Ancient Civilizations in China: History and Culture

Ancient Civilizations in mainland China register and nicetyAncient China is Located in Asia. It has the oldest surviving civilization in the world. just close people talk about other civilizations, such as Egypt, or Rome. Ancient China has a genuinely(prenominal) interesting history. In Ancient China, they had a total of 11 dynasties. No wizard is for sure of when exactly it began, just now roughly from 4000-5000 years. The aspects this essay will focus on are education, kindly classes, and art and architecture. Agriculture in China was is incite of loving classes, every unmatchable- except the royal families- has jobs to do, and most people are farmers and silk makers, or fill whatever other hard operate oning job.In past China, there is lots of different architecture, and they are all based on their history and their rulers. In China the roofs of most buildings, were curved. It was not just because of structural use, plainly it had a symbolic significance. And by being tiled, it shows as a sign of wealth. And the reason they are curved is because they protected the inhabitants from evil spirits, which were believed to pop off in straight lines. In China a buildings roof was ordinarily put up before the walls. It was supported on purlins (horizontal beams) and crossbeams resting on columns earlier than on triangular roof tresses. The walls which were do of wooden panels or brick were make full in later and were not load-bearing to any large extent. This governance gave Chinese architects freedom to theorize about different silhouettes for their buildings.Another intimacy that is created in China, is silk. Silk is made from silk worms. You must unravel, spin and weave their cocoons. You must starting signal take the cocoon of the silk worms, and because connect it to the machine that pulls the silk of the cocoon by a thread. Then once the silk is all off the cocoon (its save wet), they take all the wool to parther and put it on a cu rved metal rod, which stretches the wool, also they leave it to dry there. Then they mystify or so people hold all sides of it and stretch it out work it is roughly the size of a single bed. And then they cover it. The to a greater extent than advanced the cocoon is, the thicker the silk is. This could be the job of umpteen farmers. I cipher superannuated Chinas art and architecture is always something to do with their beliefs or rulers. affable classes were very important in ancient China, The Chinese believed that strict cordial groups and people should behave according to their social berth.This belief that strict social groups and people should behave according to their social position, was proven by Confucius, a Chinese philosopher. Under the emperor, there were quadruplet social classes in China. The four classes were nobles officials, peasants, artisans and merchants. The emperor and his family were the top class in China. Emperors believed that they were chosen by heaven and therefore didnt need to obey humans. An emperor expected his subjects to be hardcore and obedient.The noble class in ancient China was very privileged. Nobles were commonly the extended family of the emperor and empress and those people that excelled in their handle, mostly in the military. The post of nobles, however, changed often depending on who gained or fell out of favor with the emperor. When a new emperor came to power, it was common for him to favor a new preen of nobles. They often became land owners so they could collect taxes from the people who lived on their land, which made them richer. If the nobles gave some of their income to the emperor, they would receive privileges and were afforded some protection in return. If nobles committed a crime that would result in them being sentenced to death, the emperor could grant them a special favor that would allow them to commit suicide, which they considered a much more honorable death.Officials were other g roup that had high social status in ancient China. Boys whose families could afford to send them to school began their education at an archaean age to become officials and were prepared to pass a difficult exam. If they didnt pass, they were usually still able to find jobs since they were considered well educated. Officials were arranged in ranks. The two most senior officials acted as advisers to the emperor. almost officials lived very comfortably and were well-respected because of their position and education.Peasants Even though peasant farmers in ancient China were one of the lowest social classes, they were still considered important because they produced the food for the rest of the society. Most peasants were very poor and led simple lives. They worked very hard and merely ever had a day off. Peasant men worked in the fields and had to tolerate harsh conditions. They worked through the burning heat of summer and the utmost(a) cold of winter. The harsh conditions could also spoil their crops and land, which has consumed most of their time. If the crops were spoilt, poor families had very little to survive on during the winter. If women wove and sewed cloth, they could help provide garb for their families and they could sell any excess items to earn more silver. Even the poorest peasants had to honorarium taxes, even if their crops were not successful. This left many families, during the winter months, with little to eat.Artisans were class of the normal class and included painters, carpenters, potters and jewelry makers. Artisans made more than farmers but less than the merchants. They didnt have a good social status but they were respected for their skills. Metalworkers became very important during the Han period. Metalworkers produced weapons and many useful everyday objects, the likes of cooking pots. Weavers worked with silk, which was very valuable.The merchant class included traders, animal breeders and money loaners. Merchants were tho ught of as the lowest social class in ancient China. Even though they have a low social status, some merchants became very rich and lived in luxury. .During the Han dynasty, some merchants became so rich that they readiness have been a threat to the emperor and the nobles. The richest merchants attained their wealth by investing money in land and properties. Several merchants, though, were not as wealthy. In order to limit their wealth, merchants had certain restrictions placed on them. much(prenominal) restrictions included paying heavy taxes and being sent away to link the army.Slaves had existed in ancient China, but they made a very modest percentage of the population. Some slaves were relatives of criminals while other sold themselves or their children as slaves if they were very poor. Ancient China appears to be very serious about social classes. In fact, I think everybodys lives ruled around their class.Most of the children in ancient China never got a chance to go to sch ool at all. They had to work hard in the fields, feeding theanimals, weeding the vegetables, positionrice, or taking care of theirlittle brothers or sisters. But if you were a boy, and your father could have spared you from the fields, he would send you to school. Beginning in theHan Dynasty, many schools used to be free, and the emperor paid for their fees. If there were no schools in your village, you might have had to go live with relatives or with strangers in another bigger town. Boys would normally start school when they were six years old. primary coil schools were very small, and only had one teacher for the whole school. There was one chair for the teacher, but all the boys had to sit on stools. You were supposed to go to school every day, without weekends, from 600 in the morning until about 400 in the afternoon. They didnt have math lessons, or science. You learned how toread and write, and then you memorized many pages ofConfucian philosophyand learned how to write essa ys and poetry, and how topaint pictures. Then, you stayed at this school until you were sixteen or seventeen, which is when you are ready for the first examinations. nurture in China was quite important, since it was what their futures depended on. If they were not educated, they would most likely work at farms, or work for others in a low social state (if they were not rich). When they are educated, it gave the people a chance at having a better life. Maybe they would be assisting the royal families, and not as a slave. They could be advisors, or maybe even teachers. I think they needed education quite a lot, in order to be anything big in life.I think ancient China is very interesting and complicated. I think the past was quite hard as it seems most people, if they are not rich or dont have any royal relations, dont get any special treatment, in fact, they barely get and good treatment at all. They had seemed to have lead interesting lives and have various beliefs. Their civilizat ion lasted for a very long time, and they have a very developed society ever since it had started.BibliographyAllan, Tony.Ancient China. New York Chelsea House, 2007. Print.Allison, Amy. deportment in Ancient China. San Diego, CA Lucent, 2001. Print.Ancient China Social Classes. shift Services Interpreters Intercultural Communication Cross Cultural Training. Web. 17 May 2010. .Chinese Roofs.Oracle ThinkQuest Library. Web. 4 May 2010. .Eyewitness Travel Guide China.Dk Pub, 2010. Print.History of Education in China.Wikipedia, the liberate Encyclopedia. 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