Chinese Festivals
The festivals of China represent a strong nexus with the brilliant part of the ancient Chinese culture. The festivals beautifully reflect and further help to trace the exotic meaning and long established history associated with the Chinese culture. The very spirit and enthusiasm with which the Chinese celebrate the festivals is deeply integrated with the time-honored history of more than 5000 years. The sanctity of these festivals has been magnificently described and reflected from a spiritual perspective in the countless masterpieces written down by eminent poets in China and abroad. It has been known that most of the traditional festivities emerged in the era of Qin dynasty (221-206 BC). However elements like primitive
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These basic elements are representative of the fact how the Chinese consider their festivals to be their cultural heritage and this is one of the major reasons why the Chinese are known to be very serious about every aspect of the preparation for the festivals. One can witness a close nexus between the traditional Chinese festivals and chronology, mathematics and the Chinese lunar calendar. The varying dates of the Chinese festivals can be attributed to the Chinese lunar calendar, as the occasions are not determined by the western calendar. The most popular of the Chinese festivals include the Spring festival (Chinese New Year), Lantern festival, Moon festival, Double Ninth festival etc. From disparate influences and traditions, to the intersections of people, space and time, these celebrations seek to explore China’s enormous worldwide legacy that has been proudly spoken about. In light of the general description about the nature of festivals in China, it is inevitable to distinguish and elaborate on the distinct characteristics of the major festivals. The spring festival also referred to as the Chinese New Year is considered to be one of the most important Chinese festivals. The celebrations of this festival can be looked down to as far as the Shang dynasty …show more content…
The widespread use of the color ‘red’ can be attributed to the myth as it was used to scare off the monster. The festival is time for family reunions, exchanging gifts and lighting fireworks. The celebrations begin with the advent of the very first day of the New Year and continue up to the commencement of the Lantern festival. The celebrations are known to last for good fifteen days. The Lantern festival can be traced back to the Han dynasty. The lanterns were lit for the first time as a mark of respect for the Lord Buddha. This special celebration marks the last day of the Spring festival each year according to the Chinese lunar calendar. Guessing riddles, eating rice dumplings, the lion and dragon dance form the key elements that guide the way celebrations are carried out. The Qingming festival is also known as the clear and bright festival in popular terms. The festival traditionally marked the phase of the year where it was appropriate for the farmers to plough and sow the fields. Sacrifice to the ancestors is the second aspect associated with this festival. And therefore the festival brings forth the two diametrically opposite
Introduction Understanding the past through looking at the case study on the Entombed Warriors of Xian it is determined that the past is influential in modern day activities. The uncovering of one the major tourist attractions in china was by complete mistake. It was uncovered by a farmer who was building a well in 1974 and later oped as a tourist attraction in 1979. It’s known to be apart of the Qin Empire’s era and he was later buried there.
While that happens people come and sing as part of the all day festival. Traditional foods
David Redmon’s documentary, Mardi Gras: Made in China (2005) provides an insight on Karl Marx’s theory of exploitation within capitalism. It does an exceptional job at explaining how exploitation exists in a capitalist society by tracing the simple commodity of beads used in the festival of Mardi Gras in New Orleans while revealing the hidden picture of its social and economic effect on the factory workers. Karl Marx’s class structure theory of capitalism can be observed in Mardi Gras: Made in China (2005). The cycle of exploitation that the Chinese workers face is further expanded in the film by explaining how exploitation works under capitalism through the differences between society’s values, the conditions of labour that the workers are in to produce the Mardi Gras beads, as well as how commodity fetishism takes part into the continuation of exploitation.
During this time, China was ruled by people whose main concern was war. They fought using horse-drawn chariots. Chariots are thought to have been introduced in China by neighboring civilizations. The king was in charge of the bureaucracy and a large army. The Chinese began the idea of veneration of ancestors at this time by sacrificing humans at the time of a king’s death.
3. Ofrendas. The main feature of the festival is ofenda (an altar). People usually build them in their own houses or in cemeteries. The altars aren’t made for worshiping, rather, they carry out the task to welcome the spirits back to the Realm of Live.
Although Buddhism originated in the sixth century B.C.E, it quickly spread to China by the first century C.E. Buddhism was both accepted and adopted by many, but also opposed by just as many at the same time. Still some Chinese citizens chose to neither fully adopt or fully oppose the religion, but rather incorporated unique Chinese traditions into Buddhism and also created new traditions from it. Buddhism’s spread in China was met with many different responses. However, the mix of responses could be due to the fact that Buddhism’s arrival fell in the middle of a period of instability for China. Documents 2 and 3 are both in favor of Buddhism.
The Qin dynasty succeeded the Warring States Period (475 BCE - 221) (Britannica, Warring States, 2014, 2018), and the Spring and Autumn Period (770–476 BC) (Britannica, Spring and Autumn Period, 2017, 2018). During the Warring States and Spring and Autumn Periods, there was a massive power vacuum and several different states were locked in a struggle for control over China. The most prominent state during the Warring States Period was the Qin state, they revised the governing methods of the once influential state of Zhou. They made changes to land distribution, power distribution, education of the common folk, trade, and units of measurement throughout China. The changes made by Qin Shi Huang are what made him successfully unify China.
The other was the practice of ritual human sacrifice. Human sacrifice was a huge part of Aztec life. Specifically, the sacrifice of living hearts was thought to be especially pleasing to the gods. Usually the sacrifices were captives whom were captured while raiding other nearby city states. The bravest of those captives were considered to be the most pleasing to the gods when sacrificed.
Then, the great new moon festival is around october and it marks the beginning of the cherokee new years. A lot of dances, prayers and offerings happened with a huge feast of meat, corn, pumpkin,beans, and squash.
The flesh was usually feasted on by the priests (Cartwright 4). This signified the honoring of the victims who died for their gods (Cartwright 4). If you refused to sacrifice your body to honor the gods, it reveals the lack of respect that you have for them (Cartwright 4). Also, it is proven that the sacrifice determines
The Han Dynasty was a significant time period of great technological, as well as cultural advancements in ancient China, from 206 BCE to AD 220. During this time, the Han Dynasty made significant achievements in technology. The Han Dynasty’s technological advances were numerous and diverse, contributing to its economic prosperity and cultural influence. The Han Dynasty was a society that prioritized and achieved significant technological advances, such as the development of cooking utensils, mirrors, tomb furniture, architecture, pottery, and more, which contributed to its economic and cultural success.
Emperor Qin was the first imperial ruler of China. Qin unified all 7 warring states in ancient China. Qin is known for his great construction projects. Such as, starting the “Great Wall of China.” Qin started the Great Wall of China, but was unable to finish.
Personal Statement I would like to confirm that it is my motivating of Chinese culture that ignited my passion for cultural and creative industry. As a Tourism Management major student, I was able to explore the Chinese diversified cultures and landscapes, which offered me an insightful understanding of the Chinese cultural development. Under the guidance of commercialization, some cultural heritages have developed into huge tourism souvenir markets full of counterfeit and shoddy products. The over-commercialization reveals the fact that the Chinese culture is facing a severe situation. The country calls for a better cultural development strategy, which cultural and creative industry can offer.
I had zero memory of him, but Qingming festival always reminded me that he was an important part of my family. Qingming festival is one of the prominent Chinese traditions. It is also known as Tomb Sweeping day, which Chinese families travel to their ancestors’ graves to clean the site, plant new flowers, pay respect, and offer food to the dead every year. After getting up at 3 a.m. and taking a shower like a zombie, I got on the driver seat and started the engine.
The traditional Chinese cultures have a development process for thousand years, now we are creating another kind of traditional culture especially under the wave of globalization. Although the form of expressing or performing the culture experienced some changes but the basic idea and belief behind rarely changed. To promote Chinese culture we would refer to the essence of Chinese wisdom so the following is actual practicing of different dimensions of Chinese traditions which show the beauty of China. The family concept is the essence of Chinese culture.