Traditional Chinese Culture and Han Nationality

Culture

What is culture? There is a broad definition for this. During the ancient times, in China and other foreign countries, “culture” has constantly been brought about and discussed, and yet no unitary agreement has come out for its definition. Even in as early as Confucius’s era, the culture was talked about as “文” (wen, learning) and “质” (zhi, nature, character), the opposing side, which was supposed to be “the moral behaviour and the norms that the learner should have.” So today the collocated saying “文质彬彬” (wenzhi binbin) implies “the state or the desired world that gentlemen (men of learning, being cultured, together with his moral behaviour) are expected to reach. In China “文化” (wenhua, culture) was first used in West Han Dynasty (206 B. C.—24 A. D. ) when “culture” referred to “Civil Administration” (文治, wenzhi) as opposed to “Military Administration” (武治, wuzhi). In Jin Dynasty (265 A. D.—316 A. D. ) in China, according to history, “culture” only means “the Civil Administration of the country,” which implies “a means of state apparatus,” and that does not take the same meaning as it has today.

However, as “天文” (tianwen, astronomy) was used in ancient China to refer to the natural phenomena and the laws of nature, “人文” (renwen, the humane) soon started to refer to “the kinds of existing social phenomena” then, which is, to some extent, similar to the concepts of “culture” that people usually have in mind today for its broad sense.

But, “culture” is again difficult to define, because in different situations “culture” seems to have been defined in different ways. In social communication, for example, “culture” has been used for diversified purposes and taking more than 260 meanings. (See 沈锡伦, 1993). For instance, in term of education, people sometimes say “没有文化,” (meiyou wenhua) which always suggests that “he/she is illiterate;” but “学文化” (xue wenhua) means “learning from the very beginning,” usually refers to the process of learning to read, to become literate from books. Then the saying “文化水平高” (wenhua shuiping gao) always tells that “someone has learned a lot from books” and implies, therefore, “he/she is more knowledgeable than others.” So, “culture” is often the symbol for book knowledge and education.

In another aspect, then, “culture” seems to have often been related to some departments (usually departments responsible for “the promotion of spiritual civilization”) of the modern social structure. These departments include 1) musical performances, entertainment, publishing, cultural relics, etc. 2) work units undergoing such activities as a theatrical company, theatre, concert hall, art museum, library, and cultural center (文化馆, wenhua guan), etc. Therefore such related terms come out today as “cultural activity” (文化活动, wenhua huodong), “cultural exchange” (文化交流, wenhua jiaoliu) and “cultural consumption” (文化消费, wenhua xiaofei).

But, as we can see, what has been mentioned above does not concern the real essence of culture. “Culture, rationally, is the manifestation of human social activities and thus, the product of human behavior” (常敬宇, 1998). In this case, culture has always been defined in the following aspects.

①   Historically, culture is a process of social progress that represents the  development of human civilization;

②  Socially, culture reflects the social progress and coexists with human beings in society;

②    Spiritually, culture is the product of spiritual activities, which is the result of specific human communities;

④  Culture is also a lifestyle, a symbol and the accurate reflection of human life, activities, and behaviors of the time;

⑤  Culture is a national phenomenon, reflecting the unique cultural forms of the nation, as each country has its cultural image that symbolizes the nationality.

Traditional Chinese Culture

In modern society, traditional culture is undoubtedly part of the heritage of history. Traditional Chinese culture, then, can be traced far back to the time before the century. Though a complexity and pluralism, traditional Chinese culture seems to have already formed its core theory by developing and embracing gradually many cultural branches. Confucius’s ideology, Sayings from the Books of Changes (易经, Yijing), Buddhism and Taoism have been so influential and powerful that they have unconsciously become the academic focus of the traditional Chinese culture.

The traditional Chinese culture is usually classified into four types :

(1) Material Culture

①  Archeology: unearthed artifacts (pots & pottery, stone artifact, bronze ware, etc.), bribe sites, emperor’s or king’s resting places or tombs.

②  Architecture, gardens, and parks: tower, pavilion, veranda, stone tablet, bridge and city walls.

③  Food culture: ways of cooking, tea, wine, dinner-sets, chopsticks, and manners during meals, etc.

④   Handicraft art: embroidery, weaving & knitting, clay sculpture, carving, pottery & porcelain, etc.

⑤   Dressing.

(2) Spiritual Culture

①   Arts: literature, music, dance, drama, folk arts, fine arts, seal cutting, calligraphy, etc.

②     Concepts: aesthetic conceptions, social values, and taboos.

③     Moral principles: respect the elderly and take care of the young, be filial to parents, help and support the poor, lay stress on etiquette.

④   Religion: Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity, Islam, and Confucianism.

(3) Social Culture

①  Folk culture: Festival Celebrations, Lantern Display in Parks, Customs about Marriage and Funeral, Sacrifices-offering to Gods and ancestors.

②   Entertainment culture: Dragon-Boat Race, Stilts-Walking, Swing Playing, Chinese Chess, Go, Mahjong, Drinker’s Wager Game.

③  Sports culture: Wushu, Horseracing, Arrow Shooting, Mountain Climbing, Qi Gong, Acupuncture, Massage, etc.

(4) Language Culture

Chinese character and culture.

The Characteristics of the Han Nationality

As can be seen, language and culture coexist with human society, just because language is an important part of culture and culture is symbolic of the nationalism. Like other nationalities, the Han nationality has some of its unique cultural features that are likewise clearly reflected in its language. Chinese, the language used by the Han nationality (though also used by the Hui nationality, 回 族) has, of course, been embedded with rich cultural implications. As part of the traditional culture, Chinese language culture is an accurate reflection of the deep-rooted psychological features of nationality. When we are studying the Chinese culture, we naturally come to read the Chinese language used, to see also the psychological mechanism behind.

In the Chinese language culture, we find the following features typical: 1) The Moderation Principle; 2) Ostentation and Competitiveness Principle; 3) The Unification Principle; 4) The Closed Nature Principle, and 5) The Recognition Principle.

1/5 The Moderation Principle

The Moderation Principle (中庸, Zhongyong) implies the moderate nature of Chinese in dealing with worldly matters. People’s idea of “不敢为天下 先” (bugan wei tianxia xian, Never venture to take the world lead) was recorded as early as in “老子” (Lao Tzu) and his book Tao Te Ching (道德经, Daodejing). Confucius (551 B. C.) also advocated “过犹不及” (guoyou buji, “to exceed is as bad as to fall short”) and “中庸为德也” (zhongyong weide ye, “the moral power of the Middle Use is transcendent”), which was the philosophy of life prevailing and dominant in his lifetime. Grown and developed in Confucius’ time, the Moderation Principle has not only had a substantial impact on human beliefs of the Chinese but also on the language that people use.

For example, the language structure “不 X” as in “不妨” (bufang), “不过” (buguo), “不禁” (bujin), “不管” (buguan), etc. are obvious signs of this belief, because the structure does not express the negative sense. But when a derogative idea does have to be expressed, Chinese people will choose to say “不 X” instead of using the straightforward offensive language for that sense. For example, “他今天身体不好” (ta jintian shenti bu hao. He is not well today). But, in language, “不好” in fact means “坏” (huai, bad). However, nobody, in this case, will say “他今天身体坏.” Another example is “这孩子字写得不错” (zhe haizi zi xiede bucuo. The child’s handwriting is good). Again, in language, “不错” means “好,” and it is also the opposite for “错,” which is, of course, not used in complementary situations, and this sentence does not, in fact, express “这孩子字写得 错,” but express “这孩子字写得好.” So when expressing either complimentary or derogatory ideas, the Chinese language does not go to extremes, but, instead, choose to take the mild way to say so. Therefore, when you are invited to dinner, the host or hostess will often say “没有什么菜” (meiyou shenme cai), “菜不好” (cai buhao), “没买到什么好菜” (mei maidao shenme haocai), “请多多包涵” (qing duoduo baohan) (Please excuse for the food  we offer, as I haven’t got anything good. No good food. Sorry, … etc.). But, in fact, the food offered is rich and good enough because the host/hostess has made a lot of preparations for the dinner party! Similarly, a Westerner in this situation would probably say, “These are some of the foods I selected and are well cooked. I think they’ll be delicious, and I hope you’ll like them.”

Also, the Chinese like to say “我们说…” (women shuo, We think), “我们赞成…” (women zancheng,  We agree that), but in fact to mean “I think/I believe… I agree that … ,” because Chinese want to be “mediocre” and not too “individual!” Similarly, such collocated and popular sayings as “知足常乐” (zhizu changle. Contentment brings happiness), “各打五十大板” (geda wushi daban. Punish the wronged and the wrong-doer alike), “比上不足,比下有余” (bishang buzu, bixia youyu. Better than some, though not as good as others) are proof enough of the Moderation Principle, because they want just to show the impartial, unbiased values focusing on present contentment, mediocrity, group value rather than on individuals, which is considered an important language manifestation of the Chinese language.

2/5 Ostentation and Competitiveness Principle

“讲排场” (jiang paichang, putting up a show), “摆阔气” (bai kuoqi, displaying wealth) is deep-rooted in Chinese culture and prevailing practice in modern Chinese life. For example, young people today will spend more than they can afford on marriage, for the wedding party and the decoration and ornamentation of the wedding chamber. To display their wealth, some, in their daily lives, are always pursuing a supermodel of consumption as on clothing, houses, cars and other life necessities. This characteristic lopsidedness of life values often leads to deformed and severe competitive behavior among people.

Take “正宗” (zhengzong, genuineness) for example. “正宗” is originally a Buddhist wording, meaning “the directly-related successor of a certain religious sect,” but currently the saying has been more often used in trade dealings. For instance, “正宗牛皮鞋” (genuine leather shoes). The commercials of this kind can be seen almost everywhere in markets. Sellers use the language in this way simply because they want to be avoided being suspected of having been selling fake commodities. So “genuine” is the word that sellers are trying to compete for—a label for the fame and quality of their products.

In the economic sector, competitiveness shown in the language is even more on the increase. For example, when mentioning the size of an enterprise, words used for can be “公司” (gongsi, company), “总公司” (zong gongsi, corporation) and then “集团公司” (jituan gongsi, group company). The last one ranks the highest and seems to be the most powerful when the company’s capacity and the organizational structure is concerned (But they probably are the same!). When talking about the quality of products, we have been trying to label them for “市优” (shiyou, Municipal Best), “省优” (shengyou, Provincial Best), “部优” (buyou, Ministry/Department Best) and “国优” (guoyou, National Best). Products of “国优” are of No. 1 quality, and nothing else can compete for it! (But probably the products have never been appraised or identified by any levels of authorities!) What’s more, some products on sale today are labelled “XXX Gold Award in XXX World Trade Fair,” because they seem to be of better quality than those of “国优!” Another interesting example is in the service sector. As far as quality is concerned, people will choose to say “豪华型” (haohua xing, luxury) for the service facilities they offer; but then the saying “超豪华型” (chao haohua xing, super-luxury) soon comes out, as if that name means “better and upgraded service!” (But, in fact, they probably provide the same type of service, or the service is even less good!)

“商场” (shangchang, market/bazaar) is the exact word that tells people the place where they can have their shopping done. But soon come out “XXX 购物中心” (gouwu zhongxin, shopping centre), “XXX 商品总汇” (shangpin zonghui, commodity centre) and “XXX商城” (…shangcheng, commodity city). But people are disappointed to find that “商城” does not offer more and better quality goods or better services. Instead, they find the goods there are even more expensive! “(电)影院” (dianyingyuan, cinema) is the name familiar to all because movies are shown there, but the words “影城/影都” (ying cheng/du, movie city) soon pop up just for the same business!

Sometimes it is really amusing to read such a piece of news as “商业系统 (shangye xitong) 评出了 (ping chu le) 100 位 (yibai wei) ‘优秀营业员’ (youxiu yingye yuan), 其中十名为(qizhong shiming wei) ‘最佳的最佳’ (zuijia de zuijia, Best of the Best)”一 “100 shop assistants have been selected and titled the ‘Best Shop Assistants’ in the Trade Sector, and 10 of them have been honorably titled ‘Best of the Best’.” Another sentence is “这些歌曲是 (zhexie gequ shi) ‘精华中的精华’ (jinghua zhong de jing- hua)”—“These songs are ‘the Best of the Best.’” Isn’t the saying interesting? Doesn’t the language show the “Ostentation and Competitiveness” (攀比, panbi) nature of Chinese culture?

3/5 The Unification Principle

We all know that the word “狗” (gou, dog) carries a strong negative sense in many collocated Chinese sayings. For example, “走狗” (zougou), “狗东西” (gou dongxi), “狗腿子” (gou tuizi), “狗头军师” (goutou junshi), etc. They are the abusive language people use to call those who show the “loyalty” for their masters. But it still seems difficult for foreigners, or even some Chinese to understand why “狗” (a pet so loyal to its master) will mean so strongly negative in Chinese. The problem has been raised and much discussed in lexicology, but remains unsolved, only because it goes far beyond the word itself can tell—a word that is closely related with history and with one of the nation’s important characteristics—the Unification Principle (大统一原则, datongyi yuanze) for a better understanding.

When we talk about the “unification,” we mean the “centralization” or “reunion” of the world matters. Since China has been under the feudal separatist rule for thousands of years, “power” and “monopoly” are the priority for a hard-won unified state, which resulted from the long-time separation of independent states.

In Chinese literature or arts, we are all familiar with such moving scenes as family members who, after going through all sorts of hardships and sufferings in the war, will always have to come to a happy reunion; lovers, for one reason or another, are always separated at the beginning, and each has to go through great difficulties before a happy gathering arrives at the end. But how are that cultural stereotypes demonstrated in its language?

“挂羊头, 卖狗肉” (gua yangtou mai gourou, to hang up a sheep’s head and sell dog meat—try to fob somebody off with something inferior) is a saying familiar to all Chinese, implying “to sell or do something inferior or bad under the disguise of ‘superior’ (quality).” But the question is: which is better, “羊肉” (mutton) or “狗肉” (dog meat)? Different people will have different views on that. So the questions soon arise: 1) Why don’t people say “挂狗头, 卖羊肉?” and 2) Why do Chinese people think highly of “sheep” than “dog”?

For this answer, we have to go back to history. In ancient China, “羊 (yang, sheep) had long been considered an “auspicious” animal. “羊，祥也。” (《说文解字》) (yang, xiang ye. Sheep is an auspicious animal. Shuowen jiezi, Origin of Chinese Characters, the earliest Chinese dictionary in East Han Dynasty). So “吉羊” (jiyang) was used then to mean “吉祥” (jixiang, auspiciousness/luckiness), a popular saying today. In daily life, sheep are often seen in a group and are seldom in single. When sheep are seen or brought together, they are called “羊群” (yangqun) in Chinese. “群” means “crowd, group (of people or animals).” So “羊群,” the get-together of sheep, has been much loved by people because it rightly fits the group value orientation of the Han Nationality. On the contrary, the Chinese character “独” (du, isolation), the opposite of “群,” is made up of with a part of “犬” (quan, dog), and so is the formation of the Chinese character “狗.” Interestingly, “独” comes out of dogs’ fighting with each other for things to eat. Then the dog with or without food is often seen isolated, which is, of course, against the concept of group value favored in Chinese culture. So the Chinese value a sheep more than a dog as sheep favor group efforts rather than individual’s—the value orientation in the culture for unification.

What’s more, such Chinese words as  “美” (mei, beauty), “善” (shan, kindness), “羨” (xian, admiration) and “儀” (yi, appearance), etc. all carry positive senses, because these words are interestingly made up of with a part of “羊”; on the other hand, words like “犯” (fan, violation or invasion), “狠” (hen, fierceness), “狂” (kuang, madness), “狡猾” (Jiaohua, cunningness) and “狱” (yu hell), etc. all carry strong negative meanings because these words are all taking a part of “犬” for word-formation.

When interpersonal relationships are concerned, the Chinese like to say “同胞” (tongbao, fellow countryman, compatriot) to those who have blood relationship with the nation, since “胞” means “born of the same parents.” So come the sayings “港澳同胞” (gang’ao tongbao, compatriots in Hong Kong and Macao), and “海外侨胞” (haiwai qiaobao, overseas compatriots), the Chinese living overseas. Other similar expressions are “骨肉” (gurou, meat and bone) and “手足” (shouzu, hand and foot). They, of course, cannot be separated physically, but they are metaphorically used in language because they try to imply “blood brothers and blood sisters” in the sense “unified” rather than the “individual being.” Another example is “国家” (guojia, country). The two words are the combinations “国” (country) and “家” (family). But when they are used separately and individually, each has its meaning. However, in language, the two words are often brought together to mean just “country” while the meaning of “家” (family) has lost. The reason for this is simple: “国” is a bigger family, having a bigger group value than “家” (an individual family)—the strong value orientation of the Unification Principle.

4/5 The Closed Nature Principle

In history, China, for its complicated topography and backward transportation system, has been self-reliant in the economy and been entirely cut off from the outside world. Because of its typical social structure and the geographical conditions, China tends to be self-centered, and its people are more likely to have an egoistic world outlook, which can be seen even in their houses. For example, “四合院” (Siheyuan, a compound with houses around a square courtyard typical in the north of China) and “客家楼” (Kejialou, a building designed by the Hakkas in Southern China, with a courtyard and upstairs rooms and with surrounded walls). They represent the typical closed style of living of the Chinese people.

Closed Nature is also shown in language. Take the words “中国” (Zhongguo, a centralized nation) for example. The words, in fact, explain how the people in Central Plains (中原, zhongyuan) think of the place they have been dwelling on generations after generations—a center of the world. Ancient Chinese held that China had been surrounded by sea on all sides. So say “海内” (hainei) to mean “ the place of inland,” and “海外” (haiwai), “places overseas.” So there are such popular sayings today as “海外华人” (haiwai huaren,  overseas Chinese) and “海外来客” (haiwai laike, friends from overseas). The poetic sayings “四海为家” (sihai weijia, make one’s home wherever one is) and “五湖四海” (wuhu sihai,  all corners of the land) in the Chinese Dictionary also tell how ancient Chinese think of China then.

Interestingly, “国” (guo, country) is a character typically formed because in “国” the inside character “玉” (yu, jade) is encircled. Since Jade is valuable and also the symbol of power in ancient China, it has to be tightly enclosed and is never allowed to flow out! So are the other words with similar implications. These words are “团” (tuan), “图” (tu), “固” (gu), “园” (yuan), etc. But aren’t they the very words that tell the Closed Nature (封闭心理, fengbi xinli) of the Chinese?

5/5 The Recognition Principle

When we say “recognition” (认同, rentong), we mean the “assimilation,” which means Chinese culture develops as it gets impacted and is taking over cultures of other nations in the world. When intermixed with other cultures, Chinese culture unconsciously recognizes and accepts the values of other cultures, which are, first of all, demonstrated in the way of language. The following two aspects of the language are thought to be typical as shown in the “Recognition Principle.”

(1) Foreign Words: from Pronunciation Translation to Meaning Translation

At the earliest time, foreign words come into the Chinese language usually by way of pronunciation translation, i.e., a translation for how the word is sounded. For example, “microphone” (麦克风, maikefeng), “penicillin” (盘尼西林, pannixilin), “LASAR” (镭射, leishe), etc. Though the translation means nothing at first in Chinese, they are so useful and popular that they soon become recognized and accepted. As time goes on, people begin to wish that translations should carry meaning, because the pronunciation translations are keeping themselves somewhat distant from the Chinese language itself. So, words about meaning translations soon come into the language as “microphone” (话筒, huatong), “penicillin” (青霉素, qingmeisu), “LASAR” (激光, jiguang), etc., which become an essential part of the Chinese language, too. The change from pronunciation translation to meaning translation explains how Chinese vocabulary expands and develops, recognizing and accepting values of other cultures—in a way that psychologically experience them first and then understand them more for the meaning conveyed than the words carry literally.

The Chinese language also expands by way of blending, i. e. mixing the pronunciation and its meaning. For instance, “幽默” (youmo, humour), “绷带” (bengdai, bandage), “维生素” (weishengsu, vitamin), “霓虹灯” (nihongdeng, neon), etc.

In other cases, some Chinese words are borrowed from the pronunciation of foreign words, and then their meanings are made complete by adding other Chinese words with meaning. For example, “酒吧” (jiuba, bar), “卡车” (kache, car), “芭蕾舞” (baleiwu, ballet), “桑拿浴” (sangnayu, sauna), etc.

Also, the language used in Hong Kong and Macao has a significant impact on the mainland and become popular soon and are highly recognized. “迷你” (mini, mini), “作秀” (zuoxiu, show), “托福” (tuofu, TOEFL), are some of the examples.

(2)Addressing Foreigners and People of Other Nationalities

On informal occasions, the Han people like to use “老” (lao, old) or “小” (xiao, young) to address someone they know well to make the occasion more relaxing and friendly. For example, they call someone surnamed “张” (zhang), “老张” or “小张” not because the one being called is elder or younger (though there are times he /she is), but because being addressed “Mr. Zhang,” “Mrs. Zhang” or “张老师” (Zhanglaoshi) seems to be too formal and solemn. But if he/she is elder, it’s a customary practice for the Han people to address him/her  “张老” (Zhang Lao, Old Zhang) to show respect for the elders. So, in this way, it is not at all strange for people to address Epstein (爱泼斯坦, aipositan), “爱老” (Aiiao), an old foreign friend of the Chinese, just for the sake of showing respect. In addition, for well-known people like “Shakespeare,” “M. Thatcher” and “Gorbachorve,” etc., Chinese will tend to address them “莎翁” (shaweng), “撒夫人” (sa furen) and “戈氏” (geshi), to make them sound more friendly, respectable and recognize them as if they were Chinese by nature. So today, “老外” (laowai, 外国人, foreigners), “老美” (laomei, 美国人, Americans) are rather popularly used in spoken Chinese, because the Han people are more likely to recognize foreign people and put them unconsciously into one big family—one of the characteristics of the Han nationality.

Similarly, the Han people will call their friends “买买提” (maimaiti) in Xingjiang Autonomous Region “老买” (laomai) or “小买” (xiaomai). In fact, “买” is not the friends’ family name, but it is the practice of the Han people to address their friends, even those of other nationalities, in his friendly way to show that they are likely to recognize the values of other cultures also by way of addressing people.