Encyclopedia
The
culture of China is home to one of the world's oldest and most complex
civilizations,
China boasts a history rich in over 5,000 years of
artistic,
philosophical, and political advancement. Though regional differences provide a sense of diversity, commonalities in language and religion connect a culture distinguished by such universally significant contributions such as
Confucianism and
Taoism. The culture of China is credited with shaping much of Chinese thought, Confucianism was the official philosophy throughout most of
Imperial China's history, and mastery of Confucian texts provided the primary criterion for
entry into the imperial bureaucracy.
With the rise of Western
economic and
military power over China beginning in the mid-
19th century, however, non-Chinese systems of social and political organization gained adherents in China. Some of these would-be reformers totally rejected China's cultural legacy, while others sought to combine the strengths of Chinese and Western cultures. In essence, the history of
20th century China is one of experimentation to find a new system of social, political, and
economic organization that would allow for the reintegration of the nation in the wake of dynastic collapse.
Arts
Chinese art has varied throughout its ancient history, divided into periods by the ruling dynasties of China and changing technology, as well as influenced by great philosophers, teachers and religion. Early forms of art in China were made from pottery and jade in the Neolithic period, to which was added bronze in the
Shang Dynasty. The Shang are most remembered for their bronze casting, noted for its clarity of detail. Early Chinese music and poetry was influenced by the Book of Songs,
Confucius and the Chinese poet and statesman Qu Yuan. Early
Chinese music was based on percussion instruments, which later gave away to string and reed instruments.
In early imperial China,
porcelain was introduced and was refined to the point that in English the word
stupid has become synonymous with high-quality porcelain. Around the 1st century AD,
Buddhism arrived in China, though it did not become popular until the 4th century. At this point, Chinese Buddhist art began to flourish, a process which continued through the 8th century. Around this period, several well-known Chinese poets influenced Chinese poetry, which included
Cao Cao and his sons and Tao Qian. It was during the period of Imperial China that calligraphy and painting became highly appreciated arts in court circles, with a great deal of work done on silk until well after the invention of paper.
Buddhist architecture and sculpture thrived in the Sui and Tang dynasties, and the
Tang dynasty was particularly open to foreign influence. Buddhist sculpture returned to a classical form, inspired by Indian art of the Gupta period. Toward the end of the Tang dynasty, all foreign religions were outlawed to support
Taoism. Also during this period, Chinese poetry thrived and the Tang is considered the "Golden age" of Chinese poetry. In this period, the greatest Chinese poets,
Li Po and
Du Fu composed their poems. Late Tang poetry was marked by the influence of two poets, Li Shangyin and Li Yu , the latter of whom introduced the stanza form. Painting from the Tang dynasty period mainly consisted of landscape that was to grasp emotion or atmosphere to catch the "rhythm of nature." Also in the Tang dynasty, Chinese opera was introduced.
In the
Song Dynasty, poetry was marked by a lyric poetry known as Ci which expressed feelings of desire, often in an adopted persona. Also in the Song dynasty, paintings of more subtle expression of landscapes appeared, with blurred outlines and mountain contours which conveyed distance through an impressionistic treatment of natural phenomena. It was during this period that in painting, emphasis was placed on spiritual rather than emotional elements, as in the previous period.
Kunqu, the oldest extant form of Chinese opera developed during the Song Dynasty in
Kunshan, near present-day
Shanghai. In the
Yuan dynasty, painting by the Chinese painter
Zhao Mengfu greatly influenced later Chinese landscape painting, and the Yuan dynasty opera became a variant of Chinese opera which continues today as
Cantonese opera.
Late imperial China was marked by two specific dynasties: Ming and Qing. Of
Ming Dynasty poetry, Gao Qi was acknowledged as the greatest poet of the era. Artwork in the Ming dynasty perfected color painting and color printing, with a wider color range and busier compositions than Song paintings. In the
Qing dynasty, Beijing opera was introduced; it is considered the one of the best-known forms of Chinese opera. Qing poetry was marked by a poet named Yuan Mei whose poetry has been described as having "unusually clear and elegant language" and who stressed the importance of personal feeling and technical perfection. Under efforts of masters from the Shanghai School during the late Qing Dynasty, traditional Chinese art reached another climax and continued to the present in forms of the "
Chinese painting" . The Shanghai School challenged and broke the literati tradition of Chinese art, while also paying technical homage to the ancient masters and improving on existing traditional techniques.
Twentieth-century Chinese art was heavily influenced by the
New Culture Movement, which adopted Western techniques, introduced oil painting and employed
socialist realism. Twentieth-century Chinese poetry was also influenced by the
Cultural Revolution but several poets attempted to resist the Cultural Revolution by incorporating pro-democratic themes. Contemporary Chinese artists continue to produce a wide range of experimental works, multimedia installations, and performance "happenings" which have become very popular in the international art market.
Architecture
Chinese
architecture, examples of which can be found over 2,000 years ago, has long been a landmark of Chinese culture. There are certain features common to Chinese architecture, regardless of specific region or use.
The most important is its emphasis on the horizontal. In contrast to Western architecture, which tends to grow in height and in depth, Chinese architecture stresses on the width of the buildings. The halls and palaces in the
Forbidden City, for example, have rather low ceilings when compared to equivalent stately buildings in the West, but their external appearances suggest the all-embracing nature of imperial China. This of course does not apply to
pagodas, which in any case are relatively rare.
Another important feature is its emphasis on
symmetry, which connotes a sense of grandeur; this applies to everything from palaces to farmhouses. One notable exception is in the design of gardens, which tends to be as asymmetrical as possible. Like Chinese scroll paintings, the principle underlying the garden's composition is to create enduring flow, to let the patron wander and enjoy the garden without prescription, as in nature herself.
Feng shui designed architecture plays an important role in
Chinese Culture. For example,
Paifang is a
Feng Shui designed gate of
China town.
Ceramics and ceramic wares
Chinese porcelain -
Porcelain -
Potter's wheel - Glazes
Cinema
Shanghai was the original center of Chinese filmmaking, giving birth to 1930s and 1940s Chinese movie stars such as
Zhou Xuan,
Ruan Lingyu and Hu Die. After the Communist takeover, the movie scene transferred from Shanghai to
Hong Kong, where it has remained a center of Chinese filmmaking. In Hong Kong, the majority of
films made centered around the common themes of
martial arts , organized crime , and other traditionally Chinese themes. While these films were always popular in the domestic Hong Kong market, they were also popular around the globe, and especially in the
United States. This reached its zenith in the
1970s, when martial arts films were very popular in the United States. Now, in the
2000s, Asian-made films seem to be having a resurgence in popularity abroad. In the last two decades, Mainland China has also become a hotbed of filmmaking with such films as
Farewell My Concubine is a Chinese [i] Fifth Generation [i] ...
,
2046,
Hero,
Suzhou River,
The Road Home and
House of Flying Daggers being critically acclaimed around the world.
American filmmaker
Quentin Tarantino plans to shoot his next film, a traditional Wu-Xia movie, in
China and have its dialogue in
Mandarin Chinese.
Another genre of films that become better known internationally is those depicting the exotic past of China with remarkable traditional and nostalgic symbols, notably under the directors
Wong Kar-wai and
Zhang Yimou.
Dance
Music
Opera
Opera in China dates back to the
Tang dynasty with Emperor
Xuanzong , who founded the "Pear Garden" , the first known opera troupe in China. The troupe mostly performed for the emperors' personal pleasure. To this day operatic professionals are still referred to as "Disciples of the Pear Garden" .
Visual arts and design
Calligraphy -
Chinese paintingHandicraft
Joinery -
Silk -
Chinese paper art.
Language and literature
Chinese astrology - Chinese calendar - Chinese classic texts - Chinese constellation -
Chinese dragon -
Chinese mythology -
Chinese New Year -
Chinese philosophy -
Confucianism -
Confucius -
Eastern philosophy - Five elements - Futs-Lung -
I Ching -
Qilin -
Lao Zi - Listing of noted Confucianists - Listing of noted Taoists -
Lung - Lunisolar calendar - Mohism - Qi -
Taoism -
Yin Yang - Zhang San Feng
Language
The majority of people in China speak one form or another of the
Chinese language. In addition to their native local dialect, nearly all can speak
Standard Mandarin or
putonghua/guoyu. There has been ongoing debate as to whether "Chinese" is actually a defined "language" or in fact a family of many languages. The fact this debate exists is not only for political and unity reasons, but also partly due to the fact that written Chinese is a common standard throughout China. For example, a person who only speaks their local dialect is able to communicate with another person from a different area by using written Chinese. Although this written Chinese is itself based on one variety of spoken Chinese. The written script across China is largely unified, and is the last of its kind that survives as a major language in the contemporary world.
Chinese character -
Chinese numerals -
Chinese written language -
Classical Chinese -
List of Chinese dialects -
Pinyin -
ZhuyinLiterature
Chinese classic texts -
Chinese poetry - List of Chinese language poets
Clothing
China's clothing varies by region, ethnic background, and economic situations. Contemporary urban clothing seemed to have developed an obsession with brand names . In major urban centres, especially Shanghai, an increased western look is preferred, and there is an emphasis on formal wear over casual wear for adults on the streets. Teenagers prefer brand names. Children usually wear clothes that have a cartoon character.
Han Chinese clothing -
Qipao - Ming official headwear - Manchu official headwear - Mandarin square
Cuisine
American Chinese cuisine -
Boba milk tea - Cantonese cuisine -
Cardamom -
Chinese Buddhist cuisine - Chinese food therapy - Chinese Islamic cuisine - Chiuchow cuisine -
Chopsticks - Chop suey -
Dim sum - Double steaming - Fingerroot - Five-spice powder -
Fortune cookie -
Ginger root -
Hakka cuisine - Hot salt frying - Hot sand frying - Hong Kong cuisine - Hunan cuisine -
Longan -
Lychee - Mandarin cuisine -
Monosodium glutamate - Shanghai cuisine -
Soy sauce -
Stir frying - Szechuan cuisine -
Szechuan pepper -
Taiwanese cuisine -
Tofu -
WokSociety
Education
Ethnic groups and regionalisms
Social relations
Games
Xiangqi -
Che Deng -
Chinese dominoes - Go - Go proverb -
Gwat Pai - Kap Tai Shap - Keno -
Mah Jong -
Pai Gow - Pai gow poker -
Shanghai solitaire -
Tangram -
Tien Gow - Tiu U
Government
Chinese nationalism -
Communism -
Cultural Revolution- - Brief Look at Blogging & the Politics of China
History
Origins of Chinese Civilization - Chinese prehistory -
Dongyi - Hunn-Xianpi - Khitan -
Jurchen - Tabgach - Proto-Sino-Tibetan -
Shang-Chu Kingdom -
Yuezhi - Yue Kingdom - Nanyue Kingdom -
Wu KingdomHobbies
Marriage
Martial arts
Kung Fu -
Shaolin - T'ai Chi Ch'üan - Baguàzhang - Nèijia- Qìgong -
Wong Fei HungLearn more about various type of Chinese Martial Arts by watching online videos: http://www.chinaontv.com/LearnKungfu.aspx
Mass media
Religion
Bodhidharma -
Buddhism -
Dalai Lama - Gedun Drub -
Guanyin -
Islam -
Mahayana Buddhism - Shang Ti -
Shaolin - Sonam Gyatso -
Taoism -
Tibetan Buddhism -
Vajrayana - Yami -
ZenScience and technology
Chinese often say that they are proud of their four great inventions. These are the
compass,
gunpowder,
paper and
printing. In 1976 Premier Zhou Enlai established "Science and Technology" as one of the Four Modernizations. Since then, genuine scientific research in specific fields have only been conducted in a relatively small scale, while technological advancement is only focused on what the government will provide funding for, such as the Space Program of China. However, all this is changing. Many Chinese universities and institutes conduct great deals of research, sometimes in collaboration with other countries.
Abacus -
Celestial globe -
Counting rods -
Traditional Chinese medicine -
RudderTourism
Popular tourist locations in China include the complex known as the
Forbidden City, located in
Beijing, which was once the center of Chinese Imperial power. The most popular tourist attraction in China, however, is the
Great Wall of China, a massive stone wall built along China's borders. Also often visited is the
archaeological find commonly known as
the Terracotta Army, which is a vast collection of
terracotta statues of Chinese Imperial soldiers constructed by one of China's emperors during its Imperial period.
Grand Canal of China -
Mount Huangshan -
Mount Taishan -
Mount Jiuhuashan -
Mount Tianzhu -
Mount Lushan -
Mount Wudang - Mount Emei - Mount Qingcheng -
The Temple of Heaven -
The Summer Palace -
Dazu Rock Carvings -
Mogao Caves -
Longmen Grottoes -
Hangzhou -
West Lake -
Xian -
Shanghai -
Suzhou - Luzhi -
Guilin -
Jiuzhaigou Valley -
Lijiang City -
Pingyao -
Three GorgesOther, to be inserted above
Eunuch -
Righteous Harmony Society - Ganqing - Giulio Alenio - Jean Joseph Marie Amiot - Jiang Hu - List of famous Chinese people -
National Palace Museum - Sima Guang -
Sima Qian -
Triad -
Zhang Heng - Zhu Shijie - Da Shan -
Zun - Chinese unit - Color metaphors for race - China
Time series
Culture in the early Republican era
The culture that led to the founding of the
Republic of China and that flourished immediately afterwards was informed by two main concerns: the weakness of the government in the face of pressure by Western powers, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, France, and Japan, and the seeming backwardness of the political system, which previously had held primacy over East Asia. It was this climate that led to the rapid changes and quick questioning of thousand year old traditions.
The abolition of the empire had an immediate effect on dress and customs: the largely
Han population immediately cut off the queues that they had been forced to grow in submission to the overthrown
Manchus whom they considered alien barbarian invaders.
Sun Yat-sen popularised a new style of men's wear, featuring jacket and trousers instead of the pre-existing robes. Adapted from Japanese student wear, this style of dress became known as the
Zhongshan suit . Meanwhile,
Madame Sun popularised the
qipao as the standard female dress. At the same time, old practices such as
footbinding, which Chinese had long known was viewed as backwards and unmodern by Westerners, were forbidden.
In the late 1910s and early 1920s, students and intellectuals began to challenge old customs in what became the
New Cultural Movement. The era called for iconoclasm, the assertion of individuality, and the liberalization of society . Universities began to incorporate western subjects into the curriculum and discussion of numerous philosophies such as
communism and
anarchism ensued. Notably, Lu Xun published his satire
Diary of a Madman to challenge
Confucianism,
Ba Jin 
