5 of the greatest Chinese cultural exports, from foods and tea to writing and Confucianism

Chinese civilisation dates back millennia. It was one of the first to develop a written language and has had a big influence on neighbouring countries

We look at five of China’s greatest cultural exports, including noodles, tea, tofu and Confucianism, all of which have made a mark around the world

Reading Time:4 minutes

China has had a huge influence on its neighbours during its 3,000 years of history, and its cultural exports to East Asia and the wider world include tea (above), writing, noodles and tofu. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 1:15pm, 27 Mar 2024Updated: 2:18pm, 27 Mar 2024

Chinese civilisation can be dated back to the second millennium BC near the Yellow River, where the earliest undisputed archaeological evidence of the Shang (circa 1600BC to 1045BC), one of the first royal dynasties of China, has been unearthed.

In comparison, the ancient Greek civilisation was considered to have begun around 400 years later.

Since those early beginnings, each region of Greater China has experienced periods of unity, separation and geopolitical tension. Yet today, the People’s Republic of China is the third largest and second-most populous nation in the world.

Chinese history has produced many cultural exports, particularly to East and Southeast Asia. Here are five of the most significant:

1. Hanzi (Chinese characters)

Writing dates back 3,000 years in China, and was exported to Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Photo: Shutterstock

The logographic system of Chinese languages is widely accepted by world scholars as one of human history’s four independent inventions of writing.

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