China Popular Itineraries |
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Vitality, Continuity and Inclusiveness |
Throughout history, the traditional Chinese culture has displayed great vitality. It has survived all kinds of ordeal and turmoil, manifesting its capaci-ty of regeneration. Hence it was also characterized by a stable continuity.
China is among the four countries with ancient civilization of five thou-sand years. Yet the road of China's cultural development was far from being smooth. During its thousand years of development, China has undergone vari-ous ordeals. On the one hand, she withstood a number of foreign intrusions; for instance, Xian Yun and Quan Rong's invasion in the Xia, the Shang and the Western Zhou dynasties, the Huns' harassment in the Qin and the Han dynasties, the Mongolians and the Manchus' rule over the Central Plain. On the other hand, she also suffered from domestic suppression by the autocracy, and from civil strifes, such as, Emperor Ying Zheng's burning books and massacre of Confucian scholars. Having experienced so much misery and or-deal, Chinese traditional culture has not only survived, but also become en-riched and consolidated with time.
The major reason that Chinese traditional culture has so much vitality and continuity of life lies in its magnanimity and inclusiveness. Just as all rivers meet in the sea, Chinese traditional culture has assimilated and incorporated various foreign cultures into its own. Exhaling the old and inhaling the new, it has been modified to be extensive and inclusive, eventually making itself more vigorous.
In terms of cultural development, the Chinese initial culture originated mainly from Western Xia and Eastern Yi cultures. Yangshao culture was the representative of Western Xia culture; Longshan culture, that of the Eastern Yi's. The convergence of the eastern and western clan cultures laid a founda-tion for Chinese culture, which was finally formed of multi-resources: in Spring and Autumn Period and the Period of the Warring States, the culture of the states of Qin, Jin, Wu, Yue, Qi, Yan, Zhou and Lu was respectively blossoming in radiant splendor and eventually grew into the culture of the Han nationality with Qilu culture as its core. In the later years, Chinese culture continued to assimilate the cultures of minority nationalities, mainly from the west and the north, such as the Huns', the Qiang' s, the Jie' s, Xianbei' s (Sienpi's), Wuheng's, Rouran' s, Gaoche' s, Tujue's (Turk' s), Huihe's (Quigour' s), Qidan' s (Khitan' s), Ntizhen' s (Nuchen' s), and Mongolia' s, and in the south, Baiyue and Bashu's cultures; it has also assimilated Indian Buddhist culture, Arabia Islamic culture and Persian Zoroastrianist culture. This extensive inclusiveness is very rare in the history of world culture. It typically reflects Chinese cultural spirit of magnanimity, self-confidence and gumption. |
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