WELCOME TO CHINA !!!

 The flag of China was officially adopted on October 1,

1949. 
 The red of the Chinese flag symbolizes the communist
revolution, and it's also the traditional color of the
people.
 The large gold star represents communism,
 The four smaller stars represent the social classes of
the people.
 In addition, the five stars together reflect the
importance placed on the number five in Chinese
thought and history. 
China’s Geography
The People's Republic of China
Area: 9,600,000 sq. km
Population: 1.3 billion  
Capital City: Beijing
National Flag: Five-Stars-Red-Flag
Location: middle and East Asia, bounded on the east by
the Pacific Ocean
Territorial Seas: the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea, the East
China Sea, and the South China
Sea
Climate: mainly continental monsoon climate (Tibet:
vertical climate zone)
 PEOPLE: HAN CHINESE (93.3%), PLUS 
55 ETHNIC GROUPS LIKE MIAO, LI, MONGOLIAN
LANGUAGE: MANDARIN CHINESE (PUTONGHUA) BASED
ON BEIJING DIALECT, PLUS LOCAL DIALECTS
MAIN RELIGIONS AND BELIEFS: OFFICIALLY ATHEIST, 
CONFUCIANISM, BUDDHISM,TAOISM, ISLAM (OVER 22
MILLION), CATHOLICISM (OVER 4 MILLION) AND
PROTESTANTISM (OVER 10 MILLION)
CURRENCY AND MONETARY UNIT: RENMINBI/YUAN
FORM OF GOVERNMENT: SYSTEM OF NATIONAL
PEOPLE'S CONGRESS
ADMINISTRATIVE DEMARCATIONS:
23 PROVINCES, 5 AUTONOMOUS REGIONS, 4
MUNICIPALITIES, AND 2 SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE
REGIONS
CHINESE PRESIDENT: HU JINTAO
 HISTORICAL CONTEXT
歷史背景
 Chinese history is generally divided into
dynasties or periods during which
particular family or group of people
reigned.

 Chinese states were unified into a large

empire with a central government.
 The Chinese empire lasted foe over two
thousand years surviving periods of
internal turmoil, attacks from outside
invaders and the rise and fall of
numerous dynasties
 The poet T’ao Ch’ien lived during the
period known as the Six Dynasties (220
A.D – 581 A.D), one of the most
tumultuous eras in the Chinese History.
 SHANG DYNASTY (ABOUT 1700-1050 BC)

 Shang Dynasty (about 1700-1050 BC) -

Development of Chinese Writing
 The first dynasty for which there is historical
record and archaeological evidence is the Shang
Dynasty.
 It was a small empire in northern central China.
 No documents from that country survive, but
there are archaeological finds of hieroglyphic
writing on bronze wares and oracle bones.
 The hieroglyphic writing system later evolved into
ideographic and partly-phonetic Chinese
characters.
 CHOU DYNASTY (1045-255 BC)
BASIC PHILOSOPHICAL AND RELIGIOUS LITERATURE

 Their dynasty lasted for about 800 years,

 The great literary works of philosophy and
religion that became the basis for Chinese
religious and social belief stem from what
is called the Spring and Autumn Period
(770-476) and the Warring States Period
(475-221).
 Taoism, Confucian literature, and other
prominent religious and philosophical
schools all emerged during these periods.
 CH’IN DYNASTY (221-206 BC)
LITERARY DISASTER AND LEGALISM

The Dynasty had big armies and conquered the

others.
Once the Ch’in emperor had control, he wanted to
keep it, and they squelched any opposition to his
authority.
A big philosophical and religious school then was
called Mohism.
 An early form of Buddhism was also established
in China at that time, but their temples and
literature were destroyed and even less is known
about them.
 HAN DYNASTY (206 BC – 220 AD)
SCIENTIFIC AND HISTORICAL TEXTS

 The Han Dynasty era lasted for 400 years.

 At the beginning of the era, Confucianism
was revived. Confucian texts were rewritten
and republished.
 The resulting ideology was the official
ideology of the Han Dynasty and influenced
political thinking afterwards.
 The era’s major contributions were
historical texts and scientific works.
 T’ANG DYNASTY (618-907)
EARLY WOODBLOCK PRINTING AND POETRY

 The T’ang Dynasty had a big empire that

benefited from trade with the west along the
Silk Road, battled with the Tibetan Empire, and
experienced the growing influence of organized
Buddhist religions.
 This era’s main contribution to Chinese
literature was in the poetry of Dufu, Li Bai and
many other poets. Dufu and Li Bai are often
thought of as China’s greatest poets.
 SUNG DYNASTY (960-1279)
EARLY WOODBLOCK PRINTING, TRAVEL LITERATURE, POETRY,
SCIENTIFIC TEXTS AND THE NEO-CONFUCIAN CLASSICS

 Military technology greatly advanced. They traded

little with the west due to the presence of warring
Muslim states on the old trade routes.
 There wasn’t territorial expansion, but the empire
was continuously attacked by nomadic tribes and
countries around them.
 So the era is divided into two eras called the
Northern Sung (960-1127) and Southern Sung
(1127-1279) eras.
 MING DYNASTY (1368-1644) 
NOVELS

 The Chinese rebelled against the Mongols,

and the Ming Dynasty era began about
1368.
 One of the four great classics called Journey
to the West about a monk going to India
was written during this time of isolation.
 Novels were the era’s main contribution.


 YUAN DYNASTY (1279-1368)
DRAMA AND GREAT FICTIONAL NOVELS

 The Mongols established the very rich Yuan

Dynasty.
 The Mongols were nomadic people who herded
cattle north of the Tang Empire and wandered
over a large area fighting on horseback.
 It was a big empire with high technology, a big
population and a big army.
 It was an era of some historically renowned
dramatic playwrights and novelists who wrote in
vernacular language.
 CHINESE LITERATURE
1000 B.C.- A.D.1890

Know contentment
And you will suffer no disgrace;
Know when to stop
And you will meet with no danger.
You can then endure.
- the Tao Te Ching
 LITERARY CONTEXT
文藝上下文
 Poetry is a part of everyday life throughout the history
of China
 Poets have been among the most highly regarded
members of Chinese Society
 2nd -12th centuries A.D. the main Chinese poetic form
was the Shih Ching ( The Book of Songs)
 Even the number of lines , each of which has the same
number of words
 Often expressed personal emotions
 Many have brooding or trouble tone , but can express
contentment
 CHINESE PHILOSOPHY
中國哲學
 Contrast between Chinese and Western modes of
philosophic thinking
 Western philosophers seek out the being of things,
the essential reality lying behind appearances

 Chinese principal and establishment and cultivation of

harmonious relationships within their social structures
 Chinese thinking is far more concrete , this worldly and
above all, practical.
 CULTURAL CONTEXT
文化背景
 Chinese attitudes and beliefs were
shaped by 3 religious and
philosophical schools:

Taoism

Confucianism

Buddhism
 TAOISM
道教
 Tao- path or the way

 Stresses freedom , simplicity and the

mythical contemplation of nature (“Tao”)
 Force that controlled the universe

 Beyond the scope of human concerns , but

can see its workings by observing nature
 TAOISM
道教
 Avoid human desires

 Not educating

 Not honoring men of worth or encourage

cleaver to act
 Cause jealousy and greed

 Opposite of Confucianism
 CONFUCIANISM
儒
 How people act – moral behavior

 Social relations based on subordination:

family ruled by authoritarian father , state

ruled by authoritarian king.

 Respect and obey those with superior status

 However, governed by the concept ren –

with a loving attitude towards others

 CONFUCIANISM
儒
 Tried to teach students to become true

gentlemen- morally and spiritually

 Must conduct oneself in a virtuous

manner, those in power serve as models

 Heaven is the supreme moral authority ,

which dictates how one must live.

 BUDDHISM
佛教
 To lead a moral life
 To be mindful and aware of thoughts and
actions
 To develop wisdom and understanding
 Life is sorrow and sorrow is caused by
desires
 Rid self of desires

 Does not claim to be God

 Attain enlightenment through meditation
 BUDDHISM
佛教
 Solutions to our problems are within
ourselves
 Beliefs are incorporated into poetry
through symbols, imagery and language of
Chinese Literature
 Quietude and calmness is a central notion
in Buddhist thought
TRADITION AND CULTURE
傳統與文化
 CHINESE WEDDING TRADITIONS
中國的傳統婚禮
 Red is the Color of Weddings in China
 Red is central to the wedding theme of China.
It signifies love, joy and prosperity and is used
in a variety of ways in Chinese wedding
traditions.
 The bride's wedding down is often red, as are
the wedding invitations, and wedding gift
boxes or envelopes for cash gifts. Even the
bride and groom's homes are decorated in red
on the wedding day.
 CHINESE WEDDING TRADITIONS
中國的傳統婚禮
 Before the Chinese Wedding Day
 Before her wedding celebration, a Chinese bride traditionally goes into
seclusion with her closest friends. This Chinese custom gives the bride-
to-be some time to symbolically mourn the loss of her friends and family.
 CHINESE WEDDING TRADITIONS
中國的傳統婚禮
 Some time before the couple are married, the groom's

family carries wedding gifts in red baskets and boxes to the

bride's house.

 One of the baskets will contain "uang susu" or 'milk money'.

Others will contain personal things for the bride, so that on

her wedding day all of her personal belongings will be in the
groom's house.

 The bride takes the gifts to another room where they are

sorted through. Three days before the wedding day, women

from the bride's family reciprocate, bearing gifts -- including
some 'returns'-- in red wrappings to the groom's family.
 CHINESE WEDDING TRADITIONS
中國的傳統婚禮
 The Day of the Wedding Ceremony
 Wedding anniversaries in China, are carefully
chosen according to astrological signs. It is also
customary for couples to be married on the half-
hour or their wedding day rather than at the top of
the hour.
 In this way, the couple begins their new lives
together on an 'upswing', while the hands of the
clock are moving up, rather than down.
 CHINESE FESTIVALS
中國節日
 Event: Chinese New Year
Date: The first day of a year in lunar
calendar, usually between late Jan and
early Feb
 Activities: fireworks display, visiting
and greeting, Yangke dancing, lion
and dragon dancing, holding temple
fairs and many other great folklore-
inspection events.
 CHINESE FESTIVALS
中國節日
 This was a time for the Chinese to
congratulate each other and themselves
on having passed through another year, a
time to finish out the old, and to welcome
in the new year.
 Common expressions heard at this time
are: GUONIAN to have made it through the
old year, and BAINIAN to congratulate the
new year.
 CHINESE FESTIVALS
中國節日
 Event: Lantern Festival Date: 15th of the
first lunar month
 Activities: Lanterns expositions, garden
parties, firework displays and folk dances.
 The New Year celebrations ended on the 15th
of the First Moon with the Lantern Festival.
 In the legend, the Jade Emperor in Heaven
was so angered at a town for killing his
favorite goose, that he decided to destroy it
with a storm of fire.
 CHINESE FESTIVALS
中國節日
 Event: Dragon Boat Festival

 Date: Date: 5th day of the 5th lunar

month
 Activities: Dragon Boat races and
eating Zong Zi (pyramid shaped rice
wrapped in reed or bamboo leaves
 CHINESE FESTIVALS
中國節日
 Event: Mid-Autumn FestivalDate: 15th of the
8th lunar month
 Activities: Dragon Boat racing, enjoying
moonlight and eating moon cakes.
 Probably the second most important festival in
the Chinese calendar, Zhong qiu has ancient
origins.
 Abundant meals are eaten during the festival and
moon cakes, round pastries filled with nuts, dried
fruits, preserved flowers, sesame and/or
marinated beef or bacon are eaten.
 CHINESE FESTIVALS
中國節日
 Event: Qing ming Date: 12th of the 3rd
lunar month, usually around April 4th or
5th.
 Activities: Cleaning ancestors' graves and
holding memorial ceremonies, spring
outing, and flying kites
 This is a time when ice and snow has gone
and plants are beginning to grow again,
and is a time for respect to ancestors
 . Qing Ming is often marked by an
indulgence of the Chinese passion for kite
flying.
 CHINESE FOOD AND COOKING
中國食品和烹飪
 Confucius once said: "Eating is the
utmost important part of life".
 Food is a central part of the Chinese
culture.
 Chinese cuisine is one of the greatest
methods of cooking.
 The Chinese people enjoy eating good
food at all levels of society, so cooking
has developed into a very sophisticated
art.
 CHINESE CUISINE IS NOTED FOR THE
FOLLOWING CHARACTERISTICS:

 Vegetables are the main ingredients.

 The Chinese people like well-prepared

food.
 Chinese also like to eat together, a
tradition that can be traced back a long
time ago.
 Tea drinking is an integral part of Chinese
life and the Chinese food experience.
 EDUCATION
教育
 A good education has always been highly valued in

China, as the people believe that education ensures

not only the future and development of the individual
but also the family and the country as a whole. 

 The great master Confucius taught that 'it is a

pleasure to learn something and to try it out at

intervals'. Similarly, numerous students have been
convinced that 'reading books excels all other
careers'.
 EDUCATION
教育
 As far back as the Shang Dynasty (16th
century BC - 11th century BC), inscriptions
on bones or tortoise shells were the simple
records of teaching and learning.
 In the Western Zhou Dynasty (11th
century BC - 771 BC), nobles built schools
to teach their children, as their offsprings
would be the officials of the future, while
those who were gifted but of poor families
could but dream of approaching state
affairs.
 EDUCATION
教育
 The development of education system led to a form of
evaluation that became the means by which dynastic
China appointed those with talents as officials.
 In general, this process can be divided into three
periods - 'chaju' and 'zhengpi' in the Han Dynasty, the
'jiupin zhongzheng' system from Han to the Northern
and Southern Dynasties, and the Imperial Examination
which survived from the Sui Dynasty (589 - 618) right
through to the last feudal dynasty Qing Dynasty (1644
- 1911). 
 THE CHINESE LANGUAGE
中國語言
 Chinese ( 漢語 ) comprises of seven main dialects, Mandarin
( 官話 ), Cantonese ( 廣州話 , 廣府話 ), Hakka ( 客家話 ), Wu ( 吳
語 ), Min ( 閩語 ), Xiang ( 湘語 ), and Gan ( 贛語 ) .
 The variety of Mandarin based on the speech in the capital
Beijing is the official national language of mainland China
and is termed Pŭtōnghuà, Common language ( 普通話 ).
 The de facto common language in Hong Kong and overseas
Chinese communities is Cantonese. Amongst the official
languages of Taiwan are Mandarin, Taiwanese, and Hakka .
 THE CHINESE LANGUAGE
中國語言
 All varieties of Chinese belong to the Sino-
Tibetan family of languages. Members of the
Sinitic family are typically tonal, meaning that
different tones, or intonations, distinguish words
that otherwise are pronounced identically.
 Chinese by origin is monosyllabic. The
vocabulary of dialects more recent in the
linguistic tree such are Mandarin tend to
become more polysyllabic (compound words) as
an adjustment to the loss of a number of sounds
compared to ancient Chinese.
 THE CHINESE ALPHABET
中國字母表
 In the Chinese alphabet, small letters are written like capital letters, and vice
versa. J 杰 jié
K 开 kāi
A 诶 ēi
L 艾勒 ài lè
B 比 bǐ M 艾马 ài mǎ
N 艾娜 ài nà
C 西 xī O 哦 ó
P 屁 pì
D 迪 dí
Q 吉吾 jí wú
E 伊 yī R 艾儿 ài ér
S 艾丝 ài sī
T 提 tí
F 艾弗 ài fú
U 伊吾 yī wú
V 维 wéi
G 吉 jí
W 豆贝尔维 dòu bèi ěr wéi

H 艾尺 ài chǐ X 艾克斯 yī kè sī

Y 吾艾 wú ài
I 艾 ài Z 贼德 zéi dé
CHINESE MONEY AND COUNTING
中國貨幣和計數

 The 100 yuan note has pictures of

four of the founders of the
People's Republic of China. From
right to left these are: Mao
Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Liu Shaoqi,
and Zhu De.
 CONFUCIUS
孔子
 Kong Qui, better known as Confucius, was
born in 551 B.C. in the Lu state of China. His
teachings, preserved in the Analects,
focused on creating ethical models of
family and public interaction, and setting
educational standards. He died in 479 B.C.
Confucianism later became the official
imperial philosophy of China, and was
extremely influential during the Han, Tang
and Song dynasties.
 THE ANALECTS OF CONFUCIUS
孔子的“論語”
  An anthology of brief passages that present the
words of Confucius and his disciples.
 Describe Confucius as a man, and recount some of
the events of his life. 
 The Analects includes twenty books, each
generally featuring a series of chapters that
encompass quotes from Confucius, which were
compiled by his disciples after his death.
THE ANALECTS
“ 論語”
THE ANALECTS
“ 論語”
 THE ANALECTS
“ 論語”

 "The Master said, 'A horn-gourd that is neither horn

nor gourd! A pretty horn-gourd indeed, a pretty horn-
gourd indeed.'"
Book VI, Ch.23, p. 120
PO CHU-I
白居易
 Po Chu-i was a gentleman poet and
government official during the golden age of
the Tang dynasty in China.

 Po Chu-i eventually retired to a monastery

when he was in his 50s. One of his legs was
paralyzed at the end of his life.
 His poetry often has the easy, retiring quality
of Chan poetry of the time.
 LAO TZU
老子
 Lao Tzu ("old man" or "old sage") was the ancient author of Tao

Te Ching, the most widely translated Chinese work of all time and
the classic book of the religion or philosophy known as Taoism.

 A general history of China from the first century B.C. describes

Lao Tzu as an older contemporary and teacher of Confucius (551-

479 B.C.).

 It says he wrote the two-volume Tao Te Ching at the request of

the keeper of a "pass" while on a westward journey.

 Lao Tzu takes a more mystical approach to tuning into the

natural order of things as a way of achieving personal and social

harmony.
 T'AO CH'IEN
錢陶鑄
 T'ao Ch'ien (365-427) was one of China's
foremost poets in the five-word shih style, and
his influence on subsequent poets was very
great.
 Also known as T'ao Yüan-ming
 One of T'ao's best-known poems is a debate
among "Substance, Shadow, and Spirit, " who
speak respectively for hedonism, Confucian
fame, and a kind of Taoist stoicism which
accepts life in its totality
 TU FU
國節

 Tu Fu was a great Chinese poet of the T'ang dynasty, a

family that ruled China from 618 to 907.

 He is known as a poet-historian for his portrayal of the

social and political disorders of his time and is also noted

for his artistry and craftsmanship.

 His poetry he introduces an intense, dramatic, and

touching personalism through the use of symbols and

images, irony and contrast.

 Ivory
Chopstick
s 
When King
Chow

ordered chopsticks
made of ivory
 Chi Tzu
For he
was most feared
perturbed

had ivory
that once the king chopsticks
HE WOULD NOT BE CONTENT WITH EARTHENWARE,

but would want cups

of rhinoceros

horn
and jade
 and instead of and vegetables
beans

he would insist on and baby

such delicacies as leopard
elephant's tail
 He would hardly be willing
either to wear rough
homespun

or live under a thatched roof

but would demand silks and splendid

mansions.
It is fear

of what this
will lead to

" said Chi Tzu

 that upsets me

Five years later, indeed

King chow
 had a
garden filled with
meat

tortured his subjects with hot irons

and caroused in a lake
of wine.

And so he lost his

kingdom.
 REPORTERS

Mark Bahian Kevin Malinda

Franzelle Mae G.
The End