Culture of China

The Culture of China is home to one of the world's oldest and most complex civilizations. China boasts a history rich in over 5,000 years of artistic, philosophical, political, and scientific advancement. Though regional differences provide a sense of diversity, commonalities in language and religion connect a culture distinguished by such significant contributions such as Confucianism and Taoism. Confucianism was the official philosophy throughout most of Imperial China's history and strongly influenced other countries in East Asia. Mastery of Confucian texts provided the primary criterion for entry into the imperial bureaucracy. With the rise of Western economic and military power beginning in the mid-19th century, Western systems of social and political organization gained adherents in China. Some of these would-be reformers rejected China's cultural legacy, while others sought to combine the strengths of Chinese and Western cultures. China is a unified nation consisting of many different ethnic groups. Fifty-six different ethnic groups make up the great Chinese national family. Because the Han people accounts for more than ninety percent of China's population, the remaining fifty-five groups are generally referred to as "ethnic minorities."