The root of Chinese cultureIn the present-day world, only the Chinese civilization, which pertains to East Asia and originated along the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, has maintained a continuous and uninterrupted process of development lasting 5,000 years. Though it has experienced various grave wrecks and trials caused by alien invasions and civil wars it has never once been suspended in development.
Therefore, scholars, both Chinese and foreign, have reached a comparatively uniform consensus of opinion in their recognition of the basic characteristic of Chinese culture; that is, it is extensive and profound, tracing back its origin to very ancient times, and having a puissant vitality. And the gist of this mainstream Chinese culture is manifested in concentrated form in the philosophical view of the history of this race. The classical philosophy of China in Chinese culture was born in remote past when there was no written language to be used as the carrier of information. The development of this philosophy has a history of at least seven to eight thousand years. The whole society paid great attention to it from the very beginning, and people in it used the philosophy in their professions and scholarly research work..For this reason, the classical philosophy of China profoundly influenced different aspects of China¡¯s culture, such as China¡¯s politics, economics, military affairs, law, ceremony and etiquette, education, astronomy, geography, music, architecture, calligraphy, and painting. All the more closely and inseparably bound up with China¡¯s classical philosophy was the establishment of the traditional Chinese medical theories.So the root of Chinese culture is ancient philosophy. |