Chinese Food 53: Royal Cuisine of the Qing Dynasty 清室宫廷菜
Royal cuisine is not only preciously made, but also implies special meanings. As the top leader of a country, emperors cherished the state won by their ancestors. Thus, they innovated the food their ancestors ate during war times into imperial court dishes so that their descendants could remember the experience. Thus, some dishes with special flavors and meanings became the traditional food of imperial court cuisine.宫廷菜不仅精巧别致,还有许多有着特殊的含义。皇帝身为一国之君,倍加珍惜祖辈们辛苦打下来的江山。于是,他们将祖辈们攻城拔寨时吃的菜加以改造,放在宫廷膳食中,让子孙们将先帝的训诫铭记于心。久而久之,这些风味独特而又意味深远的菜就成了宫廷的传统膳食之一。
Never make these mistakes in Chinese 37
Foreigners often make some strange mistakes in Chinese when they study the most difficult language— —Chinese. We try to analyze typical sentences to correct these errors.
Chinese furniture: Ebony (Wumu)
Wumu, or ebony, is botanically related to the Ebenacea family. It has a fine closed grain which is very brittle, and the color can be pure black to black and brown. Because it grows as a small-diameter tree, it is rarely used as primary material for large pieces of furniture, but more often shaped into secondary decorative elements or as small precious objects.
Chinese Food 52: Double Ninth cake重阳糕
On the Double Ninth Festival, people will eat Double Ninth Gao (or Cake). In Chinese, gao (cake) has the same pronunciation with gao (height). People do so just to hope progress in everything they are engaged in. There is no fixed ways for the Double Ninth Cake, but super cakes will have as many as nine layers, looking like a tower.重阳节这天,人们会吃重阳糕。在中文中,糕和高度的高同音。人们吃重阳糕是希望自己能有所进步。做重阳糕没有什么特定的方法,但是一个好的重阳糕一定会有很多层,就像一座宝塔一样。
Kung Fu :Meishan Sect 功夫: 梅山派
梅山派又称为"新化派",流传于湖南梅山地区。梅山地区本来就有很强的尚武之风,宋代以前多使用戈戟,善于使用弓弩。明朝的时候习惯用弓箭配合马匹,重视实用技能,也曾涌现出很多轻功高手,新化有个义军首领李庭禄就能"拔剑飞檐"。Meishan sect is also known as the Xinhua sect, which is popular in Meishan region of Hunan Province. Before the Song Dynasty, the people of Meishan often used daggers and halberds, and excelled at using arrows and bows. In the Ming Dynasty, people there were good at archery on horseback. They stressed the importance of everyday skills and there were some qinggong (flying skill) masters. Li Tinglu, a chief of a rebellion group in Xinhua could "fly to the top of a roof with sword in his hand."
明以后南北武艺相继传入,当地拳家取其精华而独成一派。该派武术简捷而实用,粗犷而有力,手法多,桩步稳,常发声助劲。注重桩功和指掌功。俗称"四十天打,三十夜桩"。After the Ming Dynasty, Kungfu from the south and the north was introduced in succession and local Kungfu masters absorbed each's essences to establish their own independent sect. Kungfu of this sect is simple, useful and powerful, featuring abundant hand skills and stable maneuvers. People often shout to regain power when fighting. They focus on step skills and palm and finger skills. As the saying goes, "forty days practices of fists and thirty nights practices of standing on stakes."
Never make these mistakes in Chinese 36
Foreigners often make some strange mistakes in Chinese when they study the most difficult language— —Chinese. We try to analyze typical sentences to correct these errors.
Chinese Food 51: Chrysanthemum Wine 菊花酒
The chrysanthemum wine was regarded in ancient times as "auspicious wine" that people must drink on the Double Ninth Festival to prevent disasters and pray for blessings. Chinese people have it as a tradition to drink the chrysanthemum wine on the Double Ninth Festival. 菊花酒在古代一直被当做吉祥的酒,每每到重阳佳节,人们都会喝菊花酒祛灾祈福。重阳佳节喝菊花酒一直是重阳佳节的一个习俗。
Never make these mistakes in Chinese 35
Foreigners often make some strange mistakes in Chinese when they study the most difficult language— —Chinese. We try to analyze typical sentences to correct these errors.
Ullambana, Yulan Jie in China
The 15th day of the 7th lunar month is Hungry Ghost Festival as well as Zhongyuan Festival, Yu Lan Pen festival and ShiHu. It used to be a religious ceremony in India. The Buddhist would hold the Yu Lan Pen Festival in memory of their forefathers. The Yu Lan Pen canon was compiled to encourage the Buddhists' piety, so it went with the Chinese custom of commemorating their ancestors and became popular in many Chinese regions. There was a popular folk tale about how the monk, MuNian, saved his mother from suffering. MuNian had great magic power. One day his mother fell into the mouth of a hungry ghost and turned into flames in endless suffering. MuNian had no idea to save his mother, so he asked Buddha for help. Buddha told him the Yu Lan Pen canon and asked him to save his mother on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month with the help of Yu Lan Pen.
Famous Chinese Food
China is famous for its food as well as tourist attractions. Delicious foods are an attraction indispensable in a good tour. With a long history, unique features, numerous styles and exquisite cooking, Chinese cuisine is one important constituent part of Chinese culture. Chinese dishes are famous for color, aroma, taste, meaning and appearance.
The following are the eight most popular dishes among foreigners and Chinese. They are sweet and sour pork (chicken), gong bao chicken, ma po tofu, wontons, dumplings, spring rolls, chow mein and Peking duck. These dishes are available in most large restaurants in China.