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Chinese Traditions and Culture

Many people percieve China as an enigma. Before it opened its friendly door again towards the western world in 1978, it has been a secret place for millennia.

If you didn't have any idea about Chinese culture, or it is way out of your concern, recently (the spring of 2011) you might have had a glimpse of one of its numerous components, filial devotion of Confucianism, from the national pseudo-controversy book, Amy Chua’s parenting memoir "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother".

China's culture is old, rich and complex. In fact, it’s one of the world's most ancient and richest cultures with customs, languages and traditions varying greatly not only from province to province and region to region, but also can be from town to town, and city to city. If you plan to go to China, knowing some basic Chinese table manners in advance is not a bad idea.

"The wind varies within ten li; customs vary within a hundred li." A Chinese proverb says. And it describes this fact. (“Li" is a measure word for 1/2 kilometer, about 0.8 mile)

Yet, China's culture is also highly advanced. Many of its early inventions had significant influence for the world's civilization, such as gunpowders, Cai Lun's papermaking, printing and paper currency, not to mention the great thinkers who contribute to the way the world thinks and views our place in the universe, such as Confucius and Laozi.

There are other Chinese cultural elements that are well known, like the abacus, the seismometer, porcelain, stirrups, silk, tea and the compass.

Now we'll have a glance into this culture from both modern times and ancient, main stream and sideline:

China Cultural Highlights