Welcome to china !!!

Welcome To China

 The flag of China was officially adopted on October 1, 1949. The red of the Chinese flag symbolizes the communist revolution, and it's also the traditional color of the people. The large gold star represents communism, The four smaller stars represent the social classes of the people. In addition, the five stars together reflect the importance placed on the number five in Chinese

Chinese literature 1000 b.c.- a.d.1890 Know contentment

And you will suffer no disgrace; Know when to stop And you will meet with no danger. You can then endure. - the Tao Te Ching

Literary context
Poetry is a part of everyday throughout the history of China life

Poets have been among the most highly regarded members of Chinese Society 2nd -12th centuries A.D. the main Chinese poetic form was the Shih Ching ( The Book of Songs)
Even the number of lines , each of which has the same number of words Often expressed personal emotions Many have brooding or trouble tone , but can express contentment

Chinese philosophy
Contrast between Chinese and Western modes of philosophic thinking Western philosophers seek out the being of things, the essential reality lying behind appearances

Chinese principal and establishment and cultivation of harmonious relationships within their social structures Chinese thinking is far more concrete , this worldly and above all, practical.

Cultural context
Chinese attitudes and

beliefs were shaped by 3 religious and philosophical schools:

Taoism Confucianism Buddhism

Taoism
Tao- path or the way Stresses freedom , simplicity

and the mythical contemplation of nature (Tao) Force universe Beyond concerns the , scope but of human see its that controlled the

can

workings by observing nature

Taoism
Avoid human desires Not educating Not honoring men of worth or encourage cleaver to act
Cause jealousy and greed Opposite of Confucianism

Confucianism
How people act moral behavior Social relations based on subordination: family ruled by authoritarian father , state ruled by authoritarian king. Respect and obey those with superior status However, governed by the concept ren with a loving attitude towards others

Confucianism

Tried to teach students to become true gentlemen- morally and spiritually Must conduct oneself in a virtuous manner, those in power serve as models Heaven is the supreme moral authority , which dictates how one must live.

Buddhism
To lead a moral life To be mindful and aware of thoughts and actions To develop wisdom and understanding
Life is sorrow and sorrow is caused by desires Rid self of desires

Does not claim to be God Attain enlightenment through meditation

Buddhism
Solutions to our problems are within ourselves Beliefs are incorporated into poetry through symbols, imagery and language of Chinese Literature Quietude and calmness is a central notion in Buddhist thought

Tradition and Culture

Chinese Wedding Traditions

R ed i s t h e C o l o r o f We d d i n g s i n C h i n a Re d is central to the wedding theme of

C h i n a . I t s i g n i f i e s l o v e , j o y a n d p ro s p e r i t y and is used in a variety of ways in Chinese wedding traditions. T h e b r i d e ' s w e d d i n g d o w n i s o ft e n re d , a s a re t h e w e d d i n g i n v i t a t i o n s , a n d w e d d i n g g i ft b oxe s o r e n v e l o p e s f o r ca s h g i ft s . E v e n t h e b r i d e a n d g ro o m ' s h o m e s a re d e co r a t e d i n re d o n t h e w e d d i n g d a y.

Chinese Festivals
Event: Chinese New Year Date: The first day of a year in lunar calendar, usually between late Jan and early Feb Activities: fireworks visiting holding other events. and temple great greeting, fairs and display, Yangke many

dancing, lion and dragon dancing, folklore-inspection

Chinese Festivals
This was a time for the Chinese to congratulate themselves each on other and having passed

through another year, a time to finish out the old, and to welcome in the new year. Common made it expressions through the heard old at

this time are: GUONIAN to have year, and BAINIAN to congratulate the new year.

Chinese Festivals
E v e n t : L a n t e r n Fe s t i v a l D a t e : 1 5 t h o f t h e first lunar month Activities : Lanterns exposi ti ons, gard en parties, firework displays and folk dances. T h e N e w Ye a r c e l e b r a t i o n s e n d e d o n t h e 1 5 t h o f t h e Fi r s t M o o n w i t h t h e L a n t e r n Fe s t i v a l . In the leg end, the J ade Emp eror in Heaven was so angered at a town for killing his favorite goose, that he d ecided to destroy it with a storm of fire.

Chinese Festivals
Event: Festival Date: Date: 5th day of the Dragon Boat

5th lunar month Activities: Dragon Boat races and eating Zong Zi (pyramid shaped rice wrapped in reed or bamboo leaves

 Chinesejadeornament withdragon andphoenixdesign, lateSpring and Autumn Period(722 BC-482 BC).

Chinese cuisine is noted for the following characteristics:

Vegetables are the main ingredients. The Chinese people like wellprepared food. Chinese also like to eat together, a tradition that can be traced back a long time ago. Tea drinking is an integral part of Chinese life and the Chinese food experience.

Education
A g oo d e d u c ati on h a s a l w ay s b e e n h i g h l y v al u e d i n C h i n a, a s t h e p e op l e b e l i e ve t h at e d uc a t i on e ns u re s n o t on l y t h e f u t u re a nd d e ve l op m e n t of th e i n d i v i du al b u t a l s o t h e f a m i l y an d th e c o u n tr y a s a w h o l e .

T h e g re at m a ste r C on f u c i u s t a u g h t t h at 'i t i s a p l e a su re to l e a rn som e t h i n g an d t o t r y i t ou t a t i n te r v al s' . S i m i l ar l y, n u m e rou s st u d e n t s h a ve b e e n c on v i n c e d t h a t 're ad i n g b oo ks exc e l s al l o t h e r c a re e r s' .

Education
As far back as the Shang Dynasty (16th century BC - 11th century BC), inscriptions on bones or tortoise shells were the simple records of teaching and learning. In the Western Zhou Dynasty (11th century BC - 771 BC), nobles built schools to teach their children, as their offsprings would be the officials of the future, while those who were gifted but of poor families could but dream of approaching state affairs.

Education
The development of education system led to a f o rm o f e v a l u a t i o n t h a t b e c a m e t h e m e a n s b y which dynastic China appointed those with ta l e n t s a s o f f i c i a l s . I n g e n e r a l , t h i s p ro c e s s c a n b e d i v i d e d i n t o t h re e periods - 'chaju' and 'zhengpi' in the Han D y n a s t y , t h e ' j i u p i n z h o n g z h e n g ' s y s t e m f ro m H a n t o t h e N o r t h e rn a n d S o u t h e rn D y n a s t i e s , a n d th e I m p e r i a l E x a m i n a t i o n w h i c h s u r v i v e d f ro m th e S u i D y n a s t y ( 5 8 9 - 6 1 8 ) r i g h t t h ro u g h t o t h e l a s t f e u d al d y n a s t y Q i n g D y n a s t y ( 1 6 4 4 - 1 9 1 1 ) .

The Chinese Language

Chi nese ( ) c om pri ses of sev e n m ai n di al ec ts, Ma nda ri n ( ) , Ca ntonese ( , ), H a kka ( ), Wu ( ) , M i n ( ) , X i a ng ( ) , and Ga n ( ) . The v ari e ty of Ma nda ri n base d o n the speec h i n the c api tal B ei j i ng i s the offi c i al nati ona l l a nguage of ma i nl and Chi na and is terme d P tnghu, Com mon l a ngua ge ( ) . The de fa c to co mmo n l a ngua ge i n H ong Ko ng and ov erse as A mongst C hi nese the c om muni ti es l a ngua ge s is of Cantonese . Tai w an are offi c i al

Ma nda ri n, Tai w anese , and H akka .

The Chinese Language

All varieties of Chinese belong to the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. Members of the Sinitic family are typically tonal, meaning that different tones, or intonations, distinguish words that otherwise are pronounced identically. Chinese by origin is monosyllabic. The vocabulary of dialects more recent in the linguistic tree such are Mandarin tend to become more polysyllabic (compound words) as an adjustment to the loss of a number of sounds compared to ancient Chinese.

The Chinese Alphabet

In the Chinese alphabet, small letters are written like J ji capital letters, and vice versa.
A B C D E F G H I i b x d y i f j i ch i
K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z ki i l i m i n p j w i r i s t y w wi du bi r wi y k s w i zi d

Chinese Money and Counting

The 100 yuan note has pictures of four of the founders of the People's Republic of China. From right to left these are: Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Liu Shaoqi, and Zhu De.

Chinese Martial arts

Chinese martial arts , popularly referred to aswhich kung is a series of fighting styles fu or gung fu, a long has developed over historical period in China. Nowadays, it is regarded as a traditional sport gaining more and more popularity and even stands as a representative for Chinese culture.