How did the trade networks of the Hellenistic era help set the stage for the silk roads? 3. In general, what goods from what regions were traded along the silk roads? 4. How did Buddhism become the most popular faith in all of East Asia?
Ancient Chinese Inventions Strayer University HUM 111 July 16, 2013 Dr. Caren Stayer The ancient Chinese culture can be credited for several important inventions. China has played a significant part in many famous inventions and contributions that has had a major role to play in our lives. Many of the inventions were invented as far back as c. 1600 B.C.-A.D. 265 (ancienthistory.about.com). The lists of inventions from ancient China are still used in modern day society. Some of the inventions are as follows: tea, gunpowder, a compass, chopsticks, bristle toothbrush, silk fiber, paper and printing, publishing, a seismograph (an earthquake detector), porcelain, acupuncture, lacquer, the wheel barrel, the abacius (calculator) and toilet paper.
Ancient China Student ANT 101 Professor April 3, 1999 The Neolithic period began in China about 12,000 B.C. However, good evidence of Neolithic settlements exists from only about 4,000 B.C. The Neolithic lasted until about 2,000 B.C. It is defined by a spread of settled agricultural communities, but hunting and gathering was still practiced. Silk production, for which China is famous, had already been invented before this time period began.
In 200 B.C.E. is when the Han Dynasty first established Silk Roads and since the beginning of the establishment, all the way through 1450 C.E., Silk Roads were deeply an important change that happened to connect China in the east to the empires of the west. Although over tim different products and goods were changed including trading partners, the exchange of innovations and culture which led to cultural diffusion, became a continuity as well. Roughly around 200 B.C.E, the Silk Roads came into use. By that time, they linked the Roman Empire to the Han Dynasty.
The major religions spread during this time period were Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity. Buddhism expanded from northern India in about 200 CE to small oasis communities along the Silk roads such as Merv, Samarkand, and Kuqa, where monks or merchants explained the religion to them. From there, Buddhism spread to the steppelands of central Asia and China, where it caused huge uproar and forever changed Chinese government by helping to disestablish the Confucian doctrines which were the norm, and by 500 CE, Chinese were readily accepting it. Hinduism mostly gained a following in southeast Asian islands such as Java and Sumatra, where, by 100 CE, they had adopted Hindu cults of Shiva and Vishnu. Christianity spread its message of salvation throughout much of the Mediterranean basin and the Roman Empire, despite the Romans attempts to quash it.
China and Portugal during the Age of Exploration When the Chinese finally managed to overthrow the Yuan Dynasty during the Middle Ages, foreign interests increased. With the support of Ming Emperor Yung-Lo, China pursued expansion and trade. Zheng-He, a Chinese Muslim, set out to India, Persia and Africa from 1405 to 1433. Around that time, Portugal commenced their expansion voyages. Despite the fact that the Chinese had a larger population, Portugal was the one who went on to become the dominant nation in the Indian Ocean during the Age of Exploration.
Vasco De Gama reached India in 1498. This was the beginning of the European infiltration of Indian Ocean trade, bringing about many changes. The Portuguese took over more trade and established ports like Goa in India. Then Britain too dominated trade in conjunction with joint stock companies like the Dutch East India Company. The Chinese traded silks, porcelain and other luxury goods with Europe and Arabia, even as the Ming set rules up for when, where and who could trade at specific spots.
For centuries the dynasty had ruled the core Chinese cultural area. Indirect trading contact between China and the Nanyang, or southern Ocean, which the Chinese now call Southeast Asia, go back as far as the Shang dynasty when cowrie shells were used as currency. The most holy and vernerable of musical instruments were sets of stone chimes (triangular pieces of limestone that were suspended in racks of and struck with batons. These were sounded in the sacred
Shang Dynasty Ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, following the Xia Dynasty and followed by the Zhou Dynasty Archaeological exertion at the Ruins of Yin, which was the last Shang capital, discovered eleven major Yin royal tombs and the foundations of palaces and ritual spots, including weapons of war and remains from both animal and human sacrifices, the workmanship on the weapons prove to be a towering degree of civilization. The Shang Dynasty, which was followed by the Zhou Dynasty, sparked the creation of the basic Chinese characters, which were inscribed into the oracle bones that were discovered in the initial scientific excavations during the 1920s and 1930s. Mandate of Heaven Traditional Chinese philosophical ideology stating that specific rulers had the divine right to rule The Mandate of Heaven is similar to the European ideology of the divine right of kings, except that in the Mandate of Heaven the competence and capability of the rulers was a main factor. The Mandate of Heaven was the most successful concept used in world history because it overthrew feeble rulers and made place to more competent ones. Legalism Political philosophy created by Han Fei Zi, which believed that a ruler should use extremely strict procedures to govern over his empire According to legalism particular agendas and "secrets" were to be engaged by the ruler to make sure others don't take over control of the empire.
Confucianism & Daoism Essay 1 (ASTD-150) During ancient China, it was mainly based on two types of traditional philosophies, Confucianism and Daoism. The religions and philosophies existed far before Buddhism which started to become known in China after the 1st AD, and then it became a significant aspect of Chinese Culture. Both Confucianism and Taoism began to spread to other countries of East Asia. Korean and Japanese Civilizations later adopted Confucianism as a model for governmental organization and fundamental direction towards the self and the world, and Daoist influence on those cultures can be seen in the form of Son/Zen Buddhism. Confucianism and Daoism still remain as the most permanent cultural systems of China today.