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West Surrey Area NADFAS A Special Interest Day Presented by Anne Haworth £30 for 3 lectures, coffee and buffet lunch A JOURNEY THROUGH 3000 YEARS OF CHINESE CIVILISATION Friday 18th November 2016 9.45 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Lightbox, Chobham Road, Woking, Surrey, GU21 4AA LECTURE 1: AN INTRODUCTION TO CHINA'S HISTORY, CULTURE AND CIVILISATION The first lecture introduces China: its early history, languages and topography of fertile regions, sacred mountains and deserts. In spoken Chinese, China is ‘Zhong Guo’, which translates as ‘The Middle Kingdom’ and expresses the central world position which China occupies in the mind-set of the Chinese. The initial focus is on the fertile Yellow River area in the north: ‘The Cradle of Chinese Civilisation.’ Looking at materials such as ritual bronzes and polished jades and the philosophies of Confucius and Lao Zi, we will consider how this ancient civilisation evolved. A new era began with the reign of Qin Shi Huang Di, (259-210BC), China’s First Emperor, famous for his ‘Terracotta Warriors’ and the consolidator of The Great Wall. From here, the history continues with the Silk Routes which linked China to lands further West from where Buddhism was introduced. During the first millennium AD, changing dynasties, turbulence and golden ages of peace defined China’s history. The cosmic role of the emperors, the literati who valued gardens, calligraphy, painting, poetry and tea-drinking, the making of silk and ceramics and the impact of the natural world are important themes. We will conclude with China's classical era called the Song Dynasty when exquisite paintings and ceramics were produced. LECTURE 2: CHINA FROM THE YUAN DYNASTY TO THE MING DYNASTY (1271-1644) During the late 13th century, a relentless power appeared on China’s northern frontier in the shape of the invading Mongols, who established the Yuan Dynasty (1278-1368), with its capital at Dadu (modern Beijing). This era of conflict nevertheless witnessed the expansion of seaborne trade and contacts with SE Asia and the Islamic World. Blue and white porcelain was introduced - a commodity which was to become so crucial to world trade and Marco Polo is said to have visited China in this era. After the Yuan came the cultural flowering of the Ming Dynasty, when an early Ming emperor, Yongle, built The Forbidden City in Beijing. This was to be the Imperial residence for almost 500 years. It is now the Palace Museum, housing the treasures and art collections accumulated by generations of emperors during the Ming and succeeding Qing Dynasties. This lecture covers the development of the Imperial Collections in Beijing, the growth in trade at first with the Arabs and later with the Portuguese and Dutch and the importance to China of the literati world of the classical Ming Dynasty garden. LECTURE 3: THE QING DYNASTY (1644-1911) TWILIGHT DAYS OF EMPIRE, REVOLUTION AND THE TRIUMPH OF MODERN SHANGHAI As the Ming Emperors lost the Mandate of Heaven, China witnessed invasion once more, by the Manchus from beyond the Great wall, who established the Qing Dynasty. The first Emperors of this Dynasty were powerful. They honoured the ancient rites and were major collectors and patrons of art, the 18th century Qianlong Emperor was one of the greatest patrons of art that the world has known. During the 18th Century, trade flourished with the Western trading companies based at Canton, among which the English East India Company was dominant. During the 19th century, the Westerners sought to expand their interests, leading to the devastating Opium Wars and establishment of the Treaty Ports, such as Shanghai. The abdication of the last emperor in 1911 was followed by civil wars, victory of Mao’s Communist armies and in later years, China’s Awakening.