Transcript 188_Overture

Welcome! Welcome!
huānyíng
Significance
of the Chinese Language



In Race and Culture: A World View, Thomas Sowell states
that since not all “the conquerors always had a more
advanced culture, ... [conquerors of the British] were
eventually absorbed by the English [language] … as various
conquerors were absorbed by the Chinese [language].”
in 493, Emperor Xiaowen (r. 471-499) initiated a radical
program of sinification under which “all Xianbei officials
below the age of thirty [were required] to speak Chinese at
court” (Ebrey 2nd Edition, 65).
The two most famous emperors in the Qing dynasty,
Kangxi and Qianlong, who were non-Chinese, became
experts of the language.
Defining Chinese
https://www.un.org/en/aboutun/languages.shtml





Chinese belongs to the Sino-Tibetan Family
Analytic Language vs. Synthetic Language
Word Order 词序 (I love you vs. You love me) vs.
Conjugation 词形变化 (go, going, went, gone);
A standard language based on the Beijing dialect in
Pronunciation & Vocabulary (for the most part)
Grammar defined & refined by modern literary works
written in Vernacular Chinese since 1919
One of the six official languages of UN—English,
French, Russian, Chinese, Spanish, Arabic
Romanization




Wade-Giles--Thomas Francis Wade (1867) &
Herbert Allen Giles (1912)
Yale--Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, and Japanese
(World War II)
Taiwan Zhuyin--The Commission on the Unification of
Pronunciation led by Woo Tsin-hang from 1912 to
1913; officially proclaimed on November 23, 1918
Pinyin (Mainland)--1958
Chinese Pinyin (1958)





Adopted by the Library of Congress for its
new catalogs
Download a copy of Standard Pinyin at
http://karikas.com/chinese/
Pinyin Song at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9AyvjyDgs
Chinese Phonetics
Five Properties






1. Chinese ‘Alphabet’ –V for ü in typing
2. Initials (Consonants) – B P M F D T N L
3. Finals (Vowels)
--Simple Finals -- a o e i/y u/w ü/y
--Compound Finals -- ai ao ou ei ia/ya
--Nasal Finals -- ian /yan, in/yin, iang/yang
4. Tone Marks (Four Tones on the main
vowel)
5. Dividing Marks as in Xī’ān 西安, a famous
historical city (instead of xian) or Hǎi’ōu 海鸥
for seagull (instead of haiou)
Make Up Your Mind!
Chinese is a tonal language
First tone:
wēn warm
(温)
 Second tone
wén smell
(闻)
 Third tone
wěn kiss
(吻)
 Fourth tone
wèn ask
(问)
 How to determine the meaning in Chinese?
--word order (I love you vs. You love me_
--context (paper or plastic?)
--tonal changes (You can embarrass yourself)

Chinese Radicals (Latin Radix for Root)
木
林
森
Tree/Wood
grove
forest
Chinese Names
Last name first; first name last







Surname
xìng 姓
Nee
shì 氏
Given name
míng 名
Courtesy name (Styled) zì 字
Artistic name or pseudonym, hào 号
Posthumous title
shìhào 谥号
Temple name
miàohào 庙号
Identify the last name
Sima Qian/Sun Yat-sen or Sun Zhongshan
(ca. 145 BC – 86 BC)/1866 – 1925
Tricky Names
A little Cultural Knowledge Could Go a Long Way


贾经理【jiǎ jīnglǐ】

Manager or Director Jia
贾/假【jiǎ】 fake; sham
 总经理【zǒngjīnglǐ】

傅【fù】 a surname
副【fù】 deputy; assistant; vice 傅总经理【 fùzǒngjīnglǐ】


general manager
ROC vs. PRC
National Party vs. Communist Party
Jiang Jieshi (Jiang Kai-shek) vs. Mao Zedong

The Republic of China
(ROC), commonly
known as Taiwan
nowadays, developed
out of the Wuchang
Uprising against the
Qing Dynasty on 10
October (Double Ten
Day) in 1911 under the
leadership of Sun Yatsen (Sun Zhongshan,
father of modern
China).

The People‘s
Republic of China
(PRC, since 1949),
commonly known as
China, is the most
populous state in the
world with over
1.3 billion people.
Located in East Asia,
governed by CCP for
Chinese Communist
Party).
中国地图【Zhōngguódìtú】
map of china
China and Its Neighbors
Administrative Divisions
行政区划【xíngzhèng qūhuà】
Political Administrative Divisions
行政区划【xíngzhèng qūhuà】


Direct-controlled municipality is the
highest level classification for cities used by
People's Republic of China (PRC, 1949, refers
to the mainland China),
直辖市【zhíxiáshì】 directly governed city
region (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and
Chongqing).
Provinces (22 + Taiwan pending)
Alphabetically Listed


1. Anhui 安徽; 2. Fujian 福建; 3. Gansu 甘肃;
4. Guangdong 广东; 5. Guizhou 贵州; 6. Hainan
海南; 7. Hebei 河北; 8. Henan 河南;
9. Heilongjiang 黑龙江; 10. Hubei 湖北; 11.
Hunan 湖南; 12. Jilin 吉林; 13. Jiangsu 江苏;
14. Jiangxi 江西; 15, Liaoning 辽宁; 16. Qinghai
青海; 17. Shandong 山东; 18. Shanxi 山西; 19.
Shaanxi 陕西; 20. Sichuan 四川; 21. Yunnan 云
南; 22. Zhejiang 浙江;
Taiwan 台湾—disputed status since 1949;
Minority Autonomous Regions (5)
& Their Capitals





内蒙古自治区【nèiněnggǔzìzhìqū】 the Nei Mongol (Inner
Mongolia) Autonomous Region (1947), Huhhot;
新疆维吾尔自治区【xīnjiāngwéiwú'ěrzìzhìqū】 The Xinjiang
Uygur (Uighur) autonomous region (1955), Wrumqi;
广西壮族自治区【guǎngxīzhuàngzúzìzhìqū】 The Guangxi
Zhuang Autonomous region (1957), Nanning;
宁夏回族自治区【Níngxiàhuízú zìzhìqū】 Ningxia Hui
Autonomous Region (1957), Yinchuan;
西藏自治区【xīzàngzìzhìqū】 the Xizang (Tibet) Autonomous
Region (1965), Lhasa;
特别行政区【tèbiéxíngzhèngqū】 Special
Administrative Region (2)
One Country; Two Systems




Macau Special Administrative
Region of the People's Republic
of China
Portuguese traders first settled
in Macau in the 16th century
and subsequently administered
the region until the handover on
20 December 1999.
The Sino-Portuguese Joint
Declaration and the Basic Law
of Macau stipulate that Macau
operates with a high degree of
autonomy until at least 2049,
fifty years after the transfer.
Hong Kong became a colony of
the British Empire after the First
Opium War (1839–1842).
Originally confined to Hong
Kong Island, the colony's
boundaries were extended in
stages so as to include the
Kowloon Peninsula and the New
Territories by 1898. It was
occupied by the Japanese
during the Pacific War, after
which the British resumed
control until 1997, when China
regained sovereignty. The Basic
Law stipulates that Hong Kong
shall enjoy a "high degree of
autonomy" in all matters except
foreign relations and military
defense.
Chinese Ethnic Groups 56




Han Ethnic Group 95.3%
55 Minority Ethnic Groups
http://uwch4.humanities.washington.edu/~WG/~1
88/Cultural%20Notes/
Or on class website
China Proper
Geographical Features




There are four areas within China Proper:
In the north is the North China Plain (flat and
vulnerable, easily taken over by invaders);
In the south is a region of low hills and wet
valleys;
In the southeast is the Sichuan Basin, ringed
by mountains and accessible mainly via the
gorges of the Yangzi River/Yangtze River, an
ideal place for taking refuge. Chongqing is a
city of fog.
In the northwest is a dry plateau;
The Yangzi River/Yangtze River
长江【Chángjiāng】
6,418 kilometres (3,988 mi)
The Yangzi/Yangtze River
about 6,380 km long
The Yangzi River, meaning a long river,
originated in Bayan Har Mountains, flows
through Sichuan and across central China
(passing 11 provinces: Qinghai, Xizang/Tibet,
Yunnan, Sichuan, Chongqing, Hubei, Hunan,
Jiangxi, Anhui, Jiangsu, and Shanghai), to
reach the Pacific near modern-day Shanghai;
Note the Yangzi River marks the natural divide
between the south and north;
Jiangnan Region
Two Crops a Year (Rice Cultivation)



江南 [jiāngnán] southern bank of the River—
a region in the lower Changjiang (Yangtze)
valley, including southern Jiangsu and Anhui
and northern Zhejiang (much celebrated in
poetry for its beauties and joys)
鱼米之乡【yúmǐzhīxiāng】 a land of fish and
rice; a land of plenty; two crops a year;
A natural barrier/protection
The (Unpredictable) Course
of the Yellow River
5,464 kilometers (3,395 mi)
The Yellow River passes the Loess Plateau
黄土高原 huángtǔ gāoyuán
The Loess Plateau is shaded.
Taming the Yellow River

Gun, in ancient
times, used the
method of blocking
the flood;


Yu the Great, Gun’s
son, used the
method of diverting
the flood;
Yu passed his own
house three times
but did not enter for
a visit since he was
so busy with taming
the Yellow River…
Foolish Old Man Moving the
Mountains vs. Yu the Great Taming
the Yellow River



愚公移山
【yúgōngyíshān】 the
Foolish Old Man
removed the
mountains.
to be resolute in
one's endeavor, no
matter what
hardships one
encounters




Taming the Yellow
River: the Way
The natural way;
事半功倍
【shìbàngōngbèi】 get
twice the result with
half the effort.
Mount Tai, a Holy Mountain
泰山【tàishān】
Mt. Tai, a leader
among five mountains

Mount Tai was originally known as Daizong or
Daishan. Since Qin times (221–207 BC) it has
also been known as Dongyue (“Eastern
Mountain”), one of the five holy mountains of
China, and has usually ranked as the first
among them; the other four are: Mount Heng
衡山 in Hunan province (south), Mount Hua 华
山 in Shaanxi province (west), Mount Heng 恒
山 in Shanxi province (north), and Mount Song
嵩山 in Henan province (central).
封禅 Fengshan at Mt. Tai


Historically important in the cult of official state rituals, Mount
Tai was the site of two of the most spectacular of all the
ceremonies of the traditional Chinese empire. One of them,
called feng, was held on top of Mount Tai and consisted of
offerings to heaven; the other, called shan, was held on a
lower hill and made offerings to earth. These ceremonies
are often referred to together as fengshan (worship of heaven
and earth) and were believed to ensure a dynasty's fortunes or
for cultural Legitimation. Emperors and Empires have to meet
certain standards for Fengshan.
They were carried out at rare intervals—during the Xi (Western)
Han dynasty (206 BC–AD 25) in 110, 106, 102, and 98 BC;
during the Dong (Eastern) Han dynasty (AD 25–220) in AD 56;
and by emperors of the Tang dynasty (618–907) in 666 and
again in 725. See Shiji 28: The Treatise on the Feng and Shan
Sacrifices.
天坛【Tiāntán】 in Beijing
the Temple of Heaven

The complex was visited
by the Emperors of the
Ming and Qing dynasties
for annual ceremonies of
prayer to Heaven for
good harvest. It is
regarded as a Taoist
temple, although
Chinese Heaven
worship, especially by
the reigning monarch of
the day, pre-dates
Taoism.
Beijing National Stadium
Bird Nest 鸟巢【niǎocháo】

Beijing National
Stadium 北京国家体育
场; (Běijīng Guójiā
Tǐyùchǎng), also known
as the National
Stadium (国家体育场)
or colloquially as the
Bird's Nest (鸟巢), is a
stadium in Beijing,
China. The stadium was
designed for use
throughout the 2008
Summer Olympics and
Paralympic Games.
不到长城非好汉
【bùdàochángchéngfēihǎohàn】
He who has never been to the Great Wall
is not a true man.


Since the 5th century BC, several walls have been
built that were referred to as the Great Wall. One of
the most famous is the wall built between 220–206
BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang.
Little of that wall remains; the majority of the
existing wall were built during the Ming Dynasty
(1368–1644).
The Great Wall stretches from Shanhaiguan 山海关in
the east to Lop Nur (Lake Lop 罗布泊) in the west,
along an arc that roughly delineates the southern
edge of Inner Mongolia.
Construction Principles
On topography/terrain, use narrow passes to make a
strategic point