We traveled to Ushuaia
A place we had never been before
All we knew was that it was at the tip of Argentina
And the place that we were to begin our Antarctica tour
Flying into this beautiful ... Full Journal »
Asian Culture Discovery on a China Cruise
Over a hundred ethnic groups have inhabited the country of China, many assimilating into neighboring ethnicities, disappearing altogether, or merging into the more prominent Han comprised of many smaller groups. On your China cruise it is quite possible that you will hear variety in the language being spoken, as the Han speak several different dialects and languages that share a common written standard. This standard is called Vernacular Chinese and is based on Standard Mandarin, the most prominent spoken language. The People’s Republic of China now officially recognizes a total of 56 ethnic groups wrapped into this one country that is comprised of 1/5 of the world’s population.
Religion
Though China’s government has officially been classified as an athiest nation, supervised religions are allowed. Historically, Taoism and Buddhism are the dominant religions, with Christianity and Islam comprising less than 6% of the population combined.
Education
Chinese literature has been an ingrained art since the development of printmaking during the Song Dynasty. Although, many manuscripts of Classics and religious texts comprised of Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist were manually written by ink brush. Tens of thousands of ancient manuscripts are still extant and many are being discovered each day. The Chinese developed a meritocratic method for creating opportunity for social advancement. Anyone who could perform well on the imperial examinations, which required students to write essays and demonstrate mastery of the Confucian classics, became elite scholar-officials known as jinshi. While in practice this method largely excluded females or those too poor to prepare for the test. This theory was largely different from the European system of blood nobility. Chinese philosophers, writers, and poets in past and present have been highly respected and continue to play key roles in promoting the culture of the Chinese empire.
Arts
Even before you begin your China cruise, it is likely you will have had previous exposure to one of China’s highest ranking art forms—Calligraphy. Calligraphy ranks even higher in China than painting or music. It holds an association with elite scholars, and after becoming commercialized, the work of a famous artist becomes very valuable. The amazing variation in Chinese landscapes has inspired great works of art and Chinese paintings; during your travels you’ll have plenty of opprotunities to visit the regions of China that have long motivated the masters. Sushi and Bonzai, also native Chinese art forms, spread later to Japan and Korea due to their popularity. The Chinese have also contributed many musical instruments, including the zheng, xiao and erhu.
