CHINA - Past and Present: History, Travels, UNESCO World Heritage Sites

By Ruby Tsao, Chinese American Forum and 羅碧英

China is increasingly important on the world scene yet has remained misunderstood in the West. This book is written for English language readers, including my ABC (American Born Chinese) children for understanding of China, its history and culture and as a guide to travels in China with a list of UNESCO World Heritage sites.
 
C

• Language: English
• Publisher: EHGBooks
• Release date: Jan 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781625036094

Book preview

GUIDE TO CHINESE PINYIN

    Alphabets are pronounced like in English, except c, ch, q, x, zh for specific Chinese sounds.

Pinyin in English:

Pinyin in Chinese:

    A system of pinyin based on the English alphabets helps in the pronunciation of Chinese words. Alphabets are generally pronounced like in English except a few letters designated for special Chinese sounds: c, ch, q, x, zh.  This table gives examples of sounds.  Traveling in China, it helps to know how to pronounce Chinese words using the pinyin system.  Names of provinces and cities have standardized pinyin letters, often spelled out on signs.  Some provinces have names indicating their locations relative to a major river, lake or mountain:

Hebei 河北-- north of Yellow River; Henan 河南-- south of Yellow River.  Hubei 湖北-- north of Dongting Hu (洞庭Lake); Hunan 湖南-- south of Dongting Lake. Shantong-- east of Taihang Shan (太行Mountain); Shanxi 山西-- west of Taihang Shan.  Beijing 北京—North capital; Nanjing南京—South capital.  (Translations of words: he= river; hu= lake; shan= mountain; jing=capital; bei=north; nan=south; dong=east; xi=west).

PREFACE

    China is increasingly important on the world scene yet has remained misunderstood in the West. This book is written for English language readers, including my ABC (American Born Chinese) children for understanding of China, its past and present and as a guide to travels in China with a list of UNESCO World Heritage sites.

    Chinese culture is a culture of peace. In history, China had been at the receiving end of aggression, especially from Japan. Neither Chinese Nationalists or Communists sought war reparations from Japan for loss of life and property damages. Since the end of WWII, China has pursued a good neighbor policy with Japan. Never-ending tit-for-tat hostility is counter-productive to nurture long-lasting peace. To learn from history, we must not forget. To forget is to risk repeating history.

    To give English language readers a basic understanding of China, an introductory guide and an outline of history provide some background information of China and its relations with the outside world.

    Shortly after visiting the Flying Tiger Museum in Chongqing, I heard the news of Anna Chennault’s passing in March 2018, 60 years after General Chennault’s death in 1958. To refresh the memory of the war-time hero and the Flying Tigers he led, I dedicated a special section to tell the story of Claire Chennault and the Flying Tigers who made a great contribution in the war with Japan.

    My father was a general in Republic of China Nationalist army during the war. I have included my family experiences in the war following war movements in Hubei, Hunan, Chongqing, Guangzhou and Taiwan. These places have undergone tremendous changes in the last 40 years. I am impressed with the transformation from war-torn China. China is rich in history, culture and natural beauty. As a happy ending for this book, I have included reports of my visits to China in recent years to share with readers. A list of 53 UNESCO World Heritage sites is provided.

      To help readers in the pronunciation of Chinese names and places, a guide to Chinese pinyin used in Microsoft Word is provided. Some uncommon names in Chinese are included for clarification. I thank my husband, Professor George Tsao, for his help to place photos in the text and my daughter, Helen Tsao, for the design of the book.

    The purpose of this book is not to perpetuate grievances, but to learn from history. Japanese people are peace-loving just like people all over the world. They were only being loyal to Emperor Hirohito who had the ambition to conquer Asia. The current emperor Akihito has time and again expressed deep remorse over the war. We must separate peace-loving Japanese from the right-wing extremists. We have learned from history that peace-loving people were often led to the warpath by megalomaniacs with grandiose ambition of conquest.

    In recent years, China and Japan have largely maintained a cooperative relationship and friendly people to people exchanges. Strong Confucian ethics and the participation of Taiwan, Korea will form an economic block for win-win development of Asia.

    In other parts of the world, 100 years after WWI and 73 years after WWII, there are still war activities, unrests, terrorists, refugees, starvation and much man-made suffering. Now that we have entered the nuclear age, we pledge to learn from history so that we don’t stumble into WWIII. It was estimated that 20 million people died and 15 million wounded in WWI, more than 60 million died in WWII including 20 million in China and additional 10 million elsewhere in Asia, in even greater world scale of war. It was estimated 80 to 100 million Chinese refugees fled from the war zones. We are the lucky ones to have survived the war. To honor the memory of all who perished in war, we must learn from history for peace, so they shall not have died in vain. Forgive, but never forget!

Ruby Tsao, November 11, 2018

100th anniversary of

Armistice Day, November 11, 1918

INTRODUCTORY GUIDE

GEOGRAPHY

      China is located on the eastern part of the Eurasian continent, west of the Pacific Ocean, stretching 6200 kilometers (3720 miles) from east to west, 5500 kilometers (3300 miles) from north to south. It is one of the largest countries spanning 4time zones with 9.6 million square kilometers land area. China has 22 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 direct controlled municipalities of Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Chongqing, plus 2 self-governing special regions of Hong Kong and Macao, and sovereignty claims over Taiwan.

    Its diverse landscapes range from forest steppes and Gobi and Taklimakan deserts in the arid north to subtropical forests in the moist south. Himalaya, Karakoram, Pamir and Tian Shan mountain ranges separate China from 14 countries in Central Asia and South Asia—Russia, India, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Burma or Myanmar, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Laos, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Tajikistan, North Korea and Bhutan in descending order of countries’ sizes.

    Two major rivers–the world’s third longest, Yangtze River and the sixth longest, Yellow River run from Tibetan Plateau in the west to densely populated eastern seaboard. Lanchang 瀾滄江River also originates in Qinghai Province, but runs north to south and becomes the Mekong River through the Southeast Asian countries of Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam before draining into South China Sea. Yarlung Tsangpo River, also called Brahmaputra River, runs from Tibet to India and Bangladesh, merging with River Ganges before draining to the Bay of Bengal. China’s coastline along Pacific Ocean runs 14500 km (8700 miles) long bounded by Bohai, Yellow Sea, East China Sea and South China Sea. Topography ranges from elevation of over 8000 meters in the Himalaya Mountains in the west dropping to the sea level in the east.

THE GREAT WALL

    The history of the Great Wall traversed some 2700 years of history in China. It has represented the defense nature of Chinese military efforts throughout the ages. Rammed earth was used in ancient times. Total length of 21,196 km (13,171mi) of all branches was reported. Erosion was inevitable over thousands of years. What we see today was built with stronger materials of bricks and stones during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

    The Great Wall stretches from provinces and special regions of Liaoning, Hebei, Tianjin, Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Ningxia and Gansu alongside the southern edge of Inner Mongolia for 8,850 km (5,500 mi). The structure has a base of 15 to 50 feet, height of 15-30 feet, topped by ramparts 12 feet or higher. There are three famous passes: Shanghaiguan 山海關where the Wall meets the sea; Juyonguan 居庸關near Beijing; and ending at Jiayuguan嘉峪關 in the deserts of Gansu. Approximately 4,112 miles were man-made walls and trenches; 1,388 miles were natural barriers of hills and rivers. It is estimated that thirty percent of the structure has disappeared from erosion and human destruction.

C:\Users\tsaog\Documents\CH-GREAT WALL MAP.jpg

Great Wall Map

    China was protected by high mountain ranges in the west and the sea in the east. Only the northern borders were exposed to nomadic raids. The building of the Great Wall since 3rd Century BCE became necessary to protect homes from nomadic raids. With a great land mass, China has been a self-sufficient country rich in resources throughout history. With no need for invasion or aggression, China’s major military efforts throughout history were building the Great Wall for defense.

THE GRAND CANAL

    The Yangtze River, the Yellow River, Huai River and many tributaries in China flow from the high plateaus in the west to the sea level in the east before draining to the sea. The Grand Canal of 1766 km (1104 miles), built in the Sui Dynasty (589—618) runs north to south to connect these west-to-east rivers to form a network of waterways. It greatly facilitated transportation, communication and cultural exchange in China for 1500 years. The Grand Canal runs through 5 administration districts: Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces, connecting the capital city Beijing in the north along a string of important cities of Tianjin, Jining 濟寧, Yangzhou, Wuxi, Suzhou and Hangzhou in the south for transportation of people and goods; for trade and exchange of ideas. It is still in use today for shipping of bulk goods and building materials. In history, it has contributed to communication of people, and cultural integration of the north and south.

Map of the Grand Canal with Great Wall in the North

    While the Great Wall was built to keep out invaders, the Grand Canal was built to bring people together through communication and exchanges. The two grand building projects in ancient China forged a united country sharing the same culture.

8 ANCIENT CAPITALS—With 5000 years of history, various dynasties had established capitals in many locations. Artifacts are being discovered continually in excavations.  Eight major capitals are: Beijing, Nanjing, Xi’an, Luoyang, Kaifeng, Hangzhou, Anyang, Zhengzhou.  Details of these cities will be discussed in later chapters.

GREAT MOUNTAINS

Five Great Mountains五嶽—Started in the Warring States period (476—221 BCE)-- Taishan 泰山(East, Shandong), Huashan 華山(West, Shanxi), Hengshan 衡山(South, Hunan), Hengshan 恒山(North, Shanxi), Songshan嵩山(Central, Henan).

Four Great Buddhist Mountains—Wutai 五臺山(Shanxi), Emei 峨嵋山(Sichuan), Jiuhua 九華山(Jiangxi), Putuo 普陀山(Zhejiang).

Four Great Daoist Mountains—Wudangshan 武當山(Hubei), Longhushan 龍虎山(Jiangxi), Qiyunshan 齊雲山( Anhui)              ), Qingchengshan 青城山(Sichuan)。

TOWERS OF POETRY--In Chinese history, towers and temples became famous because of poetry.  Originally built as military observation towers, these buildings were rebuilt up to 30 times to commemorate poems of great poets.  Because people memorized great poems from childhood, the towers became tourist attractions for preservation throughout the ages.  There are others, but the most famous are the following:

Yellow Crane Tower 黃鶴樓, Wuhan, Hubei—built in 223 AD in the Three Kingdoms period as a military observation tower, made famous by Tang poet Cui Hao’s poem of the Yellow Crane.

Yueyang Lou岳陽樓, Dongting Hu, Hunan—built in 220 AD, rebuilt 30 times, made famous by Fan Zhongyan of the Song Dynasty.

Tengwangge 滕王閣, Nanchang, Jiangxi—built for Tang Prince Teng in 653 AD, rebuilt 29 times, made famous by poet Wang Bo.

Hanshansi 寒山寺, Suzhou, Jiangsu—a Buddhist Temple, built in the Tang Dynasty, was made famous by Zhangji’s poem.

CHINESE LANGUAGE

    China is a mountainous country making travel and communication very difficult. In imperial times, people used to speak all kinds of dialects. Fortunately, they all understood the same written language. Since unification of China in 221BCE, the first emperor Qin Shi Huang unified the written script of Chinese language, weights and measurements, etc. It became easy for the Chinese to share a common culture regardless of their different dialects. Unlike the phonetic nature of alphabetical languages, Chinese characters are visual, recognized not only by the Chinese, but also by Japanese, Koreans, Vietnamese and other Asians despite different spoken languages used. And in the 20th Century since Sun Yat-sen established the republic in 1912, Mandarin or Putonghua (common language) has been adopted as the national spoken language, the language taught in schools. The use of the same language has been a great unifying force in China.

POPULATION

    China is the most populous country with a population of 1.39 billion. While some east coast cities are crowded, vast areas bordering the north and west are sparsely populated. Xinjiang has the land area of Germany, France, UK and Spain combined, but only a population of 22 million, less than 24 million population of Greater Shanghai. Density of 144 people per square kilometer in China is lower than Germany-229; UK-255; Taiwan-639; Hong Kong- 6349; Japan-337; India-364…

    There are 56 ethnic groups with about 92 percent Han Chinese. Han is not a race in the genetic sense, defined more by Han culture than by ethnicity. Most minorities learn the common language or Mandarin in school. They retain their own traditions while adopting Han culture. Inter-marriage is common. Generally, there is harmony among the different ethnic groups. In fact, the minorities enjoy extra privileges such as exemption from Han’s one-child limitation, and lower admission requirements to prestigious universities.

CONFUCIANISM, DAOISM (TAOISM) and BUDDHISM

    Confucius was a great influence in China for 2500 years. Other Asian countries were influenced by Confucianism. Invaders such as the Mongols and the Manchu’s embraced Chinese culture and became peaceful people to establish the Yuan Dynasty (1280-1368) and the Qing Dynasty (1644—1911) making China a bigger country from their conquests. Buddhism and Daoism also have peace and kindness in the center of their core values. With Confucianism, they are three mainstream thoughts representing the peaceful culture of China.

UNIVERSALISM

    China is bounded by high mountains in the west, deserts in the north and the sea in the east. In an isolated location without communication with the outside world in ancient times, China was considered the center of the world which gave rise to the name Middle Kingdom. Confucius developed his philosophy to apply to all human beings in the known world as universalism. Han historian Sima Qian (145 BCE—86 BCE) started recording of history covering nearly 3000 years from Yellow Emperor to the Han Dynasty. He was inspiration and aspiration for generations of historians in the last 2000 years.

CHINA TODAY

    In the last 40 years, China has made good progress in modernization. China will continue to pursue peace and win-win international relations in Confucius teaching of Harmony in Diversity和而不同 .

C:\Users\tsaog\Documents\Chinese Dragon.jpg

CHINA: AN OUTLINE OF HISTORY

    China was one of the four ancient civilizations in the world with ancient Egypt, Babylon and India. For millions of years, human ancestors existed in Chinese territories. Homo erectus began about 1.7 million years ago. Excavations at Yuanmou元謀 in the middle reaches of the Yellow River and Hemudu 河姆渡in the Yangtze River area showed early civilization about 8000 years ago in China. Hemudu culture in eastern Zhejiang Province revealed ancient civilization of rice production and pottery of cups, bowls, and pots with floral or geometric designs. Carvings of Jade and ivory were also found. Domestication of pigs and dogs likely began. Animal bones were used as tools. Banpo Museum near Xi’an revealed evidence of rice cultivation and pottery 7000 to 8000 years ago. Further research dated rice cultivation back 12,000 years.

    Remains of Peking Man dating back 600,000 years were discovered in Zhoukoudian near Beijing. Use of fire was evident in the cave. The bones were under study in Xiehe Medical College when War with Japan broke out. With imminent Japanese attack on Beijing in 1941, an attempt was made to transfer the bones to the United States for safe-keeping. In the turmoil of war, the bones disappeared and have never been found to this day. In 1958, renewed excavations yielded some bones and tools.

      Written history began with Huangdi (The Yellow Emperor) as recorded by Han historian Sima Qian (145 BCE-86 BCE), inspiration and aspiration of generations of historians for the last 2000 years. China is the only country with unbroken record of history for nearly 5000 years not found in any other ancient civilizations.

    Five thousand years is a long