Mea Katreena M.

Cadiente IV- BSB

The Birth Of Chinese History

The history of a country is more than substantiation of the past societies and the knowledge on the development of the human race. History is an emblem by which a nation establishes its identity. I say this because no history in the world is nearly as similar as the country you are in. The importance of knowing ones history is therefore as important as knowing what will be in store for the future. However, knowing ones history without authentic evidence is as good as nothing. Therefore, in order for a historical fact to be established, it is necessary for a researcher to do its best to know the truth. He must exploit every possible means in order to acquire pieces of information that may sew the chronicles of his civilization. Besides, the truth is a one-way road. Several evidences that point towards to a single phenomenon must be established and become a fact. Chinese civilization is arguably the oldest of which. Fossils of one of the earliest forms of human beings, the Homo erectus, were found on one of the soil of the Mainland. It could be traced back that history was supposed to have established in as early as 12,000 to 10,000 BC. With the establishment of history comes the establishment also of civilization. However, to clearly define history, it is a branch of knowledge that defines the series of events by records and data. Therefore for an event to be called history, it must be written down. Indeed, there is no better way than what Chinese had made its history clearer to the coming generations. What they did was simply record. As simple as this action may be, it is a big effect in knowing ones history. Writings were very much valuable to every Chinese historian. The earliest written record so far in Chinese history is the inscriptions of divination records in ancient Chinese writing on oracle bones which dated from around 1200 BC which was also the time by which Shang dynasty ruled, according to archaeological evidence. So then, it could already be deduced based on the evidences present, in as early as Shang dynasty, written language has already been practiced. Also, there are works of great Chinese philosophers and thinkers. An example of this is the very famous Dao De Jing by Lao Tzu. This book is not only a mere text that teaches the ideas of simplicity and noninterference but also this work signifies the birth of a newfound philosophy which is very important in the history on the birth of Taoism. It is very fortunate for China that they also had developed their writing on the method of printing. Printed accounts had made their history more credible. Unlike, other civilizations that had their history travelled via word of mouth, Chinese did not risk the consequence of forgetting each piece of information. In Yuan dynasty, a lot of books were printed using the movable type printers. To recollect, they stored their writing in their parchments where it could last for how

many years. The accounts of these ancient people were very important because like a journal they described the happenings and phenomenon that had occurred in their era. However, the writing accounts are meant to be biased towards the views and opinions of the writer itself. In the past, literacy was restricted to the elite classes, such as the scribes or the scholars of the emperor. The works of these elites are often quite different from the lives and interests of the populace. Therefore, historical events can easily be altered for example political interests. However, this problem can find its solution through a more effective way of establishing truthful evidences which is through archeology. Archaeology is the science of delving into historical artifacts. These artifacts are even used to confirm the presence of a culture that was practiced years ago. Take perhaps the evidences of a bronze smelter that was recovered from around 2000 BC that signifies the significance of metal in those eras. The activities of the past are uncovered through the analysis of the fragments of the things that they have used up. The very thought of humans being a very machine-driven being even the past help the science of archaeology to use up these machines as a medium to create theories on the way of living of the past generations. The importance of archaeology in excavating potteries and stone works tells a lot more to Chinese way of living which is trade and commerce. Researches revealed indications of oldest known pottery which are approximately 17500 to 18300 years old and from the Chinese province of Hunan. By 1800 AD and up to now, China had developed this talent of pottery making into some of the most sophisticated and beautiful forms of pottery. These included porcelain vases, bowls, decorative plates, tea sets, medicine bottles and ink pots. With this, scientific means of acquiring evidence can also tell the occupation of the early Chinese, an integral part of the past of China. In conclusion, evidences are very important in the creation of theories on how things came to be. Although an inanimate object, evidences could stand by for many years; waiting to be discovered. It is very fortunate for humans, indeed, to know that the further we are from our protohistory, we developed more and more technology that could unearth more fossils and artifacts. Then, we could date back these things more precisely. Hopefully by then, the once proposed theories will now be an established historical fact.