China

CHINA.-

O. Gonzalez
Hum 111- World Cultures
May 20, 2012

China is a country that I have always wanted to visit, since I was a child Chinese cartoons on TV fascinated me and kept me entertained. Ancient Chinese contributions to the world are important and very valuable to humanity, furthermore some of them have help humanity to prosper and value history.
Paper is one of the ancientChinese contributions to humanity, the mass production of paper help ancient China to increase literacy rate and is an important contribution to humanity in the field of recordkeeping and having an accurate description of history. The Chinese language contains over eighty thousand symbols that were recorded in different types of materials; form bamboo to jade and bones. Such recordkeeping help theChinese culture to keep track of business transactions and were able to expand their knowledge and traditions easily trough the ancient world.
After understanding the production of paper the Chinese culture developed printing. Helped by the mass production of paper, printing created the possibility of spreading to mass audiences important and valuable information. The two inventions paper and printinggo together and help create important art pieces, from carvings on wood and stone to painted hand-scrolls the two inventions help the Chinese culture and eventually humanity in preserving and spreading important information and experiences all around the world.
An important contribution from ancient China is the concept of the Yin-Yang, according to the Shang rules Yin is soft, dark, moistand cold; Yang is hard, bright, dry and warm. The two sides combine to create the endless circle of change, from night to day across the four season of the year. (Sayre) The symbol has travel all around the globe and is revered by many cultures that see in the Yin-Yang a symbol of integration and coexistence.
An important contribution to the field of art and history is the discoveries in thenorthern Chinese province of Shaanxi were the tomb of the emperor Qin Shihuangdi was hiden. Archeologist discovered a series of terracotta soldiers that amount up to six thousand; each one of the solders has different facial characteristics and expressions. Among the solders archeologist found sculptures of horses and chariots, all of the sculptures meant to represent the emperor’s army and hiscourt. Currently the actual tomb of the emperor has not been excavated, it is said to be surrounded by a river of mercury and archeologist confirm that there is a presence of large quantities of mercury under the soil. The discovery of the tomb of the emperor Qin Shihuangdi represents a great contribution from the Chinese culture to humanity, not only shows the devotion that the people had for hisemperor but also the power that the emperor had during his reign.
The magnetic compass is also another important contribution that the ancient Chinese culture made to humanity. The compass helped the ancient Chinese people to properly allying structures with the environment. The invention also helped individuals to guide themselves and navigate in unknown territories. The magnetic compass is animportant contribution to humanity because it is still used in helping people to navigate correctly in uncharted territories by having a clear understanding of the direction they are heading.
An important contribution of ancient china is the construction of the Great Wall of China; the architecture has an approximate length of forty thousand one hundred miles and an average height of twenty-fiveinches. The construction of such a wall had the purpose of protect the cities form barbaric invasions from the north. The wall served as a military fortress capable to prevent attacks to the city. The wall also served for border control of goods, during the time of the Silk Road the wall served as a checkpoint for products and people travellers. The dimensions of the wall are so large that it is...