Expressing My Feelings after Reading My Old Poems on the Winter Solstice By the Qianlong Emperor (Qing Dynasty)
Category: Chinese Culture
Han Dynasty 汉朝
Han (206 BC – 220 AD)
The powerful Qin Dynasty was pulled down due to its tyrannical rule and Liu Bang (Emperor Hangaozu) founded the Western Han Dynasty in 206 BC. The Western Han Dynasty was also one of the strongest dynasties that had developed much in regime, agriculture, handicraft industry, commerce and many other fields, with a population of some 50 millions. It is during the reign of Liu Che (Emperor Hanwudi) that the dynasty achieved its peak, with Confucius becoming the national belief and its control area stretching from the Central Plains (heartland of ancient China) to the Western Regions (known as Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China and Central Asia today). This great emperor had also sent Zhang Qian (a famous ambassador) to the Western Region, opening the way connecting Chang’an (known as Xi’an today), Xinjiang, Central Asia and the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, which is now worldwide known as “Silk Road”. With the accessing of the Silk Road, various Chinese silk fabrics were transported to the West and contact between the West and China became more frequent. In the 1st century, Buddhism was introduced into China.
At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, the country sank into wars again because of the sharp social contradictions between farmers and the ruling class. In 25 AD, Liu Xiu (Emperor Hanguangwudi), who is the descendants of the royal family of Western Han dynasty, founded a new Han dynasty, choosing Luoyang (known as Luoyang City of Henan Province today) as the capital. Luoyang is geographically located east to Chang’an (known as Xi’an today), the capital of the previous Western Han Dynasty. For this reason the dynasty Liu Xiu set up was called Eastern Han Dynasty. In 105 AD, Cai Lun, an official of the dynasty, invented the papermaking technology, which is listed as one of the Four Great Inventions of Ancient China together with compass (invented during Warring States Period), gunpowder (invented during Sui and Tang dynasties) and typography (invented during Northern Song Dynasty).
HK confirms first human case of H7N9 bird flu 香港确实第一例H7N9禽流感病例
HONG KONG, Dec. 2 — Hong Kong confirmed on Monday its first case of H7N9 bird flu as a 36-year-old Indonesian domestic helper has been hospitalized in critical condition.香港，12月2日 – 香港于周一确认了其第一例 H7N9禽流感病例，患者是一名36岁的印度尼西亚籍家庭佣工。该患者已住院就医，目前情况危急。
Three auspicious treasure
Jíxiánɡ sānbǎo
《吉祥三宝》
Nǚér wèn : “A bɑ,tàiyánɡ chūlái yuèliànɡ huíjiā le mɑ ? “
女儿问：“阿爸，太阳出来月亮回家了吗？”
Bàbɑ huídá : “Duìle .”
爸爸回答：“对了。”
Nǚér wèn : “Xnɡxīnɡ chūlái tàiyánɡ qù nàlǐ le ? “
女儿问：“星星出来太阳去哪里了？”
Bàbɑ huídá : “Zài tiānshànɡ .”
爸爸回答：“在天上。”
Nǚér wèn : “Wǒ zěnme zhǎo yě zhǎo búdào tā ? “
女儿问：“我怎么找也找不到它？”
Bàbɑhuídá : “Tā huíjiā le . “
爸爸回答：“他回家了。”
Nǚér bàbɑ hé:“Tàiyánɡyuèliànɡxīnɡxīnɡjiùshìjíxiánɡ de yìjiā? “
女儿爸爸合：“太阳月亮星星就是吉祥的一家。”
Nǚér wèn : “A mɑ ,yèzi lǜle shénme shíhòu kāihuā ? “
女儿问：“阿妈，叶子绿了什么时候开花？”
Māmɑ huídá : “Děnɡ xiàtiān láile . “
妈妈回答：“等夏天来了。”
Nǚér wèn : “Huāér hónɡ le ɡuǒshí nénɡ qù zhāi mɑ ? “
女儿问：“花儿红了果实能去摘吗？”
Māmɑ huídá : “Děnɡ qiūtiān lái le .”
妈妈回答：“等秋天来了。”
Nǚér wèn : “Guǒshí zài tǔlǐ huì fāyá mɑ ? “
女儿问：“果实种在土里会发芽吗？”
Māmɑ huídá : “Tā huì zhǎnɡdà . “
妈妈回答：“它会长大。”
Bàbɑmāmɑ nǚér hé:“Huāér yèzi ɡuǒshí jiùshìjíxiánɡ de yìjiā.”
爸爸妈妈女儿合：“花儿叶子果实就是吉祥的一家。”
Bàbɑmāmɑ wèn nǚér :“Bǎobèi ,bàbɑxiànɡ tàiyánɡ zhàozhe māmɑ.”
爸爸妈妈问女儿：“宝贝，爸爸像太阳照着妈妈。”
Nǚér huídá: “Nà māmɑ ne ? “
女儿回答：“那妈妈呢？”
Bàbɑmāmɑ huídá: “Māmɑxiànɡ lǜyè tuōzhe hónɡhuā.”
爸爸妈妈回答：“妈妈像绿叶托着红花。”
Nǚér huídá: “Nà wǒ ne ?”
女儿回答：“那我呢？”
Bǎbàmāméi huídá: “Nǐ xiànɡ zhǒnɡzi yíyànɡ zhènɡzài fāyá.”
爸爸妈妈回答：“你像种子一样正在发芽。”
Bàbɑ māmɑ nǚér hé :“Wǒmén sānɡe jiùshì jíxiánɡ rúyìdeyìjiā.”
爸爸妈妈女儿合：“我们三个就是吉祥如意的一家。”
Why Winter Solstice come from?
(Source: china.com.cn) In the northern areas of China: There is an old saying in Beijing that goes, “have wontons (hun tun) on the Winter Solstice and noodles on Summer Solstice.” It is said that during the Han Dynasty, the northern tribes often harassed the northern border of China, and the people there suffered from the invasion. At that time, the two leaders of the tribes with the surnames “Hun” and “Tun” were the cruelest. People hated them so much that they made dumplings filled with spiced minced pork, and named them “huntun” (wonton). By eating them, people released their hatred of the brutal leaders, and prayed for peace. Because they happened to make the dumplings on the day of the Winter Solstice, people decided to have wontons on that day.
Pingyao Old Town
Old Town of Pingyao(平遥Píngyáo) is in Pingyao County, in the center of Shanxi Province. It was constructed during the reign of King Xuan of the Western Zhou Dynasty (C.1100-771B.C.) and has been the county seat ever since the establishment of the prefecture-and-county system in L'ancienne Chine. At present, Pingyao looks much the same as it did during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties and is the best-preserved historic town in the regions populated by the Han ethnic group.
About the Gaochang Ruins
This is the largest city ruins in west China. The site is located 40 kilometers from the Turpan City, at the north bank of the Aiding Lake and to the south of the Flaming Mountain. It was listed as the National key cultural unit in 1961.
I Have a Donkey
Wǒyǒu yǐzhī xiǎomáolǘ，wǒ cónɡlái yěbùqí；
我有一只小毛驴，我从来也不骑;
Yǒuyìtiān wǒ xīnxuè láicháo，qí tā qùɡǎnjí；
有一天我心血来潮，骑它去赶集;
Wǒ shǒulǐ názhe xiǎopíbiān，wǒ xīnlǐ zhènɡdéyì；
我手里拿着小皮鞭，我心里正得意;
Bùzhī zěnde，huālālā，wǒ shuāile yìshēnní。
不知怎的，哗啦啦，我摔了一身泥。
Qin Dynasty 秦朝
Qin (259 BC – 210 BC)
In 221 BC, Ying Zheng, who was originally a king of Qin Kingdom (one of the seven kingdoms during the Warring States Period), terminated the 250-year-old warring situation and brought China into new epoch. After he unified the country, Qin Dynasty, the first Chinese feudal dynasty, was founded and he gave himself the name of “Qin Shi Huang”, signifying that he is the first emperor of China. Qin Shi Huang’s contribution to the country includes unifying written language, currency, length, capacity and weight; and the system of prefectures and counties and the feudal national system he built were used in the following 2000 years. To strengthen his controlling in thought, Qin Shi Huang strived to carry out Hanfei’s thought of Legalist, burnt books of other schools and buried Confucian scholars alive, which suspended the developing of Confucianism. During his reign, over 300,000 men were organized to construct the 5000-kilometer-long Great Wall in northern China and his mausoleum had been built before his death. It was in this well-covert and grand mausoleum that the world-famous Terracotta Warriors and Horses unearthed, and the 8000 life-size terracotta figurines, horses and chariots are hailed as the Eighth World Wonders!
Mystery of Women Underwear in Ancient China古代中国女性内衣的谜团
In ancient China，women’s outer garments were strictly governed by rank. In order to express their inner feeling and distinguish themselves from other women, the intelligent ancient women chose their underwear as the platform to express their feelings and exhibit their delicate craftsmanship and ingenious designs.
French 
English 
German 
Malay 
Thai 
Vietnamese 
Myanmar