Interesting facts about China. History of China

21.09.2019

You can use the report on China for children to prepare for the lesson.

Story about China

China is officially called the People's Republic of China (PRC) and its capital is Beijing. The vast territory of China is located in the expanses of Central and East Asia. The north of China is boundless steppes, often covered with snow in winter, the south is tropical greenery and warm sea. In the east and southeast, the state is washed by the waters of the Yellow, Bohai, East China and South China seas.

China belongs to the ancient civilizations. It has a long and interesting history. Until the 19th century, it was the most advanced state and the main cultural center of East Asia.

Printed books, china, silk, mirrors, umbrellas and kites are just a few of the everyday items that were invented by the Chinese and are still used by people all over the world today.

China also belongs to a small number of states run by the communists. China is the world's largest state in terms of population; ranks third in the world in terms of territory, behind Russia and Canada.

The largest Chinese cities are Shanghai, Chongqing, Guangzhou and others. China is a mountainous country. More than 40% of the territory is mountainous. Some of the mountains are considered sacred in the Buddhist and Taoist religions that are widespread in China.

China is rich in various types of fuel and raw mineral resources, especially large reserves of oil, coal, and metal ores. There are mineral deposits. China is also the largest producer of gold.

The PRC is the world leader in the production of most types of industrial products, including the production of automobiles and consumer demand for them. The world's largest exporter ("factory of the world"). It has the largest gold and foreign exchange reserves in the world.

Although the country has a big drawback - one of the lowest rates of press freedom. Other staggering indicators are the rather low unemployment rate, the speed with which almost 50% of the population has been lifted out of poverty, a strict family planning policy, etc.

The infrastructure of the state is quite developed. Transport in the country is also developing very rapidly. New highways, expressways, bridges and tunnels appear every year. Cars, trains and bicycles are the most popular means of transportation. Urban public transport is the busiest and longest on Earth. The number of airports is not very large for such a country, but the speed of construction of new ones is impressive.

China is a huge state washed by four seas. In terms of territory, it is second only to Canada and Russia, and in terms of population, it confidently occupies a leading position in the world. More than 1 billion 368 million people live in China today!

Since China is a power that occupies a gigantic space, almost all climatic zones are represented in it: from the subarctic (in the north of the country) to the tropics (in the south).
China as a state is more than 5 thousand years old. And the first settlements of primitive people on the lands now subject to China appeared 1.7 million years ago.

The inhabitants of the Celestial Empire (as the Chinese proudly called themselves from antiquity) own inventions and discoveries that are important for all mankind. Thanks to the Chinese, we learned about typography, got acquainted with the compass and discovered amazingly thin and beautiful silk fabrics. This is where gunpowder was invented. Chinese acupuncture (acupuncture) brings relief to a large number of people suffering from various ailments. Today it has received recognition from official medicine and is practiced all over the world. Children's favorite treat - ice cream - also comes from China. Somehow (about 4 millennia ago) one citizen forgot a portion of rice and milk in the snow, and when he returned, he found that a simple meal had turned into a delicious dessert.

China is the birthplace of ice cream

The Chinese are an incredibly hardworking people. Many have 2-3 educations. It is customary to study until at least 30 years old, and classes at universities continue from morning until late evening. The Chinese language is extremely difficult to master: in it, many words that are similar in spelling are pronounced with completely different intonations and can sometimes take on opposite meanings. Perhaps it is this feature that determines the large number of people with a well-developed ear for music among the Chinese: after all, from childhood they have to distinguish the subtlest shades of sounds.
For the Chinese, the culture of eating behavior is very important. Their traditional greeting is not "Good afternoon!" but "Have you eaten?". In the north of the country they love all kinds of dishes based on noodles, in the south - based on rice.

Time to dine!

The number "4" in China is practically banned. The fact is that its sound is similar to the hieroglyph meaning death. Therefore, in elevators there is no button with the mark “4th floor”, and in hospitals there are no wards with the number 4.
Modern China is a strong power that is steadily increasing its economic power and gaining more and more influence in the international arena. China has entered the UN Security Council, is one of the first places in the field of space exploration. It was only recently, in the 1950s. last century - in the mountains of China (Autonomous Region of Tibet) slavery flourished. The mass of people was illiterate, the economy was in decline. How the Chinese managed to overcome so many difficulties in such a short period of time by historical standards is an insoluble mystery for us. However, perhaps the answer lies in the strict adherence to discipline, mandatory for every inhabitant of the Celestial Empire. The vertical of power here is almost sacred, and a sense of responsibility for oneself, one's family, one's country is instilled from a young age. While the world was enthusiastically playing democracy, the Chinese worked calmly and selflessly, implicitly following the orders of those in power.


It is not given to us to know the future, but today such a policy seems to have borne fruit: China has resolutely taken the lead and attracted the interested views of strong world powers. Perhaps, he is destined to soon firmly take a leading position among the world's first states in many areas of development. Wait and see!

Brief information about China.


Travels and discoveries were made by all peoples of the world. Such centers of human civilization as China and India are no exception in this regard.
The civilization of Ancient China originates in the middle of the II millennium BC. e. in the Juane river basin. By the end of the II millennium BC. The Chinese settled in East Asia, reaching the banks of the Amur in the north and the southern tip of the Indochinese Peninsula. In ancient China, spatial ideas about the surrounding world were also not limited to the borders of their country. Chinese travelers were well aware of the geography of China. The ancient Chinese sailed not only on their rivers, but also went out on their ships to the Pacific Ocean.
Already in the period of the Shan-Yin dynasty (XVII - XII centuries BC), the Chinese state had overseas colonies. You can learn about this from the Shan Odes, in one of the parts of the Book of Songs. In the XI century BC. during the ascension to the throne of one of the emperors of the Zhou dynasty, a ship was presented to him as a gift.
The fact that sea travel was an integral part of the life of Ancient China is evidenced by the fact that the ruler of the kingdom of Qi in the VI century BC. for six months sailed on a ship on the sea for research purposes. The Chinese philosopher Confucius spent over 13 years as an itinerant teacher.
In addition to merchant and pleasure ships, powerful warships also existed in ancient China. The chronicler reports a major naval battle between the kingdoms of Wu and Qi in 485 BC. It is known that in these kingdoms there were special shipyards where military, civil ships, as well as ships for government officials and ambassadors were built.
To intensify trade in ancient China from the 7th century. BC. detailed geographical overviews were created, which can be considered as a prototype of a guidebook. They described not only natural conditions, but also the economy, transport, etc.
During the Zhangguo era, pilgrimage and scientific tourism were born in China. The priests went to the Bohaiwan Bay (Yellow Sea) to the islands of Penglai and Yingzhou, where the elders lived, who owned the secret of immortality.
Another example of the deep knowledge of the Chinese in geography is the construction of the Great Wall of China. Its construction, which began in the 4th c. BC, proves the excellent knowledge of the Chinese in the field of physical geography. The wall ran clearly along the border separating the steppe regions, where the nomads lived, from the agricultural ones.
The intensity of travel in ancient China increased in the III century. BC. during the Han Dynasty. Two factors contributed to this: a) the presence of well-developed means of communication in the country, b) the liberalization of political life.
The most famous traveler of ancient China was Sima Qian. Three great journeys of Sima Qian are known, which were made in the period 125 - 120 BC
The first is to the southwest and northwest of China. Along the lower reaches of the Yellow River, Sima Qian passed through the valleys of the Huaihe and Yangtze rivers to Taihu Lake. Further, south of the Yangtze and through Zhejiang, he arrived in the last possession of China in the south, the province of Hunan. The way back passed along the Xiangjiang River, Dong-ting Lake, the lower reaches of the Yangtze and further north.
The second is the newly conquered areas in the southwest by China. Through Sichu-an and Yunnan province, Sima Qian reached the border of China with Burma.
The third is to the northwest along the Great Wall of China to the province of Gansu.
Sima Qian not only traveled, but also described his travels in detail. He is called "the father of Chinese historiography", in European literature "Chinese Herodotus". His "Historical Notes" were a kind of standard for subsequent historians. Sy-ma Qian describes in most detail the northern neighbors of China - the Huns, who in the III century. BC. formed a tribal alliance. His writings also provide geographical information about China's southwestern neighbors, such as Korea.
The works of Sima Qian have been partially translated and published in European languages. The translation into Russian was made by N.Ya.Bichurin. It is contained in the "Collection of information about the peoples who lived in Central Asia in ancient times" (M., 1950).
One of the first Chinese travelers was Zhang Qian, who lived around the 2nd century BC. BC. and held a diplomatic post at the imperial court. He often traveled abroad on business. His travels are detailed by Sima Qian.
Zhang Qian was entrusted with concluding a military alliance between China and the nomadic Yuezhen tribe against the Huns. On this mission, Zhang Qian was captured by the Huns, where he spent 10 years. After he managed to escape from captivity, he went to the west, overcame the Central Tien Shan and went to Lake Issyk-Kul. There he learned that the Yuezhen had migrated to the Ferghana Valley. But even in the valley he did not find this tribe, since it migrated beyond the borders of Bactria, located along the middle course of the Amu Darya. Having gone there, Zhang Qian discovered this tribe, but he could not fulfill his mission, because by that time the tribe had conquered vast territories and was no longer able to wage new wars. Zhang Qian's way back ran through the Pamirs, the southern tip of Takla-Makan, Lake Lop Nor. On the border with China, he is again captured by the Huns. Only two years later he managed to escape from captivity and return to his homeland.
While traveling, Zhang Qian constantly kept notes. He described Bukhara, the valley of the Ili River, the steppes of Kyrgyzstan, the territory of modern Kazakhstan, located north of the Syr Darya. Zhang Qian's journey was of great economic importance. Chinese merchants rushed west along the route he had traveled. They penetrated not only into Central Asia and India, but also into the countries of Asia Minor and Palestine.
Like other peoples, the ancient Chinese had geographical maps, which they compiled with great care. The oldest surviving maps date back to the Han Dynasty (168 BC). In the 70s. 20th century two maps made on silk were found. One of them is purely geographical, and the other is military. Scientific cartography begins with the encyclopedist Zhang Heng in the 2nd century BC. AD He was the first to create a geographical grid. And in the III century. AD In China, official standards for the production of maps had already been approved and there was a special bureau for the production of cartographic surveys. Card prints were made from wooden clichés.
The Chinese knew well the property of the magnetic needle. A ladle was cut from a piece of magnetite (natural magnetic iron ore), which was placed on a smooth stone surface. The handle of this bucket pointed south. This device was called "Sinan". In China, they also used a plumb line - a "shadow indicator" to determine the time of day. Moreover, the ancient Chinese had a geographical literature. The most famous books include "The Book of Rivers", "The Book of Seas and Mountains", "The Book of Chinese Geography".
The significance of China in the socio-cultural space of that time was enormous. In the chronicle of 166 BC. contains information about the visit of Chinese merchants to the Roman Empire and their meeting with Emperor Marcus Aurelius Anthony. Chinese merchants paved the way through Central Asia, the Middle East, Palestine to Ancient Rome, which gave rise to the "Great Silk Road". But China's closest trading partners were the peoples who inhabited the Indian subcontinent.

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In the II millennium BC. The first state was formed on the territory of Northern China. The Chinese themselves had several variants of the name of their country, although the names of the reigning dynasties were most often used: Shang. Zhou, Qin. Han and others. The largest river in China, of course, is the Yangtze. All of central China this is the river basin. Southern China is crossed by the Xijiang River. And yet the main river of China is considered to be the stormy Yellow River, nicknamed the Yellow River for the color of the water. It was on this river, flowing through the regions of Northern China, that the 16th century arose. BC. the state of Yin (Shang), which gave rise to one of the amazing civilizations of the ancient world. At the end of the XI-beginning of the XII centuries. BC. bloody clashes between the Chinese and the Chou and Qiang tribes led to the expansion of the ecumene of the ancient Chinese and the opening of the Great Chinese Plain.

These aggressive military campaigns are accompanied by the expansion of the geographical representations of the ancient Chinese. From the 11th century BC. the struggle of the Chong rulers leads to victory over the Yin people, uniting many tribes, they create the state of Zhou, which they call the "Celestial" or "Middle Country". Further, the confrontation between the seven main kingdoms goes on with varying success over the centuries, until in 221. BC. ruler of the Qin kingdom. having conquered all states, did not declare himself Emperor Qin Shi Huang. After the unification of China, the emperor ordered 11 to build a solid wall to protect the northwestern borders of the empire from the attack of nomadic peoples and to ensure the safety of the caravan route to the West. The Great Wall of China stretched for 4 5,000 km from Liaodong Bay to the passage between the Beishan and Nanshan ranges. Wall height reaches 6.6 10m, bottom width 6.5 m, and the top 5.5 m. Every few hundred meters on the Great Wall of China there were watchmen of the tower, and at the main mountain ranges of the fortress, and although the wall turned out to be an ineffective defensive structure, it is still one of the tourist attractions.

Many books have been written about the achievements of ancient Chinese culture. It is the inhabitants of ancient China who are credited with the invention of silk, the war chariot and gunpowder. Chinese travelers from ancient times used the properties of a magnetic needle, knew how to draw up and print maps. The most famous of them is considered a book on the geography of China. "Yuking". These maps testify to the fact that the geography of the travels of the ancient Chinese was quite extensive. From the end of the 4th century BC. in ancient China, a relatively reliable chronology of historical events appears.

History has left us the names of the first Chinese travelers, among them the famous Sim Qian, who is often called the "Chinese Herodotus." He was born in 145 BC.

After twenty years, he sets off on his first journey along the great Chinese rivers Huang He and Yangtze. Later, he visited many lands conquered by China since the Han Dynasty.

In his travel notes, which formed the basis of his multi-volume "Historical Notes", he gives a detailed description of the geographical and ethnographic nature of foreign peoples, "Historical Notes" consists of 130 sections and represents the first consolidated history of this country. Sim Ts'an tells about the life, religion and customs of the Huns who lived in III 2nd century BC. on a vast territory from the modern northeastern Chinese provinces to Central Asia.

Journey to China

For tourists in China, there is a great variety in the choice of a possible holiday. In the autumn-winter season, the land in Heilongjiang province is covered with a thick layer of snow, which makes it possible to ski and skate, play hockey, and participate in the sailing race on the ice burn in the Ice Sculpture Festival. For lovers there is an opportunity to hunt animals. At the same time, in the south of the country in the city of Sanya (Hainan Island), the weather is warm, the beaches are open. Here, almost all year round, you can swim in the sea, enjoying the sun and wonderful coconut trees growing on the coast.

Among the amazing natural phenomena, we should mention the largest waterfall in China - Huangguoshu, which is a group of 18 ground and 4 underground waterfalls. Here the average summer temperature is 23 degrees Celsius, it is never hot. Huangguoshu looks especially magnificent in late spring - early summer, when the water in the river rises and the waterfall begins to roar with such force that its roar is heard for 5 kilometers, and a whitish fog rises from the water spray above the waterfall.

The ancient Chinese civilization has existed for more than 7 millennia, and today, according to official data, there are more than 5,000 various historical and cultural monuments in China, many of which cause amazement and admiration among foreigners.

The capital of China - the city of Beijing - is the most important political, economic, cultural and historical center of the country. The first mention of a settlement on the territory of modern Beijing dates back to the 2nd millennium BC. History has left an indelible mark on the building and appearance of the capital of China. Beijing consists of the Inner City and the Outer City adjoining it from the south.

Within the Inner City is the "Purple Forbidden City", now the Gugong Museum, and in the past - the residence of Chinese emperors. The Forbidden City witnessed many dramatic events, including those that had great consequences for the fate of the state. This is one of the largest imperial palaces in the world, including 9999 large and small rooms and surrounded by a majestic fortress wall 10 meters high, outside of which there is a deep moat with water. For more than 500 years, the Forbidden City served as the residence for 24 Chinese emperors (Ming and Qing dynasties). All buildings in the territory of the Forbidden City are covered with golden glazed tiles, and the walls of all buildings are painted in dark red. Very beautiful are the wide front staircases made of marble, richly decorated with carved ornaments, along the balustrades there are white marble columns, also decorated with carved bas-reliefs. In the ceremonial pavilions in the southern part of the city, the emperors arranged audiences, received dignitaries and foreign ambassadors, and on ordinary days conducted state affairs.

The rear (northern) part of the territory is reserved for the chambers of the empress and imperial concubines, and the imperial garden completes the whole composition. Today, the Forbidden City has become the Gugong Museum, which exhibits household items used by the emperor and his family, as well as an exposition of antiques from all dynasties of Chinese emperors.

Also in Beijing is the mysterious Temple of Heaven, built over 500 years ago. Numerous prayers were traditionally held here, as well as sacrifices in honor of Heaven, and once a year a special ceremony was held to commemorate the ancestors of the Chinese emperor, who was considered the "son of Heaven". The territory of the temple is huge, but most of it is occupied not by buildings, but by a beautiful park where cypresses, yews and other trees grow. Among architectural structures, the Echo Wall is especially popular - an amazing example of the knowledge of the secrets of acoustics in Ancient China: if you stand at one end of it and pronounce a word, it will be clearly heard at the other end of the wall.



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