What influence does geography have on traditional Chinese culture

The geographical environment has influenced Chinese traditional culture in many ways.

First of all, the vastness of China and the great differences in its geographical environment have led to the formation of different lifestyles and ideologies in different regions, for example, the Central Plains focused on agriculture, the Western Regions focused on commerce, the coastal regions focused on fishing, and the northern nomads focused on expanding and plundering. These different lifestyles and ideologies in turn formed different cultural traditions.

Secondly, China's geography was relatively closed, with vast internal plains, especially the Yellow River and the Yangtze River Basin, which were contiguous and had no obvious natural barriers, so it was easier to unify politically, economically, culturally, and militarily than the islands of the sea, forming a large unitary state with a vast territory, which also made it easy to form a unitary culture. At the same time, due to its vast territory, China has diversity and richness in its cultural traditions.

In addition, the influence of geography also led to the development of a traditional Chinese culture that emphasized practicality and the avoidance of harm. Because the land of China was rich in material resources, people gradually formed the concept of wealth in kind and emphasized practicality and utilitarianism. For example, in the ancient Chinese currency, shell money, cloth money, etc. are evolved from physical objects. At the same time, due to the impact of natural disasters and other force majeure, people have also formed the idea of avoiding harm, such as focusing on yin and yang, five elements, feng shui and so on.

In short, geography has had a profound impact on traditional Chinese culture, which has led to the formation of unique cultural traditions and ideologies in China.