China - Culture
Dim Sum: Traditionally Exquisite Delicacies
Aug 29, 2008, 9:00 amThe Chinese words “dim sum” no longer sound exotic to the open-minded citizens of Hamburg, Germany. How did these miniature, dough-filled pockets conquer the city?
Mysterious Chinese Character (10): Party
Aug 27, 2008, 10:00 am黨 (dăng) is a character that contains many negative implications. Originally this emblem came from the word 不鲜 (bùxiăn). The 鲜 (xiăn) consists of the ideograms 鱼 (yú) and 羊 (yáng), where 鱼 is the character for fish and 羊 is the character for sheep.
Mysterious Chinese Characters (9): Huai
Aug 24, 2008, 4:00 amThe Chinese character 壞 (huài) means bad, evil or nasty, and is the opposite of good. It derives its origin from the symbol 敗 (bài) meaning rot or loss, in combination with the symbol 土 (tŭ) meaning soil.
Chinese Architecture, a Miniature of the Cosmos
Aug 23, 2008, 5:00 amOver thousands of years, the Chinese people have developed their own architectural style.
Mysterious Chinese Characters (8): Yi
Aug 22, 2008, 10:00 amAmong the tens of thousands of highly complicated Chinese characters, 一 (yī) is the simplest, and also the first children are taught.
Book Review of ‘Sky Burial' by Xinran Xue
Aug 20, 2008, 11:00 amXinran Xue starts her novel with the words Sky Burial. The protagonist, a young female doctor named Shu Wen, was separated from her husband, also a physician, in the 1950s in China. The husband, Kejun, was drafted into the military three weeks after his wedding, and deployed in Tibet.
Mysterious Chinese Characters (7): Jia
Aug 18, 2008, 11:00 amThe Chinese ideogram for family, household, or home 家 “Jia” consists of the signs for house, 宀, on top, and pig 豕, below. The reason “a pig in the house” came to signify home, household or family in China is explained by history.
Good Stories from China: Yen Not for Vanity
Aug 16, 2008, 12:00 pmQi Jiguang (November 12, 1528 – January 5, 1588) was a Chinese military general and national hero during the Ming Dynasty. He was best remembered for his courage and leadership in the fight against Japanese pirates along the east coast of China as well as his reinforcement work on the Great Wall of China. According to historical accounts, Qi Jiguang's father, Qi Jingtong, was an honest and upright man. He cultivated in his son a yearning for knowledge as well as a firm set of morals. When his father died, Qi Jiguang took over the commandership of the Dengzhou Garrison at the age of seventeen. The rest, as they say, is history.
Mysterious Chinese Characters (6): Hao
Aug 14, 2008, 1:00 pmIf something is good, the Chinese describe it as 好 (hăo). For example, in China people greet each other with 你好嗎 (níhăo ma?) “Are you doing well?”
Giant Rock ‘Faces’ Found in the Western Tianshan Mountains
Aug 14, 2008, 10:00 amA Chinese archaeological team recently discovered “faces” carved into giant rocks in the Western Tianshan Mountains.
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