各种各样的艺术品都可以记录历史。中国的艺术品也不是意外。其实，对于中国的历史，艺术品记录下的场景非常重要。许许多多的重要人物和事件将出现在艺术品中。


History can be recorded by all kinds of art 🎨. Chinese art is no different. In fact, for the history of China 🇨🇳, the scenes recorded by artworks are very important. Many important people and events will appear in the artworks.

Throughout history, poems and songs have been an important part of Chinese culture, as well as expressing the history of the times through the meaning behind the poems. Some were used for love, while others were used for ceremonies.

The first book written in China containing poems is called the 

Book of Songs/Classic of Poetry (诗经(shījīng))

. It includes poems written from the 11th century BCE and the 7th century BCE. The first section contains folk songs relating to the stories of common people. The second section contains hymns related to rituals and praising the Zhou dynasty's founders, as well as the feelings of the common people at the time.

Poetry in China 🇨🇳 had its Golden Age during the Tang dynasty (618 CE-907 CE). Poetry was required for the civil service exam, known specifically as the 

Imperial examination system (科举制度(kējǔ zhìdù))

, which were used to choose individual candidates for the bureaucracy.

A collection of the most popular poems during the Tang dynasty is called the 

Three Hundred Tang Poems (唐诗三百首(tángshī sānbǎi shǒu))

, as seen above. Commonly seen in modern-day textbooks in China, many of the poems are required to be memorized. Three Hundred Tang Poems have poems about politics, friendship, common life, etc., much like their earlier counterparts.

During the Song dynasty (960 CE-1279 CE), many poems created were based on previous rhythms and tunes, known as 

. With a total of 800 rhythm forms, Cí poems associated with which rhythm is used. Since military and politics were a common topic throughout life during the dynasty, many poems written during this time reflected that by containing topics pertaining to politics. Other poems, written by those who were unable to be a part of the bureaucracy, reflected thoughts of dissatisfaction with the government.

The evolution of painting, as well as the changes in what is depicted, can record history. In China, the earliest paintings were images of figures and landscapes. Silk paintings, stone paintings, and other lacquer paintings were most common until the invention of paper.

Paintings of landscape became popular and advanced to show 3D effects during the Tang dynasty. 

, much like the one shown above, were meant to be depicting feelings and emotions of nature, rather than an accurate depiction of the landscape. Paintings were made using brushes and ink.

Paintings during the Song dynasty evolved into more faded and blurred images. A large impact was made due to religion: Daoism ☯️ and Buddhism ☸️. During the Northern Song period, many paintings were affected by the politics of the time with large scale reform ideals, causing them to depict large landscapes. The image above is from the Northern Song period.

In comparison, during the Southern Song period, many paintings were influenced by ideals of smaller-scale reforms, causing them to be detailed oriented with the forefront of the painting being the highlight 🔍. Religious aspects from Daoism to Neo-Confucianism shaped this period of change in both political ideals and the paintings made.

During the Yuan dynasty, many paintings 🖼️ began to reflect what the painter felt in the moment, rather than the feelings of the surroundings. Because of the conquest of the Mongols, paintings also began to revert to much older and painting styles to keep a Chinese tradition in lieu of the Mongols presence in China as in the image above.

Many Chinese artists and scholars chose to return to life away from the court because of an unwillingness to participate in the government while it's ruled by outsiders. Many Mongols chose to blend into Chinese culture, therefore not having a large effect on the styles of the paintings, however, more horse 🏇 paintings in hunting and racing appeared due to the nomadic nature of the Mongols.

In the Ming dynasty, the colors used in paintings were expanded and specific painted instructions on painting were developed. These instruction manuals are in fact, still in use today. An example is the 

Manual of the Muster Seed Garden (芥子园画传(jièzǐ yuán huà zhuán))

, shown above, which was published in 1679 and contains 5 volumes. 

During the Qing dynasty, two painting styles emerged: Orthodox Painting and Individualistic Painting. Both were derived from the theories of 

. The Orthodox painting style involved mostly recreations of older styles. In comparison, individualistic paintings were made to be purposely different from past styles. The painting above is one made during the Qing dynasty. 

唐诗三百首（tángshī sānbǎi shǒu）

芥子园画传（jièzǐ yuán huà zhuán）

Art and History

China's museums contain mostly information about ancient China and are very valued throughout the country. Some museums are preserved buildings that are ancient, while others are complete with many artifacts of history.

The Forbidden City (紫禁城(zǐjìnchéng)) - 15th Century CE

Built during the 15th century, the Forbidden City is the largest palace in the world 🗺️, located in Beijing. It was made to house emperors and to be the center of the government. It was announced as a World Heritage site (1987) and is considered to be the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world by UNESCO. With 980 buildings and 9,999 rooms, it takes up a whopping 72 hectares! 

Currently, the Forbidden City serves as the Palace Museum 

 and receives roughly 14 million visitors annually. The collection of items within the museum include documents 📜 and artifacts 🍶 from the Ming and Qing dynasties. There are about 340,000 parts of ceramics, 50,000 paintings (including those from before the 13th century), 30,000 pieces of jade, 10,000 pieces of bronzeware, 1,000 pieces of timepieces, and lots of artifacts from the imperial court.

The Forbidden City 🌆 is known to be an influential part of Chinese architecture and many other architectural developments all throughout East Asia 🌏.

Terracotta Army Museum (秦始皇兵马俑(qínshǐhuáng bīngmǎyǒng)) - 3rd Century BCE

The Terracotta Army was built during the first emperor of China's reign in the 3rd century BCE. Located in Xi'an, Shaanxi, the Terracotta Army is a group of terracotta sculptures meant to protect Emperor Qin Shi Huang in his journey through the afterlife. There are roughly 8,000 soldiers ⚔️, 130 chariots ⚙️, 520 horses 🐎, 150 cavalry horses 🏇, officials 👮, musicians 🎵, and more. It was discovered in 1974, revealing the massive tomb. Each figure is life-sized but ranging in height. They were painted with materials from the time, however, once exposed to oxygen, much of the paint fell off.

The mausoleum is modeled after the capital of the Qin dynasty, Xianyang. Made of an inner and outer city, it takes up a total of 3.9 miles circumference. The actual tomb of the emperor himself remains untouched.  

National Museum of China (中国国家博物馆(zhōngguó guójiā bówùguǎn)) - 2003

Known as the third most visited museum in the world (palace museums are excluded), the National Museum of China 🇨🇳 has roughly over 7 million visitors visiting annually. It is located in Beijing on the eastern side of Tiananmen Square. The museum houses artifacts from items estimated to be 1.7 million years old to the end of the last dynasty in China, the Qing Dynasty. One exhibition focuses on China's recent history from the Opium Wars to the present, including details on the evolution of modern-day politics in China.

In Chinese history, the earliest musical instruments 🎼 found are estimated to be from 9,000 years ago. Musicians were seen to have a low social status while still being vital to the dynasties. Chinese instruments are grouped into categories called 

: Silk, Bamboo, Wood, Stone, Metal, Clay, Gourd, and Skin. Within the silk category, instruments can usually be split into plucked, bowed, and struck categories for playing. China has many traditional musical instruments including the 

 is made of two strings (bowed silk instrument), and because of its size and cost, very popular among current street musicians while still being used in performances such as Chinese operas.

 is a (silk instrument) plucked zither with usually 21, 25, or 26 strings. It's usually played in traditional music performances. Players will sit in chairs in front of the 古筝, which is placed on a desk.

 is another silk instrument falling into the plucked category of instruments. With 4 strings and a pear-shaped body, the 琵琶 is thought to have originated during the Han dynasty (202 BCE-220 CE). It's usually played in an upright position. 

 is a traverse bamboo flute. Original flutes are shown to have originated about 7,000 BCE, but the modern 笛子 comes from roughly the 5th century BCE. Usually with 6 or more holes, the 笛子 is light and easy to carry. One of the holes has a membrane called a 

 (made from reed) covering it to produce a specific buzzing sound.

) ****is a vertically blown bamboo flute. The blowing hole is usually cut into a U or V shape with the player blowing air over it.

In recent years, the most popular genres of music in China include C-pop (Chinese popular music), hip hop, rock music, and music from other countries. Some of the most popular artists include 薛之谦, 周杰伦, 邓紫棋 (G.E.M.), 毛不易, and the group TFBoys. Many modern Chinese popular songs include some English lyrics mixed in with Mandarin.

故宫博物院（gùgōng bówùyuàn）

秦始皇兵马俑（qínshǐhuáng bīngmǎyǒng）

中国国家博物馆（zhōngguó guójiā bówùguǎn）

汉语流行音乐（hànyǔ liúxíng yīnyuè）

Value of Beauty and Art in Communities

Chinese visual art includes a wide variety such as painting, sculpting, ceramics, decorative arts, pottery, jade, bronze casting, and more!

China's vast history and culture can be deeply expressed through its arts 🎨🎭.

The style of paintings in China 🇨🇳 can reflect the dynasty in which it was created and tell stories 📚 from history.

From the Han Dynasty, paintings were used to decorate the halls of buildings including tombs. During the Six Dynasties (Three Kingdoms, Jin Dynasty, and the Southern and Northern Dynasties), painting was mostly done through calligraphy ✒️. Then, during the Tang Dynasty, paintings of court life displaying people began to pop up. Starting around this time, ink paintings began to be accepted as fully finished paintings.

Landscape paintings 🖼️ also gained traction during this time period, especially those where slight color was added. In the following eras, from the Yuan Dynasty with the Mongols taking over China, with the disappearance of many artists choosing to not follow the Mongols, which is reflected in the artworks from that time to modern China, where many artists are influenced by aspects of Western culture in their paintings 🖼️.

This painting 🖼️ displayed above is called "

Along the River During the Qingming Festival

. It displays the normal everyday lives of citizens during the Song dynasty. It is one of the most famous Chinese paintings to date. As you can see, painting was used to illustrate the daily life of historical Chinese 🇨🇳 citizens as well as stories in history. 


Through the millennia ⏳, Chinese architecture has developed into its own form. In fact, 

Chinese architecture (中国建筑)zhōngguó jiànzhú))

 has had many influences on other countries in South Asia.

The basis of Chinese architecture relies much on a multitude of ideas within **风水 (fēngshuǐ)**🌬️🌊. When taking a look at the width of a building in China, you can learn a lot about the reason it was built. In comparison to the West, where height ↕️ is stressed, Chinese architecture stresses width. Tall buildings were considered unattractive.

Shown in the image below is the Forbidden City, known as 

. As you can see, it takes up a lot more horizontal space than vertical. Inside the Forbidden City 🏙️, the ceilings are also lower in comparison.

Aside from a horizontal emphasis, there are many other important aspects to Chinese architecture. One of them is 👁️ symmetry. To be specific, bilateral symmetry! Throughout Chinese architecture, even in simpler buildings, symmetry is present. However, gardens🌲 usually are not symmetrical. This is to stimulate a natural flow since the garden is treated like a co-existence for humans and nature. A very distinct part is how water and hill stones are necessary for the gardens. It's a form of Yin Yang ☯️ (a BIG part of Chinese culture)! 

Whenever designing new architecture, research on the neighboring territory was ESSENTIAL for harmony 

Carvings and color paintings decorate Chinese architecture from the past. The carvings display not only stories on the walls, but also wildlife. Colored paintings are made with the brightest colors and the specific colors used can show the ranking of the home 🏡 Much of the paint used had copper within it so that it could last longer. 

Much of China's history lies waiting through its ancient bamboo books, buildings 🏛️ and architecture, visual arts, and many more. Some describe the simple everyday life that its artist is privy to, while some pack in stories and legends that drastically changed history. The build-up of centuries of culture is also visible through the repeated structures in the artworks 🖼️ regardless of the time.  

清明上河图（qīngmíng shànghé tú

）- Along the River During the Qingming Festival 

中国古典园林（zhōngguó gǔdiǎn yuánlín）

- Harmony (between individuals or elements)

Arts and Cultural Perspectives

The main 🔍 topic of this unit is exploring how beauty 💅 and art 🎨 influence the Chinese-speaking communities. Beauty and Aesthetics 🦋 will be the main focus 🔬, although some previous themes mentioned make a reappearance. 

As you work through this unit, think about these questions: 

How do ideals of beauty and aesthetics influence daily life? (审美和美学的理想是怎么影响到日常生活？)

How does art both challenge and reflect cultural perspectives? (艺术是如何又反对又反映文化观点？)

How do communities value beauty and art? (社区是如何看待美和艺术？)

How is art used to record history? (艺术是如何用来记录历史的？)

3.1 Ideals of Beauty and Aesthetics and Daily Life

Chinese Beauty Standards and Fashion 👗 

When comparing beauty 💇 standards, China is very similar to other East Asian 🌏 countries that differ greatly in comparison to Western ⬅️ beauty standards. Fashion has evolved from much more traditional clothing to more modern styles, most likely influenced by other regions.

When talking about beauty standards in China, skin tone has to be mentioned. In China, fair skin is preferred. It's based on the claim that you are more beautiful if you are more pale. This dates way back to the dynasties, where skin color displayed your social class. Since the lower classes worked outside in the sun, darker skin was attributed to them and physical labor. The wealthier you were, the less physical labor you had to do in the sun ☀️, supposedly making you more pale-skinned. 

As a result, even in the modern world, many women go outside fully covered and with sun umbrellas. Face masks are also commonly worn to prevent UV rays from tanning their faces. There is even one for beach days, dubbed the "facekini", as shown below. A common idiom in China 🇨🇳 states: "Fair skin conceals a thousand flaws." Others simply avoid going outside much at all. This is a stark difference from the Western preference for tanning 🏖️. 

On the topic of the preference for fairer skin, in many South Asian countries, including China 🇨🇳, skin-whitening products have been widely used to achieve a lighter skin tone. These can be very dangerous⚠️ because of the ingredients, such as mercury. Mercury can cause damage to kidneys, nerves, and other health problems!  

These products tend to be smuggled 🤫 into East Asian countries, as many are considered illegal 🚫 Many of the smuggling operations are aided with the help of customs agents. This is because many customs agents believe that they are helping the citizens by helping import skin-whitening products that are affordable. 

There are two quick 3 character summaries on the most ideal man and woman: 白富美（bái fùměi）, which quite literally means a white, rich, and beautiful (girl) and 高富帅（gāofù shuài), which also quite literally means tall ↕️, rich, and handsome (man)... 

Double-eyelids 👁️ is another preference in China. More than half of East Asians have monolids 1️⃣, leading to a common surgery called blepharoplasty that gives you double eyelids. With double eyelids, the eye appears larger, and therefore more "beautiful."  

Many Chinese seek features such as larger eyes as mentioned above, a high nose bridge👃🏻, and paler skin. Being extremely thin is also desired in China. This can negatively affect the health of many women 💁‍♀️ in China. 

Fashion trends for women in China tend to follow a more innocent and angelic look. There is also a darker side that seems more "gothy," but the naïve and young look tends to be preferred. Men tend to wear outfits that make them seem more sophisticated 👔. Another popular option for men is "sporty" outfits 👕.  

Famous fashion 👗 brands are extremely popular in China, and there is a whole knockoffs industry of these brands. In fact, if you visit a city, you are bound to encounter more than one street corner 🛣️ filled with vendors with fakes. They also tend to set up shop near the actual shop. China is infamous for having dupes of the more expensive products on the market 🛒. These products tend to have spelling errors, or other mistakes, that make them more obvious to the trained eye. Many people purchase these products because they cannot afford the real products, but wish to come off to others as "wealthy" 🤑. 

With all this information ℹ️, we should remind ourselves and others not to modify ourselves or your body to fit into your society's standards. Understanding the reasons behind these cultural norms is okay, but don't do anything harmful to your body. You are beautiful and wonderful just the way you are! ♥️

皮肤美白产品（pífū měibái chǎnpǐn）

Unit 3: Influences of Beauty and Art

艺术能表现出人们的思想 🤔。 同时，艺术也可以显出历史的各种各样的变化。随着时间的推移，艺术也会变的。因为艺术包括很多不同类别，比如舞蹈 💃，音乐 🎶，文学 📚，等等，他们能讲说许多故事。

Street art around the world has been increasing in numbers, not just in China. At the moment, graffiti is considered illegal as it said to be vandalism. However, in many large cities in China, the amount of street art continues to grow. Influences of the West is said to be the biggest driving factor of street art. Along with many annual events supporting the growing community of street art in China, commercial graffiti has also come along, offering a way for street artists to make a living. 

Street artists usually focus on certain aspects related to their interests. For example, one street artist Daboo does street art corresponding hip hop culture, making his street art narrow in on music, DJ, break dancing, and graffiti. 

Along with modern street art, history has its own street art. Back in the 16th century, many women covered the sides of the Great Wall of China with decorations of clouds, lotus blossoms, and other symbols to hope for the safe return of their husbands from war. Going to the 1920s, while China was going through its own reforms, propaganda, political slogans, and more made their way to many public areas. 

🎨 Art and Public Identity 🆔

In China, they have an 🆔 that they use practically everywhere. It's called the Resident Identity Card 

, which is very much comparable to a driver's license. On it, your picture, your name, your gender, ethnic group, date of birth, address, and ID number are present. Now, chips have been added and embedded within the cards that can be scanned as well. 

China has been slowly working on a Social Credit System and is putting up a surveillance system all throughout the country. This development can redefine public identities as the SCS gives and takes away points from citizens based on actions they take, such as jaywalking and holding the door for someone. In a sense, it becomes an actual version of "The Game of Life" 🧬. It becomes an automatic process to sort its citizens, and citizens can become restricted from taking certain actions, such as not being allowed to fly ✈️ to another region in China if their points are too low. 

China has a lot of censorship 🤭 over what is allowed to be published and viewed from within its borders. It has, if not the most, censorship of any country. The government consistently monitors its citizen's online activity and restricts any activity that goes against the government in any form. The most common offenses made by people are signing petitions about government reform and critiquing the Chinese government. About 18,000 websites were found to be blocked including many popular websites around the world. 

Social media is also monitored closely and certain posts will be automatically blocked if certain keywords are in it, and then censors will go over the posts. People in China have a completely different internet world separate from the rest of the world. Google, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and many other popular websites and apps are all blocked. The only way to access them is to use a VPN, which can be risky as well.

Below is an image detailing the topology of the firewall 🔥 in China. As seen from the image, the censorships are dealt with through GFW (the Great Firewall), before connections reach ISPs and its citizens. 

Freedom of the press 🗞️ can be seen as very limited, since most of the controversial events that occur in China, such as the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, are blocked and restricted from being debated and accessed by their citizens.

Social media📱 has grown tremendously in the past couple of years around the world, including China. The growth and development of apps such as Tik Tok (known as 抖音 (dǒu yīn) in China) have a large effect on personal and public identities. Trends on social media may change the way we present ourselves. 

 are some of the most popular social media in China. China creates many of its own companies for its citizens while blocking foreign competitors from being accessed by its citizens.  

 is a search engine similar to Google, 微博 is similar to Twitter, and 微信 is similar to WhatsApp. 

Currently, there are about 3,000 television stations 📺 within China. There are about 378 million TVs in China, and on average, each person watches about three hours of TV a day in China. The most popular channels are the China Central Television channel, CCTV 

(中国中央电视台 (zhōngguó zhōngyāng diànshìtái)

), along with provincial networks such as Anhui Television 

Many popular TV dramas and variety shows in China grow to have billions of views through live television, as well as on streaming services such as Youku, Tencent Video, iQiyi, etc. Many are then translated into other languages, much like k-dramas are. Some of these popular dramas are Nirvana in Fire 

(三生三世十里桃花(sān shēng sānshì shílǐ táohuā))

(微微一笑很倾城(wéiwéi yīxiào hěn qīngchéng))

. Some of the most popular variety shows are Happy Camp 

(快乐大本营(kuài yuè dàběnyíng)) 

(中国好声音(zhōngguó hǎo shēngyīn))

Technology & Identity

2.2: 🇨🇳 Language and Cultural Identity 🆔

Even though this AP course is labeled as AP Chinese, technically it is Mandarin and Cantonese. Both use the same characters, except that Mandarin usually uses simplified Chinese instead of traditional characters. There are also many other dialects in China. Here is a map of all the relative regions and their dialects: 

Dialects🗣️ in China are much like how Americans use specific words based on their region. However, pronunciations of things do get more and more different and harder to understand (if you learn basic Mandarin) the farther South you go. It's a lot like an accent! Dialects are known as 

is usually taught in many schools aside from the dialect of that specific region. This dialect tends to add a lot of 儿 sounds at the end of words. 

A Chinese alphabet doesn't technically exist, although the

 system exists. It's used to transcribe through transcription. It was created in the 1950s and uses the Latin alphabet. It uses four tone marks to represent the tones 🔊, typically over vowels in a words. 

 quite literally means "the spoken language of the Han people" as that is the largest ethnic group in China. 

The complicated aspect is that the pronunciations of the letters are 

 different than English. Here is a list of the 100 most used Chinese characters and their Pinyin equivalents: 

In the past couple of years, the number of people immigrating to China has increased. In 2018, there were 95 million foreigners border crossed China (including those who immigrated ✈️). In the same year, the National Immigration Agency (in China) 

国家移民管理局 (guójiā yímín guǎnlǐ jú)

Back in 2012, the Exit-Entry Law was passed, which includes information on immigration, naturalization, refugees, etc. Illegal immigration details were added later. 

☀️Fun Fact: China became a member of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in 2016!

After the effects of the One-Child policy, the structure of the population in China changed profoundly. It's estimated that by 2030, there will be 1/4 of China's population to be over 60. The labor force is continuously shrinking, causing a need for more foreign immigration to support the economy. The Chinese government has previously not been willing to seek help by increasing and promoting immigration into China, however, that may need to change. 

The image above displays the recent growth of foreigners (

外国人(wàiguó rén) or 老外(lǎowài))

 in Shanghai, China's biggest city 🏙️, which also holds about a quarter of the foreign population in China. At about the year 2000, there is a clear jump in the number of foreigners in China. 

 in China fall under very defined categories. You can get a tourist, business, non-commerce, work, study, private, family, crew, or group visa. You are supposed to stay in the defining borders of your visa and not do what is not given by your visa.

China currently has the fourth largest number of emigrants. In 2013, there were 9.34 million people who emigrated from China. More and more of the wealthy Chinese emigrate or plan to emigrate. About 47% of the rich in China plan to emigrate within the next five years based on a survey by Barclays in 2014. The top locations that they do emigrate to are the US and Canada. However, since they are spending and investing much of their wealth out of China, the country's wealth is decreasing.

🧑🏻🧑🏼 Diversity 🧑🏽🧑🏾🧑🏿

 in China. The majority of people in China are part of the Han ethnic group, taking up about 91.51% of the population. The rest of the 55 ethnic groups make up the remaining 8.49% of the population, which is about 105 million people. The second highest ethnic group in China🇨🇳 is the Zhuang, at 1.27% of the population. The rest of the ethnic groups all fall below 1% of the total Chinese population.

Below is an image showing some of the ethnic (ethnolinguistic) groups in China and their relative locations.

Language and Cultural Identity 🆔

This unit focuses on exploring identities, both personal 🤫 and public 📢, and how Chinese language and culture affects and influences them.
As you work through this unit, think about these questions❓ : 

🤔我到底是谁？💭我的存在是为了什么？我相信什么？These may be some questions you have been asked or even considered yourself. In so many situations, you are asked to describe yourself 😕. Starting from a young age, you can be asked to describe your interests, hobbies, and personality. When you age, you are expected to respond in more detail and give examples of who you are. Knowing how to express yourself in Chinese is important for AP Chinese. You may be asked to explain details about your personality and other details on how you identify yourself in Chinese.

When talking about the LGBTQ+ community and non-binary individuals, the Chinese language and culture are very restricted. Given this, thousands of years of restrictions are hard to erase, and it is still a work in progress. There are a couple of terms that can be used, although they aren't as commonly known as they should be. 

can be used for any gender/non-binary as well as 

didn't exist until the New Culture Movement in the 1910s and 1920s, 

In China, the official Communist Party of China is atheist, however, there are five recognized religions by the party. Any other religion is not accepted, except old and traditional Chinese practices. The five religions are Buddhism ☸️, Catholicism ☦️, Daoism ☯️, Protestantism ✝️, and Islam ☪️. Religious groups and believers 


From data obtained by the China Family Panel Studies in 2014, about 73.5% of people are unaffiliated with religion, or practice Chinese folk religion. Since many do not consider Chinese folk religion a "religion", that number may be larger. Roughly 16% of Chinese practice Buddhism, with folk sects and the Taoist Church coming in at number 3 with about 7.5%. Christians make up about 2.5% and Islam fills up the remaining 0.5% as a minority. 


The image below was taken inside a Buddhist temple in China. 

Education 📚 is considered vital in China, as many old proverbs in China say that to increase one's social class, they must be educated. One of these proverbs is 玉不琢，不

 (yù bù zhuó, bù chéng qì), which means that one has to be educated to be useful. Every year, there are about 8 million graduates in Chinese colleges and universities. That number is more than the number of graduates each year from the US and India put together! 


The Compulsory Education Law in China states that all children have to finish at least nine years of education, and they are currently pushing for more and more literacy among its citizens. In Beijing, the literacy rate was almost 99% in 2014 and Shanghai had a literacy rate of almost 97%, also in 2014. 

🤔 What Makes a Chinese Person Chinese?

, China has a gigantic population 📈. Not only does it have the largest population, about 1.393 billion, but it is also the third largest country in land size! There are also many immigrant Chinese people spread out throughout the world. This means that there are Chinese people almost everywhere you go 🧳! It has the secnd largest economy, developed through its extensive production speed. 

In China, working overtime is very common. There is a limit of 44 hours per week. However, many don't follow this and continue to work tens of hours of overtime each week. A common system used is known as the 996 working hour system. Many jobs in the tech industry have their employees follow this system, working a 9 am to 9 pm job for 6 days a week. This adds up to 72 hours every week. Many argue that this can have dangerous impacts on the health of employees. 


Annual, paid leave, is based on how many years someone has been employed. If you have worked 

 than one year, you have no ❌ paid leave. If you have worked 

, you have 5 days of annual leave. If you have worked 

, you have 10 days of leave. And any work 

Holidays are required to be paid 💲 days. For Chinese employees, these include New Year's Day, Lunar New Year's Day, Qing Ming Festival, Labor Day, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and National Day.

For many Chinese people, keeping your word and saving face is very important. Staying generally polite 🙇 and having the respect of others can be the most important value for some. Modesty is a common trait as well, especially for those who are successful 👩‍💼. There is an old proverb in China that suggests the idea of having fame as a bad thing and will bring trouble. 

Many Chinese struggle with expressing their feelings, even among their own families. Staying within a group, such as how immigrants tend to form groups with other Chinese immigrants, is a force of habit for many. There are many forums and blogs that connect millions of Chinese immigrants around the world, such as 


With communication, many believe in less talking and more thinking. Conversations tend to include many metaphors and dancing around the subject without getting straight to the point. Mental health in China is very stigmatized, as keeping your mouth shut about issues is seen as "strong", while those who seek help are considered "weak".

Personal Identity and Evolution

After LOTS of preparation 💦 and time ⏳ spent reviewing for the AP Chinese 🇨🇳 Language and Culture Exam 📖, you probably are ready to cross that finish line 🏁 with the exam 📖! 

Don't let your AP scores define you! No matter what, give yourself a pat on the back 🤚 for all your efforts, and know that a two hour and 15 minute test 📖 cannot cover everything you've learned! ♥️

On an Advanced Placement (AP) Exam, you can score on a scare 1-5, with 1 being the lowest score and 5 being the highest. According to the College Board, here is what each score is defined as: 

Getting an AP score in the range ↔️ of 3-5 is considered "qualified!" Most colleges will take scores 💯 that are 4s or 5s on AP exams for credit. However, this will depend on the specific college, so don't worry! Always ask your college about this!

🤔 Structure & Details: What to Expect⁉️

To start off, let's talk about the exam details. The total length of the exam ⌛ is about 2 hours and 15 minutes. 

Simplified Characters. You will have to input each character ONE by ONE. The 6️⃣ units covered in the AP exam are (with links to our Unit Guides!): 

There are 2 sections in the AP Chinese 🇨🇳 Language and Culture exam, with parts A and B for both. 

Section 1A is comprised of 25-35 multiple choice questions, in a total of 20 mins, worth 25%

of your total score. This covers the Multiple Choice Listening section (1A). 

Section 1B is comprised of 35-40 multiple choice questions, in a total of 1 hour, worth 25%

of your total score. This covers the Multiple Choice Reading section (1B). 

Section 2A is comprised of 2 Free Response Questions, in a total of 30 minutes, worth 25% of your total score. This covers the Free Response Written section (2A). 

Section 2B is comprised of 7 Free Response Questions, in a total of 11 minutes, worth 25% of your total score. This covers the Free Response Spoken section (2B). 

Make sure 👍 to practice, practice, practice ‼️ for all sections! 

College Board: AP Chinese - About the Exam

This section is comprised of audio clips 🔊 and reading materials (short) 📚 Be ready to answer multiple choice questions based on what you hear 🎧 and read 📖! 

penalty 🚫 for incorrectly answered MCQs so you should answer 

 and don't leave anything empty ⚪! Take advantage of it! Try to cross off possibilities ❌ and choose ✅ the most plausible one, but take a guess if you have to! You 

Be ready to listen 🙉 to rejoinders, transportation announcements, voice messages, school conversations, radio reports, instructions, and uncontextualized dialogues! 

While the audio 🔊 is playing, try to physically or mentally take notes ✍️ (on your scratch paper) about the key points mentioned. This includes 

⌛. If it's a conversation, make note of 

Audios 🔉 may be played once or twice, so be on the lookout for what you are told and see! They cannot be paused ⏯️ or repeated beyond what is given 💁‍♀️, so listen 👂 carefully. 

You cannot toggle between questions for audio prompts, so once it's over, it's 

You will usually get a couple of questions ❓ corresponding to 1 audio 🔊, so don't immediately erase what you heard just yet! 

Be ready to read 📚 notes, emails about sequence of events, emails describing locations, pen pal letters, poster announcements, advertisements, public signs, even brochures, journalistic articles, and short stories! 

Highlight/underline ⭐ important details as you're reading 📚 through the selections. Skim over your questions ❓ corresponding to the sections first, and then look for answers tying back to the questions in the reading selections 📖

Take your time ⏳ as you go through the questions, but don't get 

! Fill in an answer ✅, but leave a mark 🔖 beside the question so you can come back to it after you go through all the MCQs 

 if you have time at the end. You can leave two types of marks to differentiate importance/how quickly you can rethink it (on your scratch paper): a star ⭐ if you're almost there and a question mark❓if you need to spend more time on it. Then, when returning, you can prioritize the questions with a star ⭐ next to them, and then, 

you have time again, spend more time on the questions with a question mark ❓ for a nice finish! 

Section 2: Free Response Questions 🗣️ ✍️

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Unit 1

Families in Different Societies

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The Influence of Language and Culture on Identity

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Influences of Beauty and Art

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Factors That Impact the Quality of Life

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Environmental, Political, and Societal Challenges

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Join Our Discord

AP Chinese Exam Prep 2020-21🇨🇳

Trending

Study by Unit

Unit 1﻿

Families in Different Societies﻿

Unit 2﻿

The Influence of Language and Culture on Identity﻿

Unit 3﻿

Influences of Beauty and Art﻿

Unit 4﻿

How Science and Technology Affect Our Lives﻿

Unit 5﻿

Factors That Impact the Quality of Life﻿

Unit 6﻿

Environmental, Political, and Societal Challenges﻿