China's Population & The One Child Policy

As of January 2011, the worlds population was about 6.7 billion people.  China, with a population of 1.3 million people represents about 20% of the worlds overall population.  This makes China the worlds most populated country.  This though may not stay this way because of China's one child policy which began in 1979.  It was originally designated as a temporary measure because of it's over-population. The policy still continues today.  This policy limits couples to only having one child.  Over the first 20 years it reduced China's population by 300 million people.

http://www.historycentral.com/nationbynation/China/Population.html

This chart shows China's population growth from 1980 (right after the one child policy was put into place) to 1996.

http://geography.about.com/od/populationgeography/a/onechild.htm
http://geography.about.com/od/populationgeography/a/chinapopulation.htm

Official and Traditional Chinese Holidays

January 1st- New Year's Day (Official holiday)
This official holiday is not as popular as it is in other parts of the world because of the Chinese New Years festival that follows soon after.  There are lots of parties in parks and dancing halls and employees and students are given off. 

1st day of the 1st lunar month- Spring Festival or Chinese New Year (Traditional holiday)
Biggest and most popular festival in all of China.  It is the equivalent to our Christmas in level of importance. This festival often lasts three to five days.  The date of the Chinese New Year is based off of the Chinese Calender.






http://journals.utoledo.edu/xinren/2012/01/27/happy-chinese-new-year/

June 1st- Children's Day (Official holiday)
This is a day where Chinese children are celebrated.  Things such as museums, parks and movie theaters are free to children.  Their schools and parents shower them with gifts. 

5th Day of the 5th lunar month- Duan Wu (Dragon Boat) Festival- (Traditional Holiday)
This festival is in memory of Chinese patriot poet Qu Yuan, who drowned himself in protest of the emporer of his time.  In an attempt to save his body from the consumption of fish, the people of Chu (the state in which he lived), they brought their boats into the water.  In the place where he drowned they threw rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo to feed the fish.  Based off this story they now hold dragon boat races during this festival and the race itself has become a legacy.   
                 
http://celergo.com/cultures-revealed-chinese-dragon-boat-festival/


http://www.wku.edu/~haiwang.yuan/China/newyear.html
http://www.wku.edu/~haiwang.yuan/China/holiday.html

Surnames in China

http://www.great-chinese-names.com/chinese-last-names.html

Chinese Surnames are names that have been passed down families lines for centuries.  A surname gives the history of one's family.  A Chinese surname is placed before their actual name.  These surnames were originated by Emperor Fu Xi (2852BC).  These family names are an important aspect of Chinese life.  Old Chinese customs prohibited the marriage of two people with the same surname.  People with the same surname consider themselves relatives.  Today there are about 200 Chinese surnames being commonly used. 


Surnames who's population in over 20 million: 
Liu
Chen
Yang
Huang
Zhao
Wu
Zhou
Surnames with population of over 10 million each are as follows:
Xu
Sun
Ma
Zhu
Hu
Guo
He
Gao
Lin
Luo
Zheng
Liang

http://genealogy.about.com/library/authors/ucboey2a.htm
http://www.chinese-traditions-and-culture.com/chinese_family_name.html

Traditions in China

Foot Binding

 

Originally foot binding was only practiced by the wealthiest classes in China.  When a women had her feet bound, it often suggested her social status and represented that they did not take part in manual labor. By the 17th century almost all Chinese women, rich or poor, had their feet bound. 

 

 

 

Chinese Chopsticks

 

The first recorded history of chopsticks was in the Shang Dynasty's - Book of Rites 2000 years ago.  Then, they were in the form of twigs.  During the Ming Dynasty they were called kuaizi and were even then used as eating utensils.  They were often used by Hans and other minority groups in China.  Some things they were made of in the past were: branches, bamboo, animal bones, ivory, bronze, and iron. 

 

 

Chinese Knots

 

In China knots have been used for many things including fastening, wrapping and even recording events.  While made popular in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Chinese knots were developed during the Tang and Song Dynasties. Traditional Chinese phrases are assigned to each knot that is made.  They are often made as gifts or ornaments. 

 

http://www.chinese-traditions-and-culture.com/

 

 

Connections Between Western Civilization & English

For my last paper in English, I talked about immigration.  Immigration is relatable to China because many immigrants come from China to America.  After looking at different view of immigration, I feel like people may come to China in hopes of possibly bringing back American ideals to China.  In addition, some people from China may want to see how the economy is here and how the United States political system is working out for us.  Some Chinese people may feel that they could have a better life if they live in America.  Maybe they do not like the way their country is run as much as the way America is run.

Communism: China After Mao Zedong

Things changed for China after Mao Zedong passed away. Deng Xiaoping implemented a lot of changes to the Chinese ways and thoughts.  He made a lot of changes to the economic system.  Deng is said to have had the most influence on China's economic system and he was the reason for China's economy today.  He was able to branch out China to the world.  His main focuses were on "Four Modernizations":     

                         - agriculture

                         - industry

                         - science & technology

                         - military 

http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~eroberts/cs181/projects/communism-computing-china/china.html

And today, there are even more changes in the way China runs and incorporates communism. 

Mao Zedong

Mao Zedong was a very important and well known Chinese communist leader.  He was the founder of the People's Republic of China and was greatly involved in the Cultural Revolution. Below is a detailed video of Mao Zedong's life and his impact to China and the Chinese political system as a whole. He was responsible for turning China into one of the most powerful countries in the world. But, it was not all good and easy as it may seem. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7fNmTvFPRY