To what extent did the religion, ethnicities, and languages if the Chinese region change because of its exposure to other cultures?
By KobeD
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In *ANTIQUITY, the Chinese had 2 main beliefs. these beliefs are *SHAMANISM and *ANCESTOR WORSHIP (Belief that ancestors in antiquity). It was thought that an individual had two souls. The languages in antiquity region were: *PROTO-SINITIC (Proto-Chinese; until 500 BC), *ARCHAIC (Old) Chinese (8th to 3rd century BC), Ancient (Middle) Chinese (through AD 907). -
In 1045, the *ZHOU DYNASTY had ruled several states of the region and affected the culture of China. This dynasty had the belief of Heaven worship and the idea of *MANDATE OF HEAVEN(a ruler must be just to keep the approval of the gods). This dynasty was the longest to rule China. The Zhou dynasty is also important to culture change in China because during this time, The religions of *TAOISM and *CONFUCIANISM originated. -
*MUSLIM merchants had first arrived in South-eastern regions by the 7th century. These merchants had to pass through the silk road to reach China’s ports. Many Muslims traveled to China looking for trade, and these Muslims began to have a great economic impact and influence on the country. During this time trade was also transferred through sea by Arab traders. The result of these two types of traders had spread the religion of *ISLAM. -
The *MONGOLS(name of the modern day people of Mongolia) of Central Asia, led by *GENGHIS KHAN (the man that led the Mongols to conquer China), conquered China this impacted the religion. By 1279, they captured the whole region. This exposure created the *YUAN DYNASTY(Name of the region). In 1368, the Ming Dynasty defeated the Mongols. However, this exposure changed China because In that time, the Mongols (Yuan Dynasty) had practiced *BUDDHISM(A religion of enlightenment started from India. -
Much of modern China has *TRADITIONAL Chinese culture that surrounds the main 3 religions in China. However growing numbers of people practice *BUDDHISM, *CHRISTIANITY, *ISLAM, and other religions. The *HAN, or the *ETHNIC Chinese, makes up more than 90% of the population. The official language is Mandarin, a variety of Han Chinese. To this day, China has roughly 55 minority groups. In 2005, these minority nationalities accounted for over 123 million individuals, 9.5% of China today.