A comparison between Chinese Culture (History, Beijing opera etc) with that of my country:
What is culture?
Culture is the characteristics of a particular group of people, defined by everything from language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts. Today, in the United States as in other countries populated largely by immigrants, the culture is influenced by the many groups of people that now make up the country.
In China, The teachings of Confucius which stress obedience and deference to elders and responsibility to community are a dominant part of the Chinese culture? The country is extremely large, so customs and traditions vary by geography and the more than 50 ethnic groups that reside in this country of 1.34 billion people. Here is a brief overview of Chinese culture;
History of China
The history of china dates backs as early as 4000b.c; China is a country with a long and rich history and ancient civilization. Chinese civilization began with the legendary sage-emperors Huang Di and Yan Di in the area of the Yellow River Basin. After centuries, the two tribes gradually merged into one by the time of the Xia Dynasty. Chinese people usually regard themselves as the descendants of Yan and Huang or call themselves Hua Xia People or Hua People. It was these people who established a state in the region of the Yellow River Basin which was believed to be the center of the world, so the state was named “Middle Kingdom”.
The history of China is generally told from the Xia Dynasty, which began in the 21st century B.C. and was followed by various dynasties until 1912 when Dr. Sun Yat-sen was proclaimed the provisional president of the Republic of China.
Religion
Because China is a communist state, there is no official religion and more than half of the population claims no religious affiliation or identifies as atheist. 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
There are seven main dialects of Chinese Mandarin, Cantonese, Hakka, Wu, Min, Xiang and Gan. Pŭtōnghuà, the type of Mandarin based on the speech in the capital Beijing, is the official national language of mainland China. Many Chinese are also fluent in English. The written language is symbol-based. Chinese Food
Most people enjoy good Chinese food. Cooking is considered to be an art and Chinese dishes can be as beautiful to look at, as they are delicious to eat. Traditionally in China, there has always been an important relationship between food and health. So you will find that the combination of foods in a meal will take into account a balance between carbs, meat and vegetables, yin and yang food groups (hot and cold), and the diners’ state of health, age, gender and the weather.
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. Therefore, In China, rice is usually served at the end of the meal, sort of like filler. If you haven’t had enough to eat, then you fill up on the rice. In western countries, we tend to like it served alongside the other dishes. However, There four main famous types of Chinese food such as Cantonese/Guangdong Cuisine (mostly steaming, boiling,), Sichuan Cuisine (oily, hot and spicy taste), Shandong Cuisine and Su Cuisine (plenty of lake fish and seafood)
Arts
Chinese art is greatly influenced by the country’s rich spiritual and mystical history. Many sculptures and paintings depict spiritual figures of Buddhism.
Many musical instruments are integral to Chinese culture, including the flute-like xun and the guqin, which