China Panorama

中国概况
 蒋洪恩
Prof. Hongen Jiang Ph. D

E-mail: Jianghongen@ucas.ac.cn

Cell Phone: 13436837740

national flag national badge

Chinese Communist Party

bourgeois
Time: with the raise of the sun

Every morning

The first day of each month,

accompany by the millitary band
第一章 Chapter 1

地理环境与中国文化
The Geographical
Environment
and Chinese Culture
Main language: Chinese
(Mandarin, Putonghua)
Area: 9,600000 km2
Population: 1.35 billion
 中国的名称 Meaning of China

中国： A country located in the centre of the world

Anceint Egypt Anceint Babylon

Anceint India Anceint China

内容提要 Essentials
1. 中国地理环境的主要特点
The Main Characteristics of
China’s Geographical Environment
2. 地理环境对中国农业文明的影响

The Influences of Geographical Environme

nt over China’s Agricultural
Civilization
3. 儒家文化与古代农业文明

Confucianism and Ancient Agricultural Ci

ilization
4. 农业与人口变动、语言变迁
 中国地理环境的主要特点

The Main Characteristics of China’s

Geographical Environment
 读前思考 Pre-reading Questions

1. 中国地形的主要特点是什么？

What are the main characteristics of China’s

terrain?
2. 特定的地理环境在中国古代文明的发展过程中起到什
么作用？请在与其他文明的比较中思考这一问题。

What role does the specific geographical

environment play in the development of
China’s ancient civilization? Please think
about it in comparison with other
civilizations.
 多种多样的地形 Various Terrains

Three plates
Four plateaus
Two big islands
Two big rivers

The outline of China is

often compared with that
of a rooster.

中国的地形多种多样。有蓝色的海洋和湖泊，绿色的平原和黄色的高原。西南和西北的某
些区域则是常年冰雪覆盖的雪山。 西高东低
The bright spectrum of colors signifies the huge variation in geographical
terrain to be found in China; from oceans and lakes in blue to the green lowland
areas, the yellow plateaus and certain areas in the far southwest and northwest
that are home to mountains snow-capped all year round.
1-2 珠穆朗玛峰 8848m 塔克拉玛干沙漠
Mount Qomolangma Takla Makan Desert
The Tibetan Plateau
The Aiding Lake -154m
The roof of the world
Three Gorges of the Yangtze River Guilin scenery with hills and waters

The lake of heaven in Tianshan

Mount Huang
 东部沿海地区
Eastern Coastal Areas
东部沿海地区从北到南多是平原或低
山丘陵，这里几乎集中了中国最主要的大
城市和工业区，经济十分发达。
The eastern seaboard stretches from
the far north all the way around to
the south and is predominantly
lowlands with some hilly terrain.
This is an economically advanced
area in China and is home to most
of China’s largest cities and
industrial zones.
华北平原（ Northern China Plain
）
Village of the Jiangsu Province
丘陵（ hills ）
 西北部地区
Northwest Territories
 在东部平原和西部高山之间，广泛分布着
干燥的戈壁、沙漠和高原。
In between the contrasting
low level east and the
mountainous west lie vast
tracks of dry deserts such as
the Gobi, steppe and plateaus.
 这些地区降水很少。

The rainfall in these areas is

extremely low.
 The ancient Jiaohe City

塔克拉玛干沙漠
Takla Makan Desert
 中西部地区
Central and West
Regions
 气候比较恶劣，冬天很冷，夏天很热，昼夜
温差大，对农作物生长十分不利。
This area experiences extremes in
weather, with freezing winters and
scorching summers that include a vast
difference in night and daytime
temperatures. It is not surprising
that the region is not ideal for
agriculture.
 沙尘暴、水土流失严重。
Violent winds frequently create
massive dust storms and rivers often
carry much of the topsoil away.
Loess Plateau Local House
 1-3 千沟万壑的黄土高原 1-4 黄河壶口瀑布
Innumerable gullies and valleys of Hukou Waterfall of Yellow River
Loess Plateau
Rivers carry topsoil away
sand storm Haze/smog

禁牧，禁农

Grazing forbidding
 小 结 Summary
 现在中国科学家们最为关心的是戈壁、沙漠
的边缘地带，因为这里是人类和恶劣环境争
夺生存资源的前线。
China’s scientists are now most
concerned with Gobi and other outer
desert regions as it is here one finds
mankind’s frontline for survival in a
hostile environment.
 中国的首都北京，就坐落在戈壁和田园之间，
是人类和恶劣自然抗争的最前沿。
China’s capital Beijing sits on that
very frontline between the Gobi desert
and arable land, at the forefront of
the battle between humanity and the
violent forces of nature.
 相对封闭的地理环境
A Relatively-enclosed Geographical Environment

1-5 中国及周边地区地形图
Diagram of China and the
surrounding terrain
 从地形图中可以看到：
From the geographical map it can be found:

 中国西南是白雪覆盖的崇山峻岭，人迹罕
至。
The southwest is ringed with towering snow
capped peaks almost without a trace of human
existence.

 在中国西北，有面积广阔的沙漠，世界第
二大沙漠塔克拉玛干沙漠就分布在这里。
The vast expanses of China’s northwest is
home to the world’s second largest desert, the
Takla Makan .
 中国北部是蒙古高原，这里冬天气候寒冷，人烟稀少。
To the north of China is the Mongolian Plateau, bitterly cold in
winter and sparsely populated.
 中国东部是广阔的
海洋，在人们发明指南
针和掌握高超的造船技
术之前，海洋无疑是对
外交往的巨大屏障。
In the east lie the
expanses of the
oceans, across
which navigation
before the invention
of the compass and
techniques of
advanced ship
building proved
dangerous.
 地理环境对中国农业文明的影响

The Influences of
Geographical Environment
over China’s Agricultural Civilization
读前思考 Pre-reading Questions

中国古代以农业文明为主，这对中国文化
的发展产生了哪些影响？请举例说明。
Ancient Chinese civilization is based
on agriculture. So what are the main
influences of the ancient agricultural
civilization over Chinese culture?
Please give some examples.
 季风与农业文明
Monsoon and Agricultural Civilization

1-7 中国年降水量示意图
A schematic diagram of
the annual precipitation
in China
 季风 Monsoon

 中国位于亚洲东部、太平洋西岸，
这个特殊的地理位置为中国带来了
非常独特的气候。
China is located at the eastern
end of Eurasian continent and on
the western shores of the Pacific
Ocean, meaning that this special
location provides China with a
somewhat unique climate.
 夏天，凉爽而湿润的风从海洋吹向陆
地，从南方吹向北方；冬天，干燥而
寒冷的风从蒙古高原南下，掠过中国
东部大部分地区，从北向南吹向海洋。
这种随着季节而改变的风叫做季风。
In the summer, cool and wet winds
blow in from the ocean, originating
in the south and gusting north. In
the winter, dry and cold air
descends south from the Mongolian
plateau, sweeping down over
China’s eastern region. China’s
winds are therefore seasonal.
 季风气候的影响
Influence of Seasonal Winds
东部和中部地区 西部地区
Central and Eastern Western regions of
regions of China China
受季风气候的影响 不受季风气候的影响
Influenced by the Not influenced by
seasonal winds the seasonal winds
可以得到来自海洋的水汽 得不到来自海洋的水
moisture from the sea 分补充
No moisture from
the sea
夏季降雨频繁 常年干旱
Frequently rain in Drought all year
summer round
农作物可以生长 普通农作物不能生长
Crops grow well Common Crops can’t
grow
 中国人常常把黄河称作“母亲河”，就
是因为黄河中下游地区集中了许多早期中国人的
聚落和遗址，这里是中国文明的发祥地。
The Chinese often refer to the Yellow
River as “Mother River” due to the
large number of remains of very early
Chinese settlements in its lower
reaches, the beginnings of Chinese
culture.
想一想 Questions
黄河中下游地区成为中国文明发祥地的气候条件是什么？
What is the climatic advantage of
this area? Did it make the middle to
lower reaches of the Yellow River
become the beginnings of Chinese
culture?
 Mother River

Ancient India: Ganges

Ancient Egypt: Nile

Ancient Babylon: Tigris River and Euphrates River

Ancient China: Yellow River (and the Yangtze River)

 Majiayao culture

~5000 years
before present

Yangshao
~6000 years
before present
 小 结 Summary

季风直接造成了中国东、西部的气候
差异，也决定了东、西部地区不同的
生活方式。

It is the wind that has dictated

this key difference in lifestyle
between both the eastern and
western ends of the country.
 自然与人 Man and Nature

1-10 古代农具——锄头
Farming implement in ancient times: hoe 1-11 现代农民使用的锄头
A modern farmer using the hoe
1-9 传统的牛耕 Traditional cattle-ploughing

汉代画像砖牛耕

Traditional cattle-ploughing in Han

dynasty 100BC-200 AD
刀耕火种 Knife, water and
fire
Pray for rainfall
 从农业文明一开始，中国人就建立了人与自然的和谐关系。
人的力量是有限的，但是我们并不担心，因为大自然对人很好，天给
我们下雨，大地给我们长庄稼，我们在天的恩惠下可以很好地生活，
我们只要顺应天意就可以了。遇到干旱等自然灾害，我们就祈求天降
甘露，而天也一定会满足我们的要求。这就是中国人的人与自然和谐
统一的理论基础。

From the earliest days of agricultural civilization the Chinese sought

to establish a harmonious relationship with nature. Human strength is
limited but this is not worrying, as nature provides through its grace
land to live on and rain from the sky; so long as we live in harmony
with nature all will be well. In times of drought and other natural
disasters we pray to the heavens for timely rains to come and given
time our calls are answered. This is the basis of the Chinese theory of
man’s harmonious relationship with nature.
儒家文化与古代农业文明

Confucianism and Ancient

Agricultural Civilization
读前思考 Pre-reading Questions

中国文化的核心和代表是什么？
你为什么这么认为？

What’s the representative

culture of China? Why do
you think so?
 儒家文化与农耕生产方式
Confucianism and the Agricultural Production
儒家文化首先从规范家庭生活开始，主张
“孝、慈”，主张男尊女卑。
Confucian culture originated from rules to
regulate the household, promoting xiao 孝
(filial piety) and ci 慈 (charity), that men
should be zun 尊 (respected) and women bei
卑 (humble).

然后把这种行为规范扩展到国家和社会，主
张“忠义”。
These rules were then extended to the level of
society and the nation as zhong 忠 (honour)
and yi 义 (righteousness).
1-12 宋版《孝经》
The Classic of Filial Piety printed
in Song Dynasty (960–1279)
The emperor and the minister 忠
 从农耕生产方式的角度来看，儒家
文化的这些思想都是合理的，有它产生
的社会基础，这也是儒家思想几千年来
成为中国主导思想的原因之一。但是过
分强调等级、男尊女卑，也使儒家文化
一度陷入危机。
From the point of view of
agricultural production, the ideas
behind Confucian culture are very
appropriate. As the foundation for
society over the last several thousand
years Confucianism has become one of
the leading ideologies in China.
Nevertheless, over-emphasis of the
stratification of society and man’s
position over woman has put
 总体来看，儒家文化善于自我更新，能够
不断调整自己，这也是今天儒家文化仍然受到
欢迎的原因。
Overall, it is the precepts of self-renewal
and self-improvement that people today
most welcome from Confucianism.

想一想 Question
你能想起自己学汉语的时候，碰到过
哪些体现儒家思想的句子和成语吗？
Can you think out some Confucian
ideas appearing in sayings and set
phrases while studying Chinese ?
农业与人口变动、语言变迁

Agriculture and Changes

in Population and Language
读前思考 Pre-reading Questions

1.中国的主要农耕区分布在哪些区域？
为什么会呈现这种分布情况？
Where are the main agricultural areas
in China? Why are they distributed
like this?

2. 你知道汉语有哪些方言？这些方言
主要分布在哪里？中国的主要方言区
在历史上是怎样形成的？
Do you know the different Chinese
dialects? Where do these dialects
cover? How did the main dialect areas
form in Chinese history?
 人口增加与农耕区的扩展
Population Growth and Expansion of Farming Areas

“ 多子多福”的思想 劳动时间 耕作面积的扩大

more sons as more blessings working hours the expansion of farming areas

1-13 公元 100 年以来中国人口变化示意图

Diagram of China’s population changes over time since 100 A.D.
More sons, more happiness

计划生育
 移民与方言区的形成
Migration and the Formation of
Dialects Regions
农耕区的扩展伴随着移民的过程。
在中国历史上，大量北方人从黄河流域迁居
到长江流域从事农业生产。移民的过程形成
了北方与南方的交通道路，也对今天中国方
言区的形成起到决定性的影响。
The development of cultivated land followed the
migration of people. In Chinese history the main
theme of migration has been of people moving
from the Yellow River Valley in the north to the
Yangtze Valley in the south. The north-south
migration established the main links between
these two regions and became the main influence
over the dialect formation of regions in China
today.
Altai Phylum
Han-Tibet Phylum
South Islands Phylum
South Asia Phylum
 前面我们了解到，中国东部和南方地区多低山丘
陵，南方人之间的交通与联系明显不如北方。北方
广阔平坦的地理环境，使北方方言很容易吸纳其他
语言因素而发生改变。当北方话随着时代发生变化
时，移民到南方的北方人还在说着原来的北方话，
久而久之，南、北方的方言隔阂就此形成。
Previously we discovered that the east and south
regions of China are hilly, with travel more
restricted than that on the plains of the north. The
open and flat geography of the north of China
allowed for the easy absorption of elements of other
languages and to effect change in the dialects spoken.
At the time of the large migrations the northern
dialects were in flux and when many people
migrated south they took with them the northern
dialect of the time. As time went the dialects spoken
by those left in the north and those who’d settled in
the south grew apart.
 今天，在中国北方虽然各地的方言略有差别，
但都属于北方方言，而东南丘陵地带却集中着 6 个
较大的方言区。不同时期南下的北方人保存了不同
时期的北方话，彼此很难直接用语言沟通。
Nowadays, even though there are slight regional
differences in the language used in the north, it is all
classified as northern dialect Chinese. However, in
the hilly southeast there are six relatively large
identifiably distinct dialect groups. With
northerners migrating south over different periods
of time, the dialects of the south today are like
preserved fossils of different eras of northern
Chinese. The southern dialects are so diverse that
direct verbal communication between different
groups is very difficult.
 1-14
Diagram of modern Chinese dialect areas
1.名词解释 Key Words and Phrases
In your own words, please describe the meaning and
importance of the following key words and phrases
taken from this chapter.

 西高东低 High in the Western area, low in

the Eastern area

 黄河流域 Yellow River Valley

 农耕 Farming

 靠天吃饭 Relying on heaven for food

 儒家文化 Confucian culture

2. 小组讨论 Group Discussion
3 ～ 4 人一组，根据本章所学内容，请比较
一下中国地理环境与你们国家地理环境的差异，
以及中国文化与你们国家文化的差异，进一步
思考地理环境如何影响文明的形成。根据讨论
结果，每组选出一名代表，向全班作一次 5 分
钟的展示汇报。

In a group of 3~4 classmates please discuss the

differences between the geography of China as
studied in this chapter with the geography of your
own countries. Also consider the differences between
the culture of China and that of your own countries
while taking into account the role played by
geography in shaping those cultures. At the end of
the group discussion each group should select one
person to give a 5- minute summary of the group’s
findings.
3. 调研实践 Research and Practice
本章介绍了中国地理环境的特点及其与
中国文化的关系，请你通过实地考察、采访中
国朋友和老师、访问博物馆、搜索网络资源等
形式，完成一份 200 字以上的书面报告，展
示你对这个话题的认识和理解。

In this chapter we learned how the Chinese

geographical environment and culture are closely
interconnected. Through in-the-field
investigations, interviewing your Chinese friends
and teachers visiting museums and browsing
websites, please write a short 200-word formal
report giving your own impression of this topic.
4. 扩展阅读 Further Reading

如果你想进一步了解地理环境与
中国文化方面的知识，可以通过下列途
径找到这方面的内容：
Should you be interested in learning more
about the relationship between China’s
environment and culture, below are some
useful resources to get you started:

1. 《中国文化地理》，王恩涌等编著，科学出版社，
2008 年。
2. 《中国文明起源新探》，苏秉琦著，辽宁人民出版社，
2009 年。
3. 《中国国家地理》杂志，中国国家地理网网页
http://cng.dili360.com 。
4. 中国中央电视台纪录频道（ CCTV Documentary
Channel) 网页 http://cctv.cntv.cn/documentary
 谢 谢！
Thank you!
 The Silk Road
张骞通西域（张骞凿空） 138BC-119BC
 Zhang Qian ( 张骞 )

Zhang Qian was an imperial envoy to the world outside of

China in the 2nd century BCE, during the time of the Han
Dynasty.

He was the first official diplomat to bring back reliable

information about Central Asia to the Chinese imperial court,
then under Emperor Wu of Han, and played an important
pioneering role in the Chinese colonization and conquest of
the region now known as Xinjiang.
Today Zhang Qian's travels are associated with the
major route of transcontinental trade, the Silk Road.
In essence, his missions opened up to China the many
kingdoms and products of a part of the world then
unknown to the Chinese.
Zhang Qian's accounts of his explorations of Central
Asia are detailed in the Early Han historical
chronicles, Records of the Grand Historian or Shiji,
compiled by Sima Qian in the 1st century BCE .
Today Zhang Qian is considered a national hero and
revered for the key role he played in opening China to
the world of commercial trade.
 Other achievements

From his missions he brought back many

important products, the most important being
alfalfa seeds (for growing horse fodder), strong
horses with hard hooves, and knowledge of the
extensive existence of new products, peoples,
and technologies of the outside world.
Ancient Silk Road
alfalfa 苜蓿 [mù xu

walnut 核桃

granada 石榴
grape [ɡreip] 葡萄
Zhang Qian's journeys had promoted a
great variety of economic and cultural
exchanges between the Han Dynasty and
the Western Regions.
As silk became the dominant product
traded from China, this great trade route
later became known as the Silk Road or
Silk Route.
 中国文明就是在这样一个四面封闭的地理环境中成长起来的，
这或许可以解释中国文明为什么以自给自足的农业为主要特
征，而不是以交往和交换为主要形式的商业为特征。从某种
意义上说，封闭的环境保护了中国文明不受干扰，不被打断，
使她成为四大古代文明中唯一延续到今天的一个。
Chinese civilization thus grew in this
geographically sealed-off state.It could perhaps
explain why Chinese civilization is built on the
principles of self-sustaining agriculture and not
on trade and exchange. In some sense, it is the
confines of China’s geography that perhaps
allowed Chinese civilization to develop and grow
undisturbed for so long; thereby meaning that
today China is the sole surviving member of the
world’s great four civilizations.
Meet in front of the dormintary at 1:30 PM