中国文化unit1.doc

Unit One Geography & Society China is situated in the eastern part of the Asian Continent on the western coast of the Pacific. With a total land area of around 9.6 million km2. It is the largest country in Asia and the third largest in the world, next to Russia and Canada. The territory stretches around 5,500 km fro the middle of the Heilongjiang River(north of Mohe, Heilongjiang Province) in the north to Zengmu Ansha (of the Nansha Islands) in the south, and about 5,000 km from the confluence of the Heilongjiang and Wusulijiang rivers in the east to the Pamirs Plateau in the west. The land boundary extends fro 22,800 km. China is adjacent to 14 countries: the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Laos and Viet Nam, sharing common land borders with them. China also has six neighbors across the sea: the Republic of Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia. According to the Constitution of the Peoples Republic of China, the country is divided into provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government. Currently, there are 34 provincial-level administrative areas in China - 4 municipalities directly under the Central Government (Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, and Chongqing), 23 provinces, five autonomous regions (Inner Mongolia, Guangxi Zhuang, Tibet, Xinjiang, Ningxia) and two special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macao).Topography China topographyvaries greatly from highly mountainous regions to inhospitable desert zones and flat, fertile plains.It can be compared to a staircase descending from west to east. The Tibetan Plateau forms the highest part of the country (the first step). Known as the roof of the world, the Tibetan-Qinghai Plateau is more than 5,000 feet above sea level. The Himalayan mountain range has a number of peaks over 23,000 feet, with the tallest in the world, Mount Everest, at the Sino-Nepalese border, Melting snows from these peaks are the source of several of the main Chinese rivers including the Yangtze and theYellow Riverwhich run from west. The second step is theInner Mongoliaand Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau as well as the Tarim, Sichuan and Junggar basins. The Tarim Basin is the site of Xinjiang Autonomous Region where the largest desert in China, the Taklimakan, is located. The plains of theYangtze Riverand of northern and eastern China are the countrys most populated areas and the agricultural center of the country. Finally the coastal zones, stretching from Vietnam to North Korea and bordering the South China, East China and Yellow Seas, join the Pacific Ocean.Climate China is characterized by a continental climate. The latitude spans nearly 50 degrees. The greater part of the Chinese territory is situated in the Temperate Zone, its southern part in the tropical and subtropical zones, and its northern part near the Frigid Zone. Temperatures differ therefore rather strikingly across the country. The northern part of Heilongjiang Province has long winters but no summers; while the Hainan Island has long summers but no winters. The Huaihe River valley is marked by distinctive seasonal changes, but it is spring all year round in the south of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. In the northwest hinterland, the temperature changes dramatically. China high tundra zone is situated in the Qinghai-Tibet, where the temperature is low in all four seasons. Some desert areas are dry all year round.Ethnic GroupsAs a large United multi-national state, China is composed of 56 ethnic groups. Among them Han Chinese account for about 90% of the overall Chinese population and the other 55 make up the remaining percentage. Han ChineseHan Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and, by most modern definitions, the largest single ethnic group in the world. Han Chinese constitute about 90% of the population of the Peoples Republic of China (mainland China), 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the entire global human population.Han Chinese mainly live in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, the Yangtze River and the Pearl River, and also in the Northeast Plain Region (Songliao Plain).The formation and development of Han Chinese was a continuous process of integration of the earliest Huaxia tribe with other related tribes and ethnic groups. They live along the Yellow River in northern China thousands of years ago. It was in the Han Dynasty (206BC-220BC) that they adopted the name “Han”. Ethinc MinoritiesAlthough the minorities make up only a small proportion of the overall Chinese population, the 55 groups are distributed extensively throughout different regions of China, but mostly in Southwest, Northwest and Northeast China.There is a great difference in the size of these minorities. Zhuang has the largest population (more than 16 million), the other large ethnic minority groups include Manchu (10 million), Hui (9 million), Miao (8 million), Uyghur (7 million), Yi (7 million), Tujia (5.75 million), Mongola (5 million), Tibetans (5 million), Buyei (3 million), and Korean (2 million).The ethnic minorities in China have formed their unique cultures. In the field of performing arts, including dance, music, theater and drama, the non-Han ethnic groups have made major and dominating contributions.Economy of ChinaChinassocialist market economyis theworlds second largest economy by nominal GDP,and theworlds largest economy by purchasing power parityaccording to the IMF.It is the worldsfastest-growing major economy, withgrowth rates averaging 10%over the past 30 years.China is a global hub for manufacturing, and is the largest manufacturing economy in the world as well as the largestexporterof goods in the world. China is also the worlds fastest growingconsumer marketand second largestimporterof goods.China is the largest trading nation in the world and plays a vital role in international trade,and has increasingly engaged in trade organizations and treaties in recent years. China became a member of theWorld Trade Organizationin 2001,and concluded a trade agreement with theASEANnations in 2010. China also has free trade agreements with several nations, includingSwitzerlandandPakistan.Thirty Years of Reform and Opening UpIn 1978, the Communist Party of China (CPC) made a decision to launch a nation-wide reform and opening up campaign at the3rd Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee. It was a critical choice, which eventually leadsChinainto a brand-new development epoch.With consistent efforts in the past three decades, China has realized the transition from a highly centralized planned economic system to an innovative socialist market economic system, from a closed or semi-closed state to a state fully opened up to the outside world, and blazed a way with typical Chinese characteristics towards a moderately prosperous and fast-modernizing society for its 1.3 billion people.Since the policy of reform and opening up, a socialist market economy system has been established and continuously perfected.Chinawitnessed formation of an ownership structure that has public ownership at its dominant position and allows for diverse forms of ownership. A modern market system, unified, open, and rationally competitive, eventually takes shape; a macroeconomic regulation system has been built. As of today, more than 50% major state-owned enterprises and over 90% small- and medium-sized state-owned enterprises have been transformed into joint-stock companies, non-public-owned sectors generating 1/3 of the national GDP.Politics of ChinaThepolitics of the Peoples Republic of Chinatakes places in a framework of asocialist republicrun by a single party, theCommunist Party of China. The leadershipof the Communist Party is stated in theConstitution of the Peoples Republic of China. State power within the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) is exercised through the Communist Party, theCentral Peoples Governmentand their provincial and local representation. Under the dual leadership system, each local Bureau or office is under the coequal authority of the local leader and the leader of the corresponding office, bureau or ministry at the next higher level. Peoples Congress members at the county level are elected by voters. These county level Peoples Congresses have the responsibility of oversight of local government, and elect members to the Provincial (or Municipal in the case ofindependent municipalities) Peoples Congress. The Provincial Peoples Congress in turn elects members to the National Peoples Congress that meets each year in March inBeijing.The ruling Communist Party committee at each level plays a large role in the selection of appropriate candidates for election to the local congress and to the higher levels. ThePresident of Chinais the titularhead of state, serving as the ceremonialfigureheadunderNational Peoples Congress.ThePremier of Chinais thehead of government, presiding over theState Councilcomposed of fourvice premiersand the heads of ministries and commissions. As asingle-party state, theGeneral Secretary of the Communist Party of Chinaholds ultimate power and authority over state and government.The National Flag, National Emblem and National Anthem The national flag of the Peoples Republic of China is red in color, rectangular in shape, with five stars. The proportion between the length and height of the flag is three to two. The five five-pointed yellow stars are located in the upper left corner. One of them, which is bigger, appears on the left, while the other four hem it in on the right. The red color of the flag symbolizes revolution; the stars take on the yellow color in order to bring out their brightness on the red ground. The larger star represents the CPC, while the four smaller ones, the Chinese people. The relationship between the stars means the great unity of the Chinese people underthe leadership of the CPC. The national emblem of the Peoples Republic of China is Tiananmen in the center illuminated by five stars and encircled by ears of grain and a cogwheel. The ears of grain, stars, Tiananmen and cogwheel are painted golden, and the inner part of the circle and hanging ribbons are painted red because these two colors are traditional Chinese colors representing auspiciousness and happiness. Tiananmen symbolizes the unyielding national spirit of the Chinese people in their fight against imperialism and feudalism; the ears of grain and cogwheel represent the working class and the peasantry; and the five stars stand for the great unity of the Chinese people under the leadership of the CPC. The national anthem was created in 1935, the lyrics by Tian Han, a famous poet, and the music by Nie Er, a famous composer. The lyrics are as follows: Arise, ye who refuse to be slaves;With our very flesh and bloodLet us build our new Great Wall!The peoples of China are in the most critical time,Everybody must roar his defiance.Arise! Arise! Arise!Millions of hearts with one mind,Brave the enemys gunfire,March on!Brave the enemys gunfire,March on! March on! March on, on! This song, originally named March of the Volunteers, is the theme song of the film, Young Heroes and Heroines in Stormy Year