell

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 Daoism
Paper offerings

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 Buddhism
Originated in India
Swept China despite its
opposition to many of
Confucianism’s central concepts,
e.g.:
Buddhism: Monasteries, monks/nuns,
isolation from society
Confucianism: “This world”,
community, family, involvement in
society

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 Chinese religion:
artistic manifestations

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CONTRIBUTIONS
 Silk (4,000 years ago)
Silk thread is made from the
cocoon of the silkworm moth,
whose caterpillar eats the leaves
of the mulberry tree.
Paper (1st century CE)
Produced from a variety of
materials – tree bark, hemp, rags
Gunpowder (9th century CE)
Produced from sulphur, charcoal,
other chemicals
Possibly also compass

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