The World of Art

China – Where the Martial Arts Were Born

China is the country that has the highest population in the world. It is a country that has restricted its information, especially concerning its political and military functions. Its emergence as a leading exporter of machinery and other products (including labour force) has been watched with suspicion, especially by bug powers and competitors like the United States. Important to note, is that the recent economic crisis that affected the world economy did not affect China as much.

The language of choice is Mandarin Chinese and tends to sound like a very foreign language. It consists of mostly seven different variations which derive from certain nationalist families. It is interesting to note that it is the most widely spoken language in the world followed by English and Spanish. With regards to language learning or wanting to learn Chinese, be warned it is a difficult language to learn.

Martial arts of the Eastern world originated from China. Kung fu is a popular name for an effective self defence set of martial arts. These include Bafaquan, Fu Jow Pai, Shequan and many others. The initial aim of these arts was mainly self defence. The same still stands but then some arts branched have off and teach more aggressive techniques and styles.

Fashion styles come in richly, especially due to the different social classes. You will observe that the color yellow is reserved for the emperor while other various colors separate different social levels and classes. During the era of Qing Dynasty, dress codes changed significantly. Hanfu was the previous traditional clothing. Symbols such as the ‘phoenix’ have long been used for decorative purposes as well as to portray economic might.

Religious affiliation in China is somewhat complicated. A god named Shang Di was supreme and kings and diviners during the time of Xia and Shang dynasties, acted as the priests. This king and the diviners used to oracle bones. Later the belief of a supernatural power was fully embraced and people could use many different divination methods to gory and seek answers for their problems. Divinations were used as alternative curing methods. Folks and myths were used to try to explain to people things that they could not understand and prove. There are however other major figures recognized as holy including Guan Yin, Jade Emperor and Buddha.

In addition, symbols like door god and Imperial guardian lions. These symbols represent holy and good sides. On the other hand, there are symbols representing evil also. Two such forces are mogwai and jiang shi, who are believed to be demonic figures. Another important tradition that is still in existence today is that of fortunetelling.

Chinese literature has a long history; dating back to the 15thcentury. It was enhanced with the introduction of widespread wood block printing during the Tang Dynasty, through the invention of movable type printing by Sheng. During these periods writing knowledge spread greatly throughout China. Early writers were dominated by males. It was only in the 20th century that female writers emerged. Female writers majorly dealt with love and family matters.

Themes on romance, gender, marriage and other matters affecting women were greatly highlighted. The initial recorded ‘women literature’ was poetry. Some notable women who contributed greatly include Xue Tao and Li Qingzhao.

China has tried to control their population through discouraging measures. People are encouraged to have just one child else they face penalties through fines – Its population still remains high though. It is important to note that China is an economic powerhouse. The human rights record of China is constantly criticized, especially over the Taiwan issue. All in all however, China is certainly culturally rich and has made a huge impact on civilization over hundreds of years.

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KAUSACHUNPERU AT SPRINGVILLE World Folk Art