1、1On Functions of Chinese Culture Knowledge in Teaching English in ChinaAbstract. China has a long history of five-thousand years of cultural heritage， both in the text and the history， to learn and to make good use of Chinese cultural knowledge will avail much in learning English culture. Culture is
2、 the important carrier evolving spiritual treasure of different ethnics. The study about the function of Chinese cultural knowledge in teaching English in China is to clarify that these two types of culture have affected each other complementarily and interconnected. This paper attempts to study the
3、 role of Chinese culture in the context of teaching English as an International language. It aims to evoke the awareness of the role of Chinese culture in English classrooms among Chinese educators of English. At the same time， this research tries to reveal Chinese college students incompetence in c
4、onveying Chinese culture， and as a result encourages the teachers of English to increase English input of Chinese culture in English classrooms. Therefore， only if form a well cultural concept of both Eastern and Western can we make this course of study truly become a disseminator of outstanding Chi
5、nese and Western 2cultures， also a bridge between China and the world. Key words： Chinese culture；English teaching in China；function. 1. Introduction Todays students face an unprecedented complex and changing world. To cope with this 21st-century world requires knowing some about more than one cultu
6、re. And to study another culture in any serious way requires knowing enough about ones own heritage to be able to make comparisons. That is the goal of “Western Culture” Course， which primarily is to clarify two major world civilizations by putting them side by side through readings chosen from thei
7、r several thousands of years of recorded history. 2. Chinese Cultural Knowledge Contrary to English as a low culture， Chinese culture is a high one which is characteristic with indirectness， reserve， involvement and hierarchy. In general， Chinese culture refers to the sum total of Chinese peoples ac
8、hievement and contributions to civilization. It is dominated by Confucianism and interfused with Taoism and Buddhism. Besides， Chinese culture is a dynamic concept. It also includes Chinas 3modernism which greatly influences modern Chinese. In the narrow sense， Chinese culture refers to culture know
9、ledge created by Chinese including the language spoken by Chinese people， the character written by Chinese people， the literary works， the innovations， the arts and crafts and so on. 2.1 Language The origin of language and the occurrence of human society are almost simultaneous. It has been gone thr
10、ough about five thousand years of history when the emergence of Chinese characters from the legend of Cang Jie-defined characters. The development of language as human development can be said that languages and genes spread to future generations of human ancestors， the two most basic information： Ge
11、nes determine the persons biological characteristics； and in the quest of understanding the world and their own essence， language occupies a core role. Meanwhile people accept then understand the world is in accordance with his cultural environment in the form of the mother tongue that learned to. C
12、hinese characters are also known as Sino graphs， and the Chinese writing system as zincography. The number of Chinese characters contained in the Kangxi dictionary is approximately 47，035， although a large number of these are rarely used 4variants accumulated throughout history. In the Chinese writi
13、ng system， the characters are morph syllabic， each usually corresponding to a spoken syllable with a basic meaning. There is no variation about part of speech， plural form and possessive case in Chinese. Noun can not only act as a subject and object， but also can be used as attributive， adverbial an
14、d predicate； verbs， adjectives do not need word form changes when they serve as predicate， subject， and object. On the formation of the different phrases and sentences， Chinese word order can be adapted to the use of the need for change. Chinese language is based on the full meaning for the purpose
15、of logical development needs to arrange language pages， the completion of the content of expression. Chinese emphasized the sense of a subject， it pay attention to the “grammar rely on sense”- the law of living， rather than “sense rely on grammar” - the law of die， so the Chinese language diction co
16、ncept emphasized on that “the text is meaning-based“. Thinking trait of the Chinese nation can be reflected through the organization of Chinese characters， and the Chinese way of thinking traditionally laid stress on integral， dialectical， and vivid. Directly perceived through the senses is an impor
17、tant feature of traditional Chinese way of thinking. 5We should keep this in mind when study the history of linguistic and language laws， that is， languages all are specifically national languages which has a profound national imprint. Language is the token of national culture， rich and recondite. O
18、f each nations cultural psychological state is all reflected in their national language. Therefore， the relationship between language and culture is an interrelated and mutually constraining relation， on the one hand culture affects language， and on the other hand， language also has an impact on cul
19、ture. Han characters can be studied through the history of Chinese cultural exchanges between nations； through the grammatical structure of cultural psychology also account for a great value of the study of history and culture of Han nationality. 2.2 Ancient Philosophy in China 2.2.1 Confucianism It
20、 is universally accepted that the core of Confucianism is “仁” ，a character that has different meanings for different occasions， such as benevolence， humanness， kindness， virtue， trustworthiness， charity， love， favor， patronage， philanthropy， tolerance， magnanimity， mercy， and forgiveness， etc. “ren”
21、 is the political proposition unique to the Confucian school and was inherited by some other schools 6that followed， for example， the Meng Ke School in the early Warring States Period. Confucian thought was worshiped as the mainstream thought in almost all feudal dynasties， boosted by the rulers， si
22、mply because they found Confucius theory was good for maintaining their rule over the people. Confucius was conferred with various exalted titles after his death， and temples were built for consecrating sacrifice to statues of him and his outstanding disciples throughout the vast land of China. Conf
23、ucius was esteemed as the highest sage in Chinas history. Confucius once said： “.virtuous persons love all others”. This remark refers to relations among people. As for its content， Confucius did not say anything， but we can derive the content form his ideological system like this： loyalty， filial p
24、iety， respectfulness， magnanimity， mercy， forgiveness， trustworthiness， faith， honesty， wisdom， patronage， etc. All those belong to good morality， indeed. But in a class society， it is impossible to act in this way because there is no universal love of humankind. Love is characterized by its class n
25、ature. When the people are of antagonistic classes， how can you expect them to love another？ Confucius said：“. Never impose on others what you yourself do not desire”. This was infeasible between slaves 7and slavers， even inside the slave-owner class， because they acted in opposite ways because of t
26、heir opposite interests. Finally， Confucius theory of the rule of virtue and about “ren” does not rule out punishment. He thought superior men（jun zi） “laid equal stress on patronage and punishment” or “lenience and severity complement each other.” what Confucius rejected is abuse of punishment or i
27、ndiscriminate punishment instead of punishment itself. He opposed “killing without guiding” and advocated “killing after guiding” instead of “guiding without killing”. This is the proposition consistent with Confucianism. Confucius was politically conservative and counterrevolutionary. His ideologic
28、al system served the ruling class in the long history of China for two thousand years. Its widespread baneful influence on Chinese civilization is still a heavy burden today. We should continue the criticism of Confucianism， which began in the May 4 Movement， 1919. But there is something enlightenin
29、g in his ideological system， in his theory and practice of education is particular. We should study and inherit these good ideas and develop them to a higher level. A correct attitude toward Confucius and his doctrine， either simply affirming everything or simply negating 8everything is equally wron
30、g. 2.2.2 Taoism Taoism was one of the philosophic schools during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Unlike the Confucian school that enjoyed exalted fame endowed with by the rulers of all dynasties， and dominated in the fields of politics， ideology and culture， the Taoist sc
31、hool evolved for long period time， into many sects and had extensive influence on Chinese society， especially among the intellectual elite， just next to the Confucian school. Throughout Chinese history， people weary of social activism and aware of the fragility of human achievements would retire fro
32、m the world and turn to nature. They might retreat to countryside or mountain setting to commune with natural beauty. They would compose or recite poetry about nature， or paint a picture of the scene， attempting to capture the creative forces at the center of natures vitality. They might share their
33、 outing with friends or more rarelya spouse， drinking a bit of wine， and enjoying the autumn leaves or the moon. 2.3 Art and Invention in China The history of science and technology in China is both long and rich with many contributions to science and technology. In antiquity， independently of Greek
34、 philosophers and other 9civilizations， ancient Chinese philosophers made significant advances in science， technology， mathematics， and astronomy. The first recorded observations of comets， solar eclipses， and supernovae were made in China. Traditional Chinese medicine， acupuncture and herbal medici
35、ne were also practiced. Among the earliest inventions were the abacus， the “shadow clock， ” and the first flying machines such as kites and Kongming lanterns. The four Great Inventions of ancient China： the compass， gunpowder， papermaking， and printing， were among the most important technological ad
36、vances， only known in Europe by the end of the Middle Ages. The Tang Dynasty （AD 618 - 906） in particular， was a time of great innovation. A good deal of exchange occurred between Western and Chinese discoveries up to the Qing Dynasty. The “Four Great Inventions of ancient China” are the compass， gu
37、npowder， papermaking， and printing. Paper and printing were developed first. Printing was recorded in China in the Tang Dynasty， although the earliest surviving examples of printed cloth patterns date to before 220. Pin-pointing the development of the compass can be difficult： the magnetic attractio
38、n of a needle is attested by Liu Heng， composed between AD 20 and 100， although the first undisputed 10magnetized needles in Chinese literature appear in 1086. “Printing， gunpowder and the compass： These three have changed the whole face and state of things throughout the world； the first in literat
39、ure， the second in warfare， the third in navigation； whence have followed innumerable changes， in so much that no empire， no sect， no star seems to have exerted greater power and influence in human affairs than these mechanical discoveries.” Today， the arts are still popular in China. Two of the mos
40、t popular arts are acrobatics and opera. Chinese acrobats practice for many years. They have turned this sport into art. Chinese acrobats are known for their grace and balance. Acrobats also juggle with swords， balls and pottery. They tour the world performing their acts. Opera often tell of famous
41、events. The performers wear fancy costumes. Their faces are painted like masks. Colors stand for different characters. Red is for valor. White is for trickster. Black is for uprightness. 3. The Functions of Teaching English 3.1 Necessity to integrate Chinese culture into ELT in China The ultimate purpose of college English education is，
