The culture of China is home to one of the world's oldest and most complex civilizations, China boasts a history rich in over 5,000 years of artistic, philosophical, and political advancement. Though regional differences provide a sense of diversity, commonalities in language and religion connect a culture distinguished by such universally significant contributions such as Confucianism and Taoism. The culture of China is credited with shaping much of Chinese thought, Confucianism was the official philosophy throughout most of Imperial China's history, and mastery of Confucian texts provided the primary criterion for entry into the imperial bureaucracy.

With the rise of Western economic and military power 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.

During the early years after the establishment of the People's Republic of China, traditional Chinese culture was tolerated to some extent. When the Cultural Revolution began, all forms of traditional Chinese culture were suppressed. Initially only eight (8) "Sample Acts", or propaganda performances, were allowed, along with a Maoist cult of personality and a large number of revolutionary songs such as The East Is Red. At the end of the Maoist era in the late 1970s saw Deng Xiaoping's economic reform, since then, China has enjoyed a successful revival of traditional Chinese culture, although it currently faces some increasing competition from the emerging popularity of western pop culture.

Especially beginning in the late 1980's and early 1990's, China became exposed to more western elements, notably pop culture. American cinema is very popular in China. Young people tend to gather late at night at bars and nightclubs. The obsession with brand names is becoming more apparent by the day, and teen slang is incorporating more and more western language elements.

The culture that led to the founding of the Republic of China and that flourished immediately afterwards was informed by two main concerns: the weakness of the Chinese government in the face of pressure by Western powers, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, France, and Japan, and the seeming backwardness of the Chinese political system, which previously had held primacy over the East Asia region. It was this climate that led to the rapid changes and quick questioning of thousand year old traditions.

The abolition of the empire had an immediate effect on dress and customs: the largely Han Chinese population immediately cut off the queues that they had been forced to grow in submission to the overthrown Manchus whom they considered alien barbarian invaders. Sun Yat-sen popularised a new style of men's wear, featuring jacket and trousers instead of the pre-existing robes. Adapted from Japanese student wear, this style of dress became known as the Zhongshan suit (Zhongshan being Sun Yat-sen's given name in Chinese). (Later, Mao Zedong's variant of the Zhongshan suit would become well known in the West as the Mao suit.) Meanwhile, Madame Sun popularised the qipao as the standard female dress. At the same time, old practices such as footbinding, which Chinese had long known was viewed as backwards and unmodern by Westerners, were forbidden.

In the late 1910s and early 1920s, students and intellectuals began to challenge old customs in what became the New Cultural Movement. The era called for iconoclasm, the assertion of individuality, and the liberalization of society (such as through the abolition of arranged marriages). Universities began to incorporate western subjects into the curriculum and discussion of numerous philosophies such as communism and anarchism ensued. Notably, Lu Xun published his satire Diary of a Madman to challenge Confucianism, Ba Jin questioned the hierarchical family structure, and Hu Shih called for writing in Vernacular Chinese instead of Literary Chinese for mass appeal. The literary journal New Youth, edited by Chen Duxiu, promoted science and democracy. These changes, though affecting urban and upper class society, failed to reach the peasantry who remained mostly illiterate. Economic equality and gender equality became great concerns among intellectuals, students, and the general public. With the movement of people towards cities also came concern for such issues. Many young intellectuals became interested in communism and liberalism.

In the 1930s, Chiang Kai-shek launched the New Life Movement to promote traditional Confucian social ethics, while rejecting individualism and Western capitalistic values. It also aimed to build up morale in a nation that was besieged with corruption, factionalism, and opium addiction. Some goals included courtesy to neighbors, following rules set by the government, keeping streets clean, and conserving energy. The concurrent National Goods Movement asked citizens to buy Chinese-manufactured products.

• Beijing - Currently the capital of the People's Republic of China and traditionally the seat of Imperial power.
• Shanghai - Currently one of the major business and commerce centers in the Eastern hemisphere and the de-facto business capital of the People's Republic of China. Located in a traditionally important cultural and trade region. See Jiangnan.
• Changsha
• Changchun
• Chengdu
• Chongqing
• Dalian
• Guangzhou
• Hangzhou
• Harbin
• Luoyang
• Nanjing
• Qingdao
• Kaifeng
• Shenyang
• Shijiazhuang
• Suzhou
• Tianjin
• Xi'an
• Xiamen
• Wuhan
• Hong Kong - Historically and culturally tied to China, although it spent 155 years under British rule. It has reverted to Chinese sovereignty as a a special administrative region of the the PRC, which allows it to thrive as a major center of capitalism and economic activity. Its urban areas contain some of the most densely populated cities on Earth.
• Macau - Has been a Portuguese territory for four centuries
• Taipei - Not currently administered by the PRC. It is currently the de facto capital of the Republic of China (Taiwan). See political status of Taiwan for more information.

Chinese art has varied throughout its ancient history, divided into periods by the ruling dynasties of China 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.

In the Song Dynasty, poetry was marked by a lyric poetry known as Ci (詞) which expressed feelings of desire, often in an adopted persona. Also in the Song dynasty, paintings of more subtle expression of landscapes appeared, with blurred outlines and mountain contours which conveyed distance through an impressionistic treatment of natural phenomena. It was during this period that in painting, emphasis was placed on spiritual rather than emotional elements, as in the previous period. Kunqu, the oldest extant form of Chinese opera developed during the Song Dynasty 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.

Chinese architecture, examples of which can be found over 2,000 years ago, has long been a landmark of Chinese culture. There are certain features common to Chinese architecture, regardless of specific region or use.

The most important is its emphasis on the horizontal. In contrast to Western architecture, which tends to grow in height and in depth, Chinese architecture stresses on the width of the buildings. The halls and palaces in the Forbidden City, for example, have rather low ceilings when compared to equivalent stately buildings in the West, but their external appearances suggest the all-embracing nature of imperial China. This of course does not apply to pagodas, which in any case are relatively rare.

Another important feature is its emphasis on symmetry, which connotes a sense of grandeur; this applies to everything from palaces to farmhouses. One notable exception is in the design of gardens, which tends to be as asymmetrical as possible. Like Chinese scroll paintings, the principle underlying the garden's composition is to create enduring flow, to let the patron wander and enjoy the garden without prescription, as in nature herself.

Feng shui designed architecture plays an important role in Chinese Culture. For example, Paifang is a Feng Shui designed gate of China town.

Chinese porcelain - Porcelain - Potter's wheel - Glazes

Shanghai was the original center of Chinese filmmaking, giving birth to 1940s and 1950s Chinese movie stars such as Zhou Xuan, Ruan Lingyu and Hu Die. After the Communist takeover, the movie scene transferred from Shanghai to Hong Kong, where it has remained a center of Chinese filmmaking. In Hong Kong, the majority of films made centered around the common themes of martial arts (Wu-xia films), organized crime (in particular Triads), and other traditionally Chinese themes. While these films were always popular in the domestic Hong Kong market, they were also popular around the globe, and especially in the United States. This reached its zenith in the 1970s, when martial arts films were very popular in the United States. Now, in the 2000s, Asian-made films seem to be having a resurgence in popularity abroad. In the last two decades, Mainland China has also become a hotbed of filmmaking with such films as Farewell My Concubine, 2046, Hero, Suzhou River, The Road Home and House of Flying Daggers being critically acclaimed around the world. American filmmaker Quentin Tarantino plans to shoot his next film, a traditional Wu-Xia movie, in China and have its dialogue in Mandarin Chinese.

Another genre of films that become better known internationally is those depicting the exotic past of China with remarkable traditional and nostalgic symbols, notably under the directors Wong Kar-wai (Mandarin: Wang Jiawei) and Zhang Yimou.

Opera in China dates back to the Tang dynasty with Emperor Xuanzong (712-755), who founded the "Pear Garden" (梨园), the first known opera troupe in China. The troupe mostly performed for the emperors' personal pleasure. To this day operatic professionals are still referred to as "Disciples of the Pear Garden" (梨园子弟).

Calligraphy - Chinese painting

Joinery - Silk - Chinese paper art.

Chinese astrology - Chinese calendar - Chinese classic texts - Chinese constellation - Chinese dragon - Chinese mythology - Chinese New Year - Chinese philosophy - Confucianism - Confucius - Eastern philosophy - Five elements - Futs-Lung - I Ching - Qilin - Lao Zi - Listing of noted Confucianists - Listing of noted Taoists - Lung - Lunisolar calendar - Mohism - Qi - Taoism - Yin Yang - Zhang San Feng

The majority of people in China speak one form or another of the Chinese language. In addition to their native local dialect, nearly all can speak Standard Mandarin. There has been ongoing debate as to whether "Chinese" is actually a defined "language" or in fact a family of many languages. The fact this debate exists is not only for political and unity reasons, but also partly due to the fact that written Chinese is a common standard throughout China. For example a person who only speaks their local dialect is able to communicate with another person from a different area by using written Chinese. Although this written Chinese is itself based on one variety of spoken Chinese; Standard Mandarin or putonghua/guoyu. The written script across China is largely unified, and is the last of its kind that survives as a major language in the contemporary world.

Chinese character - Chinese numerals - Chinese written language - Classical Chinese - List of Chinese dialects - Pinyin - Zhuyin

Chinese classic texts - Chinese poetry - List of Chinese language poets

China's clothing varies by region, ethnic background, and economic situations. Contemporary urban clothing seemed to have developed an obsession with brand names (Giordano being one of the generic ones). In major urban centres, especially Shanghai, an increased western look is preferred, and there is an emphasis on formal wear over casual wear for adults on the streets. Teenagers prefer brand names. Children usually wear clothes that have a cartoon character.

Han Chinese clothing - Qipao - Ming official headwear - Manchu official headwear - Mandarin square

American Chinese cuisine - Boba milk tea - Cantonese cuisine - Cardamom - Chinese Buddhist cuisine - Chinese food therapy - Chinese Islamic cuisine - Chiuchow cuisine - Chopsticks - Chop suey - Dim sum - Double steaming - Fingerroot - Five-spice powder - Fortune cookie - Ginger root - Hakka cuisine - Hot salt frying - Hot sand frying - Hong Kong cuisine - Hunan cuisine - Longan - Lychee - Mandarin cuisine - Monosodium glutamate - Shanghai cuisine - Soy sauce - Stir frying - Szechuan cuisine - Szechuan pepper - Taiwanese cuisine - Tofu - Wok

• Education in the People's Republic of China
• National College Entrance Examination
• Education in Hong Kong
• List of universities in Mainland China
• List of universities in Taiwan
• List of universities in Hong Kong

• List of Chinese ethnic groups
• Ethnic groups in Chinese history
• Overseas Chinese

Xiangqi - Che Deng - Chinese dominoes - Go (board game) - Go proverb - Gwat Pai - Kap Tai Shap - Keno - Mah Jong - Pai Gow - Pai gow poker - Shanghai solitaire - Tangram - Tien Gow - Tiu U

Chinese nationalism - Communism - Cultural Revolution

• USC Center on Public Diplomacy Nation Profile - Breif Look at Blogging & the Politics of China

Origins of Chinese Civilization - Chinese prehistory - Dongyi - Hunn-Xianpi - Khitan - Jurchen - Tabgach - Proto-Sino-Tibetan - Shang-Chu Kingdom - Yuezhi - Yue Kingdom - Nanyue Kingdom - Wu Kingdom

Jeet Kune Do - Kung Fu - Leung Sheung - Martial arts - Nei chia - Nunchaku - Pakua Chuan - Qigong - San shou - Shaolin - Tai Chi Chuan - Wing Chun - Wing Tsun - Wong Fei Hung - Wushu - Yip Man

Bodhidharma - Buddhism - Dalai Lama - Gedun Drub - Guanyin - Islam - Mahayana Buddhism - Shang Ti - Shaolin - Sonam Gyatso - Taoism - Tibetan Buddhism - Vajrayana - Yami - Zen - Sikhism

Chinese often say that they are proud of their four great inventions. These are the compass, gunpowder, paper and printing. In 1976 Premier Zhou Enlai established "Science and Technology" (科技) as one of the Four Modernizations. Since then, genuine scientific research in specific fields have only been conducted in a relatively small scale, while technological advancement is only focused on what the government will provide funding for, such as the Space Program of China.

Abacus - Celestial globe - Counting rods - Traditional Chinese medicine - Rudder

Popular tourist locations in China include the complex known as the Forbidden City, located in Beijing, which was once the center of Chinese Imperial power. The most popular tourist attraction in China, however, is the Great Wall of China, a massive stone wall built along China's borders. Also often visited is the archaeological find commonly known as the Terracotta Army, which is a vast collection of terracotta statues of Chinese Imperial soldiers constructed by one of China's emperors during its Imperial period.

Grand Canal of China - Mount Huangshan - Mount Taishan - Mount Jiuhuashan - Mount Tianzhu - Mount Lushan - Mount Wudang - Mount Emei - Mount Qingcheng -The Temple of Heaven - The Summer Palace - Dazu Rock Carvings - Mogao Caves - Longmen Grottoes - Hangzhou - West Lake - Xian - Shanghai - Suzhou - Luzhi - Guilin - Jiuzhaigou Valley - Lijiang City - Pingyao - Three Gorges

Eunuch - Righteous Harmony Society - Ganqing - Giulio Alenio - Jean Joseph Marie Amiot - Jiang Hu - List of famous Chinese people - National Palace Museum - Sima Guang - Sima Qian - Triad - Zhang Heng - Zhu Shijie - Da Shan (Mark Rowswell) - Zun - Chinese unit - Color metaphors for race - China

• Chinese habitus
• Culture of the People's Republic of China
• Culture of Hong Kong
• Culture of Taiwan
• Culture of Macau
• History of China

• Yin Yu Tang: A Chinese Home explores Chinese culture through the examination of a Huang family residence built during the late Qing dynasty and occupied for over 200 years.
• Chinese Culture Articles great readings on Chinese culture.