CHINA

Hello adventurers! And welcome to another of our journeys, today we’ve arrived to China. China is one of Asia’s biggest countries and normally the most known, yet not many people are familiar with the culture and customs that this marvelous country has to offer.

Second stop: China

  China is an extremely large country, and the customs and traditions of its people vary by geography and ethnicity.

More than 1 billion people live in China, according to the Asia Society, representing 56 ethnic minority groups. The largest group is the Han Chinese, with about 900 million people. Other groups include the Tibetans, the Mongols, the Manchus, the Naxi, and the Hezhen, which is smallest group, with fewer than 2,000 people.  

"Significantly, individuals within communities create their own culture," said Cristina De Rossi, an anthropologist at Barnet and Southgate College in London. Culture includes religion, food, style, language, marriage, music, morals and many other things that make up how a group acts and interacts.

HISTORY

Now as every country, to be able to have a more global view and understand the depth of this culture, grab on tight to your seats because you guessed it, we are taking a dip in the past…

As we all know, or may not know, China’s history is very vast, the base of today’s society depends totally in the actions of the past, the characters (language which we will review in depth further) all descend of pictures or simple drawings that represent actions, and when combined we get different words etc.

After 10,000 BC people in China lived by hunting and gathering plants. Then, about 5,000 BC, the Chinese began farming. From about 5,000 BC rice was cultivated in southern China and millet was grown in the north. By 5,000 BC dogs and pigs were domesticated. By 3,000 BC sheep and (in the south) cattle were domesticated. Finally horses were introduced into China between 3,000 and 2,300 BC. The Shang were polytheists (they worshiped many gods). The most important god was called Di. Furthermore during the Shang dynasty in China the practice of ancestor worship began. Ancestor worship is the belief that the dead can intervene in the affairs of the living. Offerings were made to them to keep them happy. Ancestor worship became part of Chinese culture for thousands of years.

Zhou Society

The dynasty ruled China from about C. 1022 BC to 221 BC. The first part of the Zhou era from C. 1022 BC to 771 BC is called the Western Zhou (because the rulers had their capital in the west of China). The second part of the era, from 770 to 476 BC is called the Spring and Autumn period. The lastDuring the Zhou period in China there was a class of officials who advised kings and rulers on the right way to behave and also how to carry out rituals. The most important of these was Kong-Fuzi (known in the West as Confucius). During his lifetime the old feudal social and political order was breaking down. Appalled by this state of affairs Kong-Fuzi tried to restore ancient principles. part of the era from 476 to 221 BC is called the Warring States period.

Ancient Chinese Beliefs

The Zhou period is sometimes called China's formative period because so much of Chinese philosophy developed at that time. The Chinese form of divination called I Ching was probably developed during the early part of the Zhou era. The idea of Yin and Yang also appeared during the Zhou dynasty. The ancient Chinese believed that all matter is made of 2 opposite and complimentary principles. Yin is feminine, soft, gentle, dark, receptive, yielding and wet. Yang is masculine, bright, hard, hot, active, dry and aggressive. Everything is a mixture of these 2 opposites. The ancient Chinese also believed there were 5 elements, wood, fire, earth, metal and water. During the Zhou period the Chinese art of acupuncture was invented.

As we can observe china has had many dynasties throughout its history, thus forming the extensive language that it is today. But let us skip forward in time until the Chinese revolution.

In 1966 to reassert his authority Mao launched the Cultural Revolution. Students began to call themselves the Red Guard and they held rallies in Beijing. Soon a movement began to root out old habits, beliefs and attitudes and cause a cultural revolution. The Red Guard began to attack intellectuals and also officials. In 1967 they forced the mayor and other officials in Shanghai to resign. The same thing happened in other cities as well. Many party officials were purged and removed from power.

During the Cultural Revolution religion was persecuted in China. Many places of worship were destroyed. (Mao like all Marxists was an atheist and he detested religion).

RELIGION

Now as we’ve seen in our previous post these countries (China and Japan) part from the same heritage and roots, meaning that their historical context has influenced (like in any other country) their beliefs, practices and lifestyle. As we have seen in the last part of our historical travel, the revolution in China led to many not only political but also religious uprising, clashing with the values that are so characterized in Asian cultures.

The Chinese Communist Party that rules the nation is officially atheist, though it is gradually becoming more tolerant of religions, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. Currently, there are only five official religions. Any religion other than Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism and Protestantism are illegal, even though the Chinese constitution states that people are allowed freedom of religion. The gradual tolerance of religion has only started to progress in the past few decades.

About a quarter of the people practice Taoism and Confucianism and other traditional religions. There are also small numbers of Buddhists, Muslims and Christians. Although numerous Protestant and Catholic ministries have been active in the country since the early 19th century, they have made little progress in converting Chinese to these religions.

LANGUAGE 

Taking on the subject that I had briefly talked about earlier here is a more detailed and accurate history and development of language in china.

There are seven major groups of dialects of the Chinese language, which each have their own variations, according to Mount Holyoke College. Mandarin dialects are spoken by 71.5 percent of the population, followed by Wu (8.5 percent), Yue (also called Cantonese; 5 percent), Xiang (4.8 percent), Min (4.1 percent), Hakka (3.7 percent) and Gan (2.4 percent).

Chinese dialects are very different, according to Jerry Norman, a former professor of linguistics at the University of Washington and author of "Chinese (Cambridge Language Surveys)" (Cambridge University Press, 1988). "Chinese is rather more like a language family than a single language made up of a number of regional forms," he wrote. "The Chinese dialectal complex is in many ways analogous to the Romance language family in Europe. To take an extreme example, there is probably as much difference between the dialects of Peking [Beijing] and Chaozhou as there is between Italian and French."

The official national language of China is Pŭtōnghuà, a type of Mandarin spoken in the capital Beijing, according to the Order of the President of the People's Republic of China. Many Chinese are also fluent in English.

As someone who is actively studying and practicing their Chinese, I can assure you that it is a relatively easy language, it is only complex because the structure can be totally different from ours. For someone who is used to see the same a, b, c, d etc. characters over and over again repeatedly over the most common languages, and with very little exception or little room for variation, coming in contact with more than 3,000 characters that are all totally different and have certain precision can become more than a challenge at first.

FOOD

Like other aspects of Chinese life, cuisine is heavily influenced by geography and ethnic diversity. Among the main styles of Chinese cooking are Cantonese, which features stir-fried dishes, and Szechuan, which relies heavily on use of peanuts, sesame paste and ginger and is known for its spiciness.

Rice is not only a major food source in China; it is also a major element that helped grow their society, according to "Pathways to Asian Civilizations: Tracing the Origins and Spread of Rice and Rice Cultures," an 2011 article in the journal Rice by Dorian Q. Fuller. The Chinese word for rice is fan, which also means "meal," and it is a staple of their diet, as are bean sprouts, cabbage and scallions. Because they do not consume a lot of meat — occasionally pork or chicken — tofu is a main source of protein for the Chinese.

THE ARTS 

Chinese art is greatly influenced by the country’s rich spiritual and mystical history. Many sculptures and paintings depict spiritual figures of Buddhism, according to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Many musical instruments are integral to Chinese culture, including the flute-like xun and the guqin, which is in the zither family.

Eastern-style martial arts were also developed in China, and it is the birthplace of kung fu. This fighting technique is based on animal movements and was created in the mid-1600s, according to Black Belt Magazine.

Ancient Chinese were avid writers and philosophers — especially during the Ming and Qing dynasties — and that is reflected in the country’s rich liturgical history.

CUSTOMS AND CELEBRATIONS 

One of the main attractions of China are the year round festivities, these attract many people from all around the world, and no wonder why. They are most certainly one of a kind. But why wait a year round when we can grab a ticket and go through all of them in a row! Let’s go!

Famous Ethnic Festivals in China

Festivals seem to fill the yearly calendar. The following are some of the most important ethnic festivals in China. We’ve also designed several Chinese Festivals Tours that take you to celebrate the festivals as local people do.

The largest festival — also called the Spring Festival — marks the beginning of the Lunar New Year. It falls between mid-January and mid-February and is a time to honor ancestors. During the 15-day celebration, the Chinese do something every day to welcome the new year, such as eat rice congee and mustard greens to cleanse the body, according to the University of Victoria. The holiday is marked with fireworks and parades featuring dancers dressed as dragons.

Many people make pilgrimages to Confucius' birthplace in Shandong Province on his birthday, Sept. 28. The birthday of Guanyin, the goddess of mercy, is observed by visiting Taoist temples. It falls between late March and late April. Similar celebrations mark the birthday of Mazu, the goddess of the sea (also known as Tianhou), in May or June. The Moon Festival is celebrated in September or October with fireworks, paper lanterns and moon gazing.

New Year of the Miao Ethnic Group

It is the most important festival for the Miao people. It marks the beginning of a new year. Actually the exact dates vary each year and in different regions, and are only disclosed one or two months in advance. The celebration in Leishan County, Kaili City of Guizhou Province is the grandest one. During the event tourists can enjoy watching enchanting Miao customs come alive through various kinds of ethnic activities.

Shoton Festival of the Tibetan People

Shoton Festival is one of the most popular traditional festivals in Tibet. It celebrates eating yogurt, the Tibetan monks who end their season of meditation, the watching of Tibetan dramatic operas, and Tibetan Buddhism. It is held annually in the month of August, or late in the sixth month or early in the seventh month of the Tibetan calendar. The festival is a great occasion for both Tibetans and tourists. On the first day of the festival, the Thangka is scheduled to be unveiled at the Drepung Monastery. Then the celebrations will begin at Norbulingka. The residents of Lhasa will gather in the park and celebrate by eating yoghurt and watching the operas.

New Year Festival of the Tibetan People

The Tibetan New year, also known as Losar, is the most important festival in the Tibetan calendar. It is celebrated over a period of 2 weeks. It is marked with ancient ceremonies that represents the struggle between good and evil, by chanting, and by passing fire torches through the crowds. A certain amount of levity is provided by events such as the dance of the deer and the amusing battles between the King and his various ministers. On New Year's Day, Tibetans get up early, and put on new clothes after having taken a bath. They then worship the gods by placing offerings in the front of their household shrines. In addition, this day is for family members to exchange gifts. Families also have a reunion dinner, which usually consists of a kind of cake called Kapse and an alcoholic drink called chang, which is consumed to keep warm.

Water Splashing Festival of the Dai Ethnic People

It is the most important festival observed by the Dai ethnic people of Xishuangbanna Prefecture, and, similar to neighboring Thailand's Songkran Festival, it involves three days of celebrations that include sincere, yet light-hearted religious rituals that invariably end in merrymaking, where everyone ends up getting splashed, sprayed or doused with water. The Water Splashing ceremony is more than just good-natured fun; it also contains a religious element: water is regarded by the Dai as a symbol, firstly, of religious purity, but also of goodwill among people. Therefore, splashing a fellow human being with water during the Water Splashing Festival, whether a close neighbor or a fellow villager, or even a stranger, is an expression of the desire for good luck and prosperity to that person.

Sisters’ Meal Festival of the Miao Ethnic People

It is regard ed as the oldest Asian Valentine's Day. A few days before the Festival, Miao girls collect special wild flowers and leaves in the mountains to produce natural color to dye the glutinous rice, known as "sisters' rice". At festival time, the Miao girls, all dressed up in their holiday best with startling silver headdresses, crowns, and neck rinks gather together by the river banks to prepare their "sisters' rice". The rice is dyed blue, pink, yellow, and white to represent spring, summer, autumn and winter respectively. When the young men arrive they begin to single out the women they hope to marry someday and begin to sing for them. The young women respond to their songs by giving them a drink of rice wine and the sisters' rice wrapped in handkerchiefs with different symbols on them.

Naadam Grassland Festival of the Mongolian People

The Naadam Grassland festival is a magnificent event featuring traditional Mongolian mass recreational and sports activities. Naadam means games in Mongolian. It is held between summer and autumn from July to August when the flowers are blooming, the grass is green, and the cattle and sheep are well-fed. Tourists can participate in and watch horseracing, wrestling and archery, and enjoy the singing and dancing performed by Mongolian artists, or try local Mongolian traditional foods.

Lusheng Festival

It is popular throughout Guizhou, Yunnan, and Sichuan Provinces. The Lusheng Festival in Kaili, Guizhou is the most famous and grandest of the bunch. The festival features a lot of Miao ethnic activities, such as singing, bullfighting, horseracing, and dancing to the rhythm of the Lusheng. All the Miao people come together from different villages. The girls dress up in their best traditional costume and silver headdresses, while the boys carry their lusheng and head to the Lusheng Stadium to celebrate the festival. They circle in rings as the girls dance to the rhythm of the music provided by the boys. The ceremony is performed to bring hope for a favorable harvest in the coming year alongside good health. It is also a chance for the youth to express their admiration and love towards one another.

 

And with this we conclude our visit to China; I hope you’ve all enjoyed this amazing visit to China. Today we have learned about the different Chinese dynasty and historical patterns that have shaped and given China its character and language. But before we conclude our amazing voyage we still have one more place to go, South Korea!!!! Tune in next post to learn all about South Korea. I hope you’ve enjoyed this fun adventure, until next time!