Chapter Five, “Source of culture and
mindset - History at play”, gives a brief introduction
to five thousand years of Chinese history. It goes
through the various dynasties, and provides a list of
key personalities (political, cultural, military, etc)
over the centuries. The chapter also includes a listing
of two hundred notable personalities in Chinese history,
ranging from emperors to folk heroes. It ends with a
brief outline of China’s decline, the advent of European
domination in the East, important landmarks in recent
Chinese history,
and aspects of current
development.
A brief tour of
5,000 years of Chinese history is presented in
chronological order, highlighting important events and
personalities during each period. As Chinese history is
quite often discussed in terms of dynasties, the same
system is adopted.
A list of key
personalities in Chinese history etched in Chinese
mindset and psyche follows. They could be emperors,
rulers, bureaucrats, military commanders; they could
also be poets, novelists, Chinese medical practitioners.
They certainly include well known figures or folk heroes
such as Confucius, Laozi, Mengzi, Guan gong, or people
not well known in the West.
The chapter ends
with a brief outline of China's decline, the Opium war,
in particular the advent of European and Japanese
domination in the East.
Recent landmarks
in history pertaining to the Chinese psyche is
presented, highlighting some aspects of current
development.
Topics presented
in this website from this chapter include
Fleet to
the West, Opium War
