It is the essence of why people believe as they do and act as they do and give importance to things as they do. .
Elements of culture:.
values .
norms .
beliefs .
emotions .
relationships .
language and technology .
General Characteristics of Chinese culture:.
1. Tied to highly developed agriculture which confined itself almost exclusively to the plains and valleys -- mountains are scarcely utilized; .
2. A complex form of political organization which were the most highly perfected in the history of human societies; .
3. A technical civilization; .
4. Man-nature relationship: harmony with nature. .
o the exclusion of opposition .
o reject the idea of the absolute .
o reject the positive distinction between mind and matter .
o the notions of complementarity .
o the idea of order as an organic totality .
5. Human nature: Innate goodness of human nature. .
6. Past-time orientation: Ancestor worship, strong family tradition .
7. Relational orientation: collectivism. .
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Geography.
How large is China?.
Third largest in the world (after Russia and Canada) .
Name.
The People's Republic of China (PRC) .
The Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan) .
Population.
Over 1.2 billion .
Political Divisions.
21 provinces .
5 autonomous regions .
3 independent municipalities (Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin) .
Major geographical divisions.
Tibet: a barren plateau well above sea level surrounded by formidable mountain passes .
Sinkiang: Chinese Turkestan, partly desert, partly bleak grassy plateau .
Inner Mongolia: a region north of the Great Wall, only marginally usable for agriculture .
Manchuria: fertile basin in the northeast .
China Proper .
o North China: Highland zone in the West mostly covered with loess (Kansu, Shensi, Shansi), lowland plain in the center(Hopei, Honan, and parts of Shantung, Anhwei, and Kiangsu), and the Shandung promontory. The largest plain in China (North China Plain) .
o South China: Rain forest in the south-west to small hilly regions in the south-east.
