Chinese Traditional Culture

Founded by Confucius and Mencius, centers on benevolence, righteousness and propriety. Core texts: The Analects, Mencius.

Founded by Laozi and Zhuangzi, advocates "Tao follows nature" and non-action, pursuing harmony with the cosmos. Core texts: Tao Te Ching, Zhuangzi.

Led by Mozi, promotes universal love and anti-aggression, representing common people's ideals.

Synthesized by Han Feizi, laid the foundation of ancient Chinese statecraft through law and institutions.

The Book of Songs is China's earliest poetry anthology; Chu Ci opened the romantic tradition. Tang poetry, Song lyrics and Yuan drama became the signature literary forms of their dynasties.

The Four Great Classical Novels include Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Water Margin, Journey to the West, and Dream of the Red Chamber — the peak of Chinese fiction.

Pangu creating the world, Nüwa mending the sky, Chang'e flying to the moon — ancient myths shaped Chinese imagination and cosmology.

The seven-stringed zither, the most revered classical instrument, with ethereal tones and a repertoire of ancient melodies.

Go and Chinese chess embody strategic thinking and Eastern philosophy of balance.

Five major scripts — seal, clerical, regular, running, cursive; with the "four treasures of the study" (brush, ink, paper, inkstone).

Traditional Chinese painting includes meticulous and freehand styles, with landscape, bird-and-flower, and figure as core genres.

Welcome the new year with couplets, fireworks, family reunions and New Year greetings.

First full moon of the year, with lantern displays and sweet dumplings.

Ancestor worship, spring outings, honoring the departed.

Commemorates Qu Yuan, with dragon boat races and zongzi (rice dumplings).

Family reunion, moon gazing, eating mooncakes.

Autumn hikes, honoring elders and chrysanthemum appreciation.

Celadon and blue-and-white porcelain from Jingdezhen is China's global cultural ambassador.

Four great traditions — Su, Xiang, Yue and Shu embroidery — famed for delicate stitches and refined colors.

Red paper cuttings are the most widespread folk art, expressing auspicious wishes.

Chinese knots, jade carving, wood carving, kites, and mortise-and-tenon wooden architecture — all living wisdom passed down through generations.

Shaolin and Wudang are the two great traditions. Tai Chi, Xingyi and Southern/Northern styles emphasize internal and external cultivation, blending hard and soft energy.

Based on yin-yang, five elements and meridian theory, it includes herbal medicine, acupuncture, tuina massage and therapeutic exercises.

Both arts share the ideal of "harmony between humanity and nature" — a holistic Chinese understanding of health, movement and life.

Hanfu with cross-collar right lapel, Tang-style robes, and vibrant costumes of China's ethnic minorities — culture worn on the body.

Eight great regional cuisines, a deep tea culture, and seasonal food customs aligned with the 24 solar terms.

Mortise-and-tenon timber frames, classical gardens, courtyard homes and Huizhou-style villages — designed for harmony with nature.

The Chinese zodiac, heavenly stems and earthly branches, wedding rituals and ancestor worship — the living order of Chinese daily life.

Papermaking, printing, gunpowder and the compass — inventions that reshaped the course of world civilization.

Inscribed on UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list, this ancient calendar system still guides farming and daily life — often called China's "fifth great invention".

Works like Tiangong Kaiwu (The Exploitation of the Works of Nature), Dream Pool Essays and Compendium of Materia Medica record China's pre-modern achievements in engineering, mathematics and medicine.