Ancient China

Today, we live in a world that is run by computers and electronics. Whenever we wake up, we use some type of electronic, may it be a toaster or a car. China is one of the very few countries that has top notch technology and is still in roots with their past rituals and tradition. This project is based on their past traditions and rituals, and I will also cover what has changed since these times.

The actual population is quite large. China currently stands as the world's most populous country at a population of 1,190,431,106 people. While this was 1984, it is estimated that China's population today is estimated at 1,298,847,624. China has put a population control program into place in an attempt to control population. It still doesn't seem to work for them.

The land area of China conflicts with China's population. China stands at an area of 9.6 million square kilometres. That is 135.296 people per square kilometre. I wouldn't want to live in such a crowded environment, unless I was an entrepreneur looking for business of course.

A famous trait of China is what is served on their plates at lunch time. Ever since ancient times, the Chinese have eaten rice, this is a tradition of China almost everyone in the world can recognize them for. But rice is more than what they eat, the Chinese were known for their hard work antics, making them extremely good farmers. The farmers were said to be friendly people. They grew crops on small pieces of land, and their food was sometimes given to the army. The people grew millet, wheat, and barley, and the people in southern China grew rice. A few of the Chinese farmers would keep pigs and chickens but not many did, as most meat served was wild bird and sometimes fish. The Chinese never obtained many good fertilizers, so they used their own excretion (poop) to fertilize their land.

China's currency is measured in CNY (yuan). One yuan is equivalent to 8.28 dollars US. Yuan is commonly mistaken for the Japanese yen, as yuan has much greater value than the Japanese yen. They have pretty much always used yuan, but before that they used simple trading practises. Food for clothes, clothes for weapons, weapons for suppliesÐ'... It can go either way.

The main religion in ancient China was Buddhism. Buddhism is when people think that they will get more lives than one. In order to get another life, you have to do many good thing in your current life. Buddhism was the real big one, not much is remembered about the other ones. Very few practise those today, and those who do, know very little about it. Many people believe that these religions are irrelevant compared to Christianity. Although, the fact remains that many people who were Christian have converted over to Buddhism. The other religions were Bodhidharma , Buddhism, Dalai Lama, Falun Gong, Gedun Drub, Guanyin , Mahayana, Shang Ti - Shaolin - Sonam Gyatso - Tibetan Buddhism - Vajrayana - Yami - Zen

The Chinese empire had existed for years and years, they had controlled the military and economy . Emperors Kangxi and Quanlong supported Chinese art and culture (Which many countries traded China for), and kept up the civil service system. They were scared that things would change and people would rebel so they stuck with what they knew. In the late 1800s China was behind in technology and was being picked apart slowly bit by bit. In 1839, Chinese officials tried to stop Britain from bringing in opium. Opium is a drug that is addictive and when taken in certain concentrationsÐ'... It can kill you or leave you disabled. The British was trading the Chinese people opium for tea. Then later, Britain announced war against China and Britain ended with up as the victor. After that, Britain encouraged other countries to take over China's land. The Qing Dynasty could not stand the advanced technology that other countries had at the time, which meant they were forced to step down, China had extremely poor weapons. And then, In 1900 an army captured Beijing. In 1911, the Chinese threw out their helpless leaders and started a republic. The last emperor, Puyi, had to resign in 1912. That was the end of the great Chinese Empire.

The workforce was mainly consisted of farmers. The primary reason for this is that China is an agricultural country, and fieldwork has been the main point of employment. Most Chinese men were farmers, they supported themselves and China's huge population. They provided enough food for almost all the people by growing two or more crops on the same land each year.

In order to get a high paying job you either had to be noble or educated or both. To have a career in high office in one of the multiple towns and villages, you had to pass the government exams. It was a route to riches and fame. On examination day, the day the tests were given.

The poorer community of the Chinese were extremely unfortunate. The poor lived in houses packed together, they had very little food. Many of the young guys joined street gangs. Gangs wore distinctive clothes and armour, that identified their gang. Teen gangs roamed the cities, terrorizing people.

The rich community was quite different. They built nice and large homes, decorated with drapery, and cashmere carpets. They furnished family tombs with stone lions. On the lions, and on other sculpture, they added inscriptions mentioning how much each item had cost.

Since endurance and stamina was required for farming, most women didn't have any work. Manual labour was definite through the process of ploughing and harvesting. Irrigation, fertilizers and soil conservation were practiced extensively without the assistance of any machine. Exceptional stamina has been a definite for being a farmer, men were much more qualified for it. Women could not challenge men's supremacy in that male occupation. Pregnancy and nursing of children took up women's energies and time. A Woman's social activity was limited, they couldn't work outside their homes. They could not / did not contribute to the family income. Men gained control over women by being the sole earners in families, A woman's incapacity to make money affected their positions in society.

Chinese culture played a major role in the roles of genders. It resembled principles of Confucianism, a major religion in China. Confucianism viewed the family as a microcosm of the world. Unity in human relationships was a source or order and control to avoid chaos in the country. Confucianism taught that in the husband-wife relationship, the wife should love and obey commands of the husband, and must love and guide every member in his family. Therefore, the wife became a family member below her husband. She was stuck to by