Author: chinesemoment

With so much excitement, it is no wonder that astronomy is of great importance to China. By looking at the skies in order to measure time and plan social events, the Chinese eventually developed their first astronomical research institution, Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. What used to be a practice reserved for farmers and academics is now a hobby to be enjoyed by all.

也许这是无法避免的结果，这只6层楼高的黄色橡皮鸭人气之高，虽然目前正版的大黄鸭还在香港的维多利亚港游荡，但并不妨碍中国内地的许多城市抄袭。Perhaps it was inevitable. Given the huge popularity of the six-story, yellow rubber ducky that's been bobbing around in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour, companies in a number of mainland Chinese cities have decided to copy it.
中部城市武汉、古都西安、北方港口城市天津和浙江省的影视基地横店，都相继涌现出了山寨版的“大黄鸭”。New ducks have popped up in the central city of Wuhan, the ancient city of Xi'an, the northern port city of Tianjin and Hengdian, a town in Zhejiang province that is home to a massive movie studio.
根据《中国日报》的报道，山寨“大黄鸭” 也引发中国国内对版权问题的讨论。《中国日报》的记者联系了天津和武汉两地的大黄鸭负责公司，而他们都“拒绝透露自己的动机，也未透露是否获得授权。”The duck doubles have raised questions over copyright issues, according to China Daily. When contacted by China Daily, the companies that set up the ducks in Tianjin and Wuhan "declined to reveal their motives, or say if they had the authorization to do so."
目前在香港的正版大黄鸭的设计者是荷兰艺术家弗洛伦泰因·霍夫曼，他对《华尔街日报》表示自己并未与任何内地的山寨大黄鸭制造商签订版权协议。The man behind the original duck in Hong Kong, Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, told The Wall Street Journalthat he had no copyright agreements with any of the knockoff duck-makers on the mainland.
“如果他们想要正版的大黄鸭，可以直接与我联系。” 霍夫曼这样表示。虽然这样的山寨模仿，从某种形式上来说是出于对大黄鸭设计的喜欢，霍夫曼却表示对于中国大黄鸭数量的突然剧增，他一点不觉得开心。"If people want the real duck, they have to come to me," he said. While imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, Hofman said he wasn't at all amused by China's sudden overpopulation of giant ducks.
他对《华尔街日报》表示说：“我一直都在说，大黄鸭是黄色催化剂，帮大家调节心情的。但现在我看到的却是中国的信任缺失问题，这是非常严重的问题。”"I've always said the rubber duck is a yellow catalyst," he told the Journal. "Right now what it is showing is that there is a lack of trust in China, and that is an enormous problem."
自2007年以来，霍夫曼的大黄鸭游遍全球9个国家13个不同城市，从巴西到澳大利亚足迹遍布世界。Since 2007 Hofman’s duck has travelled to 13 different cities in nine countries ranging from Brazil to Australia in its journey around the world.

zongzi粽子 The main food during this celebration is 粽子! This delicious food is basically glutinous rice stuffed with a variety of different fillings (red beans, pork, peanuts, dates, etc.) and wrapped in bamboo. Usually, they are steamed or boiled. Here’s how to wrap the 粽子.

The Dragon Boat Festival is called 端午节 (duān wǔ jié) in Chinese. It falls on the fifth day of the fifth month on the lunar calendar, therefore, it changes every year.

Like holidays from all corners of the world—be it Asia, America, Europe, or Africa—the Dragon Boat Festival is made of myth layered on top of myth, stories woven together and made new with each retelling.

家 means home. The character 家 (jiā) first appeared over 3,000 years ago on Shang Dynasty bronzes. At that time, it was just a drawing that depicted a house with a pig inside it. Looking at the pictures, you can see that while one is quite complex and the other very simple, they’re both lifelike.“家”字最早见于3000多年前的商代铜器铭文，那时”家”字就像是一幅图画，画的是房子里面有一头猪。你看图中这两个”家”字，一个画得仔细，一个画得简单，但是都画得十分逼真。