I am embarking on a new book. It is meant to be a compendium for ethnic Chinese.
I list out all the dynasties, eras, etc - from Huang-di about 5,000 years ago to Xi's China today. And in the chapters for each of these dynasties and eras I insert information that I think may be of interest to non-experts - about beliefs, festivals, classics, wisdom from certain idioms, art, culture and traditions. I hope ethnic Chinese will take pride of their roots.
I look forward to friends' and readers' support on this effort of time! I will be posting the chapters on this blog of mine on a regular basis. (Maybe only one or two chapters a week to prevent any syndrome of readership fatigue. I welcome all forms of feedback. Please privately message me at yubooklim@gmail.com if you have any.
The first two chapters are as follows:
Chapter
1
Huang-di
黃帝 and Before
Credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60794173
Early evidence of millet agriculture in the Yellow River basin was carbonated to about 9,000 years ago and cultivated rice in the Yangtze River basin some 1,000 years later. With agriculture came an increased population. Pigs and dogs were the earliest domesticated animals in the region, and after about 5,000 ago domesticated cattle and sheep arrived from Western Asia.
Bronze artifacts (between 3100 and 2700 BC) have been found in
the upper Yellow River region in eastern Gansu.
Huang-di is a deity (神 – shen) figure to Chinese. He is still being worshipped as the originator of the Chinese civilisation and ruler of a centralized Chinese state. Several texts – such as the Huang-di Nei Jing (黄帝内经) a medical classic, and the Huang-di Si Jing (黄帝四经), a set of political treatises – were attributed to him. To this day the Yellow Emperor remains a powerful symbol of Chinese nationalism.
Chapter 2
Early Dynasties – Xia and Shang
Xia夏朝
[2100-1600 BC]/Shang 商朝; [1600-1100 BC]
Left:
Xia, Right: Shang
In a way the character 夏 (Xia, pin-yin Xià), preceded and taken together with another character 华 (Hua, pinyin Huá), i.e., 华夏 – Hua Xia – represents Chinese as a race – with a common cultural ancestry – by the various confederations of the pre-Qin China.
After Xia, it was Shang (商). Like Xia, Shang’s history is hazy; however, the dynasty did leave archeological evidence about its existence. The most famous of which are the oracle bones – the earliest known form of Chinese writing inscribed onto animal bones and turtle shells for divinations. Major discoveries have been made in the city of Anyang (安阳 in Henan), which is believed to be the last capital city of the Shang. Over 20,000 pieces of Chinese writing were discovered. Tens of thousands of artefacts, many of which were in bronze, were unearthed and the workmanship displayed demonstrates it was a highly civilized society. (Given this fact, obviously, the writing had been developed earlier.)
It
is said that last Shang King, Xin (辛),
was defeated in battle by King Wu of Zhou (周武王),
forcing the Shang king to commit suicide. His son was kept on by King WU to
rule Shang as a puppet leader.
Archaeologists have unearthed a large number of artefacts in a finding called San Xing Dui (三星堆) in Central China (Sichuan). There was indeed a parallel bronze-age civilisation then; however, it had mysteriously vanished.
Written
Chinese (中文, Zhōng Wén)
Chinese
is one of the oldest continually used writing systems still in use. The
characters themselves are often composed of parts that may represent physical
objects, abstract notions, or pronunciation. Literacy requires the
memorization of a great number of characters: college-educated Chinese speakers
should know about 4,000.
Various
current Chinese characters have been traced back to the late Shang
dynasty, but the process of creating characters is thought to have begun
some centuries earlier. After a period of variation and evolution, Chinese
characters were standardized under the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC).
Because
of its geography, pronunciations develop into unintelligible local varieties,
but all are able to communicate through its writing. It was not until the early
20th century that Classical Chinese was replaced by vernacular Chinese.
Chinese
characters were extensively used in Korea, Japan and Vietnam until nationalism
crept in to replace them.
Chinese
characters are developed on six basic principles. The first two principles
produce simple characters, known as 文 wén:
1. Pictographs (象形 xiàng xíng), in
which the character is a graphical depiction of the object it denotes.
Examples: 人 rén "person" (from
2. Ideographs (指事 zhǐ shì), in
which the character represents an abstract notion. Examples: 上 shàng "up",
下 xià "down",
三 sān "three".
The
remaining four principles produce complex characters historically called 字 zì (although
this term is now generally used to refer to all characters, whether simple or
complex). Of these four, two construct characters from simpler parts:
3. Logical Aggregates (会意 huì yì),
in which two or more parts or characters are used to construct a composite character
to illustrate a concept. E.g., “east” in Chinese is 東, which is made up of two
characters 日 (Sun) and 木 (tree). The Sun rises amongst the trees. From where? East, of
course. Hence 東, However, 東has now been simplified
to 东!
4. Phonetic Complexes (形聲/形声 xíng shēng), in which one part denotes the general essence
of the character (such as water-related or eye-related), and the other part of
the character is used for its phonetic value. Example: 晴 qíng "clear/fair (weather)", which
is composed of 日 rì "sun",
and 青 qīng "blue/green",
which is used for its pronunciation.
In contrast to the popular conception of Chinese as a primarily pictographic or ideographic language, the vast majority of Chinese characters (about 95%) are constructed as either logical aggregates or phonetic complexes.
The last two principles do not produce new written forms; instead, they transfer new meanings to existing forms:
5. Transference (转注 zhuǎn zhù), in which a character, often with a
simple, concrete meaning takes on an extended, more abstract meaning. Example: 網/网 wǎng "net",
which was originally a pictograph depicting a fishing net. Over time, it has
taken on an extended meaning, covering any kind of lattice, or even to a
computer network.
6. Adaptation
or Borrowed Form (假借 jiǎ jiè), in
which a character is used, either intentionally or accidentally, for some
entirely different purpose. Example: 哥 gē "older
brother", which is written with a character originally meaning
"song/sing" 歌 gē. There was no character for
"older brother", so an otherwise unrelated character with the right
pronunciation was borrowed for that meaning.
Chinese characters are written to fit into a square, even when composed of two simpler forms written side-by-side or top-to-bottom. In such cases, each form is compressed to fit the entire character into a square.
Source: Wikipedia
Chinese Surnames. Xing (姓 Xìng)
Han-Chinese are believed to be the first
people to use surnames. The earliest surnames might be matrilineal, but Han
Chinese family names have been patrilineal for millennia, passing from father
to children. Prior to the Warring States period (fifth century BC), only
the ruling families and the aristocratic elite had surnames.
Chinese view their surnames as part of their
shared kinship and Han identity. Chinese are exogamous and they are
supposed to refrain from marrying those with the same family name. (Koreans,
which follow many traditional Chinese practices, are most diligent on this
practice.
Married women used Shi (氏) to denote their maiden
origin.
Around 2,000 Han Chinese surnames are currently in use. 19 surnames are used by around half of the Han Chinese people, while 100 surnames are used by around 87% of the population. Wang (王) and Li (李), Zhang (张), Liu (刘), Chen (陳), Yang (杨), Huang (黃), Zhao (赵), Wu (吳) and Zhou (周). Many non-Han Chinese have adopted such surnames.
The San Xing Dui (三星堆) Discovery
References to the existence of a Shu kingdom that may be dated reliably to such an early period in Chinese historical records are scant. The kingdom is mentioned in Shi Ji (史記) and Shu Jing (书经) as an ally of the Zhou who defeated the Shang. The Shu Kingdom was founded by Can Cong (蠶叢) who was described as having protruding eyes, a feature that is found in many of the masks and figures of San Xing Dui. It has therefore been suggested that the large masks with protruding eyes are a representation of Can Cong, but that is just an interpretation.
Bronze objects found included sculptures of humans, bells, axes and animals such as dragons, snakes, and birds. Other were made of gold or carved out of jades. There was also a large number of ivory and clam shells. The most striking finds were dozens of large bronze masks and heads that carried angular human features with exaggerated almond-shaped eyes and protruding pupils, and large upper ears. Researchers were astonished to find an artistic style that was completely unknown in the history of Chinese art.
The San Xing Dui culture is indeed a mysterious civilization. The culture had certainly developed a different method of bronze-making from that of Shang’s. It is also clear that it was quite an advanced one as well.
The large number of seashells excavated at the ruins came from the Indian Ocean, meaning that they must have been transported from ancient India.
But it vanished out of thin air after this. Was there a huge natural disaster, like an earthquake that befell them? But what had happened to the bodies of the victims? No traces have remained.
Mid-Autumn
Festival (中秋节 Zhōng Qiū Jié )
(The 15th
Day of the 8th Moon)
Lanterns of all sizes and shapes are carried and displayed. They are symbolic beacons that light people's path to prosperity and good fortune. Mooncakes typically filled with sweet-bean, egg yolk, meat or lotus-seed paste are traditionally prepared for this festival.
The
Mid-Autumn Festival is based on the legend of Chang’e (more correctly
Chang Er?), the Moon goddess in Chinese mythology. The story was about a
hero named Hou Yi (后羿) who was an excellent archer and his wife Chang'e. One year, ten
suns rose in the sky together, causing great disaster to the people. Hou Yi
shot down nine of the suns and left only one to provide light. An immortal
admired Hou Yi and sent him the elixir of immortality. Hou Yi let Chang’e keep
it, for he did not want to be immortalized alone. However, Peng Meng, one of
his apprentices, knew this secret. On the 15th day of an 8th
moon, when Hou Yi went hunting, Peng Meng broke into Hou Yi's house and wanted Chang'e
to give the elixir to him. Chang'e refused. She swallowed it and it made her fly
into the sky. As she loved her husband, she chose the moon – which was nearest
to the Earth then – as home, instead of the faraway stars.
Hou Yi was
devastated. On the 15th day of every 8th moon, he could see
the silhouette or grainy image of Chang’e with her jade rabbit clearly on the surface
of the Moon. He would bring out her favourite cake to offer her.
Soon
Chang’e became the “goddess” of the Moon and the custom of praying to the Moon
on Mid-Autumn Day has been handed down for thousands of years since then.
But there
is yet another version: After Hou Yi shot down nine of the ten suns, he was
pronounced king by the thankful people. However, he soon became conceited and
tyrannical. Wanting to have an eternal life, he asked for the elixir from Xi
Wang-mu (Queen Mother of the Heavenly West). But his wife, Chang'e, kept it
because she did not want Hou Yi to live long and hurt more people. Hou Yi became
angry when he discovered that Chang'e had taken the elixir, he shot at his wife
as she flee to the moon but missed. People were touched, and that day – the 15th
day of the 8th moon – was commemorated.
Legends,
legends, legends…
Today Chang’e
is China’s space programme that sends missions to the Moon. Its Jade
Rabbit (Yùtù-2 – 玉兔二号) is still roving on the dark side of the moon.
[1] Huang may not be his surname. Yellow River or Huang He is the
cradle of Chinese civilisation. He is simply being revered as the Father of Huang
or Yellow civilisation.
[2] Again, none of these names might be surnames. Surnames came later.
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