Reporter: Driatzen L. Javier
BSED-III

The name “China” comes
from the Sanskrit Cina
(derived from the name of the
Chinese Qin Dynasty,
pronounced ‘Chin’) which was
translated as ‘Cin’ by the
Persians and seems to have
become popularized through
trade along the Silk Road.

 Chinese literature, the body of works
written in Chinese, including lyric
poetry, historical and didactic writing,
drama, and various forms of fiction.
 China is the only country in the world
with a literature written in one
language for more than 3,000
consecutive years.
 Chinese literature has its own values
and tastes, its own reigning cultural
tradition and its own critical system of
theory.

Flag of China was originally adopted
on October 1, 1949.
The red of the Chinese flag
symbolizes the Communist
Revolution, and also the tradition
color of the people.
The large gold star represent
Communism and Communism
means a way of organizing a society
in which a government own.
The four smaller stars represent
the social classes of the people.

The Republic of China has
an area of 9,597 million
sq.km. and the capital
city of China is Beijing.
The famous landmark in China
is the Great Wall of China (also
known as the “Ten Thousand Li
Wall”. One Li is equals to 500
meters, the walls is over 1, 500
miles on length.

The administration of China has 23 provinces, 5
autonomous region, 4 municipalities and 2
special administrative regions .
The religions and beliefs of Chinese people are
Islam over 22 million and Catholicism is 4
million and Protestant over 10 million.
There are also Atheist who doesn’t believe in
God.

5 Things China is Known
and Famous For
1. Martial Arts
According to legend, Chinese martial arts or Wushu,
were invented over 4,000 years ago by the legendary
Yellow Emperor. Martial arts techniques have had
thousands of years to develop and there are hundreds of
different styles.
Shaolin-style Kung Fu is the
most famous and was brought to China
by the founder of Chinese Buddhism.
Kung Fu was once the preserve of
monks who learned to fight so that they
could protect themselves from banditry.

China has an expansive repertoire of amazing dishes. Voted the
second most popular national cuisine worldwide, China’s many regions
have their own styles and traditions of cooking.
Visitors to China with no knowledge of Chinese frequently find
they have no clue what they even eating, as everything from boiled fish
eyes, to chicken feet, to shark fins gets on the menu. There is a saying
that Chinese people will eat anything with legs apart from the table.
2. Chinese Food

• Confucius is one of history’s greatest
philosophers, and one of China’s most famous
people. His personal philosophy has come to
dominate Asian thought up to this day.
• Confucius was a prominent intellectual who
lived under the Zhou dynasty and had many
disciples. He worked with classic Chinese texts
in addition to writing his own.
• Born a generation before Socrates in the West,
Confucius’ promotion of learning helped ensure
that China’s culture became one that was
highly literate and scholarly long before most of
the rest of the world. He is famous for arguing
education and moral virtues make a man a
gentleman.
3. Confucianism

Calligraphy is one of the famous things of China that is
still practiced in modern Chinese paintings. China’s
calligraphy is unique, and most people easily recognize it,
unlike other types of calligraphies.
The Chinese have the most visually distinct writing
styles, and adding calligraphy enhances the beauty of Chinese
characteristics.
It was considered one of the 4 traditional skills any
cultivated person should have, and it’s a writing practice that
is more of a meditative procedure and a form of art.
4. Calligraphy

It is arguably one of the most famous things
about China, and it’s a national symbol and pride.
Covering a distance of about 13170 miles
(21196km), it is the largest human construction
in the world and one of the 7 wonders of the
world.
Built to protect the country from nomadic
invaders, it is an iconic Chinese landmark globally
and one of the most popular tourist attractions in
China receiving about 10 million visitors per year.
Its architectural grandeur and historical
significance make it a key attraction that you
should not miss visiting on your trip to the
country.
5.The Great Wall Of China

General Characteristics
1. Chinese literature, especially poetry, is recorded
in handwriting or in print and purports to make
an aesthetic appeal to the reader that is visual
as well as aural.
2. This visual appeal of the graphs has in fact given
rise to the elevated status of calligraphy in
China, where it has been regarded for at least
the last 16 centuries as a fine art comparable to
painting.

3. On the negative side, such a writing system has
been an impediment to education and the spread of
literacy,
4. On the other hand, the Chinese written
language, even with its obvious disadvantages, has
been a potent factor in perpetuating the cultural
unity of the growing millions of the Chinese people,
including assimilated groups in far-flung peripheral
areas.

History of literature in China
The first written records of China date from eighteenth
century BC. C. However, it was in the eleventh century a.C.
when you start talking about Chinese literature.
Zhou Dynasty
In that period, works belonging to philosophical and
religious literature were written. In this way, the written bases
of doctrines such as Taoism and Confucianism arose.
Qin Dynasty
The works written in this dynasty were framed in the
philosophical current of legalism. This doctrine justified the
authoritarian behavior of the emperor and argued that the people
should obey the ruler.

Han Dynasty
The contributions in literature of this era, include
historical and scientific texts. One of the most important texts
of this era are the "Historical memories“, which compiles the
events that took place from the Shang Dynasty to the Han
Dynasty.
Tang Dynasty
This dynasty was of great importance for his
contributions in poetry. In fact, two of the most important
Chinese poets performed their works in this period. These
were Li Bai and Du Fu.

Li Bai
Li Bai was born in the year 701 and died in the year
762. His poems dealt with various topics, among which
stood out politics, the art of war and nature.
Du Fu
Du Fu was born in 712 and died in 770. His poems
represented truthfully the ravages caused by war, the
contrast between poverty and wealth, the beauty of life in
the countryside, death, among other topics.

 Song Dynasty
During this period the literature of the travelers was
popularized. In this type of texts, the authors wrote about the places
they had visited. These texts were sold at an affordable price.
Yuan Dynasty
In this period, a form of theater was popularized in which the
actors were the shadows projected by puppets. In this way, they
began to write plays that had the function of being represented
before an audience. The novels also flourished during the Yuan
Dynasty.

Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty occurred between the years 1644 and
1911. In this period, the Chinese people came into contact with
foreign literary texts. The influence of these texts served to
consolidate modern Chinese literature.
Modern Era
The modern era began in 1912 and continues to this day.
Modern Chinese literature is characterized by:
• To have a much more western character, due to the influence
of foreign literary texts.
• The use of the vernacular language, instead of the classical
language.
• Freedom of expression.
• Gender equality.

OutstandingWorks
• “Summer Snow”, A play that tells the tragedy of how a
woman was unjustly accused. It was written by Guan
Hanging during the Yuan Dynasty.
• “The Romance of the three kingdoms”, Novel that is
considered one of the most important texts of Chinese
literature. It was written by Luo Guan Zhong during the
Yuan Dynasty.
• “Dream of the red camera”, Novel written in
vernacular language. It is attributed to Cao Xuegin.

Chinese literature is a pleasure to teach
and to read; it holds an importance and
relevance both in historical terms and in
understanding the world today. Yet, its
history, language and culture are quit rich,
and different from much of the Western
tradition that the study of Chinese
literature can prove challenging.

The Great Race
A long time ago in China lived the Jade Emperor. It was his
birthday. He wanted to measure time to know how old he was.
All the animals arrived. The Emperor decided to have a race to give
a name to each year of the Chinese Zodiac.
The rat and the cat couldn’t swim very well. ‘Can you take us
across the river?’ ‘Yes, jump on quick!’
They swam across the river. Then the rat pushed the cat into the
water and jumped onto land. ‘Well done, rat! The first year will be the
Year of the Rat and the second will be the Year of the Ox.
‘Look! Here’s the tiger. He’s very tired. The third year will be the
Year of the Tiger.
‘The rabbit can’t swim but he’s very clever. The fourth year will be
the Year of the Rabbit.

‘Why are you late, dragon? You can fly!’ ‘I had to make some rain for
thirsty people to drink.’ ‘Well done! The fifth year is the Year of the
Dragon.
‘What’s this? I can hear a horse. No, it’s a snake. So the snake has
the sixth year.
‘Well done! It is good to see you working together! The goat is
eighth, the monkey is ninth and the rooster is tenth.’
‘Sorry I’m late. The water is clean and I needed a bath.’ ‘The
eleventh is the Year of the Dog.
‘You are the last.’ ‘Yes, I had to eat and sleep on the way.’ ‘The last
is the Year of the Pig.’
And that is how the Emperor chose the animals for the Chinese
Zodiac.