how did the chinese view their country's place in the world course hero

by Magali Mertz IV 3 min read

Why was ancient China so self-confident?

Originally, this high degree of self-confidence had perhaps been justified in some fashion by the relatively high level of ancient Chinese civilization and its sophisticated political organization. This was certainly true in comparison with the peoples surrounding it. For at least in antiquity, China’s neighbors were in most cases unsettled tribes.

Why did China’s neighbors look so different from it?

For at least in antiquity, China’s neighbors were in most cases unsettled tribes. Many were nomads, rather than sedentary farmers like the Chinese. Those tribes’ culture was not well developed. For example, few had written scripts of their own — and their political organization was unstable enough that none could describe itself as a state.

Is China a civilized civilization?

Indeed, Chinese leaders were well aware from early times that their empire and its environs formed only a small part of the civilized world and that other comparable cultures existed. Many of the preconditions of China’s assumed superiority over its neighbors simply withered away over time.

How do countries on China’s periphery try to placate their neighbor?

While seeking to placate their giant neighbor, the countries on China’s periphery often used various forms of subterfuge, subversion, and even outright defiance to get their way, contributing to a significant gap between China’s self-image and the geopolitical reality.

Answer

The righ anser here is A. They named it the "Middle Kingdom," indicating that it was the center of the world.

New questions in History

Jason paints 1/4 of the area of his living room walls, w, on Monday. On Tuesday, he paints twice as much as he painted on Monday. Write an expression …

Who wrote Chinese history and the foreign relations of contem-?

see Albert Fuerwerker, "Chinese history and the foreign relations of contem-

Who wrote the book "The persistence of tradition in Chinese foreign policy"?

1. Mark Mancall, "The persistence of tradition in Chinese foreign policy,"

Which country possessed a universally valid system of beliefs?

namely, that China possessed a universally valid system of beliefs

Which took place faster than the erosion of the assumptions?

world system took place faster than the erosion of the assumptions

Can cultural values psychologically condition people?

social and cultural values can psychologically condition people even

Is the Union a complicating factor in contemporary China's foreign policy?

Union, may be a complicating factor in contemporary China's foreign

What were China's neighbors like?

For at least in antiquity, China’s neighbors were in most cases unsettled tribes. Many were nomads, rather than sedentary farmers like the Chinese. Those tribes’ culture was not well developed.

Why did the tributary ruler go to China?

Its most important features were as follows. First, the tributary ruler — or his representative — had to go to China to pay homage.

Who is the author of The Sextants of Beijing?

Adapted from “The Sextants of Beijing” by Joanna Waley-Cohen. Copyright © 1999 by Joanna Waley-Cohen. Used by permission of W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

When did China split into small states?

Particularly after the fall of the Han in 220 A.D., China itself often was politically divided into a number of small states. None of them had sufficient power to demand deference from any other.

Did ancient Chinese have a mandate?

Ancient Chinese claimed to hold a Mandate of Heaven, according to which they had a valid claim to preside over everyone else by virtue of their unequivocal political, cultural and moral authority.

Did the Chinese know that their empire was only a small part of the civilized world?

Indeed, Chinese leaders were well aware from early times that their empire and its environs formed only a small part of the civilized world and that other comparable cultures existed.

Did China have a superiority over its neighbors?

Indeed, Chinese leaders were well aware from early times that their empire and its environs formed only a small part of the civilized world and that other comparable cultures existed. Many of the preconditions of China’s assumed superiority over its neighbors simply withered away over time.

What did Zheng He do?

Zheng is typically portrayed as a peaceful admiral whose mission was to spread, in the words of two Chinese academics quoted by French, “knowledge of the emperor’s ‘majesty and virtue.’” But French unearths evidence suggesting that Zheng was actually an agent of Chinese expansionism; when Sumatra and Ceylon (modern-day Sri Lanka) refused to yield to China’s hegemony, for instance, Zheng invaded. Although his expeditions were not designed to secure territory, they were intended to ensure that nations subordinated themselves to China, a demand that it would enforce with military power if necessary. The Chinese, it turns out, discovered Finlandization centuries before the Soviets did.

What did the Chinese do to help the American people?

When Americans traveled to China to do business during the early 1800s, Chinese officials and merchants often described them as polite, compliant, and respectful; the Chinese particularly appreciated the Americans’ preference for paying in the in-demand commodity of silver as opposed to opium. The Americans, in turn, benefited from the Second Opium War (1856–60), which, through the treaties that ended it, forced China to open more of its ports for trade with the outside world and enabled American Christians to proselytize inside the country. In the decades that followed, the number of missionaries swelled, to nearly 4,000 by 1900, many of them American, and U.S. dollars funded a number of charitable organizations, medical schools, and YMCAs and YWCAs.

What are the two books that discuss the rejuvenation of China?

Yet two fascinating new books—Howard French’s Everything Under the Heavens and John Pomfret’s The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom —suggest that there is much more to the story. French’s book raises important questions about the accuracy of the rejuvenation narrative, and Pomfret offers a nuanced study of China’s relations with the United States. Both books use their historical findings as a jumping off point to explain contemporary China and advise U.S. officials formulating policy toward it.

What do Pomfret and French think of China?

Both think that the best way forward is a better version of what the United States has tried in the past: engagement. Both sympathize with China’s desire for greater power and influence. French, for example, calls on Americans to understand the feelings of exclusion that China suffered as a result of bad historical timing: it was right after World War II, just when China had reached its lowest point, that the international community established a raft of treaties and organizations. He argues that the United States should welcome China’s voice more and accept Chinese initiatives with more serenity. Pomfret says that the United States should “redouble its efforts to complete its historic mission to pull China into the world and to seek this Great Harmony, even if it is ultimately unattainable.”

What were the cultural exchanges between China and the United States?

Cultural exchanges between the two countries flourished. In the 1920s, basketball and baseball took China by storm. Around the same time, Chinese restaurants debuted to great acclaim in the United States, as did stories set in China—including the 1933 children’s book The Story About Ping, featuring a duck who lived on the Yangtze River. And Chinese who trained in the United States went back to China prepared to help transform their country. Pomfret recounts the story of Shi Meiyu (also known as Mary Stone) and Kang Cheng (also known as Ida Kahn), two women who were educated—and, in the case of Kang, raised—by a U.S. missionary in China. In the 1890s, the Methodist Church supported their education at the University of Michigan’s medical school, after which the two returned to China as doctors and started their own clinics. Universally admired in both China and the United States, Shi and Kang inspired a generation of Chinese women to become physicians.

What did Japan do to deceive China?

Beginning in the early 1600s, Japan also conspired with the kingdom of the Ryukyu Islands to deceive China. While pretending to be a loyal tributary of China, the kingdom was secretly a vassal of Japan; unbeknownst to the Chinese court, a Japanese clan selected each of the Ryukyu kings. According to French, one Ryukyu leader believed that if the kingdom offended China, “it could explain things away, but if it offended Japan, it would be punished.” Other regional monarchs rejected Chinese rule more overtly. An emissary of the Ming Chinese emperor once visited Burma to demand an end to that kingdom’s insubordination. The king replied, “Ruling this country, I only understand that others kowtow to me, how do I kowtow to others?”

Why is French important to China?

By demythologizing China’s past, French provides an important addition to contemporary political debates over the nature of China’s rise. Chinese scholars and officials routinely claim that their country is different from other powers—peaceful, noninterventionist, and noncolonial—to assuage concerns about its growing military strength. As French shows, however, such claims have little merit; China, like all imperial powers, used force in the service of territorial expansion.

How far back is the Chinese culture?

With our long-term orientation score of 87, there are records dating back as far back into history as four thousand years ago regarding the Chinese culture, so it is no surprise that adaptation, hard work, perseverance and strategic planning for future endeavors has been solidified into the Chinese society as well as their culture.

What does Hofstede say about Chinese culture?

according to the above quote from Hofstedes’s cultural dimensions, Hofstede mentions that Chinese are quite comfortable with ambiguity. In many westernized societies clear-cut truths are welcomed, while rulings , and laws that consist of double meanings are understandably frowned upon by the majority of general societies.

What does the quote "Remember that countries that have a lot of restraint have a lot of social?

The following quote from our readings in module ten addresses the issue quite well “Remember that countries that have a lot of restraint have a lot of social norms to regulate behavior. In particular, they will be good at controlling immediate gratification and instead will be able to delay rewards and stay focused on task until a project is completed “ (PSU,2016).

What is the lesson 10 of Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions?

China in respect to Hofstede’s Cultural dimensions model, lesson 10. Lesson 10, reflects the nations of Asia, and China. According to Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, specifically regarding the nation of China who accrued the score of 80 percent in regards to the power distance perspective, which fosters the following belief “ At 80 China sits in ...

What is the cultural dimension of China at 66?

According to the following quote from Hofstede’s cultural dimensions model “At 66 China is a Masculine society –success oriented and driven. The need to ensure success can be exemplified by the fact that many Chinese will sacrifice family and leisure priorities to work” (Hofstede, 2016).

Why is it important to have a successful business venture in China?

This is due to the fact that successful business ventures and or just simply earning enough money to support their families is a matter of utmost importance to the Chinese family as well as their society, and the Chinese culture in general. Following is yet another quote from Hofstede’s stating that” The migrated farmer workers will leave their families behind in faraway places in order to obtain better work and pay in the cities” (Hofstede, 2016).

What are the limitations of Chinese culture?

Regarding the limitations within the current Chinese culture is such that their people are brought up by society to believe in a self limiting behavior, which is in general one should not look to achieve positions beyond the level of their birthrights.

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