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People
China has a population of 1.24810 billion (1998), one-fifth of the
world's total population. About a quarter, or more, of the population
are illiterates.
However, there are approximately 600 million people who have been
to school in China today, out of which, 4.4 millions are university
graduates. Han Chinese make up 93 percent of the total population,
while members of 55 minorities account for the remaining seven percent.
The largest minorities are Moslem Uygurs of Xinjiang, the Tibetans
and the Southeast Asian people of Yunnan.
Language
Mandarin, or Putonghua, is spoken as a first language by about 70%
of the population. However, there are eight other major sub-languages,
including Yuen (Cantonese), Northern Min (Fukienese), Southern Min,
Kan (Hubei), Hakka, Xiang (Hunan) and Wu (Shanghai dialect).
Chinese writing is all about pictures and alphabets called pictographs.
There are thousands of characters, mostly constructed either of
a root element, radical, or a phonetic element.
Religion
China is a multi-religious country. The two classic streams of thought,
Confucianism and Taoism, emerged during the Zhou period.
Various religions, such as Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism
and Protestantism, exert different influence on different ethnic
groups.
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