China

Essential Understandings: Ø Understand the concept of culture. Ø Identify what makes a culture, and how that differs from one country to another. Ø Understand the components of a belief system (creed, code of behavior, rituals, community). __Essential Questions:__ What makes the Chinese culture? Who started it?

__Thesis Statement:__ Tradition, beliefs, history, and meanings (symbols/value) make the Chinese culture. __Myths: __ Please click the link to see some Chinese myths []

**__The Chinese Culture __**


 * What makes up the Chinese culture? Is it their tradition or their beliefs…? Really they are all; religion, tradition, beliefs, symbols and more. Of course there is much more to the Chinese culture than that, and that is why not all the information is in this essay. Read the essay to find out the main question “what makes up the Chinese culture?”

There are many religions in China because of the population. The three most popular are Confucianism, Daoism (Taoism), and Buddhism. Although their temples look alike they are different religions. The most popular symbol which a lot of people have heard of, the yin yang. The yin yang represents balance, yin is yang’s opposite. An example is: one is female one is male one is dark one is light and so on. ** The Chinese believe that the number four is an unlucky number because it sounds like death in their language. However the number eight is a lucky number because it sounds like “prosper”. Red is a lucky color because a myth says that a monster attacked a village and seemed to be scared of the color red.The Chinese New Year. On this day kids hope to get a little red envelop with “lucky money” inside it. **


 * Nevertheless, here is a paragraph about one dynasty of the many dynasties:// ”The first three dynasties of the ancient world, the Xia was founded by Yu, a minister appointed as successor by the last of the five wise rulers. Since Yu was succeeded by his son, it was the beginning of hereditary succession. Long regarded as a mythological dynasty by scholars, archaeological evidence of the Xia capital was discovered near Luoyang in 1959.” // Page: 43, title: The Timeline History of China, author: Meredith MacArdle.

Religion, symbols, beliefs, tradition (holidays included), and history make up the Chinese culture. Religion because it is their culture, symbols because they are meaningful things to the Chinese. Beliefs and tradition are part of their culture because not everybody believes the same as another nor do they have the same tradition. And last but not least their history, because really it is the past that makes the current and the future. Religion, symbols, beliefs, tradition (holidays included), and history make up the Chinese culture. **

Sources: ** · [|www.sacu.org](religion) · [|www.whats-your-sign.com](symbols) · [|www.about-sichuan-china.com](beliefs) · Page: 43 Title: the Timeline History of China Author: Meredith MacArdle.(history) · Page number 14 Title: New Year Author: Catherine Chambers **

This sweet, cake-like //Nian Gao// has a slightly sticky texture or bite to it. This is a good recipe if you don’t like standing over the stove worrying about the steamer boiling dry, if you don’t want to pan fry lots of pieces, or if you want to share with non-Asians who might be used to a more cake-like cake. 16 oz. Mochiko sweet rice flour One stick of butter or 3/4 cup of vegetable oil 3 eggs 2 1/2 cups milk 1 to 1 3/4 cup sugar--depending on if you like it sweeter 1 Tbl baking soda One can of red azuki beans
 * Ingredients: **

1. Mix everything but the beans with an electric mixer at medium speed for 2 minutes. Beat for 2 more minutes at high speed.
 * Directions: **

2. Sprinkle Mochiko flour over a 9"x13" baking dish that has been oiled or sprayed with Pam

3. Spread half of the batter on the bottom of the baking pan

4. Spread the red azuki beans (you can mix some batter into the beans if they are too thick to spread)

5. Spread the other half of the batter over the red azuki beans

6. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes []

Essential Understandings (GEU): Describe what causes earthquakes. Explain the theory of continental drift/plate tectonics Know the composition and properties of soils (e.g., components of soil such as weathered rock,living organism, products of plants and animals, properties of soil such as color, texture,capacity to retain water, ability to support plant growth.). Essential Question:Why is China so v ulnarable to earthquakes? Thesis Statment: China is so vulnarable to earthquakes because it is considered to have unstable ground.( I infered that because Japan is a very close country to China and Japan has seaquakes, an earthqauke that is happening in the sea//).Title:"Earthquakes & Volcanoes" Author: Maureen Sprugeon. Page 14//