Whatischina?Thepeople`sRepublicofchina,commonlyknownaschina,islocatedineastAsiaandborders14nations,morethananyothercountyintheworld.It’sthemostpopulatedstateintheworldwitha1.3billioncitizenswhiletheworld’spopulationis6.8billion,thatmeansoutofevery5peopleintheworld,oneisChinese.China’smadeof56distinctethnicgroupswithHANChinesemakingthe92%ofitswholepopulation.Chinaisasingle-partystategovernedbytheCommunistPartyofChina,whosepowerisenshrinedinChineseconstitution.ThoughChinaisofficiallyanatheist(无神论)country,itsreligiousrootsliewithinConfucianism,BuddhismandTaoism,andfromthesemostsocialmoralvaluesarederived.TherearealsoasignificantnumberofChineseMuslimswhoarrivedthroughthesilktraderoadandstillretainedtheirdistinctculture.HISTORYChinaisoneoftheworldoldestcivilizationsdatingbackmorethan5millionyearsandwasruledbysuccessivedynastiesuntil1912,duringthesetime,manygreatdiscoveriesinfieldsofscienceandtechnologyweremadeincludinginventionsofprinting,paper,gunpowderandcompass.Thisperiodalsosaw1theconstructionofmanylandmarkssuchasthegreatwallwhichstretchesover4000miles,equalsto30returntravelsfromLondontoParis.Afteraperiodofforeignoccupationandcivilwar(在抗战和内战结束后)theCommunistPartyofChinaledbyMaogainedthecontrolofmainlandChinain1949andestablishedPeople`sRepublicofChina.ThemodernChinaoftodayisasmuchshapedbyitspastasitrapidlyendmanyoldwaysandlookintothefuturewhilemanyofitsbigcitiesarecomparabletoanyofthewest,theunderlyingcultureisstillvastlydifferent,travelingoutsidethelargeurbanareasalsohighlightsthegrowingdisparitybetweenrichandpoor.LANGUAGEChineseisthemostwidelyspokenlanguageintheworldaswellasoneofthemostunintelligible(最难懂的)forforeigners.TherearemanyregionaldialectsofChinesealthoughthemostwidelyspokenisMandarinandCantonese.Chinesecharactersevolvedovertimefromearlierformsofhieroglyphs(象形文字).Chinesecontainsover40000characters,butwelleducatedcanrecognizearound6000characters,some3000arerequiredtoreadnewspaper.CHINESECALENDARChinesezodiacschemerelateseachyeartoananimal.Thisis2theyearoftherabbit.ChineseNewYearisthemostimportantoftraditionalChineseholidays.Windowsanddoorswillbedecoratedwithredcolorpaper-cutsandcoupletswithpopularthemesofhappiness,wealthandlongevity.OntheEveofChineseNewYearsupperisafeasttofamilies.Thefamilywillendthenightwithfirecrackers(鞭炮).Inthenextmorning,childrenwillmeettheirparentsbywishingthemahealthyandhappyNewYearandreceivemoneyinredpaperenvelopes(红包).Chinesepeopleloveredcolorwhichsymbolizesprosperityandgoodluck.TheperiodaroundChineseNewYearisalsothetimeofthelargesthumanmigration.Andbetween150and200millionmigrantworkersinChina,bringhometheirearningsandgotohaveuniondinnerwiththeirfamiliesonChineseNewYear’sEve.YOUTHMostmarriedcouplesinchinaaresubjectedtoonechildpolicywhichisintroducedin1979thecurbmassivepopulationgrowth.Itisbelievedhavepreventedmorethan300millionbirthssincethen.Anotherconsequenceofthepolicyhasbeentheemergenceofsocalled”littleemperors”agenerationofself-centeredconsumershasdeveloped.WhileChineseeducationsystemhasrapidlydevelopedthereremainsaheavyemphasis3onpassingexams,theoptionofthisisthatexam-dictatedcurriculum(课程学习都是以考试为中心).WhileChinesestudentscanmasterandmemorizeincredibleamountsofknowledgeandinformation,theyoftenlacktheabilitytocriticallythink,developtheirownopinions,andengageincreativeactivities.Duetothepreferenc...
