Chinese People and Cultures

1. Chinese People and Cultures By: Drake Tuerk, Jack Bobruk, Melissa Mathis

2. Chinese Population • By the 1960s, population was growing in China by about 2.07% • Mao Zedong encouraged the Chinese People to have many children • Today, the Eastern coast of China has some of the highest population densities in the world • The population of China is currently 1,330,141,295 people, as of July 2010

3. Population Policies • Mao Zedong, a communist, realized that power lay in numbers • Realizing this, Zedong encouraged the couples of China to have many children • By the mid 1960s, the population of China was growing by a rate of about 2.7 percent • Mao realized that his policy caused a problem, that the huge population would cause a shortage of food and shelter

4. Population Policies(CONT.) • Realizing the predicament he was in, he agreed to a new policy, to encourage couples to have two children • When Deng Xiaoping came to power in the 70s, he instated a one couple, one child policy • Couples that followed this rule were given special rewards

5. Ethnic Differences • In Western and Northwestern China, there are about 56 ethnic minorities • Each Ethnic Group has a unique language • The government has recognized at least 52 different languages in China • The largest groups in these minorities are the Mongols, the Uighurs, the Tibetans, and the Kazakhs • 92% of the population of China belong to the Han ethnic group. For Centuries, the Hans have been the leading ethnic group in China

6. Language • The Han Ethnic group speaks Chinese • Chinese is nonphonetic language, which means its written form gives no explanation of how a word sounds • The language of Chinese is written in ideograms that represent a thing or idea • The northeastern dialect of Chinese, known as Mandarin Chinese, is the official language of China

7. Religion and Beliefs • The most popular set of beliefs in China come from Daoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism • Daoism comes from the teachings of Laozi, who lived from 531 to 604 B.C. According to this religion, true happiness in found through living in harmony with the earth • Confucianism comes from the teachings of Confucius in a book called the Analects. Confucius lived from 479 to 551 B.C. • While most Chinese follow a specific type of religion, the country is considered Atheist.

8. Religion And Beliefs (CONT.) • When Communists ruled, they discouraged the practice of religion. • During the Cultural Revolution, Red Guards were sent to destroy places used as places of worship. • In 1980, the government began to ease its restrictions on religions based on the teachings of Buddhism and Daoism as well as meditation and exercises

9. The Family • Confucius tradition encourages settled roles in families to promote a stable and harmonious society • Rural families will rely on having a large family to do the farm work

10. Medicine • Many Chinese people prefer traditional Chinese medicine over modern Western Medicine • Traditional Chinese medicine relies on herbs, special diets, breathing exercises, massage, and acupuncture • Acupuncture is the practice of placing very thin needles at specific points on the body to cure diseases or pain

11. Works Cited • "Asian Family Eating at Dinner Table Stock Photo | BLD058903 | Blend." Webstockpro - 7 Million High Resolution Royalty Fee Stock Photos and and Illustrations. Web. 08 Feb. 2011. <http://www.webstockpro.com/blend/bld058903.asian-family-eating-at-dinner-photo>. • "Best Ursa Minor - ThisNext." ThisNext - Recommend, Share and Discover Great Products! Web. 08 Feb. 2011. <http://www.thisnext.com/tag/ursa-minor/>. • "Cataloging China’s SNS Landscape." China Social Media and Advertising Insight. Web. 08 Feb. 2011. <http://www.littleredbook.cn/2009/05/07/cataloging-chinas-social-media-landscape/>. • "Human Rights Facts (55): China, Confucianism and Authoritarianism | P.A.P.-BLOG – HUMAN RIGHTS ETC." P.A.P.-BLOG – HUMAN RIGHTS ETC. | This Is a Blog about Human Rights – including Political and Economic Human Rights Such as the Right to Participate in Government (democracy Being a Subset of Human Rights) and the Right Not to Suffer Poverty – Seen from the Perspective of Politics, Art, Philosophy (hence P.a.p.), Law, Economics and Statistics. Web. 08 Feb. 2011. <http://filipspagnoli.wordpress.com/2008/08/20/human-rights-facts-55-china-confucianism-and-authoritarianism/>. • "Immortality Quotes." Проект о Жизни — жизнь человека - смысл жизни - жизнь и творчество. Web. 08 Feb. 2011. <http://lossofsoul.com/DEATH/immortality-quotes-en.htm>. • "Making Multicultural Australia | Multicultural Research Library Image: Chinese Family, Cairns, 1904." Making Multicultural Australia | Teacher and Student Resources on Multiculturalism, Cultural Diversity and Tolerance. Web. 08 Feb. 2011. <http://www.multiculturalaustralia.edu.au/library/media/Image/id/974.Chinese-family-Cairns-1904>. • "Preferred Health Chiropractic - Chiropractor In Marshall, MN, USA :: Acupuncture." Preferred Health Chiropractic - Chiropractor In Marshall, MN, USA :: Home. Web. 08 Feb. 2011. <http://preferred-health.com/custom_content/c_56580_acupuncture.html>. • "Chapter 31 Section 1." World Geography: Building a Global Perspective. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, 2009. 661-69. Print.