Chinese Characters: From Simple to Complex
November 5, 2013
About two thousand years ago, the Chinese philosopher Lao Zi remarked: “Dao gives rise to one; one gives rise to two; two gives rise to three , and three gives rise to myriad things.” In other..
Learn MoreThe Origin of the Oracle Bone Inscriptions
November 5, 2013
The earliest Chinese writing system that has been preserved to the present day is the oracle bone inscriptions, which dates back 3,000 years to China’s Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC). The ancient Chinese people believed that..
Learn MoreStudy Chinese: Associative Compounds
November 5, 2013
Are you studying Chinese? There are many rules for Chinese learners to memorize the Chinese characters. In Chinese, two “人” (ren, “people”) characters written together gives us the character “从” (cong), which depicts one person..
Learn MoreStudy Chinese: to compare – Chinese characters and the human
November 5, 2013
According to the legend, when Cangjie created Chinese characters, he noticed not only everything in the universe, but also the human race itself. Chinese characters, therefore, reflect not only the Chinese people’s understanding of the..
Learn MoreThe Dragon Boat Festival (IV): the dragon boat race
November 5, 2013
There were countless boats, each of which had a dragon head and a dragon tail carved its hull (borrowing the implication of “wrath” from the figure of the dragon); 20 strong men were seated on..
Learn MoreThe Lantern Festival: Illuminating Silkworms, Holding Torches and Displaying Colorful Lanterns
November 5, 2013
There are a lot of folktales about the Lantern Festival, and the most believable one is that it originated from the custom of illuminating silkworm by peasants in the past. Illuminating silkworm fields meant that..
Learn MoreStudy Chinese: Dumplings
November 5, 2013
饺子 (jiǎo zi) On the Eve of the Spring Festival, Chinese people eat an important kind of food—dumplings “饺子”. Initially, they were called “交子” rather than “饺子”. In ancient times, the character “交” was like..
Learn MoreYue Fei
November 5, 2013
Yue Fei’s Mother Tattooed Characters on the Skin of Yue Fei Yue Fei was a patriotic military commander of the Southern Song Dynasty and a national hero in resisting the invading Jin people. As a..
Learn MoreStudy Chinese: North
November 5, 2013
北(běi) The original form of the character “北” resembles two people with their backs to each other. The original meaning of it was “back” (背bèi). In the past, losing a battle was known as “败北(bài..
Learn MoreOranges hidden in the arms for the mother
November 4, 2013
The scientist Lu Ji came from Huating of Wu County in the State of Wu from the Three Kingdoms Period, the location of which is Songjiang in Shanghai at present. At the age of 6,..
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