Culture of Jiangxi

Last updated

Jingdezhen-ware, Yuan Dynasty, 1271-1368 Foliated dish with underglaze blue design of melons, bamboo and grapes, Jingdezhen ware, Yuan, 1271-1368, Shanghai Museum.jpg
Jingdezhen-ware, Yuan Dynasty, 1271-1368
Bada Shanren, 1626--1705 Chu Ta 003.jpg
Bada Shanren, 1626—1705

The culture of Jiangxi refers to the culture of the people based in or with origins in Jiangxi province, China. [1] It has changed greatly over several millenniums, from the land's prehistoric period to its contemporary culture, which incorporates ancient and traditional Chinese culture and modern culture influenced by Western culture.

Contents

Geographic situation makes Jiangxi distinguish from its neighbors, as high mountains separate it from Zhejiang to the east, Fujian and Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west and Yangzi River forms a natural division between the South and northern China.

Language

Gan Chinese has always played a significant role in Jiangxi culture. The Chinese variety is spoken mainly in Jiangxi but also in surrounding regions such as Hunan, Hubei, Anhui, and Fujian. Modern Gan is considered as one of Sinitic languages, which derives from Old Gan and still keeps some linguistic traces of ancient languages in South China.

Gan Chinese is written in traditional Chinese characters with Gan variants. Many vocabulary items are no longer used in most Chinese varieties, particularly in Mandarin, while they remain in daily usage in Gan. For example, cooking utensils are called uoh (Chinese :) or tiang (Chinese :) in Gan which date back to the Shang Dynasty. The Bible was also translated into some Gan dialects as the Christianity was introduced into Jiangxi as early as the 16th century, with the arrival of Marco Polo.

Academy culture

Since the academy represents the historical and cultural progress in a place, the importance of it gradually increased during the thousands of years in China. In ancient China, Jiangxi had four academies and they brought special learning atmosphere to Jiangxi for more than 2000 years. [2]

Tea culture

Tea is one of the most popular drinks in the world; as a national drink in China, it represents not only the property of drinker but also the inspiration and tradition within the tea. Lushan Yunwu tea, which is named for Mount Lu in Jiangxi Province, shows the optimistic and peaceful character of people in Jiangxi. [3]

Literature

Novel

Long

Most of the long novels of Jiangxi don't show how reality is, they pay attention to the "excavation of history and culture". [4]

Short story

Different from the novels, the majority of short stories of Jiangxi closely related to the practice world. Urbanization beings several topics for writers to discuss how it changes and reforms the structure of society. In addition, the transformation process where traditional concepts are influenced by industrialization is shown in the short stories. [5]

Visual arts

Huang Tingjian writing Huang Tingjian Fu Bo Shen Ci.jpg
Huang Tingjian writing

Painting

Calligraphy

Sculpture

Jizhou ware

Jingdezhen porcelain

Performing arts

Masks used when performing Nuo opera Nuo opera masks.jpg
Masks used when performing Nuo opera

Gan opera

Caicha opera

Nuo opera

Nuo opera, which is said to have some relations with Baiyue culture, is a popular folk opera in Jiangxi and it develops into various styles in different cities. They all have martial scenes involving combat and non-martial scenes narrating ordinary stories, which differs Jiangxi Nuo from other Nuo operas in southwest China.

From late Qing Dynasty to now, there were about 150 Nuo opera performing groups. A temple for the nuo god, which was built in the Ming Dynasty, is still in good function today for people to worship the nuo god. About 80 nuo opera programs date from the past still exist today. The number of nuo opera masks in Jiangxi is over 2000, and there are approximately 2000 professional nuo opera performing folk artists.

Music

Architecture

Building in Jiangxi Pai Tou Wu .jpg
Building in Jiangxi

Jiangxi architecture is heavily influenced by Fengshui theories of Taoism, one of whose birthplaces is located in Mount Longhu. It pays much attention to the harmony between inhabitants and the building and can simply make details to fix the direction of the bed in order to be coordinated to the background of the inhabitant. The Buddhism is also prosperous in Jiangxi, and traditional religional architecture are found in each city.

Cuisine

Jiangxi cuisine favors overtly spicy flavors, an important feature of many southern cuisines. Chili peppers are directly treated as vegetable instead of as a flavoring and sometimes they are also used in some traditionally non-spicy dishes. Stir frying is one of key techniques in Jiangxi cooking and fish are common ingredients due to numerous rivers within Jiangxi.

Religions

Pure Land Buddhism

Donglin Temple in Lushan, Jiangxi, is considered an important site for Pure Land Buddhism. Dong Lin Si .JPG
Donglin Temple in Lushan, Jiangxi, is considered an important site for Pure Land Buddhism.

Pure Land Buddhism originated in Jiangxi. [6]

Modern culture

People in the culture

Jiangxi people or Jiangxinese ( 贛人 , Gonnin) believe in the bottom-line Chinese values of "family solidarity", "courtesy" and "saving face" that carry significant weight in the culture. Equally, mountainous geography and abundant population have the people learn to be contented being basically well-off ( 小富則安 ), sort of Neo-Confucianism developed by Zhu Xi and Lu Jiuyuan.

Scenery

By 2013, Jiangxi had 4 world heritage sites, 5 national heritage sites and 3 world geoparks. For example, the Lushan mountain, Sanqing mountain. These mountains also the object of many ancient Chinese poems.

Lushan mountain

Lushan has beautiful scenery and profound cultural connotations. It is a combination of mountains, cultural mountains, religious mountains and political mountains. It is about 25 kilometers long and about 10 kilometers wide. The main peak is Hanyang Peak, which is 1474 meters above sea level. The mountain is oval, with a typical barrier-shaped block mountain. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jiangxi</span> Province in eastern China

Jiangxi is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north into hillier areas in the south and east, it shares a border with Anhui to the north, Zhejiang to the northeast, Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei to the northwest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xiang River</span> River in China

The Xiang River is the chief river of the Lake Dongting drainage system of the middle Yangtze, the largest river in Hunan Province, China. It is the 2nd largest tributary in terms of surface runoff, the 5th largest tributary by drainage area of the Yangtze tributaries. The river flows generally northeast through the provinces of Guangxi and Hunan, its tributaries reaching into Jiangxi and Guangdong.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nanchang</span> Prefecture-level city in and capital of Jiangxi, Peoples Republic of China

Nanchang is the capital of Jiangxi Province, People's Republic of China. Located in the north-central part of the province and in the hinterland of Poyang Lake Plain, it is bounded on the west by the Jiuling Mountains, and on the east by Poyang Lake. Because of its strategic location connecting the prosperous East and South China, it has become a major railway hub in Southern China in recent decades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jiujiang</span> Prefecture-level city in Jiangxi, Peoples Republic of China

Jiujiang, formerly transliterated Kiukiang or Kew Keang, is a prefecture-level city located on the southern shores of the Yangtze River in northwest Jiangxi Province, People's Republic of China. It is the second-largest prefecture-level city in Jiangxi province. Jiujiang literally means "nine rivers".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shangrao</span> Prefecture-level city in Jiangxi, Peoples Republic of China

Shangrao is a medium-sized prefecture-level city located in the northeast of Jiangxi province, People's Republic of China. The city borders the province of Anhui to the north, the province of Zhejiang to the east, and the province of Fujian to the south. Also, the city's western reaches extend into Poyang Lake. Shangrao had a population of 6,491,088 as of 2020 census whom 1,293,399 lived in the built up area made of Xinzhou and Guangxin districts, Guangfeng District not being conurbated yet. Shangrao itself is at the very western edge of the Wu-speaking areas, while most of its associated counties speak Gan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fuyang, Hangzhou</span> District in Zhejiang, Peoples Republic of China

is one of ten urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, East China. Fuyang is located in the northwest of Zhejiang on the Fuchun River, a tributary of the Qiantang River. The city is the birthplace of numerous notable individuals, including modern Chinese short story writer and poet Yu Dafu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xiang Chinese</span> Primary branch of Chinese spoken in southern China

Xiang or Hsiang, also known as Hunanese, is a group of linguistically similar and historically related Sinitic languages, spoken mainly in Hunan province but also in northern Guangxi and parts of neighboring Guizhou, Guangdong, Sichuan, Jiangxi and Hubei provinces. Scholars divided Xiang into five subgroups, Chang-Yi, Lou-Shao, Hengzhou, Chen-Xu and Yong-Quan. Among those, Lou-shao, also known as Old Xiang, still exhibits the three-way distinction of Middle Chinese obstruents, preserving the voiced stops, fricatives, and affricates. Xiang has also been heavily influenced by Mandarin, which adjoins three of the four sides of the Xiang-speaking territory, and Gan in Jiangxi Province, from where a large population immigrated to Hunan during the Ming dynasty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gan River</span> River in Jiangxi, China

The Gan River runs north through the western part of Jiangxi before flowing into Lake Poyang and thus the Yangtze River. The Xiang-Gan uplands separate it from the Xiang River of neighboring eastern Hunan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donghu, Nanchang</span> District in Jiangxi, Peoples Republic of China

Donghu District is one of 6 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi Province, China. The district was created in the Tang dynasty when a bridge was built across Nanchang's Taihu lake, dividing the area into the East and West Lake districts. It covers over 56.95 square kilometres (21.99 sq mi) with a population of 482,000 as of 2019. Among them, the urban resident population is 476,300, and the population urbanization rate is 98.83%. The birth rate was 8.68%, and the natural growth rate was 3.2%. People's Park, the largest public park in downtown Nanchang, is located in Donghu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sichuanese dialects</span> Branch of the Mandarin Chinese language family

Sichuanese or Szechwanese (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; Sichuanese Pinyin: Si4cuan1hua4; pinyin: Sìchuānhuà; Wade–Giles: Szŭ4-ch'uan1-hua4), also called Sichuanese/Szechwanese Mandarin (simplified Chinese: 四川官话; traditional Chinese: 四川官話; pinyin: Sìchuān Guānhuà), is a branch of Southwestern Mandarin spoken mainly in Sichuan and Chongqing, which was part of Sichuan Province until 1997, and the adjacent regions of their neighboring provinces, such as Hubei, Guizhou, Yunnan, Hunan and Shaanxi. Although "Sichuanese" is often synonymous with the Chengdu-Chongqing dialect, there is still a great amount of diversity among the Sichuanese dialects, some of which are mutually unintelligible with each other. In addition, because Sichuanese is the lingua franca in Sichuan, Chongqing and part of Tibet, it is also used by many Tibetan, Yi, Qiang and other ethnic minority groups as a second language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuo opera</span> Type of Chinese opera

Nuo opera or Nuo drama is one of China's most popular folk operas. Characterized by its special features such as ferocious masks, unique dresses and adornments, the strange language used in performance, and mysterious scenes, Nuo opera has been selected as one of the non-material cultural legacies of China. The opera is a religious performance intrinsic to the culture of Nuoism, a type of Chinese folk religion. The purpose of Nuo opera is to drive away devils, disease and evil influences, and also to petition for blessings from the gods. Singing and dancing are included in Nuo opera and performers wear costumes and masks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gan Chinese-speaking people</span> Han Chinese ethnic subgroup

The Gan-speaking Chinese or Jiangxi people or Jiangyou people or Kiang-Si people are a subgroup of Han Chinese people. The origin of Gan-speaking people in China are from Jiangxi province in China. Gan-speaking populations are also found in Fujian, southern Anhui and Hubei provinces, and linguistic enclaves are found on Shaanxi, Sichuan, Zhejiang, Hunan, Hainan, Guangdong, Fujian and non-Gan speaking southern and western Jiangxi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gongcheng Yao Autonomous County</span> County in Guangxi, Peoples Republic of China

Gongcheng Yao Autonomous County is a county within the prefecture-level city of Guilin, Guangxi, China. The county spans a total area of 2,149 km2 (830 sq mi), and has a population of approximately 300,000 as of 2011.

Cao Miao is a variety of Dong (Kam) according to Shi Lin (2012). Dialects include Liushi ("Sixty") Miao 六十苗, Sishi ("Forty") Miao 四十苗, and Ershi ("Twenty") Miao 二十苗. The Flowery Miao 花苗 do not consider themselves to be Cao Miao 草苗, although their language is similar to Sixty Miao and Forty Miao.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fanchengdui</span>

Fanchengdui is an archaeological site located in Zhangshu city in the province of Jiangxi, China. It is located upstream on the secondary tributary of the Gan River. The Fanchengdui site is located about 23 km east of another archaeological site, Shinianshan. The river Meng flows through the south part of the Shinianshan site roughly from northwest to southeast, before entering a primary tributary of Gan, Yuanshui. Near Fanchengdui the two rivers and Xiaojiang meet, and together they enter Gan river.

Sanqiao is a mixed Dong–Miao language spoken in Liping County and Jinping County, Guizhou, China by about 6,000 people.

Xijiang is a rural town in Leishan County, Guizhou, China. As of the 2016 census it had a population of 20,000 and an area of 187.8-square-kilometre (72.5 sq mi). The town is renowned for its Miao Villages and their custom and human relationships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Puning Temple (Jiangxi)</span> Buddhist temple in Jiangxi, China

Puning Temple is a Buddhist temple located on Mount Wu'an in Yushan County, Jiangxi, China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wuxi opera</span> Style of Chinese opera originating in the Yangtze delta

Xiju, also known as Wuxi opera, is a genre of opera which originated in the southern region of the Yangtze River Delta in China. It evolved from "Tanhuang" (滩簧), a folk opera art in the region of Wuxi and Changzhou of Jiangsu province. As one of the main local operas in Jiangsu Province, Wuxi opera has been reputed as "a piece of plum flower in Taihu Lake", a title given to the three major operas in East China, alongside Yue opera and Huangmei opera.

The Yongzhou dialect is a dialect of Xiang Chinese spoken in Yongzhou, Hunan Province.

References

  1. 许怀林. "江西历史文化特征概说." 江西广播电视大学学报 2 (1999): 37-41. (in Chinese)
  2. The academy culture in Jiangxi. Retrieved February 22, 2018, from http://www.lushantravel.com/Jiangxi%20Culture_%E6%B1%9F%E8%A5%BF%E6%96%87%E5%8C%96.html
  3. Zeng Tian. <<文化·大家>> 第34期:江西书院小史 (in Chinese)
  4. 2016年江西文学观察. Retrieved February 27, 2018, from http://jx.ifeng.com/a/20170804/5883009_0.shtml
  5. 2016年江西文学观察. Retrieved February 27, 2018, from http://jx.ifeng.com/a/20170804/5883009_0.shtml
  6. 中時電子報. "江西名山古剎多 成旅遊勝地". 中時電子報 (in Chinese). Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  7. 新华网. "我国八处国家地质公园首批入选世界地质公园". 新华网 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on February 20, 2004. Retrieved September 25, 2019.