Over the years, the most populous country in the world, the People's Republic of China, has been a center of attraction for different categories of people, tourists, adventurers and many others with the sole responsibility to unearth its cultural diversities.
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But, like a rare gem that attracts all sorts of people, the good, bad and the ugly, its wealth of natural resources as equally drawn the attention of rulers from the outside world, who, by all means are keen to take over and drain its resources.
And for this cause, stories surrounding Ancient China has always been mesmerizing and we all seek to know more. But, before we step on the gas, permit me to ask you this question? Apart from Emperors like, Gaozu, Taizong, Gaozong, empress Wu Zeitan, just to mention a few, what other names can you relate with in the history of Ancient China?(Let's see your answers in the comment section). Frankly speaking, there are so many articles, writings, stories and/or publications that you can gather online about the history of Ancient China but a high percentage revolves around or only speak more about the Emperors. Also, you'd agree with me that a tree cannot make a forest and a kingdom is not made by just a man. Now, you may be asking, what's my point or what am I gravitating towards? Relax, this is it! There are other names and exciting events that surrounds the mesmerizing story of the history of Ancient China.
So, today, without given much preference to emperors, we would be talking about the most famous people in the Ancient history of China. Please, garner strength and take a brace position as we plunge into the matter properly.
In no particular order;
Sun Tzu can be described as a man with many positions and/or titles. He was a martial strategist, writer, general and a great thinker who had his lifetime during the Eastern Zhou era in Ancient China. Sun Tzu is generally recognized and honored as the writer or author of the book, " The Art of War", a really powerful strategy for military and it duly influenced both sides, that is, Eastern and Western Asian military scheme. Sun Tzu's lifetime work governs areas like;
1. Tactics and strategy
2. Delay
3. How to best utilize government representatives and resources
4. Achievement of partnerships
5. Maintenance of already existing partnerships or alliances.
6. Employment and deployment of spies or secret agents
7. Time to surrender to the enemy and many other whatnots.
Simply put, his life work covered everything regarding the art of war.
This masterpiece has been dutifully recognized as a complete guide or aid on the methods and strategies of war as many generals and intellectuals have made effort to lay hands on it from the very time it was circulated and summarized in other languages. Yes, it made reference to battle schemes used in Ancient China but it still can be applied in today's world.
More so, we all wish we had a tour guide or a book sort of, that can help guide our steps in diverse situations of life. Then, this is what Sun Tzu provided in " The Art of War".
We can still do well to give you a quick summary of the major points and lessons it thought. See below.
1. Never go in a hurry to war: War isn't just a thing a country goes heedlessly into. He made emphasis on the fact that war shouldn't just be a parent choice when it comes to battling out one's rights, coupled with the fact that it is an expensive feat.
2. Costs of War: Yes, no argument about it, we've made great strides in tech, but war is war, no matter the advancements, it hasn't changed and it's been interpreted the same always. War comes with a great cost which strips down to all facets of the society. So, it is well advised to consider the cost of it all and really clarify what the best tactics for achieving their aim could possibly be.
3. Subtle and reconnaissance: Simply put, " If you're far from the enemy, make him believe you're near."
4. Martial Intelligence: He proposed that a nation should firstly endeavor to get to know its foes and their tactics. Afterward create misdirection to set confusion in the enemy camp. In easy to read text, " All fighting depends on misdirection."
5. Ch'I and its relevance: This is actually a belief that encompasses the history of Ancient China. It is been summarized as not burning away time on unprofitable tasks.
6. Professionalism in military: He believes every leader or general can prepare his troops or people for war by giving a clear view and direction. Simply put, a leader has to master the science of battle or fighting.
7. Be focused on your strengths: Every battle or war is won even before it starts. Sun Tzu advised that one should not take the bait and be enticed by an enemy's advantage. The best thing to do is to pay more attention to your strengths and the enemy's archilles heel. Don't attack the enemy at his strongest sides.
8. Welcome the act of adaptation: Strategies are good, necessary and proper but must be flexible. This can be related to every human endeavors. Plan and strategize, but when it gets to the action point, be flexible in your strategy and quickly learn to adapt to what the situation is saying.
9. Give time to know your enemy and yourself: It applies to all. Discover your weakness and strength, and that of your enemy. It's necessary.
10. Deception and intelligence: Devote time to understand your subjects what they go through, this helps to gain better control of them.
He was a notable astronomer and astrologer who was given birth to in the State of Qi. He examined Jupiter and its moons, four to be precise, way before Galileo saw it with the telescope he invented. It is believed that Gan De saw it through his two naked eyes, due to the fact that it was way back in 364 BC, where telescopes weren't in existence and tech was no where to be found. In the cause of investigating Jupiter, one of the planets we have, he discovered a red star near it. It was an extraordinary discovery as the planet's moons have been kept behind it all this while, making the colors very faint to depict. To share what he discovered, he invested his investigations in books primarily on astronomical astrology.
With the very first endeavor to record his findings about the sky and related orbits, at the time of the warring states, he authored two solid books that contained high taste when it comes to science. The books were;
1. The treatise on Jupiter
2. The 8-volume treatise on astronomical astrology.
Unfortunately, both books are presently missing. How sad! He also wrote another book, " the Astronomic Star Observation."
He had his lifetime during the Han dynasty and had mastery in topics like;
1. Mathematics
2. Astronomy
3. Hydraulics and
4. Science generally.
He never had a royal blood flowing through his veins, still, he was really taught Confucianism. Afterward, he sought for knowledge himself by educating himself in different professions. Taking a look at his service year, he worked as leading astronomer, then as a servant in the palace at the Supreme Court. Of a truth, someone of his calibre should get better offers or work in a higher rank. But, he declined all offers he had to work at a bigger position, laying claim to the fact that he wasn't enterprising enough. In the olden days, well known astrologers, Zhang Heng, for example, frequently drew out calendars for their kings. Not like a regular calendar we have in our own time. The calendar was more or less created to guide the ruler or emperor on how he's expected to rule. However, they had little or nothing to do with the emperor's decision or ruling style as they were more dependent on the request of astrologers. His decision to decline or reject the creation of an unauthorized Chinese calendar then, made him scarcely known by anybody.
Still on the story of Zhang Heng, he developed a water-dependent armillary sphere principally used to derive altitudes and longitudes. He didn't stop there as he presented several hypotheses concerning the moon and how it relates to the sun. Studying the three by three(3×3) magic square, he discovered a number very near to pie(π). Furthermore, he mentioned that pie(π) was approximately the root(square root to be precise) of 10 and in turn equal to 3.162.
To add more to his good books, he came up with equations for the volumes of 3-dimensional objects such as spheres. It was like discovering 4G in a 2G world. The height of his mathematical operations and applications was rather rare at the time.
Not just sciences, he added knowledge to the scope of literature through the poems and stories he wrote. He cultivated interest and got the inspiration while he worked in the court, owing to the fact that he had free privilege to a lorry-load of books and works of literature.
Zu Chongzhi lived between 429-500 AD, his service name Wenyuan, and he was a Chinese;
1. Mathematician
2. Astronomer
3. Writer
4. Politician and
5. Developer
He lived to see two administrations, the Liu Song and Southern Qi dynasties, to be exact. He was born in Jiankang. Looking at his ancestral lineage, he hailed from modern Baoding, Hebei. To get past the havoc of wars, his grandfather, Zu Chang(Zu being a family name), relocated to Yangtze, as partakers of the huge migration at the Eastern Jin regime. His grandfather once took the position of Chief Minister for palace buildings. That's not all! His father, Zu Shuozhi worked in the court and was highly respected.
Out of all his qualities, abilities and acquired knowledge, he was popularly known for his accuracy in calculations, in-depth understanding of mathematics and of course astronomy. As he was from a lineage of astronomers, that possibly made him interested in astronomy, his grandfather taught him astronomy and mathematics which greatly helped him in his activity. They've served in the King's palace for virtually all their lives, with the fact that astronomers played an important role in the court and they were well respected all because people, then had the popular belief that the King got his instructions right from heaven.
He was a very smart one and well appreciated. He deduced that 22/7 was greater than pie(π) then applied his knowledge in math to evaluate astronomical probabilities. He introduced the Daming calendar which outlined the day to day activities of the King for the whole year. And surprisingly, his calendar was very high in precision and it was used for a very long time. With so much accuracy, he dutifully calculated the number of days in a year, that way, he was able to tell, for sure, the exact time of the day.
Confucius, a man whose name and legacy cannot be ignored. He was born in the ninth month of the year, September 28, 551 BC, to be exact. This was in the province of Lu, present-day Qufu, in the era of the Zhou dynasty. Born in a middle-class family, and later were subjected into abject poverty due to the demise of his father, when he was just three years of age. Fast forward to when he clocked nineteen, he got married, yes, you read it correctly! He got into wedlock, with his wife, Qiguan, and they had three kids, a son and two daughters, to be precise. Unfortunately, he lost one of his daughters at a very tender age.
He literally served in the fields and a keeper of books. Along the line, he became a teacher, teaching a relatively little group of committed students or disciples. He took them on morality/virtue and ethics. In about a short while, the province itself began listening to his teachings, what he had to say. From there, he emerged the city's governor. All these laid the foundational stones of the path that made his status as a well respected sage or philosopher and thinker.
He influenced a lot of lives, not just in China, but also in neighboring countries like Japan, Korea, Vietman, and so on, through his teachings. They were all deeply rooted in his teachings. Now, to make it simple, his maxims and ideologies/philosophies are generally referred to as CONFUCIANISM , which formed the source of the worldwide anthology famously called Analects of Confucius . He generally made a mark in history via his teachings and ideologies. Below are some of his contributions:
1. He was the sole founder or father of Confucianism(also known as ruism). It was more or less like a tradition, culture or religion. His teachings talked about how to uphold morality and also running a just government.
2. Confucius teachings are also revolutionary, as it influenced a lot of cultures and some even accepted his teachings, thereby, incorporating it into their way of life.
3. When it came to politics, he believed, having a ruler or governor who can lead by example is the is way to get a fair and successful government. Also, Confucius believed strongly in freedom. People should be stopped by a shame from within when wrong and thus lead them on a journey of being virtuous, he believed.
4. He, as well, contributed to education as he instituted and promoted private school system where everyone, no matter the class or status was welcomed. He, himself never stopped learning and he taught his followers the six arts their education was founded upon; mathematics, calligraphy, music, archery, chariot driving and the last but not the least, rituals. He did this as a counteractive measure against the popular saying or belief in the Zhou dynasty, that education was only opened for those in higher class.
Gongsun Long was born in Zhao state, presently in Hebei province, China. He was one of the most popular ambassadors of the dialecticians. The dialecticians was actually a Philosophical school of both third and fourth centuries BCE in China. Their devotees were seriously interested in giving a proper evaluation of the real or original meaning of words. He was a logical who devoted his time to writing several contradictory articles or papers. More look at the essays/articles, it only contained approximately three-hundred personalities each but had rooted meanings and it gave various meaningful life lessons. With the fact that a very good number of his writings have been lost or can't be found, it limits our knowledge of his accomplishments. To be direct, just six out of fourteen of his poems have been located. That's a bit less than half. He is well known for his paradoxical speeches and essays, a popular one would be where he explained the reason why "a white horse is not a horse." Gongsun Long said that so far as the horse is white, it is a rare kind or breed of horse whose "form" is white. It isn't the generally accepted concept of horse, so it is not a horse. Mind you, his paradoxical essays and poems gave no judgement or whatsoever to the contradictory lines he shared and also accepted by lots of people. Well, everybody to is own judgement, decisions and perceptions. Some other people actually felt dissatisfied in his essays. It's so sad that his works as regards to Chinese writings and literature are among the few that weren't duly kept for posterity. Closing his chapter, he kicked the bucket, 250 BCE.
He was actually a philosopher, in the era of the Hundred Schools of Thought. Born in Tengzhou, Shandong district of China, he was the founder and father of the School of Mohism which was seriously against both Confucianism and Daoism. Although he studied Confucianism right from a tender age, he never liked the whole ideology. He believed that it paid so much attention to vast extravaganzas, burials and rituals which he believed have severe effects on the productivity of man and seemed dangerous to life in general.
The whole ideology behind Mohism was cultivated seriously in some states, but as time passed, its popularity dwindled the moment there was a change in power era and the Qin dynasty got the mantle. This period was really bad for them as the dynasty leader, Qin Shi Huang instructed his troops to set fire on Mohism writings and books and most of the intellectuals were executed. As if that wasn't enough, it went deeper into the struggle even during the period of the Han dynasty. Han dynasty were more to the side of Confucianism so they opposed other philosophy or ideology against it
What was the contradictory factor or bone of contention between the two movement, you may ask. Let me give you a quick gist of everything. Mohism or Mozi's ideology rested on the believe of Universal Law which claims that there should be a general or universal love between everybody and every person should be treated with love and respect. However, confucianism and its devotees claim that kids or youngsters should shower more love towards their parents than people they do not know, strangers, in easy to read text.
To close this chapter, let's learn one or two things about the founder himself. The founder of Mohism School, Mozi was a talented carpenter who regularly came up with creative equipment. He made several devices like wheeled ladders, robotic birds and many other whatnots. It is true that he didn't work in any high ranking office or position, probably due to his beliefs that contradicted that of Confucius, many generals, leaders and rulers came to meet him for help and professional advice basically on the issue of strengthening defense system and battle strategies.
Let's call it a day here as we cannot fully put into writing all the required names considering time and spac. However, the abovementioned list of people are forerunners in their fields, professions and dealings ultimately helping the People's Republic of China to secure a front seat in all these fields. Feel free to proceed to the comment section so as to air your views. We love it!
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