Chinese Culture

Understanding China and the Chinese is of paramount importance in today's world. With China's rapid economic growth and increasing political influence, there has been significant interest in learning the Chinese language around the world. While we constantly hear about China in political and economic terms, we rarely come across a book that explains what Chinese culture or a Chinese person is like today.This book offers a critical overview of Chinese culture intended for college students as well as for general readers interested in the topic. While 'Chinese culture' is often deployed in terms of kung fu, Confucius or calligraphy, this book refers to the traditional and modern experiences out of which contemporary Chinese people have grown. Internationally renowned scholar in China Studies, Professor Qian Suoqiao invites readers to join him on an exciting intellectual journey to critically explore important issues including history, language, governmentality, self-cultivation, aesthetics of life, nationalism, cosmopolitanism, communism, the rise of China and her soft power which contribute to the formation of what we call 'Chinese'.Contents: PrefaceChinese Cultural Identity: History and LanguagePax Sinica: The Chinese Model of GovernmentThree Religions as One: Confucianism, Taoism, and BuddhismA Poetic Culture: An Aesthetics of LifeThe Rise of Modern Chinese NationalismEmbracing the World: Cosmopolitan VisionsRadical Revolutions to a Super-StateThe Rise of China and Its Cultural ChallengeWorks CitedSuggested Further ReadingsChinese Character ListIndex
Readership: This book is designed to serve as a textbook for undergraduate survey modules on Chinese culture, civilization and history on college campuses worldwide. It will appeal to general readers who are eager to gain a better understanding of China and its people.Chinese;Culture;Introduction;Critical;Overview;China;People;Tradition;Modern;Communism;Chinese History;Rise of China;Chinese Aesthetics;Chinese Language;Yellow Emperor;Sima Qian;Confucius;Han Fei;Su Dongpo;Laozi;Zhuangzi;Du Fu;Tao Yuanming;Lin Zexu;Sun Yatsen;Yan Fu;Kang Youwei;Hu Shi;Lin Yutang;Hong Xiuquan;Lu Xun;Gu Hongming0Key Features:This book is an excellent addition to the anthropological and sociological approach made in Cambridge University Press' Introduction to Chinese CultureIn the Chinese Language, the cultural artefacts addressed in this book are glorified as 'national achievements'Professor Qian Suoqiao, an internationally renowned scholar of Chinese culture, offers here a critical guide on the many central themes of Chinese culture which define what counts as 'Chinese' today