Category: Chinese customs

The rose chair is characterized by its relatively low height, small size, and angular construction with straight-member back and armrests. The design was likely drawn from the traditional bamboo chair with its continuous frame members bent to ninety-degree angles and lattice-work panels made of smaller-diameter bamboo.

Children Playing with Swallow Cars In Tancheng County, Shandong Province, children all play with swallow cars (sharpened wooden cars in the shape of a swallow) on the first day of White Dew. People of every household can make this kind of wooden toy, which can even make pleasing sounds. Pushing the swallow cars while running can help the children resist coldness and improve their bodily constitutions. The picture above shows that the children in Fannian Village, Gangshang Town, Tancheng County, Shandong Province are attracted by the beautiful swallow cars.

White Dew 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 and ends around September 23. When the White Dew comes, the weather is turning cold. Although sunshine in the day is still hot, after sunset, temperatures decrease rapidly. At night, water vapors in the air turn into small water-drops when it encounters cold temperatures. These white water-drops adhere to flowers, grass and trees. When the morning comes, sunshine makes them look crystal clear, spotless white and adorable. Therefore, people have given them this beautiful name, White Dew.

White Dews Introduction
When “White Dews” comes, the temperature decreases further and the weather getscooler. In the morning, you can see the dew on the grass and trees. “White Dews”happens around September 7 every year when the sun reaches the celestial longitudeof 165 degrees. At this point, the swan goose and swallow fly back to south and birdsstart to store food for winter. When the day comes, the cool autumn wind blows acrossthe vast land on the north of the Huaihe River from north to south. In many places ofChina, the air is clear, the sky is high and the clouds are peaceful. People can oftenfeel the gentle autumn breeze blowing.

The meditation chair (chanyi) has a spacious seat that the legs can be drawn up upon. Aside from this general characteristic, it was produced in many styles. Images of luohans and chan masters from the Song dynasty illustrate such broad-seated chairs made of wood, bamboo, or tree branches.

【汉语】老外与小麦系列故事 之十四
时间: 8月30日(星期五) 20:15 – 21:15
主讲老师: 小麦（点击关注老师的沪江主页>>>）
公开课地点: Hujiang Chinese（点击下载CCTALK）

Although the use was similar to the daybed, the couch bed (chuang, luohan chuang) is distinguished by railings, which render it as a more formal piece of furniture. The development of railings may be related with the early placement of screen panels around the back and sides of the platform, which enhanced the sitter as well as provided privacy and protection from drafts.

Open-frame daybeds were popularized during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), and their use gradually eclipsed the old, box-style platform. Traditional styles included simianping and waisted forms with cabriole legs or horsefeet.