How many times have you seen a Japanese person and heard someone call the Chinese? I have always noticed that we seem to get Japan and China confused. This made sense after reading about how China's culture "invaded" Japan. Every aspect seems to be the same; the terrain, structures, people, and the religions. However, when looking at Modern China and Japan the differences are very apparent.
I gained a better appreciation for the Chinese language both written and spoken. To speak in Chinese you must be precise in your pronunciation. Any variation in the tone of a syllable may change the word completely. For those from different regions of China it is hard to communicate with each other because of the varying dialects. Although they all share a common written language even this is difficult to understand because of the 6,500 characters that make up the Chinese language. When the Chinese culture "invaded" Japan, like Chris says above, they also brought with them their writing system that the Japanese adopted.
I realized that even though China resisted influence from other countries, Chinese culture and goods had a major impact on other societies. The Japanese expanded their own culture by adopting the Chinese writing style as well as the religion of Buddhism. Japan also imitated many of China’s everyday things such as furniture, clothing, and building styles. Furthermore, many modern objects were invented by the Chinese. These goods included silk thread, porcelain (china), paper, ink, printing, magnetic compasses, and gunpowder. Even today the majority of American goods are made in China.
Samurai soldiers were some of the most well trained warriors in the history of the world not just China the fact that it took them their whole life to get good at being a samurai.
I enjoyed reading about Chinese Characters. I think it is really cool how certain symbols on top of other symbols can give the new word a biblical meaning. I also liked reading about the tomb with the Terra-Catta army. It would be extremly hard to make all of the faces different. I also read some where else that there were also life size chariots and horses, made from the some clay as the other statues, in the tomb.
Yea I found it fascinating that the emperor had a scale model of china make in his tomb with rivers of mercury that actually flowed. Question is where did the get all that mercury???????
ya the Chinese characters are soooo cool I know like three and each one is so unique I cant even think about knowing one hundred let alone all of them.
I find amazing how much of an affect physical features made on ancient cultures and how they impacted each other. In my opinion, the Chinese are the most "different" culture from any other, anywhere in the world. They had an entirely unique (and extremely confusing) writing system compared to any other ancient culture. Their architecture was also completely different from anything found elsewhere. I'm sure if China was not isolated from the rest of the world by the Himalayas and the Gobi desert, that Chinese, and eastern Asian culture as a whole, would be totally different from how we see it today.
What I found most interesting about the reading this week was that they mentioned that the great wall had actually been breached before and taken by foreign invading countries. I had always learned about the wall being indestructible and impossible to pass! Another part that intrigued me was the entry about the soldiers in the emporer's tomb. I'm often amazed by landmarks/great historical finds and found this one to be so amazing! I thought it was amazing how they took all that time to put the soldiers in the tomb, underground, covered in armor, and guarding the emporer! Just for his afterlife safety!
And yeah Chris i thought that was amazing! I'm probably wrong but I think mercury is really hard to find now, while back then they casually made rivers out of it!
In this weeks reading I found myself comparing Confucianism and Buddhism, two different religions that both originated in parts of Asia, and that we have learned about recently. Both appear to have many differences such as their goals as religions, type of afterlife, view of God and etc.. However I believe they do have one main similarity. Although Confucianism teaches good moral conduct of one's self, and Buddhism tries to take its followers towards a kind of enlightenment, they both ultimately seem to train a person to be good.
In this weeks reading I found a quote that said, "To avoid the disgrace of capture,atone for deeds of misconduct, or to prove questioned loyalty to his master, a warrior could end his life with honor by committing suicide according to the ceremonial practice of hara-kiri". In my opinion, taking one's life for honor is too high a price. If you think about it, you realize that honor is outward respect. Taking a life for the sake of outward appearance and the way people look at you is wrong, and frankly, a bit insane. It is important to have a good reputation, be honest and virtuous, but not to the point where you would kill yourself if you fell short of these standards. Think about the importance of honor, virtue, loyalty, and what was expected of these warriors. Would my behavior change if my life was on the line as a warrior? Would yours?
In this weeks reading I thought that it was interesting that the country was christian for a time from Aksum. It is amazing that if you look in the bible you can see the the ruler of Aksum was a far descendent of King Solomon and Queen of Sheba.
On Page 172 towards the Bottom It says "In this land there are rich merchants and there is much gold and silver and amber and musk and pearls. Those of the land wear clothes of fine cotton and of silk and many fine things, and they are all black men." I found it interesting that he said that all of the men were black like he was astounded. like he had never seen a black man that was rich before.
Last but not least it seemed cool that the language of Swahili has managed to survive over time. Swahili is an amazing language and it is very complex but it dose have a cool ring to it.
What interested me the most, was the East African City-states. As the muslim visitor quoted in the text said “Kilwa is one of the most beautiful and well-constructed towns in the world.” I find it fascinating how such an ancient culture had such well-developed concepts. For example, their usage of iron and ivory had a huge impact on cultures to come. Also their trading of gold and animal skins were their primary source of trade. They were clearly a very resourceful people group.
In reading this week about Africa and its many cultures it struck me, Why is there no history about the more sothern parts of Africa? If the people in such areas had become wealthy because of gold that means that they must have learned how to do so and any culture that is able to attain the knolwdege to skillfuly work metal than the should have been able to come up with some sort of writing. Also I am shooked to learn that Egypt is in Africa! Seriously I don't typically consider Egypt to be in Africa because when I think of Africa I think of clans and savanas but when I think of Egypt I think of the nile and the temples and the piramids. Both of my observations above lead me to belive that the nations in Africa did not communicate with one another regularly.
In this weeks reading I found it interesting how trade shaped the African culture. Many of the kingdoms were prosperous because of the of there gold mines and it was one of there main exports other trading goods would've included salt, ivory, iron, animal skins, and slaves. The slaves became really important after the Middle Ages when slaves became popular and demand for them increased.
If you have an item that you think we should post on this blog, write it up and click here to send it to us. New entries are reviewed at least once a week.
20 comments:
How many times have you seen a Japanese person and heard someone call the Chinese? I have always noticed that we seem to get Japan and China confused. This made sense after reading about how China's culture "invaded" Japan. Every aspect seems to be the same; the terrain, structures, people, and the religions. However, when looking at Modern China and Japan the differences are very apparent.
I gained a better appreciation for the Chinese language both written and spoken. To speak in Chinese you must be precise in your pronunciation. Any variation in the tone of a syllable may change the word completely. For those from different regions of China it is hard to communicate with each other because of the varying dialects. Although they all share a common written language even this is difficult to understand because of the 6,500 characters that make up the Chinese language. When the Chinese culture "invaded" Japan, like Chris says above, they also brought with them their writing system that the Japanese adopted.
The first comment is mine (Chris) the second is Rachel's
I realized that even though China resisted influence from other countries, Chinese culture and goods had a major impact on other societies. The Japanese expanded their own culture by adopting the Chinese writing style as well as the religion of Buddhism. Japan also imitated many of China’s everyday things such as furniture, clothing, and building styles. Furthermore, many modern objects were invented by the Chinese. These goods included silk thread, porcelain (china), paper, ink, printing, magnetic compasses, and gunpowder. Even today the majority of American goods are made in China.
Samurai soldiers were some of the most well trained warriors in the history of the world not just China the fact that it took them their whole life to get good at being a samurai.
I enjoyed reading about Chinese Characters. I think it is really cool how certain symbols on top of other symbols can give the new word a biblical meaning. I also liked reading about the tomb with the Terra-Catta army. It would be extremly hard to make all of the faces different. I also read some where else that there were also life size chariots and horses, made from the some clay as the other statues, in the tomb.
Yea I found it fascinating that the emperor had a scale model of china make in his tomb with rivers of mercury that actually flowed. Question is where did the get all that mercury???????
ya the Chinese characters are soooo cool I know like three and each one is so unique I cant even think about knowing one hundred let alone all of them.
I find amazing how much of an affect physical features made on ancient cultures and how they impacted each other. In my opinion, the Chinese are the most "different" culture from any other, anywhere in the world. They had an entirely unique (and extremely confusing) writing system compared to any other ancient culture. Their architecture was also completely different from anything found elsewhere. I'm sure if China was not isolated from the rest of the world by the Himalayas and the Gobi desert, that Chinese, and eastern Asian culture as a whole, would be totally different from how we see it today.
What I found most interesting about the reading this week was that they mentioned that the great wall had actually been breached before and taken by foreign invading countries. I had always learned about the wall being indestructible and impossible to pass! Another part that intrigued me was the entry about the soldiers in the emporer's tomb. I'm often amazed by landmarks/great historical finds and found this one to be so amazing! I thought it was amazing how they took all that time to put the soldiers in the tomb, underground, covered in armor, and guarding the emporer! Just for his afterlife safety!
And yeah Chris i thought that was amazing! I'm probably wrong but I think mercury is really hard to find now, while back then they casually made rivers out of it!
In this weeks reading I found myself comparing Confucianism and Buddhism, two different religions that both originated in parts of Asia, and that we have learned about recently. Both appear to have many differences such as their goals as religions, type of afterlife, view of God and etc.. However I believe they do have one main similarity. Although Confucianism teaches good moral conduct of one's self, and Buddhism tries to take its followers towards a kind of enlightenment, they both ultimately seem to train a person to be good.
In this weeks reading I found a quote that said, "To avoid the disgrace of capture,atone for deeds of misconduct, or to prove questioned loyalty to his master, a warrior could end his life with honor by committing suicide according to the ceremonial practice of hara-kiri". In my opinion, taking one's life for honor is too high a price. If you think about it, you realize that honor is outward respect. Taking a life for the sake of outward appearance and the way people look at you is wrong, and frankly, a bit insane. It is important to have a good reputation, be honest and virtuous, but not to the point where you would kill yourself if you fell short of these standards. Think about the importance of honor, virtue, loyalty, and what was expected of these warriors. Would my behavior change if my life was on the line as a warrior? Would yours?
In this weeks reading I thought that it was interesting that the country was christian for a time from Aksum. It is amazing that if you look in the bible you can see the the ruler of Aksum was a far descendent of King Solomon and Queen of Sheba.
On Page 172 towards the Bottom It says "In this land there are rich merchants and there is much gold and silver and amber and musk and pearls. Those of the land wear clothes of fine cotton and of silk and many fine things, and they are all black men." I found it interesting that he said that all of the men were black like he was astounded. like he had never seen a black man that was rich before.
Last but not least it seemed cool that the language of Swahili has managed to survive over time. Swahili is an amazing language and it is very complex but it dose have a cool ring to it.
What interested me the most, was the East African City-states. As the muslim visitor quoted in the text said “Kilwa is one of the most beautiful and well-constructed towns in the world.” I find it fascinating how such an ancient culture had such well-developed concepts. For example, their usage of iron and ivory had a huge impact on cultures to come. Also their trading of gold and animal skins were their primary source of trade. They were clearly a very resourceful people group.
In reading this week about Africa and its many cultures it struck me, Why is there no history about the more sothern parts of Africa? If the people in such areas had become wealthy because of gold that means that they must have learned how to do so and any culture that is able to attain the knolwdege to skillfuly work metal than the should have been able to come up with some sort of writing. Also I am shooked to learn that Egypt is in Africa! Seriously I don't typically consider Egypt to be in Africa because when I think of Africa I think of clans and savanas but when I think of Egypt I think of the nile and the temples and the piramids. Both of my observations above lead me to belive that the nations in Africa did not communicate with one another regularly.
In this weeks reading I found it interesting how trade shaped the African culture. Many of the kingdoms were prosperous because of the of there gold mines and it was one of there main exports other trading goods would've included salt, ivory, iron, animal skins, and slaves. The slaves became really important after the Middle Ages when slaves became popular and demand for them increased.
Rachel
Post a Comment