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38<br />
Conoscere la <strong>Cina</strong><br />
as an economic and political power; also feared for its relentless advance. It is<br />
historically necessary to understand that such a reality is unrestrainable.<br />
To determine the profile of Chinese identity, it is opportune to isolate some cultural<br />
traits which the Chinese today could use to identify themselves: the cult of the<br />
past, for instance, which for centuries has <strong>di</strong>ctated their behavior. Nevertheless<br />
the <strong>di</strong>saffection of young people towards their past is a given, notwithstan<strong>di</strong>ng the<br />
fact that authorities have promoted nationalistic-patriotic elements coming from<br />
tra<strong>di</strong>tion and Chinese metropolises are developing and modernizing themselves to<br />
be part of today’s world. As for the materialism or atheism that is commonly<br />
attributed to the Chinese people, it is necessary to specify that the spirituality of<br />
this population is secular, rooted in the conception of a world in which spirits,<br />
human beings and natural forces cohabit accor<strong>di</strong>ng to precise rules.<br />
To define themselves, Chinese use the image of the dragon, from which they consider<br />
themselves to be descendants. The Chinese term is “long” which in<strong>di</strong>cates a<br />
multiformed and more complicated creature than a simple dragon, a hybrid that is<br />
apotropaic and auspicious, an emblem of imperial authority and the image of change.<br />
As its identity is ambiguous and fleeing; so is the nature of its descendants.<br />
The sense of Chinese identity is taken from its writing, whose foun<strong>di</strong>ng principle has<br />
remained unchanged for at least 3500 years, adapting itself to new communicative<br />
demands that are always changing. The Chinese world can only be understood from<br />
its language and from its writing, overtaking both the taste of the exotic and the logic<br />
of colonialism as it should be. For a true relationship, <strong>di</strong>alogue as a linguistic tool is<br />
necessary. Studying Chinese, as is happening in Sansepolcro, gives young people<br />
the privileged means for learning the values of a culture <strong>di</strong>fferent from theirs, which<br />
is useful for their intellectual and spiritual growth.
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