Term VI

Civilizational Gleanings for Futuristic

Leadership

Ancient Chinese
Civilization

Group 7:
Akash Gupta: 2019PGP007
Vikas Goyal: 2019PGP064
Sanya Sharma: 2019PGP048
 China

 China is an East Asian country with a vast territory with a total area of 9,640,821 km², a
large population and a long history. With written records dating back 4,000 years, it is
recognized as one of the world's four great civilizations, along with ancient Egypt,
Babylon, and India. Furthermore, it is the only ancient civilization that continues to this
day. Ancient China produced what has become the oldest culture in the world. The name
"China '' comes from the Sanskrit Cina (derived from the Chinese name of the Qin
dynasty, pronounced "Chin''), which the Persians translated as "Cin '' and appears to have
gained popularity through trade along the way of Silk from China to the rest of the
world.

 China was one of the cradles of humanity. The Romans and Greeks knew the country as
"Beings", "the land where silk comes from." The name "China" did not appear in the
Western print media until 1516. In Barbosa's diaries, he recounted his travels to the East
(although Europeans have long known China from trade through the Ruta Silk). Marco
Polo, the famous explorer who brought China to Europe in the 13th century AD, called
the country "Cathay." In Mandarin Chinese, the country is known as "Zhongguo", which
means "central state" or "middle kingdom".

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 Chinese Civilization
 Chinese civilization, as described in mythology, begins with Pangu, the creator of the
universe, and a succession of legendary sage-emperors and culture heroes who taught the
ancient Chinese to communicate and to find sustenance, clothing, and shelter.
 The first glimpses of Chinese civilization were revealed 7,000 to 8,000 years ago, as
evidenced by the ruins of the Daxi culture in Sichuan and Hubei's provinces, the
Majiapang culture in the provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the Hemudu in eastern
China. Zhejiang and Yangshou culture along the central section of the Yellow River and
its main tributaries.
 Most of the history of Chinese civilization, including ancient times, has traditionally
been divided into dynasties: lineages of kings or emperors of a family, which succeed on
the throne from generation to generation.
 During much of the ancient period, what would later become known as "Chinese
civilization" gradually spread to the region we know today as "China". Hence, China's
first dynastic rulers are known as kings rather than emperors. Only after the time of the
first emperor, who ruled a united China from 221 BC. C., the imperial period of Chinese
history began.
 Chinese civilization developed in the Hwang Ho Valley.
 Legend has it that the primitive tribes inhabiting the middle and upper reaches of the
Yellow River merged into two powerful tribes under the Yellow Emperor and the Fire
Emperor and began their march south 5,000 years ago.
 After years of war, under the leadership of Chi You, they conquered the active Sanmiao
and Jiuli tribes in southern China.
 Part of the defeated tribe joined the tribes under the yellow and fiery emperors to become
an integral part of the Han people and usher in the Chinese nation.
 This story also gave rise to the term "descendants of the fiery yellow emperors", which
the Chinese often refer to themselves.
 Some mentionable dynasties are Xia Dynasty (21st to the 16th century B.C), Shang
Dynasty (1766-1122 BCE), Zhou Dynasty (1125-225 BCE), Confucius (551-479 BCE),
Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 221 CE), Wu Ti (140-87 BCE),
 The name 'China' comes from Ch'in, the province over which Shih Huang-Ti (221-210
BCE) ruled.

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 Education in Ancient China
Nowadays, all boys and girls have to go to school; however, in ancient China, girls cannot do
it at all. And they didn't learn exciting things like archery.

Education for Boys

In the beginning, only the older children of ancient China could go to school, but not all older
children. Children from wealthy and prominent families received an education, but children
from low-income families did not. Small children from wealthy families also stayed at home
with their mothers until school age.

When they were young, children learned their numbers and directions, such as north, south,
east and west. They also learned to respect and obey adults.

Growing up, wealthy children learned from a teacher as their current teacher. They had to
learn essential things to prepare them to participate in activities such as government, religion
and war.

Like us, older kids who went to school learned to count, read and write. But they also learned
the important ceremonies in their culture, their music, and how to drive a two-wheeled horse-
drawn vehicle called a chariot.

Children in ancient China learned special dances and also had respectful conversations. But
they couldn't just take a sheet of paper and a pencil and take notes like we do in class. They
had to write on wooden sticks and bamboo rolls connected.

When the paper was invented over 2,100 years ago, books could finally be printed and used
for teaching in schools.

Many of these books focus on the teachings of Confucius, a famous Chinese teacher. He
believed that all children who wanted to learn should be able to do so, even if they were poor.

His teachings were necessary, and all students had to learn Confucius' five virtues: good
manners, kindness, loyalty, honesty, and an understanding of what is wrong with what is
right.

Education for Girls

Girls could not go to school even though they had rich and influential families. They stayed
at home with their mothers, learning to work and take care of the home and their families.

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 Human Nature and Learning in Ancient China

Many Chinese schools of philosophy have dealt with the subject of human nature.
Several critical traditional perspectives on human nature include the theory learned from the
customs of the Confucians and Mohists, the original goodness theory of Mencius, the evil
human nature theory of Xunzi and the legalists, and the simple and true theory of Taoism.
These schools of philosophy have approached human nature in relation to the elements of
traditional Chinese cultural values, the view of feelings and emotions in learning, the
teacher's functions, and the roles of government. In addition to analyzing human nature, the
implications of these traditional values in current educational practice in Taiwan are
presented. In these complicated and sometimes contradictory traditions, the change in human
nature is affirmed, the autonomy of teachers and students is recognized, and it is
recommended to reflect on the learning process. Human nature has played a central role in
traditional Chinese philosophy in the past and will continue to be relevant in the future.

Education is a cultural phenomenon. People's social values and existing ways of thinking are
still closely linked to their basic attitudes, values and ways of thinking. Therefore, when
analyzing educational issues from a cultural perspective, it is necessary to recognize the
complexity of cultural content in order to understand its subtle applications in current
practice. One of the cultural components of traditional Chinese culture is people's basic
attitude towards human nature. The nature of education and its relationship to human nature
are issues that cannot be excluded from research related to cultural factors. Despite the
difficulty in defining the concept and evaluating its impact, human nature is an important
way of interpreting traditional Chinese thought and culture. The rich and long tradition of
discussing human nature has profoundly impacted politics, society, and culture, and
continues to subtly influence contemporary Chinese psychology, practice, and educational
systems. With this tradition in mind, this study examines the links between traditional
theories of human nature and educational practice in four categories: Theory of Acquired
Habits, Theory of Original Goodness, Theory of Evil Human Nature, and The Simple Theory
of Truth of Taoism.

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