9781422277416

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C onn ect i ng C u ltu r es T hrough F am i ly and F ood

Introduction

F ireworks crackle in the sky on New Year’s Eve. Flashes of white, blue, green, andreddazzle the eyesas loudpopsandbangsreverber- ate through the air. Many cultures around theworld set off fireworks to celebrate a variety of holidays. But the tradition got its start in China. TheChinese discoveredgunpowder, the concoction thatmakesfireworks burst, in around 850 ce . Today, China is the largest coun- try in the world by population. One out of every five people in the world lives there. Chinese culture has a longer history than any other in the world. By 2000 bce , the ancient Chinese had organized themselves into a society with a single ruler. In addition to gunpowder, the ancient Chinese also invented paper, silk,

porcelain, and tea.

The Chinese began to explore the rest of the world as early as 1050 ce . In the 1400s, explorers ventured to Africa and brought back giraffes, among other curiosities. But then new rulers took power. And the Chi- nese attitude toward leaving home changed. Anyone who left might be labeled a traitor. Chinese rulers re- stricted or banned emigration, the movementof people tonewlands, for several longperiodsbetweenthe14th and 19th centuries. In the late 17th century, any migrant who returned home risked being put to death. Even after the law against emi- gration was lifted, Chinese culture keptmost people close tohome. This is mainly due to the influence of an ancient scholarcalledConfucius.His