Chinese Culture and Traditions

This section of our web site has pages covering the many Chinese customs and traditions.

Beliefs and mythology are a core part of Chinese culture so we introduce Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, Ancestor veneration. On the lighter side there are pages on all the many Traditional Festivals, Astrology, Everyday customs and traditions, Dragons, Chinese New Year, Deities, Feng shui, Qi (or Chi), Traditional medicine, Yin - Yang and the Yi Jing.

The arts are also well represented: The many styles of Opera, Traditional Music, Symbolism in art, Paper-cuts, Shadow puppets and story-telling, Architecture, Jade and of course Porcelain.

We cover the many Chinese pastimes: Chinese chess (Xiang qi), Mahjong, Game of ‘Go’ (Weiqi), Kite flying and Tai Chi.

We also cover more general aspects of Chinese culture including: Chinese inventions, Examination system, Food in China (with separate sections on Rice and Tea), Chinese Silk, Ancient coins and finally Why do we call China ‘China’.

bamboo — A Chinese bamboo book, open and unfolded to display the contents. This copy of The Art of War 孙子兵法 by Sun Wu is part of a collection at the University of California, Riverside ➚. It was either commissioned or transcribed by the Qing Emperor Qianlong.
Image by bluefootedbooby ➚ available under a Creative Commons license ➚