Professional Documents
Culture Documents
China
1. The modern word China most likely derives from the name of the Qin (pronounced chin)
dynasty. First Emperor Qin Shi Huang (260-210 B.C.) of the Qin dynasty first unified China
in 221 B.C., beginning an Imperial period which would last until A.D. 1912.k
2. China is often considered the longest continuous civilization, with some historians marking
6000 B.C. as the dawn of Chinese civilization. It also has the worlds longest continuously
used written language.c
3. China is the fourth largest country in the world (after Russia, Canada, and the U.S.). It has
an area of 3,719,275 square miles (slightly smaller than the U.S.) and its borders with other
countries total more than 117,445 miles. Approximately 5,000 islands lie off the Chinese
coast.a
4. One in every five people in the world is Chinese. Chinas population is estimated to reach a
whopping 1,338,612,968 by July 2009. Chinas population is four times that of the United
States.a
5. Fortune cookies are not a traditional Chinese custom. They were invented in 1920 by a
worker in the Key Heong Noodle Factory in San Francisco.i
6. China is also known as the Flowery Kingdom and many of the fruits and flowers (such as
the orange and orchid) are now grown all over the world.i
7. Toilet paper was invented in China in the late 1300s. It was for
emperors only.m
8. The Chinese invented paper, the compass, gunpowder, and
printing.c
9. The Chinese invented kites (paper birds or Aeolian harps)
Invented in China, toilet paper was
about 3,000 years ago. They were used to frighten the enemies
initially only for emperors
in battle, and Marco Polo (1254-1324) noted that kites were also
used to predict the success of a voyage. It was considered bad luck to purposely let a kite
go.i
10. Cricket fighting is a popular amusement in China. Many Chinese children keep crickets as
pets.m
11. Despite its size, all of China is in one time zone.h
12. Many historians believe soccer originated in China around 1000 B.C.f
13. Ping-pong is one of the most popular games in China, but it was not invented in China. It
originated in Britain, where it is called table tennis.m
future, tens of millions of men will be unable to find wives, prompting some scholars to
suggest that this imbalance could lead to a threat to world security.m
43. The first known species of Homo erectus, the Peking Man, was found in China and lived
between 300,000-550,000 years ago. It is thought that he knew how to manipulate fire.c
44. During the first half the twentieth century, Shanghai was the only port in the world to accept
Jews fleeing the Holocaust without an entry visa.i
45. Chinese mathematics evolved independently of Greek mathematics and is consequently of
great interest to historians of mathematics.m
46. Originating as far back as 250 B.C., Chinese lanterns were an important symbol of long life.
Lanterns were once symbols of a familys wealth, and the richest families had lanterns so
large, it required several people with poles to hoist them into place.i
47. In the Tang dynasty, anyone with an education was expected to greet as well as say
goodbye to another person in poetic verse composed on the spot.i
48. In 1974, a group of farmers digging for a well in the Shaanxi province uncovered some bits
of very old pottery. They discovered the tomb of Qin (259-210 B.C.) the first emperor who
united China. The tomb contained thousands of amazing life-sized soldiers, horses, and
chariots.c
49. Chinas Grand Canal is the worlds oldest and longest canal at 1,114
miles (1,795 km) long with 24 locks and around 60 bridges.e
50. The bat is a traditional good luck symbol that is frequently depicted in
designs for porcelain, textiles, and other crafts.i
51. The bicycle was introduced into China around 1891 by two American
travelers named Allen and Sachtleben. The bicycle is now the primary
transportation for millions of Chinese. The last Qing emperor (Puyi)
rode a bicycle around the Forbidden City in Beijing. China is currently
The Grand Canal of China
the leading bicycle manufacturer.i
is the worlds longest canal
52. The Boxer Rebellion between 1898 and 1901 in northern China was
against Christian missionaries, foreign diplomats, and technology by a secret group called
the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists (Yihequan or I-ho-chuan) so named
because its members practiced weaponless martial arts as well as secret rituals. Westerns
called it shadow boxing and the members Boxers.m
53. Suspension bridges were invented in China in 25 B.C, 1,800 years before such bridges
were known in the West.m
54. The first American woman to win the Nobel Prize was Pearl S. Buck (1892-1973) for her
novels about China, most notably The Good Earth (1931). Amy Tan (1952-) is a best-selling
Chinese-American author of The Joy Luck Club.i
55. The Chinese word for civilization (wen) is pronounced the same as the word for script,
pattern, or calligraphy. In fact, calligraphy was thought to reveal the calligraphers moral and
spiritual self-cultivation as a type of heart print.i
56. The carp is a symbol of strength and perseverance. The scales and whiskers of the fish
make it resemble a dragon, the greatest symbol of power in China. Fish in general play a
large role in Chinese culture and the words for fish and abundance are pronounced the
68. Chinas national flag was adopted in September 1949 and first
flown in Tiananmen Square (the worlds largest public gathering
place) on October 1, 1949, the day the Peoples Republic of China
was formed. The red in the flag symbolizes revolution. The large
star symbolizes communism and the little stars represent the
The position of the stars on the
Chinese people. The position of the stars represents the unity of
Chinese flag represents the
the Chinese people under the leadership of the Communist Party.i peoples unity under Communism
69. China has the worlds oldest calendar. This lunar calendar
originated in 2600 B.C. and has 12 zodiac signs. It takes 60 years to complete.i
70. The number of birth defects in China continues to rise. Environmentalist and officials blame
Chinas severe pollution.d
71. The consumption of mushrooms was recorded in Chinese historical documents more than
3,000 years ago. In 1996, China produced 600,000 tons of mushrooms, making it the
worlds leading producer, and it has 60% of the worlds mushroom varieties.i
72. In 2007, dog food and toothpaste products made in China were recalled because they
contained poisonous ingredients. In July, Chinas head of the State Food and Drug
Administration was found to have accepted bribes from pharmaceutical companies. He was
executed.g
73. Famous Chinese and Chinese-American actors include Jackie Chan (Hong Kong), Chow
Yun Fat (Hong Kong), Bruce Lee (San Francisco), Jet Li (Beijing), Zhang Ziyi (Beijing), and
Lucy Lui (New York).e
74. The 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing were the most expensive games in history.bWhile the
2004 Athens Games were estimated to cost around $15 billion, the Beijing Games were
estimated to cost a whopping $40 billion.j