This
terra cotta general discovered in 1974 in Shaanxi Province, dating
from
210 BC, is one of thousands of life-size terra cotta soldiers, horses
and
chariots buried with the Emperor Qin Shi Huang Di - the first of a
largely-united
China. Is there any reason for Western textbooks not to
cover
China's ancient history the way they cover Greece and Rome?
Global Times, People's
Republic of China
The West's
Insulting Dismissal of China's Ancient History
Why aren't Westerners taught
ancient Chinese history the way they are taught about ancient Rome? This
anonymous writer from China's state-controlled Global Times is indignant
that Chinese dynasties that he feels were far more significant than those in
the West are largely ignored in Western history books.
A bust of Gius Julius Caesar, the last consul of the Roman Republic and uncle to Rome's first emperor, Caeser Augustus. Is there a Western bias against teaching Chinese history?
Over recent years, I've read a
lot of Western history books, and I feel quite indignant. I could go off on a
tirade about my opinion, but instead I'll simply say a little here on this forum.
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US
Looking at the West's so-called
world history books written by Western historians, one gets the impression that
the world belongs to the West. The world’s hierarchy of knowledge has been based
on the views of Westerners. Meanwhile, the pathetic Chinese are made to appear
ignorant and in the dark, making vain attempts to emulate the West.
For example, when Western
history books discuss ancient Roman history, it’s as though China’s Qin and Han dynasties, which were
contemporary with Rome, simply didn't exist. Or if they did exist, they weren't
worth mentioning. Don’t you find that strange? How big was the Empire of Rome?
Can one compare it with the Qin and Han? Even if we take the whole of Europe,
can it compare with the size of China? They can talk all they like about how great
the Empire of Rome was - but they have no conception of how grand and
magnificent the Qin and Han were. They talk of the great wars of the Roman
Empire, but fail to utter a word about the six states that the Qin Emperor
destroyed, or how Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty destroyed the Huns.
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US
[Editor's Note: The Qin Dynasty
reigned from 221-206 BC, and the Han from 220 BC-206 AD. In terms of
organization, population, inventiveness and sophistication, they were more than
a match for the dominant empires of the West, particularly Rome.]
And these events basically
unfolded during the same era. In their eyes, these events never happened. They
can describe the Western world’s large-scale wars and its great many heroes,
but they don’t know that all those wars added together don’t compare in
dimension and scope to even one of China’s regime-changing wars.
