On the Marine Characteristics of Traditional Chinese Culture

2023-06-12

For a long time, there have been different understandings of the connotation and characteristics of traditional Chinese culture. Some viewpoints believe that Chinese civilization belongs to mainland civilization, and traditional Chinese culture is based on inland civilization and has little to do with the ocean. The reasons for the formation of this viewpoint are diverse and complex, and the influence of Western cultural ideas is an important source. German philosopher Hegel is one of the representatives, who proposed the view that the East and the West have different civilization systems in his book "Philosophy of History". This view holds that the Eastern culture represented by China is an inland culture, which is rigid and stagnant; The Western culture represented by Europe is marine culture, which is progressive and innovative, and this cultural difference has led to differences in the form of human civilization. This viewpoint is one-sided and does not conform to historical reality, and its essence is one of the manifestations of Western cultural superiority theory. In fact, traditional Chinese culture is an open and inclusive culture, a diverse and isomorphic culture, and ocean culture is an important characteristic of traditional Chinese culture. Traditional Chinese culture has a dual character of land and sea, and the ocean characteristic is one of its distinct cultural characteristics. China has been a maritime power since ancient times, with both vast continents and vast sea borders. The people of all ethnic groups have formed a long-standing marine culture through long-term production and life practices, which is an important component of ancient Chinese history and cultural process. The marine nature of traditional Chinese culture was nurtured in ancient times. Archaeologists found the remains of sea clam shells and sea fish bones at the Shandingdong man site in Zhoukoudian. There are also a large number of shell mound relics formed by ancient ancestors who ate seashells and sea fish and abandoned shells and fish bones in Shandong Peninsula, Liaodong Peninsula, southeast coast and other places. During the pre Qin and Han dynasties, people's understanding and utilization of the ocean gradually enriched and expanded. Qin Shi Huang made several eastward patrols and sent Xu Fu to lead the people to the east, which is a clear record of the first large-scale sea voyage in China's history. During the excavation process of the Nanyue King's Palace site in Guangzhou, a large shipyard site was discovered stacked below, providing empirical evidence for the development of the shipbuilding industry in the Qin Dynasty. There are also many descriptions of the sea in a large number of early ancient classic documents, such as Shangshu, Zhuangzi, Classic of Mountains and Seas, etc., especially the records of digging wood for boats and boiling the sea for salt, which are true portrayals of people using the sea at that time. In the Han Dynasty, there were more specific documents recording that Chinese people went to the distant sea. The "Maritime Silk Road" began to sail, and trade and exchange reached Japan and South Korea in the east and Southeast Asian countries in the south (some scholars believe that they have reached India and Sri Lanka). For example, there are relatively detailed records in ancient books such as the "Geographical Records of the Book of Han". At the same time, many archaeological relics related to China's Han Dynasty maritime shipping and trade have been discovered along the coasts or islands of Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia. A considerable number of Han Dynasty pottery, bronze, iron, and other artifacts have been unearthed and discovered. These artifacts are evidence of the significant development of marine culture in the Han Dynasty. During the Six Dynasties, Sui and Tang dynasties, exploration and development of the ocean were significantly advanced. During the Three Kingdoms period, shipbuilding technology further improved. The State of Wei once built large seagoing ships in the four states of Qing, Yan, You, and Ji. At that time, the shipbuilding industry in Eastern Wu was the most developed, and ships already had relatively mature compartment technology. Even if some of the compartments were damaged and flooded, it did not affect them

Edit:Luo yu    Responsible editor:Wang er dong

Source:GMW.cn

Special statement: if the pictures and texts reproduced or quoted on this site infringe your legitimate rights and interests, please contact this site, and this site will correct and delete them in time. For copyright issues and website cooperation, please contact through outlook new era email:lwxsd@liaowanghn.com

Return to list

Recommended Reading Change it

Links

Submission mailbox:lwxsd@liaowanghn.com Tel:020-817896455

粤ICP备19140089号 Copyright © 2019 by www.lwxsd.com.all rights reserved

>