The material world constantly changes according to the natural law of impermanent. History had shown that while one civilization perished, another develops. However, for some disappeared civilization, vast information remained intact, while other buried in ruins or even no trace is left behind. It is essential to note that without past there would not be possible for current and future. Therefore, history is very important.
According to David Hume:
History is not only a valuable part of knowledge, but opens the door to many other parts, and affords materials to most of the sciences. And indeed, if we consider the shortness of human life, and our limited knowledge, even of what passes in our own time, we must be sensible that we should be forever children in understanding, were it not for this invention, which extends our experience to all past ages, and to the most distant nations; making them contribute as much to our improvement in wisdom, as if they had actually lain under our observation. A man acquainted with history may, in some respect, be said to have lived from the beginning of the world, and to have been making continual additions to his stock of knowledge in every century.
Knowledge of historical civilization indeed is very important. Fortunately, with the help of today’s magic—modern science, we can go back even further into history than we had before. New technology has allowed archeologist to unearth many mysterious artifacts that could change the world history or at least make a contribution to the history of the world. These artifacts added more evidential facts to valuable information that has been left out for thousands of years. The profits found in history can be pin-pointed as of three categories: it amuses ...
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...e Monk Fa-Hien of His Travels in India and Ceylon in Search of the Buddhist Books of D. Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2004.
Liu, Xinru. “Migration and Settlement of the Yuezhi-Kushan: Interaction and Interdependence of Nomadic and Sedentary Societies.” Journal of World History 12, no. 2 (2001): 261–292.
Loeschner, Hans. “The Stūpa of the Kushan Emperor Kanishka the Great, with Comments on the Azes Era and Kushan Chronology.” Sino-Platonic Papers no. 227 (2012): 1–24.
Myer, Prudence R. “Again the Kanishka Casket.” The Art Bulletin 48, no. 3/4 (September 1966): 396. doi:10.2307/3048396.
Puri, B.N. Buddhism in Central Asia. Vol. 4. Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1987.
Rosenfield, John M. The Dynastic Arts of the Kushans. University of California Press, 1967.
Warraich, Mr Tauqeer Ahmad. “Gandhara: An Appriasal of Its Meanings and History.” J.R.S.P., Vol. 48, No. 1 (2011): 1–20.
Hayley Ryan Anthropology 215 Archaeological Book Analysis February 7th, 2017 Bridge of Birds There is a great art that can be found in being able to describe the world of an ancient civilization. Especially in one where large man made walls form because of the creases of a sleeping dragon’s back, or that the layout of the fields and streams of a small village create the image of a galloping unicorn when looked from up above. Yet, this is Imperial China, or as Barry Hughhart writes in his Novel Bridge of Birds, “an Ancient China that Never Was” (Hughhart 1984). This novel explores the history and the world of Ancient China, and the tales of the people who have walked across the land.
Yu, Han. “Memorial on Buddhism”. Making of the Modern World 12: Classical & Medieval Tradition. Trans. Richard F. Burton. Ed. Janet Smarr. La Jolla: University Readers, 2012. 111-112. Print.
Maps of Time: An Introduction to Big History by historian David Christian explores a “modern creation myth” (2). Christian takes his readers from the big bang to modern day in a technical and historical narrative. He believes that big history is a new, yet important, area of history ignored by historians. Christian tells us big history is “a coherent story about the past on many different scales, beginning, literally, with the origins of the universe and ending in the present day” (2). The strength in Christian’s argument is in that he carefully takes his readers through each stage in history, much like a textbook, using charts, graphs, pictures, and the language for each area, like astronomy or biology. However, Christian’s goal is not complete. Christian, at multiple points, tells his readers there are many more details and theories that surround any one of his given subjects. Although his book is a great overall coverage for a topic as large as big history, his readers may wonder if such the idea of big history is a good one.
Doc 2-Source: Zhi Dun, Chinese scholar, author, and confidant of Chinese aristocrats and high officials during the period when northern China was invaded by central Asian steppe nomads, circa 350 C.E.
What more is the point of learning and understanding human history than obtaining the knowledge and structure between what is right and what is wrong? We continuously believe that we as humans have the ability and intellect to learn from the lessons taught in our past in order to enrich our future. In comparison to the time frame that is human history the one hundred year period of time we discussed in the second halve of this semester is nothing but a slight blimp on the map that we have traversed. Yet, throughout our recent readings we can easily assimilate into the idea that although time may pass, and that we may attempt to learn from our history it is simply in human nature to repeat the mistakes that we have
Butler, Chris. "The Flow of History." Welcome -. N.p., 1 Jan. 2007. Web. 19 May 2014. .
The study of past events have been a common practice of mankind since the verbal telling of stories by our ancestors. William Cronon, in his article “Why the Past Matters,” asserts that the remembrance of the past “keeps us in place.” Our individual memories and experiences shape how we act in our daily lives. In addition to influencing us at an individual level, our collective history binds us together as a society. Without knowing where we have been or what we have experienced, it is nearly impossible to judge progress or know which courses of action to pursue. The goal of the historian is to analyze and explain past events, of which they rarely have firsthand memory of, and apply the gained knowledge to make connections with current and future events.
Gardner, Helen, and Fred S. Kleiner. "Chapter 1: South and South East Asia Before 1200." Gardner's Art through the Ages: Non-western Perspectives. Boston: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning, 2010. 1-31. Print.
Chang, Kwang-chih 1968 The Archeology of Ancient China Yale University Press, New Haven & London
The patterns of living that the world witnesses today are greatly influenced by history. This is because of the fact that history plays an immense role in forming one’s future; the abundant interactions socially, economically, politically, result in repercussions that can hardly be unraveled. However, this does not in anyway mean that one cannot trace today’s state of affairs back to its roots. Tracing today’s occurrences back to their origin is possible due to the fact that the agents’ (nations) origins are known.
There are many factors that contributed to the Mongolian Buddhism that we see exist today. Buddhism in Mongolia began with the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368) emperors’ conversion to Tibetan Buddhism. The Mongols returned to their old Shamanist way after the collapse of their empire and it was not until the 16th and 17th centuries that Buddhism reemerged. Buddhism in Mongolia derives much of its recent characteristic from Tibetan Buddhism of the Gelug and Kagyu linage, but its distinct and presents its own unique characteristics. Various Mongol Khans, nobilities and Qing emperors have contributed to the development of Buddhism among Mongols.
Throughout the course of human events, it has become the widespread practice of many men and women to devote their lives to the study of the men, women, and associated civilizations that came before them; in short, the study of history. History in itself, for those that study it, presents the challenge of ascertaining the truth about the past. This process includes the discovery of such fundamental elements as how past civilizations made their living, where and what they used to provide for their basic needs, and what they chose to produce in their leisure time; all of which can generally be reached from observation of physical evidence and primary sources alone. However, the deeper and more complex studies of history involve such challenges of determining how individuals interacted with each other socially, how they communicated and determined social order, and what they valued as being “important” to their society. All of these elements involve not so much a simple dissection of physical evidence, but instead a lengthy process of analyzing that information to ascertain the truth. No matter sources are used, all of these subjects will eventually require the historian to make a truth claim about the subject, based on their study of the evidence they employ. This careful practice has become the cornerstone of our understanding of many ancient aspects of the ancient world; including religion, governance, and the arts.
In the course of human existence, humanity has faced a profusion of events that have continuously shaped the face of the world until the present. We create history from a long series of events, changes, accomplishments, successes and downfalls. If we can trust the existing accounts of past events, history can serve as an excellent indicator of the future of civilization. People who have seen history unfold before their eyes in particular are the ones who cling onto this idea, observing how history is both dynamic and repetitive. Having engraved into their minds the saying, “The past dictates the future”, the nature of history is common sense to us.
Though our history may bring back horrible memories of the ?grimmest dimensions of human nature? (Limerick 472), it is necessary to have a good historical background. History gives us the ability to improve future outputs, satisfy our unending need for knowledge, and understand how many policies and regulations have come to be. Without history mankind would be very primitive and ununified. Our complete molding of the world today is almost completely dependent on the fact that we study our history. Without history present day humans would be nothing more than cavemen.
The classical periods of many of the great world civilizations were the golden ages of those civilizations. However, just because a civilization’s classical age has passed does not mean that the ideas, institutions, and art have passed as well. On the contrary, the effect from the classical periods of many great civilizations is still with the present civilization. The ideas, institutions, and art that has endured from these civilizations is no accident; the ideas, institutions, and art have had an influence on civilizations up to and including the present day.