"Personnel have metabolism, and exchanges have become ancient and modern. The rivers and mountains leave traces, and I will return to the world. "China has been up and down for five thousand years, and many dynasties have changed alternately. This ancient country with a rich history and civilization has aroused the interest of one foreign explorer after another. It can be used as ancient Egypt and ancient India that also have the identity of ancient civilizations. Why aren't they recognized by historians?
Geographical advantage
The spread of any civilization and economic development are inseparable from the superior geographical environment. The first is ancient Egypt, a city surrounded by waterfalls and deltas without harbors, and its geographical environment has a good isolation function. It avoids foreign invasion of the city, and the economic and cultural interference of the city is avoided. Human beings are able to continue to live in a stable environment.
In the development of ancient Egypt, a total of 31 dynasties have changed. Occasionally internal turmoil will disrupt the development of civilization, but soon, everything will return to the fulcrum of equilibrium. Therefore, compared with other small countries, the political situation and economic development of ancient Egypt were relatively stable, which also provided a guarantee for its development.
In most people's perception, flooding will only cause a lot of damage. But for the ancient Egyptians, it was a gift from their mother. Why is this the case? In a long-term summary, ancient Egyptians found that the Nile flooded with a certain law, with this law, the ancient Egyptian people sowed seeds in the silt after the flood, made full use of the natural nutrients in the silt, and then harvested before the flood, everything in accordance with the time.
But there are pros and cons, because it is bordered by endless deserts to the south and the Mediterranean Sea to the north, which forced the interruption of agricultural civilization. This put the prosperous ancient Egypt in an awkward position, whether it was a sudden change in the climate or the invasion of powerful enemies forced it to die in this poor alley.
Let's talk about ancient India, which arose in the Indus River Valley, which connects the plateau in the north and south, and the sea in the east and west, providing superior geographical conditions for the development of ancient Indian agricultural civilization. With the development of farming technology and the mastery of natural laws, the people were gradually able to eat, and the number of people gradually increased, and finally this ancient Indian civilization was formed.
Compared with ancient Egypt, the geographical environment of ancient India is eastern, surrounded by the sea, which provides a solid barrier against foreign invasion. In addition, the flat plains of India provide excellent locations for farming. But such perfect terrain was lost to a crack. In the northwest of India, there was a deficient terrain - the Khyber Pass, which gave countless invaders the opportunity to pour into the city.
Even after the establishment of civilization, ancient India continued to complete the great cause of unification, but the continuous imperial invasion and being ruled by others were consuming each other's food and patience. Even if there is a brief resistance, after which man cannot change the fact of being invaded. The cycle goes on and on, resisting and fighting. Finally, under the influence of many factors, ancient India disappeared from the field of human vision.
Ancient China went through Yao Yu Shun and Xia Shang Zhou. Originated in the Two Rivers Valley and shaped in the continuous change of dynasties. Civilization has also gradually enriched. As a typical farming country, ancient China is located in the northern hemisphere and receives low sunshine intensity, which is suitable for the sowing and growth of crops such as wheat and rice.
In addition, the terrain of high west and low east has formed multiple rivers, not just one around the main river. This provides an excellent geographical environment for the sowing and growth of grain everywhere. Unlike ancient Babylon and ancient Egypt, there were only a few main river channels, and all crops could only grow on them. The Chinese region is vast, and in addition to the Central Plains, there are also Bashu and Jiangnan regions as supplies.
Also thanks to the vast territory, even if there is a foreign invasion, the culture of a people will not be completely contained or destroyed. For example, during the Western Zhou Dynasty, they could move east and re-form the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. The civilization of a country will never be completely wiped out because there is no buffer zone. On the contrary, for these reasons, the ancestral cultures were able to exchange and prosper, and new cultural types were formed.
Similarly, the vast territory nourishes the prosperity of the population, and even after one war after another, the huge population base of the Han people cannot be shaken, and will not be completely extinct by some kind of large-scale massacre. Moreover, China's territory is relatively fixed, does not rely on war plunder, and naturally will not be taken away by other countries because of backward weapons and equipment.
Cultural advantage
Ancient Egypt did not make the Iron Age leap in the historical changes. Although they applied and popularized iron tools, they were not well applied to agricultural civilization. Also due to the weakness of the agrarian civilization, the army was weak and the rear supply was insufficient. It does not have an advantage in a military war for a long time. At the same time, the central inefficient taxation, in the end, they failed to achieve centralized subdue, unified management.
In terms of military technology, although the pharaoh had a strong escort, and had turned to Greece and rebuilt its mercenaries, in the confrontation with other countries, the shortcomings of military technology were difficult to cover, and in the later period, its military strength was obviously inferior, and it was vulnerable to the strong forces of the other side.
Apart from significant military and agricultural weaknesses, religious forces did not play a role in cultural transmission. Unlike later states, which were used for centralized services, they did not gather strength, felt good about themselves only in the fanaticism of believers, and even hindered social development. They never paid taxes, and for religious beliefs, the inhabitants even had to pay tribute, and the rulers could not escape, which became a hazard in ancient Egypt.
Under the influence of the Aryans, ancient India's customs and habits changed, forming their caste system of dividing human ranks. Under its provisions, the people were divided into four classes, namely Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Sudra. There is also a clear distinction between human rights and status.
At first, the existence of the caste system was instituted by the Aryans to maintain their rule of power, in order to expel and suppress the indigenous population. However, as it evolved, the caste system gradually developed an inherently stable social system. In this process, rights are guaranteed and status is stabilized. It also creates an indelible class divide.
In such a political structure, the caste system was used by generations of Indian monarchs, and this system with obvious inequality was applied to every large and small dynasty. Even with some resistance, the system persisted for a long time and never broke. For those in power, he can be used to solidify the minds of the people and put heavy shackles on their thoughts. Nor is it active.
The continuous cultural innovation and monarchical reform in ancient China maintained excellent activity and shaped many fruits. From agricultural reform to monarchical changes, in addition to maintaining the stability of imperial power, more guarantees that culture can be forever new. The central government firmly grasps the key lifeblood of the country, which is also different from ancient Egypt.
As a large agricultural country, ancient China had an agricultural civilization throughout China for 5,000 years. The diligence and wisdom of the ancients not only developed crop varieties, but also improved various agricultural tools step by step. From primitive stone tools such as stone millstones, stone axes, stone shovels, etc. Gradual transition to iron. And in the long-term labor, the law of crop sowing was summarized, and the 24 solar terms were summarized in accordance with the characteristics of the season.
"Spring rain shocks spring clear valley days, summer is full of summer and summer are connected, autumn dew and autumn frost fall, winter snow snow and winter small cold." The ancients combined farming with poetry, and the simplicity revealed the poetry of life. In addition, in order to better measure time and year, they observed the celestial phenomena at night, formulated the calendar, and determined the year, month, day, and even time measurement through various continuous explorations.
For human society, the transmission of information needs carriers. Remember, people do this by knotting rope notes or verbal transmission. However, the former is too inefficient, and the latter is immediate, and neither can complete this task well. In this context, writing emerges, which is more practical than language and efficient in the long term, because it provides the basis for the transmission of culture.
In the continuous evolution, from oracle bone scriptures to later different styles of Xingshu, kaishu, cursive, with the evolution of different dynasties, finally formed Chinese characters. In addition to leisure, Chinese characters are not only used to convey the function of poetry culture, but also by various poets and calligraphy artists to create different aesthetic effects. By the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cai Lun's papermaking also provided a material basis for calligraphy and cultural transmission.
In addition to these achievements, many emperors with great achievements have emerged in China over the past thousand years. Such as ending the chaotic scene of land division in China and realizing the great unification of Qin Shi Huang. He not only created the first multi-ethnic autocratic centralized state in history, but also built the Great Wall in order to consolidate the country and resist the Xiongnu.
The repeated provocations of the Xiongnu caused the people to linger, and the country was in turmoil. In this situation, the Hanwu Emperor Liu Che came into being. The brave and resourceful 16-year-old monarch also lived up to expectations, turning defense into attack, attacking the Huns from afar. This is the only king in history to sweep the nomads, hunt down the Xiongnu for 6,000 li, and behead him by the sword. And left a popular sentence, "Those who commit strong men will be condemned from afar!" ”
In addition to these kings, there were Li Shimin of Tang Taizong, who initiated the reign of Zhenguan, Yang Jian, Emperor Wen of Sui, who overthrew the rule of the Hu people, Kangxi, the Holy Ancestor of the Qing Dynasty, and Wu Zetian, the only female emperor in Chinese history. These ancient benevolent monarchs defended the territory of China with their own means, deterred the foreign races, and allowed ancient China to continue for a long time.
Technological innovation
In terms of technology, the wisdom of the ancient Chinese should not be underestimated. In order to better improve the standard and quality of life, printing, textile, ceramics and other technologies are gradually improving. For example, porcelain is not only used as a container for packaging, but also reflected in various artistic uses. The treatment of porcelain includes but is not limited to porcelain making techniques such as open-cut and perforation. Emperors of various dynasties also used it as a work of art for rewarding and daily display and viewing.
In addition, the world-famous gunpowder was born, which was not intended to be used on the battlefield. It was first used in the alchemy of the Spring and Autumn Warring States, as the "elixir of immortality" for monarchs, and even used in all kinds of fireworks and juggling, adding interest to the lives of the people.
In addition to literary achievements, China has a number of major achievements in ancient mathematics. As the first country to use time and position, the continent created calculations and abacus, which were explained in detail in the ancient book "Zhou Yi". By the Warring States period, the concept of geometry was gradually formed, and as a classic work on continental mathematical geometry, the nine chapters of arithmetic had no less influence on mathematics than Euclid had on Western mathematics.
The developed bronze smelting technology in the mainland is also very good. During the Han Dynasty, coal was used to smelt iron, and the time for coking was a century earlier than in Europe. During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, wrought iron tools appeared, and the smelting of steel was formed in the Western Han Dynasty.
In addition, various ingredients such as salt, vinegar, and sake are also produced. And China's ancient architecture has considerable characteristics, from the construction of Grey's Royal City to the ancient gardens of different shapes, which are the treasures of Chinese civilization. In the construction of bridges and canals, kings of various dynasties also invested huge human and financial resources, which paved the way for the development of future generations.
summary
Compared with other ancient civilizations, which have disappeared in the long river of history, the wisdom crystallization of ancient China has laid the foundation for the development of modern people and laid the foundation for its inheritance for thousands of years. There are talented people from the Jiangshan generation, each leading the way for hundreds of years. The inheritance of Chinese civilization needs the inheritance and development of our generation, and we need continuous innovation and development to ensure the better continuation of Chinese civilization.