Chinese school
A Chinese school is a school that is established for the purpose of teaching the varieties of Chinese, though the purpose can vary to teaching different aspects of Chinese culture such as Chinese art, calligraphy, history and martial arts. The programs can either be an independent institution or a part of an existing educational institution.
Curriculum
A typical Chinese school curriculum can vary depending on the particular school. However, the Standard Chinese language and various aspects of Chinese culture such as Chinese art, Chinese history and Chinese martial arts are typically included.Chinese language
The Chinese language is spoken by nearly 1.2 billion people or about 16% of the world's population. Chinese schools typically teach both written and spoken Chinese. With the growing importance and influence of China's economy globally, Mandarin instruction is gaining popularity in schools in the United States, and has become an increasingly popular subject of study amongst the young in the Western world, as in the UK. One of the teaching tools used widely in Chinese schools is the Pinyin system, also known as the official phonetic system for transcribing the Mandarin pronunciations of Chinese characters into the Latin alphabet which was developed in the 1950s based on earlier forms of romanization. It was published by the Chinese government in 1958 and revised several times. The International Organization for Standardization adopted pinyin as an international standard in 1982.Chinese calligraphy
Written Chinese as taught in Chinese schools uses methods as defined by the Shūfǎ from China, which means "the way/method/law of writing". Curricula in Chinese writing typically focus on stroke order and repetition. Schools also teach the relationship of words based on their Chinese radicals, as many words come from ideas that relate to a particular topic. Stroke orders of words are also important as they dictate how Chinese words can be found in a Chinese dictionary.Chinese art
Chinese art is taught in Chinese schools following the techniques as established in Chinese painting. For example:- Gong-bi, meaning "meticulous", uses highly detailed brushstrokes that delimits details very precisely. It is often highly coloured and usually depicts figural or narrative subjects. It is often practised by artists working for the royal court or in independent workshops. Bird-and-flower paintings were often in this style.
- Ink and wash painting, in Chinese Shui-mo or also loosely termed watercolour or brush painting, and also known as "literati painting", as it was one of the "four arts" of the Chinese Scholar-official class. In theory this was an art practised by gentlemen, a distinction that begins to be made in writings on art from the Song dynasty, though in fact the careers of leading exponents could benefit considerably. This style is also referred to as "xie yi" or freehand style.
Chinese martial arts