Cultures Languages China

China (or the Greater China that includes Taiwan and Hong Kong, the Special Administration Region of China) has increasingly become a major player on the political and economic stage in East Asia and in global politics. Its culture, philosophy, and arts have had lasting influence in the East Asian region. The opening up of China in the post-Mao era since 1976 has provided ample opportunities for scholarly pursuit, business and trade ventures, government and foreign services, and legal and other professional undertakings.

In response to the new opportunities and challenges, the Chinese Program sets forth not only to provide students with another option to meet the language requirement of the College of Arts and Sciences at SU, but also to prepare those who aspire to or are interested in the exploration of careers related to China. Currently, Chinese Program offers Chinese language courses from elementary to the advanced levels. These courses, together with courses offered by the Asian Studies Major, provide students a broad, diversified and yet focused learning experience on China. Students can also choose to minor in Chinese in addition to their major.

The Chinese Program, in cooperation with Soochow University, offers opportunities for students to study in the beautiful city of Suzhou, China for a semester or a year after completing a year of Chinese language study at SU or the equivalent.

Cultures bamboo

Bamboo is one of the four favorite plants along with Chinese plum, orchid and chrysanthemum, the so-called Four Men of Honor (Si4 Jun1 Zi3) by the Chinese. The characters of the four plants are highly admired by the Chinese people so they want to be just like the four plants. In turn, the plants have possessed some human nature. This is an example of the harmony between nature and human being (Tian1 Ren2 He2 Yi1).

You can find bamboo just about everywhere in China as long as it can be grown. Gardens are usually good places to see bamboo, such as the famous Purple Bamboo Garden in Beijing and Guyi Garden in Shanghai. The Bamboo Sea Scenic Area in Sichuan Province has become a popular destination, which consists of 28 peaks fully covered with bamboo, thanks to the movie 'Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.' 

Bamboo culture is deeply rooted in the daily life of the Chinese. Bamboo chopsticks are still the most common tableware in China. Dizi (Chinese flute) is made of bamboo. People are still using paintbrush made from bamboo today. It is quite common to see lucky bamboo and wenzhu (asparagus fern) in Chinese homes.

Bamboo Culture Festival has become popular in recent years. There are many such festivals held in different places across China each year. To take part in a bamboo culture festival is probably the best opportunity to learn the bamboo culture. During a bamboo culture festival, there are usually exhibitions of bamboo carvings, poems and paintings. Bamboo painting is an important part of Chinese traditional painting. You can also see all kinds of bamboos, listen to them as well as feel their spirit with your heart to bring you peace and harmony.