The millennium year, so eagerly anticipated throughout the global village, is almost upon us. But what does this really mean for mankind?
Of course, time trickles on without regard for artificial divisions, but it so happens that the mainstream culture of our world reckons time from the start of the Christian era, and it is the third thousand-year chunk of that era which is about to begin.
If we turn the clock back to 1,000 and 2,000 years ago, we see that China, the heart of Oriental civilization-so remote from the West and without any notion of a "millennium"-was on both occasions undergoing dynastic upheaval. It was at the start of the first millennium that the usurper Wang Mang took power, after the decline of the once proud Western Han dynasty, while the second millennium began with the country newly reunified under the Song dynasty, after a protracted period of division. In both cases, China experienced dramatic political restructuring and saw the emergence of some remarkable figures, and in both cases there was little the common people could do other than hope for the best.
Luckily, the combined efforts of the whole population made the Han dynasty-which returned after the Wang Mang interlude in the form of the Eastern Han dynasty, and lasted for four centuries in total-one of the most brilliant periods in Chinese history. With wisdom and intelligence, the people of the Han institutionalized the country's political, economic and social systems, laying down the framework for the subsequent development of Chinese society. By the time the second millennium arrived, it was the era of the ultra-refined Song dynasty. This was a period when individual freedoms were extended, encouraging one of the most remarkable flowerings of literature, fine art and handicrafts in history.
Today, as we celebrate the advent of the third millennium, there is perhaps something to be gained by contemplating the experiences of China's previous "millennium years," if we are to shape an even brighter future.
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