Han Culture Introduction
The Chinese culture is very complex and has many ethnic groups within the culture. Therefore, we will be focusing specifically on the Han nationality. We will look deeper into the history of the Chinese Han culture, the languages that are spoken along with the different dialects, traditions and holidays, religion, and the everyday lives of Han people.
It is first important to know a little of the history of the Chinese culture and where it came from. A man by the name of Sun Yatsen founded the Republic of China in 1912 calling it "The Republic of Nationalities". These consisted of the Han, Manchus, Mongols, Hui, and Tibetans. The Han is the Chinese ethnic group which forms the national majority with 1.6 billion people. This is nineteen percent of the world's total population making it the largest ethnic group in China and worldwide. While 99% of the Han people live in China, others live in places like Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, North America, and countries in Europe. The Han people along with other Chinese ethnic minorities have lived mainly on agriculture, politics, philosophy, art, literature, and natural science.
The Chinese language is divided up into many dialects in which in different regions, the standard of Chinese varies. The dialects in which the Han people speak are Mandarin, Wu, Xiang, Gan, Min, Cantonese, and Hakka. In the Hong Kong region, Cantonese is the prime dialect, while in the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, Mandarin is the designated language. As you can tell, intercultural communication plays a big part in the Han culture. Different dialects have been formed and communications between the different regions differ. Chinese is also written in two different forms; traditional Chinese characters and simplified Chinese characters. Simplified Chinese characters are mostly used among the Han people.
There are three main religions practiced among the Han people including Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism. Taoism is based on a belief from Dao, a spirit of harmony that drives the universe and the main ideas are collected in a book called Daode jing. The teachings of Confucianism is from a man name Confucius in which he believed it is natural for human beings to be good to each other; to have respect for parents, teachers, and elders. Buddhism on the other hand did not actually originate from China but was brought from India. It focuses more on the state of mind rather than rituals. These are the tree major religions practiced by the Han but others belong to various Christian denominations due to the influence of western culture.
Rice, wheat, vegetables, pork, eggs, and freshwater fish are some of the major foods cooked and ate by the Han ethnic group. They also highly value cooking skills and like to serve tea and alcoholic beverages to their guests in their homes. Some traditional Chinese foods are dumplings, rice, spring rolls, and wanton.
Like most ethnic Chinese groups, the Han also value close interpersonal relationships with family and friends. The man is most likely to be the head of the household and many elders continue to live with the family. They also have feasts and festivals to strengthen individual and community relationships. These festivals are usually rich and colorful and some of the major festivals include the Spring Festival, Lantern Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, and Mid-autumn Festival.
Like most ethnic Chinese groups, the Han also value close interpersonal relationships with family and friends. The man is most likely to be the head of the household and many elders continue to live with the family. They also have feasts and festivals to strengthen individual and community relationships. These festivals are usually rich and colorful and some of the major festivals include the Spring Festival, Lantern Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, and Mid-autumn Festival.
The Han ethnic group is a part of the Chinese culture and has many similar identities. They have their own traditions, history, religious practices, and language dialects in which all of these make up their culture. Soon we will be digging even deeper into some of these topics and learning more about the Han cultural group.
References:
Chinese Han People, Han Nationality: Language, Religion, Customs. (n.d.). China Travel, China Travel Agency w/ Tour Packages 24/7 Service. Retrieved February 10, 2012, from http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/
Chinese-Introduction, Location, Language, Han dialects (spoken by 1.04 billion han). (n.d.). Countries and Their Cultures.Retrieved February 10, 2012, from http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Brazil-to-Congo-Republic-of/Chinese.html
Confucianism Orgins, Confucianism History, Confucianism Beliefs. (n.d.). Balanced Views of Religion and Spirituality with Faith/ Patheos. Retrieved February 10, 2012, from http://www.patheos.com/Library/Confucianism
Great detail with this blog. I am glad that you were specific in choosing Han culture and not just Chinese culture in general. This is focused and specific.
ReplyDeleteMy only concern is how you seek to study Han culture. The project is interpretive in terms of data collection an calls for direct contact with the culture of interest. What was missing from this first post is a discussion of how you plan to collect observations and interviews. As long we can accomplish contact and first person data collection we are good to go.Let's discuss!