China has the oldest civilization country. Its culture is extremely different from other cultures all over the world. China is the third-largest country in the world but, it is the largest country in terms of population. The mountains and great rivers of China split China into three parts; Tibet, Mongolia, and Eastern China. The Chinese flag is red with one big star and four small stars. The red of the flag represents the revolution along with being their traditional color. The one big star represents communism and the other four stars represent the social class of the people such as the farmers, working class, intellectuals, and the patriotic capitalist. The great wall of China is one of the points of pride for all Chinese people.
During the Song Dynasty, many new methods charmed the people and became the peak of several long-established genres. While one sees the advancement of visual arts through the Song Dynasty, landscape painting established itself as the most widespread and important of the many structures during this time. The dramatic arts became the most enjoyed form of entertainment in the Song Dynasty. The everyday life of a citizen never had a dull moment. Chinese art and recreation came to a peak of excellence during the Song Dynasty as landscape painting became an ideal practice, the theater grew to be central entertainment, and the life of a citizen never lacked extraordinary activities.
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The Song dynasty era lasted from 960 to 1279. The Song dynasty is separated into two periods which are the Northern Song and Southern Song. Many innovations flourished in the Song dynasty. Many new advances in science succeeded and the use of gunpowder was invented.
Taizu was the first emperor of the Song Dynasty. There was a bureaucratic system where he would pick the government officials by making them take a civil service examination to provide all of the information of the scholar to be put into a certain position. In time, civil bureaucrats conquered each phase of the Song government and civilization. This system headed to a better attentiveness of control in the ruler than had been seen in previous dynasties. However, the military in the Song Dynasty was weaker than in the Tang Dynasty.
Even though the military was not very strong, the economy was running very well. The Song dynasty had a very large population which helped with agriculture advances along with the adoption of rice. Not only did the large population help but so did the craft industry, the division of labor became more comprehensive which made the handcrafted skill reach an innovative level; additionally, the expansion of the production economy surpassed the prior dynasty. Also, the first paper money appeared during the Song dynasty. During the early years of the Song Dynasty, authorities awarded selected shops a monopoly on the issuing of these documents of deposit. In the 1120s the government took over the system, producing the world’s first government-issued paper money.
The Song dynasty had many equal rights for women during this period. Women were allowed legal rights to manage their households along with the right to create businesses. They educated their children when they were young and could inherit property from their birth family. Women married between the age of sixteen and twenty. The husbands were normally older than their wives. There were arranged marriages during this time which were fixed by the parents, professional matchmakers, or friends and relatives. After the wedding, the bride’s priority is to bear a son and please her mother-in-law. Women usually had up to six children. When the women’s children grew, she had to find suitable marriage partners. The decline in the status of women in Song times was sometimes blamed on Neo-Confucianism. Foot-binding also began during the Song Dynasty. This is the practice of binding the feet of girls with long strips of cloth to keep them from growing large. Moms wanted them to be judged as more beautiful.
During the Song Dynasty, Confucianism was an idea. Confucianism was a big part of starting meditation. To Confucius harmony was the most desirable state, and once personal harmony was disturbed it was best restored through compromise. If one had been wronged, it was better to suffer the experience than to disrupt harmony by complaining. Also, it was considered correct to forgive, tolerate, and cooperate with others. More important, one should convince the other person; that is, one needed to draw out the other's cooperation. In short, Confucianism highly valued compromise and persuasion as well as the negotiator who was able to assure them.
Confucius’s teachings taught their followers well. Confucianism considers the Way, or Truth, as consistent with an approach to life, politics, and tradition. Hsiin Tzu, who was an important early Confucian, stressed that though the existence of the way of heaven is recognized, Dao insisted primarily concerns human affairs. Confucianism emphasized the ethics of the way, which explicitly stresses nature and righteousness.
The ideology of life in Confucianism is based on the value orientation of moral and salvation career. Confucianism has a close interest in social reality and a strong sense of mission on history that the country management and governess as own responsibility. It suggests that a person should keep learning and practicing what has been discovered to become generous and righteous for himself, help others, manage state affairs as well as protect the peace of the country. Nothing is better than doing something because the latter may break the perfection and harmony of nature.
The Song dynasty was located in the east half of the modern-day People's Republic of China. However, it did not occupy the northernmost areas. During the Northern Song period, the Song capital was in the northern city of Bianjing. After the Song lost control of northern China to the Jurchen Jin dynasty in the Jin–Song Wars the Southern Song period began and the new capital was established at Lin 'an, located south of the Yangtze River.
Throughout the Song Dynasty, scientific progress was made. During the Song Dynasty, one of the era's best-known scientists was Shen Kuo. He wrote many scientific articles on his own personal research along with essays involving the research, discoveries, and techniques of others. His compilation of scientific knowledge is known as the Dream Pool Essays. This work contained the head of knowledge in many areas such as the areas of astronomy, magnetism along with other fields. He personally discovered the concepts of true north and magnetic needle compass's declination towards the North. An example Shen Kuo haven written of the techniques of innovative people in his large scientific structure is his essay about how a modern printer manufactured and used movable type. The printer produced thin ceramic characters himself and arranged them on a block. By using this method hundreds of sheets were able to be produced quickly.
One of the eras of a majestic ancient civilization that has left a lasting impression upon the world of today is the Chinese Song Dynasty. Established by General Zhao Kuangyin this dynasty lasted from 960–1279 AD and brought new stability to China after many decades of civil war, and led to a new era of modernization. It was divided into the Bei (Northern) and the Nan (Southern) Song periods. This brilliant cultural era gave birth to major advances in economic development, and achievements in technology, and helped to advance medical knowledge.
During the Song Dynasty, different kinds of gunpowder were invented for various uses. In 1044 AD Zeng Gongliang and Yang Weide wrote the Collection of the Most Important Military Techniques where several methods of making powerful blasting powder with a large percentage of nitrate were contained. These experiments and improvements in gunpowder formulas led to more powerful weapons, including bombs.
Many technological advances were also made. The statesman and scholar Su Song were known for his engineering project of the Astronomical Clock Tower of Kaifeng. Upon the top of the clock tower was the large bronze, mechanically driven, rotating armillary sphere. The clock tower also included an endless power-transmitting chain drive and had different clock jacks to both indicate and sound the hours.
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