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mauganra_it t1_ixa8l6q wrote

Reply to comment by LeoSolaris in Ancient shipwreck sees light of day again, a major milestone for Chinese underwater archaeology by IslandChillin

It can be argued to be a translation error, but Chinese history does not share the sharp divide in Western history around the 5th century when the Western Roman Empire collapsed. For the Chinese, modern Chinese history starts with the Opium Wars. Everything before that is considered ancient Chinese history, as the Opium Wars are the harbinger of the eventual demise of Imperial China.

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RollinThundaga t1_ixabtd4 wrote

Then an interpretation error on part of the translator; if it's being translated for an English-speaking audience, then they won't pick up on that cultural difference.

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Roastbeef3 t1_ixaoz7z wrote

But this ship post dates even the opium wars. Not by a lot, but it does

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jonnycash11 t1_ixbgmwz wrote

I think you mean “Feudal China” not ancient.

Ancient China would be the Zhou or Shang dynasties, maybe even the legendary Xia dynasty.

The Chinese 古代 period ends about 2000BC, based on this baidubaike (Chinese Wikipedia) article.

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Maleficent_Moose_802 t1_ixctgo7 wrote

Indeed, to the Chinese, if a historical period still have detailed and believable records, it is not ancient enough.

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Naritai t1_ixba4qw wrote

The word 'ancient' has certain meanings in the English language, and 150 years old isn't ancient.

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the_very_next_day t1_ixc3jrw wrote

I'd have thought that modern Chinese history starts with the fall of the qing dynasty, but anyway there's a difference between "not modern" and "ancient"

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mauganra_it t1_ixc53ba wrote

The decline of Chinese civilization during the 19th century is a major departure from the flow of Chinese history until then. China has been conquered many times, but so far the conquerors always assimilated to Chinese civilization. Colonization by foreign powers and the Unequal Treaties were a new pattern, and these events still loom large in the collective psyche of the Chinese people.

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