China is an immense nation with an intriguing past and contemporary traditions that have stood the test of time. You’re sure to be impressed by these fascinating facts about this ancient culture!
Did you know that in Chinese culture the number 4 is considered unlucky? Teaching your children about this cultural belief will add an interesting new layer to their understanding of numbers.
The Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China is one of the world’s most remarkable landmarks and an integral part of Chinese culture, serving as an inspiration for legends and myths that span across its nearly 2,300 year lifespan. Built by multiple dynasties over centuries ago, its incredible length, mysterious construction process, and many hidden secrets make it truly remarkable.
Popular mythology suggests that Emperor Qin Shi Huang initiated construction of the Great Wall; however, fortifications that had already been built by earlier states before this point were actually linked by him. His aim was to protect his newly united empire against invasion from northern nomads.
Building the Great Wall was no simple task and required much labor. Although soldiers provided most of the labor force, there were also large numbers of convicts working at its completion; an estimated total of up to 400,000 individuals died during its construction – much of it taking place under difficult conditions in poor weather – making working conditions especially uncomfortable for soldiers.
There are many unique aspects to the Great Wall. For instance, it does not form one continuous stretch – rather there are side walls, enclosing walls, and sections without walls (such as high mountains or rivers acting as barriers instead). Furthermore, legend states that parts of it were constructed atop dragons to scare off invaders.
Some walls were constructed with special material designed to prevent rust. This was composed of earth and sand mixed together for a unique red hue; Glutinous rice mortar was then used to connect bricks together, strengthening the wall significantly. There are still parts of the Great Wall visible today in their original condition – for instance Badaling near Beijing receives hundreds of visitors daily while Mutianyu and Juyongguan have far less traffic.
The Chinese Calendar
The Chinese Calendar is based on a combination of solar and lunar cycles. It is one of many variations on a lunisolar calendar system. This complex calendar system takes into account seasonal, astronomical observations, philosophical considerations and political concerns when designing its date ranges. Furthermore, horology (the study and practice of measuring time) considers Chinese Horology an artform, including its years, eras, months days hours calculations (modern forms even divide this down to fractional seconds!).
Early evidence of Chinese calendar can be found on oracle bones from the Shang Dynasty (16th Century BC – 1046 BCE). Each year was divided into 12 lunar months with an extra “leap month” or “intercalary month” being added every three or four years to account for irregularities in lunar cycle and correct for its irregularities. New years began on the new moon following winter solstice.
At the start of the Tang dynasty (618 CE – 762 CE), an improvement to astrological calendar was introduced: leap days and methods for determining dates of equinoxes via syzygy were both added, along with using sexagenary markers – markers which divide up each year into 24 solar segments associated with weather or climate, called Jieqis – that correspond to where Sun was on tropical zodiac.
Common practice calls for adding a leap year at the end of a six-decade period to bring its calendar back into alignment with Solar cycles. China still uses Lunar calendar and Chinese New Year is celebrated on February 1 each lunar year; people often refer to themselves by their Chinese age calculated based on when their birthday occurred in that particular six-decade period.
The Chinese Zodiac, a 12-year cycle based on lunar calendar, features animals such as rats, oxen, tigers, rabbits, dragons, snakes, horses, goats, monkeys and dogs that represent elements associated with each sign (rats, oxen, tigers etc). Each sign corresponds with either positive or negative energies, determined by birth year a person was born into. Each animal has an associated positive or negative element for which their birth year determines which sign they belong (rats/oxen/ox/oxen/tiger etc). Each animal is assigned either positive or negative energy sign. Each element corresponds directly with specific birth year sign/year/etc that influences an elemental connection as determined by one’s own individual birth year/etc).
The Unlucky Number 4
Chinese culture is deeply superstitious, and four is seen as particularly unlucky number. This number often symbolizes death as its sound resembles that of “to die.” Due to this negative connotation, many Chinese individuals attempt to avoid using four in prices, house/door numbers, car license plates and other aspects of daily life.
The number four is considered unlucky in various parts of Asia, including Japan and Korea. Here too it has a similar negative connotation as Si, often considered bad luck-bringing. Because of this widespread belief in these cultures it is common practice for buildings to omit a fourth floor when being constructed or use another number when referring to room numbers or prices; such practices also avoid using 4 on their signage or pricing structures.
There has been much discussion as to whether the number four is actually unlucky, yet many consider it unlucky in China. Some speculate this may be related to its pronunciation or similarity to “Si” while others see negative connotations associated with four in general.
Though many consider four an unlucky number, there are exceptions. Chinese culture considers 8 extremely auspicious since its pronunciation resembles Fa (fortune). Together these numbers create a powerful symbol of wealth and prosperity.
Though often associated with bad luck, four is still used in certain contexts such as traditional instruments and Chinese numerals. When used this way, other lucky numbers often accompany it to counterbalance its unlucky effects.
The Four Great Inventions
No matter your knowledge level on China, there’s always something new to discover about this captivating nation. China is an ancient civilization renowned for pushing innovation forward; evidenced by many of their key inventions still being utilized today such as gunpowder, paper printing and the compass.
These four inventions have had a tremendous impact on civilization throughout its development, serving as symbols of ancient China’s sophisticated science and technology from 1 BC to 15 AD when their civilization was one of the most advanced on Earth.
Papermaking was an innovative invention that revolutionised writing. Before this innovation, people relied on bones or tortoise shells as writing surfaces – which could become bulky and breakage prone – for writing purposes. Chinese inventors first developed papermaking methods around 2nd Century BC before perfecting them around 105 AD with moveable type printing presses centuries before the Gutenberg Press was developed in Europe.
The compass was another incredible invention because it allowed people to navigate and find their way around with ease, opening up new parts of the world for exploration, leading to trade routes being established, ultimately contributing to China’s rapid growth and imperial expansion.
Although perhaps not the most thrilling invention from China, paper money has proven extremely practical in modern life. From being used to create navigational maps and guide ships to umbrellas and even tea bags – paper money has become an integral component of daily life!
Bike sharing, high speed rail and online shopping are three remarkable modern inventions from China that have revolutionized transportation, communication and daily life for millions of Chinese citizens – thus earning their place among China’s four “great new inventions”.