1. Art of painting: Chinese had developed wonderful painting. They painted on silk cloth, tomb walls, pots and papers. They believed that tomb painting were means to protect the dead and help their souls to go to heaven.
2. Sculpture: Chinese developed the art of casting bronze statues of animals and monsters. This art developed during Shangs and Chous. Buddhism influenced their sculpture and the statues of Bodhisatwa carved in stone are found in large numbers. The Terracotta army assembled in the tomb of the first Kin Emperor consists of life-size images of more than 8000 warriors and horses.
Chinese were massive builders. The Great Wall of China is one of their most impressive and everlasting architectural accomplishment. It was purely built for the ’ utilitarian purpose of protecting the country from Mongolian invasions. They also built Buddhist temples called Pagodas, important among them are the ‘Giant Wild Goose Pagoda’, ‘Jade Pagoda’, ‘Flask Pagoda’ and the ‘Temple of Sleeping Buddha’ outside Peking, the present Beijing.
3. Writing and Literature: Chinese had developed the art of writing during Shang period. Chinese script was standardized during Chin Rulers. They have no alphabets and parts of speech. It consists of only characters which are more than 40,000. It started as pictograph and later they developed Characters or Logo grams.
Chinese characters constitute the oldest continuously used systems of writing in the world. Their writing played an important role in cultural unification. Chinese script also influenced Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese scripts. It is written from top to bottom.
The invention of paper, silk, and ink for writing helped the growth of writing and literature. The practice of writing history was also popular in China. The Chinese literature comprised of prose, poetry, philosophy and history. During Han and Tong dynasties, Chinese poetry reached great heights. Chinese had developed Geography, Geometry, Arithmetic, Calendars, Astronomy and they could predict eclipses accurately.
The important inventions of the Chinese are the following. Silk, Tea, Ink, Brushes for painting and writing, Abacus, Acupuncture, Rudder, Gun powder, Glass, Pottery, Porcelain, Rockets, Umbrella, Seismograph, and Mariner Compass.
4. Philosophy and Religion: Lao Tse, Confucius, and Mencius were three great Philosophers who influenced the religious ideas of Chinese to a great extent. Lao Tse’s philosophy is known. as Taoism. He preached non-violence, not to be conservative, to respect the wise, do one’s duty with sincerity and honesty, etc., The philosophy of Confucius is known as ‘Confucianism’. The principles of Confucius had a basis in common Chinese traditions and beliefs. He taught loyalty towards family, worship of ancestors, respect to elders and unity among the people of China.
