Editing Sichuan (section)

==Culture==
{{main|Ba–Shu culture}}
{{further|Sichuanese people}}
The ''Sichuanese people'' ([[Sichuanese Mandarin|Sichuanese]]: {{lang|zh|巴蜀人}} Ba<sup>1</sup>su<sup>2</sup>ren<sup>2</sup>; [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]: {{IPA|[pa˥su˨˩zən˨˩]}}; alternatively {{lang|zh|川人}}, {{lang|zh|川渝人}}, {{lang|zh|四川人}} or {{lang|zh|巴蜀民系}}) are a subgroup of Han Chinese living in mostly Sichuan province and the neighboring [[Chongqing]] municipality. Beginning from the 9th century BC, [[Shu (kingdom)|Shu]] (on the [[Chengdu Plain]]) and [[Ba (state)|Ba]] (which had its first capital at [[Enshi City]] in [[Hubei]] and controlled part of the [[Han River (Shaanxi and Hubei)|Han Valley]]) emerged as cultural and administrative centers where two rival kingdoms were established. Although eventually, the [[Qin dynasty]] destroyed the kingdoms of Shu and Ba, the Qin government accelerated the technological and agricultural advancements of Sichuan making it comparable to that of the [[Yellow River]] Valley. The now-extinct [[Ba–Shu Chinese|Ba–Shu language]] was derived from Qin-era settlers and represents the earliest documented division from what is now called [[Middle Chinese]].

During the [[Yuan dynasty|Yuan]] and [[Ming dynasty|Ming]] dynasties, the population of the area was reduced through wars and the [[bubonic plague]], and settlers arrived from the area of modern Hubei, replacing the earlier common Chinese with a new standard.

The [[Li Bai]] Memorial, located in [[Jiangyou]], is a museum in memory of Li Bai, a Chinese poet of [[Tang dynasty|Tang China]] (618–907) built at the place where he grew up. The building was begun in 1962 on the occasion of the 1200th anniversary of his death, completed in 1981, and opened to the public in October 1982. The memorial is built in the style of the classic Tang garden.

In 2003, Sichuan had "88 art performing troupes, 185 culture centers, 133 libraries, and 52 museums". Companies based in Sichuan also produced 23 television series and one film.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.newsgd.com/specials/panprdforum/deltadetails/200405260039.htm |title=Sichuan: Education and Culture |date=2004-05-26 |access-date=2014-01-04 |publisher=newsgd.com |editor=Catherine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150514051220/http://www.newsgd.com/specials/panprdforum/deltadetails/200405260039.htm |archive-date=14 May 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Languages===
{{Main|Sichuanese dialects|l1=Sichuanese language|Ba–Shu Chinese}}
[[File:Sichuanese in China.png|thumb|upright=0.8|right|Extent of present-day Sichuanese language]]
The Sichuanese once spoke their variety of Spoken Chinese called Ba-Shu Chinese, or Old Sichuanese before it became extinct during the Ming dynasty. Now most of them speak Sichuanese Mandarin. The Minjiang dialects are thought by some linguists{{who|date=March 2019}} to be a bona fide descendant of Old Sichuanese, but there is no conclusive evidence whether Minjiang dialects are derived from Old Sichuanese or Southwestern Mandarin.{{citation needed|date=March 2019}}

The languages of Sichuan are primarily members of three subfamilies of the [[Sino-Tibetan languages]].

The most widely used variety of Chinese spoken in Sichuan is [[Sichuanese dialects|Sichuanese]], which is the [[lingua franca]] in Sichuan, [[Chongqing]], and parts of the [[Tibet Autonomous Region]]. Although Sichuanese is generally classified as a dialect of [[Mandarin Chinese]], it is highly divergent in phonology, vocabulary, and even grammar from [[Standard Chinese]].<ref name="《四川方言与巴蜀文化》">{{cite book |language=zh-hans |last1=Cui |first1=Rongchang (崔荣昌) |script-title=zh:《四川方言与巴蜀文化》 |year=1996 |publisher=[[Sichuan University]] Press |script-chapter=zh:第三章：四川的官话 |isbn=7-5614-1296-7}}</ref> The [[Minjiang dialect]] is especially difficult for speakers of other Mandarin dialects to understand.<ref>{{cite book |language=zh-hans |last1=Li |first1=Bin (李彬) |last2=Tu |first2=Minghua (涂鸣华) |script-title=zh:《百年中国新闻人（上册）》 |year=2007 |publisher=Fujian People's Press |page=563 |isbn=978-7-211-05482-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |language=zh-hans |script-title=zh:四川交通："窗口"飞来普通话 |last1=Wu |first1=Dan (吴丹) |last2=Liang |first2=Xiaoming (梁晓明) |script-work=zh:中国交通报 |date=23 November 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |language=zh-hans |script-title=zh:大学生村官恶补四川方言 现在能用流利四川话和村民交流 |last1=Zhang |first1=Guosheng (张国盛) |last2=Yu |first2=Yong (余勇) |newspaper=[[:zh:北京晨报|Morning Post]] |date=1 June 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |language=zh-hans |script-title=zh:走进大山的志愿者 |script-work=zh:四川青年报 |trans-work=Sichuan Youth Paper |date=18 July 2009}}</ref>

[[Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture]] and [[Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture]] in western Sichuan are populated by [[Tibetan people|Tibetans]] and [[Qiang people]]. Tibetans speak the [[Khams Tibetan|Khams]] and [[Amdo Tibetan]], which are [[Tibetic languages]], as well as various [[Qiangic languages]]. The Qiang speak Qiangic languages and often Tibetic languages as well. The [[Yi people]] of [[Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture]] in southern Sichuan speak the [[Nuosu language]], which is one of the [[Lolo-Burmese languages]]; Yi is written using the [[Yi script]], a [[syllabary]] standardized in 1974. The [[Southwest University for Nationalities]] has one of China's most prominent [[Tibetology]] departments and the Southwest Minorities Publishing House prints literature in minority languages.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tibetinfonet.net/content/update/143#fn2 |title=The Wuhou District (武侯区), a Tibetan enclave in Chengdu |date=2009-03-24 |access-date=2013-01-04 |issn=1864-1407 |publisher=TibetInfoNet |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140105045511/http://www.tibetinfonet.net/content/update/143#fn2 |archive-date=5 January 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> In the minority-inhabited regions of Sichuan, there is bilingual signage and public school instruction in non-Mandarin minority languages.

=== Sichuan brocade ===
{{main|Sichuan embroidery}}
[[File:Sichuan brocade, double bird pattern 2.png|thumb|Sichuan brocade manufactured between the 7th and early 10th century, featuring double bird in floral roundel pattern; collection of [[Chengdu Museum]].]]
Commonly known as "Shu brocade" ({{lang|zh-hant|蜀錦}}) in Chinese, Sichuan brocade is referred to as the "mother of brocade in China" given its age.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Wang |first=Yeting |date=2018 |title=Road Heritage: Ancient and Modern Shu brocade and Southern Silk Road |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328226896 |journal=Revista de Arquitetura IMED |volume=7 |issue=1 |page=165 |doi=10.18256/2318-1109.2018.v7i1.2933 |s2cid=134170907 |access-date=March 17, 2023|doi-access=free }}</ref> This technique of embroidery originates in the capital city of [[Chengdu]] during the time of the [[Shu (kingdom)|Ancient Kingdom of Shu]]. It enjoyed high popularity throughout the regions along the [[Silk Road]], which stimulated an "[[Exoticism|exoticization]]" of the embroidery designs during the 1st millennium, with most of the patterns imported from [[Sogdia]] and other parts of [[Central Asia]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Cheng |first1=Si |last2=Qiao |first2=Hong |date=2022 |title=唐代蜀锦团窠纹的审美特征 |trans-title=Aesthetic Characteristics of ''Tuanke'' Pattern of Shu Brocade in Tang Dynasty |url=http://www.fzkjjz.com/UploadDoc/944_20220620135913.pdf |language=zh-hans |magazine=Progress in Textile Science & Technology |location=Chengdu |publisher=Sichuan Textile Science & Technology Intelligence Center; Sichuan Textile Engineering Academy |page=56 |access-date=March 17, 2023}}</ref> According to the ''[[Book of Sui]]'', in the year 605 AD, the head of the Sichuan ateliers producing silks in the "western style" was a certain He Chou, a name which betrays his Sogdian origins.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.transoxiana.org/Eran/Articles/compareti.html |title=The role of the Sogdian Colonies in the diffusion of the pearl roundels pattern |last=Compareti |first=Matteo |date=2003 |website=transoxiana.org |access-date=March 17, 2023}}</ref> Most of the silk products unearthed in [[Xinjiang]] ([[History of Xinjiang|Chinese Turkestan]]) and [[Qinghai]] ([[Tuyuhun|Tuyuhun Kingdom]]) confirmed to be manufactured in Sichuan.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://cdmuseum.com/xinwen/202011/2005.html |title=凭什么说新疆、青海出土的锦，好多都是蜀锦？ |trans-title=Why are most of the brocades unearthed in Xinjiang and Qinghai made in Sichuan? |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=December 2, 2017 |website=[[Chengdu Museum|cdmuseum.com]] |language=zh-hans |access-date=March 17, 2023}}</ref>

===Cuisine===
{{main|Sichuan cuisine}}
Sichuan is well known for its spicy cuisine and use of [[Sichuan pepper]]s due to its humid climate.
The Sichuanese are proud of their cuisine, known as one of the Four Great Traditions of [[Chinese cuisine]]. The cuisine here is of "one dish, one shape, hundreds of dishes, hundreds of tastes", as the saying goes, to describe its acclaimed diversity. The most prominent traits of Sichuanese cuisine are described by four words: spicy, hot, fresh, and fragrant.<ref>[http://www.5hpk.com/WebUI/InfoDir/pTopicTagSearch.html?SiteId=Whpk&DirId=ys&MainClassId=ys&tag=%u5DDD%u83DC Sichuanese Cuisine] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080720061416/http://www.5hpk.com/WebUI/InfoDir/pTopicTagSearch.html?SiteId=Whpk&DirId=ys&MainClassId=ys&tag=%u5DDD%u83DC |date=20 July 2008 }} {{in lang|zh}} – Pictures, descriptions, history, and examples of Sichuan cuisine.</ref> Sichuan cuisine is popular in the whole nation of China, and so are Sichuan chefs.

Another famous Sichuan delicacy is [[hot pot]]. Hot pot is a Chinese soup containing a variety of East Asian foodstuffs and ingredients, prepared with a simmering pot of soup stock at the dining table. While the hot pot is kept simmering, ingredients are placed into the pot and cooked at the table. Typical hot pot dishes include thinly sliced meat, leaf vegetables, mushrooms, wontons, egg dumplings, tofu, and seafood. The cooked food is usually eaten with a dipping sauce.

<gallery widths="140px" heights="140px" mode="packed">
File:Kung-pao-shanghai.jpg|[[Kung Pao chicken]], one of the best known dishes of Sichuan cuisine
File:Mapodoufu.jpg|[[Mapo doufu]]
File:担担面 Dandan noodles.jpg|[[Dandan noodles]]
File:Mixed sauce noodles.JPG|[[Zajiangmian]] ({{lang|zh-hans|杂酱面}})
</gallery>