1.
Chinese language
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Chinese is a group of related, but in many cases mutually unintelligible, language varieties, forming a branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. Chinese is spoken by the Han majority and many ethnic groups in China. Nearly 1.2 billion people speak some form of Chinese as their first language, the varieties of Chinese are usually described by native speakers as dialects of a single Chinese language, but linguists note that they are as diverse as a language family. The internal diversity of Chinese has been likened to that of the Romance languages, There are between 7 and 13 main regional groups of Chinese, of which the most spoken by far is Mandarin, followed by Wu, Min, and Yue. Most of these groups are mutually unintelligible, although some, like Xiang and certain Southwest Mandarin dialects, may share common terms, all varieties of Chinese are tonal and analytic. Standard Chinese is a form of spoken Chinese based on the Beijing dialect of Mandarin. It is the language of China and Taiwan, as well as one of four official languages of Singapore. It is one of the six languages of the United Nations. The written form of the language, based on the logograms known as Chinese characters, is shared by literate speakers of otherwise unintelligible dialects. Of the other varieties of Chinese, Cantonese is the spoken language and official in Hong Kong and Macau. It is also influential in Guangdong province and much of Guangxi, dialects of Southern Min, part of the Min group, are widely spoken in southern Fujian, with notable variants also spoken in neighboring Taiwan and in Southeast Asia. Hakka also has a diaspora in Taiwan and southeast Asia. Shanghainese and other Wu varieties are prominent in the lower Yangtze region of eastern China, Chinese can be traced back to a hypothetical Sino-Tibetan proto-language. The first written records appeared over 3,000 years ago during the Shang dynasty, as the language evolved over this period, the various local varieties became mutually unintelligible. In reaction, central governments have sought to promulgate a unified standard. Difficulties have included the great diversity of the languages, the lack of inflection in many of them, in addition, many of the smaller languages are spoken in mountainous areas that are difficult to reach, and are often also sensitive border zones. Without a secure reconstruction of proto-Sino-Tibetan, the structure of the family remains unclear. A top-level branching into Chinese and Tibeto-Burman languages is often assumed, the earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones from around 1250 BCE in the late Shang dynasty
2.
Pinyin
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Pinyin, or Hànyǔ Pīnyīn, is the official romanization system for Standard Chinese in mainland China, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan. It is often used to teach Standard Chinese, which is written using Chinese characters. The system includes four diacritics denoting tones, Pinyin without tone marks is used to spell Chinese names and words in languages written with the Latin alphabet, and also in certain computer input methods to enter Chinese characters. The pinyin system was developed in the 1950s by many linguists, including Zhou Youguang and it was published by the Chinese government in 1958 and revised several times. The International Organization for Standardization adopted pinyin as a standard in 1982. The system was adopted as the standard in Taiwan in 2009. The word Hànyǔ means the language of the Han people. In 1605, the Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci published Xizi Qiji in Beijing and this was the first book to use the Roman alphabet to write the Chinese language. Twenty years later, another Jesuit in China, Nicolas Trigault, neither book had much immediate impact on the way in which Chinese thought about their writing system, and the romanizations they described were intended more for Westerners than for the Chinese. One of the earliest Chinese thinkers to relate Western alphabets to Chinese was late Ming to early Qing Dynasty scholar-official, the first late Qing reformer to propose that China adopt a system of spelling was Song Shu. A student of the great scholars Yu Yue and Zhang Taiyan, Song had been to Japan and observed the effect of the kana syllabaries. This galvanized him into activity on a number of fronts, one of the most important being reform of the script, while Song did not himself actually create a system for spelling Sinitic languages, his discussion proved fertile and led to a proliferation of schemes for phonetic scripts. The Wade–Giles system was produced by Thomas Wade in 1859, and it was popular and used in English-language publications outside China until 1979. This Sin Wenz or New Writing was much more sophisticated than earlier alphabets. In 1940, several members attended a Border Region Sin Wenz Society convention. Mao Zedong and Zhu De, head of the army, both contributed their calligraphy for the masthead of the Sin Wenz Societys new journal. Outside the CCP, other prominent supporters included Sun Yat-sens son, Sun Fo, Cai Yuanpei, the countrys most prestigious educator, Tao Xingzhi, an educational reformer. Over thirty journals soon appeared written in Sin Wenz, plus large numbers of translations, biographies, some contemporary Chinese literature, and a spectrum of textbooks
3.
Han dynasty
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The Han dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms period. Spanning over four centuries, the Han period is considered an age in Chinese history. To this day, Chinas majority ethnic group refers to itself as the Han people and it was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han, and briefly interrupted by the Xin dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang. This interregnum separates the Han dynasty into two periods, the Western Han or Former Han and the Eastern Han or Later Han, the emperor was at the pinnacle of Han society. He presided over the Han government but shared power with both the nobility and appointed ministers who came largely from the gentry class. The Han Empire was divided into areas controlled by the central government using an innovation inherited from the Qin known as commanderies. These kingdoms gradually lost all vestiges of their independence, particularly following the Rebellion of the Seven States, from the reign of Emperor Wu onward, the Chinese court officially sponsored Confucianism in education and court politics, synthesized with the cosmology of later scholars such as Dong Zhongshu. This policy endured until the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911 AD, the Han dynasty was an age of economic prosperity and saw a significant growth of the money economy first established during the Zhou dynasty. The coinage issued by the government mint in 119 BC remained the standard coinage of China until the Tang dynasty. The period saw a number of limited institutional innovations, the Xiongnu, a nomadic steppe confederation, defeated the Han in 200 BC and forced the Han to submit as a de facto inferior partner, but continued their raids on the Han borders. Emperor Wu of Han launched several campaigns against them. The ultimate Han victory in these wars eventually forced the Xiongnu to accept vassal status as Han tributaries, the territories north of Hans borders were quickly overrun by the nomadic Xianbei confederation. Imperial authority was seriously challenged by large Daoist religious societies which instigated the Yellow Turban Rebellion. When Cao Pi, King of Wei, usurped the throne from Emperor Xian, following Liu Bangs victory in the Chu–Han Contention, the resulting Han dynasty was named after the Hanzhong fief. Chinas first imperial dynasty was the Qin dynasty, the Qin unified the Chinese Warring States by conquest, but their empire became unstable after the death of the first emperor Qin Shi Huangdi. Within four years, the authority had collapsed in the face of rebellion. Although Xiang Yu proved to be a commander, Liu Bang defeated him at Battle of Gaixia. Liu Bang assumed the title emperor at the urging of his followers and is known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu, Changan was chosen as the new capital of the reunified empire under Han
4.
Bamboo and wooden slips
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Bamboo and wooden slips were the main media for documents in China before the widespread introduction of paper during the first two centuries AD. The long, narrow strips of wood or bamboo typically carry a single column of text each. For longer texts, many slips may be together in sequence with thread. Each strip of wood or bamboo is said to be as long as a chopstick, the earliest surviving examples of wood or bamboo slips date from the 5th century BC during the Warring States period. However, references in texts surviving on other media make it clear that some precursor of these Warring States period bamboo slips was in use as early as the late Shang period. Bamboo or wooden strips were the writing material during the Han dynasty. Subsequently, paper began to displace bamboo and wooden strips from mainstream uses, the custom of interring books made of the durable bamboo strips in royal tombs has preserved many works in their original form through the centuries. An important early find was the Jizhong discovery in 279 AD of a tomb of a king of Wei, several caches of great importance have been found in recent years. The Shanghai Museum corpus was purchased in Hong Kong the year after the Guodian tomb was excavated, the Tsinghua collection was donated by an alumnus who purchased it through auction, with no indication of its origin. One accoutrement used when writing on bamboo slips was a knife which would be used to scrape away mistakes. Decorated knives became a symbol of office for some officials indicating their power to amend and change records, bamboo Annals Mawangdui Silk Texts Chu Silk Manuscript Oracle bone
5.
Linyi
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Linyi is a prefecture-level city in the south of Shandong province, China. The city Linyi literally means close to the Yi River, the city recently expanded along the Yi River to Nanfang, under slogan Grand Linyi, New Linyi. Multiple recreational parks were built, along with new school campuses etc, the development is a consequence of a series of governmental projects, including relocate the city government, which is expected to stimulate the economy. The population was 10,039,440 at the 2010 census, of which 2,303,648 lived in the area made up of Lanshan District, Luozhuang District. The prefecture-level city of Linyi administers 12 county-level divisions, including 3 districts and 9 counties, the city is further divided into 181 township-level divisions. Linyi has a history of 2400 years and it is home to many historical figures, notably Zhuge Liang and Wang Xizhi. In 1972, the Sun Bins Art of War was first discovered here, Sun Bins Art of War is currently in display at Shandong Provincial museum. In the spring of 1938, during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the civilians were encouraged by army victory in the Battle of Taierzhuang, which was nearby, defended Linyi fiercely, but Japanese soldiers breached the walls on April 19,1938. The defenders withdrew the day to another contested area 30 miles away. After the China was founded in October 1949, the division was adjusted. In 2005, Linyi drew international attention as a center of human rights related to the enforcement of Chinas controversial family planning policies. Following widespread allegations of violence and coercion in excess of Chinese law, the local Chinese courts refused to hear the case and imprisoned Chen Guangcheng on charges of fomenting state resistance. Due in part to the severity and scope of these abuses Linyi has been used by activists to criticize Chinas violation of womens rights, Linyi is in the south of Shandong province, not far from the ports of Rizhao, Lanshan District, Rizhao and Lianyungang. It is along the G2 Beijing–Shanghai Expressway as well as the Eurasian Land Bridge, the urban area lies on mostly flat land that gives way to more rugged terrain in the west and northwest of the citys administrative area, which covers 17,184 km2. Linyi has a climate with generous summer precipitation, with cold, dry winters. Under the Köppen climate classification, it is in the transition from the subtropical zone to the humid continental zone. More than half of the precipitation of 831 mm falls in July and August alone. Linyis economy is based around its wholesale markets, the Linyi Wholesale City is ranked 3rd in its category in China with an annual trade volume of 40 billion RMB
6.
Shandong
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Shandong is a coastal province of the Peoples Republic of China, and is part of the East China region. Shandongs Mount Tai is the most revered mountain of Taoism and one of the sites with the longest history of continuous religious worship. The Buddhist temples in the mountains to the south of the capital of Jinan were once among the foremost Buddhist sites in China. The city of Qufu is the birthplace of Confucius, and was established as the center of Confucianism. Individually, the two Chinese characters in the name Shandong mean mountain and east, Shandong could hence be translated literally as east of the mountains and refers to the provinces location to the east of the Taihang Mountains. A common nickname for Shandong is Qílǔ, after the States of Qi and Lu that existed in the area during the Spring and Autumn period. Whereas the State of Qi was a power of its era. Lu, however, became renowned for being the home of Confucius, the cultural dominance of the State of Lu heritage is reflected in the official abbreviation for Shandong which is 鲁. English speakers in the 19th century called the province Shan-tung, the province is on the eastern edge of the North China Plain and in the lower reaches of the Yellow River, and extends out to sea as the Shandong Peninsula. The earliest dynasties exerted varying degrees of control over western Shandong, over subsequent centuries, the Dongyi were eventually sinicized. During the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period, at this time, Shandong was home to two major states, the state of Qi at Linzi and the state of Lu at Qufu. Lu is noted for being the home of Confucius, the state was, however, comparatively small, and eventually succumbed to the larger state of Chu from the south. The state of Qi was, on the hand, was a major power throughout the period. Cities it ruled included Linzi, Jimo and Ju, the Qin dynasty conquered Qi and founded the first centralized Chinese state in 221 BCE. The Han dynasty that followed created a number of commanderies supervised by two regions in what is now modern Shandong, Qingzhou in the north and Yanzhou in the south, during the division of the Three Kingdoms, Shandong belonged to the Cao Wei, which ruled over northern China. After the Three Kingdoms period, a period of unity under the Western Jin dynasty gave way to invasions by nomadic peoples from the north. Northern China, including Shandong, was overrun, Shandong stayed with the Northern Dynasties for the rest of this period. The Sui dynasty reestablished unity in 589, and the Tang dynasty presided over the golden age of China
7.
Sun Tzu
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Sun Tzu was a Chinese general, military strategist, and philosopher who lived in the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. Sun Tzu is traditionally credited as the author of The Art of War, aside from his legacy as the author of The Art of War, Sun Tzu is revered in Chinese and the Culture of Asia as a legendary historical figure. His birth name was Sun Wu, and he was known outside of his family by his courtesy name Changqing, the name Sun Tzu by which he is best known in the West is an honorific which means Master Sun. Sima Qian and other traditional historians placed him as a minister to King Helü of Wu, modern scholars accepting his historicity nonetheless place the existing text of The Art of War in the later Warring States period based upon its style of composition and its descriptions of warfare. Traditional accounts state that the generals descendant Sun Bin also wrote a treatise on military tactics, since both Sun Wu and Sun Bin were referred to as Sun Tzu in classical Chinese texts, some historians believed them identical prior to the rediscovery of Sun Bins treatise in 1972. Sun Tzus work has been praised and employed throughout East Asia since its composition, during the twentieth century, The Art of War grew in popularity and saw practical use in Western society as well. It continues to influence many competitive endeavors in Asia, Europe, and America including culture, politics, business, the oldest available sources disagree as to where Sun Tzu was born. The Spring and Autumn Annals states that Sun Tzu was born in Qi and it is also worth noting that Sun Tzes surname Sun originated only in the Central Plains and no where else. Sun Tzus victories then inspired him to write The Art of War, Sun Tzu divided them into two companies, appointing the two concubines most favored by the king as the company commanders. When Sun Tzu first ordered the concubines to face right, they giggled, in response, Sun Tzu said that the general, in this case himself, was responsible for ensuring that soldiers understood the commands given to them. Then, he reiterated the command, and again the concubines giggled, Sun Tzu then ordered the execution of the kings two favored concubines, to the kings protests. He explained that if the generals soldiers understood their commands but did not obey, Sun Tzu also said that, once a general was appointed, it was his duty to carry out his mission, even if the king protested. After both concubines were killed, new officers were chosen to replace them, afterwards, both companies, now well aware of the costs of further frivolity, performed their maneuvers flawlessly. Skeptics cite possible historical inaccuracies and anachronisms in the text, the name Sun Wu does appear in later sources such as the Records of the Grand Historian and the Wu Yue chunqiu. The only historical battle attributed to Sun Tzu, the Battle of Boju, has no record of him fighting in that battle, the appearance of features from The Art of War in other historical texts is considered to be proof of his historicity and authorship. Certain strategic concepts, such as classification, are attributed to Sun Tzu. Their use in other such as The Methods of the Sima is considered proof of Sun Tzus historical priority. According to Ralph Sawyer, it is very likely Sun Tzu did exist and not only served as a general but also wrote the core of the book that bears his name
8.
The Art of War
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The Art of War is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating from the 5th century BC. Attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu the text is composed of 13 chapters and it is commonly thought of as a definitive work on military strategy and tactics. It was placed at the head of Chinas Seven Military Classics upon the creation in 1080 by Emperor Shenzong of Song. It has had an influence on Eastern and Western military thinking, business tactics, legal strategy, the book was first translated into French in 1772 by the Jesuit Jean Joseph Marie Amiot and a partial translation into English was attempted by British officer Everard Ferguson Calthrop in 1905. The first annotated English translation was completed and published by Lionel Giles in 1910, leaders such as Mao Zedong, General Võ Nguyên Giáp, General Douglas MacArthur and leaders of Imperial Japan have drawn inspiration from the work. This text was identified with the received Master Suns Art of War. The prominent strategist, poet, and warlord Cao Cao in the early 3rd century AD authored the earliest known commentary to the Art of War, caos preface makes clear that he edited the text and removed certain passages, but the extent of his changes were unclear historically. The Art of War appears throughout the bibliographical catalogs of the Chinese dynastic histories, in 1972, the Yinqueshan Han slips were discovered in two Han dynasty tombs near the city of Linyi in Shandong Province. The Sun Bin texts material overlaps with much of the Sunzi text, and this discovery showed that much of the historical confusion was due to the fact that there were two texts that could have been referred to as Master Suns Art of War, not one. The content of the text is about one-third of the chapters of the modern The Art of War. It is now accepted that the earlier The Art of War was completed sometime between 500 and 450 BC. The Art of War is divided into 13 chapters, the collection is referred to as being one zhuàn, detail Assessment and Planning explores the five fundamental factors and seven elements that determine the outcomes of military engagements. By thinking, assessing and comparing these points, a commander can calculate his chances of victory, habitual deviation from these calculations will ensure failure via improper action. The text stresses that war is a grave matter for the state. Waging War explains how to understand the economy of warfare and how success requires winning decisive engagements quickly and this section advises that successful military campaigns require limiting the cost of competition and conflict. Strategic Attack defines the source of strength as unity, not size, in order of importance, these critical factors are, Attack, Strategy, Alliances, Army and Cities. Disposition of the Army explains the importance of defending existing positions until a commander is capable of advancing from those positions in safety and it teaches commanders the importance of recognizing strategic opportunities, and teaches not to create opportunities for the enemy. Forces explains the use of creativity and timing in building an armys momentum, Military Maneuvers explains the dangers of direct conflict and how to win those confrontations when they are forced upon the commander
9.
Sun Bin's Art of War
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As a consequence, Sun Bins Art of War is sometimes conflated with Sun Tzus The Art of War. In April 1972, bamboo slips of both Sun Tzus and Sun Bins works were unearthed in the Yinque Hills, due to natural erosion, some of the bamboo slips were damaged and difficult to reinterpret. The current edition of Sun Bins Art of War contains 16 chapters from 222 bamboo slips, Sun believes that the historically progressive unification accomplished in war had been an important means of facilitating the submission of feudal lords. To start a war, one must have a storage of materials, Sun also pointed out that Warmongers will inevitably lose and those who expect to make a fortune out of war will also suffer defeat and disgrace. Sun Bin advises King Wei and Tian Ji, engaging them in a discussion on his basic thoughts about strategy. The chapter focuses on attacks on weakly defended key enemy positions and on the military philosophy of using Tao. Set in the Battle of Maling, Sun Bin and Tian Ji discuss the problems of battlefield positions in field operations, the combination of terrain, weapons and the types of soldiers is emphasized. Comments on the principles of building and training an army. On the topic of building an army, Sun Bin focuses on the employment of the best soldiers in terms of field command and he stresses five factors that will lead to constant victory, The commander who has won the sovereigns trust and has an independent command will win. The one who knows the art of war will win, the one who gets uniform support from his soldiers will win. The one whose work in concert with each other will win. The one who is good at analysing and utilising terrain will win, there are also five corollaries that will lead to constant defeat, The one whose command is constrained by the sovereign will be defeated. The one who does not know the art of war will be defeated, the one who does not have the support of his soldiers will be defeated. The one whose subordinates do not work in harmony will be defeated, the one who does not know to use spies will be defeated. Discusses the methods of a commander and the principles of battle formation and it emphasises that a commander must be well versed in both meteorology and geography. He also must get the support of his people at home, in a direct battle, he knows well the basic points of the eight formations. If one is sure of victory he will fight, if unsure he should not fight, Sun Bin also emphasises that in laying a formation, the army can be divided into three divisions. In each, the best soldiers should be placed as a vanguard and he emphasises dividing the army into three teams and engaging one team in battle in while leaving the other two strictly in defence
