Forces of Yin and Yang

Yin and Yang 

How it came to be

Apart from Legalism, Confucianism and Daoism. The Ancient Chinese believed in a theory of cosmology based on the forces of Yin and Yang and the five elements: metal, water, wood, fire and earth. They believed colours, numbers, elements and directions possessed supernatural powers that could affect life.  This theory helped the Ancient Chinese to understand the universe. 

The opposite colours represent two opposites, for example a female and a male. The female is the light colour and the male is the dark colour. Each side has a part of the other, which is represented by the dot.

The concept of Yin and Yang became popular with the Chinese school of Yinyang, which studied philosophy and cosmology. The principal of the theory was cosmologist Zou Yan, who believed life went through the 5 phases of fire, water, metal wood and earth, which continuously interchanged depending on the forces of Yin and Yang.

Ancient Philosophy and Religon

There were three important schools of philosophy, during the Qin dynasty. These were: Legalism, Confucianism and Daoism. All three schools tried to explain humans place within the universe, and how to be a better person.

Legalism

Of all the three schools, Legalism had the biggest impact on Shin Huangdi’s way to run the government, and influenced the legal system-the Code of China. Legalist philosophers believed that the only way to achieve peace, was to have a strong strict government. To achieve a strong government, families had to place their rights below those of the governments. Laws were severe and punishments were harsh so that people obeyed the laws, and as a result worked together. Suffering would cease and everyone would benefit. Legalist philosophers believed that the emperor had to follow the laws. It did not matter if he was good or bad, so long as he followed the rules the empire would run effectively.

Confusianism

Confucius was a  Chinese scholar who was orphaned as a child, and grew up in poverty. His humble beginnings didn’t stop him from achieving great things, like becoming a scholar. Confucius was appointed to police commissioner, however he quit and traveled to other states, where he offered advice to other rulers. The philosophical question that Confucius was most interested in how a person could live a better life and how to create a good society ruled by  a good government. Confucius believed the best type of person, was someone who acted virtuously towards others.  Daoism  The first and most influential of the Daoist philosophers was Laozi. All of Laozi’s teachings are contained in a small book of only 5250 words, called the Daodejing. Instead of focusing on a group of people, Daoism focuses on the individual person. Laozi believed that Daoism could not be explained in words, but that it could be understood by observing the influence within the world. Once a person understood the Dao, he or she would act in accordance with its influence and find happiness.

Ancient Chinese medicines

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medicine which can be tracked back at least 2000 years. Here is a prezi I made about the Chinese medicine:

Reflecting on my learning so far

Research

This week, I researched into the Physical landscapes of Ancient China. A monument that I researched into, was the Great Wall of China. I found out that the wall is 21,196.18km long and that it was built originally by several different states and then made into one wall by emperor Quin Shin. Making all the walls into one big wall, helped the Chinese defend themselves against Northern invaders like the Mongols. The wall was built by slaves and poor people, and over 1000 people died. 

I used to think the Great Wall was built all at the same time but now I think different states and Dynasties added different parts to the wall.

Collaboration project

My topic in the Collaboration project is about music and art in China. We are researching into music and arts in schools, and in Chinese culture. I have started and participated in many conversations in my group. 

This is my introduction to my group. Because the topic is about music and art, I decided to tell my group members about my interests in music. The person that replied is Mrs.Mirtschin. She is group teacher, and she will help my group throughout the collaborative project.

This is the introduction that Mrs Mirtschin our group teacher introduced herself to us with. Underneath are the questions that Mrs Mirtschin commented on. 

Alyshia is a girl from Adelaide who is in my group. She seems really nice, and I hope to work with her lots throughout the collaboration. It is really good that the people that have been put into this group are int music and art like me.

I wonder what the collaborative project is, now that we have out topics, i'm really exited to start it. However I'm also a bit nervous about starting it, because it may be hard to work in a group with people from all over the world.

Project overview

During this project, I will need to use my time wisely and effectively. This is an ongoing project, so I need to put aside a bit of time each night to work on it. I think it will be quite easy to manage my time, well as long as I stay up to date, and don't leave it to the last minute. Just because this project is online, doesn't mean that there will be less work. I will need to develop new skills to collaborate effectively with my group on Edmodo and other social media platforms. 

Physical landscapes

The Great Wall
How was the Great Wall used-then and now?
Watch the prezi at this link to find out:

Reflection-Talking with Harry

Today we talked to Harry via Skype. Harry is from Australia, and he moved to China with his parents, as they were international teachers. He completed year 11 and 12 of his schooling in China, and has gone onto studying Chinese in at university. Next year he is going to be returning to Australia to live, but he told us that he feels like China is his home.

We asked Harry some questions about life in China, and he gave us some pretty good responses. Some questions were:

How is China's food different from Australian, and which do you prefer?
Harry prefers Chinese food over Australian, as he has traveled for most of his life, and never really lived in Australia.
How is education in China different from that in Australia?
Harry went to an IB school, so the curriculum was the same as the curriculum in my school. Now that Harry is at university, he is studying Chinese.
Why did you move to China?
Harry moved to China, because his parents were international teachers. He didn't really have a say in the matter because he was too young to live by himself.

Questions that I will ask if I get the chance again, are:
How do the arts influence China?
What part do the arts play in China?

Shang Dynasty

The Shang dynasty is the first recorded Chinese dynasty, witch ruled from 1760-1520 BCE. Tang introduced a series of measures that helped make China a better place. He is best known for getting rid of the persecution and oppresion of Chinese people, that was put in place by Jie,and for caring about his people. During his reign, conflicts eased, people lived happy lives and the country prospered in all areas. There were 30 known rulers of the Shang dynasty, which lasted over 600 years.

Order	Name	Notes	Reign Time (years)
1	Tang	Family name: Zi; Given name: Tang; He overthrew the tyrannical rule of Jie of the Xia Dynasty. The society was stable and the people lived happy lives during his reign.	30
2	Wai Bing	Son of Tang	3
3	Zhong Ren	Son of Tang and younger brother of Wai Bing	4
4	Tai Jia	grandson of Tang	33
5	Wo Ding	Son of Tai Jia	29
6	Tai Geng	Son of Tai Jia and the younger brother of Wo Ding	25
7	Xiao Jia	Son of Tai Geng	36
8	Yong Ji	Brother of Xiao Jia; The dynasty began to decline under his rule.	12
9	Tai Wu	Younger brother of Yong Ji	75
10	Zhong Ding	Son of Tai Wu	11
11	Wai Ren	Son of Tai Wu and younger brother of Zhong Ding	15
12	He Dan Jia	Son of Tai Wu and younger brother of Wai Ren	9
13	Zu Yi	Son of He Dan Jia; the Shang Dynasty came into prosperity again.	19
14	Zu Xin	Son of Zu Yi	16
15	Wo Jia	Son of Zu Yi and the younger brother of Zu Xin	20
16	Zu Ding	Son of zu Xin	32
17	Nan Geng	Son of Wo Jia	29
18	Yang Jia	Son of Zu Ding; the country was in decline during his reign.	7
19	Pan Geng	Son of Zu Ding and the younger brother of Yang Jia; He moved the capital to Yin, thus the dynasty is also called Yin Shang. The country was prosperous during his reign.	28
20	Xiao Xin	Son of Zu Ding and the younger brother of Pan Geng. The country declined again in his reign.	21
21	Xiao Yi	Son of Zu Ding and the younger brother of Xiao Xin	21
22	Wu Ding	The best emperor after Pan Geng. He enlarged the domain of the country through a war. Social productivity developed to a high level, including aspects of textile, medicine, and astronomy. There were great achievements during his reign.	59
23	Zu Geng	Son of Wu Ding	7
24	Zu Jia	Son of Wu Ding and younger brother of Zu Geng	33
25	Lin Xin	Son of Zu Jia	6
26	Geng Ding	Son of Zu Jia and younger brother of Lin Xin	6
27	Wu Yi	Son of Geng Ding	4
28	Tai Ding	Son of Wu Yi	3
29	Di Yi	Son of Tai Ding; the country was declined even worse.	37
30	Zhou	Family name: Zi; Given name: Xin; He acted atrociously toward his people and doted on his imperial concubine, Daji. He was finally defeated by the tribe of Zhou.	33

Hierarchy of Ancient China

Hierarchy was very important in Ancient China. The Chinese believed in strict social groups, in which people were expected to  behave according to. People that were in the same social groups, would interact with each other. Beneath the Emperor, were four main social classes. Nobles and officials, peasants, artisans and merchants.

Imperial family

The Emperor and his family were at the top of the social hierarchy in Ancient China. The Emperor would rule from a palace in the capital city.

Nobles and Officials

The noble class of Ancient china, was typically the extended family of the emperor and those who excelled in their area. These people were very privileged and often owned lots of possessions.

Officials were another group that had a high social status. These were boys who had been fortunate enough to go to school, and worked hard to pass a difficult exam, that would help them become a professional in their area.

Peasants

Although peasants were one of the lowest social classes, they were still considered important, as they produced the food for the area. Peasants were not very well off, and often had hard times when their crops failed.

Artisans

Artisans were part of the common class. The people included painters, carpenters, potters and jewelry makers to name a few. Artisans earned more than peasants but less than merchants.

Merchants

Merchants were very well off as they included animal breeders, money leaders and traders. Merchants were considered as the lowest social class as people believed that they worked only for themselves, and didn't contribute to the whole society.

Slaves 

Slaves did exist in Ancient China however their were a very small percentage of them. Some were the relatives of criminals, and others sold themselves or their children because they were poor.