Republic of China

The Republic of China (Traditional Chinese: ????; Simplified Chinese: ????; Wade-Giles: Chung¹-hua² Min²-kuo², Tongyong Pinyin: JhongHuá MínGuó, Hanyu Pinyin: Zh?nghuá Mínguó, Taiwanese POJ: Tiong-hoâ Bîn-kok) is a multiparty democratic state that today is composed of the island groups of Taiwan, the Pescadores, Quemoy, and Matsu. In English, as in Chinese, the name "Taiwan" is often used synonymously with the modern Republic of China, while the term "China" usually refers to the People's Republic of China (PRC), or mainland China with or without Hong Kong and Macau.

Culture

Culture of Republican China, 1912-1949

Main article: Culture of China

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With the abolishment of the emperor in China, the early years of the Republic of China saw the New Cultural Movement, with the gradual liberalization of society. Old imperial practices such as footbinding were discontinued. In accordance with the tradition of changing the style of dress for successive dynasties, Sun Yat-sen popularized the changshan (the female equivalent is qipao). Mao Zedong would later adapt the upper part of changshan and wear the style become known to westerners as the Mao suit.

Related Topics:
New Cultural Movement - Footbinding - Changshan - Qipao - Mao Zedong - Mao suit

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Culture of Taiwan

Main article: Culture of Taiwan

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Over the years, Taiwan's distinct cultural identity has been allowed greater expression and has gradually moved further away from its Sinitic roots (see Taiwan localization movement). Taiwan's mainstream culture is primarily derived from traditional Chinese culture, with significant influences also from Japanese and American cultures, especially in the areas of politics and architecture. Taiwanese aboriginals also have a distinct culture. Fine arts, folk traditions, and popular culture embody traditional and modern Asian and Western motifs.

Related Topics:
Taiwan localization movement - Traditional Chinese - Japanese - American - Taiwanese aboriginal

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After the retreat to Taiwan, the Nationalists took many steps to preserve traditional Chinese culture and suppress the local Taiwanese culture. The government launched a program promoting Chinese calligraphy, traditional Chinese painting, folk art, and Chinese opera. One of Taiwan's greatest attractions is the National Palace Museum, which houses more than 650,000 pieces of Chinese bronze, jade, calligraphy, painting and porcelain. Chiang Kai-Shek's Nationalist Party (KMT) moved this collection from the Forbidden City in Beijing in 1949 when it fled to Taiwan. The collection, estimated to be one-tenth of China's cultural treasures, is so extensive that only 1 percent is on display at any time.

Related Topics:
Chinese calligraphy - Traditional Chinese painting - Folk art - Chinese opera - National Palace Museum - Nationalist Party (KMT) - Forbidden City - Beijing

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Karaoke is incredibly popular in Taiwan, where it is known as KTV and is an example of something the Taiwanese have drawn from contemporary Japanese culture. Pachinko is another example.

Related Topics:
Karaoke - KTV - Pachinko

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Taiwanese culture also has influenced the West: Bubble tea and milk tea are popular drinks readily available around city centers in Europe, Canada and the United States. Ang Lee is the famous Taiwanese movie director of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Eat Drink Man Woman, among other films.

Related Topics:
Bubble tea - Milk tea - Ang Lee - Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon - Eat Drink Man Woman

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About 80 percent of the people in Taiwan belong to the Holo ethnic group and speak both Mandarin and Taiwanese. Mandarin is the primary language of instruction in schools, having been forced on local Taiwanese since the coming of the Nationalists; however, most spoken media is split between Mandarin and Taiwanese. Speaking Taiwanese under the localization movement has become an emblem of expressing Taiwanese identity, and the language has undergone a resurgence since the early 1990s. The Hakka, about 10 percent of the population, have a distinct Hakka language. Aboriginal minority groups still speak their native languages, although most also speak Mandarin and Taiwanese.

Related Topics:
Holo - Mandarin - Taiwanese - Localization - Hakka - Hakka language

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The Taiwanese localization movement continues to be a major driver of Taiwanese culture, as a reaction against both the previous repression by the previously Kuomintang-controlled government and the hostility of the PRC. Thus, identity politics, along with the over 100 years of political separation from mainland China, 50 of which were under Japanese colonial rule, has led to distinct traditions in many areas, including cuisine, motion pictures, photography, opera and music.

Related Topics:
Kuomintang - PRC - Mainland China - Cuisine - Motion pictures - Photography - Opera - Music

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• Taiwanese cuisine
• Taiwanese language
• music of Taiwan
• list of Chinese people
• list of Taiwanese people
• Chinese cuisine
• education in Taiwan

Convenience store culture

Boasting 8,058 convenience stores in an area of 35,980 km² and a population of 22.9 million, Taiwan has the Asia Pacific?s and perhaps the world?s highest density of convenience stores per person: one store per 2,800 people or .000357 stores per person (2005 ACNielsen ShopperTrends). With 3680 7-Eleven stores, Taiwan also has the world?s highest density of 7-Elevens per person: one store per 6200 people or .000161 stores per person (International Licensing page of 7-Eleven website). In Taipei, it is not unusual to see two 7-Elevens across the street or several of them within a few hundreds of meters of each other.

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Because they are found everywhere, convenience stores in Taiwan provide services on behalf of financial institutions or government agencies such as collection of the city parking fee, utility bills, traffic violation fines, and credit card payments. Eighty percent of urban household shoppers in Taiwan visit a convenience store each week (2005 ACNielsen ShopperTrends).

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The idea of being able to purchase food items, drink, fast food, magazines, videos, computer games, and so on 24 hours a day and at any corner of a street makes life easier for Taiwan?s extremely busy and rushed population.

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Calendrical system

Following the imperial tradition of using the sovereign's era name and year of reign, official ROC documents and most people in Taiwan still use the Min Guo (Chinese: ??, pinyin: míngúo, literal meaning: "The Country of the People" or in this case, "Republic") system of numbering years in which year one was 1912, the date of the founding of the Republic of China. For example, Year 2005 is the 94th year of "Min Guo" ("94th year of the Republic") or "Min Guo 94 (jiu shisi) nian" (??????) in Chinese. As Chinese era names are traditionally two characters long, Min Guo is employed as an abbreviation of the entire ROC title. Coincidentally, this calendrical system is the same as the Juche calendar used in North Korea, which begins with Kim Il Sung's birth in 1912.

Related Topics:
Era name - Chinese - Pinyin - Juche calendar - North Korea - Kim Il Sung

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See also:

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• Chinese calendar
• holidays in the Republic of China
• public holidays in the Republic of China