1.1 CIVILIZATION
An ancient civilized nation and a great country on the East Asian continent, China possesses a vast territory covering 9.6 million sq. km. and a population accounting for over one-fifth of the world's total, 56 nationalities and a recorded history of 3000 years, during which it has created a unique, outstanding traditional Chinese Culture. China's architectural art is a particularly beautiful branch in the tree of Chinese civilization.
1.2 SOCIAL SYSTEM AND STRUCTURES
Siheyuan serves as a cultural symbol of Beijing and a window into its old ways of life. Another aspect of the architecture was the hierarchical organization of space that reflected Confucian code of ethics, which is now may not be suitable for an egalitarian society
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Particular duties arise from one's particular situation in relation to others. The individual stands simultaneously in several different relationships with different people. Juniors are considered in Confucianism to owe their seniors reverence, seniors also have duties of benevolence and concern toward juniors. The same is true with the husband and wife relationship where the husband needs to show benevolence towards his wife and the wife needs to respect the husband in return. In addition, these kind of duties are also extended to the dead, where the living stand as sons to their deceased family. The only relationship where respect for elders isn't stressed was the friend to friend relationship, where mutual equal respect is emphasized instead. In all other relationships, high reverence is usually held for …show more content…
It is in fact an incarnation of the traditional idea of “de zhi” which means rule by virtue. In addition, harmony and unity also refer to the relationship between different families who lived together in the same yard, due to the population growth in 20th century, it is called Dazayuan.
By highlighting the architectural forms of the siheyuan and emphasizing harmony within a family, between families and between humanity and nature, we can tell that the siheyuan is a signifier of traditional culture. Compared with the alienated, cold relationships in apartment buildings, the siheyuan is depicted as a close, warm neighborhood network. The siheyuan becomes a representational space which carries the memories of Chinese tradition and claims traditional mentalities, attitudes, and moral
October 12, 2015 Classical Athens and Han China: How Great Were the Differences? Comparatively speaking, Han China and Classical Athens are two very unique and distinct regions of the world. Peculiar in both a physical and spiritual sense, Classical Athens and Han China vary greatly in terms of secular phenomena, including the varying forms of government, roles of individuals, man and nature, and attitudes in regards to women and children. The deeper one looks into the these varying and systematic characteristics, the more variations one is able to discern.
Primarily it associates with refinement and emptiness of being. A Daoist lifestyle is derived through core concepts of personal advancement and moral rejection that harmonizes with nature. Each text addressed solutions to the lack of social and political
These institutions were a way for Chinese immigrants to cling to their culture and allow them to seek economic and social improvement. “During the 1850s, Chinatowns in San Francisco was already a bustling colony of thirty-general merchandise stores, fifteen apothecaries, five restaurants, five herb shops, three boarding houses, five butcher stores, and three tailor shops” (Takaki, Pg.195). Certainly, these establishments exemplify the commitments made by the Chinese population as to developing an infrastructure for proceeding generations. These close net communities were often designed to establish social ties to the United States; ideally, the earlier mindset of many Chinese immigrants had changed; however, for some Chinese immigrants, they were uncertain of their future in the country and as a result “the Chinese tended to invest their money in personal property rather than in land, preferring to take long leases in order to sublet” (Chinese in America Life, Pg. 202). As this mindset was only the minority of the Chinese population, many immigrants contributed to the development of Chinatown by creating their own businesses.
The Chinese civilization from 100 C.E. to 600 C.E. rose as one of the major unified empires. While this society grew, there were aspects of culture and politics stayed the same but many changes also occurred. As the empire developed, family units and social classes remained stagnant. Despite these continuities, changes such as the popularity of Buddhism within society due to Indian missionaries and a shift in political rule occurred. During the time period 100 C.E. to 600 C.E. the family unit system remained intact despite the intellectual advances.
It is often believed and taught that from about 300 BCE to 300 CE the Roman Empire was the greatest imperial power in the world and that it was the social, economic, and political center of world. This was also the period of the Chinese Han Dynasty, which was an equal, if not more, powerful empire in all aspects. The similarities of the implementation, spread, and establishment of the Han and Roman empires’ authority is what made them both successful and dominant in gaining, maintaining, and exercising the political authority they both possessed in the pre-modern world. BOTH EMPIRES WERE SUCCESSFUL BECAUSE OF THEIR USE OF MILITARY FORCE TO CONQUER, BUT BEYOND THAT THEY ESTABLISHED LAW AND ORDER BY EITHER SPREADING THEIR LAWS AND IDEALS
Having the responsibility respect should be giving all the time. Having respect to elders, having that kind of respect for them is a good thing to have. Because when it is time for them to go it is going to be really hard because that respect was not there as much as previously thought. And just plain having respect for everyone, does not mean if their being rude, or upset about something, that does not mean anyone should have to be rude to them back. I would rather show people a smile if they are being rude because well that is how I am, and
In the beginning of the book, her father is portrayed as a kind man, who does his best to keep them all happy and fed. Despite Uncle Ba trying to convince him to go and work in a factory, he refuses to leave his farm, despite hardships. He often played games with Si-yan; sometimes they made funny noises together while playing mahjong! He was the ‘happiest soul on earth’; when he died, Si-yan compared his dying to the sun passing out of their lives.
China, up until the Qin Dynasty was a very disorganized society consisting of many city-states controlled by kings that were constantly fighting each other for land and power. The Era of Warring states was two hundred years of violent fighting.8 The Qin Dynasty rose from the confusion, establishing an organized government and preceding to unify China for the first time. 10 The Han continued this practice, it brought stability and peace to China.8 However, due to China’s geography, which is very isolated, lead to the formation of different ideas of government and philosophy compared to the rest of the world at that time. The Qin and Han Dynasties implemented ideas and philosophies into their government that had never been seen before.
Perhaps the purpose of ghosts is that it is important in the Chinese culture. Yet as ambiguous as the topic of ghosts is prevalent in succession with her essays, Kingston finds her mother’s talk-stories to be ambiguous as well. The ambiguity of her attempt to understand her Chinese self stems from the privacy that is instilled in the culture: “’How can Chinese keep any traditions at all? They don’t even make you pay attention, slipping in a ceremony and clearing the table before the children notice specialness. The adults get mad, evasive, and shut you up if you ask” (“A Song for a Barbarian Reed Pipe” 185).
Kids and young adults must honor our parents and elders, because that is the respectful thing to do. We also love our friends like how
In China there are three prominent religions that are followed, Daoism, Confucianism and Buddhism. Daoist are usually concerned with unity with the natural universe and everyone is born good. Confucianism is the establishing of human laws and rights that are maintained to prove that all humans are good. Buddhism takes the path of spiritual development hoping to see the true nature of reality because they believe that nothing is fixed or eternal. Confucianism and Daoism are both oriental religions that mostly follow Buddhism, their language is Mandarin or Cantonese and the influence was spread over East Asia for almost two eras '.
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.
It was like we were in a small town, where the graves were houses and the deads were the residents. Chinese graveyard looked like a small hill, about 6 square meters, in which the coffin laid deep in the ground. The front was a headstone in the middle and a place for placing offering foods and a space for the family to sit. The graves were located closely next to each other in order.
Rivers, mostly traveled by boats, as in the mountains, they are more traveled by vehicle or on foot. The mountains, as mentioned before, make up about two thirds of the country and nearly all the mountain ranges run from East to West China. China has some of the largest and longest rivers. There is a plentiful amount of lakes which are different depending on which part of the region you may be in; Northern China has salt water lakes while Southeast China has fresh water
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.