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Phoenix (Feng Huang) is the King of the Birds in ancient legends. The male phoenix is called “Feng," and the female phoenix is called “Huang." Feng and Huang flying together symbolize harmony and auspiciousness. Like the Chinese dragon, the Chinese phoenix is an imaginary divine animal and an important totem of Chinese nationality. Since the Qin Dynasty, the dragon became the token for the emperor, and the phoenix became a sign of the empress.
The 24 Solar Terms refer to a supplementary calendar that ancient Chinese established to guide their agricultural activities in a year. Besides the initial function of guiding farming production, these solar terms also reflect rich Chinese customs, seasonal festivals, seasonal foods, and even healthy living tips.
Chinese red is the most beautiful and classic Chinese element. It reflects the active and enthusiastic national character of Chinese people. Chinese people love the red color so much that you can find proof everywhere, like the red walls of the majestic Forbidden City, the Chinese knot, the red couplets, paper-cutting pasted on panes, the traditional headcover for the bride, etc. Chinese people never stopped loving red. In 1672, Newton revealed the scientific nature of red in his thesis by explaining that the sunlight could be separated into seven colors when being refracted through the prism and red color was the spectral color with the longest wavelength. However, for the Chinese, red is like a cultural totem to the thousands of years of Chinese civilization. But why do the Chinese love the red color?
In 206 BC, a peasant named Liu Bang established the great Han Empire that would last over 400 years. One of the empire's distinctive attributes was to record and preserve the developments and advances of all aspects of society. There were many inventions in Chinese history, and the following ten innovations from Han Dynasty are among the most important ones.
Chinese people are very concerned about face-saving. But what is "face"? Of all the idiosyncrasies, the concept of "Face" in China is perhaps the most difficult to comprehend. In the context of Chinese culture, the concept of "Face" is rich and subtle. It could be dignity, honor, prestige, authority, or personal connections. It's more subjective and personal. "Face" is most emphasized in front of acquaintances (family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, etc.). Chinese people won't give too much about the "Face" problem in a completely unfamiliar environment. However, if a Chinese is surrounded by acquaintances, he or she will be extra concerned about saving face.
Chinese people created a splendid history of Chinese literature. There are four major genres of Chinese literature, including poem, prose, drama, and novel. Since the first poem collection of the Book of Ode containing the poems from 11th century BCE to 6th century BCE, the Chinese people created numerous poems that reflected the societies at different times. In terms of drama, Yuan Dynasty Drama is the representation of the highest Chinese drama achievement. While the Chinese prose was developed as a significant part of Chinese literature all along. Lastly, the four great novels represented the highest level of novel writing achievement in imperial times of China. In modern times, there were more novelists and essayists.
Chinese language (Hanyu), the language of Han nationality, belongs to the Sino-Tibetan Languages family. It's mostly used in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, and overseas Chinese people, and it's also one of the major international languages. The Chinese language is an analytical language with three to fifteen tones, and it is divided into standard Chinese language, which is Mandarin, and the Chinese dialects. The modern mandarin is formed based on the Beijing pronunciation, spoken language in northern China, and the grammatical norms of typical modern vernacular writings.
The terrace fields in China were created by the ancient Chinese people to adapt to the environment and they are models of harmonious coexistence between human and nature. In the mountainous areas of south China, there were less plain terrains suitable for rice cultivation, Chinese farmers then created the terraces on the hillsides and conserve water with various dams. While in the arid mountain areas of north China, the terraces were built to effectively preserve the water and soil, and further increasing the productivity. Nowadays, the terrace fields are not only for plants cultivation, but become a unique tourism resource. They are praised as the "most beautiful curves on the planet". Especially in Spring, different shapes of terraces are filled with water and farmers are plowing in the fields, creating a beautiful and lively pastoral landscape. Let’s visit some of the most beautiful terrace landscapes in China!
Chinese wedding culture is an important part of Chinese traditional customs. Although modern people absorbed a lot of customs from the western wedding, there are still a lot of traditional Chinese wedding customs reserved. Let's learn 12 interesting facts about Chinese Weddings!
Traditional Chinese Clothes is an integral of the thousands-year-old Chinese civilization. It changed along with the political, economic, and social changes in different eras and dynasties. The elegant Pao costume (a closed full-body gown) of Qin and Han dynasties, the Shan costume (open cross-collar shirt) in Wei and Jin dynasties, the open-style clothes of Tang dynasty, and the Manchu style clothes in the Qing dynasty, each had its unique characteristics and formed an important part in Chinese Costume.
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