What is culture?
Culture is the training, development, and refinement of mind, tastes, and manners (Oxford English Dictionary). Culture is the totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought (The American Heritage English Dictionary). There are lots of definitions for culture, but I would rather think of the characteristics of culture. Most cultures are passed from generation to generation. Although there are cultural differences and, all cultures share the similar characteristics or components.
Why is the study of Past Culture important?
Human beings learn from culture how to survive in the world. Unlike animals, we cannot protect, keep us warm, run fast, or attack animals with our teeth or jaws. So, we have to teach our children how to find food, clothes, and protect ourselves. Our survival skills are modified over long periods of time.
Learning more about the culture diversity can improve our life: how to get along with others better, how to adjust ourselves to the diverse culture, or how to adapt new inventions.
The comparison among cultures will provide answers to questions about human life. What makes us the same, and what makes us different. Learning these will help us to understand the cultural characteristics of a certain society.
As teachers or educators, it is crucial to realize the essential components of culture. Since culture is learned, not born, it is important to plan effective strategies of teaching so as to give an insight to our children how to establish a system of values and beliefs that will virtually affect their behavior. Through the knowledge of culture, teachers can create a comfortable learning environment for students. To get more details, go to the following websites:
Demographic, social and
historical information.
China is one of ancient civilizations of the world, carrying a history of more than five thousand years. Also, China has the largest population in the world. To look for better living, Chinese people have scattered all over the world. In the first two decades of the twentieth century, China has suffered from political unrest, famine, and invasion from foreign countries, natural disasters, and unemployment. When Communist China was established, China maintained its sovereignty but the political, economic, or social conditions have not much improvement.
In the seventies, Deng Xiao Ping advocated economic reforms in China and gradually improved the economic and social conditions, but the gap between the rich and the poor becomes vast. Although the Chinese government imposed a strict control over the population increase in China, China still has the greatest population in the world.
China’s geographical features contributed to the isolation or ‘close door’ policy of China. Along the west boundary, there are high ranges whereas the east boundaries lie along the coastline. However, Chinese people, in the past few decades, began to open its door to foreigners. For more details, refer to http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ch.html
Confucianism dominates Chinese culture for thousands of years. It emphasizes the ‘five relationships’ in Chinese society, thus leading to harmony, unity, and trust in human relationships and their extended families. The steady conditions in Chinese families create a safe learning and growing environment for children. Moreover, the extended families will form a supporting network in the Chinese society.
Most Chinese parents have high expectations on their children’s academic achievement and are willing to spend most of their income on education. Although many Chinese couples are dual-careered, they are able to give their children quality time: reading together, teaching them painting, singing, or other Chinese art. To promote better parent-child relationship, most Chinese parents like to maintain their native culture in Chinese community. To learn more about this, click http://www.iteachilearn.com/uh/guadarrama/sociopsycho/notebook.htm
As far as schooling is concerned, most Chinese students excel and behave in schools. Like immigrant students from other countries, they have to struggle to learn a second language in schools. However, most of them achieve in learning and created much less behavioral problems. Chinese parents still adhere to Chinese traditions of respecting teachers and have been co-operative and supportive. Click Parent Involvement and Student Achievement http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/notes/51/parstu.html
Factors
affecting immigration to U.S.
In the past two centuries, Chinese people were voluntarily or involuntarily leaving their homeland because of political instability, natural disasters or economic unrest. In the nineteenth century, most immigrants into the U.S. are merchants or sojourned workers. The number of Chinese immigrants rocketed during the Gold Rush in California. Some of them worked as laborers and some operate business including restaurants, launderettes, or stores. Chinese workers were considered hardworking and honest. Because of the immigration law, they were not allowed to bring their families to U.S. So, some of them went back to China once a few years to visit their family. Their wives would take care of their parents and children at their homeland. These workers’ experience in U.S. was unpleasant and it was only after WWII that they were allowed to bring their families to the U.S. To learn more about Chinese immigrants in U.S., visit the Museum of Chinese American History or go to
Starting from the sixties, lots of students from the middle class of Hong Kong and Taiwan families came to further their studies in the U.S. Many of them settled down after completion of education. These immigrants were different from those early immigrants. They are educated and better off in the U.S. When China’s economy reforms create lots of middle class families, there are students from China as well.
Chinese immigrants scattered almost all over the world. In U.S., most of the Chinese immigrants are from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Vietnam. They come from different places, speak different dialects, and have different customs and traditions.
Their educational, political, or economic background are not the same. Fortunately, most of them maintain the same beliefs and values, regardless of whatever reason they have to leave their homeland. For more information of Chinese immigrants from various places, go to the following websites:
Http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/vm.html
Http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/zi.html
Http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/hk.html
Http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ch.html
In China, Chinese speak different dialects. The official language is Mandarin. Oral communication is sometimes hard because Chinese language has a different version in speaking and writing. However, the writing system is unified and bridges the gap in communication.
Many Chinese characters are made up of a number of characters, indicating the meaning and sound. As the early written language was derived from pictographs, very often, it indicates denotation.
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After unifying the country, the Communist China adopted a simplified form of writing system whereas Taiwan and Hong Kong maintained the traditional form. That’s why in U.S., Chinese students write in the form according to the place they came from. Those coming from China will find it hard to switch to the tradition form of writing system. For details, go to http://cwr.utoronto.ca/cultural/english2/China/chinaENG.htm#_1_15