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Q: Aren't dictionaries fun?
From the Oxford New American Dictionary:
Civilization- the stage of human social development and organization that is considered most advanced.
Or
Civilize: bring to a stage of social, cultural, and moral development considered to be more advanced. polite and well-mannered.
So, when did that 5000 years begin and end?
6 years 24 weeks ago in Teaching & Learning - China
Ended in 1949...
LastTargarean:
Feels like you're forgetting some things-Japanese Occupation, Forfeiture of Hong Kong, ... Genghis Khan, etc.
ScotsAlan:
Lasttar.... Your knowlegable post seems to cover many centuries. What one do you conider current?
LastTargarean:
There never has been 5000 years of civilization. Not here, not anywhere. My educated guess is that ancient China had 500 (at most) non-consecutive years of civilization. My conservative estimate is closer to fifty...
Ended in 1949...
LastTargarean:
Feels like you're forgetting some things-Japanese Occupation, Forfeiture of Hong Kong, ... Genghis Khan, etc.
ScotsAlan:
Lasttar.... Your knowlegable post seems to cover many centuries. What one do you conider current?
LastTargarean:
There never has been 5000 years of civilization. Not here, not anywhere. My educated guess is that ancient China had 500 (at most) non-consecutive years of civilization. My conservative estimate is closer to fifty...
Just like everything else in China, the word has a different meaning here.
To be civilised in China means one does not shit in ones own rice bowl.
Englteachted:
But they actually do, I see people shitting on the grass and then playing and laying in the same grassy area.
mike168229:
Ah, but that is a shared space so they give not a toss. Shitting in ones own personal rice bowl is considered uncivilised.
Shining_brow:
I saw a dog take a shit today. Even it had the sense to go to the grassy bit surrounding a tree (that was in the pavement) to take its shit!
It is a lot easier to answer this question when you brush aside mainland china which is a false china, an anomaly.
The golden era, the one you surely can call civilised China started at CE 618 and ended CE 907, the Tang Dynasty. Strictly speaking though the good days lasted only the first half of that 289 years period, riots and looting started and spanned the second half. Most of the worthy of mentioning artistic achievements of the Chinese culture come from there.
Religions and beliefs systems in that period included Chinese Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Chinese folk religion, Nestorianism, Manichaeism, Zoroastrianism. The best poets like Li Bai were born in that period.
It is a safe bet people in that period didn't pee, shit on the street, or scream at their kids at today's police siren pitch. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tang_dynasty
China is still around, but broken into pieces, scattering all over Asia, in Japan, Taiwan, HK, Singapore.......etc. Pretty civilised. LoL
LastTargarean:
Those ceramics are nice. Ancient China did have, well,...China. But I see little to no high quality artistic value in any if their paintings. I was probably spoiled by the Renaissance, but Chinese art is lacking in quality. To quote The Office (USA) "Art takes courage."
earthizen:
Me neither. Their paintings simply aren't uplifting, just like their music. Those landscape black and white paintings, yuck. Monet 's ones are what I can hang (and I did) on the wall without puking all over the floor.
Yeah, the scuplures, porcelain artififacts, pots, plates, even dolls I can accept as having artistic values. One can find harmony and peace in these works.
