The Influence of Chinese Traditional Culture on Foreign Cultures

From the 8th century B.C. to the 2nd century A.D., Chinese silk was constantly shipped to Europe through the Silk Road. During this period, through the silk trade, Chinese culture had its first major impact on the West. Around the 5th century B.C., Chinese silk fabrics appeared on Greek statues as the clothing of ancient Greek aristocrats. At that time, Westerners marveled at Chinese silk and called China "Ceres", or "the land of silk". Silk's thin, soft, light and with the shape of the qualities, and the ancient Greeks set up and for future generations of Westerners to promote the pursuit of human freedom requirements. Silk with its material properties of the Western aesthetic concept for a good interpretation. From the Renaissance until modern times, silk has always been China's major export to the West.

Porcelain is another major vehicle for the influence of Chinese culture on the West. Porcelain production has a long history in China, but because of its fragile, inconvenient overland transportation, it was extremely expensive in Europe, and individuals in the upper echelons of society owned it as a means of bragging rights. Later, with the East and West of the main trade routes by land changed to the sea, for the West to import large quantities of Chinese porcelain provides a realistic possibility. By the end of the 17th century, as many as 3 million porcelain shipments were sent from Guangzhou and Quanzhou each year. Chinese porcelain showed exquisite, delicate, gorgeous style gave birth to the rise of the French "Rococo style", even Western scholars also had to admit that "Rococo style of art and ancient Chinese culture fit, the whole secret lies in the porcelain embodied in the delicate and subtle mood. " ?