Fundamentals of Chinese Culture

Contents: I. 1. The origins of Chinese characters. 2. Names. 3. The traditional calendar-the agricultural calendar. 4. The emperors Yan and Huang. 5. The cowherd and the weaving maid. II. 1. Chinese dragon culture. 2. The four great inventions. 3. Yellow river culture. 4. Lao Tzu. 5. The book of songs. III. 1. Yangtze river culture. 2. Han attire. 3. The eight great ancient capitals of China. 4. Currency. 5. The four books and five classics. IV. 1. Gardens. 2. I-go. 3. The ancient schools of education. 4. A dream of red mansions. 5. The new culture movement. Appendix.

As one of the world’s civilized nation with 5000 years culture, China is a great nation nurtured by two spectacular mother rivers-the Yangtze River and the Yellow River. It’s also a magical and pregnant with amazing tourist attractions like the great wall and Huangshan Mountain. There are fifty-six ethnic groups such as Han, Zhuang and Manchu, etc. living on this land and forming a harmonious big family.

To understand China, feasting your eyes on beautiful sceneries of great mountains and grand rivers is necessary and important. However, if you want to have a best knowledge of China, you should step into the gorgeous palace of Chinese culture and explore her rich and time-honored history as you can’t expect an acute insight into China before you have a good understanding of Chinese civilization. (jacket)