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Chinese Martial Arts ( 武术) |
Chinese martial arts, also known as wushu (武术) or gongfu (功夫) (kung fu), were part of the traditional Chinese culture and had been developed mainly for self-defence, hunting and military training.
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Chinese Porcelain ( 陶瓷) |
Porcelain (陶瓷) was one of the most famous Chinese arts of all time, indeed porcelain objects were often referred to as ‘china’ in some parts of the world. The Chinese porcelain was made from clay containing kaolin, a form of clay material found in China. When heated to sufficient temperatures of above 1,200 degree centigrade, kaolin changed its physical composition and became translucent and impervious to water.
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Chinese Tea (中国茶) |
The consumption of tea in China began as a medicine but gradually grew into a form of beverage. Shen Nong (神农), a legendary traditional Chinese medicine practitioner 2,700 BC ago, utilized tea as an antidote when he was poisoned while trying out various herbs.
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Qing Ming Festival ( 清明节 ) |
Qing Ming Festival ( 清明节 ), or Clear Brightness Day, was a traditional Chinese festival that fell on April 5 this year. Qing Ming originated from being one of the 24 solar terms ( 二十四节气 ) used in the ancient Chinese’s lunisolar calendar more than 2,500 years ago. The ancient calendar divided the year evenly into 24 significant seasons, each separated by about 15 degree along the ecliptic path of the Sun across the sky. The purpose of the solar terms was to help synchronised farming decisions with the changing season.
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Chinese worldwide celebrated the Lunar Year of the Ox on Monday, 26th January 2009. The Spring Festival as it is sometimes called, could last for up to fifteen days until the full moon on 9th February 2009.
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Painting of A Hundred Children |
Ancestral worship is the underlying principle of Chinese ethics. Therefore, the birth of a child, in particular a son that will carry on the family’s name, is regarded as an extremely fortunate event. As such, there are many customs and rituals to encourage child birth especially among couples who are yet childless, unable to conceive or who have no luck with male infants.
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A typical Chinese Almanac |
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All ancient civilisations have their own slant of calendar record and almanacs in particular have been in existence since antiquity across the globe. The Chinese Almanac or “通胜”, is a book, or table, containing forecasts and outlook for the year.
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Chinese opera for the Hungry Ghost Festival |
By now you should probably be aware of the 2008 Summer Olympics to be held in Beijing, China, this coming August. However, there is at least another event going on in (and beneath) China during August. Every year, during the seventh month of the Chinese Calendar, it is believed that the Gates of Hell will be opened and all Hell beings (well, not nearly all, only those well-behaved ones) will be set to roam freely on Earth for a month.
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The Duan Wu ( 端午 ) Festivals falls on the fifth day of the fifth Chinese Lunar Month. This year, it will be on the 8th of June. There are actually many origins to this Festival, the most commonly excepted version is that the day is used to commemorate the death of Qu Yuan ( 屈原 ), an official and poet in the State of Chu ( 楚 ) state during the Warring States period.
The Yellow Emperor
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Bronze Device From Xia Dynasty
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In the Chinese world, there was no defined universe in the beginning. There was simply a nothingness of formless chaos. The Chinese Culture was unique in not having a legend of myth about a Creator of the universe. This thinking was probably the most authentic line of reasoning, but it was not easy to be understood by commoners, nor was it easy to be employed by rulers.
The Chinese considered 3 stages of a man’s life ( birth, marriage and death ) as most important, as such there are numerous practices pertaining to each stage. At birth, a name will be bestowed to a child who will bear it for the rest of his life. As such, many details are taken into consideration when choosing a name. It is hoped that an auspicious name will smoothen the life path of the child by enhancing his hidden attributes and bring about good fortune.
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| Traditional Chinese Medicine
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