Do you find anything fascinating about Chinese history?
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M$13 Answers
The culture, the politics, the people and the lands are so dynamic and different from what we're used to in the West.
Here are some of the specific parts of Chinese history that capture my fascination the most:
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-Genghis Khan, unparalleled military leader and uniter of nomadic tribes.
-Homo Erectus, one of human kind's oldest known ancestors, Homo Erectus once called today's China home, living in hunter-gatherer societies, and possibly even building rafts to travel oceans.
-The Great Wall of China, for very obvious reasons.
-Oracle Bones from the Shang Dynasty, artifacts from about 3,000 years ago that survive as the oldest written record in China's history. They are shells and bones with inscriptions that were used to tell the future. During this fascinating time in Chinese history, the people worshipped several gods, including their ancestors, and used the oracle bones to divine what was in store for them.
-Yellow Turban Rebellion, which occurred in 184, was a fantastic rebellion lead by peasants who wore yellow scarves or turbans as signs of unity. The movement was eventually able to destroy the entire Han Dynasty, and inspired many future peasant rebellions in China.
-The Boxer Rebellion of 1899-1901 was a group of anti-Christian anarchists who sought to drive out western influences and missionaries while grabbing for power within the imperial order. They won the support of the Empress Dowager to wage war against all outside powers....and well, it's a long and fascinating story that is best read about and thoroughly enjoyed at length.
-Foot Binding, a practice for hundreds of years in China in which young girls' feet were bent in half, folded, and broken to leave only nubs of feet where the heels should be. The reason behind this was that tiny feet were considered desirable to men. The tighter a girl's feet were bound, the better her marriage chances.
-The Terra Cotta Warriors of Qin Shi Huang, a sculpted "army" of over 8,000 life-size soldier figures with chariots, horses, and cavalry, all entombed in a burial chamber for the first Emperor to help him rule in the afterlife.
Com'on, how could you NOT find this fascinating??
For enjoyable historical fictional reading, I recommend the book "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" by Lisa See, a tale of two girls growing into maturity in 19th century rural China, during times of foot binding and wars.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_history
The History Channel, and a very excellent History of China & Japan course in college
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M$
I find the art soothing some how.
Still, I'll admit to wanting to learn more about the history. I know a bit more about Japanese history and lore (for instance, Japanese dragons have fewer toes - 3 -than the Chinese dragons - usually 4 or 5 - story goes that the dragons lost their toes on the way to Japan because the trip through the mountains and seas was so difficult). But yes, I would say I enjoy chinese history.
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M$
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/shaanxi/xian/terra_cotta_army/
What makes this discovery so amazing is the technology used to create these clay statues can not be duplicated today. The firing methods used today cause the larger images to shatter. The mystery still remains as to how the Chinese were able to create this massive collection of clay figures.
It is estimated there are over 10,000 statues per section. Each section points to the four directions, North, South, East, and West. Each soldier statue has a number on the base of the neck. It is speculated that the number represents the name of the soldier the statue represents.
Another interesting note is there are just as many miniature statues matching the larger ones.
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/shaanxi/xian/terra_cotta_army/
My art instructor in college
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M$
When you look at Chinese history it is quite amazing how much there is to learn but even more amazing how advanced the Chinese were throughout history. The following areas personally are of interest to me:
*- The development of the Martial Arts in China, and as such I have studied and read for enjoyment sake ‘’’The Art of War’’’ by Sun Tzu.
*- The philosophy of Lao Tse: Taoism (aka Daoism) as a way of life, a philosophy, a means to the expansion of consciousness and enlightenment. Reference the following books; ‘’’Tao Te Ching’’’ by Lao Tse, ‘’’ Tao of Health, Longevity, and Immortality’’’ by Eva Wong. There are other books and manuscripts as well but these are two really good ones the first a translation of the original
*- In order to understand a philosophy or wisdom of a people one must understand or know the people, and in studying the people I grow in understanding Taoism.
*- Confucianism – All of the above sort of lead to that, but then again who hasn’t heard of Confucius?
*- The amazing accomplishments – The Great Wall, gunpowder, amazing temples, the Forbidden City, fireworks, silk, spices, an ancient knowledge of herbal medicine, Papermaking, Printing, printing press, navigational compass, the list can go on and on.
*- Maybe not as famous or as well known as the Karma Sutra, but the Chinese also have an ancient book on sex. I can’t recall the name of it though.
*- As an herbalist, I have also gained from the amazing works and studies of herbs and botanical from Traditional Chinese Medicine which dates back to 1000s of years BCE.
*- As one of the oldest cultures and societies there is so much to learn about China and its history.
So yes I find a great deal fascinating about Chinese history!
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M$You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
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M$
World news
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"Chinese civilization originated in various city-states along the Yellow River (Chinese: 黃河; pinyin: Huáng Hé) valley in the Neolithic era. The written history of China begins with the Shang Dynasty (ca. 1550 BCE – ca. 1046 BCE). Turtle shells with ancient Chinese writing from the Shang Dynasty have been carbon dated to as early as 1500 BCE.2 The origins of Chinese culture, literature and philosophy, developed during the Zhou Dynasty (1045 BCE to 256 BCE) that followed the Shang. It was the longest lasting dynasty and spans the period in which the written script evolved from ancient oracle script to the beginnings of modern Chinese writing.
The feudal Zhou Dynasty eventually broke apart into individual smaller states, beginning the Warring States period. In 221 BCE, Qin Shi Huang united the various warring kingdoms and created the first Chinese empire. Successive dynasties in Chinese history developed bureaucratic systems that enabled the Emperor of China to directly control the vast territories.
The conventional view of Chinese history is that of a dynasty alternating between periods of political unity and disunity and occasionally becoming dominated by foreign Asian peoples, most of whom were assimilated into the Han Chinese population. Cultural and political influences from many parts of Asia, carried by successive waves of immigration, expansion, and assimilation, merged to create modern Chinese culture."
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M$
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
Albanian, I think you have been around Mahalo long enough to understand that this is not a helpful answer. Most questions can be answered with a Yes or No answer but we don't promote or reward those answers on Mahalo. Take a look at Mahalo Answers Etiquette it specifically states no 1 word answers.
This is a legitimate answer to the question as written. The question does not ask for a list of interesting things, it asks if the reader finds anything interesting. And, there need not be any reason, still less any source to cite.
you get a chance to buy three kingdoms yet?
Nope. Still on the Amazon wish list. Maybe Santa will bring it!