Category: Traditional Chinese Festivals

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China has a long history of root carving: Primitive people began to make effigies out of wood for ornaments. In 1982, when cleaning the No. 1 tomb of the Chu state excavated in Mashan, a local museum employee in Jingzhou County, Hubei Province discovered a root carving believed to have been made between 340 and 270BC in the late Warring States Period – 2,300 years ago. It featured a four-legged animal with a tiger’s head, a dragon’s body and a rabbit’s tail; its manner was full of verve and simple and elegant in hue. By the Sui and Tang dynasties, root art was very prosperous. Records from The Biography of Li Mi present a root carving piece entitled "Dragon-shaped Claw" made from a crude tree root for the emperor. Root carving artwork from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), such as the "Phoenix" and "Jade Dragon", have been on display in Yuyuan in Shanghai until today. These works thoroughly exhibit the verves of root carving.

As the weather turned warmer in Hangzhou, farmers began to harvest China’s famous West Lake Longjing tea this week.

Chinese Paper Cutting or Jianzhi (剪纸 jiǎn zhǐ) is the first type of papercutting design, since paper was invented by Cai Lun in the Eastern Han Dynasty in China. The art form later spread to other parts of the world with different regions adopting their own cultural styles.

During the Spring Festival period every year, almost all families handpick a pair of Spring Festival couplets to paste on their doors, adding some joyous atmosphere to the festival. The couplets are generally written on red paper and the sentences contain auspicious meanings.