China’s People and Culture

China Slightly smaller than US (4th largest in size) Population- 1.3 Billion (largest in pop) Capital – Beijing Communist state- President Hu Jintao

Population Control Policies 1960s Mao called for families to have no more than 2 children Overpopulation remained a social and economic problem Deng Xiaopeng came to power in the 1970s and implemented the one child policy Couples who followed the policy received better jobs and housing, pay raises Couples who did not follow the policy faced fines, wage cuts, loss of jobs, and social disapproval

Culture Many ethnic groups 52 official languages 92% of people though are of the Han ethnic group Chinese Language-Non-phonetic- symbols do not give indication of the sounds Uses ideograms- pictures or characters representing a thing or idea; over 20,000

Daoism Based on teachings of Laozi (604BC-531BC) Path to true happiness lies in living in a harmonious relationship with the natural world Path is called the right way or the Dao

Confucianism Most widely practiced faith Based on a collection of the teachings of Confucius (551-479BC) called the Analects Society functions best if every person respected the laws and behaved according to his or her position Stressed importance of honoring one’s ancestors

Atheism Officially China is an atheist state Atheism denies the existence of God According to Communism, religion is nothing more than a set of myths to keep workers under the donation of the ruling class Communists discourage all religious practice- seized churches, temples, and other places of worship

Traditional Medicine Many practice traditional medicine Special diets, herbal remedies, breathing exercises, massage, and acupuncture Acupuncture- practice of inserting very thin needles at specific points on the body to cure diseases or ease pain