Asian culture has always attracted people from all over the world. The cradle of civilization, the birthplace of world religions, a gastronomic paradise - all this can be said about any country in this part of the world. And especially about China. Many discoveries have been made here, without which the modern world would have looked completely different. Here everyone is proud of their culture and history. Many great dynasties, war and rebellion, this powerful state managed to overcome all difficulties and occupy one of the main places in the modern international arena. Only the most interesting about China, customs, culture and the inhabitants of this country - in the continuation of the article.
Tongue
Chinese is notable for its complexity. Any foreigner who wants to at least somehow understand to speak it will have more than one year of hard work. Here are the features of this language that seem interesting to Europeans:
- In Russian, the expression "Chinese letter" is common, and in some others there are equivalents. So, for example, in English it sounds like 'It is Greek to me'. In others, everything is different. The German expression refers to the difficulty of Spanish, Romanian - to Turkish, and Chinese stands out especially against their background, appealing to the bird language.
- Among the inhabitants of China and Vietnam, there are a lot of people with absolute hearing. What is the reason for this? The thing is that these two languages are tonal, which means that the meaning of a word can vary depending on how it is pronounced. Since the Vietnamese and Chinese get used to this from childhood, their hearing is well developed.
- The name of the currency of China, "yuan" in translation means "round coin." The hieroglyph corresponding to this concept “moved” to Korean and Japanese, where the name of the money changed to “won” and “yen”, respectively.
- What is interesting for China to foreigners is its cultural differences. So, for example, in 1928, when the world famous Coca-Cola appeared on the Chinese market, some entrepreneurs decided to translate the name of the drink. Using for this hieroglyphs, which sound as similar as possible to Coca-Cola, they forgot to take care of the meaning of the translation. The result is a name that can be translated into Russian as "bite the wax tadpole." Rebranding, of course, is impressive, but nevertheless, marketers decided to correct the name and simply changed it to "ko-ku-ko-le", which means "mouth full of happiness."
Gastronomy
While all of Europe eats with ordinary cutlery, the Chinese remain faithful to their traditions by continuing to use chopsticks. Since the population density here exceeds all possible boundaries, you have to adapt using all possible and impossible products that sometimes so surprise tourists. So, a few interesting facts about China and the gastronomic preferences of its inhabitants:
- Few people know that the fortune cookie, which many know as Chinese, is actually Japanese! It is especially popular in the United States, where he was brought by immigrants from Japan, borrowing the idea in their temples. The confusion about cookies appeared, probably, during the Second World War, when Americans of Japanese descent ended up in concentration camps and transferred their tradition to the Chinese.
- The squeamish people of China are no different. Almost everyone can turn it into food products. However, it does not do without quite specific traditions. In the city of Dunyang, for example, there is a tradition - to boil eggs in the urine of young boys. A dish, so unusual for the West, can be prepared up to a day, and, according to residents, it smells in the spring.
- Cooking in this country reached crocodiles. Not only are bags made of them, but here they are also forced to guard the house, and then eaten. Since local gourmets are very fond of crocodile meat, they are actively engaged in catching reptiles. Since it is not easy to catch a large crocodile, they are mainly caught in small ones and fattened, keeping them at the entrance to the house, which makes the animal actually a guard. But the sad fate of the guard crocodile does not pass by, and when its tail reaches the desired length, it becomes a dinner of omnivorous Chinese.
- Soup "swallow's nests", in spite of its name, has nothing to do with these birds. And they do it not at all from birds, but use swift nests, which are made of saliva.
Little bit about gloomy
Speaking about interesting facts about China, one cannot fail to mention the attitude of the inhabitants of the Asian country towards death and their excessive superstition.
- So, as in many countries the number 13 is considered unlucky, and for such a fear there is even a name, so in some eastern countries the numbers 4 are feared. Why? Just in Japanese, Korean and Chinese, the number 4 in sound resembles the word "death". It often even lacks floors whose numbers end in 4.
- In China, there is a tradition of burning paper drawn money at a funeral. Where does she get her roots from? The thing is that the Chinese see the afterlife as a place where spirits live. Once in hell, the deceased must give a bribe to his ruler in order to avoid punishment. Therefore, people who come to the funeral, burn painted banknotes in order to "convey" them to the spirit of the deceased. Often they depict traditional symbols, for example, a dragon. Although in recent years it is often possible to meet and images of famous personalities. Often there are Marilyn Monroe and Einstein.
Briefly about China. Interesting facts for children
- Many scholars believe that Chinese civilization is the oldest in the world. And not without reason! There are cultural monuments that date back to the 6th century BC. e.
- Despite the fact that the territory of this state is huge, it is located in only one time zone.
- It was here that toilet paper was invented in 1300. However, initially only members of the imperial family were allowed to use it.
- China is the birthplace of not only toilet paper, but also many varieties of fruits and flowers, which today are common throughout the world.
- As often as cats and dogs are domestic pets in Russia, in China this role is played by crickets. Children even arrange fights involving these insects.
- Telling interesting facts about China, it should be noted that the most popular hobby among the Chinese is philately.
- White is considered mournful here, and not black, as in all European countries.
- China is also worthy of praise for the invention of ice cream, the recipe of which came to Europe with the help of Marco Polo.
- Suspension bridges, like many other things, including a compass, stamp and gunpowder, also came from this Asian country. True, here they appeared back in 25 BC. e., and in Europe they appeared 1800 years later.
- A symbol of prosperity and good luck in this country is a bat.
- And, of course, one cannot fail to mention the most important holiday, which is the New Year here.
History of China. Some interesting
Interesting events took place during the formation of the state. Today it is certainly a prosperous country, but what was remarkable happened on the way of its formation?
- An important historical event for China, which negatively affected it, was the abduction of insects! Byzantine Emperor Justinian I sent two monks who were supposed to learn the secret of creating silk that glorified China in the 6th century. They managed to take silkworm larvae with them, which they later successfully planted on mulberry trees. This event contributed to the prosperity of Byzantium, but the positions of China and Persia, on the contrary, were shaken.
- The recent history of China is also replete with unusual facts. For example, an unknown Chinese man appeared on the list of the most influential people of the 20th century, which was compiled by Time magazine. In 1989, a demonstration took place in Beijing that killed several hundred people. Much more could have died if it hadn’t been for one courageous man who managed to independently keep a column of tanks. Unfortunately, his identity, however, as well as how it all ended for him that day, remained a secret, although his photograph was printed by newspapers around the world.
The country of China represents one of the oldest civilizations in the world, which has at least 5 millennia. There are even written sources, whose age reaches 3,500 thousand years. Archaeologists believe that the ancestors of modern Chinese are synanthropes, who lived about 400 thousand years ago.
The first Chinese civilizations
The development of China in the Neolithic is divided into two main stages. The first is represented by the Yangshao culture (3-2 thousand BC), the existence of which is confirmed by the find of ceramics. The second is Longshan - from which many dishes of very delicate work were preserved.
Dynasties
Dynasties appeared on the territory of modern China several centuries ago. The very first of them is Xia, whose founder was Yu. The center of the dynasty was in the province of Henan, although it is believed that its influence extended to other regions. Over time, the power of the emperors decreased, and the sovereign's powers began to relate only to spiritual guidance. A very important role in the days of the Xia Dynasty was played by calendars, which Confucius was struck a millennium later. As soon as emperors began to neglect their spiritual duties, the dynasty fell into decay. However, soon a new one was born.
The modern country of China was created under the influence of the Shang-Yin dynasty, which includes about 30 rulers. She was distinguished by totemism and the matriarchal type of power. The goddess of the earth was considered more significant than the god of heaven. The territory of the state was located in a significant part of modern China and was divided into regions. A representative of each of them had to periodically appear in the emperor’s palace with gifts in order to honor him.
The next was the Zhou Dynasty, which overthrew the rulers of Shang-Yin. Subsequently, this state, which was located on the territory of almost the entire Yellow River basin, broke up into a number of others, which constantly competed with each other.
Chinese empire
In the period from 221 to 207 BC. e. the Qin dynasty came to power , which managed to unite disparate territories into a single whole. This time had a good effect on the entire territory of the modern state of China. The most interesting thing happened with the formation and development of the empire. The feudal system was destroyed, and transport, on the contrary, was developing. During this period, the economy, trade and agricultural products developed. However, the dynasty lasted only 10 years and died with its ruler, after violent uprisings broke out in the state.
The Han Dynasty came to replace the crisis and wars. Over time, the emperors managed, and among the people, Confucianism gained popularity. However, later the Sui dynasty came to power, during which the Great Canal was built. However, the constant war and hostility of neighboring provinces drained the treasury.
Considering interesting facts about China, one cannot fail to tell about the Tang Dynasty, which was able to establish relative peace and stability in the country. During this period, culture and art reached a special peak. Many of the rulers of the dynasty took care of this. This was a powerful state in which not only art was actively developed, but also science and religion. However, the rulers failed to take care of the army and soon overthrew the dynasty due to constant uprisings. A number of dynasties were in power in this territory, including Yuan, Ming and Qing.
New story
An important period in the development of the state was the 18th century, when international relations developed especially, and many Europeans were interested in learning about China, its traditions and people, because it was possible to purchase the best silk, porcelain and much more. A little later, there was a war with Japan, as a result of which China lost Taiwan, Korea and the Pescador Islands. The last Qing dynasty fell in 1911, and a year later the state was proclaimed a constitutional republic. Later Beijing will be declared the capital of the country.
In 1917, China entered the First World War, wishing to return the lands taken away by Japan. But he does not receive support from allied countries. Then the Communist Party is at the helm of the state, and one of its leaders is Mao Zedong, one of the most famous leaders of all time, who has made many changes in the state. The disunity of the country tried to eliminate a number of rulers, but to no avail. Since then, China went through the civil and Korean wars, many reforms took place in the state, and the economy was restored.
results
The cradle of civilizations is, of course, China. Interesting facts for children and adults, as well as a brief excursion, which were presented above, give only a weak idea of how strong this state has had on the whole world in the past and continues to provide so far. It was not just that many useful discoveries were made, religions, incredible civilizations, and also traditions that survived centuries were born here. Interesting places in China, of which the most famous is the Wall of China, attract many tourists every year and for good reason. Mysterious, ancient and great civilizations always attract people. Interesting facts about China are just a keyhole in the door, behind which is hidden a whole world different from the European one, but so attractive and full of mysteries.