Block, SkipCaptcha, Upload, Automoderated users, edit
14,282
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Line 4:
Line 4: − +
→Dynastic period: "with historical records that go back 3,500 years"; Shang already mentioned
===Dynastic period===
===Dynastic period===
China is the oldest civilization, with historical records that go back to the [[Shang dynasty]]. Successive dynasties developed a system of bureaucratic control that gave the agrarian-based Chinese an advantage over neighboring nomadic and hill cultures. Chinese civilization was further strengthened by the development of a Confucian state ideology and a common written language that bridged the gaps among the country's many local languages and dialects. Whenever China was conquered by nomadic tribes, as it was by the Mongols in the 13th century, the conquerors sooner or later adopted the ways of the "higher" Chinese civilization and staffed the bureaucracy with Chinese.
China is the oldest civilization, with historical records that go back 3,500 years. Successive dynasties developed a system of bureaucratic control that gave the agrarian-based Chinese an advantage over neighboring nomadic and hill cultures. Chinese civilization was further strengthened by the development of a Confucian state ideology and a common written language that bridged the gaps among the country's many local languages and dialects. Whenever China was conquered by nomadic tribes, as it was by the Mongols in the 13th century, the conquerors sooner or later adopted the ways of the "higher" Chinese civilization and staffed the bureaucracy with Chinese.
The discovery of silk from the silkworm occurred around 2700 BC. Sericulture, the cultivation of the silkworm to produce silk, spread through China, making silk a highly valued commodity. It was considered to be the domain of women; while men worked in the fields, women reared silkworms and tended mulberry plantations. This is reflected in the modern Chinese character for the English meaning "tired", "累"，lei, which is a picture of a field - the work of men - above a picture of a coil of silk - the work of women.
The discovery of silk from the silkworm occurred around 2700 BC. Sericulture, the cultivation of the silkworm to produce silk, spread through China, making silk a highly valued commodity. It was considered to be the domain of women; while men worked in the fields, women reared silkworms and tended mulberry plantations. This is reflected in the modern Chinese character for the English meaning "tired", "累"，lei, which is a picture of a field - the work of men - above a picture of a coil of silk - the work of women.