20201215 cultexam 1

• Link to return to Course Homepage.
• Link to the other Final Exam paper pages: 1 Alsied, Saffana - Jiang Qiwei; 2 Kang Haoyu - Sagara Seydou; 3 Shi Haiyao - You Yuting; 4 Yu Ni - Zubareva, Ekaterina. This page has become too large. Do not write on this page any more, but on one of the smaller pages.

Final Exam Paper. Please write now and improve until grading on 2020 12 15

• You can use the texts in the coursebook as an example (like Unit 1, Text A). You only need to write Text A (like "Longevity Noodles") or Text B ("Mooncakes"), not a whole Unit. But please try to find fellow students who topics fit under the same Unit title ("Festival Meals") and arrange it accordingly.
• In the topic, please write the category, then the topic - your name and student no.
• For the text, please indicate ALL SOURCES with bibliographical references. That means: At least for every paragraph, sometimes for single sentences, you have to indicate at the end, where you have found this information. E.g. (Liu Miqing 2010, 17). This means you have found it in the book or paper written by Ms Liu on page 17.
• Add a section at the end called "References". There you write the full version of the reference: Liu Miqing 刘宓庆. (2010). 翻译基础 [Translation Basis]. Shanghai: Huadong Normal University 华东师范大学. Similarly, you do it for papers: Jin Wenlu`靳文璐. (2019). 机器翻译可以取代人工翻译吗? [Can machine translation replace human translation?]. 智库时代 Think Tank Times (40) 282-284.
• Please also add a list "Terms and Expressions".
• Please add a "Questions" section.
• Please add a "Answers" section.

Chinese Astrology - Alsied, Saffana

"Chinese Astrology"--SAFFANA ALSIED 2 (talk) 17:07, 18 November 2020 (UTC)

References

References missing.

Spring Festival Couplets - Cao Runxin 曹润鑫

Chunlian, image from Baike. Click [...] for original source.

Spring Festival Couplets

Spring Festival Couplets, Chunlian in Chinese, is also known as Spring Couplets or Chinese New Year Couplets. It is the most common and important custom when celebrating Chinese New Year. This tradition is widely kept both in modern cities and rural areas of China.With black or golden characters written on red paper, Spring Festival Couplets are composed of a pair of poetry lines vertically pasted on both sides of the front door and a four-character horizontal scroll affixed above the doorframe. Pasting couplets expresses people’s delight in the festival and wishes for a better life in the coming year.Quotation missing. E.g. (Gui Ninghuo 2009, 12)

Spring Couplets originated from Taofu, an inscription on boards made from peach trees in the Zhou Dynasty. According to the legend, a rooster perching in a big peach tree will crow at dawn to call all the traveling ghosts back. In front of the entrance of the dark world, there are two guards named Shentu and Yulei. If the ghosts harm any people at night, the guards will kill them.People believed that peach trees can scare and subdue evil things, so they hung peach boards in front of the doors with the guards’ names written or inscribed on them. During the Song Dynasty, the wood board was replaced by paper, and people focused more on bright wishes for the future. The custom became popular in Ming Dynasty. When the Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang traveled for inspection, he found those pairs of scrolls interesting. In order to advocate and promote this cultural activity, he ordered all household to paste the scrolls during the Chinese New Year. This tradition continues today.Quotation missing. E.g. (Gui Ninghuo 2009, 12)

The upper scroll and the lower scroll have parallel structures and antithetical meanings. The two lines should have an equal number of characters, while their meaning must be related and antithetical. There must be a one-to-one correspondence between the two lines. The tone pattern is emphasized but rhythm is not important. The horizontal scroll is a four-character phrase, which sums up the two lines’ meaning. When you read a spring festival couplets, first,look at the horizontal scroll. If the four characters are written from left to right, the upper scroll will be on the left and the lower scroll on the right. If the characters of the horizontal scroll are reversed, the two side scrolls should be read from right to left.Quotation missing. E.g. (Gui Ninghuo 2009, 12)

There are rules not only for pasting the couplets, but also traditions for how to remove them, and these traditions vary in different areas of China.In remote or rural areas, people will not remove the old scrolls until the next New Year. Although they are damaged by wind and rain, they will still keep them up until replaced the following year. In modern cities, if the couplets are ruined or damaged, people usually tear them off after the Lantern Festival. Some will just throw them away, while others will burn them. According to legend, Spring Couplets are gods. After burning, the god can go back to heaven, which will bring good luck to the family.Quotation missing. E.g. (Gui Ninghuo 2009, 12)

References missing.

Terms and Expressions

Spring Festival Couplets, Spring Couplets, Chinese New Year Couplets, New Year Scroll 春联

Paste 贴

Horizontal scroll 横联

Upper scroll 上联

Lower scroll 下联

Questions

1.What’s the purpose of pasting Spring Festival Couplets?

To expresses people’s delight in the festival and wishes for a better life in the coming year.

2.What’s the historical origin of Spring Festival Couplets?

It originated from Taofu, an inscription on boards made from peach trees in the Zhou Dynasty.

3.How to read the Spring Festival Couplets?

First, look at the horizontal scroll. If the four characters are written from left to right, the upper scroll will be on the left and the lower scroll on the right. If the characters of the horizontal scroll are reversed, the two side scrolls should be read from right to left.

4.How to do with the Old Couplets?

Remove the old scrolls until the next New Year or tear them off after the Lantern Festival.

Instruments, Guzheng - Chen Han 陈涵

Guzheng

Guzheng or Zheng is one of the oldest traditional ethnic musical instruments in China. It belongs to plucked stringed instruments. As early as 2500 years ago, zheng has become an important instrument which was widespread at that time. Due to the long history and its primitive simplicity and elegant sound, people are used to calling it guzheng (gu refers to “ancient”). It has beautiful timbre, broad ranges, rich performance skills and strong expressive power, so it is deeply loved by Chinese.Quotation missing. E.g. (Gui Ninghuo 2009, 12)

Guzheng or Zheng is one of the oldest traditional ethnic musical instruments in China. It refers to plucked stringed instruments. As early as 2500 years ago, zheng has become an important instrument which was widespread at that time. Due to the long history and its primitive simplicity and elegant sound, people are used to calling it guzheng (gu refers to “ancient”). It has beautiful timbre, broad ranges, rich performance skills and strong expressive power, so it is deeply loved by Chinese.Quotation missing. E.g. (Gui Ninghuo 2009, 12)--Root (talk) 07:36, 30 November 2020 (UTC)

There are varied accounts for how the zheng came to be. The first legend says the history of guzheng can date back to the Warring States Period. The oldest specimen yet discovered held 13 strings. Zheng was regarded as a weapon at that time which was used vertically to beat enemies. There was also an old saying that “the zheng makes a pleasant sound when placed horizontally and becomes a soldier when placed vertically”. Later, strings were added to it, and when plucked, it was found to be pleasing to the ears, so it developed into an instrument. As time went by, the weapons became lighter and lighter, and the zheng, a large and heavy weapon, was abandoned. The second legend says the early form of thezheng is said to have been invented by Meng Tian, a general of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC). But according to the biographies of Meng Tian in Historical Records, there is no record of his invention of the zheng. The third legend says the guzheng came about largely influenced by the se which was recorded by Zhao Lin in Records on Words. When two people fought over a 25-string se, they broke it in half, one person receiving a 12-string part and the other the 13-string part.Quotation missing. E.g. (Gui Ninghuo 2009, 12)

The modern-day Guzheng usually has 21 strings and movable bridges and is 163 centimeters long. It should not be confused with the guqin, another ancient Chinese zither with 7 strings played without movable bridges. The strings were formerly made of silk. By the 20th century, most players used metal strings. Since the mid-20th century, steel strings wound with nylon are common to be seen. The body of the guzheng is approximately rectangular, with a slight protrusion in the middle of the faceplate. The head and tail of the guzheng are anterior mountain and posterior mountain respectively. The two mountains are connected by 21 strings which are supported by 21 movable bridges, also known as Yan Zhu which are moved to change the timbres. The strings at the anterior side are wound around the string pegs in the turning box. And the guzheng was usually placed on the zither feet. The timbre of the guzheng is determined by the quality of the wood. As the tension of paulownia is better, the body of the guzheng are mostly made of paulownia. The head, tail and other parts of the guzheng are generally made of mahogany, and some patterns are decorated on the head and the tail.Quotation missing. E.g. (Gui Ninghuo 2009, 12)

The fingerpicks, called Dai Mao or Yi Jia, Quotation missing. E.g. (Gui Ninghuo 2009, 12)

References missing.

Terms and expressions

• Meng Tian 蒙恬

• Zhao Lin 赵璘

• Records on Words 《因话录》

• anterior mountain 前岳山

• posterior mountain 后岳山

• Yan Zhu 雁柱

• string pegs 弦钉

• turning box 调音盒

• zither feet 琴足

• paulownia 桐木

• mahogany 红木

• Dai Mao 玳瑁

• Yi Jia 义甲

Facial Make-up - Chen Jingjing 陈静静

Text

Facial makeup, a sort of makeup art used in stage performance, is painted on the face of traditional opera singers in China and varies when it come to different types of role. The character roles in Beijing opera are divided into four main types according to the sex, age, social status and profession of the character. Sheng refers to male roles and is divided into laosheng (middle-aged or old men), xiaosheng (young men) and wusheng ( men with martial skills). Dan refers to female roles and is also subdivided into various types. Qingyi is a woman with a strict moral code; and laodan is an elderly woman. Jing refers to the roles with painted faces. They are usually warriors, statesmen or even demons. Chou, clown, is a comic character and can be recognized at first sight for his special make-up. The facial makeup of “sheng” and “dan” is quite simple with a thin layer of powder, called “plain face” while that of “jing” and “chou” is relatively complicated, and the former, in particular, is applied with heavy color and complicated patterns, thus gaining the name of “painted face”. In Beijing Opera, facial make-up, which is applied to Jing roles only, shows the character’s age and personality by using different colors. “Chou” is commonly called the clown as they are accustomed to wiping a patch of white powder on the nose.Quotation missing. E.g. (Gui Ninghuo 2009, 12)

People hold different views when speaking of the origin of the facial makeup. It was said facial makeup was closely related to a kind of dance, called Damian, which appeared in the Northern and Southern Dynasties and thrived in the Tang Dynasty. It was performed by a single man aiming to extol King Lanling Gao Changgong’s outstanding military service and merits. He was courageous and good-looking and was bound to win every time he worn a mask that seemed frightening in the battlefield. As for the facial makeup used in opera, it is used to highlight the roles’ character, appearance as well as status, achieving a colorful and fantastic stage.Quotation missing. E.g. (Gui Ninghuo 2009, 12)

The legendary drama played a dominant role in Ming Dynasty, rich in content and fine in role division. Both jing and chou are painted their own special facial makeup. The basic color is mostly designed based on the description in the drama literature or the singers’ personal imagination. For instance, facial makeup of Guanyu is red and that of Baozhen is black. Their brow and eyes are exaggerated in some way. The pattern ratio has changed as well. Unlike the Ming Dyansty, there are both simple and sophisticated facial makeups with the same basic color. In the Mid-Qing Dynasty, as the local drama arose, facial makeup varied greatly in different places and possessed distinct local features and folk color. More than 300 kinds of dramas sprung up after the 18th century. Therefore, the drama characters mount and their division is much more finer. More colors like blue, green, yellow, grey and orange are added in jing.Quotation missing. E.g. (Gui Ninghuo 2009, 12)

Red

Red facial makeup is symbolic of loyalty, upright and integrity like the characters Guan Yu and Wu Han.Quotation missing. E.g. (Gui Ninghuo 2009, 12)

Black

Black facial makeup gives people the impression that he is serious, rarely shows smiling expression and courageous and wise like Bao Zheng, a impartial official. It also stands for mighty force and boldness like Zhang Fei in drama the Three Kingdoms and Li Kuai in drama Water Margin of the Marsh.Quotation missing. E.g. (Gui Ninghuo 2009, 12)

White

White facial makeup bears a derogatory sense, indicating a deceitful and suspicious nature like Cao Cao in drama the Three Kingdoms and Yan Song, Qin Kuai.Quotation missing. E.g. (Gui Ninghuo 2009, 12)

Blue

Characters wearing blue facial makeup tend to be upright ,outspoken ,obstinate and even unruly like Ma Wu and Dou Erdun.Quotation missing. E.g. (Gui Ninghuo 2009, 12)

Purple

Purple facial makeup shows more sedate and righteous like Xu Yanzhao and Zhuan Zhu.Quotation missing. E.g. (Gui Ninghuo 2009, 12)

Golden

Golden facial makeup symbolizes dignity and power fitting roles like supernatural being like Tathagata (Sakyamuni, the creator of Buddhism) and Erlang Shen (a Chinese God with a third truth-seeing eye in the middle of his forehead).Quotation missing. E.g. (Gui Ninghuo 2009, 12)

The features of facial makeup are mainly as follows: First, it is a contradictory unit of beauty and ugliness.Second, it is closely related to the character’s personality.Thirdly, its pattern is stylized. Chinese Peking opera makeup is favored by many opera enthusiasts and is widely known both at home and abroad, having been regarded as one of the mark of traditional Chinese culture.Quotation missing. E.g. (Gui Ninghuo 2009, 12)

It is derived from the stage and could be seen on some large buildings, packages of some commercials, various porcelains and people’s clothes in different styles. It is far beyond the scope of stage use, showing its status in people’s heart and the strong vitality. Out of curiosity and affection for Chinese opera facial makeup, a great many foreign friends and domestic men of insight start to explore the mystery of it.Quotation missing. E.g. (Gui Ninghuo 2009, 12)

B. Terms and Expressions

painted face 花脸

clown 丑角

xiaosheng 小生

laosheng 老生

wusheng 武生

legend，romance 传奇剧

Tathagata, Buddha 如来佛

Sakyamuni 释迦牟尼

C. Questions

1.How many types are character roles divided into in Beijing opera?

2.What are the differences bbetween Sheng and Dan?

3.What are the special features of Chou?

4.What is the function of facial mask in Beijing opera?

5.What are the main features of facial makeup?

6.What are the characteristics of characters wearing blue facial makeup?

References

References missing.

Literature, Science Fiction - Dashkin, Gennadii

Three Worldwide Famous Chinese Novelists of Modern Science Fiction and Fantasy

1.Liu Cixin（刘慈欣）

Liu Qixin was born in 1963 in Yangquan City, Shanxi Province, 400 kilometers from Beijing. Other famous natives of the area were Gaozu, the founder of the Tang Imperial Dynasty, and Jia Zhangke, the chief filmmaker of modern China. The parents of the future writer worked in a mine in Shanxi, and his first conscious years fell on the heyday of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976).Quotation missing. E.g. (Gui Ninghuo 2009, 12)

Liu received his technical education from North China University of Water and Electricity. After graduation, he worked as a computer engineer at a power plant in his native Yangquan. Now Liu Qixin is combining his studies of literature with the post of chief engineer of the China Energy Investment Corporation at the Nianziguan Power Plant. So science and technology have always been constant elements of his life.Quotation missing. E.g. (Gui Ninghuo 2009, 12)

Liu Qixin started writing relatively late. At 26, he wrote China in 2185, but the book never saw the light of the day. Mostly this was due to the consequences of the Cultural Revolution - in the late 80s, almost no science fiction literature was published in China. Later, when the opportunity arose to publish the novel, the writer himself re-read it, considered it second-rate, badly written and naive and decided that he did not deserve publication.However, Liu Qixin did not give up and in 1999 he released another novel, written by him at a young age, but significantly modified and edited for publication. This is how Liu Qixin's first big book appeared - the novel "Supernova Era". Before that, some of his stories were published in magazines, but the writer's name became really noticeable after the publication of this book. In it, as a result of the radiation of a supernova, all people over 30 are threatened with death within a year. Since then, the life of humanity has changed dramatically, and although the doomed older generation made heroic efforts to make the existence of young people better, a year later the world is plunging into an abyss of chaos and violence.Quotation missing. E.g. (Gui Ninghuo 2009, 12)

Liu's first books were warmly received in China, but nevertheless real success came to the author only in 2006, when he published the first part of his trilogy "Memory of the Earth's Past" - the novel "The Problem of Three Bodies" in the Chinese journal Science Fiction World. This book first made the writer a real star in his homeland, and 7 years later, when the Chinese-American science fiction writer Ken Liu translated it into English, and all over the world. The novel has become so popular that the entire trilogy is often referred to as "The Three-Body Problem," although this is not formally true.

In 2006, the book won the Galaxy Award, the main Chinese literary science fiction award, and after being translated into English, it was nominated for all three major world awards: Hugo, Locus and Nebula. The novel only won the Hugo Award, but in 2017 the third part of the Eternal Life of Death trilogy took over Locus.

Liu Qixin is definitely a unique writer, with his own style, philosophy and special vision of science fiction. So far, only three of his novels have been published outside of China, but he has already won such recognition that Barack Obama and Mark Zuckerberg recommend reading the Tsisin trilogy. But the main thing that Liu Qixin has already managed to prove with his books is that science fiction literature is capable of giving generous shoots not only on the basis of European culture. Liu Qixin is the first person outside of the Western world to achieve resounding success in science fiction. And, perhaps, his trilogy is just the beginning of a new global phenomenon. After all, it's not for nothing that many experts have been saying for several years that the future belongs to China. It is very likely that this phrase refers not only to politics and economics, but also to science fiction literature.

2.Chen Qiufan (陈楸帆）

Today this author is called by others the “Chinese William Gibson”. He can also be called one of the leaders of Chinese science-fiction and a cyberpunk novelist. He was born in China in 1981 in a seaside province in southeastern China called Guangdong, which borders Hong Kong and Macau. To say more accurately he grew up a few miles from Guiyu, the largest waste dump. Mountains of scrap electronics are shipped there every year from all over the world. Thousands of workers sort through the garbage in search of something that is suitable for recycling. This topic became the central topic in a novel called “Waste Tide”.

Also, by the early 2000s, Chen Qiufang had become a big fan of virtual chats and the Internet. He saw great potential in the Internet and technologies in general, an opportunity to change the world for the better. After graduation, Chen worked with Google, Baidu and co-founded Noitom, a virtual reality startup in Beijing. As science fiction began to gain popularity in China and receive support from the government, Qiufan turned to full-fledged novels.

His debut book was The Empty Wave, "combining realism and allegory to represent the hybridity of humans and machines." Chen Qiufan's novels and stories won three Galaxy Awards, and twelve Chinese Nebula Awards. His works have been translated into German, French, Finnish, Korean, Czech, Italian, Japanese, Polish and Russian.

His book Waste Tide became one of the most discussed books around the world and got universal acclaim from critics and usual readers. The fantastic mix of dark future with reality components made this book a guidebook for those who are worried about ecological problems and the darkest sides of the humanity progress.

3.Rebecca F. Kuang (匡蘦秀)

When Rebecca was four years old, her family emigrated to the United States from Guangzhou, China. Kuang's father grew up in Leiyang, in Hunan province, and his mother in Hainan Island.

Quang grew up in Dallas, Texas and later went to Georgetown University in large part because of the college's discussion team. Quang began writing The Opium War when she worked as a debate trainer in China during a break from her studies. Rebecca always liked writing, but she was afraid that an education related to literature might not give her a profession in demand. But during the direct work on the book, she completed several literary courses. As a result, her first novel was published when she was only 22 years old.

Rebecca graduated from the university in June 2018. She further attended Magdalene College, Cambridge University as a recipient of the 2018 Marshall Fellowship, where she earned her Master of Philosophy in Sinology. She is currently pursuing a Master's Degree in Contemporary Sinology from Oxford University.

Her debut novel, The Opium War, is a war fantasy set inspired by the history and culture of China. The Opium War is a dark fantasy genre. The plot is largely based on the history of China in the middle of the 20th century. The conflict refers to the Second Sino-Japanese War, but the scenery is inspired by the Song Dynasty. The novel accurately recreates the social, mythological and philosophical realities of China of the chosen era.

Stilts - Chen Yongxiang 陈永相

Stilts presentation during the Miliangtun Stilt Festival, image from Baike. Click [1] for original source.

Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage — Miliangtun Village Stilts

Introduction

Stilt is one of the folk dances of the Han nationality in our country, which is called "Stilt Yangko" in some places. Stilt-walkers tie their feet onto the long stilts with various length, the shortest being two feet long, and the longest reaching over five feet. Normally, stilt-walkers are taller than ordinary people. They dress themselves into different historical or mythological figures, walking and dancing on fairs and movable stages, which is convenient for watching far and near.

As a traditional folk dance in Beijing, Miliangtun Village Stilts originates from the "Tongle Gaojiaohui"(同乐高脚会）founded in the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. According to the older generation in the village, Miliangtun Village Stilts was first founded by several villagers led by Uncle Ma, who lived in Miliangtun Village and worked in Beijing. It was bestowed by Emperor Qianlong, and has a history of more than 250 years. Miliangtun Village Stilts is not only time-honored, but also mysterious and legendary. It still retains the traditions in performance techniques, characters, musical accompaniment, etiquette, and stilts production technology, which is an excellent performing art that is spread among the folks. In 2006, it was listed as a Beijing-level intangible cultural heritage protection project.

The team of Miliangtun Village Stilts has over forty people and 13 roles all played by men. The roles are, Tuotou, Laozuozi, young boy, young master, Mr. Plaster, Choupo, fisherman, Yupo, wood-cutter, handsome and ugly drum-players, handsome and ugly gong-players. Tuotou, fisherman and wood-cutter are righteous and decent images, while zany figures represent the negative images, like Choupo, young boy and Laozuozi who are responsible for enlivening the atmosphere and entertaining the audience. Such a stark contrast is quite ironic. Among the 13 roles, the only serious one is Tuotou. Because he is a general who can be easily recognized upon his appearance. Squatting and carrying swords, that's his work. Others like the young boy, just a little kid who amuses everyone. Mr. Plaster is responsible for warming up. He is outstanding because he can play and amuse with others, like Yupo or Laozuozi. Fisherman is just a workingman. He is not funny. He goes fishing because of his fixed character. Wood-cutter is also a workingman who can play other tricks besides squatting. Yupo is the young lady in the past, and Laozuozi is the housewife. Wood-cutter and Mr. Plaster can play and amuse with them. The handsome and ugly drum-players and gong-players are quite important in the backfield when the show begins. They play drums and gongs to amuse the audience. Gong-players following drum-players, handsome and ugly, they are just like the final fighters. Then it comes the show of Kylin Songzi（麒麟送子）after they stop playing; Tuotou lying flat; Mr. Plaster and young master raising their waists; Yupo dancing Yangko behind, pulling his two legs; Fisherman using his ribbon to drag Tuotou who hold the ribbon in his mouth; the young boy riding on Tuotou's waist like a lion. Then it follows the routine of going downhill. When it's done, the show is over. That's the whole performance.

Miliangtun Village Stilts as a renowned fair, known as the features of risky tricks, various skills and great difficulty. There are stunning tricks such as Yasha Searches the Sea, Su Qin Carries Swords, squatting, bouncing, hugging, somersault, and scorpion tail pendulum. Stilts performances focus on amusement, Tuotou being the opening, other roles flatter him with various and difficult tricks, constituting the grand show. Legs and feet must be agile, jumping the large bench is quite demanding that normal players can hardly accomplish. Each of the thirteen roles has its own talents. Tuotou is an adventurous figure who leads the team. The length of Miliangtun Village Stilts, 1.6 meters, is quite rare in the stilt fairs of the country. The centre of balance is extremely difficult to grasp. One must bend his knees slightly and keep moving when walking on stilts. Stilt-walkers control the balance with waist, the upper body and their feet must be coordinated to ensure the balance. Stilt-walkers step on the wooden stilts, swinging from side to side. The movement of the lower body leads the upper body to shake and shrug. The stilts are lifted lightly but stepped hardly, with the force on the knees, forming into a style of combining the tricks of twisting, swinging and amusing.

There is strict inheritance relationship and etiquette in the stilt fair. It will set up inheritors, presidents, team leaders, and team members. Today, Miliangtun Village Stilts as the distinctive folklore in Wangzuo Town, Fengtai District, stands out among the stilt fairs in Beijing and enjoys great popularity from peers and the public. Miliangtun Village Stilts is visually stunning, technically accomplished and naturally funny. A fixed set of performance routines has gradually formed after long-term drills since its founding. It is divided into lead in, head stilt command, separation in formal performance. Stilts-walkers individually perform difficult tricks such as the big jump and the onion-pulling, then amuse and perform in separation, ending with the show of Kylin Songzi, which indicates good luck and peace. Miliangtun Village Stilts has become an indispensable part of local festivals and celebrations with its lively atmosphere and superb skills and adds value to the cultural life of the folks.

Terms and Expressions

Miliangtun (village name) 米粮屯

stilts 高跷

intangible cultural heritage 非物质文化遗产

folk dance 民间舞蹈

Toutou 陀头

Laozuozi 老坐子

young boy 小二哥

young master 公子

Mr.Plaster 药先生

Choupo 丑婆

fisherman渔翁

Yupo 渔婆

wood-cutter 柴翁

handsome and ugly drum-players 俊鼓和丑鼓

handsome and ugly gong-players 俊锣和丑锣

Questions

1. Where does Miliangtun Village Stilts originate?

2. How many years of history does Miliangtun Village Stilts have?

3. How many roles in Miliangtun Village Stilts?

4. When was Miliangtun Village Stilts listed as the intangible cultural heritage?

5. How long is the shortest and the longest stilts?

Answers

1. Wangzuo Town, Fengtai District, Beijing.

2. More than 250 years.

3. 13.

4. In 2006.

5. The shortest stilt is two feet long, and the longest reaches over five feet.

References

--Chen Yongxiang (talk) 04:46, 30 November 2020 (UTC)

Dance, Lion Dance - Ding Daifeng 丁代凤

Chinese lion dancing

Lion dancing is a traditional folk art with a history of about 2000 years, which is often performed in big events and festivals. Nowadays, it is generally believed that lion is the king of beasts and is a symbol of luck and good fortune. However, there is no lion in ancient China. According to historical records, lions were introduced to China through the Silk Road from the Western Regions during the Han Dynasty.

When lions were first introduced into China, their ferocious image was unacceptable. Later, due to the spread of Buddhism, the image of lions changed fundamentally in people's minds. Because lion is the mount of Manjusri Bodhisattva, a symbol of wisdom, people gradually have a good impression on lion, which is considered as a sacred animal to protect Buddha. In Europe, the image of lion has not been deified, but is still the king of beasts, symbolizing bravery, strength and supreme power. Many nobles use lion as a symbol.

There are a number of stories about the origin of lion dance. Here is one of the sayings. During the Ming Dynasty, it was said that a monster always damaged crops in Guangdong at the end of the year. Local people called it “Nian”. In order to drive the monster away, the local farmers thought of making a lion model to intimidate the monster. The monster ran away immediately after seeing the "lion", so people believed that the lion was a god beast and a symbol of auspiciousness. From then on, people will use lion dance to celebrate the New Year.

In lion dance, lions are made of colorful cloth strips, and each lion is usually performed by two people, one handling the head and the other moving the body and tail. Under the music of gongs and drums, performers dress up as lions and make various forms of lion movements. The lion dance is an art which combines martial arts, dance and music together.

Originating in the Han Dynasty, lion dance has prevailed among Chinese people and spread throughout all over China since the Tang Dynasty. There are mainly two kinds of lion dancing in China: northern lion dancing and southern lion dancing.

Northern lion dancing

The northern lion dancing pays attention to form and the appearance and the northern lion looks like a real lion. The lion's head is relatively simple, with golden hair all over its body. The pants and shoes of lion dancers are covered with fur, and even the pants and shoes of performers are the same color as the legs of real lions, so they can perform more vividly.

Little lion dance is performed by one person, and the big lion dance is performed by two people. Northern lions usually appear in pairs. The lions with red knots on their heads are males and those with green knots are females. Guided by the man who holds the colorful silk ball, lion dancers perform all kinds of lion’s movements. Apart from the usual jumping, falling and tumbling, performers will also show their excellent techniques by climbing upon a high table or by stepping on five wooden stakes, so as to show the lion's boldness and bravery.

Southern lion dancing

Different from the northern lion dancing, southern lion dancing attaches more importance to spiritual resemblance. With its center in southern China’s Guangdong province, southern lion dancing is popular in Hong Kong, Macao and Southeast Asia. Southern lion, also called awake lion, is developed and evolved from northern lion.

The head of southern lion has three colors, namely black, red and yellow. It is called "Liu Bei lion", "Guan Gong lion" and "Zhang Fei lion", which respectively represent the character of Liu, Guan and Zhang, the three sworn brothers who found the Shu kingdom（AD 221-263）. Guan Gong lion performs bravely, Zhang Fei lion's action is rough and belligerent, and Liu Bei lion is calm and powerful. Southern lion dancing pays attention to facial expression, and their facial expressions are always vivid and expressive. There are many movements in the southern lion dancing, dancers use different “Ma Bu” or horse stances, coupled with the movements of lion head, to show a variety of shapes.

Dancers usually perform the traditional custom of “Cai Qing”, literally meaning "plucking the greens", which is the most common step in the performance of the southern lion dancing. It is said that "Cai Qing" originally meant opposing the Qing Dynasty, but now it is interpreted as "vigorous", which means that the business is booming. People use lettuces as greens and hang them with red envelopes. The lion dancers perform in front of the greens with hesitation, then finally jump up and eat the lettuces in one gulp.

In recent years, in order to maintain the characteristics of the traditional Chinese lion dance, the southern lion dancing and the northern lion dancing complement each other and improve together.

Terms and Expressions

Western Regions 西域

mount 坐骑

Manjusri Bodhisattva 文殊菩萨

gong 锣

northern lion dancing 南狮

southern lion dancing 北狮

colorful silk ball 绣球

wooden stakes 木桩

spiritual resemblance神似

Liu Bei lion 刘备狮

Guan Gong lion 关公狮

Zhang Fei lion 张飞狮

sworn brothers 结义兄弟

horse stances 马步

Cai Qing 采青

lettuces 生菜

Questions

1. How long is the history of lion dance in China?

It is with a history of about 2000 years.

2. Why did people gradually accept lion as a sacred animal?

Because lion is the mount of Manjusri Bodhisattva, a symbol of wisdom, people gradually have a good impression on lion, which is considered as a sacred animal to protect Buddha.

3. Why did people use lion dance to celebrate the New Year?

In order to drive the monster away, the local farmers thought of making a lion model to intimidate the monster. The monster ran away immediately after seeing the "lion", so people believed that the lion was a god beast and a symbol of auspiciousness. From then on, people will use lion dance to celebrate the New Year.

4. What is the main difference between southern lion dancing and northern lion dancing?

The northern lion dancing pays attention to form and the appearance and the northern lion looks like a real lion, but southern lion dancing attaches more importance to spiritual resemblance.

5. What is the center of southern lion dancing?

It is in southern China’s Guangdong province.

6. How many colors are there in the heads of southern lions? And what are they?

The head of southern lion has three colors, namely black, red and yellow.

7. What is “Cai Qing”? And what do you know about “Cai Qing”?

It means "plucking the greens", which is the most common step in the performance of the southern lion dancing. It is said that "Cai Qing" originally meant opposing the Qing Dynasty, but now it is interpreted as "vigorous", which means that the business is booming.

References

Zhang Guobin. 张国斌. (2019). 中国传统舞龙舞狮运动历史文化探索及传播研究 [J]. 散文百家(新语文活页), 2019(10): 157-158.

Liu Xing. 刘兴. (2019). 从文化结构看舞龙舞狮运动的现代化发展 [J]. 体育师友, 2019, 42(04): 37-39.

于兆杰. 中国舞狮的起源及其发展演变 [J]. 搏击. 武术科学, 2008(06): 75-76.

张延庆. 中国舞狮的起源与文化演变 [J]. 体育文化导刊, 2003(11): 77-78.

Literature, Tang-Song - Gan Fengyu 甘奉玉

A. The Eight Tang-Song Prose Masters

Brief Introduction of The Eight Tang-Song Prose Masters

The Eight Tang-Song Prose Masters are Han Yu, Liu Zongyuan in Tang Dynasty and Ouyang Xiu, Su Xun, Su Shi, Su Zhe, Wang Anshi, Zeng Gong in Song Dynasty. This title was first appeared in the Banknotes of Eight Masters of Tang and Song Dynasties. Among them, Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan are the leaders of the ancient prose movement in the Tang Dynasty, while Ouyang Xiu and Three Su(Su Xun, Su shi, Su Zhe) are the core figures of the ancient prose movement in the Song Dynasty, and Wang Anshi and Zeng Gong are the representative figures of Linchuan Literature. Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan are the advacators of the "Ancient Prose Movement". Su Shi, Su Xun and Su Zhe are called Three Su. What else, Su Xun is the their father and Su Shi is the older brother. While Su Shi's teacher is Ouyang Xiu, who is also the teacher of Wang Anshi and Zeng Gong. In a word, they both advocated prose and opposd parallel prose, which has exerted profound influence on the literary world at that time and later generations. Their sucessive waves of innovation of ancient ancient prose has changed the obsolete appearence of poetry and prose.

1. Han Yu

Han Yu was a litterateur, philosopher, and thinker of Tang Dynasty. He was native in Heyang, now Jiaozuo city in Henan province. Han Yu was honored as “ The Decline of Eight Generations” by Su Shi in Song Dynasty, as well as the head of Eight Masters of Prose in Tang and Song Dynasty. Han Yu was called “Han Liu” with Liu Zongyuan, and his proses were juxtaposed with Du Fu’s poems as “ Du poem Han pen” by Du Mu. He enjoyed the fame as “ The Article Giant” and “ Admired Literate of One Hundred Generations” with great works like forty volumes of Han Changli Collection, ten volumes of External collection and The Teacher's Theory. Although disagreement in Liu Zongyuan’s political view, he still worked with Liu Zongyuan in advocating the Ancient Prose Movement. As the pioneers, they were both against excessive pursuit of form of parallel prose but for the prose of Pre-Qin and Han Dynasties and both emphasized the importance of article’s contents so as to expand the expressive function of writing in classical Chinese.

2. Liu Zongyuan

Zongyuan was a litterateur, philosopher, proser and thinker of the Tang Dynasty. His ancestral home was Hedong , now in Yongji area of Yuncheng in Shanxi province. He was known as "Liu Hedong ", " Mr. Hedong ", also known as" Liu Liuzhou " because of his official end of feudal provincial of Liuzhou. He was born in Changan and became a Jinshi in the 9th year of Zhenyuan, later official supervisor of imperial censor . was juxtaposed with Han Yu as "Han Liu ", with Liu Yuxi as " Liu Liu ", with Wang Wei, Meng Haoran and Wei Yingwu as "Wang Meng Wei Liu ". In his lifetime of less than 50 years, he left us more than 600 poems with more achievements in writing than poetry. The "Liu He Dong Colloection" was one of his representatives. He was a deep-thinking philosopher and litterateur, who attached importance to the content of the article and advocated that writings should be practical. Therefore, he paid attention to the social function of literature and emphasized that literature should benefit the world. Moreover, he advocated the perfect combination of ideological content and artistic form with a serious attitude in writing. That means, it is important for the writer to have highly moral cultivation.

3. Ouyang Xiu

Ouyang Xiu was a statesman, litterateur, historian and poet in the Northern Song Dynasty. He was called the “Liu Yi scholar”, which means that he had ten thousands volumes of collections, a thousand volumes of collections of inscriptions of Xia, Shang, Zhou Dynasties, a piano, a chess, a pot of wine and a drunk Weng alone. He was native in Jizhou Yongfeng, now Yongfeng county of Ji’an city in Jiangxi province but born in Mianzhou, now Minayang city in Sichuan province. Ouyang Xiu’s poems, Ci and prose were all the crown of that time. His poetry was smooth, lyrical and euphemistic with a similar prose style stressing on momentum while keeping natural smoothness. His Ci was profound and graceful, inheriting the Yu Feng of the Southern Tang Dynasty. The Anthology of Ouyang Wenzhong Gong was his representatives. Ouyang Xiu inherited and carried forward the fine tradition of Han and Liu’s ancient prose, and led the Northern Song Dynasty poetry innovation movement. As the leader of this movement, Ouyang Xiu not only drove away the odd style of writing in the literary world, but also opened up a new style in poetry and also a new field of creation with his own unique style and high talent. It has made new achievements and pushed the creation of poetry and prose to a new height.

4. Su Xun

Su Xun was a native of Meishan in Sichuan. When he was young, he performed poor in learning. In 19 years old, he married Mrs. Cheng. Later in 27 years old, he determined to study hard. After decade of hard work, he made a huge academic progress. Su Xun was a man of political ambition. He said that the main purpose of his works was "to speak for the world ", to" apply to the present ". He put forward a whole set of ideas of political innovation in some important argumentative papers such as Heng Lun and The Book to the Emperor. Because he had a better understanding of that social reality and was good at summing up experience and lessons from past history. Therefore, putting aside certain pedantic and biased views in his political discourse, many of them were still right on the spot.

5. Su Shi

Su Shi, with a fame as " Dongpo Jushi ", was native in Meishan in Sichuan . He was a famous litterateur, calligrapher, essayist, Ci writer, poet and the representative of the Unconstrained Ci School in Northern Song Dynasty . Su Shi has made great achievements in poetry, Ci, prose, calligraphy, painting and so on. He was regarded as one of the most outstanding man in literary and artistic attainments in thousands of years of Chinese history. His was called "Han Chao Su hai" with Han Yu in the prose area, "Ou Su" with Ouyang Xiu, "Su Huang" with Huang Tingjian, and "Su Xin" with Xin Qiji in the Ci area, so he was called "the first all-round talent in ancient China". Su Shi's literary viewpoint was in line with Ouyang Xiu's, but he emphasized the originality, expressiveness and artistic value of literature more. His literary thought emphasized "creating for certain purposes", advocating nature and getting rid of bondage. Su Shi was a leading figure in the literary circle of the Northern Song Dynasty after Ouyang Xiu. Moreover, Huang Tingjian, Qin Guan, Chao Buzhi and Zhang Lei, the four litterateurs of the Northern Song Dynasty, had been trained, rewarded and recommended by him, so they were called “Su Men Four bachelors”.

6. Su Zhe

Su Zhe was born in Meishan, Meizhou , now Sichuan province. In the Jiayou second year (in 1057), he with his brother Su Shi climbed jinshi branch. Su Zhe's prose showed the deep and mellow spirit. He had his own views on ancient writing. In the Book to Han Tai Wei in Privy Council, he put forward the theory of "literary style" . He was good at politics and history. He discussed world affairs in some political works such as The New Theory and On the Six Kingdoms. From these works, we can draw lessons from the past and criticize the current problems. He was also very insightful in reform. In addition, he was also quite outstanding in Ode , such as The "Ode to Ink bamboo".

7. Wang Anshi

Wang Anshi, also known as Banshan in his twilight years, was conferred the title of Duke Jingguo . He was born in Linchuan in the Northern Song Dynasty, now Fuzhou City, Jiangxi Province . Wang Anshi was not only an outstanding politician and thinker, but also a brilliant litterateur. In order to realize his political ideal, he closely linked literary creation with political activities, emphasizing that literature aimed to serve the society first, that means, he emphasized the realistic function and social effect of articles, and advocated the unity of literature and Taoism. His prose largely carried out his literary propositions because his essays were mostly about the enlightenment of political decrees and suitable for world use.

8. Zeng Gong

Zeng Gong was known as "Mr. Nan Feng". He was born in Nanfeng, Jianchang, now Nanfeng County, Fuzhou city, Jiangxi Province. In Jiayou second year (in 1057), he became a Jinshi. As a politician and essayist of the Northern Song Dynasty and one of the "eight masters" of the Tang and Song Dynasties, he was also one of the "Seven Zengs of Nanfeng" , including Zeng Gong, Zeng Zhao, Zeng Bu, Zeng Yu, Zeng Hong, Zeng Xie and Zeng Dun. Zeng Gong was a supporter and participant of Ouyang Xiu's ancient prose movement. He advocated the doctrine before the text. His prose was natural and simple and little attention to literary grace. Of the eight masters, he was the less affectionate one. His articles were rarely lyrical works, but mostly argumentation and narrative. His prose was good at making arguments, for example, the Book to Ouyang She Ren, the Book to Bachelor CAI. In these works, he argued on the treatment of disorder and expressed his deep feelings.

9. Comparison between the Ancient Prose Movement and Renaissance Although there was seven or eight hundred years from the Ancient Prose Movement to the Italian Renaissance,they both happened in the Middle Ancient period of Western history. Similarly, they both inherited the essence of classical culture and further completed the historical mission of literary retro. So we can regard them as historical peak in their respective cultures.

Comparison in ideology:

The Ancient Prose Movement in Tang and Song dynasties advocated the restoration of Confucianism of the pre-Qin period and the realization of the realistic goal of carrying the Tao in literature. It was against the parallel prose and the floating style since the Six Dynasties but for the gentle and honest poetic concept. While the Renaissance, with classical culture as a tool, strongly criticized medieval theology and carried forward the humanism and scientific rational spirit of ancient Greece and Rome. Their premise and foundation are their own classical thoughts.

Comparison in writing style:

The two retro movements were marked by the retro style to restore the creation mode of ancient prose, thus promoting the process of literary movement. The Ancient Prose Movement of the Tang Dynasty studied the simple language style of the pre-Qin period, while the Renaissance restored the elegant and beautiful characteristics of the ancient Greek period.

Comparison in literary form:

The Ancient Prose Movement not only corrected the floating and rigid writing style of the six dynasties, but also laid a good creative foundation for the development of prose in later generations. It was in the form of scattered single sentences with less flowery and redundant allusions but more in colloquial language. While although the literary works of the Renaissance inherited the elegant style of classicism, it still changed obviously in the aspect of stylistic creation. Influenced by literary theory and works, Italian literature showed innovation in form. As Mr. Zhu Guangqian said :" Italian literature is a new type of literature different from classical literature.

B. Terms and Expressions

The Eight Tang-Song Prose Masters 唐宋八大家

Banknotes of Eight Masters of Tang and Song Dynasties 《唐宋八大家文钞》

Ancient Prose Movement 古文运动

parallel prose 骈文

The Decline of Eight Generations 文起八代之衰

The Article Giant 文章巨公

Admired Literate of One Hundred Generations 百代文宗

Han Changli Collection 《韩昌黎集》

External collection 《外集》

The Teacher's Theory《师说》

Pre-Qin and Han Dynasties 先秦两汉时期

writing in classical Chinese 文言文

feudal provincial of Liuzhou 柳州刺史

official supervisor of imperial censor 监察御史

Liu He Dong Colloection 《柳河东集》

Northern Song Dynasty 北宋

a thousand volumes of collections of inscriptions 金石遗文一千卷

Xia, Shang, Zhou Dynasties 三代

the crown of that time 一时之冠

Southern Tang Dynasty 南唐

Yu Feng 余风

The Anthology of Ouyang Wenzhong Gong 《欧阳文忠公文集》

the Northern Song Dynasty poetry innovation movement北宋诗文革新运动

Heng Lun 《衡论》

Duke Jingguo 荆国公

The Book to the Emperor 《上皇帝书》

Dongpo Jushi 东坡居士

Ci writer 词人

Unconstrained Ci School豪放派

literary and artistic attainments 文学艺术造诣

the first all-round talent in ancient China 中国古代第一全才

Su Men Four bachelors 苏门四学士

the Book to Han Tai Wei in Privy Council 《上枢密韩太尉书》

The New Theory《新论》

On the Six Kingdoms 《六国论》

Ode 赋

The Ode to Ink bamboo 《墨竹赋》

Seven Zengs of Nanfeng 南丰七曾

the doctrine before the text先道后文

the Book to Ouyang She Ren 《上欧阳舍人书》

the Book to Bachelor Cai 《上蔡学士书》

the Six Dynasties 六朝

C. Questions

1.Who are the pioneers of the Ancient Prose Movement?

Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan.

2.Which kind of prose they advocate in the Ancient Prose Movement?

The prose of Pre-Qin and Han Dynasties.

3.Do you know any representatives of Liu Zongyuan?

The "Liu He Dong Colloection".

4.Why Ouyang Xiu is called "Liu Yi Scholar"?

Because he had ten thousands volumes of collections, a thousand volumes of collections of inscriptions of Xia, Shang, Zhou Dynasties, a piano, a chess, a pot of wine and a drunk Weng alone.

5.What’s the relationship among Su Xun, Su Shi and Su Zhe?

Su Xun is the father of Su Shi and Su Zhe. Also, Su Shi is the older brother.

6.Who are the "Seven Zengs of Nanfeng"?

Zeng Gong, Zeng Zhao, Zeng Bu, Zeng Yu, Zeng Hong, Zeng Xie and Zeng Dun.

7.Do you know any about the Renaissance?

The Renaissance, with classical culture as a tool, strongly criticized medieval theology and carried forward the humanism and scientific rational spirit of ancient Greece and Rome.

References

房本文. (2013). 士族兴衰与骈散消长—唐代古文运动发微[D].南京大学,2013.

侯本塔. (2014). 论唐、宋古文运动中的韩愈与欧阳修[J].三峡大学学报(人文社会科学版),2014,36(S1):135-137.

何蕾. (2017). 中唐古文运动:社会转型背景下的文体之变[J].青海社会科学,2017(03):156-162.

罗书华. (2013). 论唐宋古文运动非以骈文为对立面[J].上海师范大学学报(哲学社会科学版),2013,42(05):61-66.

芦思宏. (2016). 略论中西文学的复古倾向——以唐代古文运动与意大利文艺复兴为例[J].中外文化与文论,2016(01):71-81.

宋芸.试从唐宋古文运动看“文”与“道”的关系[J].黑龙江教育学院学报,2013,32(04):114-115.

王亚平.论西欧中世纪的三次文艺复兴[J].东北师大学报,2001(06):1-8.

许和亚.唐宋古文运动革新文风的艺术契机[J].兰州文理学院学报(社会科学版),2014,30(04):62-65.

张剑. 唐宋古文运动的文学维度[N]. 人民政协报,2019-10-28(010).

张剑. 唐宋古文运动的思想维度[N]. 人民政协报,2019-08-26(010).

赵鲲.中国文学中的两大文学变革运动——古文运动与“五四”新文学运动之比较[J].解放军艺术学院学报,2016(01):113-119.

周振甫.唐宋八大家论[J].中华活页文选(教师版),2016(12):25-31.

Music, Instruments, Pipa - Gao Mingzhu 高明珠

Pipa--Gao Mingzhu (talk) 08:22, 2 November 2020 (UTC)Gao Mingzhu

1、A Brief Introduction

Pipa belongs to plucked stringed instruments. Being made of wood or bamboo, its speaker box takes the shape of half pear with 4 strings on it ,which was made of silk initially while being made of steel wire, steel rope or nylon now. The "Pin(品，those wooden strips on Pipa’s face plate for pressing)" and "Xiang（相, those horizontal strips on Pipa’s neck for pressing）" are set on the face plate and neck respectively to determine the positions of different sounds. When playing, the player holds it erectly using the left hand to press the string and the right hand to play. It is an important ethnic musical instrument which can be used in recital, accompaniment and ensemble. Pipa has a wide range of vocal range. Its playing skills rank the first in Chinese national instruments and its performance forms are also the most abundant in Chinese folk music, it is thus called the No.1 in plucked instruments.

2、Emergence and Development

3、Different Schools

4、Traditional Pipa Music

Huli-jing - Grosheva, Anna

Huli-jing figure in Chinese mythology and its analogs in Japan and Korea

The topic of werewolves in the XXI century is perhaps one of the most discussed and studied. Along with vampires and zombies, the image of werewolves is firmly entrenched in world cinema and literature. However, as a rule, speaking about the motives for the transformation of a person into an animal, most people have information mainly about lycanthropy, that is, about the specific transformation of a person into a wolf (werewolf). At the same time, the theme of werewolves is represented by a fairly large number of transformations of a person not only into a wolf but also into other animals. In Chinese mythology, one of the most popular werewolf myths is the myth of the Huli Jing, or werewolf foxes. In the Middle Ages, these myths were very popular and in-demand among writers. But what is the attitude of Huli-Jing in modern China? Are they given a place in modern culture, or do werewolf foxes now sound more like a kind of atavism or a children's fairy tale?

1. Huli-jing (狐狸精) in China

First, we need to recreate the image of the Huli-Jing and what was seen in ancient and medieval China. Most often, the Huli-Jing was presented in the form of not just a young, but extremely beautiful women. Interestingly, the image of werewolf foxes has been known in China since the times of the Xia dynasty and its founder Yu, who married a nine-tailed white fox who lived on Mount Tu.

People, especially women, believed that thanks to the cult of the fox, they would be able to gain unearthly beauty and immortality. The official authorities of the ancient and medieval dynasties tried to fight the representatives of the Huli Jing cult, but it was only during the Song dynasty that the cult of the fox, including the cult of Da Ji, was almost completely destroyed. However, the cult and image of Huli Jing were not completely eradicated in China. Probably, a more competent decision was made to give the werewolf woman more kind and compassionate traits, which in one way or another should justify her image compared to the cruel ancestor.

Perhaps the most striking examples of where the changed image of the Huli Jing is found can be called the stories of Pu Songlin about werewolf foxes. It is his stories, where girls are subject to the curse of turning into foxes, that reflect their position as hostages of their own life situations or even fears.

The theme of fatal love in the stories of werewolf foxes appears as a continuous line in Pu Songling, this suggests that despite the fact that Huli Jing strives for happiness, she remains a spirit that is not a person. In addition, despite the altered level of female foxes, they will still bear the curse of their evil ancestors, who personified evil in its purest form, and therefore there can be no happy ending for those who bear such heavy punishment.

Of course, the image of the Huli Jing as a mythological character by the 21st century was constantly supplemented with small details. We can say that most of the works of literature and cinema, in which the werewolf fox was encountered, for the most part, were very strongly romanticized. Remaining in its own way a relatively neutral character, Huli Jing nevertheless gradually becomes one of the most popular characters of many writers and screenwriters, not only in China but also in many other countries. A striking and original example of where the Huli Jing appears is the work of the writer Ken Liu entitled "Good Hunt". The author presents not only a very interesting view of the Huli Jing but also explains why the legendary characters of Chinese mythology are gradually disappearing from the memory of the Chinese people.

In addition to literary works, Huli Jing is quite often encountered in Chinese cinema, as an episodic character or a protagonist. One of the most striking images of a werewolf fox can be considered the film "Painted Skin (畫皮)", where the main character is Huli Jing and must eat men's hearts to maintain her youth and beauty. This film is based on the story of Pu Songling and is one of the key works of cinema and modern Chinese culture, which fully reveals the tragedy of the werewolf fox.

In addition, Huli Jing is featured in a fairly large number of Chinese television series, each of which gives its own view of what character Huli Jing should be.

Quite a lot of information about werewolf foxes can be obtained from the TV series "The Legend of the Nine-Tailed Fox" released in 2016. The main interest here is not only a rather vivid description of the Huli Jing, which according to the plot are one family and are forced to seek and return to their place the sacred fruit from the magic garden. This, perhaps, is an attempt to provide an explanation of the true nature of werewolf foxes, who for a long time rushed from good to evil.

Summing up, I would like to note that the transformation of the image of Huli Jing took place at a gradual pace. Since the reign of the first Chinese dynasties, the image of werewolf foxes has been predominantly negative and associated with deceit, seduction, and intrigue. But the situation changed in connection with the development of the cults of foxes, which they tried to give the appearance of “victims of circumstances,” and all the negative features are just a slight exaggeration. Thanks to Pu Songling, the Huli Jing truly became much more positive beings, and the stories about them were presented in terms of stories of unfortunate and unhappy love.

The appearance of the Huli Jing, which rushes from good to evil for many years, has been romanticized and transformed, becoming a more positive character, although not devoid of some negative features.

2. Kitsune (キツネ) in Japan

In Japanese folklore, these animals have great knowledge, long life, and magical abilities. Chief among them is the ability to take shapeshift themselves; the fox, according to legend, learns to do this after reaching a certain age (usually a hundred years old, although in some legends it is fifty). Kitsune usually take the form of seductive beauty, a pretty young girl, but sometimes they turn into men. It should be noted that in Japanese mythology there was a mixture of indigenous Japanese beliefs that characterized the fox as an attribute of the god Inari ("Fox-messenger") and the Chinese, who considered foxes to be werewolves, a genus close to demons.

Other abilities commonly ascribed to kitsune include the ability to take possession of other people's bodies, to breathe out or otherwise create fire, to appear in other people's dreams, and the ability to create illusions so complex that they are almost indistinguishable from reality. Some of the legends go further, talking about kitsune with the ability to warp space and time, drive people crazy, or take on such inhuman or fantastic forms as trees of indescribable height or the second moon in the sky.

Kitsune are associated with both Shinto and Buddhist beliefs. In Shinto, kitsune are associated with Inari, the patron deity of rice fields and entrepreneurship. Initially, foxes were the messengers (tsukai) of this deity, but now the difference between them has become so blurred that Inari himself is sometimes depicted as a fox. In Buddhism, they gained fame thanks to the Shingon school of secret Buddhism, popular in the 9th-10th centuries in Japan, one of the main deities of which, Dakini, was depicted riding a fox across the sky.

A kitsune can have up to nine tails. In general, it is believed that the older and stronger the foxes are, the more tails they have. Some sources even claim that a kitsune grows an extra tail every hundred or thousand years of its life. However, foxes found in fairy tales almost always have one, five, or nine tails. When kitsune are given nine tails, their fur turns silvery, white, or gold.

3. Kumiho (구미호) in Korea

Kumiho - (구 "ku" - nine, 미 "mi" - tail, 호 "ho" - fox - "fox with nine tails") is a folklore animal, the fox of which is first mentioned in the era of Gojoseon. According to legends, only a fox that lives for a thousand years can become 구미호. One of her superpowers is transforming into a beautiful girl. Although in myths there are also references to the becoming of a charming young man. In this form, the mythical animal fell in love with the opposite sex, and then ate their liver (according to some beliefs, and the heart). Why exactly the liver? We can say that the liver contains human energy, that is, we eat and receive the energy that our liver stores.

In a later period, kumiho, according to numerous legends, could get rid of the status of a monster and become a man forever. There are several ways: 구미호 will not eat human flesh and kill for a thousand days. The second option is to eat the liver of a thousand men over a thousand years. The third - will live in a cave without sunlight, eating only wormwood and garlic. And also, if the person who recognized her as 구미호 in human form, keeps this secret for ten years.

Terms and Expressions

Shape shifter – 成精

Creature –生物

Seductive –诱人的

Damnation –诅咒

Metaphor –隐喻

Ascribe –属性

Indigenous –土着

Deity – 反面人物

Liver – 肝脏

References

Pu Song-ling. (2008). Fox charm. Monks-wizards. // Eastern literature. –2008. - P.280.

Liu, Ken. (2012). Good Hunting.// Strange Horizons. - 2012. - p. 431.

Kang Xiaofei. (2006). The cult of the fox: Power, gender and popular religion in late imperial and modern China//Columbia University Press. – New York, 2006. – Pp.269.

Chinese Characters - Gu Dongfang 顾东方

Chinese Characters

Chinese Knots - Guan Qinqing 管钦清

A.Chinese Knots

1.A Brief Introduction about Chinese Knots

The Chinese knot is a hand-woven handicraft unique to China. The exquisiteness and wisdom displayed on it are just one aspect of the ancient Chinese civilization.It

originally evolved from the sewing of the Paleolithic period, to the ritual memorial of the Han Dynasty, and then into today's decorative craft.

The jade worn by people in the Zhou Dynasty was often decorated with Chinese knots, and there were also Chinese knot patterns on the bronzes of the Warring States Period.

The Chinese knot continued to become a popular art in the Qing Dynasty. Now,Chinese knots are often used as interior decorations, gifts between relatives and friends and

personal accessories. It is possessed of delicate and symmetrical appearance and accords with the conventions of Chinese traditional decoration and aesthetics,which

earned the knot its name.

2.The Classification of Chinese Knots

There are ten main kinds of Chinese knots which are named according to the shape, purpose or meaning of the knot.They are Double Coin Knot(双钱结）,Good Luck Knot（吉祥

结）,Chinese Button Knot（纽扣结）,Sauvastika Knot（万字结）,Oxalis Knot（酢浆草结）,Pan Chang Knot（盘长结）,Round Brocade Knot（团锦结）,Caisson Celling Knot（藻井

结）,Cross Knot(十字结） and Ping Knot（平结）.

Here, we mainly introduce three main Chinese knots,which are the Double Coin Knot,the Good Luck Knot and the Pan Chang Knot.

2.1.The Double Coin Knot

Ancient coins are closely related to a country’s history, culture,politics, and economy, and are regarded as treasures both at home and abroad. The Chinese people's views

on coins are not limited on their prices but value, which can be seen in the auspicious characters and patterns cast on many ancient coins. ut it Money in China not only

represents the value of a certain currency, but also something of good luck. Every Chinese New Year's Eve, children can receive the so-called "luck money". Therefore, for

the Chinese people, money also has the meaning of eliminating and avoiding evil. Double Coin Knot is named after two bronze coins connecting together, which symbolizes

"good things come in pairs". This knot is often used in weaving necklaces, belts and other accessories, and the combination of several Double Coin Knots can form beautiful

patterns, such as clouds and Perfect Knots，etc.

2.2.The Good Luck Knot

As for the Good Luck Knot,it is an extension of the cross knot, and is also one of the ancient decorative knots, which means auspiciousness. The knitting method is simple.

And the knot shape is beautiful,varied and widely used. When used alone, if a heavy object is hung, the knot is easy to deform, and it can be fixed with a shaping glue.

2.3.The Pan Chang Knot

Pan Chang Knot is also a kind of Chinese knot. It symbolizes the highest realm of unity of mind and matter and eternal immortality. It represents the auspiciousness of the

avenue and is therefore highly valued by Chinese people. Pan Chang (盘长） is a symbol of the origin of all things, and is one of the most important basic knots. It is

often the main knot of many changing knots. Because the Chinese knot has the characteristics of close symmetry, it is easy to be liked by us in terms of its perception.

3.The Knitting Method of Chinese Knots

The knitting of Chinese knots can be roughly divided into three categories: basic knots, variable knots, and combined knots. Their knitting technology requires a variety of basic knot knitting skills, and all have common knitting principles, which can be summarized into basic technique and combination technique. The basic technique is to knit with single lines, double lines or multiple lines, using the parallel or separation of the thread ends to make colorful knots.The combination technique means to use thread extension to flexibly combine various knots ,so as to make a group of varied knots.

The final stage of learning knitting is the self-designing. When designing a set of beautiful knots, the most important thing is to determine its purpose and function, and then determine its size and shape, while considering the color matching and the appropriate use of accessories. As long as the decorations are used flexibly, andthe designer's artistic beauty and deep thoughts are poured into, the Chinese knot can fully express the beauty of traditional Chinese art.

4.The Cultural Connotations of Chinese Knots

Chinese people love the Chinese knot because it embodies the cultural essence and national characteristics of the Chinese nation. The Chinese knot is a woven fabric of

rope and thread.In Chinese， "rope" (绳）and "god" （神）are homophonic, so the Chinese nation has a worship of "rope". In addition, Chinese people are descendants of

dragons.Because the shape of "rope" is like a winding dragon, people also regard "rope" as a symbol of dragon. Chinese people also have their own unique understanding of

"knot", which means reunion and happiness. Many of the Chinese words composed of "结"（knot) that we usually see have beautiful meanings, such as 团结（unity）, 结交

（making friends), and 永结同心（tie the knot),etc. "结"(knot) is also homonymous with "吉"（ausipiciousness), so people even think that "knot" is a symbol of good luck.

5.Comparisons between Chinese Knots and Cross Necklaces

5.1.Different Cultural Connotations

From the above, we can see that the Chinese knot generally have many meanings, such as good luck, love, unity and so on. The cross necklace,however, is symbolic of

Christianity. The cross, derived from the Latin "crux", means "fork".It was originally a cruel instrument of torture used to execute prisoners. It was popular in ancient

Rome, the Persian Empire and Carthage. Later,cross evolved into a symbol of the Christianity due to Christ's death on the cross to redeem sinners.Therefore,such cross

ornaments in the west as cross necknaces are usually used to represent love and salvation.

5.2.Different Shapes

Similarly, from the above we can also learn that Chinese knots have many shapes, and different shapes represent different meanings. The cross necklace can also have

different shapes and sizes. Christians can hang a small cross on their chest to express their identity, while the large cross is a symbol of the bishop's authority.

6.References

李库.符号学视角下的中国结解读.[J]艺海2016(08) : 125-126.

李立芳，孙建君.民间绳结[M].武汉：湖北美术出版社，2002.

许星.路论中国结[J].丝绸,2004(02) : 46-47.

邬红芳.中国结的意象美学特征[J]装饰，2004(09) : 120-121.

王眯珠，孙荪，曲洪建.怀旧心理与创新意识对中国结的影响分析[J].丝绸，2014(11):43-50.

B. Terms and Expressions

Double Coin Knot 双钱结

Good Luck Knot 吉祥结

Chinese Button Knot 纽扣结

Sauvastika Knot 万字结

Oxalis Knot 酢浆草结

Pan Chang Knot 盘长结

Round Brocade Knot 团锦结

Caisson Celling Knot 藻井结

Cross Knot 十字结

Ping Knot 平结

tie the knot 永结同心

luck money 压岁钱

the bishop's identity 主教职权

C. Questions

1. What is the Chinese knot?

2. Do you know the names of the main Chinese knots? What are they?

3. What do "绳" and "结" mean in Chinese culture?--Guan Qinqing (talk) 13:04, 30 November 2020 (UTC)

Mythology - Guirou, Barthelemy

1. Introduction

The Chinese’s life is full of mythological history about religious, history, science, literature, philosophy, dragons, tortoises, phoenixes, unicorns, birds, and flowering fruit trees. This myth is characterized by the interaction of the pros and cons, yin and yang, good and evil, light and dark, male and female, heaven and earth, force and weak and so forth. Panku is an important figure in Chinese mythology, the first living being and the creator of universe in some versions of Chinese mythology. In world mythology; every peoples have it own myths, different fairy tales, but there is some similarities in common.

1.1 Panku Creates the World

In the beginning, the world didn’t exist; there wasn’t sky, earth, water, animals, birds, plants, human, in other word, the universe was empty. The force of universe was concentrated inside a mysterious egg. This egg, after growing many years, it becoming a big form of ball and finally give birth to Panku.

3. Questions

Why was an egg a good symbol for the beginning of the world?

Gods and Immortals - Gui Yizhi 桂一枝

Chinese gods and immortals

A. Chinese mythology system

Chinese mythology is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature, including many varied myths from regional and cultural traditions. Many myths involve the creation and cosmology of the universe and its deities and inhabitants. Some mythology involves creation myths, the origin of things, people and culture. Some involve the origin of the Chinese state. Some myths present a chronology of prehistoric times, many of these involve a culture hero who taught people how to build houses, or cook, or write, or was the ancestor of an ethnic group or dynastic family. Mythology is intimately related to ritual. Many myths are oral associations with ritual acts, such as dances, ceremonies, and sacrifices.

Chinese mythology is far from monolithic, not being an integrated system. Along with Chinese folklore, Chinese mythology forms an important part of Chinese folk religion. There has been an extensive interaction between Chinese mythology and Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. Chinese mythology is a myth in a broad sense, which combines the Ancient mythology system, the Taoist mythology system, and the Buddhist mythology system. Among them, the ancient mythology is not very systematic, and most of its records are fragmented and scattered; Taoist mythology have its own system; Buddhist mythology originated from India.

The Ancient mythologies are myths about the origin of man or the creation myths. It begins in ancient times (pre-Xia dynasty). There is not a book specializes in recording all of those myths in the history, not even being an integrate system like Western mythology. The Ancient myths are written in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, Book of Songs, the Songs of Chu, Zhuangzi, Huai Nan Zi and other books, and can be divided into four categories: the creation myths (Pangu Sparating the World, Goddess Nüwa Greating Human Beings), myths of heroes (Hou Yi Shooting Down the Suns), myths about Tribal war (the Battle of Zhuolu), and myths about human and nature(Kuafu Chasing the Sun, Great Yu Who Controlled the Waters).

Taoism can be defined as pantheistic, given its philosophical emphasis on the formlessness of the Tao and the primacy of the "Way" rather than anthropomorphic concepts of God. Through time Taoist Theology created its own deities. Similar to deities of Hinduistic beliefs these deities attributed certain qualities. Deities who take part in the Dao are arranged in a hierarchy. The supreme powers are three, the Three Pure Ones, and represent the centre of the cosmos and its two modalities of manifestation (yin and yang). The main classics of Taoism include Zhuangzi and many other scriptures. It creates many gods and immortals in their books and give most of them official post, showing Chinese ancestor's emphasis on practical application. For example, Tudishen（土地公）, the God of the Soil and the Ground, is a tutelary deity of a locality; Sanxing（三星）, Three Stars, is a cluster of three astral gods of well-being, including Fuxing, Prosperity Star, god of happiness, Luxing, Firmness Star, god of firmness and success in life and examinations, and Shòuxing , Longevity Star, who stands for a healthy and long life.

At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, Indian Buddhism was introduced into China and merged with the local culture, creating many new myths. Buddhism thinks that everything is equal, and there is no hierarchy, but in fact, there are quit differences according to the level of their Buddhist understanding and practice. The one with highest practice is the Buddha. The founder of Buddhism, Shakyamuni, is the most familiar Buddha to Chinese people. Amitabha, also known as Amida or Amitāyus, is a celestial buddha and the principal buddha in Pure Land Buddhism. Bodhisattva has a lower level of Buddhism practice than Buddha. Guanyin, is the Chinese translation of the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara. She is often referred to as the "most widely beloved Buddhist Divinity"with miraculous powers to assist all those who pray to her.

B. 神 shén, 帝 dì and 仙 xiān

Chinese traditional religion is polytheistic; many deities are worshipped in a pantheistic view where divinity is inherent in the world. In Chinese language there is a terminological distinction between 神 shén, 帝 dì and 仙 xiān. Although the usage of the former two is sometimes blurred, it corresponds to the distinction in Western cultures between "god" and "deity". dì, sometimes translated as "thearch", implies a manifested or incarnate "godly" power. During the time of Zhou dynasty to the Warring States, dì is used to refer to those who have great moral cultivation and merits. And then it becomes a term of emperor since Qin dynasty. The latter term 仙 xiān , refers to a person or similar entity having a long life or being immortal, similarly to the Western idea of "hero".

There is another difference between Chinese gods and immortals. The gods usually have their own position and take charge of different things in Daoist theology. While immortals, unlike gods, have no official positions. It is that certain humans develop the ability to live indefinitely, avoiding death, and becoming divine xiān. Such humans generally also are said to develop special powers and always live leisurely. So since ancient times, many people are longing to become an immortal and live a carefree life.

C. Eight immortals

The Eight Immortals are a group of legendary xian ("immortals") in Chinese mythology. Each immortal's power can be transferred to a vessel that can bestow life or destroy evil. Together, these eight vessels are called the "Covert Eight Immortals". Most of them are said to have been born in the Tang or Shang Dynasty. They are revered by the Taoists and are also a popular element in secular Chinese culture. They are said to live on a group of five islands in the Bohai Sea, which includes Mount Penglai.

The Immortals are Lü Dongbin (呂洞賓), He Xiangu (何仙姑), Zhang Guolao (張果老), Lan Caihe (藍采和), Li Tieguai (李鐵拐), Zhongli Quan (鍾離權), Han Xiangzi (韓湘子), Cao Guojiu (曹國舅), representing man, woman, the old, the young, the poor, the humble, the rich and the noble . Among them, Lü Dongbin is considered to be their leader. Unlike many other Taoist gods and immortals, the Eight immortals all come from human world and have colorful and varied experiences before they become immortals. Their imagines that are entirely different from the normal scared deities make them very popular with people. They are not born as immortals. Among them have general, royal members, Taoist or even beggar, etc. All of them have certain shortcoming, like Lü Dongbin is frivolous and Tieguai Li has the problem of alcoholism.

The Eight Immortals are considered to be signs of prosperity and longevity, so they are popular themes in ancient and medieval art. They were frequent adornments on celadon vases and also the subject of many artistic creations, such as paintings and sculptures. There is a famous saying comes from the myth of them-- "The Eight Immortals cross the sea, each reveals its divine powers" (八仙過海，各顯神通) indicating the situation that everybody shows off their skills and expertise to achieve a common goal.

Terms and Expressions

immortals 仙

mythology 神话，神话学

cosmology 宇宙论，宇宙观

monolithic 整体（式）的

the Battle of Zhuolu 涿鹿之战

pantheistic 泛神论的

polytheistic 多神论的

anthropomorphic 人格化的

tutelary 守护神

deity 神

Buddha 佛

Shakyamuni 释迦牟尼

Amitabha 阿弥陀佛

Amitāyus 无量寿佛

celestial 天的

Bodhisattva 菩萨

Pure Land 极乐世界

vessels 法器

Covert Eight Immortals 暗八仙

Taoist 道家的，道士

Questions

1. What are the categories of Chinese mythology? What are they?

2. What are the topics of the Ancient mythology?

3. What are the differences amang shén, dì and xiān?

4. What do the Eight immortals represent respectively?

Literature, Tang and Song - Guo Lu 郭露

Classical Prose Movement of late Tang dynasty and Song dynasty

Definition

The Classical Prose Movement of late Tang dynasty and Song dynasty in China, also known as the "Classical Prose Movement", is a movement with the style reform as its surface and Confucianism Renaissance as its core. The word “Gu Wen” was first introduced by Han Yu, it indicates the prose of the pre-Qin period and of Han dynasty. This movement took clarity and precision as priorities, it stood against the florid pianwen or parallel prose style that had been popular starting from Han dynasty. Parallel prose had a rigid structure and was criticized for being overly ornate at the expense of content. Therefore, Han Yu, together with Liu Zongyuan, launched this movement to make a difference so that they could revive the Confucianism and promote their political thoughts. This movement tended to follow the spirit of pre-Qin prose rather than to imitate it directly. People used elements of colloquial language to make their writings more direct.

Development

The Classical Prose Movement went through three stages. The first promoters of this movement were Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan who were not only great writers but also great theorists, forming the foundation of it. Both were enthusiastic to promote the movement and were keen to teach young people so that it could achieve further development and then revive the Confucianism.

However, after the deaths of Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan, the movement fell into a decline, their students writing with such ancient characters as to hinder understanding or neglecting the importance of writing good essays. Furthermore, the government only allowed people to use pianwen for official use, so those who want to be officials had to learn that style.

After that, Ouyang Xiu once again advocated the classical prose in the Song dynasty. As many people were dissatisfied with the florid piantiwen style, the Classical Prose Movement reached another peak during that period. This movement is consequently also called the Classical Prose Movement of the late Tang dynasty and the Song dynasty.

Representatives

1.Han Yu

Han Yu (768 – 824), courtesy name Tuizhi, also known his art names Han Changli or Chang Li Xian Sheng. He was born in present-day Mengzhou, Henan, he was a Chinese prose writer, poet, and philosopher who significantly influenced the development of Neo-Confucianism. Due to his influence on the Chinese literary tradition, he is described as “Comparable in stature to Dante, Shakespeare or Goethe”. Meanwhile, he is often considered to be among China’s finest prose writers. Ming dynasty scholar Mao Kun ranked him first in the "Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song"，and Su Shi, another famous poet, once praised that “His prose reversed the literary decline of eight dynasties”.

Han Yu wrote a large volume of works, which includes over 700 poems and nearly 400 prosses. He is especially famous for his On Teachers, which says “A teacher is one who passes on the truth, imparts knowledge and solves puzzles”. This persuasive pross is short but well structured, and it has a strong appeal to people, which also has a positive impact on youth education.

2.Liu Zongyuan

Liu Zongyuan (773 – 819), courtesy name Zihou, also known by his art names He Dong Xian Sheng or Liu He Dong, was a Chinese literature, philosopher, politician and poet who lived during the Tang Dynasty. And Liu was born in present-day Yongji, Shanxi. Along with Han Yu, they were called Han Liu. Besides that, he has been classed as one of the “Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song”, which also includes Han Yu and Ouyang Xiu. Liu's best-known travel pieces are the Eight Records of Excursions in Yongzhou. And one of his most famous poems is Jiangxue.

3.Ouyang Xiu

Ouyang Xiu (1007 – 1072), courtesy name Yong Shu, also known by his art names Zuiweng and Liu Yi Jushi. He was a Chinese essayist, historian, poet, calligrapher and even a politician of the Song dynasty. Being a much-celebrated writer, both among his contemporaries and in subsequent centuries.

Ouyang Xiu was in charge of the writing of the New Book of Tang, and he also wrote the Historical Records of the Five Dynasties independently, the only book in the Twenty-Four Histories to have been written in private by a single author. As a poet, he was a noted writer of both the shi and ci genres. But it was his prose writings like Zuiweng Tingji that won him the greatest acclaim. The poem's most well-known line is: The Old Toper cares not for the wine, his interest lies in the landscape, an idiom still used in modern Chinese to describe someone with an ulterior motive. Together with Han Yu, Liu Zongyuan and Su Shi, Ouyang Xiu was considered to be one of the Article four all through the ages.

Except for Han Yu, Liu Zongyuan and Ouyang Xiu, there were many other representatives of this movement. For example, Su Xun, Su Shi, Su Zhe, Zeng Gong and Wang Anshi also made great contributions to the Classical Pross Movement. Considering their influences, they were also listed as Eight masters in Tang and Song Dynasties.

Masterworks

Under the influence of the Classical Prose Movement of the late Tang dynasty and the Song dynasty, there appeared a large volume of masterpieces, which have a far-reaching influence on later ages. Except for the works of Han Yu, Liu Zong Yuan and Ouyang Xiu, other works like Shang Zhongyong written by Wang Anshi, On Jia Yi and First Ode to the Red Cliff by Su Shi, were also considered the representative works of this movement.

Influence

The Classical Prose Movement of the late Tang dynasty and the Song dynasty is a milestone during the development of Chinese ancient prose, it has a profound influence on the later schools of literature like Tang-Song School in the Ming dynasty and Tong Cheng school in the Qing dynasty. Besides that, it also helped to lay a solid foundation of pross in China, and acted as a fine example for later scholars.

Terms and Expressions

The Classical Prose Movement of the late Tang dynasty and the Song dynasty 唐宋八大家

Classical Pross Movement 古文运动

Eight Records of Excursions in Yongzhou 《永州八记》

On Teachers 《师说》

A teacher is one who passes on the truth, imparts knowledge and solves puzzles. 师者，所以传道授业解惑也。

New Book of Tang 《新唐书》

Historical Records of the Five Dynasties 《新五代史》

Zuiweng Tingji 《醉翁亭记》

The Old Toper cares not for the wine, his interest lies in the landscape. 醉翁之意不在酒，在乎山水之间也。

Shang Zhongyong 《伤仲永》

On Jia Yi 《贾谊论》

First Ode to the Red Cliff 《赤壁赋》

Questions

1.Who were the first promoters of Classical Prose Movement?

The first promoters of this movement were Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan.

2.What does the Classical Prose Movement mean?

The Classical Prose Movement refers to the cultural reform movement which promotes Gu Wen and opposes pianwen in late Tang dynasty and Song dynasty.

3.What's political and religious purposes of the Classical Prose Movement?

The reason what Confucious scholars promoted this movement is that they wanted to combat the influence of Taoism and Buddhism on the emperors. Besides that, this movement is also an effective tool to expose the reality of corruption and weakness in the central government.

The tradition of Red envelope and Lucky money - Ha, Thi Thu Hang

The Chinese Red Envelope and Lucky money tradition

In Chinese and other East and Southeast Asian societies, a red envelope or a red packet (Mandarin: hóngbāo) is a monetary gift which is given during holidays or special occasions such as weddings, graduation or the birth of a baby.

A. The Origin

In China, during the Qin Dynasty, the elderly would thread coins with a red string. There was a kind of little demon called sui (Chinese: 祟) in ancient times. Whenever it is on New Year's Eve, it will appear quietly, touching the head of a sleeping child. The child who was being touched will be scared and cry, and also will have a headache. Therefore, in order to prevent against the sui, people in the past did not dare to sleep on New Year's Eve, and all the lights were called Shou Sui (守祟).

One tale of the folklore, years ago, there was a couple who were over 50 years old had just given birth to a little boy. In that Lunar New Year, 8 fairies visited their house and knew that there would be a monster coming to hurt him. To protect the baby, the 8 faires transformed into 8 coins which were then wrapped in red cloth and laid beside the boy when he was sleeping. Thanks to these coins, which were the fairies, the boy was unharmed by the monster. The old couple was so thankful and gradually everyone ih the village knew about the stories. Since then, when Lunar New Year comes, people will give children "red paper wrapped copper money" with a belief that the money will protect children from being harmed.

B.

The Chinese custom of lucky money is called "Hongbao". Chinese people really like red, so the lucky money is always red, symbolizing luck and happiness. The amount of money in the Chinese lucky money must avoid the number 4 and be sealed. The children, after receiving the lucky money, do not open it immediately, but have to put it all under the pillow after about a week to open it. The meaning of this is for the lucky money to protect the kids from the bad things that can happen in the new year. This is also the source of the traditional Chinese lucky money.

C. Outside of China

The similar customs have been adopted throughout Southeast Asia and many other countries with sizable populations of Chinese descent.

Each country has different ways of lucky money and changes over time, but the basic custom of lucky money is to want to send wishes of peace to all relatives and friends in the new year. In Vietnam, the Lunar New Year is one of the great holidays of the year. The traditional New Year's customs are still preserved, in which the lucky money is typical. On the first day of the year, both adults and babies wear new clothes to celebrate the New Year relative. After that, the adults will give lucky money to the children with the message of good luck, good care and good study. Today, the tradition of lucky money in Vietnam is also expanded in the direction that children give lucky money to celebrate the age of grandparents and parents. This is a human custom that is increasingly promoted by the Vietnamese people.

In Japan, lucky money is called Otoshidama. Unlike other countries, the amount of Japanese lucky money depends on the child's age, the relationship of the family. Otoshidama red envelopes are usually white in color, not as common in red as other countries. The special thing about the Japanese red envelopes is that the envelopes are always sealed, symbolizing the privacy, not packaging. Moreover, the name of the person receiving the lucky money will be written on the red envelope to show respect for the recipient. The message of each Otoshidama red envelopes is a wish for a warm, peaceful and lucky new year.

In Korea, the lucky money is called Sabae. On New Year's Day, children in traditionally dressed families perform the ritual of bowing to their seniors to show gratitude for birth and nurturing. After this ceremony, the children will receive lucky money together with wishes for health and peace in the new year. The lucky money in Korea is more diverse than other countries, not only with money but also gold, pearls, gems...

Terms and Expressions

Luckymoney 利市 /Lì shì/

Red envelope 紅包 /Hóngbāo/

Confucianism 儒教 /Rújiào/

Thought of Confucius 孔子思想 /Kǒngzǐ sīxiǎng/

Questions

1. Do you know the origin of giving Lunar new year lucky money to children？

Answers

1. In China, during the Qin Dynasty, the elderly would thread coins with a red string. There was a kind of little demon called sui (Chinese: 祟) in ancient times. Whenever it is on New Year's Eve, it will appear quietly, touching the head of a sleeping child. The child who was being touched will be scared and cry, and also will have a headache. Therefore, in order to prevent against the sui, people in the past did not dare to sleep on New Year's Eve, and all the lights were called Shou Sui (守祟). One tale of the folklore, years ago, there was a couple who were over 50 years old had just given birth to a little boy. In that Lunar New Year, 8 fairies visited their house and knew that there would be a monster coming to hurt him. To protect the baby, the 8 faires transformed into 8 coins which were then wrapped in red cloth and laid beside the boy when he was sleeping. Thanks to these coins, which were the fairies, the boy was unharmed by the monster. The old couple was so thankful and gradually everyone ih the village knew about the stories. Since then, when Lunar New Year comes, people will give children "red paper wrapped copper money" with a belief that the money will protect children from being harmed.

Calendar, The 24 Solar Terms - He Changqi 何长琦

17.1 The orgin and development of the twenty-four solar terms

“The twenty-four solar term” is a unique phenomenon on traditional lunar calendar, with a profound history in China. Created by ancient Chinese when observing the annual movement of the sun, the twenty-four solar system is seen as a system of time knowledge and the agricultural guideline. It originated in the Yellow River valley, and is the result of people's observation, exploration and summary of astronomy, meteorology, and weather, which is an excellent cultural heritage created by the ancient Chinese people. By the late Western Zhou Dynasty, people had already measured the first four solar terms: winter solstice, summer solstice, spring equinox and autumn equinox. Afterwards, with the improvement of measurement technology and the further strengthening of people's understanding of the laws of nature, during the Warring States period, the complete twenty-four solar terms were basically formed, and during the Qin and Han dynasties, the complete twenty-four solar terms system was perfected and formed into today's complete twenty-four solar terms system.1

17.2 The definition and classification of the twenty-four solar terms

“The twenty-four solar term” is a unique phenomenon on traditional lunar calendar. To facilitate agricultural production, ancient Chinese people summarized a supplementary calendar that divides a year into 24 segments according to the sun’s movement on the ecliptic and seasonal changes in weather and other natural phenomena, with 24 segments proportionally distributed through 12 months. (术语) A solar term that starts in the early part of a month is called jie (节), and one that starts in the meddle part of a month is called qi (气). ( Every three years there would be a month which has only a jie without a qi, or a month which has only a qi without a jie, in which case a leap month would be added to regulate it. ) The solar terms are so named that they represent the changes in season,phenology and climate. The eight solar terms that reflect seasonal changes are Beginning of Spring, Vernal Equinox, Beginning of Summer, Summer Solstice, Beginning of Autumn, Autumnal Equinox,Beginning of Winter, and Winter Solstice; the four solar terms that represent phenological changes are Waking of Insects, Fresh Green, Lesser fullness and Grain in Ear; and the 12 solar terms that indicate the changes in climate are Rain Water,Grain Rain,Lesser Heat, Greater Heat, End of Heat, White Dew, Cold Dew, First Frost, Light Snow, Heavy Snow, Lesser Cold, and Greater Cold.

17.4.1 Importance in ancient times

The 24 solar terms are a creation of traditional farming culture, and their production, development and dissemination have adapted to the economic production methods and social needs in the farming era. The 24 solar terms have played an important role in the life and work of traditional Chinese people. Firstly, the 24 solar terms are the basic time indicators of agricultural production activities in ancient times, which is also the most basic function and value of the 24 solar terms. Agricultural production is an economic activity carried out by humans according to natural rhythms and the laws of crop growth. The basic requirement of the agricultural production is to keep track of the agricultural time, which means that "if the agricultural time is not violated, there will be sufficient grain supply." (Mencius - Liang Huiwang). Secondly, the 24 solar terms were also regarded as important time points in the daily life of the people in ancient times. Thirdly, for the ancient ancestors, the 24 solar terms were not just a time system, but a much more colourful connotation of life, and an important manifestation and part of their colourful lives. For example, the "Four Beginnings"(四立), that is, the Beginning of Spring, Beginning of Summer, Beginning of Autumn, Beginning of Winter , have always been important festivals in history. At the time of these festivals, the emperors would lead their courtiers to the eastern, southern, western and northern gates of the capital to hold ceremonies to welcome the arrival of spring, summer, autumn and winter. The winter solstice, summer solstice and Qingming Festival are still important traditional festivals today, especially Tomb Sweeping Festival, which is also known as China's four traditional festivals, along with Spring Festival, Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival.

17.4.2 Values in modern society

In 2016, the 24 solar terms was included in the World Intangible Cultural Heritage List and became one of the most vivid cultural symbols for strengthening the cultural confidence of the Chinese nation and enhancing the cultural cohesion of the Chinese nation. It still has its practical values in modern society. Firstly, as a time-honoured knowledge system with a long history and a customary tradition rich in colourful activities, the 24 solar terms has profound spiritual and cultural connotations, such as respecting nature, adapting to the time of the day, venerating ancestors, filial piety and respect for the elderly, and being good neighbours and friends. Therefore, it is one of the important components of excellent Chinese traditional culture. Secondly, the 24 solar terms can accurately reflect the rhythm and rules of nature and reflect the harmonious relationship between man and nature. Lastly, the 24 solar terms are not only a time system, but also a living tradition full of rich connotations, which is an important part of people's lives.

Terms and Expressions

the Beginning of Spring 立春

Beginning of Autumn 立秋

Rain Water 雨水

End of Heat 处暑

Insects Awakening 惊蛰

White Dew 白露

Spring Equinox 春分

Autumnal Equinox 秋分

Fresh Green 清明

Cold Dew 寒露

Grain Rain 谷雨

First Frost 霜降

Beginning of Summer 立夏

Beginning of Winter 立冬

Lesser Fullness 小满

Light Snow 小雪

Grain in Ear 芒种

Heavy Snow 大雪

Summer Solstice 夏至

Winter Solstice 冬至

Lesser Heat 大暑

Lesser Cold 小寒

Greater Heat 立春

Greater Cold 大寒

References

References:He Changqi (talk) 10:11, 20 November 2020 (UTC)

Literature, Yue Fu - Hu Baihui 胡百辉

Collection of Yue Fu Poetry《乐府诗集》

Introduction

1.Brief introduction

Collection of Yue Fu Poetry is the essence of Han, Wei, Jin and Northern and Southern Dynasties folk songs. The content is very rich, reflecting a wide range of social life. It mainly collects more than 5000 Yuefu songs from Han, Wei to Tang and Five Dynasties, as well as from pre Qin to the end of Tang Dynasty.

"Yuefu", originally the name of the institution in charge of music, was first set up in the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and there were also Yuefu institutions in the northern and Southern Dynasties. Its specific task is to make music score, collect lyrics and train music talents. There are two sources of lyrics: one is specially written by literati, the other is collected from Chinese folk. Later, people called the poems collected by Yuefu organs as Yuefu, or Yuefu Poems and Yuefu songs, so Yuefu changed from official name to poetic name.

2.About the author

Guo Maoqian (1041-1099) was born in Xucheng, Yunzhou, Song Dynasty. He is the grandson of Guo Quan, and the son of Guo Yuanming. Song Shenzong Yuanfeng seven years (1084), Cao joined the army in Henan Province. He wrote a hundred volumes of Collection of Yue Fu Poetry, which was handed down from generation to generation.

3.Content introduction

It divides Yuefu Poems into 12 categories, including suburban Temple songs, Yan shooting songs, drum songs, horizontal blowing songs, Xianghe songs, etc. In these different kinds of music, the songs of Jiaomiao and yanshe belong to the movements used by the imperial court, and their ideological content and artistic skills are less desirable. There are also some works with poor artistic value. But generally speaking, most of the poems it collects are excellent folk songs and poems written by scholars with old Yuefu titles. In the existing poetry collection, "Yuefu Poetry Collection" is an important book with the most complete collection of all kinds of Yuefu Poetry in the past dynasties.

Masterpieces

1.The Peacock Flies to Southeast

The Peacock Flies to Southeast is the first long narrative poem in the history of Chinese literature, and it is also the peak work in the history of Yuefu Poetry.

It is based on a marriage tragedy in Lujiang County during the reign of Emperor Xian of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The poem has more than 350 sentences and 1700 words. It mainly tells the story of Jiao Zhongqing and Liu Lanzhi's forced separation and suicide. It accuses the cruelty and ruthlessness of feudal ethics and praises their sincere feelings and rebellious spirit.

As the longest narrative poem in ancient history, the story of Peacock Flying Southeast is complicated and simple, and its characters are vividly portrayed. It not only portrays the image of Jiaoliu and his wife, but also depicts the stubbornness of Jiao's mother and the arrogance of brother Liu. At the end of the article, the myth of Liu Lanzhi and Jiao Zhongqing turning into mandarin ducks after their death is conceived, and the people's strong desire for love freedom and happy life is placed.

2.Mulan Poetry

Mulan poetry is a folk song in the Northern Dynasty of China. This is a long narrative poem about a girl named Mulan. She disguised herself as a man, joined the army for her father, established meritorious service in the battlefield, and refused to be an official after returning to the imperial court. She only wanted to go home for reunion. She warmly praised the woman's brave and kind-hearted quality, her enthusiasm for defending her country and her brave and fearless spirit. "Mulan is a girl" is used to conceive the legend of Mulan, which is full of romantic color. The detailed arrangement is very ingenious. Although it is about war theme, it is mainly about the life scene and children's mood, which is full of life flavor. It describes the character's mood by means of character's question and answer, narration, parallelism, antithesis and intertextuality, which is vivid, detailed and full of vitality, It has strong artistic appeal.

Evaluation

1.Contributions

The important contribution of it is to collect and classify the songs of past dynasties according to their tunes, so that many works can be compiled into books. This provides great convenience for the collation and research of Yuefu Poetry. For example, some excellent Chinese folk songs of Han Dynasty, such as "Moshangsang", "dongmenxing", were collected and recorded by editors. In particular, some ancient folk songs and proverbs are scattered in various historical books and some academic works, and miscellaneous ballads and sayings are mostly ignored by the former. Yuefu Poetry Collection introduces and explains in detail the origin, nature and musical instruments used in singing of various kinds of music. So that many precious historical materials can be preserved. This is of great value to the study of literature history and music history.

There are narrative poems and lyric poems in Yuefu Poems, and the achievements of narrative poems are more prominent. The Book of Songs and The Songs of Chu are basically lyric poems, and sometimes narrative is interspersed in the process of lyric, but narrative is attached to lyric. The emergence of Yuefu narrative poetry marks the maturity of Chinese ancient narrative poetry, and it is all caused by sadness and happiness. When choosing narrative objects, the creative subject is good at finding poetic scenes and absorbing pictures in time.

2.Shortcomings

There are some imperfections in Collection of Yue Fu Poetry . For example, Ji Yun in the Qing Dynasty pointed out that it was not appropriate to include some literati poems in the titles of Yuefu. In addition, because of its emphasis on melody, the recorded songs are often inconsistent with the description of tunes. But on the whole, as an ancient Chinese literature, this giant has made a certain contribution.

Cuisines, 8 Major Cuisines in China - Hu Jin 胡瑾

A. Eight Major Cuisines of China

1.A Brief Introduction About Chinese Cuisine

As early as the Shang and Zhou dynasties, China's food culture began to take shape. At that time, Tai Gongwang was the most representative. In the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period under the reign of Duke Huan of Qi, the flavors of North and South dishes showed differences. In the Tang and Song Dynasties, the southern cuisine and the northern cuisine formed their own systems. In the Southern Song Dynasty, sweet in south and salty in north was formed. At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, Shandong Cuisine, Sichuan Cuisine, Cantonese Cuisine, and Su Cuisine became the most influential local dishes at that time, and they were called the "four major cuisines." By the end of the Qing Dynasty, four new local cuisines, Zhejiang Cuisine, Fujian Cuisine, Hunan Cuisine, and Anhui Cuisine, were differentiated and formed, which together constituted the "eight major cuisines" of traditional Chinese cuisine.

2.The Classification of Chinese Cuisines

China covers a large territory and has many nationalities, hence a variety of Chinese food with different but fantastic and mouthwatering flavor. Since China's local dishes have their own typical characteristics, generally, Chinese food can be roughly divided into eight regional cuisines, which has been widely accepted around.

2.1Shandong Cuisine

Consisting of Jinan Cuisine and Jiaodong Cuisine, Shandong Cuisine, clear, pure and not greasy, is characterized by its emphasis on aroma, freshness, crispness and tenderness. Shallot and garlic are usually used as seasonings so Shangdong dishes tastes pungent usually. Soups are given much emphasis in Shangdong dishes. Thin soup features clear and fresh while creamy soup looks thick and tastes strong. Jinan Cuisine is adept at deep-frying, grilling, frying and stir-frying while Jiaodong division is famous for cooking seafood with fresh and light taste.

2.2Sichuan Cuisine

Sichuan Cuisine, known often in the West as Szechuan Cuisine, is one of the most famous Chinese cuisines in the world. Characterized by its spicy and pungent flavor, Sichuan Cuisine, prolific of tastes, emphasizes on the use of chili. Pepper and prickly ash also never fail to accompany, producing typical exciting tastes. Besides, garlic, ginger and fermented soybean are also used in the cooking process. Wild vegetables and animals are usually chosen as ingredients, while frying, frying without oil, pickling and braising are applied as basic cooking techniques. The major Sichuan dishes include Kung Pao Chicken and Bean Sauce Tofu.

2.3Guangdong Cuisine

Tasting clear, light, crisp and fresh, Guangdong Cuisine, familiar to Westerners, usually chooses raptors and beasts to produce originative dishes. Its basic cooking techniques include roasting, stir-frying, sauteing, deep-frying, braising, stewing and steaming. Among them steaming and stir-frying are more commonly applied to preserve the natural flavor. Cantonese are known to have an adventurous palate, able to eat many different kinds of meats and vegetables. Many vegetables originate from other parts of the world. It doesn't use much spice, bringing out the natural flavor of the vegetables and meats.

2.4Fujian Cuisine

Consisting of Fuzhou Cuisine, Quanzhou Cuisine and Xiamen Cuisine, Fujian Cuisine is distinguished for its choice of seafood, beautiful color and magic taste of sweet, sour, salty and savory. The most distinct features are their "pickled taste".

2.5Jiangsu Cuisine

Jiangsu Cuisine, also called Huaiyang Cuisine, is popular in the lower reach of the Yangtze River. Aquatics as the main ingredients, it stresses the freshness of materials. Its carving techniques are delicate, of which the melon carving technique is especially well known. Cooking techniques consist of stewing, braising, roasting, simmering, etc. The flavor of Huaiyang Cuisine is light, fresh and sweet and with delicate elegance. Jiangsu Cuisine is well known for its careful selection of ingredients, its meticulous preparation methodology, and its not-too-spicy, not-too-bland taste.

2.6Zhejiang Cuisine

Comprising local cuisines of Hangzhou, Ningbo and Shaoxing, Zhejiang Cuisine, not greasy, wins its reputation for freshness, tenderness, softness, smoothness of its dishes with mellow fragrance. Hangzhou Cuisine is the most famous one among the three.

2.7Hunan Cuisine

Hunan Cuisine consists of local cuisines of Xiangjiang Region, Dongting Lake and Xiangxi Coteau. It characterizes itself by thick and pungent flavor. Chili, pepper and shallot are usually necessaries in this division.

2.8Anhui Cuisine

Anhui Cuisine focuses much more attention on the temperature in cooking. Its major cooking method are braising and stewing. Often hams and sugar will be added to improve taste and flavour of the dishes.

3.A Comparison of Chinese-Western Diet Culture

Chinese and western cultures have always been two major factions in the world culture, and diet plays a very important role in the two cultures. The differences in cultures create the differences between Chinese and Western food cultures. There are many differences between Chinese and Western food under the two different cultural backgrounds. Firstly, the western diet is mainly based on flour, with abundant raw materials, and its cooking method is simpler than that in China, but it also pays great attention to taste. Besides, western diet takes nutrition as the highest criterion, with special emphasis on the nutritional components of food. For example, whether the contents of protein, fat, carbohydrate, vitamins and various inorganic elements are properly matched, whether the heat supply is just right, whether these nutritional components can be fully absorbed by eaters and whether there are other side effects. However, Chinese cuisine pays more attention to the color, aroma and taste of dishes. The purpose of Chinese people's diet is not only to satisfy their hunger, but also to satisfy their desire for delicious food, which brings pleasure to their body and mind. Compared with Chinese diet which pays attention to taste, western diet is a rational diet. Furthermore, westerners prefer cold dishes while Chinese like hot food. For Chinese, one should eat the food while it is still hot. What’s more, westerners believe that dishes are hunger-filled, so they specialize in "hard dishes" such as large pieces of meat and whole chickens; while Chinese mainly eat lots of vegetables and little meat. There are also differences in names of dishes. Many Chinese dishes often contain a lot of historical and cultural information. For example, Dongpo meat(Braised Dongpo Pork) is said to be cooked according to recipes handed down by Su Dongpo, a literary giant in Song Dynasty. Some dishes are also related to allusions and legends, for example, Fotiaoqiang(Buddha jumps over the wall) is a legend. In contrast, the names of western food are much simpler. For example, fried chicken legs, hamburgers and seafood soup are almost all named after the raw materials and cooking methods.

References

毕继万. (1999). 跨文化非语言交际. 北京：外语教学与研究出版社.

蔡华. (2007). 试论中西饮食文化的差异. 邵阳学院学报.

杜学增. (1999). 中英文化习俗比较. 北京：外语教学与研究出版社.

B. Terms and Expressions

pot-stewed fowl 卤味

stewing and simmering炖，煨

prickly ash 花椒

fermented soybean豆鼓

Braised Dongpo Pork东坡肉

Buddha Jumps over the Wall 佛跳墙

Kung Pao Chicken 宫保鸡丁

Bean Sauce Tofu麻婆豆腐

C. Questions

How many types of cuisines are there in china?

What’s differences between Chinese and western diets?

What is the origin of Dongpo Meat?

Paper Cutting - Jiang Fengyi 蒋凤仪

Chinese Paper Cutting 剪纸

Medicine, Zhang Zhongjing - Jiang Qiwei 蒋淇玮

The Chinese Medical Sage- Zhang Zhongjing

Zhang Zhongjing ( original name Zhang Ji, 150 to 154 A.D.- about 215 to 219 A.D., courtesy name Zhongjing), was born in Nieyang County in Nanyang of the Eastern Han Dynasty ( located in today's Zhangzhai Village, Rangdong Town, Dengzhou City, Henan Province). He was a famous medical scientist in the late Eastern Han Dynasty and one of the most outstanding medical scientists in Chinese history, who is respected as the Chinese Medical Sage. In his childhood, Zhang Zhongjing admired Bian Que, a preeminent Chinese mediciner, and yearned for medical learning. And he once studied after Zhang Bozu.

Zhang Zhongjing hated officialdom and sympathized with common people. He traveled all over the country for his medical practice, carefully studied the symptoms of typhoid fever, and read widely. After decades of collection and study, he wrote the magnificent book Treatise on Febrile and Miscellaneous Diseases, which established the treatment based on syndrome differentiation of six classics, and became a necessary classic for the study of Chinese medicine in later generations.

This extraordinary man in Chinese history, our immortal medical sage, was once the Changsha magistrate. As the master of superb medical skills and a man of tender heart, he treated patients for free on the first and fifteenth days of every lunar month. At that time, yamen's gate would be crowded with a large throng of people of all ages and both sexes. Some of them carried pieces of luggage, having come a long way to be there. All the people waited for him in eagerness. Then, Zhang Zhongjing would open the gate of office and let sick people in, instead of dealing with government affairs, carefully diagnosing and treating the masses one by one. Though confronted with such a heavy workload, Mr. Zhang treated every patient carefully based on syndrome differentiation. He diagnosed them with looking, listening, questioning and feeling the pulse— four ways of diagnosis, as well as saw through the patients' appearance to perceive the root cause of their illness. As making diagnoses so full-heartedly, Mr. Zhang even skipped meals sometimes.

Later, people called the doctor who sat in the drugstore to treat patients "the doctor sitting in the hall", in memory of Zhang Zhongjing.

When talking about Zhang Zhongjing, We have to mention his masterpiece Treatise on Febrile and Miscellaneous Diseases, which is an undoubted groundbreaking and peak work of traditional Chinese medicine. For years of wars and chaos in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, it turned out that various kinds of plagues were prevailing in China. And lots of people were homeless and suffered from epidemic diseases. Thus, Zhang Zhongjing's motive of writing this book was to lifting common and poor Chinese people from the misery of diseases. After years of arduous hardwork, this enduring work was finally finished.

There is a Chinese saying that goes, " Eating dumplings in Chinese New Year, Great Cold, and Slight Cold ( latter two belongs to 24 solar terms)." But now, except these days and the New Year's Day, many diners also feast in the air-conditioned dumpling parlors in summer. So, how did dumplings, as one of people's favorite, come into being? Speaking of this delicacy, well-respected Zhang Zhongjing has made great contributions to it.

When a snowstorm was raging, Zhang Zhongjing, a former governor of Changsha, who had resigned from office, was returning to his native town. By the White River, he saw lots of homeless people in rags, with sick looks and frozen ears.

Back home, Mr.Zhang was still concerned about those poor people. So he developed a recipe to help them ward off cold, called " Cold Dispelling Jiaoer Soup". Then, just on the Winter Solstice, he asked his disciples to set up a shed and a big pot under it in Dongguan, Nanyang, and give each poor person a bowl of soup with two Jiaoers. After drinking this soup, people felt warm and their ears were cured.

Zhang Zhongjing passed away on the day of the Winter Solstice, and he distributed the "Cold Dispelling Jiaoer Soup" for everyone on the Winter Solstice as well. In order to commemorate him, everyone would make dumplings on the Winter Solstice Festival. And it was said that if one ate dumplings on the day of the Winter Solstice, his ears would not be frozen in winter. "Cold Dispelling Jiaoer Soup" is rarely eaten now, but the custom of eating dumplings on the Winter Solstice every year has been passed down. Besides, the kinds and shapes of dumplings have been greatly improved.

In fact, the way of making "Cold Dispelling Jiaoer Soup" is to boil mutton and some cold dispelling herbs in a pot. After cooked, fish and chop them up, then wrap the stuffing in dough wrappers, with their shapes resembling human ears. Later, put them into the pot, and boil them in the original soup. Because of its ear- shaped contour and effect on preventing the ear from freezing, Zhongjing named it "Jiao Er". ( Er means eears in Chinese)

There are also a Nanyang folk songs about Jiaoer, saying " not eating Jiaoers in the Winter Solstice, geting frozen ears in the winter cold."

At first, Zhang Zhongjing, a little boy of 9 or 10 years old, was measuring traditional Chinese medicine, trying to imitate his medical master. At this stage, medicine inspired in him a delightful sensation of wonder, which would shape his lifelong dream of becoming a great doctor like Bian Que and helping the sick. Then, Zhang turned into an adult man, appearing to be in his middle age. He stuck to treating sick people at the gate of the Yamen on the first and fifth days in the lunar calendar. Finally, Mr. Zhang's goatee turned grey and wrinkles crawled on his kind face. However, he still wrote the Treatise on Febrile and Miscellaneous Diseases, cured patients and dealt with his favorite— traditional Chinese medicine.

Terms and Expressions

medical sage 医圣

Treatise on Febrile and Miscellaneous Diseases《伤寒杂病论》

treatment based on syndrome differentiation/ diagnosis and treatment based on an overall analysis of the illness and the patient's condition 辩证施治

yamen 衙门

Great Cold ( 24th solar term ) 大寒

Slight Cold ( 23rd solar term ) 小寒

look, listen, question and feel the pulse -- four ways of diagnosis 望闻问切

Cold Dispelling Jiaoer Soup 祛寒娇耳汤

Questions

1. What's the honorable title Zhang Zhongjing addressed as?

2.What's the official role Zhang once taken?

3.When would Zhang treat patients for free at yamen?

4.What's the most well-known and important masterpiece Zhang ever write? What's his motive of writing it?

5.What's the relationship between Zhang Zhongjing and dumplings?--Jiang Qiwei (talk) 13:53, 2 December 2020 (UTC)