Chinese Culture and Traditions

Chinese Foods:

“Have you eaten” is a common greeting for Chinese. Chinese people love to eat, Food is a science, an art, and a social activity in China. Chinese food culture is quite different from other countries. Chinese cuisine is the best cuisine in the world because of its rich food culture. Chinese food culture varies in several regions with distinct styles of cooking, the ingredients are used base on natural and agricultural products. Noodles, rice, and steamed buns are the staple food in China. Rice is served separately in a small bowl and meat, vegetables are served on a plate or big bowl. On Chinese dining, you can not find salt or pepper shakers or tomato sauce bottles, but you may find bottles of soy sauce, vinegar, and chili paste and use chopsticks to take their food not knives and forks.

As the capital of China, the typical food there is also worth a try, such as the roasted duck, Lǘdagunr (驴打滚), Yellow Pea Cake (豌豆黄), and Fried Liver (炒肝). In the morning, having a bowl of hot Douzhir (豆汁儿) with deep-fried dough sticks or steamed stuffed bun would be such a satisfaction. all kinds of noodles like Steamed Cold Noodle (凉皮), Buckwheat Noodle (荞麦饸饹). The cold dish is the first course in traditional Chinese banquet and the main course is called hot dish. Rice is the staple dish for southern china.
The famous food in Xi’an Chinese Hamburger (肉夹馍) and Lamb Stew with Vegetable (水盆羊肉).

China is a long history of rituals and etiquette, and eating is a highly important thing in China’s culture. Thousand years of evolution china developed a general food ritual and practices, it has variation according to the character and purpose of a banquet and regionally. Chinese people like a noisy place when having meals, they think if the food is tasty then the restaurant will be busy and crowded.

Religion:

China is a multi-religious country. Taoism, Islam, Buddhism, Protestantism, and Catholicism have all grown into culture-shaping neighborhoods during Chinese history. Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism are considered as “three pillars” of ancient Chinese society. The majority of Buddhist believers are Han Chinese. However, since many Han Chinese practice a historical/cultural Buddhism rather than a daily practice, it can be difficult to count their exact numbers.

Only five religions are official in China. Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism, and Protestantism are illegal. Taoism is native in China and has more than 1,700 years of history. Confucianism was a way of life for ancient Chinese people, and it continues to influence Chinese culture today. About a quarter of the people in china are practice Taoism and Confucianism and other traditional religions And a small part of people practice Buddhists, Muslims, and Christians.

Recent polls concluded that 80% of Han Chinese practice Chinese folk religion and Taoism, 10-16% are Buddhists; 3-4% are Christians, and 1-2% are Muslims in China.

Chinese Art:

Art is an important part of Chinese culture and tradition. China starts its unique artwork thousands of years ago. Chinese art includes painting, sculpture, performing arts, architecture, pottery, bronzes, jade carving, and other fine or decorative art forms produced in China over the centuries. Chinese art contains a great spiritual and mystical history.

As people become cultural and start to move away from cave-dwelling, the brush-stroke design began to take place and that is still noticeable in modern Chinese art. Despite the gradual changes and distinct developments in the style of paintings and sculptures, the art retained a central theme that focused on nature and unity. The sculpture art in china is most demanded when it is related to the ancient king, lay soldiers, horses, and servants have been found in archaeological digs.

Physical arts in China include more than primary paintings, it also includes sculptures, carvings, pottery, and calligraphy writings. The art of calligraphy is an ancient Chinese art and aimed to show superior control and skill using brush and ink. China is also well-known for the jade carvings that are used in jewelry design, home decoration, and a wide range of other applications. Jade carvings have existed for more than1,300 years and are an important part of the country’s rich history.

Chinese Language:

China is the most populated country and has a hundred languages to speak in China. The Chinese language is comprised of many regional variants called dialects. Mandarin is the official language in china also call “Putonghua”. more than 70% of people are native of Mandarin. China also has several other major dialects includes Yue (Cantonese), Xiang (Hunanese), Min dialect, Gan dialect, Wu dialect, and Kejia or Hakka dialect. Mandarin is the most spoken dialect in china and uses as a second language in china by those who speak in other Chinese dialects. Chinese are mostly used their mother tongue, and many people learn Chinese as a second language. People who ants to learn Chinese or want to work in china, they must need to learn 3000 characters for fluent enough. Chinese language mostly tonal language. If you are an English speaker, learning Chinese will be a very difficult part to catch the five-tone. The meaning of Chinese can change drastically based on the tone you use to pronounce them. Chinese is the oldest language in the world, the written language has existed for more than 3,000 years.

Chinese Festivals:

China is listed as the most ancient civilization in the world. It has over 5000 years of traditional history and witnessed the creation of many Chinese traditional festivals. According to the Chinese region, Chinese festivals categories into three categories agricultural, religious, and social festivals. China has several traditional festivals that are celebrated all over the country and the most important festival in China is the new year(China celebrates its new year within 15 days to 25 days of January, Chinese new year is called spring year), Chinese mid-autumn festivals(Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month), dragon boat festival are the eldest festival in china.

China also has Lantern Festival, Qingming Festival, Double Seventh Festival, Double Ninth Festival, Winter Solstice, Laba Festival, Chinese moon festival, and many more. Chinese festivals are very important parts for Chinese people, they fully highlight their Chinese culture & traditions in their festival.

Ancient Chinese Marriage:

Chinese marriages are interesting fused with their Chinese culture and traditions. In ancient Chinese Marriage culture, people bearing the same surnames were allowed to get married, marriage between siblings was allowed too.
The marriage process began with a marriage proposal and acceptance. If the proposal received well, the go-between(who acted as a buffer between the two parties) would obtain the date and hour of the girl’s birth recorded. If the astrologer confirms a young woman and their son would make a good match then they would proceed for the wedding date and rest ritual. On the wedding day “Hairdressing” for the bride and the “Capping” ritual for the groom this ritual is a very important part of the wedding. This ritual is symbolized initial adulthood. On the wedding day, the bride donned a jacket and skirt and stepped into a pair of red shoes, placed in the center of a sieve and the face was covered with a red silk veil or a ‘curtain’ of tassels or beads that hung from the bridal Phoenix crown. The groom wears a long gown, red shoes, and a red silk sash with a silk ball on his shoulder, the groom knelt at the family altar while his father placed a cap decorated with cypress leaves on his head.

Chinese Calligraphy:

Calligraphy means beautiful writing, it was the visual art form prized above all others in traditional China. Chinese calligraphy has a long history, about 1,000 years. Chinese calligraphy is a style of Chinese character writing. from a very early age, Calligraphy was not just considered as a decorative form of art, it was the view as a visual art form. Chinese calligraphy reflects the importance of the word

The unique forms developed and originated from china particularly for writing Chinese characters by using ink and a brush. Chinese calligraphy has five main categories include Seal script, Clerical script, Regular script, Running script, Cursive script. The popular calligraphy master Zhong Yao (鍾繇,151-230) is known as the father of standard script, Wen Zhengming (文徵明, 1470–1559), Zhang Ruitu (張瑞圖, 1570–1641), Zhu Yunming (祝允明, 1460–1527), and Huang Daozhou (黃道周, 1585–1646).

Final Word:

China is an extremely large country, first in population fifth in area. More than 1.4 million people live in china. China is one of the ancient civilizations, Chinese culture practice intense influence on philosophy, virtue, etiquette, and traditions. Chinese traditions and festivals are also celebrated and practiced by people around the world. Chinese language, business etiquette, architecture, music, dance, literature, martial arts, cuisine, visual arts, ceramics, philosophy, religion, politics, and history have a global influence

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