At one time or another, many an American child hears a story to the effect that, if one digs deep enough into the ground, one will come out on the other side of the world—in China, to be precise. Because it is on the other side of the world, the rumor goes, in China people walk upsidedown.
Of course the Chinese walk right-side up like the rest of humanity, but there is a little truth in the myth: to Americans, China is such a different place that it might as well be upside down. Chinese names, in fact, are "backwards" to Westerners: the family name goes first, and the first name, or given name, second. In its written form, the Chinese language is read from right to left, instead of left to right as in English. Chinese books are read from "back" to "front." For the Chinese, what an American would call the back of the book is the front.
The Chinese language is extremely difficult for Westerners to learn. In its spoken form it sounds nothing like the more familiar tongues of Europe. If one listens closely enough to someone speaking French, German, or Italian, one will hear plenty of words that have closely related English counterparts, because these languages are all related to English in the Indo-European family. In Chinese, on the other hand, none of the words sound familiar. Westerners often describe the sound of the spoken language as "singsong."
Given the unfamiliarity of Chinese ways to a Westerner, it is worthwhile for a student of Chinese history to understand the different way that the ancient Chinese viewed the world and the historical reasons behind those views. From ancient times, the Chinese considered themselves the "Middle Kingdom," meaning that they were the center of the world. This selfconcept prevailed into modern times and helps to explain why China was slow to adapt to the changes brought by Europeans in the 1800s.
It is easy to understand why the Chinese held this view. In contrast to their own highly developed civilization, the nomads at their borders lived in huts and had no written language. Because the civilization of India lay beyond the high mountains of the Himalayas, and
Dealt harshly with many of the peoples they conquered in the process of taking the Promised Land. Hammurabi's laws, which took effect in Babylon about the time the Shang Dynasty began, were unusual for even taking into account the rights of the less powerful.
Because other ancient states such as Egypt or Babylonia were thousands of miles away, for a long time the Chinese thought that they were the only civilized people on earth.
These facts resulted in two other key aspects of Chinese history. Because China had no neighboring civilizations on a level with their own, Chinese monarchs could not form alliances with other countries by marrying into their royal houses, as for instance Ramses II of Egypt did when he took a Hittite bride. Instead, Chinese kings could only marry daughters of noblemen, and this sometimes created tense interfamily rivalries. Furthermore, unlike empires such as Persia, China seldom attempted to conquer other peoples, because there were no peoples to conquer—at least, no peoples the Chinese considered worth the effort. The focus of China, therefore, was inward rather than outward.
Instead of viewing themselves in contrast to other societies, people in a given era of Chinese history saw themselves in contrast to other times in China. When they looked closely at their
History, they saw it not as a straight line— the way Westerners are accustomed to thinking of time—but rather as a series of cycles. A new ruling house would rise in the land, bringing with it prosperity and order. Over time, however, it would lose the "Mandate of Heaven." Its power would fall, resulting in a period of unrest that lasted until a new house arose.
These cycles seemed to last about 250 or 300 years, and this fact too influenced the Chinese view of the world. Whereas modern Americans are accustomed to looking at time in short spans, the Chinese, particularly the ancient Chinese, viewed time in centuries. This perspective resulted in a certain view of the individual and his or her place in the world.
If one looks at time in periods of 200 or 300 years and if one lives in the most populous nation on earth, it is hard to think that one person really matters a great deal in the grand scheme of things. Thus instead of asserting their individual wills (as Americans are certainly accustomed to doing), the Chinese tended to submit to the authority of rulers.
World History
