People and CultureCHINA NOTES #1

China has the world’s largest population at over 1.3 billion.

One-Child Policy: Couples with only one child received benefits.

POPULATION

56 different ethnic groups live in China.

These include Mongols, Uighurs, Tibetans, and Kazakhs.

The language of Mandarin is spoken across the nation.

ETHNIC GROUPS

Mandarin uses ideograms, or characters that represent a thing or idea.

There are over 20,000 different characters.

LANGUAGE

Confucianism- Based on teachings of Confucius.

-Stress the importance of ancestors.

-Believed in a society based on laws.

ANCIENT PHILOSOPHIES

Daoism-Based on teachings of Laozi

-Path to true happiness lies in a harmonious relationship with nature.

Buddhism-Created by Siddhartha Gotama (Buddha).

-Believe in reincarnation and karma.

Communism-Communist states deny the existence of god and are atheist.

Communists destroyed many ancient temples after taking power.

China has been a Communist nation since the 1940s.

China’s capital is Beijing,

China has 3 of the 25 largest cities in the world, including: Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen

Cantonese- features stir-fried dishes, which relies heavily on use of peanuts, sesame paste and ginger and is known for its spiciness.

FOOD

Chinese kung fu is a large system of theory and practice. It combines techniques of self-defense and health-keeping.

KUNG FU

Your Chinese Zodiac sign is derived from your birth year.

People born in a certain animal year are believed to have attributes of that animal.

ZODIAC SIGNS

It is day one month one of the Chinese lunar calendar, and its date in January or February varies from year to year.

CHINESE NEW YEAR