Proto-civilizations refer to civilizations of primitive, independent origin, such as ancient Egypt, ancient Babylon, ancient India, and ancient China. Other civilizations have developed under the influence of native civilizations.
Among the four major civilizations in the world, only the Chinese civilization (today's China) has not been affected by foreign cultural shocks for thousands of years, and has continued to this day. Unlike other Western dynasties that once flourished, Chinese civilization ushered in a new rise after each decline.
Therefore, China has never died out in the course of historical development, and Chinese civilization has always existed. Therefore, in recent years, many Western scholars have begun to study the differences between Chinese civilization and Western civilization.
British professor Martin Jacques once mentioned in his speech that Chinese civilization is undoubtedly unique and influential. His remarks sparked widespread discussion.
British professor Martin Jacques, born in 1945, was a senior visiting fellow at the Centre for Asian Studies at the London School of Economics and one of the founders of a British think tank.
His academic prowess is unquestionable. In a book published in 2009, he argues that in order to understand Chinese culture, we must first understand Chinese civilization. He believes that without a complete understanding of Chinese civilization and Chinese civilization, it is impossible to truly understand China.
In the book, he expounded the differences between Chinese civilization and Western civilization from three aspects. In ancient China, the concept of national identity did not exist, and the most emphasized was the concept of family and country, and how can no country be home.
It was only after the invasion of China by foreign powers in the 19th century that people began to learn about the concept of the nation-state from the West, but this concept is still not strong in people's minds. This is mainly because China has 56 ethnic groups, with 90% Han Chinese in the population, a notion that can put the country in jeopardy.
In addition, Chinese people have a very strong sense of belonging to their home country.
China's social customs, lifestyle, concept of life and sense of unity are all unique imprints of Chinese culture. In other words, these cultures and civilizations are the soul of China.
As Professor Martin said, from ancient times to the present, whether it is the Qin Dynasty that unified the Seven Kingdoms, the Tang Dynasty that embraced all rivers, or the Yuan and Qing dynasties ruled by ethnic minorities, they all claimed to be the great unification of China and were the inheritors and leaders of Chinese civilization.
Take the Yuan Dynasty, for example, the largest dynasty in Chinese history and the first dynasty in Chinese history to be ruled by ethnic minorities, whose predecessor was the Great Mongol State founded by Genghis Khan.
In 1279, Yuan Shizu destroyed the Southern Song Dynasty to unify the whole country, and the territory stretched from the Sea of Japan in the east, to the South China Sea in the south, to the Tianshan Mountains in the west, and to Lake Baikal in the north, and the territory was several hundred square kilometers larger than today's China.
However, as the leaders of the Yuan Dynasty, they never denied the concept of the unification of China. On the contrary, they, like the previous dynasties, identified themselves as the "chosen ones" and the legitimate heirs of China.
Thus, in this land, the change of regime inherits the same culture, not between individual peoples. Therefore, the concept of the nation-state did not have the soil for survival in China from the very beginning.
In short, China's social customs, lifestyle, concept of life and sense of unity are all important parts of Chinese culture. These cultures and civilizations constitute China's uniqueness and diversity, and also provide a profound cultural foundation for the unification and prosperity of the Chinese nation.
A common plot in Western film and television dramas is that when people are in trouble, they usually pray to God for forgiveness. This is because they generally believe that Jesus came to earth to atone for the sins of mankind.
In the East, however, the perception is different. In stories such as Nuwa mending the sky and Hou Yi shooting the sun, we see the image of human beings fighting through their own efforts.
In Chinese civilization, perseverance and resistance are the eternal themes. When people suffer injustice, they fight against it, both human and heavenly. Compared with the West, China attaches more importance to the exploration and cultivation of human nature.
Nuwa's familialism has always been deeply ingrained in Chinese history. For example, in ancient China, marriage was seen as a marriage between two families, and the idea of being a good match and joining forces was a manifestation of this concept.
The famous ancient literary work "Liang Zhu" was produced in this context, Zhu Yingtai was forced to marry someone he didn't like because of the idea of family marriage, and finally died with Liang Shanbo, which is amazing.
Although this concept has gradually faded in modern society, it is still regarded as an important part of Chinese culture. From the national level, the people's sense of identity with Chinese civilization is like their sense of identity with their families.
In Western countries, there are frequent changes of power, and the new regime has nothing to do with the old regime. However, in China, although the dynasties in history have changed, they have not severed the inheritance of civilization.
Professor Martin is deeply concerned by the fact that Chinese civilization has flourished in the Yellow River valley since 5,000 years ago, and eventually merged into today's "descendants of China" or "descendants of Yan and Huang", which is the embodiment of China's "camouflage" as a civilization rather than a state.
The Chinese civilization originated from the ancestor Xia Yu's meritorious work in controlling the water, adhering to the position of Emperor Shun, and establishing the country with civilization. Despite the change of dynasties and the change of political power, the essence of Chinese civilization has never been questioned.
Civilization is an abstract and far-reaching concept, a concept, and an accumulated material and spiritual wealth. No matter how history changes, as long as the concept of civilization exists, it will not be replaced by new regimes, and will be deeply rooted in all aspects of society.
The Chinese civilization is a civilization that respects internal differences and communicates openly. From ancient times to the present, Chinese civilization has been constantly enriched and developed through exchanges with other civilizations, forming a unique open system.
Although there are obvious differences between Chinese civilization and Western civilization, the traditional concept of Chinese civilization is to distinguish the world by cultural system rather than race or culture. The core ideology of Chinese civilization is Shintoism, etiquette and music, and advocating the values of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and faith.
These core ideas, which are based on the cultural system, have become the unique identity of Chinese civilization.
Although the clash of civilizations of various ethnic groups and regions has always existed, and different environments have produced certain degrees of differences in the process of civilization formation and development, the Chinese civilization has been characterized by pluralism since ancient times.
We have always adhered to the concept of "one family under heaven" and aimed at a "community with a shared future for mankind", rather than a single community.
1. Unique regimes. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there was a grand occasion of "a hundred schools of thought contending" in the Central Plains, and many schools such as Mohist, Confucianism, and Taoism were different from each other, but they could communicate and learn from each other, which fully reflected the inclusiveness of Chinese culture.
Even Confucianism, which was later revered as the mainstream thought, was able to develop and grow through continuous absorption and reference. In the face of the clash and game between different civilizations, the West follows the "law of the jungle" of "the law of the jungle".
This law led them to plunder resources through colonial expansion, and in the barbaric colonization of the 15th and 17th centuries, their ambition to conquer the world through political control, military expansion, etc.
For example, the territorial expansion of the ancient Roman Empire and the Catholic Crusades reflected their predatory ideas, while the genocide of Jews by Nazi Germany and the devastating blows to Andean and Mesoamerican civilizations reflected the "racial superiority theory" of Western countries.
Although some Western scholars firmly believe that world history originated in the East and that Europe will become the beacon of human civilization, this "Eurocentrism" was gradually abandoned after the 20th century with the end of European colonialism and the decline of American hegemony.
On the contrary, "non-Western cultures" have been revived on a global scale. For example, the ancient Silk Road is not only a first-class channel, but also a platform for different cultures, religions and customs to communicate, adapt and integrate with each other, and its significance has gone beyond the transportation of silk itself, and cultural exchange is the essence.
This road not only inscribes the rise of Chinese civilization, but also plays the role of a messenger to spread Chinese civilization. Nowadays, the situation between China and the West is becoming more and more serious, and the core issues are still the collision of civilizations and differences in interests and positions.
However, the situation today is very different from that of a millennium ago. In the modern society of information **, where cultures around the world are intermingled, how to protect our civilization in such a complex environment and prevent the erosion of Western colonial ideas is still a question worth pondering.