What is the difference between Chinese culture, Korean culture, and Japanese culture?

Chinese culture is all-encompassing, with many ethnic groups, a wide area, and a long time span. It cannot be comprehensively summarized by only a few single cultural symbols. Chinese culture originated in the mainland and has a deep influence on East Asian countries. It can be compared to the source of European civilization—Greek culture and Latin culture. Chinese civilization is also recognized as one of the four ancient civilizations. For Japanese and Korean cultures, they have a single ethnic structure and are located on the edge of the continent. They do not belong to the source of civilization, but can be regarded as a derivative of continental civilization. Its cultural content is relatively simple, and it is easier to be generalized and interpreted. The early form of Japanese and Korean culture mainly relied on the introduction of mainland culture, but due to its simple geography and relatively stable politics, it could develop in a relatively isolated and in-depth manner without other influences. A few specific examples are used to illustrate:

First, diet. The representative of Chinese food culture is the eight major cuisines, each with its own strengths, covering more than the combined land area of ​​Japan and South Korea. There are various cooking techniques, including direct consumption of some raw and cold ingredients. For example, the "鄍" eaten by people in the Tang Dynasty is sashimi, and now when it comes to sashimi, Japan is more representative. This may also be due to the abundance of Chinese food, many of which cannot be typical. In addition, the diets of some ethnic minorities also belong to the category of Chinese food culture, such as smoked horse meat and yak meat. The food culture of Japan or Korea is relatively simple.

Second, clothing. China's costume culture includes not only the costumes of the Han nationality, but also the costumes of various ethnic minorities. Hanfu, which is popular now, is just a relatively general concept. The clothing of all dynasties and dynasties has its own characteristics, from headgear, to clothes, to shoes, to various accessories, to the dressing needs of different occasions, which are very complicated. This is not for discussion. However, due to the age-defying nature of politics, the demand for clothing gradually tends to be practical. Japan and South Korea are different. Due to the small changes in the living environment for a long time, national costumes have become their important cultural symbols and can be well preserved.

Third, Politics. Since entering the era of agricultural civilization, China has experienced many political changes, carried out a lot of political practice and reform, and experienced many wars, including a large number of civil wars and inter-ethnic wars. Generally speaking, these large numbers of repeated and violent changes have made the Chinese characters extremely complex and even contradictory. No specific discussion. For Japan and South Korea, South Korea has a relatively stable political environment because it is attached to China most of the time, while Japan has not actually experienced violent inter-ethnic wars because of its isolation overseas, so the national characters of the two countries are less affected by politics. . In terms of culture, China is more cautious about foreign cultures, and is more inclined to make changes based on its own experience. Japan and South Korea are more inclined to learn a lot of foreign cultures, and it is easier to unify opinions internally.

Fourth, thinking. The ideological part of Chinese culture is the synthesis of the ideology of each period. It originated in the pre-Qin period, developed in the Qin, Han, Wei and Jin periods, flourished in the Tang and Song dynasties, and became rigid in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Education, literature, science, political practice, and many other fields were all influenced by the mainstream ideas of the time. For Japan and South Korea, there is no historical heritage in the category of ideology or ideology, but relatively speaking, this also makes it easier for Japan and South Korea to accept Western ideas and carry out positive internal reforms.

All in all, China, Japan and South Korea are both Asian countries, and their cultures have certain commonalities. The manifestation of its differences comes from geographical factors, as well as the different development trajectories caused by the invasion of Western culture since modern times.