International Expo : Cultural Interview

Classical China was a breeding ground for new ideas, inventions, and most importantly, religions. Although Classical China was littered with different religions and beliefs, Confucianism was the most prominent. Confucianism is based on the teachings of a philosophical

Chinese culture is also greatly embedded in religious and philosophical beliefs. The way a relationship is developed between and individual and the society differs according to various beliefs. In China, two common philosophical and religious ideas are Confucianism and Taoism. Confucianism

The Chinese culture is built around thousands of years of tradition. Understanding these Chinese beliefs and social influences may benefit you when attending to someone of this culture.

Most businesses in China are run by man. China has many religions like Taoism, Confucianism, but mainly Buddhism. Recently, China has excelled in having many more religions including Christian. Chinese philosophy comes from Confucianism, which is a collection of teachings from ancient history. Many other philosophies were later taught like Daoism, Legalism, Mohism and many more. China still uses many of these philosophies today.

The main Chinese religions have many key features. The main religions include shamanism/ancestor reverence, Confucianism, Daoism, Mahayana Buddhism, and idol worship. These 5 religions share some features in common. For example, Chinese popular religion focuses on the human being’s pursuit of health, wealth, and happiness in their lives (quote the textbook). Chinese popular religions want the human to be doing well and succeeding in their day-to-day activities of their lives. Another key component of the main Chinese religions is respecting one’s elders. The religions teach the importance of obeying the commands of the elders and honoring the family name. The Chinese allow place a strong emphasis on the temple. The temple is a place where the people could communicate, understand, and learn about their gods (quote the textbook). The next subsections will be describing the key religious practices of each of the 5 Chinese religions.

TravelChinaGuide.com (n.d.) states that Chinese years are represented by twelve zodiacal animal signs. The demographic religious breakdown is as follows: Folk religion, 21.9%, Buddhist, 18.2%, Christian, 5.1%, Muslim, 1.8%, Jewish and Hindu are both less than 0.1% (CIA World Factbook, 2015). Demographically, there are more males than females. Recently, the Chinese government lifted their ban of one child maximum per family (Burkitt, 2015).

China is one of the Four Ancient Civilizations. China’s long and mysterious history is over 4,000 years. The Chinese dynasties include Shang, Zhou, Han, Tang, Sung, Yuan, Ming, and Qing. Each dynasty had made contributions to China today. China has the world 's longest continuously used written language system, and is the source of many major inventions.

practices. I must stress that this was not a formal or universal change in religion but a

China’s religion is very diverse. One of the first religions is Confucianism. The creator was

In China they have about 1.3 billion people, making up a little more than 20% of the world’s population. It’s no surprise that with that many people in one country that the culture there would hold many different beliefs and traditions. Chinese are known for many things and their health care practices are one of them. They use different medicines to treat the ill, have different techniques to insure that women have a good pregnancy and a healthy baby as well as old family traditions from how a family is ran to what they do when someone passes away. A lot of these traditions can compare to other cultures where many are also so different it takes some understanding to get used to them.

At the core of any nation’s culture are its religious beliefs. In China there are the “Three Jewels” Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism, as described in Lopez (1996). There are small numbers of people practicing other religions such as Christianity and Islam, but these are the three dominant beliefs of the region. While they are separate in content, they have coexisted for several thousand years. Lopez (1996) goes on to say, “Historical precedent and popular parlance attest to the importance of this threefold division for understanding Chinese culture…Buddhism is the sun, Daoism the moon, and Confucianism the five planets…suggesting that although they remain separate, they also coexist as equally indispensable phenomena of the natural world.” Each belief system stands alone, and at the same time needs the other(s).

There are many different religions in both China and India. The most popular religions in China are ancient Confucianism and Taoism, Buddhism, Islam, Protestant, Catholic, and a new form of religion Falun Gong. India has many religions that are different or the same as the Chinese. Indian religions include: Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, and Jainism. There are also many people from China that do not follow a religion because of its communist background.

Chinese culture is truly one of the great civilization our world has come across. It boasts a vast geographic expanse, over 4000 years of written history, as well as a rich and profound traditional society. Many aspects of Chinese civilization can be traced back many centuries. It is so diverse and unique, yet harmoniously blended, and presents itself a priceless benefit to the world.

The Chinese culture is up to 5000 years old. Approximately 56 different ethnic groups live in China. Buddhism is by far the largest religion in China, significantly impacting their culture. Buddhism brought with it a whole new array of beliefs, such as a very detailed description of heaven and hell, the belief in reincarnation, and the idea of karma. Those three things made their way into the Chinese culture. A set of beliefs, called Confucianism, became social law in China around 400 B.C.E ("Chinese Culture, Tradition, and Customs."). Up until 1450 C.E., China was more technologically advanced than any other country in the world, beating out Europe and the Islamic territories. The Chinese invented hundreds of items, but papermaking, cast iron, canal locks, gunpowder, kites, silk, and the compass are some of the most prominent (Diamond 242-243). However, the compass was the most important technological advancement in ancient Chinese civilization, because it opened up opportunities for exploration and promoted the advancement of civilization as a whole.

One important aspect of Chinese culture is Traditional Chinese Medicine, also known as TCM. Chinese medicine has been around for quite awhile, and is still around today. In the United States, we see it as acupuncture and massage. TCM is still widely popular in its home country where it is still practiced as it was a few centuries ago. Chinese medicine is evolving to our modern day times, but it is keeping close ties to its roots. Chinese medicine is also becoming more affluent in different parts of the globe. It is a major part of Chinese history and culture, and the people who participate in it do so with great respect. With Chinese medicine, there is great history, procedures, risks, and how it lives in the modern world.