China and Japan, Two Equal but Different Cultures
"No culture can live if it attempts to be exclusive" – Mahatma Gandhi. All around the world it is easy to find a high amount of costumes, beliefs, traditions, behaviors, and types of education shared between groups of people. Cultural diversity gives the opportunity to humans of increasing their choices in several aspects, and it enriches their capacities, perspectives, and values in this varied world (UNESCO, 2010). As people experience the life in a certain place and time, they construct their own identity and lifestyle. Interestingly, within the existing variety of cultures in the world some of them completely differ, but others share some characteristics and lifestyle because of aspects as location and history. Particularly, China and Japan are cultures perceived as the same, but going deeper in the study of ethnic aspects of these countries makes easy to distinguish between one another. Although Chinese and Japanese cultures have similarities in their writing systems, religions, and cuisines, each culture maintains its own identity particularities.
Writing system gives identity to each culture, and Chinese and Japanese writing resemble each other in some aspects that also can be compared. For example, the writing system on both cultures consists in logographs, characters that represent the meaning of a morpheme and come from pictographs as lines and periods (Taylor & Taylor, 2014, p. 14). Japanese writing system resembles to Chinese because they are based on Kanji, original characters from Chinese writing system. On the other hand, while Chinese writing only uses Kanji and Hanzi characters, Japanese uses Kanji and two forms of syllabary: Hiragana and Katakana as well as relevant changes on the grammatical structures in the written communication (Taylor & Taylor, 2014, p.14). In contrast with Chinese writing system where the sentence order consists on subject-verb-object, Japanese sentence order follows the subject-object-verb pattern. Besides, while Chinese verbs do not distinguish tense, Japanese does though it does not consider a past tense. In this context, when longer and more complex a Chinese text is, the understanding for a Japanese becomes harder because of differences in syntax as well as in the words (Taylor & Taylor, 2014, p. 15). Inevitably, since the number of Kanji characters used in Chinese writing system is larger than in Japanese, it creates confusion between the Japanese and Chinese people trying to convey or understand something by written form. As language and its characteristics show a part of the culture, the faith and beliefs also reveal strong cultural aspects.
Religion in Chinese and Japanese cultures resembles each other in some characteristics, but it is possible to compare their practices as well. Chinese and Japanese civilizations share similar beliefs because they rely on sacred texts in common related to Confucianism and Buddhism, but Japanese civilization interprets the texts differently (Kitagawa, 1987, p. 66). Believers in both cultures follow Confucianism and Buddhism in life, so they practice many values because they give them an outstanding significance. On the other hand, the Japanese follow the idea that the religious universe resides in the natural world nurtured by myths, but the Chinese come up with the idea that religion bases remain on universal laws and principles (Kitagawa, 1987, p. 71). These beliefs bring an impact on people´s behavior because people from Japanese culture focus more on individualism and nature, and they consider daily activities as sacred as well as the elements on earth, whereas politeness commonly practiced in China allows its people being more open to the world. Notwithstanding the influences of Confucianism and Buddhism from China in Japan, the Japanese civilization moves on other more distinctive belief of its culture, the Shinto Faith, which involves the understanding of the meaning of life and the world (Kitagawa, 1987, p. 72). This Shinto faith perceived as a mix of the beliefs from both cultures makes that the Japanese society maintains an own religious identity. In this context, this fact explains why Japanese religious practices occur less commonly than Chinese. China and Japan follow similarly their faiths along with other ethnic features like their diets and food culture.
Chinese and Japanese cuisines share certain characteristics although they also preserve representative elements that make them unique. For instance, both cultures consider rice as a sacred ingredient in their dishes because religious influences in common, Confucianism, established that portions of meat should not exceed the quantity of this cereal, yet the Japanese do not give the same value as the Chinese do (Kiple & Coneé, 2000, p. 1166). Chinese and Japanese cuisines serve rice in their dishes as main ingredient owing to sacred beliefs, but sometimes the Japanese replace it with noodles and other ingredients as accompaniment in their meals. Several taboos around the meat consumption and dairy products reside among the Japanese, so population in Japan eats 20% less amounts of meat deriving almost the 90% of proteins from vegetables and soybean products (Kiple & Coneé, 2000, pp. 1166-1179). The Japanese have a preference for the vegetables, which reveals the constant use of them when preparing food, so people from Japan have a low consumption of meat and milk based food. On the other hand, while Chinese cuisine employs a mix of sweetness, sourness, and saltiness, Japanese cuisine focuses more on sweet tastes, and it utilizes simmering and a mastery chopping as main food preparing techniques (Kapil & Coneé, 2000, pp. 1173-1181). Even though the cuisine of both cultures uses endless spices like miso as main flavoring in their dishes, more exotic spices like star anise, hot mustard, and five spice powder are highly employed in Chinese cuisine. In contrast with Chinese cuisine that commonly resorts to stir frying as a cooking method, the Japanese cuisine draws on more sophisticated cooking techniques.
Japanese and Chinese cultures share features in sacred beliefs, food, and written communication, but the variations in each one make them unique and different from each other. Certainly, Chinese and Japanese cultures reach a confusing comparative panorama because they are thought to be the same due to their similarities. Characteristics like Kanji ideograms in writing system, rice and certain ingredients used in dishes of Chinese and Japanese cuisines, Buddhism and Confucianism as religion in both cultures fit in the range of similarities that can create a baffling notion of them. However, although they use the same ingredients in food, use the same writing characters, and venerate similar beliefs and faith practices, each culture has characteristics that make them unique and especial. In general, certain specific factors in written communication, food culture, and creeds that go unnoticed make the big difference in these cultures which have not been completely discovered.
Kiple,K. & Coneé, K. (2000). The Cambridge world history of food volume 2. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from
https://books.google.com.mx/booksid=Vr2qnK_QOuAC&pg=PA1182&dq=chinese+and+japanese+cuisine&hl=es419&sa=X&ved=0CGcQ6AEwCWoVChMI8u3Qyv3HxwIVgQmSCh18KQ3n#v=onepage&q=chinese%20and%20japanese%20cuisine&f=false
Kitagawa, J. (1987). On understanding Japanese religion. United Kingdom, UK: Princeton University Press. Retrieved from
https://books.google.com.mx/booksid=h1xcc4cGL5cC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
Taylor, I. & Taylor, M. (2014). Writing and literacy in Chinese, Korean and Japanese: Revised edition. Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company. Retrieved from
https://books.google.com.mx/booksid=qaK2BQAAQBAJ&pg=PR17&dq=japanese+and+chinese+writing&hl=es419&sa=X&ved=0CBwQ6AEwAGoVChMIgJ_hmOjMxwIVwoCSCh2dNw6R#v=onepage&q=japanese%20and%20chinese%20writing&f=false
UNESCO. (2010). The power of culture for development [Brochure]. N.p.: Author. Retrieved from
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001893/189382e.pdf
Writing system gives identity to each culture, and Chinese and Japanese writing resemble each other in some aspects that also can be compared. For example, the writing system on both cultures consists in logographs, characters that represent the meaning of a morpheme and come from pictographs as lines and periods (Taylor & Taylor, 2014, p. 14). Japanese writing system resembles to Chinese because they are based on Kanji, original characters from Chinese writing system. On the other hand, while Chinese writing only uses Kanji and Hanzi characters, Japanese uses Kanji and two forms of syllabary: Hiragana and Katakana as well as relevant changes on the grammatical structures in the written communication (Taylor & Taylor, 2014, p.14). In contrast with Chinese writing system where the sentence order consists on subject-verb-object, Japanese sentence order follows the subject-object-verb pattern. Besides, while Chinese verbs do not distinguish tense, Japanese does though it does not consider a past tense. In this context, when longer and more complex a Chinese text is, the understanding for a Japanese becomes harder because of differences in syntax as well as in the words (Taylor & Taylor, 2014, p. 15). Inevitably, since the number of Kanji characters used in Chinese writing system is larger than in Japanese, it creates confusion between the Japanese and Chinese people trying to convey or understand something by written form. As language and its characteristics show a part of the culture, the faith and beliefs also reveal strong cultural aspects.
Religion in Chinese and Japanese cultures resembles each other in some characteristics, but it is possible to compare their practices as well. Chinese and Japanese civilizations share similar beliefs because they rely on sacred texts in common related to Confucianism and Buddhism, but Japanese civilization interprets the texts differently (Kitagawa, 1987, p. 66). Believers in both cultures follow Confucianism and Buddhism in life, so they practice many values because they give them an outstanding significance. On the other hand, the Japanese follow the idea that the religious universe resides in the natural world nurtured by myths, but the Chinese come up with the idea that religion bases remain on universal laws and principles (Kitagawa, 1987, p. 71). These beliefs bring an impact on people´s behavior because people from Japanese culture focus more on individualism and nature, and they consider daily activities as sacred as well as the elements on earth, whereas politeness commonly practiced in China allows its people being more open to the world. Notwithstanding the influences of Confucianism and Buddhism from China in Japan, the Japanese civilization moves on other more distinctive belief of its culture, the Shinto Faith, which involves the understanding of the meaning of life and the world (Kitagawa, 1987, p. 72). This Shinto faith perceived as a mix of the beliefs from both cultures makes that the Japanese society maintains an own religious identity. In this context, this fact explains why Japanese religious practices occur less commonly than Chinese. China and Japan follow similarly their faiths along with other ethnic features like their diets and food culture.
Chinese and Japanese cuisines share certain characteristics although they also preserve representative elements that make them unique. For instance, both cultures consider rice as a sacred ingredient in their dishes because religious influences in common, Confucianism, established that portions of meat should not exceed the quantity of this cereal, yet the Japanese do not give the same value as the Chinese do (Kiple & Coneé, 2000, p. 1166). Chinese and Japanese cuisines serve rice in their dishes as main ingredient owing to sacred beliefs, but sometimes the Japanese replace it with noodles and other ingredients as accompaniment in their meals. Several taboos around the meat consumption and dairy products reside among the Japanese, so population in Japan eats 20% less amounts of meat deriving almost the 90% of proteins from vegetables and soybean products (Kiple & Coneé, 2000, pp. 1166-1179). The Japanese have a preference for the vegetables, which reveals the constant use of them when preparing food, so people from Japan have a low consumption of meat and milk based food. On the other hand, while Chinese cuisine employs a mix of sweetness, sourness, and saltiness, Japanese cuisine focuses more on sweet tastes, and it utilizes simmering and a mastery chopping as main food preparing techniques (Kapil & Coneé, 2000, pp. 1173-1181). Even though the cuisine of both cultures uses endless spices like miso as main flavoring in their dishes, more exotic spices like star anise, hot mustard, and five spice powder are highly employed in Chinese cuisine. In contrast with Chinese cuisine that commonly resorts to stir frying as a cooking method, the Japanese cuisine draws on more sophisticated cooking techniques.
Japanese and Chinese cultures share features in sacred beliefs, food, and written communication, but the variations in each one make them unique and different from each other. Certainly, Chinese and Japanese cultures reach a confusing comparative panorama because they are thought to be the same due to their similarities. Characteristics like Kanji ideograms in writing system, rice and certain ingredients used in dishes of Chinese and Japanese cuisines, Buddhism and Confucianism as religion in both cultures fit in the range of similarities that can create a baffling notion of them. However, although they use the same ingredients in food, use the same writing characters, and venerate similar beliefs and faith practices, each culture has characteristics that make them unique and especial. In general, certain specific factors in written communication, food culture, and creeds that go unnoticed make the big difference in these cultures which have not been completely discovered.
References
Kiple,K. & Coneé, K. (2000). The Cambridge world history of food volume 2. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from
https://books.google.com.mx/booksid=Vr2qnK_QOuAC&pg=PA1182&dq=chinese+and+japanese+cuisine&hl=es419&sa=X&ved=0CGcQ6AEwCWoVChMI8u3Qyv3HxwIVgQmSCh18KQ3n#v=onepage&q=chinese%20and%20japanese%20cuisine&f=false
Kitagawa, J. (1987). On understanding Japanese religion. United Kingdom, UK: Princeton University Press. Retrieved from
https://books.google.com.mx/booksid=h1xcc4cGL5cC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
Taylor, I. & Taylor, M. (2014). Writing and literacy in Chinese, Korean and Japanese: Revised edition. Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company. Retrieved from
https://books.google.com.mx/booksid=qaK2BQAAQBAJ&pg=PR17&dq=japanese+and+chinese+writing&hl=es419&sa=X&ved=0CBwQ6AEwAGoVChMIgJ_hmOjMxwIVwoCSCh2dNw6R#v=onepage&q=japanese%20and%20chinese%20writing&f=false
UNESCO. (2010). The power of culture for development [Brochure]. N.p.: Author. Retrieved from
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001893/189382e.pdf
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