On Reasons for Culture of Central Plains to Hold Dominance in China

李麗姣

I. Introduction

Chinese culture， characterized by strong nationality and heredity， is created and shared by Chinese people in the worldwide. Along the coure of human being`s evolution， China plays a role of critical significance all the time. In the vast extensive territory， our ancestors and countrymen have interpreted wonderful magic of Chinese culture， and make a great contribution to the world.

In the long course of history， culture of Central Plains always occupied the dominating position in China， enjoying a cutting edge over minority ethnic groups. Unlike western countries whose national culture would be vanished to a certain extent after the collapse of power， the culture of Central Plains never lost its great influence during the vicissitudes. The culture instructed Chinese people`s life for centuries， breeding and multiplying.

This paper is to analyze the reason why China is dominated by the culture of Central Plains for a long time from different perspectives， such as its advantageous geogriphical position， inferior rivals， inclusive minds of Chinese people， etc. for a purpose to expouse its great charm to readers.

II. Factors to Contribute the Dominance of Culture of Central Plains

Ancient Chinese culture originated from the Yellow River， where Han people were cultivated and civilized. They developed agriculture， made pottery and porcelin， exchange commodities and communicated with each other in a civilized manner， making Chinese culture dominant across the country.

2.1 The Great Influence of Basic Economic Foundation

Chinese ancient culture was based on the agricultural production， originating in the farming areas near the Yellow River. In the New Stone Age， the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River were full of rich rainfall and warm climate， providing favorable conditions for farming activities and human being`s subsistence. The soil of the Loess Plateau was soft， in which it was quite easy to remove vegetations and undertake reclamation in the case of poor utensils. Moreover， soil erosion was not quite severe at that time because of small trees scattering on the land. Agricultural development enjoyed a long history and vast extensive regions， but large agricultural areas firstly appeared in the Yellow River due to geogriphical factors. In addition， the agricultural coverage in China would not minimize at that time， because of vastly extensive land and little intense climate changes， providing steady material basis for Chinese cultural expansion.

2.2 Tides of Emigration

With the expansion of agricultural production， a large number of Han people brought Chinese traditional culture to north， south and northeast China through emigration. By vantage of huge population and superior culture， Han people facilitated the culture of Central Plains to become the mainstream in local areas.

Human is the creator of Chinese culture， as well as the carrier. In the circumstance of backward transportation and communication facilities， emigration was the most significant means to disseminate culture. In tides of emigration， many were royal families or intellectuals who were financially strong and well cultivated. And they still occupied a lion share in politics after the emigration， thus performing a critical role in cultural spread. During the process， they may introduce various kinds of novel elements of minority ethnic groups into the mainstream culture.

2. 3 Inferior Rivals of China

Although some other cultural factors spred to China， and integrated into traditional culture， like Hu songs from Western Regions， Chritianity from European countries， etc. they could not have much impact on Han culture， and did not overwhelm its supeior position. As well， normads from the north China were dwarfs in terms of culture， though invading the central part through strong military forces. Neither neighboring countries nor normadic tribes could not pose threats to classic culture in China. Instead， Chinese traditional culture plays a role of critical significance in other countries` development， such as Japanese written words， South Korean festivals， the great inventions to Western World， and typical English-adopted Chinese words， spicing up their cultural improvement in various places across the world.

2. 4 An Introvert Sea Trade

In the vicinity of vast terretory of China， there is large areas of sea， including Bohai Sea， East China Sea， South China Sea， etc. The initiating of ocean undertakings is a strong leverage to promote the civilization in European countries， especially the modern civilization. Also， it is a forcible measure to connect China`s amicable relationship with other countries， and stimulate the high development of China`s splendid culture.

In addition， because of Japanese invasion and turmoil near seas， the government began to strangle private businesses and imposed severe constraints on the career of sea trade. And immigrants were considered as rebellious people against the government and suffered intense discrimination. From then on， China`s ocean career suffered from big failure and lagged behind the world`s pace. As a result， the economic foundation was not shaked and the cultural elements from overseas did not exert much influence on Chinese traditional culture.

2.5 Inclusive Minds of Chinese People

The culture of Central Plains obtained vigor from introduction of various novel cultural elements， both from surrounding regions and foreign countries， making itself develop constantly. In turn， the reason that the culture of Central Plains prevailed across the whole country is inclusive minds owned by minority ethnic groups. They did not develop a sense of complacency in military power， but recognized their backwardness in spiritual civilization. Therefore， they would like to be armed with advanced culture and traditions. These normadic countries neither felt anxious about the threat posed by Central Chinese culture， nor had narrow minds of exclusiveness.

Ⅲ. Conclusion

The culture of Central Plains displays its brilliance and radiance not only in China， but also in the world at large. Over the past several centuries， Chinese people moulded their characteristics， and created magnificent cultural fruits. Today， although European countries has stepped into an industrial world， Chinese traditional cultures don`t debilitate its influence on the public， but increase to a high degree.

As suggested， strong economic foundation on the basis of agriculture， numerous tides of emigration from the Yellow River to the nationawide， little influence on China`s traditional culture exerted by inferior rivals both at home and abroad， the introvert sea trade centering on reserved and defensive national policy， and inclusive minds of Chinese people to different cultures all contribute to the supremacy of central Chinese culture. In a word， the dominancy of culture in Central Plains is a product of favorable timing， geogriphical and human conditions.

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