|
China has a very ancient origin. China is the Greece and
Rome of East Asia. Unlike in what became known as "Europe,"
the Chinese civilization never died but has had a continuous
existence for at least 5,000 years.
The comparison to Greece and Rome only serves to illustrate
the continuity of Chinese civilization for there are many
important dissimilarities. China did not have significant
and institutional slavery, for example. Nor should the comparison
imply that China is unchanging. On the contrary, China has
imported and diffused cultures, religions, technologies, ideas,
and ideologies from all over the world throughout its history.
China, like the United States, Europe, and most parts of
the world is a great synthesis of humans. Through all the
political and ideological vissectitudes of Chinese history,
there remains a sense of unity among Chinese, a belief that
China is not so much one country or nation but a civilization.
|
remains found in Yunnan 
province.
,
discovered in the 1920s, was a tool-maker with an understanding
of fire 500,000 years ago.
who, it is believed, took power in 2697 B.C.