| rdfs:comment
| - China is a civilization that is as old as history itself, with over 4,000 years of written history and culture that remains as vibrant as ever - even to this day, Chinese classics still remain a potent force wherever Chinese is widely spoken, while the altars of Chinese gods, heroes and saints are still laden with offerings and sacred flames, just as they always did in ages past - whereas the ancient gods of Egypt, Greece, Rome and Mesopotamia have all but disappeared.
|
| abstract
| - China is a civilization that is as old as history itself, with over 4,000 years of written history and culture that remains as vibrant as ever - even to this day, Chinese classics still remain a potent force wherever Chinese is widely spoken, while the altars of Chinese gods, heroes and saints are still laden with offerings and sacred flames, just as they always did in ages past - whereas the ancient gods of Egypt, Greece, Rome and Mesopotamia have all but disappeared. Along with their contemporaries, the Egyptians and the Greeks, the Chinese took the first steps towards civilization to become one of the most powerful, prosperous and sophisticated nation in the ancient world. This was still while most of the rest of our world's contemporary great nations were still small tribal villages. China thought itself - and increasingly in this, our century, thinks itself - to be the "Middle Kingdom" (as reflected in what the Chinese call China itself: zhongguo), the land located at the centre of the civilised world. Throughout its long history, its presence has been felt not only by its neighbours but also as a source of trade and wonderment for its contemporaries in far-off Europe, inspiring many adventurous merchants and later armies to seek trade and conduct business with its vast economy - almost everyone in Europe has at some point in time and/or history traded with China. It was trading partner to Rome and India in ancient times, establishing what is known as the Silk Road and continued to prosper, even after the fall of Rome, and Europe languished in the Dark Ages, reaching what could arguably be its zenith thus far, in the 15th century. With Ming "treasure ships" dwarfing the warships of Renaissance-era European powers and containing naval technology that would not be repeated by the rest of the world for years to come, China established trade routes to as far away as Africa, and engaged in power diplomacy towards its neighbours.
|