The Glimpse of Chinese Culture 卓越课程中心3中国文化的一瞥卓越课程中心.pptVIP

Chapter 2 Historical Figures Yuanmou Man and Peking Man The first primitive man known to have existed in China is Yuanmou Man, who lived 1.7 million years ago. Peking Man, who existed more than 400,000 years ago, could walk upright, make and use simple tools, and make use of fire. The Ancient Period Why are we called “the descendants of Yan and Huang (炎黄子孙)”? Chinese history began with two legendary figures—Emperor Huang and Emperor Yan, who, together with their tribes, inhabited the drainage area along the middle reaches of the Yellow River. By the time of Xia Dynasty, after centuries of living side by side, these two tribes had gradually merged into one. Consequently, the Chinese people usually themselves “the descendants of Yan and Huang”. Yu conquering the flood Yu inspired people to dig ditches to divert water instead of building dams. He worked ceaselessly for 13 years and succeeded in controlling the floods. Printing Printing, known as “mother of civilization”, was a great invention of the Chinese people. It has a long history and includes block printing (雕版印刷) and movable type printing (活字印刷). Block Printing was probably invented between the Sui and Tang dynasties. The process of block printing started with the cutting of wood into blocks, and then characters were engraved in relief (凸起) on the blocks. Ink was brushed on the engraved block and a white sheet of paper was spread across it and then brushed with a clean brush on its back leaving an image when the paper was removed. The world’s oldest surviving book printed on paper is Vajra Sutra (《金刚经》). It is the earliest woodcut illustration in a printed book. Bi Sheng: Founder of Movable Type Printing Movable Type Printing involved engraving single words into pieces of clay, firing them until hardened and using them as permanent type. The type was then set into printing plates. Traditional Chinese Medicine（TCM） Traditional Chinese painting, Beijing Opera, and traditional Chinese medicine are known t