The
Culture of China is one of the world's oldest and most complex cultures. The
area in which the culture is dominant covers a large geographical region in
eastern Asia with customs and traditions varying greatly between towns, cities
and provinces. Today there are 56 distinct recognized ethnic groups in China. However,
in terms of numbers the pre-eminent ethnic group is the Han Chinese. Chinese
calligraphy, tea culture, traditional Chinese medicine culture and Porcelain
culture are all very important in Chinese culture.
Calligraphy
is the traditional art of writing Chinese characters. After centuries of
creation and evolution, calligraphy has become a unique form of art. Fine calligraphy
is a perfect integration of hand-writer’s culture and artistic accomplishment,
excellent handwriting technique, rice paper, brush and Chinese ink. In
addition, today’s chinese scripts are generally divided into 5 categories.
First, the seal script(篆书),the
representative script of Qing Dynasty (Since 221BC-206BC); second, the official
script(隶书),it was popularly
used in Han Dynasty (Since 206BC-220AD); third, the regular script (楷书), it
was the result of the development of the official script; fourth, the cursive
script (草书), it was a fast
way of writing the regular & official scripts; fifth, the running script (行书), it
was the script between the regular and the cursive, neither as neat as the
former nor as difficult to recognize as the latter. It is commonly used and the
easiest way of handwriting. To write a good calligraphy in China, it is very
easy to be respected.
seal script(篆书)
official script(隶书)
regular script (楷书)
running script (行书)
Chinese tea can be traced back to 3000 years ago. Originally, the
Chinese people did not treat the tea as a valuable thing as functional herbs as
medicines did. Gradually, people feel more energetic after drinking tea. They
realized that this kind of herb was healthy. It would act not only as nourish
herbs, but also as medicines to cure diseases. In China, tea is always offered
to a guest immediately upon entering a Chinese home. Serving a cup of tea is
more than a matter of mere politeness. It is a symbol of togetherness, a
sharing of something enjoyable, and a way of showing respect to visitors. In recent years, its beneficial effects on
health has been noted, there have been numerous reports on the benefits of tea
in the prevention of cancer and other diseases. The tea could break down fat in
the body and benefit those who are overweight, as well as those with blood
pressure and heart problems.
Traditional Chinese medicine is the study of human physiology, pathology and disease diagnosis and prevention of a discipline. It carries the ancient Chinese people fight with the disease experience and theoretical knowledge in the ancient naive materialism and dialectics spontaneous thought, through long-term medical practice gradually formed and developed into a system of medical theory. In research methods to the overall concept similar concept as the dominant ideology, to organs and meridians of physiology, pathology as the basis for the diagnosis and treatment based on syndrome differentiation, with simple systems theory, cybernetics, fractal theory and information theory content.
Porcelain, also called 'fine china', featuring its delicate texture, pleasing colour, and refined sculpture, has been one of the earliest artworks introduced to the western world through the Silk Road. The earliest pottery ware was found made of Kaolin in the Shang Dynasty (16th - 11th century BC), but some experts believe the first true porcelain was made in the province of Zhejiang during the Eastern Han period. During the Sui and Tang periods (581 to 907) a wide range of ceramics, low-fired and high-fired, were produced. These included the well-known Tang lead-glazed sancai wares, the high-firing, lime-glazed Yue celadon wares and low-fired wares from Changsha. In northern China, high-fired, translucent porcelains were made at kilns in the provinces of Henan and Hebei. In the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279), a variety of genres of porcelain appeared and it became a fashion that people showed great interest in purchasing and collecting certain wares suitable to their tastes. During the Yuan Dynasty, ceramics rapid development process, the blue and white porcelain (Qinghua Ci) is the representative works. The Ming dynasty saw an extraordinary period of innovation in ceramic manufacture. Kilns investigated new techniques in design and shapes, showing a preference for colour and painted design, and an openness to foreign forms. Started in the late years of Emperor Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty, enameled porcelain saw its further development in the reign of Emperor Yongzheng.
Qinghua Ci
Written by:
FIA (Group 6)
July 2013 intake
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