Travel China

The oldest Chinese embroideries found date back to the Zhou dynasty (1027-221 B.C.) and may well be the earliest that ever existed. However, very early embroideries have also been found in Egypt and Northern Europe, so it is not clear in which part of the world the art of embroidery actually originated - it may also have appeared in several parts of the world at about the same time. It is, however, accepted that the Chinese invented sericulture and mastered the art of reeling the cocoons of the bombyx and spinning the silk from very early times. It is therefore not surprising that the ancient Chinese embroideries were made of silk. Strangely enough, embroidery in China was at first reserved for men, before they entrusted this task to the more delicate fingers of their women. The earliest surviving example of Chinese silk embroidery is a ritual garment found in a tomb in Mashan, now Hubei Province, in the fourth century BC, during the early Taoism period (before the appearance of Buddhism in China). However, if we are to believe the patterns drawn on this garment, it could just as well have been used to perform the rituals of a religion…

Whenever it comes to an important Chinese holiday, the National Day of China or the Chinese New Year. You would always see red color in various places in China. Besides adding to the festive atmosphere, the color red is also an important part of the world's perception of China. Why does red represent China? How did red become the favorite color of the Chinese people? Today we will talk about the China-red!   How much do Chinese people like red? China-red, as the underlying color of Chinese culture, is everywhere, all the time. Such as the vermilion gate, red walls and pillars of the Forbidden City, or the redwood furniture and red quilts of people's homes. From the bride's red veil, red wedding dress, red embroidered shoes, etc., to the red Dudou (肚兜) worn by children. And red Fai Chun, red lanterns, red paper cutting, red envelope, red seals ...... There are too many objects off red in China to count. The Chinese can be said to have applied the color red to an extreme. Chinese directors also like to apply red in their films, such as Zhang Yimou. The films "Hong Gao Liang (红高粱)", "Ju Dou (菊豆)", "House of…

Chinese paper cutting art is one of the most representative art forms, most widely used by the people, with the richest historical cultural understanding and distinct characteristics varying from region to region. Although its material - paper, was invented only 2,000 years ago, the culture and connotation and art form of cutout paper is the historical-cultural sediment of Chinese nation from 6,000 or 7,000 years ago from the primitive society to nowadays. Therefore, its cultural value far exceeds the Chinese paper cutting art itself, and has rich connotations of philosophy, aesthetics, archeology, history, ethnology, sociology, and anthropology, which represents a complete system of original Chinese art, modeling system, and color system. The Chinese paper cutting is the carrier of the original Chinese philosophy, it is represented in popular culture.   Types of Chinese paper cutting art There are many kinds of Chinese paper cutting art: for decorations, such as cut-out papers of windows, Kang, cave-house roof, etc., for life utensils, such as cut-out papers of pottery, cylinder, etc., for dress, there are embroidery, flowers of cap, shoes, pillows, etc., for the holidays, there are "bowl with lid" which implies the combination of earth and sky, the propagation of descendants, and…

The Mid-Autumn Festival, the second-largest folk festival in the Chinese festival system next to the Spring Festival, has spawned countless legends and poems over the centuries. “明月几时有，把酒问青天。不知天上宫阙，今夕是何年？” "How long will the full moon appear? Wine cup in hand, I ask the sky. I do not know what time of the year 'Twould be tonight in the palace on high." In fact, the Mid-Autumn Festival is essentially the "Chinese Ritual Moon Festival", and the worship of the moon by the Chinese people has started since ancient times. "The lonely moon goddess, spreads her ample sleeves, To dance for these loyal souls in infinite space." "Chang'e is dancing in the long sky for ten thousand miles." From Chang'e Flying to the Moon to the lunar exploration program, for more than 2,000 years, people have never paid less attention to the moon. Mid-Autumn Festival was popularized during the Han Dynasty, a period of economic and cultural exchange and integration, when cultural exchanges across the country led to the fusion and spread of festival customs. The term "Zhong Qiu (mid-autumn, 中秋)" was first written down in Han Dynasty literature, and the Zhou Li between the two Han dynasties recorded that during the pre-Qin period,…

This year, China's Henan TV continuously brings surprises to lovers of traditional culture and hanfu culture. Spring Festival, Lantern Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Qixi Festival, every important Chinese traditional festival, we will see the wonderful programs presented by Henan TV, the most exciting part of which is dancing. Not only offers a holiday gift to all lovers of Chinese traditional culture, but also traditional arts are known to more people. Starting from 2018, "Street Dance of China", "Dance Smash", "Let's Shake It" and other programs have been hotly broadcast, which also set off a wave of dance. After 2019, Chinese classical dance, one of the traditional dances in China, suddenly jumped into the public's view and became popular in social media in the short term accompanied by the popularity of ancient music. This may also be the first time that the public really knows and pays attention to Chinese classical dance. The historical background of the formation of Chinese classical dance can be traced back to the ancient Chinese court dances or to the primitive, ritual dances of more distant times. During the change of dynasties, the development of ancient court dances was affected by the limitations in the use of…

Umbrellas are very common in daily life. Whether it's a hot sun or a downpour, an umbrella is definitely your best assistant. Not only that, in the modern hanfu shooting, the appearance rate of the ancient style oil-paper umbrella is extremely high. The demand for shade from the sun and rain has been there since ancient times, take a look, the the history of ancient Chinese umbrellas, to see what kind of umbrellas the ancients used.   Pre-Qin Period The early Chinese umbrellas were called "Gai (盖)" or "Deng (簦)", made of grass, pieces of bamboo, etc., with a handle to hold, much like the current umbrella, but it could not be put away. Chinese umbrellas made of silk first appeared in the Western Zhou period, silk umbrellas are expensive, generally used by the nobility, are mainly decorative items and symbols of power for the dignitaries, noblemen, and the scholar. The common people could not afford to buy silk umbrellas, so they mostly used Douli (斗笠), or Suoyi (蓑衣, straw raincoats) in their lives. Suoyi has an important feature and symbol of ancient Chinese costume: Shang Yi Xia Chang. The top is called "Suoyi Pi (蓑衣披)", which is draped over…

To speak of Ancient China is to speak of thousands of years. China is one of the oldest civilizations in the world and has such a rich history that its culture is infinitely complex. Divided into dynasties, this millenary civilization, whose society revolved around the family and the veneration of their ancestors, whom they elevated to the category of spiritual presences, has changed little in its way of seeing life.   Traditional Chinese family - Jia The traditional Chinese family -called Jia- was considered the social structure par excellence. Family life and social organization were inseparable. It was in the family that the State found its foundation. But to understand the nature of the traditional Chinese family model and its social implication, one must take into account the traditional values that structured it. These values were based on the principles, ideas, and moral precepts of Confucius (551-479 B.C.), which governed Chinese society for millennia. For Confucianism, the family was the social institution in charge of guaranteeing stability, harmony, and the social system. Thus, in its scale of values, great importance was attached to the formation of large families, with grandparents, parents, children, and grandchildren. This type of family, in which…

The Chinese culture forms a world apart from strong isolation. Only in prehistoric times, especially the Neolithic, can we point to any contact between such distant worlds. The pottery with painted spirals of the Chinese Yang-Chao culture, in the 3rd millennium, resembles that of Southern Russia and the Danube at the same time. It has been brought from the West, perhaps by the first Chinese, farmers and herdsmen arriving from the Turkestan districts, where they were in contact with Caucasians and Indo-Germans and with other Mughal groups, the Uralo-Altaic and Turkic. Early History of Chinese Culture People were already living in the large region we now call China long before the beginning of recorded history. About 9,000 years ago, the ancestors of today's Chinese created agricultural settlements near two mighty rivers, the Yellow River and the Yangtze. Near the northernmost Yellow River, the earliest agricultural settlements consisted of wooden houses plastered with mud and roofed with reeds. Farmers cultivated a plant called millet, as well as fished in the river and hunted. Further south, people built houses on stilts in the swampy land near the Chang Jiang or "Long River". They grew rice on the waterlogged land and archaeologists have…

China is a country of walls. Not only the cities were enclosed by walls, but also the quarters, within them again the quarters and each individual residential yard. To the outside, the courtyards had no windows, all life was concentrated inside, everything outside, foreign was, and is, usually seen as a threat. The Chinese characters for the city and for wall are identical: cheng. No wonder China is so proud of its Great Wall. Correctly translated, it should be called "long wall", and this poses the first riddle: How long is the Great Wall of China? Nobody knows exactly. History and architectural features of the Great Wall The Chinese call it wan li chang cheng (万里长城), meaning 10,000 li long wall, which would be about 5000 km. This is probably too little, but wan also means "infinite", which again would be too much. Most estimates are around 6800 km, also quite long. But the wall was not the same length at all times, and it is not a wall at all, but a system of walls that were connected during their best times, in the Han Dynasty and much later in the Ming Dynasty. And besides, contrary to claims to…

Chinese New Year is the most important holiday in the Chinese calendar, celebrated in other East Asian countries, such as Singapore and South Korea. It is also known as Lunar New Year or Spring Festival. This celebration has important cultural connotations as a tradition, not only as a remembrance of ancestors in a strict family union, but also as a wish for the best omens, fortune, good luck, and protection from evil in the coming year. What is it and when is it celebrated? This festivity is based on the lunisolar calendar traditionally used in China, based on the phases of the Sun and the Moon. The celebration of the Chinese New Year dates back more than 3,000 years. It begins on the second new moon after the winter solstice and lasts fifteen days, marking the end of winter and the arrival of the lunar New Year. In the year 2021, the Chinese New Year will begin on February 12. 2021: The Year of the Ox According to the Chinese horoscope for 2021 corresponds to the Year of the Golden or Metal Ox. The Chinese horoscope signs are determined by the Chinese lunar calendar, with the beginning of the Chinese New…

Chuiwan: ancient golf In ancient China there was another sport, in which a stick was used to hit a ball. At first there were two ways to play: on horseback or on foot. The first resembles polo, a sport as popular as cuju in the Tang Dynasty. The second is like field hockey today, a highly competitive contest calculated by the number of goals. In the Song dynasty, a new method, called Chuiwan (捶丸), was invented. There were two main differences between chuiwan and the previous game: first, the ball was not hit into the goal but into a hole; second, direct confrontation was changed to indirect confrontation. The game of chuiwan consisted of two teams hitting the ball with a stick into the holes previously dug in the ground. Those who hit the ball the least number of times to get it into the holes or those who had the most goals were the winners. Chuiwan can be played individually or as a team. The distance between the batter and the holes differed from 10 to 20 meters. When one hit the ball and got it into the chosen hole in three strokes, one won a point. The sticks…

The Chinese Traditional Orchestra is the traditional Chinese music orchestra at the China National Opera and Dance Drama Theater (CNODDT), the oldest and largest state-owned theater in China. The orchestra was founded more than 50 years ago and has produced a number of popular Chinese operas and dance plays. In the West, the revolutionary opera "The White-Haired Girl" is probably best known. In the decades of its existence, the orchestra has made a name for itself not only in China but also abroad. It has worked with a number of outstanding artists, most notably stars such as Guo Lanying and Chen Ailian, and won prizes at many national and international competitions during its existence. For example, the orchestra musicians have won the first Chinese Music Performance Competition of the Chinese Ministry of Culture or the Silver Award of the coveted Osaka International Chamber Music Competition. Like all Chinese traditional orchestras, the CNODDT's Chinese Traditional Orchestra is compact and flexible. This peculiarity has allowed it to create its own style by combining traditional as well as modern and innovative approaches. Its repertoire includes many folk works from Chinese music history that are popular with audiences. In this way, the orchestra succeeds in…

Chinese inventions are great achievements for socio-economic development and scientific and technological progress, both in China and worldwide. But China also contributed other creations, not so outstanding, but no less ingenious, which have not lost their sense of usefulness with the passage of time. Today, let's witness the wisdom and intelligence of the Chinese.   The Abacus The abacus evolved from the token calculus in Cheng Dawei, Ingenious Inventions of Ancient China. About 2,000 years ago, Chinese ancestors mastered simple calculation with counters. In the Spring and Autumn period, mathematical calculations were made using tokens of various colors and values. However, with the socio-economic progress of mankind, this type of calculator no longer met the growing demand. Thus the abacus was born. The principles for the use of this device are similar to the calculation with counters, but are more advanced, faster and easier than the former. The term for the use of the abacus is called in Chinese "Zhu Suan" (Bead Calculation). Its earliest historical record is in the book "Shushu Jiyi" (Documents on Mathematics), created by Xu Yue (?-220), a mathematician of the Eastern Han dynasty in the EL century. In the drawing "Qingming Shanghe Tu" (Scenes by…

Chinese culture is one of the oldest in the world. That is why the country has many ancient cities, which are well preserved and have become places really worth seeing. Since time immemorial, China has been considered a "Celestial Empire" where divine and mortal beings live together. And Chinese culture is the only culture in the world that has a continuous recorded history of over 5,000 years. Accordingly, even today there are countless ancient cities, some of which are really very well preserved. These historical sites are now some of the most fascinating and must-see attractions in the entire country. Which of these great cities you definitely have to see once in your life, we tell you here. Daxu The small town of Daxu has located 20 km from Guilin on the Li River. Its history goes back over 2,000 years. It was once the terminus of the southern Silk Roads and flourished in the Middle Ages due to trade. Today you can still admire traditional Chinese architecture. Beautiful stone streets, marketplaces, and bridges, as well as ancient buildings that are incredibly well preserved. Pingyao The old city of Pingyao has around 40,000 inhabitants and a 2,700 year old history.…

1. Chinese Sculpture Chinese sculpture is an art form that has been closely linked to Chinese funerary rites since ancient times. Throughout history, the symbolic protection of important tombs or imperial pantheons by means of life-size or large statues can be seen. In addition, small sculptures of objects, characters and productive activities were also buried in the tombs to accompany the deceased in the afterlife. The introduction of Buddhism meant an enrichment of styles and volumes and the appearance of the first religious and monumental sculptures. The most famous funerary statues are the life-size terracotta warriors of Xi'an, guardians of the tomb of the First Emperor. Then there are the large stone statues of the "Spirit Way" leading to the Ming tombs in Beijing, In all these cases (like the Han and Tang tombs of Xi'an and the Ming tombs of Nanjing) there are representations of real or fantastic animals, guardians or solicitous officials. As for the grave goods, the Neolithic finds have shown the oldest Chinese sculpture known to date: small zoomorphic or anthropomorphic bone and wood objects, jade pieces (discs or human and animal figurines). From the Shang onwards, the latter were found in the tombs of princes…

Chinese cuisine is considered one of the best in the world. Like Mexican cuisine, Chinese cuisine is not really one cuisine, but several. Each region of this country, the most populated in the world, has very specific ways of cooking and flavors that predominate in its dishes. In general, salty, spicy, sour, sweet, and bitter flavors are the most representative in Chinese cuisine. In particular, spicy predominates in the center and south of the country; salty in the north and coastal areas; sweet in the east; sour in the south and bitter throughout the country. Moreover, this cuisine is based on the principle of traditional medicine: all dishes are created with the aim of being beneficial to health. The spicy taste, for example, is related to promote blood circulation; the salty, to improve digestion; the sweet to tone the body and improve mood (serotonin!); the sour to soothe diarrhea and thirst, and the bitter to strengthen the stomach and promote salivation. How do you learn to eat the most impossible things with chopsticks in a short time? That's right, you travel to China. Preferably in a group. There you have no choice but to learn quickly how to get the…

Almost certainly on Instagram, or elsewhere on the Internet. And yes, I also like to be inspired to travel on the net - and inspire others with this blog itself. Nevertheless, and perhaps because of that, I think it's great when I can just let myself be surprised by a place, without prior knowledge and images in my head and expectations. Suzhou in the south of China is such a place. Suzhou - "small" water city at the gates of Shanghai When Marco Polo came to Suzhou in the 13th century, he was impressed by the city's excellent merchants and skilled craftsmen and told of its flourishing silk industry (Suzhou is considered a terminus of the Silk Road). The 2,500-year-old city, which is pronounced "Suzhou" by the way, is located on the Emperor's Canal between Hangzhou and Beijing, the longest man-made waterway in the world, and was an important trading center even back then. And the city still thrives on trade and manufacturing. As we drive from Shanghai to Suzhou, not only do endless gray rows of apartment towers stretch out to the horizon, but also ultramodern-looking industrial areas, including those of many well-known brands, pass me by. The "small…

Ceramics symbolizes the beginning of the Neolithic Age. The Chinese pottery of the Neolithic Age, the firing of ceramic objects was the other great success of mankind after the discovery of fire. With the help of fire, clay objects and figures could be fired, a process that led to the production of porcelain, which, with different methods, gradually became the domain of almost all the peoples of the world. Since human beings began sedentary life and started to cultivate crops and raise livestock, they began to need ceramic utensils for cooking and serving food, as well as porcelain items for the storage of various contents. Chinese ceramics have about 8,000 years of history. Each period of antiquity left its own legacy of manufacturing techniques, thanks to which many excellent works were created. Chinese ceramics and porcelain are a symbol of a materialized culture, which combines arts with science and technology, while linking material and spiritual civilization. The history of Chinese porcelain developed gradually, starting from the gray period, through black and white, to the stage of filigree and colorful, then moving from simple to complex patterns, from rough to refined texture, from prosaic to exquisite. Terracotta Warriors One of the…

When we talk about Chinese art, we refer to all the art produced during millennia by the Chinese civilization, which throughout the centuries remained isolated from the rest of the cultures. Because of this isolation, its style, its way of understanding art, underwent very few changes from antiquity to the 20th century. From the beginning of Chinese history, the main materials and one of the essential beginnings of this art were unknowingly created. These materials are jade and bronze. Furthermore, with these materials and the technical knowledge of this culture, the artistic forms characteristic of this type of art were gradually characterized. However, the works made in this type of art were decorated depending on the social hierarchy in which the artist was, and with this different theory of Chinese art were created, these theories are Confucianism and Taoism. In the field of arts, Chinese art stood out, not only in architecture and sculpture, but porcelain and silk, both used to manufacture sumptuary items. Another type of art, which we could include within the decorative arts, is the development of traditional furniture, this type of art evolved from simplicity to complexity and was closely linked to the lifestyle and economic…

Historians of science have overlooked China in their research. Thus, China's contribution to science and technology, evidenced in a number of technical solutions, has gone unnoticed. Ancient China was a world scientific and technological center before the 16th century. In China, iron and steel metallurgy, paper, the mechanical watch, the transmission belt, the conversion of rotary motion into rectilinear motion, the movable type printing press, gunpowder, the stern rudder, watertight compartments, the armored hull of ships, propeller power, the windmill, the seismograph, gears, etc... the list could be endless. Successes of Technology and Science in Ancient China Four Great Chinese Inventions Metallurgy and Casting of Iron Utensils Copper Production and Bronze Ware Casting Exploration and Use of Petroleum Coal Discovery and Mining Oenological Industry Sericulture Astral Catalogs and Astronomical Atlases Solar and Lunar Eclipse Observation Meridian Measurement Zhang Heng and His Seismograph Guo Shoujing and the "Shoushi Li" Calendar Decimal and Binary Systems Zu Chongzhi and the Value of π(Pi) Equal Temperament of 12 Notes Ingenious Inventions of Ancient China There are even records of solar eclipses inscribed on bones or turtle shells from over 3,300 years ago. In Kao Gong Ji (Archives of Industrial Techniques of China)Technology and Science…

China is an ancient multinational country, with a long history and brilliant culture. For thousands of years, many abundant forms of traditional performing arts have been formed under the wisdom and industriousness of workers. Each art form has various styles and schools, including opera, puppetry, Chinese shadow, acrobatics, and quyi. Chinese traditional performing arts are important representatives of the national spirit, showing the quintessence of ancient culture, and some of them are registered in the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Opera China's opera, enjoyed incomparable fame, is known as one of the world's three ancient dramatic cultures, the others being Greece's tragicomedy and India's brahman drama. It is an art form of long history, originating from primitive song and dance. With steady development, it has become a complete system in the Song and Jin dynasties. It is composed of literature, music, dance, fine arts, wushu, and acrobatics, nearly 360 kinds. As it evolves and innovates in the long run, the five most distinguished types of operas appear: Beijing opera, Yue opera, Huang Mei opera, Pingju opera, and Yu opera. History of opera In primitive society, original singing and dancing arise in the tribes. In fact, the ancient tradition…

The Chinese have used the same architectural model for their imperial and religious buildings for more than two thousand years. It consists of three elements: a platform, a framework of pillars and beams, and non-load-bearing walls. The buildings usually incorporate the main gate, rectangular enclosures or courtyards, and a series of pavilions arranged in a line and facing north. Almost all buildings were constructed of wood, but due to vulnerability to fire very few survive; the oldest date from the Tang period. Here are some representative Chinese architectures. Pavilions The structure of the pavilions is always the same. They consist of a platform of rammed earth or stone and a grid of wooden pillars. The front part always incorporates an odd number of intercolumns. The meeting of pillars and beams is fixed with brackets (dougong), which support the structure and allow for overhanging roofs. The wood is lacquered in intense tones, and the roofs are curved, of tile or thatch. Plant building and plant pavilion Even before pagodas, multi-storey buildings (lou) were built in China, ranging from two-storey private residences to towering gazebos. The plant pavilions (ge) were used for storage and had only doors and windows at the front.…

The term Kung Fu is a colloquialism from southern China that does not designate the Martial Arts themselves but is a word that indicates any work brought to its highest degree of perfection, thanks to an intense and prolonged effort. Therefore, the term Kung Fu is intended to designate the realization, planning, and mastery of the Art. However, calling the Chinese Martial Arts Kung Fu is no aberration and in China, this term has always been used to designate the Martial Arts, even if the exact translation is wu-shu. The goal of Kung Fu is actually beyond the expertise in the fight, seeking perfect harmony between all components of the person: body, mind, and spirit. The Origin of Shao Lin Kung Fu The history of Kung Fu is linked to the history of China. Its origins date back to 3,000 years B.C., under the reign of Emperor Huang-Ti. But it was not until the sixth century that modern Kung Fu appeared. In fact, in the 527th, the monk Ta-Mo (Bodhidarma) arrived at the Shaolin monastery in Honan province. The monastery, which was located on the north side of Mount Shao-Shih, was built 150 years earlier by Emperor Su-Wen. Bodhidarma, the…

History of Chinese Religion China has been a multi-regional country since ancient times. In many parts of the world, people always associate the Chinese territory with Confucius. This sage is almost representative of Chinese culture. In fact, Confucianism is a philosophy that was never intended to be a religion, although, eventually, that is how it spread and had a great impact on Chinese culture with its doctrines. In a sense, Chinese life is the product of Confucian culture. Throughout the ages, many religions have entered China and, at present, there are five major faiths: Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism, and Protestantism. All religions have added their own stamp to China's cultural history. According to recent research, China has more than 100 million followers of various religions. Chinese law guarantees religious freedom, although its application is relatively recent. Official statistics attribute Buddhism and Taoism as the majority religious influence on the population. On the other hand, there are 17 million Muslims, 4.5 million Protestants, and 3.5 million Catholics. Judaism was introduced in China through the caravans in the 15th century, but after several vicissitudes, it hardly has any presence. Nature Worship and Ancestor Worship Since ancient times. China has been a country…