Cultural differences between China and India

In order to understand cultural differences, we must first know what exactly the
culture is: Some people say that culture is music, literature, visual arts, architecture or
language, and they aren’t wrong, but they wouldn’t be right eiter. In fact the things
produced by a culture which we perceive with our five senses are simply
manifestations of the deeper meaning of culture- what we do, think and feel. Culture
is learned and forgotten, so despite its importance we are generally unconscious the
world and interact within it.

India and China are quite different countries, they have differences and similarities.
The main difference is that India is a very diverse country, with more than 1.2 billion
people, making it a second most populous nation after China with 1.4 billion people.

Different regions have their own distinct cultures, language, religion, food, arts,
clothes, customs, celebrations… In China, currently, there are only five official
religions. Any other religion than Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism and
Protestantism, are illegal. At the other side, India is identified as the birthplace of
Hinduism and Buddhism, the third and fourth largest religions. There are also about
13% of Indians that are Muslims. Christians make up a small percentage of the
population.

The third difference is language. India has 28 states and 7 territories. There is no
official language in India, though Hindi is the official language of the government.
Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-European language is usually referred to in action movies,
came from Northern India. It shares many similarities with English, French and
Russian language. Opposite of that, there are seven major groups of dialects of the
Chinese language. Mandarin dialects are spoken by 71.5% of the population, followed
by Wu(8.5%), Yue(5%), Xiang(4.8%), Min(4.1%), Hakka(3.7%) and Gan(2.4%).
Chinese dialects are very different, it is rather more like a language family than a
single language. The official language in Bejing is Mandarin, but many Chinese are
also fluent in English.

Like other aspects of Chinese life, cuisine is heavily influenced by geography and
ethnic diversity. Rice is not the only a major food source in China, it is also a major
element that helped grow their society. Because they don’t consume a lot of meat-
occasionaly pork and chicken, tofu is a main source of protein for the Chinese. Indian
cuisine is also influenced by many other countries. It is known for its large assortment
of dishes and its liberal use of herbs and spices. The food is rich with curries and
spices, including ginger, coriander, hot peppers and others. Many Hindus are
vegetarian, but lamb and chicken are common in main dishes for non-vegeterians.
Much of Indian food is eaten with fingers, but in China is eaten with chopsticks.

When it comes to art, Chinese art is greatly influenced by the countries rich spiritual
and mystical history. Many sculptures and paintings depict spiritual figures of
Buddhism. Many musical instruments are integral to Chinese culture. Walled
compounds, raised pavilions, wooden columns and paneling, yellow glazed roof tiles,
are notable features of the architecture of ancient China, with many of them still
playing an important part in modern architecture across East Asia. Architects were
influenced by ideas from India at the Buddhism which originated there, but the
buildings of ancient China remained remarkably constant of fundamental appearance
over the centuries.

As a vital part of Chinese civilization, traditional clothing plays an important role in

the country’s history and culture. Their basic features are cross-collar, wrapping the
right lapel over the left, tying with sash and a form of blouse plus skirt or long gown.
Nowadays, however, most Chinese wear modern clothes in their daily life. Traditional
attires are only worn during certain festival, ceremonies or religious occasions. Indian
clothing is closely identified with the colorful silk saris worn by many of the country’s
women, a traditional piece of cloth that is tied around the waist and legs. Men also
wear kurta, a loose shirt that is worn about knee length. For special occasions, men
wear a sherwani- long coat.

And the last, but not the least differences are customs and celebrations. In China, the
largest festival-also called the Spring festival marks the beginning of the Lunar New
Year. It falls between mid-January and mid-February and it is a time to honor
ancestors. During the 15-day celebration, the Chinese do something every day to
welcome the New Year, such as ear rice congee and mustard greens to clean the body.
The holiday is marked with fireworks and parades featuring dances dressed as
dragons. They also celebrate birthdays of Cuangin, Mazu and others. They make
parties such as for their New Year.

On the other hand, Diwali is the largest and most important holiday to India. It is a
five-day festival of lights because of the lights lit during the celebration to symbolize
the inner light that protects them from spiritual darkness. Holi, the festival of colors,
also called the festival of love, is popular in the spring. They also have their country
celebrations such as Republic day, Independence day and others.

There are some interesting facts about both countries we didn’t know, or we didn’t
notice. For example shaking the head in a horizontal direction in most countries
means “no”, while in India it means “yes”, and in Hindi language the voice lowers in
pitch at the end of a question. Laughing is connoted in most countries with happiness,
but in China it is often a sign of confusion, insecurity and embarrassment.

Shampoo was invented in India, not the commercial liquid ones, but the method by
use of herbs. In ancient China, soldiers sometimes wore armor made from paper.

India has a spa just for elephants. They receive baths, massages and even food. Put
together, all of China’s railways lines could loop around the earth twice.

Hong Kong has more skyscrapers than any other city in the world. India is second
only to the USA when it comes to speaking English with around 125 million people
speaking this language.

Cows are sacred animals in India. China’s giant pandas are good swimmers. India is
the first country to develop and consume sugar. The word “ketchup” may come from
a Chinese word for pickled-fish sauce.

Diamonds were first found in Krishna River Delta in India. Half of pigs on earth live
in China. India is a birthplace for chess. Chinese brides often wear red, a color
considered to be lucky.

I would like to conclude that I have learnt a lot from this essay as I have done research
and got to know what culture is and the difference between these two cultures. During
the time of my research I found many information of these cultures, I didn’t know
about.