Ashton's+Completed+Work

March 28, 2011

CHINA THE HISTORY AND CULTURE By Sarah, Morgan and Ashton

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Our group is Sarah, Ashton and Morgan. The civilization that we chose is ancient China. Sarah will be covering religion, food and government. Ashton will do inventions, clothing and art, and everyday life. Morgan will do war and revolution and population/jobs/location. We chose this civilization because we think that China is full of great and interesting things to talk about. China is rich with culture and history that we find wonderfully interesting. From food to religion to dress, everything about the Chinese culture is beautiful and intriguing. China is such a defined country, full of beautiful dances, ceremonies, religions, costumes, food, and history. Have you ever seen something with a ‘Made in China’ label on it? Of course you have! China is known for its amazing inventions and new ways to create things. A very important invention was row crops. Around the sixth century BC, Chinese people came up with a way to make their crops greener, grow faster, and come in more proportions. Another one of the most famous inventions the Chinese have ever created was the wheelbarrow. It was created in 100 AD to help carry large objects that were too heavy to carry with their bare arms. The wheelbarrow was first just a box with a wheel underneath which was hard to maneuver. Later on in the thirteenth century, it had evolved to have long handles and the wheel was moved forward, for an easier push. One of the most major inventions in the world is paper. We would be nowhere without paper. Notes, money, books, these are all things that we use paper for. Imagine what the world would be like without it. A few other important inventions and ideas include: deep drilling for gas, fireworks (which later on turned into gunpowder), the flame thrower, boat rudders, and the compass which was used for religious beliefs. Just think what the world would be like without these useful tools and ideas. Chinese people are always looking stunning in their silk outfits, which most of them are made out of and very stylish hairdos. Every article of clothing symbolizes who and what they represent. Mostly all Chinese people favour darker clothing for ceremonies and their more traditional clothing. Lighter coloured clothing was worn for chores and by everyday people. The Chinese people colour coordinated and even have colours to represent the four seasons. Green symbolizes spring, red for summer, white represents fall, and black for winter. During the Han Dynasty time the Red Eyebrows, a rebellious group, took cinnabar which is a type of red metal, they dyed their eyebrows red for the first popular Chinese religious sect. Hairstyles in China represented who you are. If you are unmarried and female, you wear your hair down with a braid. Married women wore their hair in a bun on the back of their heads. Men were to shave the front of their heads and wear the rest of their hair braided and tied back with black silk. Art, the soul of Chinese culture, is very detailed and traditional. Chinese painters influenced today’s landscape painters, because they tried to get the felling of the land by the strength of the wind, water, and mountains. Human spirit and nature were very important to Chinese landscape artists. Emperors, zodiac animals, flowers, birds, women, and landscapes. These are all important elements the Chinese people painted. For around three thousand years they have been painting starting from 600 AD to now. If you ever get a chance to see their creative work, you will not be disappointed! Now, because paper was invented in China, a very popular and traditional type of art is called paper cutting. They would use scissors, and cut out shapes from the paper to create different images. Some of their works are just unbelievable! Another great art form the Chinese created is called zhe zhi, which was known to be around starting from around the sixth century. No one is sure whether or not Japan invented the paper folding first or if China did. Origami is the term for the Japanese form of paper folding. Some say that long before people took paper to Japan paper art folding was already happening in China. They would create boats and buildings and the Japanese most commonly created animals such as the crane. Both types are incredible, and it doesn't matter who invented what first! Overall, Chinese art is very original and special. Everything and Anything they create always turns into a very beautiful piece of art!