Chinese Culture

Chinese culture (simplified Chinese: 中华文化; traditional Chinese: 中華文化; pinyin: Zhōnghuá
wénhuà) is one of the world's oldest cultures, originating thousands of years ago. The culture prevails
across a large geographical region in East Asia and is extremely diverse and varying, with customs and
traditions varying greatly between provinces, cities, and even towns as well. The terms 'China' and the
geographical landmass of 'China' has shifted across the centuries, with the last name being the Great Qing
before the name 'China' became commonplace in modernity.
Chinese civilization is historically considered a dominant culture of East Asia. With China being one of
the earliest ancient civilizations, Chinese culture exerts profound influence on the philosophy, virtue,
etiquette, and traditions of Asia. Chinese language, ceramics, architecture, music, dance, literature, martial
arts, cuisine, visual arts, philosophy, business etiquette, religion, politics, and history have global
influence, while its traditions and festivals are also celebrated, instilled, and practiced by people around
the world.

1. Identity
From the Qin dynasty to the late Qing dynasty (221 BC – AD 1840), the Chinese government divided
Chinese people into four classes: landlord, peasant, craftsmen, and merchant. Landlords and peasants
constituted the two major classes, while merchant and craftsmen were collected into the two minor.
Theoretically, except for the position of the Emperor, nothing was hereditary. China's majority ethnic
group, the Han Chinese are an East Asian ethnic group and nation. In modern China, there are 56
officially labelled ethnic groups. Throughout Chinese history, many non-Chinese ethnic groups have
assimilated with the Han Chinese, retained their distinct ethnic identities, or faded away. At the same
time, the Han Chinese majority has maintained distinct linguistic and regional cultural traditions
throughout the ages. The term Zhonghua Minzu (simplified Chinese: traditional Chinese: has been used
to describe the notion of Chinese nationalism in general. Much of the traditional identity within the
community has to do with distinguishing the family name.

DYK: The Qin dynasty or Ch'in dynasty was the first dynasty of Imperial China, lasting from 221 to 206
BC. Named for its heartland in Qin state (modern Gansu and Shaanxi), the dynasty was founded by Qin
Shi Huang, the First Emperor of Qin.

TRIVIA: The Qing dynasty, officially the Great Qing, was the last imperial dynasty of China. It was
established in 1636, and ruled China proper from 1644 to 1912. It was preceded by the Ming dynasty and
succeeded by the Republic of China.

2. Regional
During the 361 years of civil war after the Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD), there was a partial
restoration of feudalism when wealthy and powerful families emerged with large amounts of land
and huge numbers of semi-serfs. They dominated important civilian and military positions of the
government, making the positions available to members of their own families and clans. After the
Tang dynasty's yellow emergence, the government extended the imperial examination system as an
attempt to eradicate this feudalism. Traditional Chinese culture covers large geographical territories,
where each region is usually divided into distinct sub-cultures. Each region is often represented by
three ancestral items.

DYK: Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, is a historiographical term used to describe
the combination of the legal, economic, military, and cultural customs that flourished in
Medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of
structuring society around relationships that were derived from the holding of land in
exchange for service or labor.

TRIVIA: Chinese imperial examinations, or keju, were a civil service examination system in
Imperial China for selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy.

3. Social Structure
Since the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors period, some form of Chinese monarch has been the
main ruler above all. Different periods of history have different names for the various positions
within society. Conceptually each imperial or feudal period is similar, with the government and
military officials ranking high in the hierarchy, and the rest of the population under regular Chinese
law. From the late Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BCE) onwards, traditional Chinese society was organized
into a hierarchic system of socio-economic classes known as the four occupations.
However, this system did not cover all social groups while the distinctions between all groups became
blurred ever since the commercialization of Chinese culture in the Song dynasty (960–1279 CE).
Ancient Chinese education also has a long history; ever since the Sui dynasty (581–618 CE) educated
candidates prepared for the imperial examinations which drafted exam graduates into government as
scholar-bureaucrats.
DYK: The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors were two groups of mythological rulers or
deities in ancient northern China. The Three Sovereigns lived before The Five Emperors, who have
been assigned dates in a period from circa 2852 BCE to 2070 BCE. Today they may be considered
culture heroes.
TRIVIA: The Chinese sovereign is the ruler of a particular period in ancient China, and
later imperial China. Several titles and naming schemes have been used throughout history.
4. Spiritual Values
Most spirituality are derived from Chinese Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. The subject of
which school was the most influential is always debated as many concepts such as Neo-Confucianism,
Buddhism and many others have come about. Reincarnation and other rebirth concept is a reminder
of the connection between real-life and the after-life. In Chinese business culture, the concept of
guanxi, indicating the primacy of relations over rules, has been well documented.While many deities
are part of the tradition, some of the most recognized holy figures include Guan Yin, the Jade Emperor
and Buddha.

DYK: Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism has shaped Chinese culture in a wide variety
of areas including art, politics, literature, philosophy, medicine and material culture.

TRIVIA: Confucianism, also known as Ruism, is a system of thought and behavior

originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic
or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or simply a way of life, Confucianism developed from
what was later called the Hundred Schools of Thought from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher
Confucius (551–479 BCE).