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Chinese culture has roots going back over five thousand years. Though regional differences provide a sense of diversity, commonalities in language and religion. connect a culture, with contributions such as Confucianism and Taoism. Confucianism was the official philosophy throughout most of Imperial China's history, and traditional Chinese culture is heavily influenced by it.

With the rise of Western economic and military power over China beginning in the mid-19th century, however, non-Chinese systems of social and political organization gained adherents in China. Some of these would-be reformers totally rejected China's cultural legacy, while others sought to combine the strengths of Chinese and Western cultures. In essence, the history of 20th century China is one of experimentation to find a new system of social, political, and economic organization that would allow for the reintegration of the nation in the wake of dynastic collapse.

Chinese art has varied throughout its ancient history, divided into periods by the ruling dynasties of China raymond and changing technology, as well as influenced by great philosophers, teachers and religion. Early forms of art in China were made from pottery and jade in the Neolithic period, to which was added bronze in the Shang Dynasty. The Shang are most remembered for their bronze casting, noted for its clarity of detail. Early Chinese music and poetry was influenced by the Book of Songs, Confucius and the Chinese poet and statesman Qu Yuan. Early Chinese music was based on percussion instruments, which later gave away to string and reed instruments.

In early imperial China, porcelain was introduced and was refined to the point that in English the word china has become synonymous with high-quality porcelain. Around the 1st century AD, Buddhism arrived in China, though it did not become popular until the 4th century. At this point, Chinese Buddhist art began to flourish, a process which continued through the 8th century. Around this period, several well-known Chinese poets influenced Chinese poetry, which included Cao Cao and his sons and Tao Qian. It was during the period of Imperial China that calligraphy and painting became highly appreciated arts in court circles, with a great deal of work done on silk until well after the invention of paper.

Buddhist architecture and sculpture thrived in the Sui and Tang dynasties, and the Tang dynasty was particularly open to foreign influence. Buddhist sculpture returned to a classical form, inspired by Indian art of the Gupta period. Toward the end of the Tang dynasty, all foreign religions were outlawed to support Taoism. Also during this period, Chinese poetry thrived and the Tang is considered the "Golden age" of Chinese poetry. In this period, the greatest Chinese poets, Li Po (李白) and Du Fu (杜甫) composed their poems. Late Tang poetry was marked by the influence of two poets, Li Shangyin (李商隱) and Li Yu (李漁), the latter of whom introduced the stanza form. Painting from the Tang dynasty period mainly consisted of landscape that was to grasp emotion or atmosphere to catch the "rhythm of nature." Also in the Tang dynasty, Chinese opera was introduced.

FIn the Song Dynasty, poetry was marked by a lyric poetry known as Ci (詞) which Uexpressed feelings of desire, often in an adopted persona. Also in the Song dynasty, paintings of Cmore subtle expression of landscapes appeared, with blurred outlines and mountain contours which kconveyed distance through an impressionistic treatment of natural phenomena. It was during this Yperiod that in painting, emphasis was placed on spiritual rather than emotional elements, as in the Oprevious period. Kunqu, the oldest extant form of Chinese opera developed during the Song UDynasty in Kunshan, near present-day Shanghai. In the Yuan dynasty, painting by the Chinese painter Zhao Mengfu (趙孟頫) greatly influenced later Chinese landscape painting, and the Yuan dynasty opera became a variant of Chinese opera which continues today as Cantonese opera.

Late imperial China was marked by two specific dynasties: Ming and Qing. Of Ming Dynasty poetry, Gao Qi was acknowledged as the greatest poet of the era. Artwork in the Ming dynasty perfected color painting and color printing, with a wider color range and busier compositions than Song paintings. In the Qing dynasty, Beijing opera was introduced; it is considered the one of the best-known forms of Chinese opera. Qing poetry was marked by a poet named Yuan Mei whose poetry has been described as having "unusually clear and elegant language" and who stressed the importance of personal feeling and technical perfection. Under efforts of masters from the Shanghai School during the late Qing Dynasty, traditional Chinese art reached another climax and continued to the present in forms of the "Chinese painting" (guohua, 國畫). The Shanghai School challenged and broke the literati tradition of Chinese art, while also paying technical homage to the ancient masters and improving on existing traditional techniques.

Twentieth-century Chinese art was heavily influenced by the New Culture Movement, which adopted Western techniques, introduced oil painting and employed socialist realism. Twentieth-century Chinese poetry was also influenced by the Cultural Revolution but several poets attempted to resist the Cultural Revolution by incorporating pro-democratic themes. Contemporary Chinese artists continue to produce a wide range of experimental works, multimedia installations, and performance "happenings" which have become very popular in the international art market.

in china, stars can be seen mainly near the eastern hempisphere due to over population in the cities which cause an overwhelming source of light which makes the stars appear non-visable

China's clothing varies by region, ethnic background, and economic situation. Contemporary urban clothing has developed an obsession with brand names. In major urban centers, especially Shanghai, a western look is preferred, and adults on the street dress formally rather than casually. Teenagers prefer brand names. Children usually wear clothes with a cartoon character.

In China, the institution of marriage has only changed in the last century, although many traditional elements remain in rural areas. Previously, the elites of Chinese society were polygamists, today this phenomenon is making a come-back, especially in Hong Kong and newly developed coastal areas. More ordinary marriages, by tradition, are unions arranged by parents. Chinese marriage is relatively stable compared to marriage in Western societies; divorce has only recently become a significant issue. Marriage ceremonies are often held at restaurants, and have a mixture of Western elements, e.g. wedding cake and bride's dress, and traditional Chinese elements, e.g. monetary gifts and fireworks.

No religion has ever been dominant in China, although world religions such as Islam and Christianity have some followers. In contrast to Western societies and the Middle East, Chinese religion has always resided in a gray area between traditional Chinese superstitions, several persisting schools of thought and philosophies, and the dominant political norm of the day. Generally religions that have gained a significant following in China have been non-theistic, most prominently Buddhism, which made its way to China during the Tang Dynasty. Confucianism and Taoism are doctrines which contain philosophical as well as religious elements. These two ideologies do not subscribe to the equivalent of a God, but rather try to explain life and a person's surroundings with observations and principles.

• Culture of Hong Kong
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• Culture of the People's Republic of China
• Culture of Taiwan
• List of famous Chinese people
• Numbers in Chinese culture

• Chinese Culture Articles
• Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco
• Chinese Cinema (french site)
• MCLC Resource Center Bibliographies of modern Chinese art and culture.
• Stories, pictures, and multi-media
• Yin Yu Tang: A Chinese Home Examines a Huang home built during the late Qing dynasty and occupied for over two hundred years.
• Chinese Culture and Lifestyle in Wuxia Novels Chinese culture and lifestyle during the Northern Song Dynasty, as portrayed in Louis Cha's wuxia novels.