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III. CULTURE. 1. What is still the most popular religion in China since its introduction in the 1st century? . Buddhism. 2. What are the traditional thought systems native to China?. Confucianism and Daoism. 3. “Yu” is the Chinese word for jade. Why do Asians love wearing jade?.
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1. What is still the most popular religion in China since its introduction in the 1st century?
2. What are the traditional thought systems native to China?
3. “Yu” is the Chinese word for jade. Why do Asians love wearing jade?
It signifies the integrity of the wearer and also protects the wearer.
5. What are some good analogies for the concept of “Yin” and “Yang” in Chinese philosophy?
The coming together of the opposite, masculine and feminine, day and night, etc.
6. According to the Chinese Zodiac, last year (2011) was the year of the rabbit. What is this year’s Zodiac animal?
The origins of the fortune cookie as we know it today were laid down by the Chinese 49'ers who worked on the building of the great American railways through the Sierra Nevada into California. Work was very hard and pleasures were few in isolated camps. Those hard workers had only biscuits with happy messages inside to exchange at the Moon Festival instead of traditional cakes with happy messages, and thus the fortune cookie was born. This became something of a cottage industry and as the Chinese settled in San Francisco after the railway and the Gold boom, the custom continued. Nowadays, it is common to finish a Chinese meal in America and Canada with a fortune cookie.
8. Which ancient Chinese philosophy stresses the complementary nature of male and female roles in the natural order?
9. Kongfuzi, also known as Confucius, was a great Chinese thinker and educator who lived nearly 3000 years ago. What values did he promote?
Importance of education and self cultivation in morality, such as the classical Wuchang (五常) consisting of five elements: Humanity, Righteousness, Ritual, Knowledge, and Integrity.
11. What is the main festival food, wrapped in bamboo leaves, which people eat during the Dragon Boat Festival?
Rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, ram, monkey, rooster, dog, boar
13. In China, what creatures are often used to symbolize longevity?
14. From what main sources are traditional Chinese medicinal remedies derived?
15. According to Chinese folk belief, why is it considered bad luck to cut up long noodles?
Cutting up long noodles is like cutting life short since noodles are usually served on birthdays and long noodles symbolize longevity.
16. In traditional Chinese culture, what does a bat symbolize?
17. At dinner tables, what do the Chinese view as a very inauspicious sign?
18. Why did yellow become known in China as the imperial color?
Yellow is the color of earth (the most important of the five elements of wood, fire, earth, metal and water) because it represents the center. Yellow also signifies the emperor’s power over the earth, his dignity and ritual. It was stipulated in the Ming and Qing Dynasties that yellow glazed-tiles, an architectural feature that first appeared in Song Dynasty (960 – 1279) imperial palaces, were the exclusive reserve of emperors. The Tang emperors (618 – 907) continued the preceding Sui Dynasty (581 – 618) practice of dressing in robes made from a special “imperial” tint of yellow silk. Yellow was thus an almost sacred shade that symbolized imperial power. Any other person – from official to commoner – that dared to wear yellow or decorate his home in it risked execution.
19. What viewpoint about our bodies does traditional Chinese medicine take in diagnosing and treating illnesses?
That the human body is but one element in the universe and it needs to be in harmony with all other elements to be healthy. When a person is ill, the elements are not aligned well. The medicine men diagnosed exactly which elements were out of alignment and prescribed the treatment that would bring them back into balance.
20. What is the alternate name of the Mid-Autumn Festival held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunar calendar?
21. Why does the Chinese New Year fall on different dates in different years?
Because it is based on the cycle of the moon. Traditionally, Chinese people use the lunar calendar, and Chinese New Year is the first new moon of each lunar year.
22. What is the primary reason that, unlike their contemporaries in Greece and Rome, the ancient Chinese left no great buildings?
Ancient Chinese buildings were constructed of wood. Some wood buildings did not last long, and others were destroyed by succeeding conquerors that would burn them to erase traces of past glories.
23. What assumption was shared by all the early major philosophical schools in China and distinguished them from the Judeo-Christian tradition?
The early Chinese philosophical schools were not religions but were composites of folk beliefs and a reverence for the great and for ancestors.
24. TRUE or FALSE: In the Chinese imperial system, there was no clear distinction between the emperor’s religious and political functions.
TRUE. He was chief priest as well as head of government, and performed those roles without discrimination.
25. How do many Chinese determine what numbers are lucky or unlucky?
