What was the status of China in ancient times? What civilizations are there?

China was in a leading position in the world in ancient times, and made achievements in culture, politics and architectural art, especially the four inventions of gunpowder, papermaking, compass and printing, which promoted the development of world economy and culture, but gradually fell behind the world in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

In the astronomical calendar, comets, eclipses and eclipses are recorded hundreds of years earlier than those in western countries. Taking comets as an example, the observation records of comets in ancient China were more than 600 years earlier than those in other countries in the world, and astronomical phenomena such as solar and lunar eclipses were recorded in Shang Dynasty. The existing Gregorian calendar existed on the land of China 300 years before its birth, and its accuracy and changes of solar terms are very accurate.

The twelve-year calendar, which is 800 years earlier than the world, arranges solar terms such as winter solstice, summer solstice and vernal equinox in written form, which is beneficial to the determination of agricultural farming season and the development of agricultural civilization in China. As far as scientific and technological achievements are concerned, the four great inventions are achievements ahead of the world. Cai Lun improved papermaking in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and printing gradually changed from block printing to movable type printing, which improved printing efficiency and greatly accelerated the speed of cultural communication. This scientific and technological achievement spread to European and American countries, which promoted the Renaissance and religious reform, emancipated the mind and promoted European cultural progress.

In literature and art, ceramic technology and architectural technology are world-famous. China's porcelain is rich in color, diverse in variety and well-made. After the Silk Road and shipping in Song Dynasty, it once became a hot-selling product in Europe. The high appearance rate of famous European paintings has set off a wave of ceramic culture. Zhao Zhouqiao, China, is exquisite in structure, beautiful and practical, and adopts open-shouldered arch structure, which has high artistic achievements and scientific research value. It is the oldest existing stone arch bridge in the world, and its structural art is also ahead of the world. Besides, China's acupuncture and herbal culture is unique. Li Shizhen's Compendium of Materia Medica and Hua Tuo's General Anesthesia are still widely used in Bian Que.