Talk:Chinese civilization

There is a move discussion in progress which affects this page. Please participate at Talk:People's Republic of China - Requested move and not in this talk page section. Thank you. —RM bot 11:01, 12 December 2011 (UTC)

In the course of the previous move request discussion in August 2011 it was reaffirmed that other articles, categories, etc., wouldn't be affected. This principle was reaffirmed in CfD in October 2011 and February 2012. But this article was moved. Please discuss at Talk:Demographics of Greater China#Move request. Thanks. 119.237.156.246 (talk) 15:23, 19 March 2012 (UTC)

I've compiled portions of pages on Chinese culture and history to create the basis for a Chinese civilization article. I recently made an edit to add the information to the page, but had my edit reversed because an agreement has been reached to have the page act as a disambiguation page. My last edit, for reference, is as follows: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chinese_civilization&diff=500700399&oldid=500699990.

I think a page on Chinese civilization should exist, and that it can be a helpful reference for people to compile things relevant to people looking into Chinese civilization to have many links and references together in one place. I think the page should touch on some basic values, norms, religious beliefs and cultural aspects common to the Chinese civilization; its political, economic, literary, and innovation history; and its influence on its neighbors and the world today. I don't know if my edit does that as well as possible, but think that it is a good start.

I think the article should also focus primarily on Chinese civilization when it was mostly free of strong Western influence. Considering that Chinese and Eastern Asians in general have been greatly influenced by Western/Global ideas, values customs and manners that they seem far removed from traditional Chinese civilization.

Your thoughts? Nanib (talk) 23:36, 4 July 2012 (UTC)

This page exists largely by accident. Once there was a page on the country at People's Republic of China and page at China on an ill defined topic. Ill defined as some people were sure that "China" was something different from the PRC but it was unclear what. Eventually after long discussion it was resolved that the country should be at China, which was not really a separate topic after all. So that was moved to Chinese civilization, its content merged with other articles, and it was turned into a disambiguation page, with links to related articles, the ones it was merged to and the ones most likely to be of interest to anyone typing "Chinese civilization" into the search box.

So the consensus after that discussion is that there is no need for such an article. Readers are better off reading China, History of China and Chinese culture which focus on those particular topics than an article which tries to cover all three. China itself serves as an overview, while the other two articles are more focussed. There isn't really a separate topic as "Chinese civilization" and any such article would just duplicate existing ones.--JohnBlackburne^words_deeds 01:16, 5 July 2012 (UTC)

I was thinking of making an article similar to the one for the Mayan Civilization. The content I put together was mainly from several pages, but mainly Han Chinese and Chinese culture. Some material was also taken from the page on the Sinosphere, the Economic history of China (pre-1911), History of science and technology in China, and the pages on traditional Chinese medicine, numerology, and social norms. This page wouldn't be meant to cover all history, but but key aspects of the Chinese civilization and its significance to the modern world today, which currently isn't in one convenient place.

To achieve this in a non time consuming fashion for readers, based on what I've put together, the article could stand to lose chunks of material taken from the Chinese culture page, maybe touch on the religion of China in less detail, and have the history section rehashed to reflect on the Chinese civilization rather than the the Han Chinese ethnic group. Nanib (talk) 02:28, 5 July 2012 (UTC)

That is not a good idea. As "Chinese civilization" is a difficult article to make that can stand on its own and not just simply be another overview of those respective articles, which is basically what you are suggesting. It needs to be brought into context of the oh-so-much ambiguous term "Chinese civilization", have that and consensus may change. Everyone can state what the culture comprises, but how does it define the topic? Also, you can't just copy-paste things without clear attribution like earlier. --Cold Season (talk) 03:48, 5 July 2012 (UTC)

I think it is fine that some sections link to pages on the history of scientific development or the economic history of China, but beyond that I see what you mean. I have an idea of what material might be good for this, but that is a bit more time consuming that cutting and pasting so I'll produce something to that effect progressively after some time. Nanib (talk) 00:26, 6 July 2012 (UTC)

I get it that the current silliness is the result of very deeply felt trench fighting over whether Chinese civilization as a cultural area is distinct from the PRC. All the same, the actual WP:PRIMARYTOPIC of "Chinese civilization" (at least in the English language) isn't the region or history but the content we have parked at Chinese culture. That's its own industrial-sized drum of worms, sure, but it's a single page that this should be redirecting towards. The other senses are secondary, not what is ever intended by a page linked to Chinese civilization, and are easily enough accessible from the culture page. — LlywelynII 07:11, 27 July 2025 (UTC)