ComparisonsbetweenChineseandWesternCulture

　　Chinadatesitscivilizationbacktofivethousandyearsago.Throughthesecenturies,Chinesepeoplehavedevelopedasahard-working,brave,warm-heartedandneutralnationality.Whilemostofthewesternpeoplebuiltuptheircountriesseveralhundredyearsago,theyarecharacterizedbyliberty,opening,enterprisingandrisk-taking.SomedetailedcomparisonsbetweenChinesecultureandwesternonewillbediscussedasfollows.

　　Wushu,knownintheWestasKongfu,isatraditionalfolksport.It'sChinesemartialartsandischaracteristicofvariousbarehandandarmedcombattechniques.Peoplepracticeittobuildupbodyandprotectthemselves.QigongandTaijiquanarealsopopularsportswidelyspreadinChina.Ontheotherhand,thewesternaremoreinterestedinsuchsportsasbaseball,softball,tennisball,golf,etc.Someneedateamspirit,someneedspeed,andothersneedpatienceandluck.

　　Chineseopera,BeijingOperaforinstance,isacomprehensiveperformingart.Itcombinesmusic,singing,dialogues,acrobaticsandmartialarts.Youmustbefascinatedbypeculiarcostumes,coloredfacialpaintingandexcellentfightingscenes.Theperformersmustspendmanyyearspracticingtoguaranteetheproficiency.However,thewesternoperadoesn’tincludemuchactionandfacialpainting,mostoftheoperaaremusic,singing,dialoguesandtheusuallifeperformance,justtellingtheviewerswhathappeninastory.

　　ChinesetraditionalmedicineisbasedonthetheoryofYin(negative)andYang(positive).IfthebalanceinapersonbetweenYinandYangisdisturbed,heissuretobecomeill.Observing,listeningandsmelling,inquiringandpalpatingarefourdiagnosticmethods.Themedicineismainlymadefromherbs,animalsandmineralsthataredirectlycollectedfromnature.Itmustbeboiledwithwaterbeforethesickpersontakesit.Onthecontrary,thewesterndoctorsusehigh-techequipmenttodiagnosetheexactillparts,prescripttrocheswhichcanbedirectlyswallowedwithwarmwater,andmaybegiveaninjectionifnecessary.

　　ThecelebrationofSpringFestival,ChineseLunarNewYear,hasahistoryoftwothousandyears.Beforetheday,peopleworkinginotherplaceswillgohomeforthereunionsupper,"Tuanyuanfan".Afterthemidnight,peoplesetofffirecrackersandfireworks,believingthattheywilldriveawaytheevilspirit.Duringtheholiday,peoplewillvisittheirrelativesandfriends.Qingming,Dragonboat,Mid-AutumnfestivalarealsoChinesepopularfestivals.Ontheotherhand,intheWest,ChristmasDayisthemostimportantfestival.Beforetheday,theybuyChristmastreesdecoratedwithcoloredflashlamps,andspendthedaywiththeirfamily;thechildrenwillwaitallnightforSantaClaustosendthempresents.Valentine'sDay,Easter,Aprilfool'sDay,Thanks-givingDayarewesternpopularfestivals.