East Meets West: A foreword about China and Chinese culture

A FOREWORD ABOUT CHINA AND CHINESE CULTURE

The aim of this post is to introduce you to the world of Chinese culture. In the next posts, I will cover the main traits of Chinese culture from the point of view of a Westerner. I hope to give you a first grasp of the beautiful, fascinating and variegated culture of China. Only after this first part, I will add more personal experiences from my intercultural marriage. :)

So... let’s talk about China!

China is the world's most densely populated country. With over 4,000 years of verifiable history, it is believed to have the oldest continuous civilisation. Many of the elements that make up the foundation of the modern world originated in China, such as paper, gunpowder, credit banking, the compass, and banknotes.

After more than two decades of stagnation under the rigid authoritarianism of early communists, China now has the world's fastest-growing economy and is undergoing what has been described as a second industrial revolution.

The People’s Republic of China (this is the country’s official name) is ruled by a Communist form of government. Although the State widely promotes atheism, the constitution guarantees freedom of religion.

The official language is standard Chinese, which is derived from the Mandarin dialect; however, a myriad of dialects is spoken throughout the country.

There's another thing that made China famous around the world: Chinese cuisine. Contrary to popular belief, Chinese cuisine is very variegated and comprises many styles, the most famous of which being Cantonese, Szechuan, Fujian, Hunan, Shandong, and Zhejiang.

Business and management style is another interesting aspect of Chinese culture. Many books have been written about Chinese business etiquette and ethics, but I found that Westerners still struggle in business negotiations and business relationships. In the first part of my blog, I will cover the most important aspects of the Chinese business world, as well as all the other aspects mentioned above. Next, I will add more details from my personal experience.

I hope you'll enjoy reading my posts! Please feel free to comment and share your own experience!