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Chinese History
The Chinese people’s life is typically different from that of other people in the world. However, the lifestyle of the Chinese is quite exciting and eases to adopt for those who learned the cultural practices of China.
Moreover, traversing around the world in specific visiting China in the middle-east and America in the west will help learn the distinct mode of people’s culture and way of living. The paper depicts Chinese history with the use of two people in the past that traveled from China to another country responding to the formulated questions as given below. The two authors are Liang Qichao on his trip to America and Xuanzang in his record to the Western Regions.
How do the two authors Understand China? What do they believe is distinctive about China, if anything?
The duo Liang and Xuanzang significantly understand China and the Chinese cultural way of life. According to Liang, believes that China is occupied by people who have deep rooted the Chinese traditions as compared to the practices by natives in Western countries. Liang and Xuanzang are both China-born individuals. Liang understands that China people cannot condone the American way of life in such instances of purchasing some small piece of land at much higher prices; to the Chinese people it is like throwing away money on the useless size of the property and the acts are deplorable (David, 335). Xuanzang in his writing demonstrates a clear understanding of China, location, and landscaping. In his text, Xuanzang depicts that China is laying on broad land size with a desert in the north that is covered with mountains with steep slopes. Moreover, Xuanzang states that China is embroiled in Buddhism as the religious practice led the Buddha. The Buddha according to Xuanzang is characterized by male behavior and was much often responsible for women pregnancies.
The two authors demonstrate various distinctive about China to the United States. For instance, Liang and Xuanzang assert that the Americans are much civilized, unlike the Chinese people who are yet to be fully enlightened (Silk Road Seattle). Also, the authors affirm that China is less developed as compared to the western countries in specific New York City. Moreover, both Liang and Xuanzang believe that even though the westerns are modernized with great success in building and economic achievement; China as a country has much to brag with as well. For example, Xuanzang states that there are many great structures including the 90 feet Buddha outside the Western gate of the chief city alongside the road (Silk Road Seattle). The erected sculpture is a tourist-attracting site and resembles the traditional Chinese lifestyle. The Buddha sculpture presented in the statement above is used for the annual autumnal equinox festival; the priests from all over China assemble in the place. The king and other leading authorities gather at the Buddha structure both from the small to the highest during the occasion and abstain from the public business, listen to the teaching as provided by the Chinese law, practice religious fast as well as pass the day without lethargy.
How do the authors understand foreign countries? What makes these foreign countries different from China?
The authors have a different aspect of the lifestyle of people in foreign countries. According to Liang, foreign countries like the American nation has civilized, industrious and developed people (David, 336). Liang gives his perspective of New York as the most developed city in the world as well as the bleakest. Liang asserts that other developed cities apart from those in China also have got their own darkest side. Liang affirms that the Chinese lifestyle is no the dirtiest as purported, but the Americans are; in his view, the author states that the United States, for example, has got three classes and gives an example of totally poor Italians and Jews in the regions seated on stools in the street outside their doorsteps (David, 336). Liang states that foreign countries have got the tenancies of hiding the public from the truth; inside the great apartments are full of tenants without daylight or ventilation to facilitate quality and healthy living environments. Authors perceive poverty rates in the foreign countries as intact as in their local state of China; only that it is never exposed to the outside nations. Xuanzang occasionally mentions negative looks of the foreign country he is dwelt in a while drafting his text instead continuously talks about the Chinese way of practice by their cultural, religious behaviors.
Several factors make these foreign countries different from China according to Liang and Xuanzang. Liang asserts that the foreign countries up hand in doing business both nationally and internationally has significantly influenced their development beating China. Also, the issue of industrialization began with the westerns and thus enjoying economies of scale from old skills on mechanical and technological moves as compared to China. Liang states that industrial trust can be traced to the Oil Trust of 1882 which initiated other manufacturing processes that led to the growth of Americans living behind China (David, 337). According to Xuanzang, the difference between China and other foreign countries more so westerners is the cultural practices; China is much dedicated to religion acts while Americans are industrial and manufacturers (Silk Road Seattle). China had its first plant processing in making fabric for the priests from Sanaka plant which was purely agricultural based while westerners had industrialization of iron among other valuable products. The ideology of what evolved first in the country plays a significant role in the States development that saw the Americans placed far ahead of middle-east and east countries like China.
Given your answers to the above questions, what are the similarities in the two authors’ point of view? What are the differences?
Similarities
Both Liang and Xuanzang express the Chinese way of life to other foreign states; the duos are China-born and traveled yonder to explore living in the westerns countries. Also, both authors express the rich Chinese cultural behavior that makes them unique to other people’s way of life. Both Liang and Xuanzang cannot control their love for their home country China as they repeatedly talk about its beauty and success as compared to westerns nations. The two authors similarly demonstrate that China is occupied and led by the religious believer of their culture; the individuals are more socialized and embrace socialism as the way of living, unlike the westerns countries where capitalism is the way of life.
Differences
According to the excerpt presenting the story of the two authors on their experience in foreign countries, many variations are displayed. In response to the earlier questions post before in the paper, Liang is focused on the way of foreigner’s deeds as compared to Chinese while Xuanzang concentrates most on religious, cultural practices in China. Liang believes that Americans apart from being developed and more civilized as compared to China, they are also privileged in doing businesses leading to their forefront in living standards. According to Xuanzang, cultural believes in Chinese religious deeds contribute much more to their socialism way of life that leaves them behind westerner. Liang attests that New York among other cities in the West is preferably the most developed in the world, but Xuanzang believes that China is much decorated with the sculptures that attract tourism.
How, ultimately, do you account for the similarities and differences between the texts?
I agree with the similarities as the present by both Liang and Xuanzang in their texts over the cause of differences and similarities between China and the foreign countries in the case of the West. It is evident that business bargaining powers are the primary factor in attaining resources needed for developments by the State. However, countries in the west are very privileged by being superpowers; they tend to control the economy through industrialization and technology living behind other countries such as those in the middle-east. Also, the art of manufacturing evolving from the west advancing to the east gave the foreign countries unopposed development with the little struggle for prime resources; civilization as well plays a vital role in placing westerns a head of China. Nevertheless, Xuanzang’s perception of socialism slowing down Chinese reemergence as compared to other foreign countries is true as well; there is a lack of individual growth in China instead of group development.
Moreover, I disagree with the differences demonstrated between the authors for the two texts. I do not think cultural, religious practices as based on Xuanzang prohibited civilization and industrial development of the nation. However, the people’s distinct way of life contributed much to the differences in their lifestyle from that of foreigners among the Chinese and Westerners.
Works Cited
David, Arkush. & Lee. Leo. Liang Qichao on His Trip to America: Chapter 73, p. 335-340
Silk Road Seattle. “Xuanzang’s Record of the Western Regions:” Buddhist Pilgrim in 646 at the Request of the Tang Emperor; translated by Samuel Beal (1884). Published in 2003