标题: China's culture and custom [打印本页] 作者: Dhyann 时间: 2018-04-03 01:42 标题: China's culture and custom [p]China is an extremely large country — first in population and fifth in area, according to the CIA — and the customs and traditions of its people vary by geography and ethnicity.[p]About1.4 billion peoplelive in China, according to the World Bank, representing 56 ethnic minority groups. The largest group is the Han Chinese, with about 900 million people. Other groups include the Tibetans, the Mongols, the Manchus, the Naxi, and the Hezhen, which is smallest group, with fewer than 2,000 people. [p]"Significantly, individuals within communities create their own culture," said Cristina De Rossi, an anthropologist at Barnet and Southgate College in London. Culture includes religion, food, style, language, marriage, music, morals and many other things that make up how a group acts and interacts. Here is a brief overview of some elements of the Chinese culture.[p][span style="font-weight: bold;"]RELIGION[/span][br][p]The Chinese Communist Party that rules the nation is officially atheist, though it is gradually becoming more tolerant of religions, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. Currently, there are only five official religions. Any religion other than Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism and Protestantism are illegal, even though the Chinese constitution states that people are allowed freedom of religion. The gradual tolerance of religion has only started to progress in the past few decades.
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.
The cremated remains of someone who may have been the Buddha were discovered in Jingchuan County, China, with more than 260 Buddhist statues in late 2017. Buddha was a spiritual teacher who lived between mid-6th and mid-4th centuries B.C. His lessons founded Buddhism.[p][span style="font-weight: bold;"]LANGUAGE[/span][br][p]There are seven major groups of dialects of the Chinese language, which each have their own variations, according to Mount Holyoke College. Mandarin dialects are spoken by 71.5 percent of the population, followed by Wu (8.5 percent), Yue (also called Cantonese; 5 percent), Xiang (4.8 percent), Min (4.1 percent), Hakka (3.7 percent) and Gan (2.4 percent).
Chinese dialects are very different, according to Jerry Norman, a former professor of linguistics at the University of Washington and author of "Chinese (Cambridge Language Surveys)" (Cambridge University Press, 1988). "Chinese is rather more like a language family than a single language made up of a number of regional forms," he wrote. "The Chinese dialectal complex is in many ways analogous to the Romance language family in Europe. To take an extreme example, there is probably as much difference between the dialects of Peking [Beijing] and Chaozhou as there is between Italian and French."
The official national language of China is Pŭtōnghuà, a type of Mandarin spoken in the capital Beijing, according to the Order of the President of the People's Republic of China. Many Chinese are also fluent in English.[p][span style="font-weight: bold;"]FOOD[/span][br][p]Like other aspects of Chinese life, cuisine is heavily influenced by geography and ethnic diversity. Among the main styles of Chinese cooking are Cantonese, which features stir-fried dishes, and Szechuan, which relies heavily on use of peanuts, sesame paste and ginger and is known for its spiciness.
Rice is not only a major food source in China; it is also a major element that helped grow their society, according to "Pathways to Asian Civilizations: Tracing the Origins and Spread of Rice and Rice Cultures," an 2011 article in the journal Rice by Dorian Q. Fuller. 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.[p][span style="font-weight: bold;"]THE ARTS[/span][br][p]Chinese art is greatly influenced by the country's rich spiritual and mystical history. Many sculptures and paintings depict spiritual figures of Buddhism, according to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Many musical instruments are integral to Chinese culture, including the flute-like xun and the guqin, which is in the zither family.
Eastern-style martial arts were also developed in China, and it is the birthplace of kung fu. This fighting technique is based on animal movements and was created in the mid-1600s, according to Black Belt Magazine.
Ancient Chinese were avid writers and philosophers — especially during the Ming and Qing dynasties — and that is reflected in the country's rich liturgical history.
Recently, archaeologists discovered detailed paintings in a 1,400-year-old tomb in China. "The murals of this tomb had diversified motifs and rich connotations, many of which cannot be found in other tombs of the same period," a team of archaeologists wrote in an article recently published in a 2017 issue of the journal Chinese Archaeology.[p][span style="font-weight: bold;"]TECHNOLOGY[/span][br][p]China has invested large amounts of money in science advancements and currently challenges the United States in scientific research. China spent 75 percent of what the United States spent in 2015, according to the journal JCI Insight.
One recent 2017 development in Chinese science is teleportation. Chinese researchers sent a packet of information from Tibet to a satellite in orbit, up to 870 miles (1,400 kilometers) above the Earth's surface, which is a new record for quantum teleportation distance. [Chinese Scientists Just Set the Record for the Farthest Quantum Teleportation]
Another 2017 advancement is the development of new bullet trains. Dubbed "Fuxing," which means "rejuvenation," these trains are high-s[span style="font-weight: bold;"][/span]peed transportation systems that run between Beijing and Shanghai. The trains can travel at speeds of up to 350 km/h (217 mph), making them the world's fastest trains.[p][span style="font-weight: bold;"]CUSTOMS AND CELEBRATIONS[/span][br][p]The largest festival — also called the Spring Festival — marks the beginning of the Lunar New Year. It falls between mid-January and mid-February and is a time to honor ancestors. During the 15-day celebration, the Chinese do something every day to welcome the new year, such as eat rice congee and mustard greens to cleanse the body, according to the University of Victoria. The holiday is marked with fireworks and parades featuring dancers dressed as dragons.
Many people make pilgrimages to Confucius' birthplace in Shandong Province on his birthday, Sept. 28. The birthday of Guanyin, the goddess of mercy, is observed by visiting Taoist temples. It falls between late March and late April. Similar celebrations mark the birthday of Mazu, the goddess of the sea (also known as Tianhou), in May or June. The Moon Festival is celebrated in September or October with fireworks, paper lanterns and moon gazing.[p][span style="font-weight: bold;"]ARMY[/span][br][p]Chinese People's Liberation Army
中国人民解放军
China Emblem PLA.svg
People's Liberation Army Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg
Emblem of the People's Liberation Army (top), PLA flag (bottom). The characters are "8 1", referencing August 1.
Motto 为人民服务! ("Serve the People!")
Founded 1 August 1927 (Nanchang uprising)
Service branches PLA Ground Force
PLA Navy
PLA Air Force
PLA Rocket Force
PLASSF.svg PLA Strategic Support Force
Headquarters National Defense Ministry Headquarters, Beijing
Leadership
Chairman of the
Central Military Commission and Commander-in-Chief
President and General Secretary Xi Jinping
Vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission Air Force General Xu Qiliang
Vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission General Zhang Youxia
Minister of National Defense General Wei Fenghe
Chief of the Joint Staff Department General Li Zuocheng
Manpower
Military age 20+
Conscription Compulsory by law, but usually not enforced
Active personnel 2,000,000 active (2018)
Reserve personnel 2,300,000 reserve (2018)[1]
Expenditures
Budget US$175 billion (2018) (official budget)[2] (ranked 2nd)
Percent of GDP 1.5% (2018)
Related articles
History History of the PLA
Modernization of the PLA
Historical Chinese wars and battles
List of wars the People's Republic of China involved in
Ranks Army ranks
Navy ranks
Air force ranks
People's Liberation Army
Simplified Chinese 中国人民解放军
Traditional Chinese 中國人民解放軍
Literal meaning "Chinese People's Liberation Army"
[show]Transcriptions
The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the armed forces of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and Communist Party of China (CPC). The PLA consists of five professional service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, Rocket Force, and the Strategic Support Force. It also has a militia service branch, the PLA Militia.
The PLA is the world's largest military force, with a strength of approximately 2,285,000 personnel, 0.18% of the country's population. It is the fastest modernising military power in the world, with significant defense projection capabilities. Recently, it has been rapidly developing and commissioning new arsenals, with numerous technological advancements and breakthroughs.[3] It boasts the second largest defence budget in the world, although many authorities – including SIPRI and the U.S. Department of Defense – argue that China does not report its real level of military spending, which is allegedly much higher than the official budget.[4][5]
In September 2015, Xi Jinping, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and the commander-in-chief of the PLA, announced a reduction of the number of military personnel by 300,000: from 2,3 to 2 million.[6] The PLA's insignia consists of a roundel with a red star bearing the Chinese characters for Eight One, referring to the Nanchang uprising which began on August 1, 1927.
The PLA is under the command of the Central Military Commission (CMC) of the CPC. It is legally obliged to follow the principle of civilian control of the military, although in practical terms this principle has been implemented in such a way as to ensure the PLA is under the absolute control of the Communist Party of China. Its commander in chief is the Chairman of the Central Military Commission (usually the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China). The Ministry of National Defense, which operates under the State Council, does not exercise any authority over the PLA and is far less powerful than the CMC. A system of political officers embedded within the military ensures party authority over the armed forces so that the primary role of the Ministry of Defense is that of a liaison office with foreign militaries rather than a commanding authority. The political and military leadership have made a concerted effort to create a professional military force, the duties of which are restricted to national defence and to the provision of assistance in domestic economic construction and emergency relief. This conception of the role of the PLA requires the promotion of specialised officers who can understand modern weaponry and handle combined arms operations. Units around the country are assigned to one of five Theater commands by geographical location.
Military service is compulsory by law; however, compulsory military service in China has never been enforced due to large numbers of military and paramilitary personnel. In times of national emergency, the People's Armed Police and the People's Liberation Army militia act as a reserve and support element for the PLAGF.
The PLA on 1 August 2017 marked the 90th year anniversary since its establishment, before the big anniversary it mounted its biggest parade yet and the first outside of Beijing, held in the Zhurihe Training Base in the Northern Theater Command (within the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region), the first time it had ever been done to mark PLA Day as past parades had already been on 1 October, National Day of the PRC.[p][br][p style="text-align: center;"]THE END [p][br]作者: d.chauhan1o1 时间: 2018-04-03 19:27
very good information bro, specially d food section info. 作者: Dhyann 时间: 2018-04-04 02:03