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Chinese civilization has a very long history among the cultures of all countries in the world. After more than 5000 years of development, the Chinese nation has accumulated extremely rich cultural heritage. This profound cultural accumulation not only provides a solid foundation for China's development and progress, but also makes important contributions to the diversity of world cultures.
With the acceleration of globalization, the international influence of Chinese culture continues to increase, and more and more countries and regions begin to understand and pay attention to Chinese culture. Many foreigners have taken a keen interest in the development and evolution of Chinese civilization. For example, a British professor once asked: How is the Chinese civilization unified over thousands of years?
The Chinese civilization can still remain unified after thousands of years, mainly depending on the following reasons:
Strong centralized system
As we all know, in the history of our country, most of the time was under the constraint of the centralized system. The rulers chose this system, in addition to strengthening the authority and control of the central rulers and preventing the emergence of local separatist regimes and separatist forces, the most important purpose is to maintain the integrity, unity and stability of the country.
China's centralized system originated in the Qin Dynasty and reached its peak in the Qing Dynasty. This system was marked by the unification of state functions and powers with the central government and the weakening of local leaders. In the Qin Dynasty, the first emperor took various measures to establish and improve this system in order to consolidate his rule over the country. Since then, this political and legal system has been continued by the rulers for more than 2000 years.
Therefore, during this period, China's political power has always been concentrated in the hands of core leaders, while local power has only played a supporting role.
Under the effect of this system, the national authorities can uniformly formulate national policies, laws and regulations to ensure national consistency, while the local leadership of each country only needs to obey the command and scheduling of the central ruler, thus reducing the possibility of regional division and separatism, as well as the constraints on cultural awareness.
Under the centralized system, rulers can formulate national cultural policies to promote the prosperity and development of culture, while local departments can promote the exchange and integration of local cultures by implementing the cultural policies issued by the central government, strengthening the cultural identity and cohesion of the Chinese nation, so that the Chinese civilization can achieve great unity.
Common cultural identity
As mentioned above, China has a long history and splendid culture, and this cultural identity plays an important role in promoting the unification of civilizations.
Different from other countries, China not only has a long history of five thousand years, but also inherits these historical traditions through word of mouth, book records, cultural relics display and other ways, so that every generation of Chinese people can feel the profound heritage and unique charm of their own culture. This kind of historical inheritance has made our people form a sense of identity with the common culture.
There is also the unity of language and characters. As the official language of China, Chinese is the language commonly used by people of all ethnic groups in the country. This common language has facilitated the exchange and communication between our people, and also enhanced the cultural identity between people.
By learning and using Chinese, people can have a deeper understanding of China's history, culture and values, thus promoting the unity of civilization.
Moreover, China's social system has been providing guarantee for the unification of Chinese civilization. China has been committed to promoting the development and prosperity of cultural undertakings and strengthening the protection and inheritance of cultural heritage. These measures can not only promote cultural exchanges and cooperation, but also enhance people's sense of identity and belonging to the common culture.
Impact of geographical environment
In addition, China has a vast territory and a complex and diverse geographical environment, but it has relatively closed geographical units as a whole. This geographical environment helps to reduce the interference and influence of external forces, and provides favorable conditions for the great unification of Chinese civilization.
First of all, China's vast inland space provides a huge stage for the survival, development and creation of the nation.
China is located in the east of the Asian continent, bordering the Pacific Ocean in the southeast, and in the central hinterland of the Eurasian continent in the west, southwest, and northwest. This geographical location allows the Chinese nation to have a broad enough world to create its own culture, interpret its own history, and provide a foundation for the independence and continuity of our culture.
Secondly, China's complex terrain and diverse climate provide favorable conditions for the development of the connotation and diversity of Chinese culture.
Complex landforms and different climates have had a tremendous impact on people's clothing, food, housing and transportation. People decide their own production and lifestyle based on these conditions, making our culture present a colorful picture. This diversity gradually merged in the process of history, forming a unique Chinese civilization.
Moreover, China's geographical environment has also promoted close exchanges between regions and ethnic groups.
Because China's geographical environment is an introverted and semi closed area, although this environment blocks the traffic outside the region to a certain extent, it also ensures the close communication between various ethnic groups, regions and regions within the region, which promotes the spread and integration of culture and provides the possibility for the great unification of Chinese civilization.
Most importantly, affected by the geographical environment, China has been divided and divided many times in history, but after each division, it can always be unified in various ways.
This historical experience has enabled the Chinese nation to form a strong sense of unity and the idea of great unity, which is not only reflected in political affairs, military affairs, but also reflected in cultural aspects. So the Chinese civilization can be unified.
Pluralistic and integrated ethnic policy
In addition to these factors, there is also an important feature that China is a multi-ethnic country. Because there are many nationalities, China has always implemented a multi-ethnic and integrated ethnic policy in history. Through this policy, we can respect and protect the cultures and traditions of all ethnic groups, and at the same time strengthen exchanges and integration among ethnic groups, which can promote the unity of Chinese civilization and national unity.
Under the promotion of the national policy of pluralism and integration, Chinese people have formed a sense of community. By recognizing and respecting the differences among ethnic groups, emphasizing the common interests and cultural heritage of the Chinese nation, more people can realize that they are part of the Chinese nation, thus enhancing the cohesion of the whole nation.
Moreover, under the framework of pluralism and integration, all ethnic groups have the opportunity to participate in the development and construction of the country on an equal basis and share the achievements of national development. This will not only promote the economic development and social progress of all ethnic groups, but also provide a solid material foundation and spiritual support for the prosperity and development of Chinese civilization.
Another point needs to be pointed out is that the ethnic policy of pluralism and integration is consistent with the tradition of great unity of Chinese civilization. Since ancient times, the Chinese nation has a tradition of pursuing unity and advocating harmony, and the national policy of pluralism and integration is the inheritance and development of this tradition, so the Chinese civilization can be unified today.
Strong economic foundation and prosperous cultural exchanges
The last and most important point is the strong economic support.
As the saying goes, the economic base determines the superstructure. The superstructure of any society is built to maintain a certain economic foundation. Whether it is the state power or ideology, it is the tool used by the ruling class to maintain its economic foundation. Without the need to protect the economic foundation, the superstructure will lose its significance of existence.
Moreover, superstructure is the reflection and expression of the economic foundation, and its nature and development are affected and restricted by the economic foundation. What kind of economic base there is is what kind of superstructure, and different economic bases must have different types of superstructure.
For example, the economic foundation with private ownership of the means of production as its basic nature determines that the state power can only be a tool for the exploiting class to implement class rule, and also determines that the concept of private ownership is dominant in social ideology. The same is true of Chinese civilization, whose development and integration cannot be separated from the support of economy.
We should know that China has always been one of the most powerful economies in the world in history, and this economic foundation has provided a strong support for national unity and stability. Driven by the economy, China can carry out frequent cultural exchanges with other countries and regions, so as to absorb and learn from the advantages of other cultures and promote the development and innovation of its own culture.
Moreover, in the history of our country, the separation and integration of territory and the continuous change of political power are inseparable from the strong economic support. In the process of reunification, a large amount of human, material and financial resources need to be invested to build infrastructure, maintain social order, promote economic development and achieve civilized reunification.
After reunification, a strong economic foundation can also ensure the stability and sustainability of these inputs, so as to ensure the continuity of this consent state for a long time.
In addition, economic development will promote cultural exchanges and integration. With the development of economy, the communication between people increases, and the collision and integration between cultures will become more frequent. Such exchanges and integration will help to eliminate cultural barriers and enhance national identity, thus promoting the process of national civilization reunification.
In general, the great unification of Chinese civilization is not only the accumulation of history, but also the result of people's joint efforts. In the long history, the Chinese nation has experienced countless wars and tribulations, but the people have always maintained the spirit of unity and struggle, which is an important force to promote the reunification of national civilization and national rejuvenation.
With the development and changes of the times, the Chinese culture is also constantly innovating and developing. These factors are intertwined and mutually reinforcing, and jointly promote the development and unity of the Chinese civilization. This is the very inclusive, rich, diversified, broad and profound Chinese civilization we see today.
reference material:
Baidu Encyclopedia
Guan Kai, 2023-08-29, Global Network: How can Chinese civilization be inherited for thousands of years and always be unified?
