Located in Eastern Asia, between North Korea
and Mongolia, China is bound by the East China
Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China
Sea.
China’s Facts
• Population: 1.3 Billion
• Capital: Beijing
• Flag
More Info
It is the fourth largest country in the world in terms of land area
with Beijing as its capital city. It is divided into 23 sheng or
provinces,.
The Chinese terrain is mostly mountainous. There are vast deserts like
the Gobi in the West while fertile deltas and plains lie mainly in the
east. The largest river is the Yangtze Kiang.
The official language is Mandarin Chinese , dialects like Cantonese
and Hakka are also popular in some regions.
Though China is officially atheist, there are Buddhists, Taoists and a
small minority of Christians and Muslims.
Currency of China
Yuan
From top to the bottom:
5 fen (0.05 yuan), 2 fen
(0.02 yuan), 1 fen (0.01
yuan)
$1US = ¥7.5
The People's Republic of China officially first issued
the Renminbi , i.e. People's Currency in December
1948. More popularly known as RMB , the new
currency was meant to control the super inflation that
happened in the post-Kuomintang era. The basic unit
is commonly known as the New Yuan or Renminbi
Yuan , Yuan literally meaning “round” in Chinese .
The symbol is ¥.
¥0.1 Yuan is known as 1 Jiao .
¥0.01 Yuan is known as 1 Fen .
Initially, the value of RMB was absurdly high in
comparison to the US Dollar . After strict control and
check, according to current approximation, 1 USD is
equal to 1.8 RMB .
Flag’s Meaning
Communism: Everyone is
equal and carry out the same
work. With the transition to
agriculture, the possibility to
make a surplus product, i.e. to
produce more than what is
necessary to satisfy one's
immediate needs
The present Chinese flag was first hoisted on 1 st October, 1949 in the
Tiananmen Square on the occasion of the foundation of the People's
Republic of China. One of the five golden stars on the flag is bigger in
size and it represents communism. The presence of five stars epitomizes
significance of number five in the culture and heritage of China . The
bright red color of the national flag of China depicts the communist
uprising which had led to the establishment of People's Republic of
China.
National Anthem of China
The National Anthem is the 'Yiyonggjun Jinxingqu' or the March of the
Volunteers , and was adopted in 1949 when the Communist Government
came into power. The song expresses the Chinese people's desire to
dedicate themselves to their country and for national liberation. The
anthem is more popularly known as 'Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo
Guoge' or the Song of the People's Republic of China .
Chinese Painting and Calligraphy was also highly developed. Done on
silk scrolls, the exquisite brush techniques are still considered
remarkable. Chinese artists were familiar with perspectives and used
different brush strokes to show depth in color. Popular subjects were
landscapes and detailed pictures of birds and flowers. The style was
almost minimalist. Calligraphy was a prized skill in ancient China. The
Chinese script has over 50,000 symbols with varying degrees of
complexity.
•Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.
•Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart.
•Knowing is not as good as loving; loving is not as good as enjoying.
•To learn and practise what is learned from time to time is pleasure, is it not? To
have friends from afar is happiness, is it not? To be unperturbed when not
appreciated by others is a gentleman, is it not?
•Review the old and deducing the new makes a teacher.
•The gentleman understands righteousness, the petty man understands interest.
•Aspire to the principle, behave with virtue, abide by benevolence, and immerse
yourself in the arts.
Chinese Literature: Earliest influences on Chinese literature are said
to be the mythical Book of Songs, the teachings of the great philosopher
Confucius. Chinese poetry is highly allegorical and abstract. Lyrical
poetry called Ci was popular during the Song Dynasty. China has a rich
cultural tradition of storytelling, numerous myths and legends about
beautiful and wise princesses and bold heroes are available. There is also
a prolific collection of Chinese proverbs , based on the wise words of
Confucius or peasant common sense.
Architecture
Chinese Architecture is based on the principles of balance and
symmetry. Every properly constructed building is supposed to have good
Feng Shui. Aside from the Great Wall and the typical Pagoda structures,
the fantastic Chinese tradition can be viewed in the exquisite Temple of
Heaven and in the Forbidden City. The walls and ceilings are
embellished with painting or enameled with precious red lacquer. The
Kaogongji is the earliest and indisputable text available on ancient
Chinese architecture.
Chinese Music
The music of China dates back to the dawn of Chinese civilization with
documents and artifacts providing evidence of a well-developed musical
culture as early as the Zhou Dynasty (1122 BC - 256 BC). Today, the
music continues a rich traditional heritage in one aspect, while emerging
into a more contemporary form at the same time. In summary the
uncensored commercialized segment is in Hong Kong and Taiwan. The
more diverse genres are in mainland China.
Dynasty era (1122 BC - 1911)
The Imperial Music Bureau, first established in the Qin Dynasty (221207 BC), was greatly charged with supervising court music and military
music and determining what folk music would be officially recognized.
In subsequent dynasties, the development of Chinese music was strongly
influenced by foreign music, especially that of Central Asia.
The oldest written music is Youlan or the Solitary Orchid, attributed to
Confucius.
In ancient China the position of musicians was much lower than that of
painters, though music was seen as central to the harmony and longevity
of the state.
Republic of China era (1912 - 1949)
The New Culture Movement of the 1910s and 1920s evoked a great deal
of lasting interest in Western music. A number of Chinese musicians
returned from studying abroad to perform Western classical music,
composing work based on Western musical notation system.
Symphony orchestras were formed in most major cities and performed to
a wide audience in the concert halls and on radio. Many of the
performers added jazz influences to traditional music, adding
xylophones, saxophones and violins, among other instruments.
After the 1942 Yan'an Forum on Literature and Art, a large-scale
campaign was launched in the Communist controlled areas to adapt folk
music to create revolutionary songs to educate the largely illiterate rural
population on party goals. Musical forms considered superstitious or
anti-revolutionary were repressed, and harmonies and bass lines were
added to traditional songs. One example is The East Is Red, a folksong
from northern Shaanxi.
People's Republic of China era (1949 1990s)
Moaists considered pop music as a decline to the art form in the
mainland. In 1949 the Kuomintang relocated to Taiwan, and the People's
Republic of China was established. Revolutionary songs would become
heavily promoted by the state.
After the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, a new fast tempo
Northwest Wind style was launched by the people to counter the
government. The music would progress into Chinese rock, which
remained popular in the 1990s. However, music in China is very much
state-owned as the TV, media, and major concert halls are all controlled
by the Communist party. The government mainly chose not to support
Chinese rock by limiting its exposure and airtime. As a result, the genre
never reached the mainstream in its entirety.
Tibet
Music forms an integral part of Tibetan Buddhism
Monks use music to recite various sacred texts and to celebrate a variety
of festivals during the year.
Other secular genres include nangma and toshe, which are often linked
and are accompanied by a variety of instruments designed for highlyrhythmic dance music.
Nangma karaoke is popular in modern Lhasa.
A classical form called gar is very popular, and is distinguished by
ornate, elegant and ceremonial music honoring dignitaries or other
respected persons.
Guangxi
The Gin people are known for their instrument called
duxianqin (lit. "single string zither"), a string
instrument with only one string, said to date back to
the 8th century.
Yunnan
Perhaps best-known from the province is the lusheng, a type of mouth
organ, used by the Miao people of Guizhou for pentatonic antiphonal
courting songs.
The Hani of Honghe Prefecture are known for a unique kind of choral,
micro-tonal rice-transplanting songs.
The Nakhi of Lijiang play a type of song and dance suite called baisha
xiyue, which was supposedly brought by Kublai Khan in 1253. Nakhi
Dongjing is a type of music related to southern Chinese forms, and is
popular today.
Traditional Music
Traditional music in China is played on solo instruments or in small
ensembles of plucked and bowed stringed instruments, flutes, and
various cymbals, gongs, and drums.
The scale has five notes. Bamboo pipes and qin are among the oldest
known musical instruments from China
Instruments are traditionally divided into categories based on their
material of composition: skin, gourd, bamboo, wood, silk, earth/clay,
metal and stone. Chinese orchestras traditionally consist of bowed
strings, woodwinds, plucked strings and percussion.
Instruments
Bangdi
Sheng
Gong
Guanzi
Bells
More Instruments
Ehru
Jinghu
Guqin
Pipa