The Chinese and Japanese Civilizations

We assume that Chinese culture began in Neolithic Times (5000 BCE) with the Yangshao Culture, which was established around the Yellow River valley and lasted until 3000 BCE.

At one point in the first half of the Second Millennium (CE), China was roughly at the same level with Europe in scientific knowledge and far ahead in the technologies of printing, naval navigation, and ammunition (dynamite). However, the worst political mistake in the history of world civilization was almost certainly a decision made by the fourth Emperor Hongi in the Ming Dynasty to destroy the Chinese fleet; the last long voyage overseas was ended in 1433. The exploration of new territories across the oceans was terminated along with the abolition of a capable fleet of ships that could make long trips.

Since the famous Long March in the 1930s, the Chinese have been awakening. They have begun to think again about themselves as the original settlers of China and have tried to throw off their submission to foreigners which dominated their foreign and domestic affairs over the last several centuries.

First, China in recent decades has risen to become the World Factory, and second, it is the primary debt collector of Western Civilization. The Chinese have the largest population in the world, including people living in China and its diaspora. Today, Chinese people live in almost every country in the world. They are considered active not only in business but also in tourism.

The primary influences on Japan’s early culture were Mongolian. From about 250 BCE to 300 CE, a culture migrating from Asia and known as Yayoi prevailed, introducing rice farming, iron and bronze technology, and weaving

Shintoa is a uniquely Japanese religion that was evolving at 4th century  CE.  Reflecting the “Way of the Gods” and being still common in Japan, it emphasized the role of the forces of nature which affect Japan so profoundly (earthquakes, tsunamis, and so forth). Shinto mostly focuses on ritual purification to remove any impurity caused by contact with physical dirtiness, sex, childbirth, wounds, and death. The current Japanese insistence on baths and cleanliness probably derives from this aspect of Shinto. T

The most significant influence coming from China were ideas of Buddhism and Confucianism. 

Confucianism brought two important elements to Japanese civilization.  It stressed a strict hierarchy of relationships. It also reinforced the already cooperative nature of Japanese society as well as assured the role of the strict social and political order that would emerge.  Also, Confucianism’s emphasis on merit and education as the tools of advancing in government were absorbed by the Japanese. This idea of advancement by merit, however, met with firm resistance from the hereditary Japanese nobility

In 1867, the long-lasting Tokugawa Shogunate malformed and gave way to the Meiji Restoration movement. The city of Tokyo became the imperial capital of Japan after the Kyoto, as the capital, stopped functioning.

After World War I, Japan’s economy began to decline and hit a low point in 1926 when the Great Depression touched the world. The recession, combined with domestic political turmoil (assassination attempts on the Emperor, coup d’etat attempts, terrorist violence), eventually contributed to the augmented militarism in Japan during the late 1920’s and 1930’s.

The most disastrous move against religions in modern Chinese history occurred during the Cultural Revolution (or Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution) that lasted from 1966 to 1976. Many religious monasteries, shrines, churches, statues, and other worshipping sites were severely damaged or even totally eradicated. Soon after the chaos of the post-Mao period subsided, and after Deng Xiaoping had taken the lead in China, reforms were initiated, and religions in China started to enjoy a remarkable revival, a speedy recovery, and an astonishing dissemination.

Shinto is the natural religion of Japan and was once its national religion. It includes the worship of kami or spirits. Some kami arelocal, and the spirit is of a particular place – like Amaterasu, the Sun goddess, or Mount Fuji. This religion has no established dogma or unique book, no holiest place, no person or kami viewed as the most sacred, and no well-defined customary prayers. As an alternative, Shinto offers worshippers an assortment of rituals and methods intended to control the relations between living people and the spirits. The key leitmotif in the Shinto religion is love and reverence for ordinary artifacts and processes.

Literacy is defined as knowledge of 1,500 Chinese characters in rural locations and 2,000 characters in urban areas.

Today, the Chinese have a relatively good standard of living in the cities (where about 800 million people live), with meaningfully enhanced facilities for housing and education. The healthy Chinese economic growth is impressive; it has risen on average 8% per year in the 21st century. In some less populous regions, the improvement of the standard of living is faster. In addition, there has been a real enhancement in the status of women; the rights of senior citizens and children get steadily more protection and care. Chinese society has become more open, accommodating to technology challenges and ending up being self-sustained in these new times of the globalization and the quest for the sustainability of the world civilization. Clearly, the Chinese people want to modernize their way of living, but they do not necessarily wish to Westernize. Although the latter policy is liked by the young generation today, power still resides with an older, more traditional, “Communist Party” elite.

Rice is the main agricultural crop in Japan and it is highly subsidized. Those desiring to import rice must pay high tariffs. Regarding food, Japan imports meat and wheat from the United States and China.

At present, Weibo, a primary social networking service in China, plays a leading role in Chinese e-democracy. Many government departments have Weibo accounts, through which they can announce official news and communicate with the public at any time. A typical example is that the trial of Bo Xilai’s case (about a corrupted top politician) was broadcasted synchronously by Weibo.

Western-style  fast food in China  is a fresh wonder, again deeply reshaping Chinese culture and daily life. As of October 1987, Kentucky Fried Chicken became the most widespread fast food chain in China, when the first such restaurant was opened in  Beijing. Why? Because chicken meat is very popular in China.

The distinctive anime art style appeared in the 1960s with the contributions of OsamuTezuka. Dueto his creative artistry, it spread internationally in the late 20th century, creating a large domestic and international audience.

The countryside is full of single men since few women want to marry farmers or bear the work of rural life. “Wives here are wanted primarily for their labor,” one rural Japanese woman told the Los Angeles Times. “That is why the Japanese women do not want to do it.” One said that in his town, only five out of 30 girls in his school class stayed to marry men in his hometown.

The worst traffic jam in history was a 100-km queue on the Beijing-Tibet highway in August 2010, where drivers were held up for over 20 days. The cause of the chaos was hundreds of heavy trucks transporting coal from Inner Mongolia to power stations in the capital Beijing.