中国文化概况

1. 中国文化概况

2. 你知道吗？　 • 清明节＿＿＿＿ • 重阳节＿＿＿＿ • 《红楼梦》＿＿＿ • 《水浒传》＿＿＿ • 中华人民共和国＿＿＿＿＿＿ • 计划生育政策＿＿＿ • 炎黄子孙＿＿＿ • 剪纸＿＿＿ • 长城＿＿＿ • 故宫＿＿＿

3. Chinese History Chinese history can be divided into three periods: • the legendary period, • the ancient period (2070 B.C—A. D1840), • the modern period (1840-present).

4. The Three August Ones and Five Emperors (三皇五帝) 30th century B.C. --- 21th century B.C. Xia Dynasty (夏朝) 2070 B.C. --- 1600 B.C. Shang Dynasty（商朝） 1600 B.C. --- 1046 B.C. Zhou Dynasty（周朝） Western Zhou Dynasty （西周） 1046 B.C. --- 771 B.C. Eastern Zhou Dynasty （东周） 770 B.C. --- 256 B.C. 221 B.C. --- 206 B.C. Western Han Dynasty（西汉） 206 B.C. --- A.D. 25 Eastern Han Dynasty（东汉） 25 --- 220 Wei （魏） 220 --- 265 Shu Han （蜀汉） 221 --- 263 Wu（吴） 222 --- 280 Western Jin Dynasty（西晋） 265 --- 317 Eastern Jin Dynasty（东晋） 317 --- 420

5. Northern and Southern Dynasties （南北朝） Southern Dynasty（南朝） Northern Dynasty（北朝） Song（宋） 420 --- 479 Qi（齐） 479 --- 502 Liang（梁） 502 --- 557 Chen （陈） 557 --- 589 Northern Wei（北魏） 386 --- 534 Eastern Wei（东魏） 534 --- 550 Northern Qi（北齐） 550 --- 577 Western Wei（西魏） 535 --- 556 Northern Zhou（北周） 557 --- 581 581 --- 618 618 --- 907 Later Liang（后梁） 907 --- 923 Later Tang（后唐） 923 --- 936 Later Jin（后晋） 936 --- 946 Later Han（后汉） 947 --- 950 Later Zhou（后周） 951 --- 960

7. Legendary period The Creation of the World(开天辟地)－－Pan Gu History of the ThreeEmperors and Their Five Successors written by Xu Zheng recorded the legend of Pangu. 盘古

8. Legend about Pan Gu • Before the Creation, heaven and earth were in chaos(浑沌). Pan Gu, the Creator was born in it. After about eighteen thousand years, the heaven began to be separated from the earth. The light, clear and shining matters rose up and formed the heaven, whereas the heavy and dark matters sank down and formed the earth. Pan Gu was in between. With his head touching the heaven and his feet standing on the earth, he changed himself nine times one day, holier than both the heaven and the earth. Everyday the heaven rose more than three meters higher, the earth also thickened itself over three meters thicker, while Pan Gu also grew over three meters taller. This went on for eighteen thousands of years and the heaven rose extremely high, the earth became extremely thick, and Pan Gu also extremely tall and big. Then there were born the three august figures: Shennong, Fuxi and Huangdi.

9. FuXi （伏羲） • Fuxi was considered the first real ruler. He taught people how to devise tools, kindle(点燃) fire and cook food, how to domesticate(驯养) animals and tend flocks(禽群). He also devised the mysterious Eight Trigrams (八卦) which were used for divination（占卜）. • 伏羲氏是上古的一位睿智的首领，也是上古的“三皇”之一，他在我国古代医疗的发展过程中起着重要的作用。 伏羲氏，姓风氏，传说中，他为人民作了许多有意义的事情。他指导臣民制造工具，结网打鱼，投矛狩猎，也开创了人类历史上通过劳动主动获取食物的新纪元。

10. Yandi Shennong炎帝神农 • He was the god who invented farming and was the first to use herbs（药草） for medical use. According to the legends, Yandi Shennong had a wonderful whip. By lashing various kinds of herbs, it could distinguish whether they were poisonous or not, and what effect they might produce. With this whip, he cured diseases with herbs as medicine.

11. Yandi Shennong炎帝神农 • It is said, once Yandi divided his tribe into several groups and led them to migrate eastward and fight against Huangdi, but he was defeated. Then he turned to Huangdi and formed a union with him. After they defeated Chiyou, the legendary chief of a tribe, they lived and multiplied in the middle and lower valleys of the Yellow River for many years. The united tribe by Yandi and Huangdi, the two august figures of the earliest history of China, formed the main trunk of the Huaxia nationality（华夏民族） which changed itself intoHan nationality in the later times, so the later generation of Chinese nationality is called the “descendants of Yandi and Huangdi.”(炎黄子孙)

12. Huangdi 黄帝 • Huangdi, whose family name being Ji, literary name Xuan Yuan, the famous chief of a united tribe living in the middle and lower valley of the Yellow River about 4000 years ago, has been worshipped as the common ancestor of Chinese nationalities. He invented the wheel and carts drawn by oxen and discovered the art of making pottery. He improved communication by building roads, bridges and ships. Under his administration, precious stones, gold and copper were introduced to serve as money.

13. Five August Emperors Five August Emperors in the legendaryperiodare： Shaohao(少昊)，Zhuanxu（颛顼），Gaoxin（高辛），Yao（尧），Shun（舜）

14. Ancient Period

15. Ancient Period 2100 B.C—A. D1840 • 1. Xia Dynasty夏朝(2100-1600B.C) • (1) The Xia Dynasty is the first dynasty to be described in Chinese historical records. Traditionally, it is supposed to have begun with the reign of Yu the Great(大禹), and ended with the fall of Jie (桀) • (2) The Xia Dynasty marked an evolutionary stage between the late Neolithic（新石器时代） cultures and the typical Chinese urban civilization of the Shang Dynasty. • (3) And it was in this period that the institution of slavery began developing.

16. How Yu, the Great, Conquered the Flood • Dig ditches instead of building dams • Thrice he had gone past his own house without even looking in. 大禹治水

17. Ancient Period 2100 B.C—A. D1840 • 2．Shang Dynasty 商朝(1600-1100B.C) • (1)Shang Dynasty founded by Shang Tang, lasted over 500 years. • (2)Shang’s civilization was based on agriculture, hunting and animal husbandry(饲养). • (3)During the Shang Dynasty, the technology of smelting bronze(青铜) was invented and some iron tools were known to be in use already. • (4) The Shang Dynasty has the earliest recorded written history, because a writing system was developed, as revealed on tortoise shells and flat cattle bones. The current Chinese language has developed from the inscriptions on the oracle bones.(甲骨文)

18. Ancient Period 2100 B.C—A. D1840 3．Zhou Dynasty 周朝(1046-256B.C.) The Zhou Dynasty lasted for over 800 years, including Western Zhou, Eastern Zhou. Eastern Zhou was divided into Spring and Autumn(770B.C-476B.C.) and Warring States Periods.春秋战国 In western Zhou, the slavery society was in its prime, and the system culture, material culture and spiritual culture highly developed. Students Activity Is there anybody who knows any story in this period? For example, how Shang came to its end or how Zhou established its sovereignty?

19. Spring and Autumn 770B.C-476B.C. • The Spring and Autumn Period is named after “The Spring and Autumn Annals(记录)”---The history of Lu revised by Confucius. The Spring and Autumn Period is a period when the slave society in the Chinese history came to collapse. While in the period of the Warring States Period, the feudal system(封建制) was established, and it marked the feudal private ownership of lands and by the system of centralization. • This period was filled with battles and annexation (合并)of some 170 smaller states.

20. Warring States Period475B.C.-221B.C. “Seven Great Powers”(战国七雄) the Qi, the Chu, the Yan, the Han, the Zhao,the Wei and the Qin. （齐、楚、燕、韩、赵、魏、秦）

21. Big events in Warring States Period • Li Bing and his sons led the construction of the famous Dujiangyan Dam, a water conservancy (保存)project. • Lord ShangYang (商鞅) introduced two political reforms to the State of Qin, which laid the foundations for the Qin to become strong and eventually unify China for the first time in history. • Different philosophies developed into the Hundred Schools of Thought (百家争鸣), including Confucianism, Taoism, Legalism and mohism.(儒教、道教、法家思想、墨家思想)