LESSON 1 - Introduction to China, History and Culture

Learning Objective:
At the end of the lesson, the students are expected to:
Equipped with knowledge about history of China;
Understand the Customs and Traditions of China;
Differentiate the Religions in China; and
Enumerate the World Heritage and Historical Sites of China

History
China is one of the four Ancient Civilizations.
China’s culture is diverse and unique. China had
different traditions, festivals, and beliefs. It is said that
Chinese people still practice their traditions and
beliefs up until the present. China is an extremely
large country — first in population and fifth in area,
according to the CIA — and the customs and
traditions of its people vary by geography and
ethnicity. About 1.4 billion people live in China,
according to the World Bank, 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.

Cities of China
China has 14 cities of over 5 million people
(Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Shenzhen,
Dongguan, Taipei, Chengdu, Hong Kong, Nanjing,
Wuhan, Shenyang, Hangzhou, and Chongqing.

Religion

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

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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.
The cremated remains of someone who may have been the Buddha were discovered in
Jingchuan County, China, with more than 260 Buddhist statues in late 2017. Buddha was a
spiritual teacher who lived between mid-6th and mid-4th centuries B.C. His lessons founded
Buddhism. [Cremated Remains of the 'Buddha' Discovered in Chinese Village]

There are 3 major religions in China

Buddhism
Over 2,000 years ago Buddhism came from India to China. Based on the
teachings of Siddhartha Gautama or Buddha. The Buddhist communities are the
largest religious communities in China.
Confucianism
The religion is based on the teachings of the Chinese Philosopher Confucius
about moral, social, political, and philosophical religious thought. And had a great
impact and influence to Chinese people.
Taoism
It is 1,700 years ago when Lao Tzu founder of Taoism religion established and
spread Taoism in China. Its doctrines are based on his writings and the Tao teaching
of Humility, Calmness and Patience.

Language

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

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capital Beijing, according to the Order of the President of the People's Republic of China. Many
Chinese are also fluent in English.

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.
Recently, archaeologists discovered detailed paintings in a 1,400-year-old tomb in China.
"The murals of this tomb had diversified motifs and rich connotations, many of which cannot
be found in other tombs of the same period," a team of archaeologists wrote in an article
recently published in a 2017 issue of the journal Chinese Archaeology. [Ancient Tomb with
'Blue Monster' Mural Discovered in China]

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 Customs and Celebrations

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.

List of World Heritage and Historical Sites

1. The Great Wall: The Longest Defensive System in the World

Chinese: 长城 cháng chéng /channg chnng/

Location: Beijing, The Capital of China

The Great Wall of China is one of the greatest sights in the world. It's an ancient defensive
architecture. The "Long Wall" has a long history — more than 2,300 years. It was built in
different areas by different states/dynasties to protect different territorial borders.
The entire Great Wall of China zigzags across the mountains of northern China. We highly
recommend hiking along the best-protected sections of the Great Wall: Mutianyu and
Jinshanling.

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2. The Forbidden City: 9999 Rooms for 24 Emperors
Chinese: 故宫 gù gōng /goo gong/

Location: Beijing, The Capital of China

The Forbidden City (or the Palace Museum) is one of the must-visit attractions for travelers
to China. It is used to be an imperial palace in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911)
dynasties.
The layout of this palace is strictly according to Chinese fengshui theory. China's best-
preserved imperial palace is the world's largest ancient palatial structure (7.2 ha. or 17.8 ac.),
the essence and culmination of traditional Chinese architectural accomplishment.

3. The Terracotta Army: First Emperor Qin's Buried Battalions

Chinese: 兵马俑 bīng mǎ yǒng /bing maa yong/

Location: Xi'an

The museum, with three pits containing the Terracotta Army, covers an area of 22,780
square meters. Over 8,000 life-size terracotta soldiers and horses, and more than 10,000 bronze
weapons were unearthed in these three pits.
The Terracotta Army is candidate for the title "eighth wonder of the world" and there is
largest military museum underground. An interesting fact is that all the terracotta soldiers were
made to face east towards Emperor Qin's enemies of the Warring States Period (475-221 BC).

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4. The Potala Palace: Masterpiece of Tibetan Architecture
Chinese: 布达拉宫 bù dá lā gōng /boo daa laa gong/

Location: Lhasa (Tibet Autonomous Region)

If you are interested in Tibetan culture, the Potala Palace is the attraction which you should
not miss. It was first built as the palace of Songtsen Gampo (617-650), founder of the Tu-Bo
Dynasty (吐蕃王朝). After being rebuilt in the 17th century, it was the residence of Dalai Lama.

There are plenty of precious historical relics in the palace, including over 10,000 Buddha
statues made of gold, silver, jade, wood, or clay, and about 10,000 thangkas (scroll paintings
related to Budhhism). The gorgeous mural paintings, wooden carvings, and color paintings
used for decoration are outstanding.

5. The Summer Palace: China's Largest Imperial Garden

Chinese: 颐和园 yí hé yuán /ee her ywen/

Location: Beijing, the capital of China

The Summer Palace is China's largest imperial garden. UNESCO added this 300-hectare
(740-acre) site to the World Heritage List in 1998, and described it as "...a masterpiece of
Chinese landscape garden design. The natural landscape of hills and open water is combined
with artificial features such as pavilions, halls, palaces, temples and bridges to form a
harmonious ensemble of outstanding aesthetic value."
The Summer Palace was a royal summer resort in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), so the
architectures and the layout there are quite exquisite. Boat cruises are available on Kunming
Lake. There are numerous stores in Suzhou Street, selling souvenirs like antiques, snacks, silk,
jewelry, and tea. The shop assistants there are dressed in the costumes of the Qing Dynasty.

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6. The Mogao Grottoes: a Holy Land of Buddhist Art
Chinese: 莫高窟 mò gāo kū /mor gaoww koo/ Location: Dunhuang

The Mogao Grottoes are famous for their exquisite mural paintings and Buddha statues. It
has 735 grottoes, 450,000 square meters of mural paintings, 2,415 colored Buddha statues made
of clay, and more than 50,000 historical relics. All of these make the Mogao Grottoes the largest
and the most significant "holy land" of Buddhist art.
The Mogao Grottoes' first carving was in 366, and with a contruction period spanning 16
dynasties, they are a summation of Buddhist art. The Mogao Grottoes are near an important
city on the ancient Silk Road — Dunhuang, where you can see Crescent Spring (a miniature
oasis in a pristine desert).

7. The Three Confucius Sites

Chinese: 三孔 sān kǒng /san kong/ Three confucius sites includes: Kong Family Mansion,

Kong Family Mansion, Temple of Confucius Location: Qufu

Confucianism is a cornerstone of Chinese civilization. The Three Confucius Historical

Sites (三孔 San Kong) are all in Qufu, Shandong Province. Ancient architectural buildings,

ancient stone tablets, and Confucius culture are the highlights.

The Kong Family Mansion was where the descendants of Confucius lived. It is huge and
designed to reflect Confucian philosophy in its separation of areas for work, reception, and
relaxation. The 480 rooms house a treasure of relics including imperial calligraphy.
The Cemetery of Confucius has become the graveyard of the Kong family, and more than
100,000 of Confucius' descendants are buried there. It is called Kong Lin ("Confucius' Forest").
Qufu Confucius Temple is the second largest scale ancient architectural complex in the
world, after the Forbidden City. The temple was originally built as Confucius' house, and was
changed into a temple to worship Confucius in the second year after his death. After that,
extension of the temple continued, and today's 95,000 square meters was completed in the
Yongzheng Period (1722-1735) of the Qing Dynasty.
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LESSON 2 – Chinese Alphabet

Learning Objective:
At the end of the lesson, the students are expected to:
Know the Chinese zhu yin and pin yin;
Understand the pin yin system;
Write simple words with proper pinyin.
Differentiate the pronunciation, tone marks and sandhi; and
Enumerate the rules of pin yin.

Chinese Alphabet
ZHU YIN FU HAO
It is known as Bo Po Mo Fo (BPMF) is the traditional phonetic system and is not using
romanization system because it does not use Roman Alphabet a,b,c, etc. Also known as
Mandarin Phonetic Symbols, also named Zhuyin (Chinese: 注音; pinyin: zhùyīn), is a major

Chinese transliteration system for Mandarin Chinese and other related languages and dialects
that is nowadays most commonly used in Taiwanese Mandarin. It is also used to transcribe
other varieties of Chinese, particularly other varieties of Mandarin Chinese dialects, as well as
Taiwanese Hokkien. Consisting of 37 characters and four tone marks, it transcribes all possible
sounds in Mandarin.
Bopomofo was introduced in China by the Republican Government in the 1910s and used
alongside the Wade–Giles system, which used a modified Latin alphabet. Bopomofo is an
official transliteration system in Taiwan, widely used as the main electronic input method for
Mandarin Chinese in Taiwan and in dictionaries and other documents.

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 Pinyin System
The Pinyin system was developed to transcribe sounds in the Chinese language using
letters from the Latin alphabet to represent how Chinese characters are pronounced. It is widely
used for the study of Chinese language, and it is currently used as the standard system for
romanizing Chinese names (e.g. place names, people’s names, etc.). It also serves other
practical purposes, such as inputting Chinese characters into digital devices.

HANYU PINYIN
It is the modern alphabet which uses the Romanization system to learn Mandarin. It
translates or transcribes the sounds and is used as phonetics using the western or Roman
Alphabet. It was designed to teach and help foreign language learners to easily study Mandarin.

Chinese Mandarin Tones

The term “tone” refers to the pitch contour of a syllable. Pitch is basically the “highness”
or “lowness” of the sound. Mandarin is a tonal language, which means that changing the tone
of a syllable often results to differences in meaning. All in all there are four tones in Mandarin,
plus the so-called neutral tone.

Four Tones in Mandarin

There are four basic tones in Chinese, respectively called the 1st tone
(55), the 2nd tone (35), the 3rs tone (214) and the 4th tone (51). They make
difference in meaning.

The first tone indicates a level, somewhat higher pitch. The second tone
is the rising pitch. The third tone has a falling and rising pitch contour, while the
fourth tone has a falling pitch. Syllables with the neutral tone are described as
being “light” and pronounced more quickly and are unstressed. It is important to
note that the tone of a syllable may change depending on the syllable which
precedes or follows it. This change of tone is often referred to as the tone sandhi.
For example, in a disyllabic word, which is composed of individual syllables that
would be pronounced in the third tone in isolation, the first syllable would turn

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 into the second tone.
Ex. 你 nǐ (you) + 好 hǎo (hello)

These tone changes are usually not represented by changing the

symbols though (the tone symbol above are changed above just make it clearer),
so the Pinyin representation for“hello” is still nǐ hǎo.

Pinyin Sounds
Chinese syllables consist of an initial sound and a final sound. Some syllables have no
initial sound. If it is present however, it is always a consonant. The final sound always starts
with a vowel.

Initials and Finals of Chinese Pinyin ( 01-4 )

Listen and read the syllables aloud and pay attention to the tones.
( 01-5 )

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 Chinese Mandarin Syllable
A Chinese syllable is composed of three parts: the initial sound, the final sound and
the tone. The initial sound can be a consonant or a semi-vowel, whereas the final sound
can be a vowel or a combination of vowel sounds, which may be followed by one of the
two possible nasal sounds –[n] or –[ng] in Mandarin. A Chinese syllable can have no initial,
but must have a final and a tone.

Note: When i or ü acts as a syllable by itself, y is added before it, with the
two dots on the tops of ü being removed; when u acts as a syllable by itself, w is
added before it.

Look at the pictures listen to the audio and practice the

monosyllabic words aloud. ( 01-6 )

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 Look at the pictures listen to the audio and practice the disyllabic
words aloud. ( 01-7 )

Initials and Finals of Chinese Pinyin ( 02-4 )

Look at the pictures listen to the audio and practice the

monosyllabic words aloud. ( 02-5 )

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 Look at the pictures listen to the audio and practice the disyllabic
words aloud. ( 02-6 )

The Neutral Tone

Apart from the four tones mentioned previously, there is another tone in Chinese which is
short and light, known as “the neutral tone”. For example:

Listen to the audio and practice the words aloud. Pay attention to
the neutral tone. ( 02-7 )

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 Differentiation

Pronunciation of the Initials j, q, x and z, c, s

J, Q, and X are known as coronals. The surface of the tongue touches the hard palate
when pronouncing j and q. while q brings out a strong airflow, j doesn’t. When x is
pronounced, the surface of the tongue approaches the hard palate without reaching it,
leaving a gap in between.

Listen to the audio and practice the words aloud. Pay attention to
the differences between the initials. ( 03-4 )

Z, C, and S are dentals. When pronouncing z and c, the front part of the tongue tip
touchers the inner surface of the upper teeth and then immediately parts with it, forming a
gap in between. Z is pronounced with no strong airflow, while c comes with an obvious
airflow. When pronouncing s, the front part of the tongue tip stays away from the inner
surface of the upper teeth all along, leaving a gap for the airflow to get through.

Listen to the audio and practice the words aloud. Pay attention to
the differences between the initials. ( 03-5 )

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 Pronunciation of the finals i, u, ü

The finals i and ü share the same position of articulation, but are pronounced with the
lips in different shapes. When pronouncing i, the lips are relaxed; when pronouncing ü, the
lips must be rounded. To practice the two sounds, you can say i first, then keep your tongue
where it is and round your lips to pronounce ü.
Both u and ü are pronounced with rounded lips. When saying ü, the tongue is in a front
position, with the tip pressing the inner surface of the lower teeth; when saying u, the
tongue is in a back position, with the tip staying away from the inner surface of the lower
teeth, and the tongue should be held backwards to pronounce the sound right.

Pronunciation of the initials zh, ch, sh, r

Zh, ch, sh, and r are a series of cacuminals, which are pronounced with the tongue tip
turned-up and coordinating with the front part of the hard palate. When saying zh and ch,
the tongue tip first touches the hard palate and then opens a gap to let the air flow. Ch
comes with a much stronger airflow, but zh doesn’t. When saying sh, the tongue tip doesn’t
touch the hard palate, leaving a gap all along. Different from sh, r, is pronounced with the
vocal cords vibrating.

Listen to the audio and practice the words aloud. Pay attention to
the differences between the initials. ( 04-4 )

Pronunciation of the alveolar nasal n and the velar nasal ng

When saying the alveolar nasal ng, the back part of the tongue forms an arch and the

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 root of the tongue moves back and presses the soft palate. Compared with the n, which is
pronounced with the upper and lower teeth close to each other, ng is pronounced with the
mouth more wide-open.

Listen to the audio and practice the words aloud. Pay attention to
the differences between the initials. ( 04-5 )

Tone Sandhi
3rd tone + 3rd tone

When two third-tone syllables are read in sequence, the first syllables turns into
the second tone, i.e., the 3+3 sequence becomes a 2+3 one. For example, “nǐ (你)” + “hǎo

(好)” is read “ní hǎo”. However, when put in the written form, the original tone is kept.

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 Listen to the audio and practice the words aloud. Pay attention to the change in the
tone of the 3rd tone syllables. ( 01-8 )

“不 (bù)” ( 03-6 )

1. When “不” is followed by a syllable in the first, second or third tone, its tone

doesn’t change.

Examples:
bù chī (to not eat) bù xíng (not okay)

bù hǎo (not good) bù hē (to not drink)

bù néng (can’t) bù xiǎng (don’t want)

2. When “不” is followed by a syllable in the fourth tone, it changes into the second

tone.

Examples:
bù huì (to be unable to) bú shì (to be not)

bú kàn (to not look)

“一 (yī) ( 04-6 )

1. When “一” is followed by a syllable in the first, second or third tone, it changes into

the fourth tone.

Examples:
yì zhāng (one sheet/piece) yì tiáo (one (long) piece

yì zhǒng (one type)

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 2. When “一” is followed by a syllable in the fourth, it changes into the second tone.

Examples:
yí dìng (sure, certainly) yí kuài (one piece)

3. When “一” is used alone or in a number, its tone doesn’t change.

Examples:
dì yī (first) yī èr sān (one, two, three)

xīngqī yī (Monday) shí yī (eleven)

bǎifēnzhī yī (one percent)

Rules Of Pinyin

Tone Marking
Tone marks in Chinese pinyin are put above vowels. When there are two or more
vowels in the final of a syllable, the tone should be marked on the one that is pronounced
with the mouth more wide-open, the sequence being “a, o, i, o, ü” in the descending order.
The compound final iu is an exception to this rule, in which the tone mark is put on u rather
than i as iu is the abbreviation of iou.

Listen to the audio and practice the words aloud. Pay attention to
the position of tone marks. ( 02-8 )

Abbreviation
When iou, uei, or uen follows an initial, they are written as iu, ui and un respectively, for
example, niu, gui, lun.
Listen to the audio and practice the words aloud. Pay attention to
the abbreviated finals. ( 02-9 )

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 Ü or finals led by ü with j, q, x

When ü or a final beginning with ü follows j, q, or x, the two dots on the top of ü
should be removed, for example, ju, qu, xu. However, if the initials is l or n, the form is lü
and nü respectively.

Listen to the audio and practice the words aloud. Pay attention to
the form and pronunciation of ü. ( 03-7 )

If a final beginning with i, u, or ü has no initial before it, y or w is used in the written form.
See the following table for details.

Listen to the audio and practice the words aloud. Pay attention to
the abbreviated finals. ( 04-7 )

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