Chinese Family and Kinship

1800 Words8 Pages
Chinese Family and Kinship China is a mysterious country with 5000 years of history. It was hardly understood by western countries in ancient times. Westerners regard China as “Ancient Rome in Asia”, they exclaim those goods (such as porcelain and silk) as exquisite beyond compare, and even idolize missionaries returned from China. They can only learn very limited amount of knowledge about China from the books of Marco Polo. Why most Chinese people have no religion? Many western scholars had studied and researched on it, and the answer is, Chinese culture can be considered as Chinese people’s religion! Chinese culture is based on Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism and etc. Compared with other religions, Chinese traditional culture promulgates properties and meanings of space, society, and human life based on both Philosophy and science. It is highly reasonable, and it can be proved. Normal religions could not explain them easily. Chinese culture is different from them; it is more persuasive and meaningful. Religions are all based on beliefs, one can feel the exist of God only by believing devoutly. You shouldn’t, and can’t ask why, what’s the principle behind it. Just believe and never doubt the exist of Gods. Chinese culture is rational, unlike like the Bible and the Quran, it never ruled country’s politics and it never forced people to accept it. Family is a very essential part of Chinese culture. Chinese people began to emphasize funeral even thousands years ago, to pray for blessing from their passed ancestors. Jia and fang are actually two completely different things. Jia, means family, and fang, means the house. Family is not only consisted of parents, brothers and sisters, wife and children, but also the whole family tree from the father’s side. A Chinese man will always know that he is part of the society and he must maintain the inherition of ancestry.
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