LITMIR.BIZ

       The China Few People See

      CHAPTER 1

       China Past and Present

       Historical and Mythological Figures Who Still Matter Today

       Highlights of Chinese History

       Here Comes the West: The Opium Wars

       Civil War and the Rise of the Communists

       The Chinese Language

       Mandarin or Cantonese?

       China’s Many Religious and Philosophical Traditions

       Chinese Buddhism and Other Beliefs

       Famous Historical and Cultural Sites in China

      CHAPTER 2

       Chinese Culture and Food

       Traditional Chinese Arts

       A Long Tradition of Chinese Silk

       Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)

       China’s Martial Arts Traditions

       Chinese Literature and Legends

       To the Chinese, Food is Heaven

       Regional Chinese Cuisines

       What is Real Chinese Food?

      CHAPTER 3

       Chinese Character and Society

       Building a Harmonious Society

       Communicating Chinese Style

       A Sea of Humanity

       The Communist Party of China

       Confucian Values and Family Life

       Women and Children in China

       China’s Millennial Generation

       Internet and Cell Phone Culture

      CHAPTER 4

       The Face of Urban China

       Rise of the Chinese Middle Class

       Doing Business in China

       Working in a Chinese Office

       China’s Education Boom

       Architecture and Infrastructure

       Being a Foreigner in China

       Studying and Living in China

      CHAPTER 5

       The Chinese at Play

       Sports and Leisure Activities

       Celebrating Chinese Style

       China’s Newfound Love of Travel

       The Evolution of Chinese Music

       Modern Chinese Art and Artists

       Chinese Books, Magazines and Comics

       Chinese Cinema in China

       Famous Actors and Actresses

       Chinese Films You Should Watch

       Television in China

      CHAPTER 6

       Visiting China

       What to See in Beijing

       What to See in Shanghai

       What to See Outside Beijing and Shanghai

       Main Sites in Other Parts of China

       Off the Beaten Track in China

       My Favorite Places in China

       Getting Around in China

       Visiting Taiwan

       Visiting Hong Kong

       Photo Credits

      THE CHINA FEW PEOPLE SEE

      In a single generation, China has evolved from an ancient civilization into a modern nation. Reminders of the past are everywhere, from the Great Wall to the deference and respect with which people treat their elders. China has now stepped onto the world stage as a great power, but for a long time we knew next to nothing about it. And practically everything that we now touch in our daily lives comes from China, from the clothes we wear to the iPhones we carry.

      A PLA soldier at the entrance to the Forbidden City.

      China formally introduced itself to the world in 2008 when Beijing hosted the Summer Olympic Games. For many people, this was their first close look at China. Before this, their vision of the country centered around ping-pong, panda bears, kungfu and tea. In the past two decades, the West has witnessed an emerging world power that in some ways looks like any other modern nation but in others looks awfully foreign.

      Since I first visited China in the early 1980s, things have changed dramatically. At that time, China was emerging from a xenophobic period when it cut itself off from the rest of the world and was deeply entrenched in Communist ideology. With Mao Zedong’s death and Deng Xiaoping’s economic reforms of the early 1980s, China began a slow transformation from a society where the central government owned and operated literally everything to a new hybrid society, the likes of which the world has never seen.

      I have been traveling to China for almost 30 years now, and have spent many of these years training students to travel, work and study in China. Although China today looks superficially like a modern, Westernized country, under the surface it is very different. This includes things like humor, television and movies, cultural values, how the Chinese perceive and interact with the media, their history and daily practices, the kind of literature they value, social rules of conduct, what, how and where they eat, and so on. This book attempts to expose you, the reader, to the various things in China that make it quintessentially China. These are the things that all Chinese know and have grown up with. Understanding them will help to make your own experience of China much richer because you will understand why people do the things they do and think the way they think.

      Old and new.

Скачать книгу