When Was Chinese Civilization Born?

People's Daily ^ | 4-5-2007 | Zhou Yixing

[ASA Vet]

Someday hopefully.

[fireforeffect]

A long time ago, on a continent far away.

[blam]

GGG Ping.

Researchers Shed New Lights On Origin Of Ancient Chinese Civilization (Posted 2-6-2006)

[AIM-54]

Who knows. they’ve lost it several times over the ages.

[edcoil]

The History channel ran a show over the weekend about China history not they really invented everything thousands of years ago from oil drilling rigs to gears, computers and earthquake detection machines. Said their inventors rivaled or surpassed the wests greatest thinkers like Leonardo di Vinci I'd like to know then why in those thousands of years, they did nothing with them? Where did they go? What caused the billions of people to have nothing for so many generations?

[stockpirate]

What if Leonardo di Vinci was not an inventor, but only an artist that drew what he saw around him?

[edcoil]

Actually he was an inventor for many years. In his later years he was the artist.

[muawiyah]

From time to time China has been the most prosperous, advanced and civilized place on Earth. Then, on the other hand, it has been the poorest, meanest and most savage place on Earth.

Their Dark Age (the one that began about 540 AD, simultaneously with the one in Europe) lasted only 300 years rather than 800 or so. Gave them a head start on us. However, by the mid 1700s they decided to legalize dope and it all went up in smoke.

There are Americans who wish to replicte the Chinese experience.

[GSlob]

When dealing with a dragon culture, one needs to start with making the dragons extinct.

[lilylangtree]

Heard on a radio program yesterday that the Chinese word (excuse my spelling) “shevidai” is a variation on the Hebrew word “shaddadah”. The radio host was pointing out so-called coincidences in the different languages.

[pgkdan]

Said their inventors rivaled or surpassed the wests greatest thinkers like Leonardo di Vinci I'd like to know then why in those thousands of years, they did nothing with them? Where did they go? What caused the billions of people to have nothing for so many generations?

You're not supposed to ask those questions. You're supposed to feel shame for your Eurocentric values and opinions and admit that EVERY culture that has ever graced the face of this planet is superior in some way to Western Civilization.

[isom35]

...ancient Chinese secret...

[Hoosier-Daddy]

Well, they’re both enterprising and good with money. Flame away!

[edcoil]

I once read they were like the USA, China was all over the planet and the emperor found how crazy the rest of the world was and recalled all his ships and burn’t them in the harbor and built the great wall - telling the rest of the world what we should today -

[muawiyah]

Close, but not exactly in that sequence. The Ming Treasure Fleet was out there floating around in the early 1400s. The Great Wall was built in several stages going back many centuries before.

The Chinese do still think of their country as the center of civilization.

Here's a parable ~ Heaven is a Japanese wife, Chinese cooking and an American home.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Blam. "The Middle Kingdom" ping.

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[Sam Ketcham]

If they replace a Dragon with a “long” - a “long” WHAT?

[duffus]

The Chinese are civilized?

[Thumper1960]

The more pertinent question is: when did it die?

Sometime before Mao, I'd think. Though Mao did finally cremate the remains.