Transcript Chinese Overview: A Brief History of China

MULAN: Cultural Assignment
 As
you watch the video describe 2
examples of each of the following
aspects of the culture of Ancient China
Filial Piety
 Ancestor Worship
 Dragons
 Crickets
 Similarities to the story of Fua Mulan
 Differences to the story of Fua Mulan

FILIAL PIETY 孝
The term "filial" (meaning "of a child") characterizes
the respect that a child, originally a son, should show
to his parents.
 This relationship was extended to a series of five
relationships
 Ruler to Ruled
 Father to Son
 Husband to Wife
 Elder Brother to Younger Brother
 Friend to Friend

FILIAL PIETY 孝
Specific duties were written down for each of these
sets of relationships.
 Such duties were also extended to the dead, where
the living stood as sons to their deceased family. This
led to the veneration/worship of ancestors.
 The idea of Filial piety influenced the Chinese legal
system: a criminal would be punished more harshly if
the culprit had committed the crime against a parent,
while fathers often exercised enormous power over
their children..
 Filial piety has continued to play a central role in
Confucian thinking to the present day

DRAGONS
 The
Dragon occupies a very important
position in Chinese mythology
 The origin of Chinese dragons is
unknown, but certainly pre-dates the
written history.
http://www.chinapage.com/dragon1.html
 http://www.crystalinks.com/chinadragons.html

DRAGONS
 The
Celestial/Heavenly Chinese Dragon
is comparable as the symbol of the
Chinese race itself.
 Chinese around the world call
themselves "Lung Tik Chuan Ren"
(Descendents of the Dragon).
 The Chinese Dragon is look upon as the
ultimate symbol of Good Fortune.
 The
Chinese Dragon, or Lung ,
symbolizes power and excellence,
bravery and boldness, heroism and
perseverance, nobility and divinity.
 A dragon overcomes obstacles until
success is his.
 He is energetic, decisive, optimistic,
intelligent and ambitious.
 Unlike
the negative energies associated with
Western Dragons, most Eastern Dragons are
beautiful, friendly, and wise.
 They are the angels of the Orient.
 Instead of being hated, they are loved and
worshipped.
 Temples and shrines were built to honor them,
for they were believed to control the rain,
rivers, lakes, and seas.
 It is regarded as the Supreme Being amongst
all creatures. It has the ability to live in the
seas, fly up the heavens and coiled up in the
land in the form of mountains.
CRICKETS
Cricket Culture in China encompasses a 2000 year
history of both singing insects and fighting crickets.
Two millennium of tradition may be divided into three
eras.
 From times prior to the Tang dynasty (500 B.C. – 618
A.D.), people only appreciated the cricket’s powerful
tunes.
 During the Tang dynasty (618 – 906 A.D.), people
started to keep crickets in cages and enjoy their songs
while in captivity.
 Under the Song dynasty (960 – 1278 A.D.), cricket
fighting flourished as a popular sport

CRICKETS
Cricket Symbolism: Success
 Crickets also are symbolic of success and family size
in China. The insects lay hundreds of eggs before
dying. Centuries ago, large families were very
important to the Chinese, as they were equated with
success. To wish someone to have a family like
crickets was to wish them success, Jin says.
 Cricket Culture: Music
 The Chinese believe the crickets make not noise, but
beautiful music. Songs have been written around the
chirping sounds made by male crickets

MULAN
Hua Mulan 花木蘭is a legend from ancient China and
was originally described in a poem known as the
Ballad of Mulan (木蘭辭).
 The historical setting of Hua Mulan is uncertain. The
earliest accounts of the legend state that she lived
during the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534).
 It is recorded that she was born around Hú Nán Shāng
Chūi Shì, a province in northern ancient China that
practiced the arts of the sword, as well as fighting and
kung fu.

As a child, Mulan loved riding horses around her gaff
and shooting arrows, as well as reading books about
war, as she was from an area dedicated to practicing
the arts of fighting.
 Mulan was around 18 when she joined an all-male
army in place of her father, who was too old, and a
younger brother who was still too young.
 During her war years, she fought against forces from
the Middle East and the Mongolian/nomadic tribes,
and was able to claim victory for China for a short
period of time.
 She was then offered a title, but rejected it and went
home where she died of old age.
