What kind of influence do China's geographical features have on the formation of traditional Chinese culture?

1, culture and geography,

Hegel believes that geography has a profound impact on culture, he will be the world according to geographic characteristics of the distinction between three major types: dry with the vast grasslands and plains; giant rivers flow through the plains of the basin; and the coastal areas connected with the sea. Therefore, geography plays a great role in the formation of culture. It provides the people who are active within its boundaries with conditions that are different from those of other geographical areas, poses different challenges, and thus provides different worlds, and thus produces different cultural personalities. Imagine, the spirit of Yugong is not the achievement of Taihang Wangwu two mountains?

The geographic environment, as the natural basis of human existence, certainly has a great impact on human culture, especially in the early stages of the development of human society, which can be said to have a decisive impact.

The role of geography will become less and less important as mankind's ability to conquer nature continues to improve

, and there will no longer be a contemporary Yugong of digging and moving mountains. But people as a natural body, will never be detached from nature, will not be completely do not want the geographic environment, so the geographic environment and human beings have always been closely related

Cut. Like our present ecological balance, is so.

2, China's historical geography

China's territory is vast, from the easternmost Heilongjiang River Basin and the Ussuri River to the westernmost Pamir Plateau between about 5200 kilometers, from the northernmost Mohe River north of the heart of the Heilongjiang River to the South China Sea of the Zengmu Dark Sand about 5500 kilometers. In this vast land, the terrain shows a high west and low east topographic trend, with a clear ladder-like distribution; at the same time, there are many east-west mountains and rivers, which naturally divide China's boundaries into different regions. These areas in history, also formed a regional culture, such as Shu culture, Chu culture, Qin culture, and so on.

China's boundaries have evolved over time, and its geography has changed. The term "China" was first used to refer to the vassal states of the Central Plains, and then it was extended outward by the state regimes established in the Central Plains. Geographically, the Central Plains had many lakes in ancient times, and Shanghai had not yet appeared in the Song Dynasty. The Yellow River is southeastward into the East China Sea.

China is geographically well situated, mostly in the mid-latitudes, with a mild climate, and is also located in the east of the world's largest landmass, Eurasia, and on the west coast of the world's largest ocean, the Pacific Ocean, not far from the Indian Ocean in the southwest, with a monsoon

< p>The climate is well-developed, with well-coordinated temperature and moisture conditions. For the development of agriculture provides suitable conditions. Like Henan in ancient times, the climate is warm, there are elephants living here, so for "Yu", similarly, the Mongolian plateau is "wind-blown grass see cattle

sheep". Dust storms and yellow floodplains are just a thing of the future.

3. Influence of geography on Chinese culture

(1) The vast territory and special topography made traditional Chinese culture inward-looking and stable.

Two major features of Chinese geography: First, Chinese culture, with the Yellow River basin, especially the middle and lower reaches, as its birthplace, was relatively isolated from the outside world. In the north there is the impenetrable Mongolian Gobi and Siberian primeval forests, in the northwest there are thousands of miles of yellow sand, in the southwest there is the highest, treacherous and precipitous Tibetan Plateau, and in the southeast there is the largest ocean, the Pacific Ocean. The formation of a relatively closed geographical environment. Second, the territory has a lot of room for maneuver and a long span of latitude. The space for migration between the north and the south is large, and there is a wide buffer for natural disasters and social unrest. This has had a profound impact on traditional Chinese culture. The relatively closed inland area makes the culture characterized by inwardness. Ancient Chinese preferred mountains and had little understanding of the sea. Philosophers rarely traveled to the sea, and the concept of water was limited to rivers.

For example, like Laozi, Confucius never went to sea. Confucius, "the wise man enjoys the water, the benevolent man enjoys the mountains; the wise man moves, the benevolent man is quiet. There are also people write water "the Yellow River is far away from the white clouds, a sail a piece of the sun side to", "the sun is the end of the mountain, the Yellow River into the sea", "the desert is straight, the Yangtze River sunset round". On the contrary, the mountains are worshipped and the Five Mountains are worshipped. The emperor sacrificed to Mount Tai. The Silk Road is mostly for foreign traders, and so is the foreign trade of the Tang and Song dynasties. Therefore, the self-centered, four seas for the world of the Kingdom of Heaven, the central empire is our ancient image of China, barbarians are not bothered to interact with, there is no need to go outside. Large room for maneuver is the relative stability of Chinese culture.

(2) The geographic environment allows for a strong continuity of traditional Chinese culture.

The relatively closed geographical environment makes it difficult for the outside world to have a significant impact on Chinese culture. Not only is it difficult for us to go out, but it is also difficult for the outside world to come in. What made the Silk Road great was that it was one of the very few ancient Chinese routes to the outside world, and the outsiders who came up through it were, after all, a minority. The conquests of foreign peoples were also made difficult by the natural barriers. Therefore, Chinese culture did not meet the fate of ancient civilizations such as Ancient Egypt and Ancient Babylon. This objectively ensured the continuous development of traditional Chinese culture.

China's vast territory, across the latitude, climate fluctuations generally only affect the north-south boundaries of the agricultural zone, but not reduce its area, so that China's agriculture to a relatively stable development, so that the economic foundation of Chinese culture has a stable guarantee, so that the development of culture presents a stable continuation of the characteristics. China is still a big agricultural country, and the issue of farmers is still the most important.

(3) The geographical environment makes the content of traditional Chinese culture relatively diverse.

China's territory is vast and its topography is varied, with rivers, mountains, deserts, swamps, and forests forming relatively different internal regions. The terrain is high in the west and low in the east, and the mountain ranges and rivers are mostly east-west oriented, so it is easy to travel east-west and difficult to travel north-south. The Yangtze River and the Yellow River became heavenly dangers. The Grand Canal was thus cut. The Three Kingdoms were established by dividing the land and the rivers. As a result, many different "small kingdoms" were formed, with relatively different regional cultures. This made Chinese traditional culture rich and diverse. Qin had the metaphor of the tiger and the wolf, Jingchu had the style of obeisance, Lu and Song had the custom of etiquette and music, and so on. Therefore, the Yangtze River Basin, Shandong Peninsula, the Sichuan Basin Lingnan region have formed different characteristics of the culture, but also become an integral part of traditional culture.