1. China’s People and Culture

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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. Confucianism Most widely practiced faith
Based on a collection of the teachings of Confucius ( BC) 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

7. 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

8. 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