Category: Chinese customs

Filigree inlaid metal art（花丝镶嵌：huāsī xiānɡqiàn） is one of the eight traditional arts and crafts of Beijing. Use of the filigree-inlay process began during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476BC), and the process flourished during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The process was first documented during the Tang Dynasty (618-907). As most filigree-inlaid items are made from gold, they tend to be precious. For centuries, only members of China's royal family could enjoy works of filigree inlaid art.

Liu Sheng was a Chinese prince of the Western Han dynasty. He is most renowned now for his tomb.

“Cold Dews（寒露,  Hánlù ） ” is the 17 solar term of the 24 solar terms and falls on October 8 or October 9 each year. It means that it’s colder than “ White Dews（白露,  Báilù ） ” and the dews are becoming frost. During this period, most of the areas around Nanling enter autumn and north-east and north-west of China will soon enter winter. When the sun reaches the celestial longitude （黄经, Huáng Jīng） of 195 degrees, the swan gooses fly to south in a “ single line（一字形,  Yī-zì xíng ） ” or a “ herringbone shaped line（人字形,  Rén-zì xíng ） ”, most of the sparrows are gone and chrysanthemum starts to bloom.

2500 to 3000 years ago, Zhou(周朝Zhōucháo) people lived a poetic life as described in Zhouli (Ritual of Zhou Dynasty) and Shijing (The Book of Songs, China's first ancient poems collections). The profile and details of Zhou people, whether from archeological evidences or in people's imagination, are intriguing and thought provoking. However, we do not know exactly the location of the dynasty's capital and the kings' tombs of Zhou.

According to Annuals of Cang County, records and folklore, Cang County Lion Dance(沧县舞狮Cāng Xiàn wǔshī) goes back to the Ming Dynasty(明朝Míngcháo). And it is very popular all over the country since it is ardent, naughty and vivid. Some of the lions’ heads are pasted by papers, while others’ eyes are made of iron sheets. Whatever the kind is, the lion’s head is an appearance of violence. Their eyes are wide open, their mouths are big and frightening and their tongues are out of the mouth. The lion’s body is woven by the linen that is dyed red, green and yellow and fixed on a piece of yellow cloth with ropes. There is a big cloth ball that is linked with a spring on the back of the lion. So when the lion walk, the cloth ball trembles at the same time. The lion’s tail is also made of linen and upward. There are also a string of bells colored silk on the lion’s head.

White dews（白露 Báilù） is the 15th solar term. It begins when the Sun reaches the celestial longitude of 165° and ends when it reaches the longitude of 180°. It more often refers in particular to the day when the Sun is exactly at the celestial longitude of 165°. In the Gregorian calendar, it usually begins around September 7 .