Facts About Chinese Culture

Chinese culture is an intriguing mix of traditions, values and beliefs that makes this ancient civilization truly captivating. Learn more about its food, art and music that are part of its existence!

Family is at the core of Chinese culture, which explains why many live near their hometown and organize reunions regularly with relatives. Furthermore, Chinese tradition also boasts a vibrant tea culture which helps inform its philosophy and literature.

Confucianism

Confucius was China’s most celebrated philosopher, known for his teachings about self-cultivation and social harmony that were the cornerstones of traditional Chinese culture. His principles of honor, filial piety, ritual practice are still widely followed today; yet due to its strong attachment to traditionalism it often limits creativity and inhibits innovation within contemporary societies.

Confucianism was the dominant philosophy during its 11th-century BCE to 220 CE reign, becoming a dominant philosophy throughout China and dominating society as a whole. Its main principle was that humans could attain happiness through adhering to certain ethics such as kindness, morality, propriety, and intelligence. Confucianism also stressed the centrality of family as the cornerstone of society; accordingly every member must show appropriate respect towards his parents.

Confucius’ philosophy was used by political leaders in imperial China to justify their rule and preserve the prevailing social structure and political system. Furthermore, his teachings inspired numerous other Asian cultural and philosophical traditions such as Taoism and Buddhism.

Confucianism wasn’t religion per se, but its philosophy laid the foundation of what sociologist Robert Bellah calls “civil religion.” Civil religion refers to an understanding shared among members of a community regarding values and moral principles at the core of its institutions. Confucianism was once widely practiced as a civil religion, as its principles permeated everyday life – in homes, schools and workplaces alike. Even Communist regime leaders who heavily disparaged Confucius during their anti-traditional “Cultural Revolution” would bow down reverently when paying their respects to him as part of national identity politics. More recently however, Confucian ideas are once again becoming fashionable; particularly with President Xi Jinping’s administration taking an interest in its rhetoric.

Family

Family is at the core of Chinese culture. “Jia” in Chinese stands for family, representing an upper section representing roof and lower sections as food pigs; thus it serves as a symbol for safety and security for people in China, with hierarchy being highly prized and conflicts minimizingd within families. Families carry great prestige among Chinese society; it is expected that children will repay their parents’ sacrifice in return.

Chinese are well known to show reverence towards older generations and pay special attention to women and children of that generation, particularly during women’s monthly periods and when raising a family. Married couples may even choose to live under one roof with both sets of parents due to Chinese collectivism which emphasizes familial unity.

Modernization may have dismantled some aspects of Confucianism, yet its influence remains strong in family life. Gender imbalance and practice of female infanticide both indicate this fact; furthermore, providing old age support remains seen as a filial duty and considered essential filial obligation.

Recent media coverage of the Shanghai lockdown video, and more generally how men treat women has brought greater public awareness to gender issues in China. While young Chinese remain highly committed to their families and consider themselves loyal members despite ties still remaining strong post-reform of one-child policy, many young adults appear lacking a moral compass and strong standards of behavior.

Religion

Confucianism serves as both China’s national philosophy and main religion, dating back 2,500 years. This ancient belief system emphasizes virtues such as courtesy, selflessness and filial piety while teaching that respecting elders, families and social harmony are more essential than individual happiness or wealth. Confucianism’s principles help shape Chinese values as well as how the country conducts business operations.

As one would expect from a society where identity is tightly connected to family and group connections, Chinese society tends to be quite collectivist. Decisions regarding careers, marriage and relocation tend to be made collectively. They also value courtesy, modesty and harmony as core principles.

Although China’s Communist Party officially opposes religion, many Chinese are religious. Indeed, their share of people identifying themselves as religious is higher than in many other countries with monotheistic faith systems; but exact figures remain hard to pin down because Western definitions and measures for measuring religiosity — such as attending worship services — don’t work well when applied in East Asia.

At the same time as Confucianism, many Chinese are Buddhists or Taoists. A 2018 survey discovered that 33% of Chinese adults believe in Buddha or bodhisattva and 26% reported burning incense at least once annually to express their beliefs. Furthermore, China continues to promote these religions to counter Islam and Christianity influence in the country; religious couplets can often be found displayed prominently at stores and restaurants during Chinese New Year. Unfortunately this practice has become increasingly controversial; leading many Chinese reevaluating their devotion towards religion altogether.

Food

China is a land of diverse peoples and cultures with 56 official ethnic groups recognized. Han individuals make up the majority of Chinese population. China boasts both modern economic development and deep historical legacy as evidenced by its flourishing cuisine, vibrant culture and exciting traditions.

Early Chinese civilizations emerged out of slave society, and the first centralized autocracy emerged in 221 B.C. Through the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties Chinese emperors expanded their empires through warfare, tribute relationships, recognition of indigenous rulers, tribute arrangements and warlordism. Over time the peoples of China adopted various aspects of Chinese culture such as ancestor worship, cosmology religion gender relations into larger Chinese cultural frameworks incorporating individual differences among ethnicities into larger Chinese cultural frameworks incorporated by each people into larger Chinese cultural framework.

At the dawn of the Xia Dynasty, regional Chinese cuisine started to emerge, each region contributing its own distinct flavors and techniques over time. This marked an intensified period of cultural exchange and assimilation which continued through Song, Tang, Yuan and Ming dynasties all the way until European colonialism took hold in China in 19th century.

Each major Chinese cuisine boasts its own distinctive style and flavor, inspired by ingredients originating from all corners of the globe. Popular dishes in Chinese cuisine often consist of rice or noodles as a staple base with meat dishes on top as well as vegetables such as ginger, garlic, green onions or star anise for seasonings – these elements all contribute to its signature style!

Tea is an integral component of Chinese life, with teahouses located on every street corner like coffee shops in Western societies. Some of the world’s best known varieties such as Longjing and Pu-erh hailing from this ancient nation.

Art

China has long influenced and inspired artists around the globe with its vast artistic tradition spanning all media. Considered one of the oldest continuous artistic traditions worldwide, with early “stone age” pottery dating back 10,000 BCE. Chinese art has endured through dynastic changes, political collapses, Mongol invasions, war and famine — but artistic styles adapted by each successive dynasty have always remained distinctively different than its predecessor’s style.

Calligraphy and painting were the arts of merit in ancient China, though there were also thousands of craftsmen who crafted precious materials into objects of beauty for wealthy homeowners to decorate their buildings and tombs with. Poetry and literature also played a vital role – romantic poets like Xu Zhimo often wrote romantic poetry that spoke of nature or universal human experiences; Qing emperors launched massive programs to preserve important cultural texts such as Dream of the Red Chamber novel by taking huge steps to protect it.

After the bloody Taiping rebellion of 1853, wealthy Chinese migrated to Shanghai and transformed its art scene. Their patronage lead to the development of the Shanghai School – an approach to painting that combined traditional literati style and Western artistic trends into something different altogether.

Modern Chinese artists draw upon both their rich cultural legacy and contemporary life for inspiration in order to produce work that resonates with a worldwide audience. Furthermore, Western art techniques and styles are encouraged so as to develop their own distinctive style; evidenced in today’s film, television, pop music, fashion industries as well as government censorship that restricts creative expression in certain areas. However, art in China continues its development even after the cultural revolution of the early 20th century when traditional philosophy and social norms were overthrown.