Category: Chinese customs

Ethnic Minorities in China 中国的少数民族

China officially registers 56 ethnic groups. The ethnic Chinese, known as the Han Chinese, compose 93 percent of the population. Han Chinese speak seven languages, with Mandarin or Putonghua – which means "common speech" — being the official and most-used. Cantonese(广东话,guǎngdōng huà) , which is spoken in Hong Kong and in China's other southern provinces, is the second most popular. Most of the 55 other ethnic groups use their own languages.

Continue Reading →

Chinese Language 中国的语言

The Han people have their own spoken and written languages, namely Chinese. It is the most commonly used language in China, and one of the most commonly used languages in the world. All China's 55 minority peoples have their own languages except the Hui(回族,Huí zú) and Manchu(满族,Mǎn zú) , who use Chinese; 21 minorities have their own scripts, in which 27 languages are written. Classes in schools in predominantly national minority areas are taught in the local language, using local-language textbooks, as well as in Putonghua(普通话,Pǔtōnghuà) or Mandarin — the official national standard spoken language of China, based on the principal dialect spoken in and around Beijing.

Continue Reading →

Chinese Culture: Chinese Couplet (对联)

Couplet (对联 duì lián) is a pair of antithetical phrases (sometime added a horizontal hung phrase) written on papers, silks hung on the columns of halls or just engraved on the columns, with concise characters but rich and deep connotations. It is a cultural gem of Chinese nation that has been listed into the non-material cultural heritages. Let's have a brief introduction of it.

Continue Reading →

Wuxia

The Wuxia(武侠wǔxiá) is a broad genre of Chinese fiction that concerns itself with martial arts adventures set primarily in ancient China. Although traditionally a literary art form, it is now also found in art, comics, films, games, television, theatre, and other media. Wuxia forms a large part of popular culture for most Chinese-speaking communities around the world.

Continue Reading →

Artistic Gold peacock

Regarded as the most famous traditional folk dance of the Dai Minority(傣族Dăizú) in China, the peacock dance(孔雀舞kŏngquèwǔ) is prevalent in the Dai and Jingpo minority autonomous prefectures as well as gathering areas of the Dai people. Legend has it that more than a thousand years ago, Zhaomali Jieshu, the head of the Dai minority, learned dance through imitating the elegant gestures of the peacock. The dance was afterwards promoted by later generations of folk dancers and went widely round before it finally became the present peacock dance.

Continue Reading →

Yangko Dance in China

Yangko dance(秧歌yānggē), also called "twisting Yangko dance", is a folk dance most representative in China and a unique dancing art and collective singing. The Yangko dance is smooth, happy and compact in rhythm. Thanks to its jolly scene, abundant dance language, exuberant gestures, and vivid performing style, it is always favored by Chinese.

Continue Reading →