The difference between Japan and China

Japan and China

         When I was a kid, I always though that Japanese and Chinese people were the same. However, when I grew up I discovered that they constituted two different cultures but I never knew what distinguished them and made them two unique and different countries. So I decided to write about the similarities and differences of Japan and China to discover more about these two cultures.

There are many things in common between Japan and China.

 

Geography:

Both of the countries are situated in Eastern Asia.

Government:

China and japan both had an Emperor.  

China was ruled by an emperor for over 2000 years and it’s first emperor was Qin Shi Huang who managed to unite all of China under one rule.

In Japan, the current emperor is Emperor Akihtio who symbolizes the nation of Japan and the unity of its people.

Food:

Both Chinese and Japanese cuisine serve healthy dishes and most of these dishes contain rise or noodles.

They both use chopsticks when eating rather that forks or spoons.

Religion:

Both countries are influences by two main religions:

Confucianism, Buddhism

Buddhism is believed to help people find peace and happiness within themselves. While Confucianism emphasizes more on the importance of family and social harmony rather than spiritual values.

Symbol of Buddihsm

Symbol of Confucianism

Language:

Both countries use the same characters when writing called Kanzi in Chinese and Kanji in Japanese but the pronunciation of the words is different.

The common aspect of language between the two countries are nouns. Japanese and Chinese nouns don’t have a number (singular or plural) and don’t refer to a specific gender (feminine or masculine).

Although these many similarities there are many things that differentiate them:

 

Geography:

China covers a vast amount of land

 Japan is a consisted of a group of islands.

Food:

Most of the Chinese food are fried and spicy. Whereas the Japanese food are mainly raw and less spicy.

Japanese food includes more fish and chicken, whereas Chinese prefer eating beef and pork.

Most known Japanese dish: Sushi

Most known Chinese dish: Sweet sour pork

Government:

China is a communist state

Japan is a constitutional monarchy in which the Emperor is the head of state but have no real power. The prime minster is the one who holds the power and act as the head of the government.

Traditions:

Traditional cloths:

In china the “Qipai” is the name of their official clothing. It is a baggy dress with a high neck and tight skirt.

The "Qipai"

In Japan, clothing consisted of the “Kimono”. It is a robe with many layers and the number of layers varied from eight to twenty.

The "Kimono"

-       Holidays:

China celebrates Lunar new year like many Asian countries. However, Japan Gregorian calendar and therefore don’t celebrate the Lunar New Year they rather celebrate the Western New Year.

When celebrating new year, in china they wear red and decorate their place with red ornaments because it is believed that the color red eliminate bad luck.

Whereas, Japanese houses are decorated with straw ropes and pine bough that is burned in a ceremonial bonfire. 

-       Tea:

Tea has a major meaning in both cultures. In japan, there is a tea ceremony and tea is considered as a medicine that improve the physical and spiritual health.

In china, tea is considered one of their seven basic necessities a part from firewood, oil, slat, soy sauce and vinegar…

During Chinese weddings the bride and the groom kneel in front of their parents and offer them tea. Drinking the tea offered is a sign of acceptance of marriage.

          In conclusion, China and Japan have some similarities but many differences in each aspect of their culture that make them unique. Learning about these differences help us understand even more about cultural diversity and accept it which enhance the intercultural communication skills. In fact, the intercultural communication refer to the act of sharing information between people with different religious, educational and social background and hence with different culture. Improving these skills will help people  understand one another and help them be aware of the beliefs and traditions of others. 

Just like Nelson Mandela once said:" If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. if you talk to him in his language that goes to his heart." Therefore, in order to form a closer bond with people you need to accept, understand and learn about their culture.