There is a saying in modern times that China can't develop today because China people are not good at making progress and have no sense of outward expansion, and China has no desire to expand in ancient cultural origins. It is a poor word to say that China people's ideas are different from those in the West.
Whether it is the Chinese civilization in the East, the Egyptian civilization in the West, or the ancient civilization in the two river basins in Iraq, the ancient times of mankind are not far apart in the history of civilization development. In ancient China, the Xia calendar was established in the Xia Dynasty, which is the main branch of chronology. One of the most important achievements of ancient Egyptian astronomy is that the Egyptians accurately discovered the Nile flood in summer, which is directly related to the direct angle of the sun at a certain moment on the earth. In other words, the ancient Egyptians deeply studied the laws of the activities of the earth and the sun. At noon in summer, when the shadow of the sun reaches a certain angle, the Nile will flood. In contrast to this problem, our ancient ancestors found that the activity cycle of the sun is 60 years. People at the foot of Tianshan Mountain in Xinjiang found that as long as there are red clouds on Tianshan Mountain, rivers under Tianshan Mountain will inevitably flood.
The determination of the twenty-four solar terms in ancient China has direct guiding significance for agriculture. The determination of the 24 solar terms is closely related to the trend of the handle of the Big Dipper, the largest natural wonder at night on earth, which still has great enlightenment for the development of ancient Egyptian civilization.
A few years ago, when American archaeologists photographed the ruins of ancient Egyptian palaces on the plane, they found that the arrangement of these ancient palace ruins was very strange. Some of them looked like the Big Dipper, but today the Big Dipper in the night sky is not like this. Later, these scientists input the actual measured dynamic data between the Big Dipper into the computer and then simulate it. According to today's age, it has gone backwards for 20 thousand years. It turns out that the arrangement of ancient Egyptian palace ruins is exactly the same as the picture of the Big Dipper the day before yesterday. This survey has two practical significance: first, it can explain the construction age of ancient Egyptian palaces, about 20 thousand years ago; Secondly, it can also be explained that in astronomical observation, the ancient Egyptians, like the ancestors of China, made a thorough and detailed study of astronomical phenomena and applied the observation results to their real life.
Ancient Chinese characters in China, including Oracle Bone Inscriptions before Oracle Bone Inscriptions, were hieroglyphics, while ancient Egyptian characters were hieroglyphics. Later, according to the actual needs, they are also carrying out text reform. Some people study the history of ancient Egypt, saying that ancient Egypt has a tendency to expand outward. So, did Qin Shihuang send 500 boys and girls to the East China Sea to find immortal fairy grass? ? Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty made an expedition to Xiongnu, and Zhang Qian communicated with the Western Regions. Does Wu Zetian's opening of the border town in the Tang Dynasty also mean expansion? ! During the Tang Dynasty, there appeared many outstanding frontier poets and left many outstanding frontier poems, which also proved that the Tang Dynasty, which was at the peak of China feudal society, also had the behavior of expanding its territory. In addition, during the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, why did he go to the Western Ocean? Was it an expansion in another sense? !
Today, when people go to Egypt, the first miracle they want to see is the ancient pyramids in Egypt. Judging from the conclusion of current scientific investigation, the pyramids are the tombs of ancient Egyptian emperors. These pyramids are one of the most important symbols in Egypt, and their construction time was located before 3000 BC, and the ancestor of Chinese civilization, Xuanyuan Huangdi, was a man of this period.
What needs to be explained here is that the Egyptian pyramids are the crystallization of the diligence and wisdom of the ancient Egyptians. They are built along the Nile, magnificent and amazing. At the same time, China Xuanyuan Huangdi Mausoleum was built on the Qiao Shan of the Loess Plateau in northern Shaanxi, China. The tomb of Huangling is a mountain. The uniqueness of this mountain is that there is a river under it. When the river passes through Qiao Shan, it almost rotates around it for a whole circle, and then flows into the distance. More interestingly, the mountains around Huanglingqiao Mountain are vertical. Seen from the air, if Qiao Shan is compared to a sun, the surrounding mountains are like the rays of the sun. This miracle presented by nature is beyond human power. I think people in China pay attention to Feng Shui, at least from the time of Xuanyuan Huangdi. I don't know whether the ancient Egyptians believed in Feng Shui, but the construction of the pyramids was highly scientific. Is this similar to the natural feng shui in China?
I think the so-called western civilization emphasizes human creativity and the eastern civilization goes with the flow, and the difference can be seen from the construction of the emperor's mausoleum, which may be the difference between the eastern and western civilizations from the source. !
When it comes to China's ancient culture, there are unique geographical reasons for letting nature take its course and talking about the sum of heaven and earth. This is just like the Taiji diagram of the ancient gossip center in China. It is displayed in a special position in the upper reaches of Weihe River in Tianshui City, Gansu Province, China. This place is on the Loess Plateau. Due to the erosion of mountain torrents in summer, the central area is low-lying and rainwater is collected from all directions. There is also a Weihe River in the middle. When the Weihe River passed through here, it just turned a corner. There is a plateau formed by nature. People stood on this high platform and looked at the hills surrounded by mountains. This is the place where Fuxi, an ancient man in China, drew eight diagrams according to the unique form of mountains. The high platform in the middle and the Weihe River flowing at the foot are the source of Taiji figure modeling.
Fuxi's platform for painting gossip was later called Guatai Mountain. At sunrise, the sun shines on the cliff in the east, on the platform when it reaches the top of the head, and on the hillside in the west at sunset. This is what the Book of Changes says: "Three suns bloom in Thailand", which is the beginning of Chinese civilization. Fuxi's eight diagrams painting is the beginning of Chinese characters, which has long-term significance. The so-called differences between China's ancient civilization and western civilization do come from different sources, but they are all caused by geographical conditions.
It should be said that no matter ancient Egyptian civilization, ancient Roman civilization, ancient Indian civilization, or ancient China civilization, in the early days of the origin of ancient civilizations, they all experienced careful observation and reflection on the astronomical phenomena and natural environment, and were all inspired by nature. They have all experienced such historical periods as agriculture, animal husbandry or fishery, so the beginning of the whole human civilization is not far apart.
As far as symbolism is concerned, it is self-evident that the pyramids and the Sphinx in ancient Egypt truly show the lofty dignity and ambition of westerners to expand outward. Julius Caesar of Rome is the most representative figure of expansionist thought and behavior in ancient western countries. However, ancient western civilization has a historical origin of expansion. Isn't it an expansion when the Yellow Emperor unified the tribal groups in Xuanyuan, China? What is the essential difference between Caesar's expansion of ancient Roman territory and Qin Shihuang's destruction of six countries and the unification of the whole country? !
We can't say that China lags behind the West today, but that our cultural sources are different from the West. This is too reluctant.
On the other hand, before the Meiji Restoration, Japanese in Asia always followed China's example. After seeing the decline of China in the middle and late Qing Dynasty, it began to face the west and take the road of industrialized and rich Qiang Bing. Peter the Great of Russia, during his reign, also vigorously pushed Russia onto the road of industrialization. The strength of Japan and Russia is closely related to industrialization. It should be said that the real rise of the modern west stems from the industrialization process brought by the Renaissance and the steam engine. The surplus of products and the development of overseas markets caused by industrial development are the fundamental reasons for the prosperity of the modern west, and are by no means caused by the differences between the source of our civilization and the west.
Although there is little difference in the origin of civilization between the East and the West, there will be some differences in the development of civilization due to geographical characteristics. For example, Egypt has pyramids, but Egypt will not have the Great Wall of Wan Li. China has the Great Wall of Wan Li, but there will be no Colosseum in China.
Observing the sun, the moon, the stars and the nature, so as to create civilized content suitable for the characteristics of their own environment and their own times, which is the same feature of all civilizations in different periods of mankind. Having said that, I agree with the principle of Darwinian evolution advocated by the modern west: natural selection, survival of the fittest. Because since ancient times, no regional civilization can rule the world for a long time. Due to its historical limitations, all civilizations have to withdraw from the historical stage and give way to other emerging civilizations. The birth of any new civilization is based on the inheritance and criticism of the original civilization.
Speaking of which, I think of a report I read on the Internet recently that an expert in jade collection in Yuhang City, Zhejiang Province, China was destined to get an ancient jade, which was shaped like the Sphinx of ancient Egypt. In the period of Liangzhu culture in ancient China (more than 6000 years ago), Liangzhu culture was earlier than ancient Egyptian civilization. He also cited such an example through research: after burying people in ancient China, the mound on the ground was also quadrangular, which was consistent with the shape of the pyramids in ancient Egypt; The writing style of ancient Egyptian characters is the same as that of ancient China characters, from right to left. So he boldly speculated whether the ancient Egyptian culture also originated from Liangzhu culture in China. At present, this problem has attracted the attention of relevant experts.
The reason for analyzing the source of eastern and western civilizations is to explain that in ancient times, what humans on earth began to know was nothing more than the sun, moon and stars in the sky, the mountains and rivers on the earth, and the natural attributes of various animals and plants. Then, according to the principle of survival of the fittest, we will create a civilization with regional characteristics. And this kind of civilization features, the initial difference is one mile, and then the difference is a thousand miles. To discuss the unification of Asia and Europe today, we must discuss the origin of human civilization in the East and the West.