In China, except for drinking alcohol on auspicious moments, people also drink on some sad moments, such as to show respect to the dead. In ancient China, when a dead person was buried, some alcohol was usually placed into the tomb. This meant that even the dead went to another world; he or she can […]
In ancient China, the royal families liked to enjoy music and dances very much, also they used this kind of entertainment to celebrate some important days. Thus it gave the chance for the development of court music. The most famous period is the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) with its “zuobuji” and “libuji”. It is said […]
The Tiger In the character of the oracle bone script for tiger, the tiger’s round head faces upwards, the tail faces downwards, and the body shows a striped pattern. The Chinese people believe that tigers have a “王” (king) character on their heads. Therefore, the tiger is regarded as the king of the animal world. […]
Five (wu, “五”) The ancient Chinese people believed that the world was composed of five basic substances: metal, wood, water, fire and earth. These five substances are known as the Five Elements (“wu xing”). The Five Elements can represent everything. For example, the Five Elements can represent the five basic directions: east, south, west, north […]
Study Chinese: 木(mu, wood/tree)，林(lin, many trees)，森(sen, forest) The Chinese character of the oracle bone scrip for “木” resembles a tree with roots and branches. In the old days, the character “木” meant “tree”. It is used as a component in many Chinese characters which denote the names of trees or have meanings related to “wood” […]
This phrase is often used by Chinese housewives, because it is them who are responsible to the “Chai mi you yan” of a family. Here, “chai” means “firewood”; “mi” refers to “rice”; “you” means “oil” and “yan” is “salt”. These are the basic materials for cooking. In the agricultural city, the basic concern of a […]
米mǐ(rice) Cooking requires the use of fire, but it doesn’t mean that once people had fire, they could cook. In China, there is a saying, “qiǎo fù nán wéi wú mǐ zhī chuī”. In other words, without rice, even the wisest wife could not cook a meal. For the Chinese people, the rice is the […]
During the 20th century in China, the 4 most celebrated male performers of female roles (called “dan” performers) in Peking Opera were Mei Langfang, Cheng Yangqiu, Shang Xiaoyun and Xun Huisheng. They reached the peak of their art from by using their singing ability, expressive eyes and practiced gestures to perform the roles of quintessentially […]
Lijiang is located in China’s Yunnan Province and has become a favorite tourist spot over the past few years. Lijiang is described as a place where you can see running water from any street corner and babbling brooks from every doorway. Running water is always visible when walking along any of the streets. The water […]
People describe the weather in Guangzhou is “sauna-like humidity”, “the suffocating heat and humidity can tale your breath away”. The Guangzhou people have their own way to overcome the problem. Getting rid of the body’s excess heat and toxins is a number one priority. The most common way of cooling off is drinking cool tea. […]