Culture Shock! China - A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette, 2nd Edition

148 CultureShock! China

remnants of the past still exist that we get to experience both

its past and its future simultaneously.

It provides an opportunity to witness visible change in

real time. The evolution is only partially complete. While the

Communist push to modernise China dramatically marks

cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, a half day of

travel, by any means of transportation, will put you hundreds

of years back in time to slow villages with dirt-floored houses,

chickens striding confidently around compounds, and old

women sitting quietly by the front door doing handiwork

and ready for a chat.

With its vast size, multiple ethnic groups and long history,

China is an onion that takes a lifetime to peel. In this chapter, the

authors will highlight the main influences of philosophy, religion

and political movements to give the reader enough context to

begin to understand the perspective and influences that shape

modern culture in China. The only real way to understand China

is to experience her land and people yourself.

Chinese Dynasties Period

Xia Dynasty 21st–16th century BC

Shang Dynasty 16th–11th century BC

Zhou Dynasty

—Spring and Autumn Period

—Warring States Period

11th century BC–771 BC

770 BC–476 BC

476 BC–221 BC

Qin Dynasty 221 BC–206 BC

Han Dynasty

—Western Han

—Eastern Han

206 BC–AD 24

AD 25–220

Three Kingdoms Period 220–280

Jin Dynasty

—Western Jin

—Eastern Jin

265–316

317–420