爱华网What’s Chinese?
The people's republic of china commonly known as china is locatedin the East Asia, and borders 14 nations or any other country inthe world. It is the most populous state in the world with a 1.3billion citizens, while the world's population is 6.8 billion. Thatmeans other every 5 people in the world, one is Chinese. China ismade of 56 distinctive ethnic groups, with Han Chinese making the92% of its whole population. China is a single party state governedby the communist party of china, hoes power is enshrined in Chineseconstitution. Though china is officially an atheist country, itsreligious roots lie within Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, andfrom these most social and normal values are derived. There arealso a significant number of Chinese Muslims, who arrived via theSilk Road trade route and still retain their distinctculture.
History
china isone of the world oldest civilizations, dating back more than 5million years and was ruled by successive dynasties until1912.During this time, many great discoveries in fields if scienceand technology war made, including the inventions of printing,paper, gun power and compass. This period also saw the constructionof many landmarks such as the greater wall which stretches over4000 miles, equals to 30 return travels from London to Paris. Aftera period of foreign occupation and civil war, the communist partyof china led by Mao gained control of mainland china in 1949 andestablished People’s Republic of china. The mordent china of todayis as much shaped by its past as much shaped by its past as itsrapidly looking to the future, while many of its big cities arecomparable to any in the west. The underlying culture is stillvastly different. Travelling outside large urban areas also highlights the growing disparity between rich and poor.
Language
Chinese, which is the most widely spoken language in the world aswell as one of the most impenetrable for foreigners, there are manyregional dialects of Chinese although the most widely spoken isMandarin and Cantonese. Chinese characters evolved over time fromearlier forms of hieroglyphs. Chinese contains over 40,000characters, but a well-educated person can recognize around 6,000characters, some 3000 are required to read a newspaper.
Chinese calendar
Chinese zodiac’s a scheme that relates each year to an animal. Thisis the year of rabbit. Chinese New Year id the most important oftraditional Chinese holidays. windows and doors will be decoratedwith red color paper-cuts and couplets with popular themes ofhappiness、wealth and longevity on the Eve of Chinese newyear. Supper is a feast with families. The family will end thenight with firecrackers. Early the next morning children will meettheir parents by wishing them a healthy and happy new year andreceive money in red paper envelopes. Chinese people love redcolor, which symbolizes prosperity and good luck. the period aroundChinese new year id also the time of the largest human migration,and between 150 and 200 million migrant workers in china bringhome their earnings and go to have a unit dinner with theirfamilies on Chinese new year eve.
Youth
most married couples in china are subjected to one child policy,which is introduced in 1979 to curb massive population growth. Itis believed to have prevented more than 300 milling births sincethen. Another consequence of the policy has been the emergence ofso called "little emperors”. A generation of self-centeredconsumers has developed; while Chinese education system has rapidlydeveloped there remains a heavy emphasis on passing exams dictatethe curriculum. While Chinese students can master and memorizeincredible amounts of knowledge and information. They often lackthe ability to critically think, develop their own poinions, andengage in creative activities, due to the propensity for preferringsons over daughters. China is facing a large population imbalancewith currently around 120 boys for every 100 girls. By 2020 therewill be 30 million more men than women.
Economy
since economic opening up and reform policy began in 1978.china'seconomy has grown 90 times bigger and is the fastest growing majoreconomy in the world. China’s annual average GDP growth ispredicted to be 9.5 percent for the period of 2011-2015.it is theworld's largest explorer and the second largest importer of goods.It is also known as the world's second biggest consumer of luxurygoods. It now has the world's second biggest GDP at about 6 billionus dollars, 40 percent of the United States. Although its percapita income a 4300 us dollars is still low and puts the china'sgrowth has been uneven when comparing different geographic regionsand rural and urban areas. Development has also been mainlyconcentrated in the eastern coastal regions. While the remainder ofthis country are left behind. In the past decade, china’s citiesexpanded at an average rate of 10 percent annually. A scaleunprecedented in human history. China is a country crazy forskyscrapers to show its economic booming. more than 200 skyscrapersare being built now, within next three years, there will be oneskyscrapers completed every five days in china, which will make thetotal 800 in five years time,4 times as many in the states. Chinais the world's factory, one out of every three householdappliances/three toys/two pairs of shoes/two shirts are made inchina. It has now become the world's largest energy consumer, butrelies on coal to supply about 70 percent of energy needs. LeadingChinese environmental campaigners have warned that water pollutionis one of the most serious threats facing china now, yet with 34.6billion us dollars invested in clean technologies. China producesmore wind turbines and solar ponies each year than any othercountry in the world.
Food
being such a large and ethnically diverse country, each region hasits own local specialties which the Chinese are often keen to tryand introduce to others. Generally you will find hot and spicy foodin the western and central china and cooler food in the south andnorth. A Chinese dining table is usually round allowing everyone toengage equally in conversation. It will be set with empty bowls,plates and chopsticks for each person. Food dishes are placed intothe centre of the table to be shared between everyone. Don’t be putoff if you might find in your local china town. Chinese food isgenerally healthy and often beautifullypresented、texture、flavor、color and aroma are key considerations for allChinese cooks, even above nutritional contents、Chinese dining is about showing respect andhospitality for the guests, and is often used as an extension ofthe boardroom、heavy drinking is often a part of doing business,and it is expected that you'll keep up with others. If you do notwant to drink alcohol, make it clear before you start. Coreconcepts:"face".the concept of "face" can be loosely described assomeone's social status or reputation in the eyes of others.Throughout a cheese person's life, it must be maintained andenhanced through giving to receiving from others in both words andactions. it may be something as small as who gets in the lift firstto the awarding of multi-pillion dollar contracts, but without ityou will have very little power or influence’s make someone loseface or even unknowingly is a huge dishonor and could mean the endof a relationship.
Connections
"guanxi" literally means "connections" or "relationships" as itessentially boils down to exchanging favors.” you scotch my back,I’ll scratch yours.” it can loosely be compared with the idea ofnetworking in the west. but usually goes much further in terms ofdeveloping and nurturing the relationship through social exchangesand favors which must be repaid at greater value in time.Relationship between families. Friends and business associates areoften closely interwoven. It such an environment issues ofcorruption are not uncommon when guan obligations take precedenceover normal rules or laws. the Doctrine of the Mean(中庸) known as the Doctrine of the Mean or Golden Mean.This concept involves balancing one's position among a group tomaintain conformity and sense of harmony.todo this while stillachieving ones personal objectives is considered bad the Chinesepeople the ideal way of living. This cane applied to the workplacewhere one should behave in a way which is seen to be neitherambitious nor lazy at the same time. Chinese people never openlycriticize、ignore or make fun off a person in front ofothers, even jokingly. When discussing individual performance, theyalways emphasize good points before bad ones.
Differences
Chinese may ask you personal questions or make observations aboutyour age、income、religion or appearance. don’t take it personallylikewise Chinese rarely say "please" or "thank you" .as this isseen as unnecessary formality between friends or family. In theChinese meeting, often only the most senior attendees will talk andall questions should be directed to these people. Silence is not asign of weakness in china. Often the unsaid message is moreimportant than what is being said verbally. To be successful inchina requires different ways of thinking. Chinese historianprofessor puts this way: the Chinese people are frank yet tactful,honest yet sophisticated,suspicoius yet guillible,unscrupulous yearloyal, advocate etiquette yet often appear unmannered, stand forthe golden mean yet extrem,value the quality of being thrifty yetlike to parade their walth,maintain traditions when convenient yetlove to chase modern fashion, believe contentment yet love to chasemodern fashion, believe contentment brings happiness yet oftendaydream about becoming overnight millionaires, believe the worldof fortune teller yet lack affiliation to any religion.
This is china, one big contradiction which refuses to be placed ina box. In china, you will find all extremes but that's all part ofthe challenge and adventure of doing businesses here.
