AP Chinese Culture Students Projects (By Meishing Chen, Mandarin Instructor)

AP Chinese Culture and Language students have been working very intensively on the culture topic they chose. Learning a language is not just a means to communicate but also to understand cultural differences. AP class students followed the schedule to finish their masterpiece of Chinese culture research and make their physical product during Quarter 1. 

 

 

Traditional Chinese Medicine is based on the historical ideology that each individual has energy, qi, directly relating to their overall health, and if the correct balance of energy isn’t achieved, illness ensues. To cure the illness, doctors utilize multiple treatment methods: herbal medicines, acupuncture, messages, cupping, and concentration exercises.

 

She made a poster to illustrate the evolution of the Chinese character龙 (lóng), meaning dragon. Her presentation included topics such as Oracle Bone Inscriptions, Chinese printmaking, and the seven sub-groups of Chinese. It connects different countries and areas in the world.

 

Traditional Chinese Architecture covered the elements, the history, the present, the future, and the cultural aspects of Traditional Chinese architecture. Chinese architecture includes timber/wood framework, heavy/overhanging roofs, circular earthen buildings, ornate tile facing and roofing, southern facing courtyards, and symmetrical building designs. Chinese architecture is very closely related to their culture which is why many ancient buildings are still around in major cities today.

 

For my Mandarin project, I researched present and past Chinese cuisines. These consisted not only of savory dishes, but sweet ones as well. For my presentation, I showed my classmates these dishes and even brought them fortune cookies, which were part of my sweet topic, and showed them some of the present popular Chinese dishes I ate recently.

 

For my culture presentation, I explored elements of traditional, present (mostly), and potential Chinese taboo. Elements included color, speech, political, numerical, and dining taboos. With each element, I went into further detail on what it is and how it affects Chinese culture, both socially/culturally and economically. It was fascinating to see how taboo can not only restrict people but guide them as well.

 

My presentation was about traditional Chinese martial arts. I discussed the origins and characteristics of various styles and the impact they had on Chinese culture and society. The specific martial arts I presented about were Wing Chun, Mei Hua Quan, Wu Shu and San Da, as well as their prevalence throughout history, and their rise to prominence thanks to a modern rebirth of traditional martial arts. I made an animation of Chinese martial arts moves.

 

The Chinese zodiac is a complex system that uses your birthday to assign you to the corresponding animal to give different traits and compatibility with others. It started during the reign of the Jade Emperor, who ordered all earthly animals to come to his palace so he could determine what year they had. It affects all aspects of Chinese life and communities to this day.

 

There is almost 5,000 years worth of Chinese history to explore, hence the fact that I did my topic on Modern Chinese history. Researching how China has been able to remake and evolve itself into the powerhouse it is today helps a lot to realize the impact of the Chinese customs and values.