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Capital city: Beijing
School system: There were 52.49 million students in junior middle schools and 139.95 million pupils in primary schools (by the end of 1997). The family unit in China has always been strong. Lasting marriages, respect for parental authority, and mothers nurturing children in the home have been strong points in particular. Chinese families, as a basic unit of the society, act to provide not only shelter and food but also an environment within which the people socialize and play the roles defined by Confucius. A form of social immortality, families have something of the character of a religion which, at times, is enhanced by the ritual of ancestor worship; the consciousness of it has penetrated deep into the Chinese soul. A strong and lingering belief is that when one dies, his or her self lives on in the greatest stream of the family life. In modern times, the Chinese traditional family concept is transformed info "family-ism" that pervades almost all social organizations. Employees are provided with housing, free medical care, and education for their children by the organization they work for. Their activities and personal lives are closely connected to the organizations whose management, in many ways, functions as the parents of extended families, responsible both for business and solving employees' personal problems. Hiring, selecting, compensating and other management decisions may all involve "family-ism." Group Orientation Chinese group orientation is also identified with Confucian doctrines that emphasize ties of kinship and close personal relationships. The individuals exist for the benefit of the group, group pressure is applied to ensure conformity through eliciting shame (losing face), and conflict is generally handled through intragroup mediation rather than an external legal system. The individuals are perceived as part of a network of social relations. They find their own identities with reference to others around them and adopt group goals and opinions in exchange for reciprocal care and protection. The American concept of "individualism" is often frowned upon because it appears to the Chinese as "selfishness" - an unnatural attempt to isolate the self from the group and to place personal interests over those of the group. In industries, the importance of groups is reflected in the form of family-ism's claim for solidarity. The group orientation is expressed by "danwei" (literally, work unit), where the focus is not only on work-related activities but also on exercises and control in non-work areas. As a result, the social needs of the people in a workplace tend to be ranked higher than autonomy and self-actualization needs. In business management, a group relationship is manifested in interpersonal connections (guanxi), which overpower the formal organizational structure in many cases. Business contracts are often specified in legal terms but implemented relying on trust and relationships between the parties involved. The role of women in China changed dramatically when Mao "equalized" the sexes immediately following the founding of People's Republic China in 1949. Many women were instrumental in the fight to liberate the country from the nationalists and from foreign domination and were prominent in the party and in the state administration throughout the country. Chinese women hold positions as factory workers and managers in significant numbers, although it is still uncommon for a woman to be a general manager or board member of a state enterprise or a director of a Chinese institution or agency. A growing number of women, however, have become entrepreneurs. The self-perception of Chinese women may be the most noticeable psychological change in China since the open door policy that began at the end of the 80's.
Independence: 221 BC (unification under the Qin or Ch'in Dynasty 221 BC; Qing or Ch'ing Dynasty replaced by the Republic on 12 February 1912 ; People's Republic established 1 October 1949 ) National Holiday: Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China , 1 October (1949) Radio broadcast stations: AM 369, FM 259, shortwave 45 (1998) Jade carving - Many countries have jadeware culture, but none of them has as long a history as China has. China 's jadeware culture has undergone a long process of development from the New Stone Age 10,000 years ago to the present. Four objective factors influenced the beginnings and development of Chinese pottery and porcelain: clay, fuel, river systems, and markets. Heavy clay and large quantities of fuel are required for pottery and porcelain making. Prohibitively high shipping costs made pottery production economically impractical in areas without these basic prerequisites. So a locale with plentiful supplies of both clay and lumber as fuel had the best potential for setting up a ceramics kiln. Lacquer- In ancient times, man fashioned implements from natural raw materials which he acquired from his environment, such as stone, wood and pottery. The chief difference between lacquerware and other ancient implements is that lacquerware must have a mold. Once coated with lacquer, the material of the mold, whether made of wood, ceramic or bamboo, can no longer be distinguished. Thus experts on ancient implements categorize such implements as lacquerware. The Chinese character for lacquer, pronounced ch'i, is pictographic. One of its components, pronounced mu (meaning wood), forms the top part of the word. In the middle two side strokes protrude downwards like taps that have been sunk into a tree. The lower part of the word is formed by a component, pronounced shui (meaning water), which signifies the flow of sap from the wood. Cloisonne- Cloisonné, also known as cloisonne enamel, is the decorative art of applying enamel of all colors to the surface of a copper or bronze object which is then fired to become a bright and colorful work of art. This artistic technique was transmitted to China from the West and reached its peak of perfection as a result of the concerted efforts of Chinese artisans. Chinese cloisonné thereupon became the standard by which to measure the quality and appraise the beauty of cloisonn| world-wide. This ranks as one of China 's major contributions to the world's fine arts. The technique for cloisonne enameling was passed onto China by missionaries from central Asia sometime in the early to mid-14th century. After mastering the skill of manufacturing enamel products, Chinese constantly improved and enhanced this special technique, making it a distinctly Chinese art. During the mid-15th century reign of Ming Emperor Ching T'ai, cloisonné production was extremely prosperous--many cloisoné works of the most delicate quality were produced. These works were mostly fused with a kind of special blue enamel as the base color, hence the term for cloisonné in Chinese: ching-t'ai-lan (``Ching-t'ai Blue''). Bronze- There is a symbolic design used in Chinese sacrificial bronzes 3,000 years ago that combines all sorts of animal characteristics found in the natural world into one ferocious creature--the t'ao-t'ieh , or ``beast of gluttony.'' Set in a fiercely blazing fire, the beast's bulging eyes glared straight at the observer, his great mouth gaped in a wide grin, flashing saber-like teeth. His stiletto claws were exposed and poised for action, and a pair of ears or horns protruded from his head. Ferocious a sight as it was, it conveyed mystery and beauty. The t'ao-t'ieh design is one of the most fantastic and imaginative to be found among Chinese bronze designs. It uniquely communicates the religious and ritual spirit of ancient Chinese bronze vessels. Bronze is an alloy of copper, tin, and a small amount of lead. Its appearance signaled the advancement in human culture from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age. For the approximately 2,000 years between the 17th century B.C. up until the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-200 A.D.), the Chinese people used rare and precious bronze to cast large quantities of ritual vessels, musical instruments, and weapons that were elegant in form, finely decorated, and clearly inscribed with Chinese characters. They affirm the artistic achievement of ancient China , and demonstrate how early Chinese used their ingenuity to create works incorporating both science and art from resources in nature. Fans- The first fans were made of birds' feathers and tree leaves. It was recorded that a fan made of pheasants' feathers was made in the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600-c. 1100 B.C.) However, king Wu of the Zhou Dynasty (llth century B.C.) was reputed the inventor of Chinese fan. It uses Chinese characters to communicate the spiritual world of the artist. Just as one thousand persons will have as many faces, one thousand persons will have as many differences in handwriting. Through the medium of form, way of handling the brush, presentation, and style, calligraphy as a work of art conveys the moral integrity, character, emotions, esthetic feelings and culture of the artist to readers affecting them by the power of appeal and the joy of beauty. Calligraphy is not only a practical technique for writing Chinese characters, but also a unique Oriental art of expression and a branch of learning or discipline as well. As a branch of learning it is rich in content, including the evolution of writing styles, development and rules of technique, history of calligraphy, calligraphers and their inheritance in art, and evaluation of calligraphy as a work of art. This branch of learning is wide ranging and deep, forming an important part of Chinese culture. Like chopsticks, this calligraphy used to be wholly Chinese. As Chinese culture spread to Korea , Japan , Vietnam and Singapore , calligraphy became a unique feature of Oriental art.
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