LE BRAS BIANCHI Oceane CHINESE CULTURE

China is a very interesting country with a lot of values, way of life, cultural traditions and customs differed from western countries. In first we will see the filial piety, which is a very important value for Chinese people, the origins and how it is nowadays and in second time, we will see the taboos in China in different categories.

To beginning, it is important to know what is the filial piety to talk about that, filial piety means to be good to one's parents; to take care of them, to engage in good conduct not just towards them but also outside the home so as to bring a good name them and ancestors; to perform the duties of one's job well so as to obtain the material means to support them as well as carry out sacrifices to the ancestors. You have to do not be rebellious; show love, respect and support; display courtesy; ensure male heirs, uphold fraternity among brothers; wisely advise them, including dissuading them from moral unrighteousness; display sorrow for their sickness and death; and carry out sacrifices after their death. It supposed to be the normal behavior for all people around the world, but in China, the origin is very deep and ancient. It is a a concept originating with Confucianism that outlines the way in which family members should interact with each other. It is based on a hierarchical relationship, in which parents and older family rank more highly than children and younger family members, and men rank more highly than women. In the Confucian system, those of higher rank have the responsibility to care for and raise those of lower rank, and those of lower rank in turn have the responsibility to respect and obey those of higher rank. The concept of filial piety (xiao) is closely related to other Confucian concepts, including ren (altruism) and yi (righteousness). For instance, if a child is lacking in ren, then his elders have a responsibility in terms of xiao to help him develop it. These concepts can even trump other obligations, in some cases. For example, if a father was doing something wrong, then his child would be obligated by yi to correct him. Everything is really connected to live in harmony, and everyone has his place. I think every people around the world should respect this hierarchy, to respect those “rules of life” can resolve a lot of problems in western countries, where sometimes people couldn’t find their place in their family or in the society, and disrespect their parents. Take care of each other and learn about our elders’ experiences and wise is essential to respect ourselves and build a good way to live and grow up.
The rules for family relationships are also connected to beliefs about how a government or a state should be run. In Confucianism, the family is taken as a model for the state, with the leader as the father of the family and the subjects as the children. As such, citizens of a country are seen as owing piety to their leader, and he or she is seen as having a responsibility to care for them and teach them the appropriate way to act.
A lot of books talk about this virtue. As I said before, it started with Confucius and his classic book Xiao Jing, thought to be written around the Qin-Han period, has historically been the authoritative source on the Confucian tenet of xiao. The book, a conversation between Confucius and his student Zeng Shen, is about how to set up a good society using the principle of xiao. The term can also be applied to general obedience, and is used in religious titles in Christian Churches, like "filial priest" or "filial vicar" for a cleric whose church is subordinate to a larger parish. Filial piety is central to Confucian role ethics. For sure in other religions, respect and especially respect elders is essential but not as Confucianism, because filial piety is considered a key virtue in Chinese culture, and it is the main concern of a large number of stories. One of the most famous collections of such stories is the twenty four filial exemplars. These stories depict how children exercised their filial piety in the past. Also the Story of Shanzi , Shanzi spent his entire life aiding his blind parents, until he was accidentally killed. But, because of his life of filial devotion, he was miraculously revived. This story was often mentioned in the Chinese canon of Buddhist writings. Another story advocating filial piety is that of Moggallana, a Buddhist monk who goes to great lengths to rescue his mother from condemnation for her unjust life. In every religions and cultures, the way you have to follow are represented in story, when you read it, even for children, you realize how you have to act or don’t, like protagonists in those stories. When you do good, good things happen to you, and when you do bad…
According to the Classic of filial piety, Confucius once said: "In serving his parents, a filial son reveres them in daily life; he makes them happy while he nourishes them; he takes anxious care of them in sickness; he shows great sorrow over their death; and he sacrifices to them with solemnity. For Confucius, filial piety was not merely blind loyalty to one's parents. As I said before, the most important norms of xiào are the norms of rén and yì . For Confucius and Mencius, xiào was a display of rén which was ideally applied in one's dealings with all elders, thus making it a general norm of intergenerational relations. However in practice, xiào was usually reserved for one's own parents and grandparents, and from time to time, was elevated above the notions of rén and yì. Everyone has to find the right balance of those rules. If you know and respect where you are from, you will know where you are going, and it will be the right way. All around the important, it is important to respect those who gave you live and help you to grew up in the best way for you. Sometimes people forget that without your parents, you won’t be on this earth, and we should thanks all our life for this precious gift.
But with the actual society, busy and stress life, some people forget to take care of their parents or they just don’t have time to do it.
During the Han Dynasty in ancient China, the law said “If you are disrespectful to your elders, you will be tortured and killed”. Although the death sentence is no longer mandatory for such behavior in modern China, it is still a crime under its newly revised law on the 1st july 2013, named Protection of the Rights and Interests of the Elderly. This law has nine clauses that lay out the duties of children and their obligation to tend to the “spiritual needs of the elderly.” Children should go home “often” to visit their parents, the law said, and occasionally send them greetings. Companies and work units should give employees enough time off so they can make parental visits. It does not stipulate any punishments for people who neglect their parents. Nevertheless, that officials felt the need to make filial duty a legal matter is a reflection of the monumental changes taking place throughout Chinese society.
Many aging parents in China, as in other industrialized nations, complain these days about not seeing their children enough. And the children say the stresses of daily life, especially in the rapidly expanding cities (such as Shanghai, Beijing or Shenzhen), prevent them from carving out time for their parents. It was introduced due to the growing number of cases of the aged being abandoned in China in the last few decades, despite the deeply ingrained filial piety belief in its culture. In 2011, it was reported that nearly half of the 185 million people aged 60 and above live apart from their children, it wasn’t like this in the past, Chinese people use to live with several generations, but now the world changes, and specially China since the last decades, who is a very important actor in the global economy of our world. It can also be explain by the one-child policy China, parents feel more alone because before this policy, they had more children, so more visits by them.
Now we will see the practical application of this new law. Practically speaking, xiao breaks down into several key responsibilities. Parents and elders have the responsibility to provide for children and raise them to have the appropriate sushi (cultivation). This includes giving them every opportunity they possibly can, such as enrolling them in good schools, smoothing the way for them to get a job, or buying them things and giving them money. Additionally, elders often provide care for grandchildren or other younger family members if their parents are working or studying. Due to this, many Chinese people live with several generations of family members. In return for the care and material goods, children and younger family members are expected to be obedient and to take advantage of the opportunities elders give them. By doing this and becoming successful, they can bring pride or face to the family, so that their parents can see that their work and raising has paid off. Younger family members also are expected to care for their parents when they get old and no longer work, and to produce children to continue the family line.
In addition to relationships with living family members, filial piety is also required in relationships with ancestors. This usually takes the form of ancestor worship. Many families visit their ancestors' tombs or shrines periodically to provide them with food, money, or goods they might need in the afterlife, and having a continuous family line is seen as very important, since it guarantees that there will always be someone to look after those who die. As a whole, the ancestors are seen as supporting China and in need of respect, since they may influence how the world works for the present generation. In western countries, you just bring flower on tombs, but its less institutional than Chinese ways, it is more for the memory and the love for your ancestors, but we are not expected from them to protect us. I think the chinese customs are more respectful, because their beliefs are more deep than us.

Those deep beliefs don’t work only for ancestors worships, but also for the life of everyday, this is why in China, a lot of taboos exist.

Chinese are deep believers, and chinese taboos are so different from western taboos countries, before you come to China, you have to learn it to avoid to offense someone. We can regroup these taboos per category.
In first, I will talk about numbers. Good things come in pairs so odd numbers are avoided for birthdays and weddings. However, to avoid bad things happening in pairs, burials and giving gifts to the ill are not held on even numbered days. Also, the number four (四, sì) sounds like death (死, sǐ) so the number four is avoided particularly on phone numbers, license plates and addresses. While addresses do contains fours, the rent is usually less and apartments on the fourth floor are typically rented by foreigners. To compare with America, they avoid the number 3, 13 and the Friday because it’s a synonym of bad luck. Since the attack of the World Trade Center of the 11/09, they avoid also the number 11.
So now let’s talk about the chinese taboos at work. You have several things to avoid at work. In first shopkeepers may opt not to read a book at work because book (書, shū) sounds like lose (輸, shū). Shopkeepers who read may be afraid their businesses will suffer losses. Also when it comes to sweeping, shopkeepers are careful not to sweep toward the door, especially during Chinese New Year, in case good fortune is swept out the front door. Never turn over fish when you are with a fisherman as the motion symbolizes a boat capsizing. As we can see a lot of taboos are based on the pronunciation of the word, when it’s similar to another word which means bad things. When people give you his visit card, you should take it with your two hands, and don’t put it in your back pocket, like you do with a precious thing.
Food also comports a lot of beliefs. Young children should not eat chicken feet as it is believed they might not be able to write well when they start school. They may also be prone to get in fights like roosters. Also when you finish to eat, leaving food on one’s plate, particularly grains of rice, will result in marriage to a spouse with many pockmarks on his or her face or the person will have the wrath of the Thunder god. The last one is about chopsticks, they should not be left standing straight up in a bowl of rice. This act is said to bring bad luck to the restaurant owner as the chopsticks in rice look similar to incense placed in urns at temples when meals are offered to ancestors.
The next group of chinese taboos is about gift. In first, you shouldn’t open the gift just in front of the eyes of the giver, and you have some gifts you should avoid to offer in China. You should avoid to offer a clock because 送鐘 (sòng zhōng, send clock) sounds like 送終 (sòng zhōng, the funeral ritual). Clocks also symbolize time is running out; therefore, the end of relationships and life are the messages that are sent when a clock is given as a gift. Also it is very impolite to give handkerchiefs (送巾, sòng jīn) sounds like 斷根 (duàngēn), a farewell greeting. This gift is especially inappropriate for a boyfriend or girlfriend unless you want to break up. You should also avoid to give a towels because they are usually given out at funerals, so avoid this gift because it brings sad memories of funerals and death. Giving sharp objects that are used to cut things symbolize that you want to sever a friendship or relationship. As I said before, you should avoid the number four, so don’t offer a gift in four sets. Giving shoes 送鞋子 (sòng xiézi, give shoes) sounds similar to break up. Also giving two shoes sends the message that you want the person to go his or her separate way; thus, ending your friendship. If you give an umbrella, it means the same thing because (傘, sǎn) sounds similar to 散 (sàn, to break up) and the act is a sign that you will never see each other again. You should also avoid to give something in black or white because these colors are often used during funerals so presents, wrapping paper and envelopes in these colors should be avoided. Some gifts to avoid are the same in western countries, you don’t have to bring Chrysanthemum because it is a synonym of death. But if you are in western countries, give something green is synonym of good luck, but in China it means your wife is unfaithful. If you give an unlucky gift on accident, the receiver can make it right by giving you a coin which changes the gift to an item they symbolically purchased.
To finish, some taboos are about the date. On chinese new year, some inauspicious words shouldn’t be pronounce, you should avoid to break or cut something, the windows and doors should be open, all the debts should be paid, and don’t cry ( because you will cry all the year) and don’t wash your hair (to keep the luck on you). During the birthday, don’t cut your noodles to don’t make shorter your life. And if a couple want an happy wedding, they should respect those rules, in the three months leading up to a couple’s wedding, they should avoid going to a funeral or wake, another wedding, or visiting a woman who has just had a baby. If one of the couple’s parents passes away before the wedding, the wedding must be postponed for 100 days or 1,000 days as attending happy celebrations is considered disrespectful to the deceased. No one should sleep on the bridal bed after it has been installed and blessed. If the groom must sleep on the bed before the wedding, he should not sleep alone as leaving one side of the bed empty is considered a curse on the couple’s health. To avoid leaving half of the bed empty, the groom should have a young boy, preferably born in the year of the dragon, accompany him in bed. If a roast pig is given as part of the bride’s gift to the groom’s family, the tail and ears should not be broken. Doing so would mean the bride is not a virgin.
As you can see, beliefs are not only superstition in China is a way of life. Follow theses rules to be lucky and to don’t offense people.

Values and beliefs are really important in China. No matter your religions, if you are rich or poor, which part of China you come from or you’re living, filial piety is common to all chinese people since forever. In my opinion, if every people follow those rules of life, the world will be better than is it, because a lot of people are lost in superficial behavior and interest, spend money and time on things that do not matter. Respect and love people, take wisely advice from our elders to change our behavior and don’t do the same mistakes, is really important, we should be grateful to our elders and their education. About the taboos, you can believe it or not, but you have to respect believers and don’t offense them. I believe in luck and superstition, not the same of the chinese, but if you can do anything to be lucky, do it.