8 Culture Universals

I. Arts
China has a variety of arts. They include poetry, calligraphy, paper cutting, shadow puppetry,
painting. pottery. and jade carving. They also make music. Chinese music has its own unique
tone and rhythm. There traditional instruments include percussion instruments, stringed
instruments, and wind instruments.

An example of Chinese writing.

II. Language
They speak mostly Mandarin. It's the national language so its taught all around the nation. Mostly everyone can read, write, and speak it. Many people though use the dialects or languages
of their geographical region. They are 50,000 characters that exist, but only 8,000 are used. To have basic literacy you need to know about 1,500 to 2,000.


III. Environment
China is roughly the same the size as the United States. Majority of the people live on the east side
of the country since the western part is mostly mountains and deserts. China has many rivers that
they depend on for agriculture. China's climate ranges from sub-arctic to sub-tropical. They also
have monsoons that cause flooding and kill thousands every year. Sandstorms also occur in China.

The Great Wall of China

China has a very diverse plant life but deforestation is an big problem. As a result of rapid growth air
and water pollution have become major problems.

IV. Time/Place
China has been around since 2000 BC. So China is a very old civilization. They have always roughly stayed in the same area. They have dominated and declined a lot. They have a lot of history. They have built the Great Wall of China and also have built the Terracotta Army. They keep on trying to grab as much land as possible though and keep expanding.

V. Recreation

Soccer being played in China

To pass time in China they eat, they do karaoke, and watch movies. Movies are extremely popular in China. People also travel other parts of China since incomes have increased. People are starting to afford cars more too so they can move around easily. Sports are popular too. Soccer is one of the favorite sports some others also include table tennis, swimming, and badminton. Chinese play board games a lot too. They also like to play chess. Basketball is increasing in China. While the wealthy play golf and tennis.

VI. Beliefs
China has variety of religions. But only about 30% of Chinese have some religious faith. They have Buddhist, Taoists, Muslims, and Christians. The Chinese government doesn't allow every religion and public practice is discouraged. And your not allowed to have an underground religion. Religions flourish more in the small towns. Chinese people are know for hospitality and reserve. They also greatly respect authority. The attire people wear is simple and conservative.

VII. Economy

Chinese farmers

China's is the 2nd biggest in the world. But they have a lot of people so thats what you expect. Its per capita income is at the level of a developing country. The wealth is not distributed. About half of the economy is in agriculture. The middle class is growing in urban areas and incomes are rising. Private enterprise is starting to be more common in China. China produces many goods that the world needs. They also have a huge work force. The world relies heavily on China for many goods. Some of the problems though are pollution,
corruption, crime and rising unemployment.



VIII. Institutions
Education is very important to the Chinese, and parents do everything they can do to help there child succeed in school and obtain a good education. Boys learn more than women. Chinese, English, and Math are the main subjects taught. In China you must take a selection exam to get into High School and its very tough. There are over 1,500 universities in China. The literacy rate in China is about 90%.
The government used to supply homes but now they encourage people to buy there own home. Most places are small. A new trend is community facilities where they share many different places. Its kind of like a little village with a school. Really in China they use all of the different transportation systems. From foot to a private minibus. Its becoming more common for people to own there own car. Air travel is still growing. China also has 16 T.V. channels and a variety of radio stations.