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**Chinese calligraphy** Chinese calligraphy is a form of writing (calligraphy), or, the artistic expression of human language in a tangible form. There are some general standardizations of the various styles of calligraphy in this tradition. Chinese calligraphy and ink and wash painting are closely related: they are accomplished using similar tools and techniques, and have a long history of shared artistry. Distinguishing features of Chinese painting and calligraphy include an emphasis on motion charged with dynamic life. According to Stanley-Baker, "Calligraphy is sheer life experienced through energy in motion that is registered as traces on silk or paper, with time and rhythm in shifting space its main ingredients."\[34] Calligraphy has also led to the development of many forms of art in China, including seal carving, ornate paperweights, and inkstones.
**Range of Chinese dialect groups according to the Language Atlas of China.[** The ancient written standard was Classical Chinese. It was used for thousands of years, but was mostly used by scholars and intellectuals in the upper class society called "shi da fu (士大夫)". It was difficult, but possible, for ordinary people to enter this class by passing written exams. Calligraphy later became commercialized, and works by famous artists became prized possessions. Chinese literature has a long past; the earliest classic work in Chinese, the I Ching or "Book of Changes", dates to around 1000 BC. A flourishing of philosophy during the Warring States period produced such noteworthy works as Confucius's Analects and Laozi's Tao Te Ching. (See also: Chinese classics) Dynastic histories were often written, beginning with Sima Qian's seminal Records of the Grand Historian, written from 109 BC to 91 BC.
**Inside a cave of Longmen Grottoes** Most spiritual practices are derived from Chinese Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. The relative influence of each school of practice is a subject of debate and other practices, such as Neo-Confucianism, Buddhism and others, have been introduced.\[citation needed] Reincarnation and other rebirth concepts are a reminder of the connection between real-life and the after-life. In Chinese business culture, the concept of guanxi, indicating the primacy of relations over rules, has been well documented.\[21] While many deities are part of the tradition, some of the most recognized holy figures include Guan Yin, the Jade Emperor and Buddha
**Residence of the Lu Family in Dongyang, built in the Ming period.** During the 361 years of civil war after the Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD), there was a partial restoration of feudalism when wealthy and powerful families emerged with large amounts of land and huge numbers of semi-serfs. They dominated important civilian and military positions of the government, making the positions available to members of their own families and clans.\[14]\[15] The Tang dynasty extended the imperial examination system as an attempt to eradicate this feudalism.\[16] Traditional Chinese culture covers large geographical territories, where each region is usually divided into distinct sub-cultures. Each region is often represented by three ancestral items. For example, Guangdong is represented by chenpi, aged ginger and hay.\[17]\[18] The ancient city of Lin'an (Hangzhou), is represented by tea leaf, bamboo shoot trunk, and hickory nut.\[19] Such distinctions give rise to the old Chinese proverb: "十里不同風, 百里不同俗/十里不同風": "praxis vary within ten li, customs vary within a hundred li". The 31 provincial-level divisions of the People's Republic of China are grouped by its former administrative areas from 1949 to 1980, and are now known as traditional regions.
**China culture** Chinese culture (simplified Chinese: 中华文化; traditional Chinese: 中華文化; pinyin: Zhōnghuá wénhuà) is one of the world's oldest cultures, originating thousands of years ago.\[1]\[2] The culture prevails across a large geographical region in East Asia with Sinosphere in whole and is extremely diverse, with customs and traditions varying greatly between counties, provinces, cities, towns. The terms 'China' and the geographical landmass of 'China' have shifted across the centuries, before the name 'China' became commonplace in modernity.
**Kathputli Puppeteer from Rajasthan, India** India has a long tradition of puppetry. In the ancient Indian epic Mahabharata there are references to puppets. Kathputli, a form of string puppet performance native to Rajasthan, is notable and there are many Indian ventriloquists and puppeteers. The first Indian ventriloquist, Professor Y. K. Padhye, introduced this form of puppetry to India in the 1920s and his son, Ramdas Padhye, subsequently popularised ventriloquism and puppetry. Ramdas Padhye's son, Satyajit Padhye is also a ventriloquist and puppeteer. Almost all types of puppets are found in India.
**Dance in India** Let drama and dance (Nātya, नाट्य) be the fifth vedic scripture. Combined with an epic story, tending to virtue, wealth, joy and spiritual freedom, it must contain the significance of every scripture, and forward every art.
**Some Indian confectionery desserts from hundreds of varieties.** Despite this diversity, some unifying threads emerge. Varied uses of spices are an integral part of certain food preparations and are used to enhance the flavour of a dish and create unique flavours and aromas. Cuisine across India has also been influenced by various cultural groups that entered India throughout history, such as the Central Asians, Arabs, Mughals, and European colonists. Sweets are also very popular among Indians, particularly in West Bengal where both Bengali Hindus and Bengali Muslims distribute sweets to mark joyous occasions.
**A typical varieties of North Indian dishes in a restaurant** According to Sanjeev Kapoor, a member of Singapore Airlines' International Culinary Panel, Indian food has long been an expression of world cuisine. Kapoor claims, "if you looked back in India's history and study the food that our ancestors ate, you will notice how much attention was paid to the planning and cooking of a meal. Great thought was given to the texture and taste of each dish."\[101] One such historical record is Mānasollāsa, (Sanskrit: मानसोल्लास, The Delight of Mind), written in the 12th century. The book describes the need to change cuisine and food with seasons, various methods of cooking, the best blend of flavours, the feel of various foods, planning and style of dining amongst other things.\[102]
**Pressing hands together with a smile to greet Namaste** Other greetings include Jai Jagannath (used in Odia) Ami Aschi (used in Bengali), Jai Shri Krishna (in Gujarati and the Braj Bhasha and Rajasthani dialects of Hindi), Ram Ram/(Jai) Sita Ram ji (Awadhi and Bhojpuri dialects of Hindi and other Bihari dialects), and Sat Sri Akal (Punjabi; used by followers of Sikhism), As-salamu alaykum (Urdu; used by follower of Islam), Jai Jinendra (a common greeting used by followers of Jainism), Jai Bhim (used by followers of Ambedkarism), Namo Buddhay (used by followers of Buddhism), Allah Abho (used by followers of the Baháʼí Faith), Shalom aleichem (used by followers of Judaism), Hamazor Hama Ashobed (used by followers of Zoroastrianism), Sahebji (Persian and Gujarati; used by the Parsi people), Dorood (Persian and Gujarati; used by the Irani people), Om Namah Shivaya/Jai Bholenath Jaidev (used in Dogri and Kashmiri, also used in the city of Varanasi), Jai Ambe Maa/Jai Mata di (used in Eastern India), Jai Ganapati Bapa (used in Marathi and Konkani), etc.
**Rangoli artwork is usually made during Diwali or Tihar, Onam,** India, being a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious society, celebrates holidays and festivals of various religions. The three national holidays in India, the Independence Day, the Republic Day and the Gandhi Jayanti, are celebrated with zeal and enthusiasm across India. In addition, many Indian states and regions have local festivals depending on prevalent religious and linguistic demographics. Popular religious festivals include the Hindu festivals of Chhath, Navratri, Janmashtami, Diwali, Maha Shivratri, Ganesh Chaturthi, Durga Puja, Holi, Rath Yatra, Ugadi, Vasant Panchami, Rakshabandhan, and Dussehra. Several harvest festivals such as Makar Sankranti, Sohrai, Pusnâ, Hornbill, Chapchar Kut, Pongal, Onam and Raja sankaranti swinging festival are also fairly popular.
**Indian marriage** For generations, India has had a prevailing tradition of the joint family system. It is when extended members of a family – parents, children, the children's spouses, and their offspring, etc. – live together. Usually, the oldest male member is the head of the joint Indian family system. He mostly makes all important decisions and rules, and other family members are likely to abide by them. With the current economy, lifestyle, and cost of living in most of the metro cities are high, the population is leaving behind the joint family model and adapting to the nuclear family model. Earlier living in a joint family was with the purpose of creating love and concern for the family members. However, now it's a challenge to give time to each other as most of them are out for survival needs.\[56] Rise in the trends of nuclear family settings has led to a change in the traditional family headship structure and older males are no longer the mandated heads of the family owing to the fact that they mostly live alone during old age and are far more vulnerable than before.\[57]
**Jain philosophy were propagated by 24 Tirthankaras** Indian philosophy comprises the philosophical traditions of the Indian subcontinent. There are six schools of orthodox Hindu philosophy—Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya, Yoga, Mīmāṃsā and Vedanta—and four heterodox schools—Jain, Buddhist, Ājīvika and Cārvāka – last two are also schools of Hinduism.\[49]\[50] However, there are other methods of classification; Vidyarania for instance identifies sixteen schools of Indian philosophy by including those that belong to the Śaiva and Raseśvara traditions.\[51] Since medieval India (ca.1000–1500), schools of Indian philosophical thought have been classified by the Brahmanical tradition\[52]\[53] as either orthodox or non-orthodox – āstika or nāstika – depending on whether they regard the Vedas as an infallible source of knowledge.\[47]
Singapore fascinates its visitors for her many landmark buildings. Here on the image you see already three landmarks, the Merlion to the right, the Marina Sands hotel and the Arts Science museum in shape of a lotus flower to the left.
**Khangah Dargani Shah at Dhun Dhaewal)** Amid the murals based on profane subjects, depictions of scenes from traditional Punjabi folklore are commonplace, such as Heer Ranjha, Mirza Sahiban, Sohni Mahiwal, Sassi Pannu, Laila Majnun, Raja Rasalu, and more.\[14] A lot of the depicted stories are ultimately based upon bardic literature, such as the legends of Shah Behram and Husan Banu.\[14] There are also paintings based upon traditional folk ballads, such as Puran Bhagat.\[14] Additionally, there are paintings of various Nayika themes, including the Ashta-nayika (eight heroines).\[14] There also exists wall paintings based upon the Sat Sai of Bihari.\[14] There are further depictions of various royal figures, such as Rani Jindan.\[14] Many Punjabi wall paintings depict women and girls in the process of a variety of actions, such as feeding parrots, peacocks, or bucks.\[14] Women are also depicted fondling pets or writing love letters in these wall paintings.\[14]
**Wall painting** [Murals](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mural "Mural") (including [frescoes](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresco "Fresco")) feature prominently in Punjab and showcase various themes.[\[14\]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punjabi_culture#cite_note-:25-14) Punjabi murals differ from Punjabi miniature paintings in that the wall paintings were far more readily accessible and viewable by the general masses rather than being mostly an affair restricted to the privileged classes of the society, as in the case of miniatures.[\[14\]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punjabi_culture#cite_note-:25-14) Since murals could be seen by all walks of society, the things depicted in them were commonly understood subjects that required no specialized knowledge.[\[14\]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punjabi_culture#cite_note-:25-14) Punjabi murals can depict religious or secular settings.[\[14\]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punjabi_culture#cite_note-:25-14)
**Punjab culture** Punjabi culture grew out of the settlements along the five rivers (the name Punjab, is derived from two Persian words, Panj meaning "Five" and Âb meaning "Water") which served as an important route to the Near East as early as the ancient Indus Valley civilization, dating back to 3000 BCE.\[1] Agriculture has been the major economic feature of the Punjab and has therefore formed the foundation of Punjabi culture, with one's social status being determined by landownership.\[1] The Punjab emerged as an important agricultural region, especially following the Green Revolution during the mid-1960's to the mid-1970's, has been described as the "breadbasket of both India and Pakistan".\[1] Besides being known for agriculture and trade, the Punjab is also a region that over the centuries has experienced many foreign invasions and consequently has a long-standing history of warfare, as the Punjab is situated on the principal route of invasions through the northwestern frontier of the Indian subcontinent, which promoted to adopt a lifestyle that entailed engaging in warfare to protect the land.\[1] Warrior culture typically elevates the value of the community's honour (izzat), which is highly esteemed by Punjabis.\[1]
**A traditional cup of black tea** Black tea with milk and sugar is popular throughout Pakistan and is consumed daily by most of the population.\[6]\[47] The consumption of tea in Pakistan, called chai (چائے), in Urdu, is of central significance to Pakistani culture. It is one of the most consumed beverages in Pakistani cuisine. Pakistan produces its own limited tea in Shinkiari farms; however, it ranks as the third largest importer of tea in the world.\[48] In 2003, as much as 109,000 tonnes of tea were consumed in Pakistan, ranking it at seven on the list of tea-consuming countries in the world.\[48]
**Located on the bank of Arabian Sea in Karachi, Port Grand** Pakistani cuisine is similar to that of other regions of South Asia, with some of it being originated from the royal kitchens of 16th-century Mughal emperors.\[42] Most of those dishes have their roots in British, Indian, Central Asian, Bengali/Bangladeshi, Middle Eastern and other South Asian cuisines.\[43] Unlike Middle Eastern cuisine, Pakistani cooking uses large quantities of spices, herbs, and seasoning. Garlic, ginger, turmeric, red chili, and garam masala are used in most dishes, and home cooking regularly includes curry, roti, a thin flatbread made from wheat, is a staple food, usually served with curry, meat, vegetables, and lentils. Rice is also common; it is served plain, fried with spices, and in sweet dishes.\[44]\[45]
**Gaddafi Stadium** Most sports played in Pakistan originated and were substantially developed by athletes and sports fans from the United Kingdom who introduced them during the [British Raj](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Raj "British Raj"). [Field hockey](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_hockey "Field hockey") is the [national sport](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_sport "National sport") of Pakistan; it has won three gold medals in the [Olympic Games](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Games "Olympic Games") held in [1960](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_hockey_at_the_1960_Summer_Olympics "Field hockey at the 1960 Summer Olympics"), [1968](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_hockey_at_the_1968_Summer_Olympics "Field hockey at the 1968 Summer Olympics"), and [1984](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_hockey_at_the_1984_Summer_Olympics_%E2%80%93_Men%27s_tournament "Field hockey at the 1984 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament").[\[29\]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Pakistan#cite_note-29) Pakistan has also won the [Hockey World Cup](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hockey_World_Cup "Hockey World Cup") a record four times, held in [1971](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1971_Men%27s_Hockey_World_Cup "1971 Men's Hockey World Cup"), [1978](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1978_Men%27s_Hockey_World_Cup "1978 Men's Hockey World Cup"), [1982](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1982_Men%27s_Hockey_World_Cup "1982 Men's Hockey World Cup"), and [1994](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_Men%27s_Hockey_World_Cup "1994 Men's Hockey World Cup").[\[30\]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Pakistan#cite_note-30)
**The Tomb of Shah Rukn-e-Alam is part of Pakistan's** Four periods are recognised in Pakistani architecture: pre-Islamic, Islamic, colonial, and post-colonial. With the beginning of the Indus civilization around the middle of the 3rd millennium BCE,\[23] an advanced urban culture developed for the first time in the region, with large buildings, some of which survive to this day.\[24] Mohenjo Daro, Harappa, and Kot Diji are among the pre-Islamic settlements that are now tourist attractions.\[citation needed] The rise of Buddhism and the influence of Greek civilisation led to the development of a Greco-Buddhist style,\[25] starting from the 1st century CE. The high point of this era was the Gandhara style. An example of Buddhist architecture is the ruins of the Buddhist monastery Takht-i-Bahi in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.\[26]
**Sindh culture** Dhamal: performed by Sindhi Sufi devotees on Sufi shrines. The main performance is done by Sufi dervishes who wear long Jamas, special rings, necklaces and Sindhi faqeeri topi or turban.
**A sitar workshop in Islamabad, Pakistan.** Pakistani music ranges from diverse forms of provincial folk music and traditional styles such as Qawwali and Ghazal Gayaki to modern musical forms that fuse traditional and western music.\[20] Pakistan has many famous folk singers. The arrival of Afghan refugees in the western provinces has stimulated interest in Pashto music, although there has been intolerance of it in some places.\[21]
**Muhammad Iqbal, Pakistan's national poet** Pakistan has literature in Urdu, Sindhi, Punjabi, Pashto, Balochi, Persian, English, and many other languages.\[9] The Pakistan Academy of Letters is a large literary community that promotes literature and poetry in Pakistan and abroad.\[10] The National Library publishes and promotes literature in the country. Before the 19th century, Pakistani literature consisted mainly of lyric and religious poetry and mystical and folkloric works. During the colonial period, native literary figures were influenced by western literary realism and took up increasingly varied topics and narrative forms. Prose fiction is now very popular.\[11]\[12]
**Restoration of an ancient Egyptian monument** There are a number of international agreements and national laws relating to the protection of cultural heritage and cultural diversity. UNESCO and its partner organizations such as Blue Shield International coordinate international protection and local implementation.\[74]\[75] The Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions deal with the protection of culture. Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights deals with cultural heritage in two ways: it gives people the right to participate in cultural life on the one hand and the right to the protection of their contributions to cultural life on the other.\[76]
**Cognitive tools suggest a way for people from certain culture .** Starting in the 1990s,\[57]: 31 psychological research on culture influence began to grow and challenge the universality assumed in general psychology.\[58]: 158–168 \[59] Culture psychologists began to try to explore the relationship between emotions and culture, and answer whether the human mind is independent from culture. For example, people from collectivistic cultures, such as the Japanese, suppress their positive emotions more than their American counterparts.\[60] Culture may affect the way that people experience and express emotions. On the other hand, some researchers try to look for differences between people's personalities across cultures.\[61]\[62]
**The Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan.** From the 1970s onward, Stuart Hall's pioneering work, along with that of his colleagues Paul Willis, Dick Hebdige, Tony Jefferson, and Angela McRobbie, created an international intellectual movement. As the field developed, it began to combine political economy, communication, sociology, social theory, literary theory, media theory, film/video studies, cultural anthropology, philosophy, museum studies, and art history to study cultural phenomena or cultural texts. In this field researchers often concentrate on how particular phenomena relate to matters of ideology, nationality, ethnicity, social class, and/or gender.\[48] Cultural studies is concerned with the meaning and practices of everyday life
**Nowruz is good sample of popular culture that by people 22 countries** The sociology of culture grew from the intersection between sociology (as shaped by early theorists like Marx,\[42] Durkheim, and Weber) with the growing discipline of anthropology, wherein researchers pioneered ethnographic strategies for describing and analyzing a variety of cultures around the world. Part of the legacy of the early development of the field lingers in the methods (much of cultural, sociological research is qualitative), in the theories (a variety of critical approaches to sociology are central to current research communities), and in the substantive focus of the field. For instance, relationships between popular culture, political control, and social class were early and lasting concerns in the field.
**An example of folkloric dancing in Colombia** The sociology of culture concerns culture as manifested in society. For sociologist Georg Simmel (1858–1918), culture referred to "the cultivation of individuals through the agency of external forms which have been objectified in the course of history."\[39] As such, culture in the sociological field can be defined as the ways of thinking, the ways of acting, and the material objects that together shape a people's way of life. Culture can be either of two types, non-material culture or material culture.\[5] Non-material culture refers to the non-physical ideas that individuals have about their culture, including values, belief systems, rules, norms, morals, language, organizations, and institutions, while material culture is the physical evidence of a culture in the objects and architecture they make or have made. The term tends to be relevant only in archeological and anthropological studies, but it specifically means all material evidence which can be attributed to culture, past or present.
**Petroglyphs in modern-day Gobustan, Azerbaijan, dating back to 10,000 BCE** Although anthropologists worldwide refer to Tylor's definition of culture,\[32] in the 20th century "culture" emerged as the central and unifying concept of American anthropology, where it most commonly refers to the universal human capacity to classify and encode human experiences symbolically, and to communicate symbolically encoded experiences socially.\[33] American anthropology is organized into four fields, each of which plays an important role in research on culture: biological anthropology, linguistic anthropology, cultural anthropology, and in the United States and Canada, archaeology.\[34]\[35]\[36]\[37] The term Kulturbrille, or "culture glasses," coined by German American anthropologist Franz Boas, refers to the "lenses" through which a person sees their own culture. Martin Lindstrom asserts that Kulturbrille, which allow a person to make sense of the culture they inhabit, "can blind us to things outsiders pick up immediately."\[38]
**British poet and critic Matthew Arnold refr"culture" of the humanist ideal.** In the 19th century, humanists such as English poet and essayist Matthew Arnold (1822–1888) used the word "culture" to refer to an ideal of individual human refinement, of "the best that has been thought and said in the world."\[27] This concept of culture is also comparable to the German concept of bildung: "...culture being a pursuit of our total perfection by means of getting to know, on all the matters which most concern us, the best which has been thought and said in the world."\[27]
**Adolf Bastian developed a universal model of culture** In 1795, the Prussian linguist and philosopher Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767–1835) called for an anthropology that would synthesize Kant's and Herder's interests. During the Romantic era, scholars in Germany, especially those concerned with nationalist movements—such as the nationalist struggle to create a "Germany" out of diverse principalities, and the nationalist struggles by ethnic minorities against the Austro-Hungarian Empire—developed a more inclusive notion of culture as "worldview" (Weltanschauung).\[23] According to this school of thought, each ethnic group has a distinct worldview that is incommensurable with the worldviews of other groups. Although more inclusive than earlier views, this approach to culture still allowed for distinctions between "civilized" and "primitive" or "tribal" cultures.
**Turkmen woman, on a carpet at the yurt . Sense of time is on culture.** Cultures are externally affected via contact between societies, which may also produce—or inhibit—social shifts and changes in cultural practices. War or competition over resources may impact technological development or social dynamics. Additionally, cultural ideas may transfer from one society to another, through diffusion or acculturation. In diffusion, the form of something (though not necessarily its meaning) moves from one culture to another. For example, Western restaurant chains and culinary brands sparked curiosity and fascination to the Chinese as China opened its economy to international trade in the late 20th-century.\[19] "Stimulus diffusion" (the sharing of ideas) refers to an element of one culture leading to an invention or propagation in another. "Direct borrowing," on the other hand, tends to refer to technological or tangible diffusion from one culture to another. Diffusion of innovations theory presents a research-based model of why and when individuals and cultures adopt new ideas, practices, and products.\[20]
**A 19th-century showing Australian natives arrival Captain James in 1770** Cultural invention has come to mean any innovation that is new and found to be useful to a group of people and expressed in their behavior but which does not exist as a physical object. Humanity is in a global "accelerating culture change period," driven by the expansion of international commerce, the mass media, and above all, the human population explosion, among other factors. Culture repositioning means the reconstruction of the cultural concept of a society.\[16]
Raimon Panikkar identified 29 ways in which cultural change can be brought about, including growth, development, evolution, involution, renovation, reconception, reform, innovation, revivalism, revolution, mutation, progress, diffusion, osmosis, borrowing, eclecticism, syncretism, modernization, indigenization, and transformation.\[14] In this context, modernization could be viewed as adoption of Enlightenment era beliefs and practices, such as science, rationalism, industry, commerce, democracy, and the notion of progress. Rein Raud, building on the work of Umberto Eco, Pierre Bourdieu and Jeffrey C. Alexander, has proposed a model of cultural change based on claims and bids, which are judged by their cognitive adequacy and endorsed or not endorsed by the symbolic authority of the cultural community in question.\[15]
**Pygmy music has been polyphonic well before their discovery by non-African** Culture is considered a central concept in anthropology, encompassing the range of phenomena that are transmitted through social learning in human societies. Cultural universals are found in all human societies. These include expressive forms like art, music, dance, ritual, religion, and technologies like tool usage, cooking, shelter, and clothing. The concept of material culture covers the physical expressions of culture, such as technology, architecture and art, whereas the immaterial aspects of culture such as principles of social organization (including practices of political organization and social institutions), mythology, philosophy, literature (both written and oral), and science comprise the intangible cultural heritage of a society.\[5]
**Religion and expressive art are important aspects of human culture** Cultural change, or repositioning, is the reconstruction of a cultural concept of a society.\[3] Cultures are internally affected by both forces encouraging change and forces resisting change. Cultures are externally affected via contact between societies. Organizations like UNESCO attempt to preserve culture and cultural heritage.
**Germans marching during a folk culture celebration** Humans acquire culture through the learning processes of enculturation and socialization, which is shown by the diversity of cultures across societies. A cultural norm codifies acceptable conduct in society; it serves as a guideline for behavior, dress, language, and demeanor in a situation, which serves as a template for expectations in a social group. Accepting only a monoculture in a social group can bear risks, just as a single species can wither in the face of environmental change, for lack of functional responses to the change.
**Culture** Culture (/ˈkʌltʃər/ KUL-chər) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.\[1] Culture is often originated from or attributed to a specific region or location.
**The diffusion of sugarcane from the Indian subcontinent .** The Arabs of Al-Andalus exerted a large impact on Spanish agriculture, including the restoration of Roman-era aqueducts and irrigation channels, as well as the introduction of new technologies such as the acequias and Islamic gardens (such as at the Generalife). In Spain and Sicily, the Arabs introduced crops and foodstuffs from Persia, Khorasan, Tabaristan, Iraq, Levant, Egypt, Sindh and India such as rice, sugarcane, oranges, lemons, bananas, saffron, carrots, apricots and eggplants, as well as restoring cultivation of olives and pomegranates from Greco-Roman times. The Palmeral of Elche in southern Spain is a UNESCO World Heritage site that is emblematic of the Islamic agricultural legacy in Europe.
**Introductory summary overview map from al-Idrisi's 1154 world atlas** Apart from the Nile, Tigris, and Euphrates, navigable rivers were uncommon in the Middle East, so transport by sea was very important. Navigational sciences were highly developed, making use of a rudimentary sextant (known as a kamal). When combined with detailed maps of the period, sailors were able to sail across oceans rather than skirt along the coast. Muslim sailors were also responsible for reintroducing large, three-masted merchant vessels to the Mediterranean.\[citation needed] The name caravel may derive from an earlier Arab boat known as the qarib.\[140]
**Civilization** The Islamic Civilization is today and was in the past an amalgam of a wide variety of cultures, made up of polities and countries from North Africa to the western periphery of the Pacific Ocean, and from Central Asia to sub-Saharan Africa.
**Baptism of Kiev** On his return in 988, Vladimir baptized his twelve sons and many boyars in official recognition of the new faith. He also sent out a message to all residents of Kiev, both rich and poor, to appear at the Dnieper River the following day. The next day the residents of Kiev who appeared were baptized in the river while Orthodox priests prayed. This event became known as the Baptism of Kiev.
**Primary Chronicle** The identity of the mythic leader Rurik remains obscure and unknown. His original birthplace, family history, and titles are shrouded in mystery with very few historical clues. Some 19th-century scholars attempted to identify him as Rorik of Dorestad (a Viking-Age trading outpost situated in the northern part of modern-day Germany). However, no concrete evidence exists to confirm this particular origin story
**Arabesque** Typically ,though not entirely, Islamic art depicts nature patterns and Arabic calligraphy, rather than figures, because many Muslims feared that the depiction of the human form is idolatry and thereby a sin against God, forbidden in the Quran. There are repeating elements in Islamic art, such as the use of geometrical floral or vegetal designs in a repetition known as the arabesque. The arabesque in Islamic art is often used to symbolize the transcendent, indivisible, and infinite nature of God. Mistakes in repetitions may be intentionally introduced as a show of humility by artists who believe only God can produce perfection, although this theory is disputed.
**Drawing of a lute by Safi al-Din from a 1333** The mixing cultures of Central Asia and Arabia produced several thinkers who wrote about music, including something about the lute in their works, including Al-Kindi (c. 801 – c. 873), Ziryab (789–857), Al-Farabi (c. 872 – c. 950), Avicenna (c. 980 – 1037), and Safi al-Din al-Urmawi (1216–1294). They wrote in Arabic, what had become the useful lingua-Franca of their time, and took part in Muslim society and culture. However they were brought up in Central Asia.
**Art** Calligraphy, an essential aspect of written Arabic, developed in manuscripts and architectural decoration. This form of visual art can be found adorning the walls of palaces, the interior and domes of mosques as well as the surrounding structure of minbars.\[145] Calligraphy would use a variety of stylised and standardised scripts, two major scripts among them being kufic and naskh. Ceramics, metalwork and glassware were also brilliantly decorated with geometric patterns and vibrant colors.\[146]
**Entrance to the Qalawun which housed the notable Mansuri hospital in Cairo** The earliest known Islamic hospital was built in 805 in Baghdad by order of Harun Al-Rashid, and the most important of Baghdad's hospitals was established in 982 by the Buyid ruler 'Adud al-Dawla.\[132] The best documented early Islamic hospitals are the great Syro-Egyptian establishments of the 12th and 13th centuries.\[132] By the tenth century, Baghdad had five more hospitals, while Damascus had six hospitals by the 15th century and Córdoba alone had 50 major hospitals, many exclusively for the military.\[133]
**Law or Sines** [Ibn Muʿādh al-Jayyānī](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_Mu%CA%BF%C4%81dh_al-Jayy%C4%81n%C4%AB "Ibn Muʿādh al-Jayyānī") is one of the several Islamic mathematicians on whom the [law of sines](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_sines "Law of sines") is attributed; he wrote "*The Book of Unknown Arcs of a Sphere*" in the 11th century. This formula relates the lengths of the sides of any triangle, rather than only [right triangles](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_triangle "Right triangle"), to the sines of its angles.[\[84\]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_Golden_Age#cite_note-84) According to the law,
**Geometric patterns: in the Sultans lodge in Ottoman Green Mosque in Bursa,** Another Persian mathematician, Omar Khayyam, is credited with identifying the foundations of Analytic geometry. Omar Khayyam found the general geometric solution of the cubic equation. His book Treatise on Demonstrations of Problems of Algebra (1070), which was a significant step in the development of algebra, is part of the body of Persian mathematics that was eventually transmitted to Europe.\[73]