Category: Chinese Culture

Illustrated Catalogue of Plants 植物名实图考长编

In ancient China,Illustrated Catalogue of Plants(《植物名实图考长编》zhíwù míngshítú kǎochángbiān) is a botanical monograph or flora of medicinal plants with high scientific values, and its compiling system is quite different from those of Chinese materia medica masterpieces in the past generations and actually belongs to the category of botany. The book was proofread and published in 1848, one year after the death of Wu Qijun( Wú Qíjùn吴其濬), the author of the book.

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Chinese Taiji 太极

Taiji Quan（太极拳，Tàijí Quán） is one of the major Chinese martial arts (Wushu). It is used for life enhancement, health building and combat. It calls for an uncluttered mind and complete concentration; soft, slow, smooth and complete movements; and a clear distinction between force and yielding. Many people in the West are better acquainted with the graceful, flowing movements of Taiji forms than with the more static Qigong（气功，Qìgōng） forms. However, the two share a common philosophical background, and both can contribute to the development and maintenance of health and well-being. In essence, the forms that are seen performed as Taijiquan (literally, the "supreme ultimate fist," or "supreme ultimate boxing art") can be conceptualized as a dynamic form of Qigong, or "energy cultivation," and a way of regulating the system and preventing disease. Clinical practice has proved that Taiji and Qigong are very effective for chronic diseases and prevention. Taiji and Qigong can produce very high success rate for chronic diseases.

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Badaling Great Wall

The Badaling Great Wall(八达岭长城Bādálĭng Chángchéng) is located in Yanqing County, about 60 kilometres north-west of Beijing,and stands at the strategic highest point from north-west to beijing in China.It is the important pass for protecting Beijing City with the name of "the Key to the North Gate of Beijing","To look down at Juyong Pass from the Badaling Great Wall is like to pour water from a higher place or watch down a deep well". The ancient people had the saying that "the strategic position of Juyong Pass does not lie in Guan city,but Badaling" which indicates its utmost strategic position.

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Overseas Talents Program settles in the High-tech Zone

China Association for Science and Technology has officially issued a document to approve the foundation of "Help Our Motherland through Elite Intellectual Resources from Overseas" Program Hubei (High-tech Zone in Xiangyang) Work Base. This is the first time that China Association for Science and Technology set up such a work base in a prefecture-level city in this province. This program (HOME Program — Help Our Motherland through Elite Intellectual Resources from Overseas), initiated by China Association for Science and Technology and 35 overseas famous teams of science and technology, was officially carried out in 2004 to construct a green channel for overseas high-end talents and projects serving economic and social development in Xiangyang.中国科学技术协会已经正式发文承认“海外智力为国服务行动计划”湖北（襄阳高新区）工作点的成立。这是中国科学技术协会第一次在湖北省的地级市成立这样的一个工作点。这个行动计划（海智计划——海外智力为国服务行动计划 ）由中国科学技术协会和35个国外知名科技团队共同发起，于2004年正式开展，打造海外高层次人才和项目为襄阳经济社会发展服务的绿色通道。

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Chinese Opera 中国戏曲

Chinese opera falls into more than 300 forms of traditional operas, of which Peking Opera（京剧，Jīngjù） is the most popular. Peking Opera evolved from Kunqu Opera（昆曲，Kūnqǔ） , an even more ancient art of drama listed by UNESCO in 2001 among the first group of works representing humankind through oral history. Other popular local operas include Yueju（越剧，Yuèjù） ( Shaoxing Opera（绍剧，Shàojù） from Zhejiang), Huangmeixi（黄梅戏，Huángméixì） (from Anhui), Chuanju（川剧，Chuānjù） (Sichuan Opera), Yuju（豫剧，Yùjù） (Henan Opera), and Yueju（粤剧，Yuèjù ）  (Guangdong Opera). Peking Opera developed in early 19th-century Beijing and presents singing, music, chanting, dancing and martial arts all in one stage performance. The dramatic masks and costumes of Peking Opera are world-renowned. Famous Peking Opera actors and actresses over the years included Mei Lanfang（梅兰芳，Méi Lánfāng） , Cheng Yanqiu（程砚秋，Chéng Yànqiū） , Ma Lianliang（马连良，Mǎ Liánliáng） , Zhou Xinfang（周信芳，Zhōu Xìnfāng） and Du Jinfang（杜近芳，Dù Jìnfāng） . Since the 1990s, the emergence of highly talented young performers has helped demonstrate the continued importance of Peking Opera in Chinese culture. In recent years, the Peking Opera Theatre of China has experimented with incorporating western symphonic music in its productions.

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New-democratic Revolution Period 新民主主义革命时期

  New-democratic Revolution Period (1919 – 1949)

Series of unequal clauses imposed by the imperialist powers aroused the intense patriotism of students and other stratums of China. The May Fourth Movement took place under such circumstance. It is treated as the thought fountainhead of many important events in modern Chinese history, including the spreading of the western modern thoughts and the Marxism-Leninism in China. In 1921, a communist group comprising Mao Zedong and other 11 representatives from various regions of China held the First National Congress in Shanghai, and the Communist Party of China was founded.

China had undergone the Northern Expedition (1924-1927), the Agrarian Revolutionary War (1927-1937), the Anti-Japanese War (1937-1945) and the War of Liberation (Civil War, 1945-1949) in the course of New-democratic Revolution. In the time of Anti-Japanese War, Kuomintang and Communist Party of China cooperated jointly to fight against the fascist Japanese power, while the Kuomintang started the civil war in 1945, at the end of which the Communist Party of China triumphed and founded the People’s Republic of China in Beijing.

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