Introduction
China is the third largest nation in the world and is the most populous country on earth. By the year 2000, the country had about one fifth of the world’s population. Its people have different cultural practices and different languages but all which appear to be relatively uniform. China is largely a homogeneous society with people of a common culture, history and language. A majority of the Chinese people come from the Han descent. Some minority groups like Manchu have been assimilated almost entirely. Some ethnic minority groups don’t identify much with the Han but with their individual cultures. This essay looks into the Chinese Language, food and social stratification.
Chinese Language
The official language of Mandarin Chinese or Putonghua is based on the dialect of Beijing. The modern Chinese which is widely spoken is the bai hua which replaced the 1920 classical language. All dialects have the same writing system that has never changed for years. The system is usually difficult and complex to learn as it consists of about 6000 characters while around 5000 of them are used daily. Ideographs and pictographs that represent concepts are the method used for writing Chinese. These symbols represent concepts in place of sounds. Chinese differentiates words by tones of rising and falling. The dialects that exist include Wu, Yue, Minnan, Minbei, Gan, Xiang, and Hakka among others. A majority of the dialects are very different and mutually unintelligible.
Food
The dietary staple for most of the country is rice but in the regions of North and West that have dry climate, wheat is their staple grain. In the South people take congee or rice porridge with pickles, vegetables or shrimp for breakfast. Normally, breakfast is similar to lunch and a day’s largest meal is that of the evening. Each meal consists of soup that is served last. The people cook with a metal pan that has an arched bottom because this method of cooking consumes little fat and little period. Steaming is done in bamboo baskets that are lined with cabbage foliage. Meat is usually expensive hence is served sparingly. The shared or common drink is tea with the Han taking it black and unsweetened while Mongolians take it with milk. Meanwhile, Tibetans have it with yak lard. The Chinese are also affectionate about soft drinks that are sugary, and beer that they get from local breweries (Yu, Fang and Xiaoling).
Social Stratification
Classes and Castes exist as the Confucian philosophy supports a system of class hierarchy. On top of the hierarchy are scholars then farmers then artisans then merchants and soldiers. Social mobility was highly possible in such a system for example in the practice where the family saved money that was used to invest in the eldest son’s education. However, when communists took control, they professed the advocated for a classless society but the new organization still had an inferior class and the elites. The society is thus divided into crofter masses and the ruling political leaders or ganbu. Therefore, the Communist party had the philosophy that both classes have similar interests and goals and should therefore be merged for a common good. However, the reality has it that the gap between the poor and rich is still large and growing with the wealthy living in Cities while the poor concentrate in the country side.
Conclusion
The Chinese cultural practices and languages may be different but they all appear to have a relative uniformity. A majority of the Chinese people come from the Han descent with some minority groups like Manchu having been assimilated almost entirely. This essay brought out the Chinese culture in terms of the languages spoken, the foods served and the social stratification of the people.
Works Cited
Yu, Dong, Zhong Fang, and Lin Xiaoling. Chinese Culture. Beijing, China: Foreign Language Press, 2004. Print.
