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China
is seen variously as an ancient civilization extending
over a large area in East Asia, a nation and/or a multinational
entity.
China
is one of the world's oldest continuous civilizations.
Prior to the 19th century, it possessed one of the most
advanced societies and economies in the world; but through
successive dynasties it then missed the industrial revolution
and began to decline. In the 19th and 20th century,
imperialism, internal weakness and civil wars damaged
the country and its economy, and led to the overthrow
of imperial rule.
It
has the world's longest continuously used written language
system, and is the source of many major inventions,
such as what the British scholar and biochemist Joseph
Needham called the "four great inventions of Ancient
China": paper, the compass, gunpowder, and printing.
Historically, China's cultural sphere has extended across
East Asia as a whole, with Chinese religion, customs,
and writing systems being adopted to varying degrees
by neighbors such as Japan, Korea and Vietnam.
The
first evidence of human presence in the region was found
at the Zhoukoudian cave and is one of the first known
specimens of Homo Erectus, now commonly known as the
Peking Man, estimated to have lived approximately from
300,000 to 550,000 years ago. Noticeably, it is also
known that the Peking Man was able to control and use
Fire.
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