Sunteți pe pagina 1din 11

Chinese Traditions and

Beliefs
Mandarin Project

China: A Summary (What We Know)


China is the worlds most populous country, with a population of over 1.35billion.
It has 22 provinces.
The capital of China is Beijing.
Covers approximately 9.6million square kilometres.
Although China is a communist country which used to not allow religion, it is a
country with a great diversity of religions, with over 100 million followers of the
various faiths. The main religions are Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, China's
indigenous Taoism, along with Shamanism, Eastern Orthodox,
Christianity and the Naxi people's Dongba religion.

Luck: Where Does It Come From?


In China methods for attracting and increasing good luck heavily influence daily
life,practices that often originated in old traditions still find their way into modern
life. Beliefs about good luck in China come from passed down customs or
superstitions, and range from everything from auspicious colors to fateful
numbers.

Luck
in Chinese

Lucky Colour
Red is considered lucky in many aspects of Chinese culture, and this belief is
reflected by the colors inclusion in several customs. Red is often used for
traditional weddings to symbolize the happiness and joyous times to come for the
bride and groom. During Chinese New Year, some families hang red and gold
banners called hui chun. These decorations are meant to keep good luck within
the household, and show messages pertaining to good fortune.

Numerology
Numbers play a prominent role in Chinese beliefs about luck. Even numbers and
pairs are often considered lucky, and are associated with positive energy or "qi."
Exceptions occur when the word for a number sounds like something else. For
instance, the word for four sounds like the word for death and is therefore avoided,
whereas the word for the number three sounds a lot like the word for life and so is
considered good. Eight is considered among the luckiest of numbers, signifying
happiness and long life.With pronunciation of 'Ba' in Chinese, no. 8 sounds similar
to the word 'Fa', which means to make a fortune. It contains meanings of
prosperity, success and high social status too, so all businessmen favor it very
much.

Lucky Bamboo
Lucky bamboo is a plant that symbolizes good
luck, and enhances positive feng shui attributes
within a household. Feng shui is a traditional
Chinese practice that involves structuring space to
achieve harmony with nature and positive energy
flow. Lucky bamboo is also used in combination
with other luck charms during Chinese New Year to
intensify wealth and strong beginnings.
Surprisingly, the plant is not a true bamboo species
and is native to Cameroon in West Africa. True
bamboo is revered in China for its rapid growth
and strength, which make it a natural symbol for
good luck

Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion that has played a role in
influencing many of the good luck traditions of
China. However, the teachings of the Buddha
do not prescribe to the idea of good luck.
According to BuddhaNet, for Buddhists the key
to good fortune is realizing that it is honesty,
kindness, understanding, patience, forgiveness,
generosity, loyalty and other good qualities that
truly protect you and give you true prosperity.
Charms said to be blessed by monks may still
be considered a source of good luck in China,
despite the philosophy that they do not
necessarily impact one's fortunes.

Strange Chinese beliefs:


1.
2.
3.
4.

The more an animal suffers the more delicious it is.


Dead people enjoy a grave with a view.
Burnt paper goes to the afterworld.
It is another superstitious belief of the Chinese that if one has a
dream of teeth or snow, it indicates that his parents are dead.
5. If a baby cries for no reason, the Chinese believe that there are
ghosts around and the child is disturbed by the ghosts.
6. The Chinese believe that the numbers 8, 18, 13 and 168 are lucky.
Hence those who are on a gambling or business trip prefer these
rooms.
7. Another Chinese superstition is that if a dog howls for a few hours in
late night, it means someone died somewhere.

Chinese New Year:


Chinese New Year is an important
Chinese festival celebrated at the turn of
the Chinese calendar. It is also known as
the Spring Festival, the literal translation of
the modern Chinese name. Chinese New
Year celebrations traditionally run from
Chinese New Year's Eve, the last day of
the last month of the Chinese calendar, to
the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the
first month, making the festival the longest
in the Chinese calendar. The first day of
the New Year falls between 21 January
and 20 February.

Chinese traditional art:


Chinese art is visual art that, whether
ancient or modern, originated in or is
practiced in China or by Chinese artists.
The Chinese art in the Republic of China
(Taiwan) and that of overseas Chinese can
also be considered part of Chinese art
where it is based in or draws on Chinese
heritage and Chinese culture. Early "stone
age art" dates back to 10,000 BC, mostly
consisting of simple pottery and
sculptures. After this early period Chinese
art, like Chinese history, is typically
classified by the succession of ruling
dynasties of Chinese emperors, most of
which lasted several hundred years.

Chinese traditional clothing:


Traditional Chinese clothing is referred to as hanfu with many
variations such as traditional Chinese academic dress.
Depending on one's status in society, each social class had a
different sense of fashion. Most Chinese men wore Chinese
black cotton shoes, but wealthy higher class people would wear
tough black leather shoes for formal occasions. Very rich and
wealthy men would wear very bright, beautiful silk shoes
sometimes having leather on the inside. Women would wear silk
shoes, with certain wealthy women practicing bound feet wearing
coated Lotus shoes as a status symbol until in the early 20th
century. Men's shoes were usually less elaborate than women's.

S-ar putea să vă placă și