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1、Unit 1 Origins and History,学习任务,整体上掌握Text A和Text B 两篇文章的内容，包括背景资料，单词，相关专有名词等。 完成Text A 和Text B 的课后题目。 浏览Text C。,Text A Early Chinese History,导读,中国是世界文明古国，中华文明亦称华夏文明，是世界上最古老的文明之一，也是世界上持续时间最长的文明之一。中华文明史源远流长，若从黄帝时代算起，约有4700年。举世公认，中国是历史最悠久的文明古国之一。一般认为，中华文明的直接源头有两个，即黄河文明、长江文明，中华文明是两种区域文明交流、融合、升华的果实。中国历史自
2、黄帝时代算起则约有5000年。,有历史学者认为，在人类文明史中，“历史时代”的定义是指从有文字时起算，在那之前则称为“史前时代”；历史中传说伏羲做八卦，黄帝时代仓颉造文字；近代考古发现了3350多年前（前1350年）商朝的甲骨文、约4000年前至5000年前的陶文、约5000年前至7000年前具有文字性质的龟骨契刻符号。,元谋人的牙齿,仰韶文化半坡类型（人面鱼纹盆）,Notes,1. The Yangshao culture (仰韶文化) : a Neolithic culture that existed extensively along the central Yellow River
3、in China. The Yangshao culture is dated from around 5000 BC to 3000 BC. The culture is named after Yangshao, the first excavated representative village of this culture, which was discovered in 1921 in Henan Province by the Swedish archaeologist Johan Gunnar Andersson (18741960). The culture flourish
4、ed mainly in the provinces of Henan, Shaanxi and Shanxi.,2. The Longshan culture (龙山文化) : a late Neolithic culture in China, centered on the central and lower Yellow River and dated from about 3000 BC to 2000 BC. The Longshan culture is named after the town of Longshan in the east of the area under
5、the administration of the city of Jinan, Shandong Province, where the first archaeological find (in 1928) and excavation (in 1930 and 1931) of this culture took place at the Chengziya Archaeological Site.,3. The Bronze Age (青铜器时代) :is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze
6、as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age. The term Stone Age implies the inability to smelt any ore, the term Bronze Age implies the inability to smelt iron ore and the term Iron Age implies the abili
7、ty to manufacture artifacts in any of the three types of hard material. Their arrangement in the archaeological chronology reflects the difficulty of manufacture in the history of technology.,4. Confucius (孔子)： a Chinese thinker and social philosopher of the Spring and Autumn Period. The philosophy
8、of Confucius emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice and sincerity. These values gained prominence in China over other doctrines, such as Legalism (法家) or Taoism (道家) during the Han Dynasty. Confucius thoughts have been developed into a system of p
9、hilosophy known as Confucianism (儒家).,5. Mencius (孟子) ： an itinerant Chinese philosopher and sage, and one of the principal interpreters of Confucianism. Supposedly, he was a pupil of Confucius grandson, Zisi. Like Confucius, according to legend, he travelled China for forty years to offer advice to
10、 rulers for reform. During the Warring States Period, Mencius served as an official and scholar at the Jixia Academy in the State of Qi. He expressed his filial devotion when he took an absence of three years from his official duties for Qi to mourn his mothers death. Disappointed at his failure to
11、affect changes in his contemporary world, he retired from public life.,6. Mozi (墨子)： a Chinese philosopher during the Hundred Schools of Thought period (early Warring States Period). Born in Tengzhou, Shandong Province, China, he founded the school of Mohism and argued strongly against Confucianism
12、and Daoism. During the Warring States Period, Mohism was actively developed and practiced in many states, but fell out of favour when the legalist Qin Dynasty came to power. During that period many Mohist classics were ruined when Qin Shihuang carried out the burning of books and burying of scholars
13、. The importance of Mohism further declined when Confucianism became the dominant school of thought during the Han Dynasty, disappearing by the middle of the Western Han Dynasty.,7. Laozi (老子)： a mystic philosopher of ancient China, best known as the author of the Tao Te Ching (often simply referred
14、 to as Laozi). His association with the Tao Te Ching has led him to be traditionally considered the founder of Taoism (pronounced as “Daoism“). He is also revered as a deity in most religious forms of the Taoist religion, which often refers to Laozi as Taishang Laojun, or “One of the Three Pure Ones
15、“. Laozi translated literally from Chinese means “old master“ or “old one“, and is generally considered honorific.,8. Zhuangzi (庄子) ： an influential Chinese philosopher who lived around the 4th century BC during the Warring States Period, a period corresponding to the philosophical summit of Chinese
16、 thought the Hundred Schools of Thought, and is credited with writingin part or in wholea work known by his name, the Zhuangzi.,9. Shang Yang (商鞅) : an important statesman of the State of Qin during the Warring States Period of Chinese history. Born Wei Yang in the State of Wei, with the support of Duke Xiao of Qin Yang enacted numerous reforms in Qin. These were in accordance with his legalist philosophy as recorded in The Book of Lord Shang and assisted Qin in its change from a perip
