To understand the Chinese, you need to know the context: the peculiarities of Chinese culture were discussed at the RUSSIA EXPO

An expert in Chinese studies and public figure Bronislav Vinogrodsky met with the Exposition guests at the "Book Beacons" project organized by Gazprom. The writer spoke about the peculiarities of Chinese culture, which are necessary to understand the people of this country.

"To understand what the Chinese are talking about, you need to realize the structure of the context very precisely, because individual facts don't work — that's how the Chinese language works. If the context is unknown, the statement will be incomprehensible in general," Bronislav Vinogrodsky emphasized.

In the current geopolitical situation, when Russia is getting closer to China, it is important to pay great attention to the peculiarities - it affects the degree of convergence between the countries, said Bronislav Vinogrodsky. First of all, we are talking about language — its complex structure is largely determined by the development and richness of Chinese literature: the Chinese are very much immersed in it and are perfectly oriented in their epic, history and mythology, the writer said. This forms a certain discourse.

The integrity of the Chinese perception of their own history affects the attitude to assimilation and integration of small peoples, as well as the development of new territories, said the Chinese scholar.

"In China, 55 nations account for only 8% of the total population of the country. They preserve their culture. When they start telling that the Chinese assimilate someone with frightening force — it's not true. They don't like it. This also applies to the talk that China has plans for Russian Siberia," said Bronislav Vinogrodsky.

Besides, kin and family are of great value to the Chinese — they are very attached to the memory of their ancestors, the writer noted. In the language, this is manifested in a very ramified terminology of kinship — this, in particular, indicates the stability of these ties.

"When they talk about Confucian values, any family is built on two basic concepts — respect for the elders and love for the younger ones. This is the foundation of the family," Bronislav Vinogrodsky told.

According to him, family is a basic value for every person, but now it is necessary to develop its institution.

"The main value of all that exists is the family. We need to recycle its existing models — after all, they were created in a different way of life. We need to rewrite these stories, to formulate them properly based on simple things, to look at those who do it better and learn from them. We have a lot to learn," concluded Bronislav Vinogrodsky.

Meetings with writers in the Gazprom Lecture Hall are held every Sunday during the Exposition. Thanks to the broadcasts of all events on the "Gazprom at the RUSSIA EXPO" RuTube channel, every resident of the country can attend them.