~*Second National Emblem: the Giant Panda*~ Friday, May 2 2008 

Culture and Nature , fablala 9:58 am

The Giant Pandas are one of many animals that are classified as endangered species. If their homes continue to get destroyed, the less of them there’ll be (and their birthrate is pretty low). Most are kept in zoos with a habitat that are as close as they can be to their natural environment.   

I think they are one of my favourite animals because they look exactly like a huge teddy bear. When you look at them, it makes you want to go over and hug it. They are very cute animals.

Even though the dragon is China’s national emblem, the Giant Panda can be seen as a second national emblem for the country.

The Giant Panda can be found in mountain ranges in central China. The used to stay in lowland areas but because of deforestation, farming and other land developments, it restricted the areas for them to live in.    

WWF is an organisation that have been active to conserve Giant Panda’s since 1980. They have been helping the government of China with the National Conservation Programme for the Giant Panda and their habitat. The programme has shown significant progress. 

 

~*Traditional Chinese Medicines*~ Thursday, May 1 2008 

Culture and Medicine fablala 10:02 am

In this world, many medicines that we use are from China and are originally created from herbs.

Traditional Chinese medicine is considered a complementary and alternative medicine in the Western part of the world. 

The Chinese believe that the life and activity of an individual human being have an intimate relationship with the environment around them. 

“Traditional Chinese medicine is largely based on the philosophical concept that the human body is a small universe with a set of complete and sophisticated interconnected systems, and that those systems usually work in balance to maintain the healthy function of the human body.”

The famous Yin and Yang is one of the five models of the body. The other four are Five elements theory, Zang Fu theory, Meridian and Three Jiaos. 

The Chinese model focuses primarily on functions of the body whereas in the Western anatomical model, the body is divided into separate parts. 

Theories, diagnosis and treatments for example, herbal medicine, acupuncture and massages all belong to the traditional Chinese medicine practices.  

Acupuncture is one of the most common used medicine that we find more often today. It has proven in many cases as very efficient. Basically thin needles are being put into the body to relieve you the pain that you may have.  

 

 

~*Architecture*~ Wednesday, Apr 30 2008 

Art and Culture , , fablala 2:00 pm

The Great Wall of China is considered one of the world’s medieval wonders along with the Stonehenge, Colosseum, Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa, Porcelain Tower of Nanjing, Hagia Sophia and the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

There are more wonders, which include the Taj Mahal, Cairo Citadel, Ely Cathedral and Cluny Abbey.

I have never been to the Great Wall of China yet. It’s definitely on my list of things to see! It is one of the largest constructions ever done.  

The Great Wall was built around 2000 years ago and stretches just over 6,700 km long, which is about 4,163 miles. It stretches across the mountains of the northern part of China, winding north and northwest of Beijing. 

The Wall was built in the Spring, Autumn and Warring States Periods as a defensive fortification by the three states, which were Yan, Zhao and Qin. It was first built as independent walls until the Qin Dynasty. Emperor Qin Shihuang joined the walls together. Only then was the wall called “Great”. 

The Great Wall has been often included in Chinese mythology. 

Even if you won’t manage to walk along the entire wall, it’s been said that it’s spectacular to even just experience one part of the wall. 

It appears to be a fantastic tourist attraction! The part of the Wall that lies north-east of Beijing is still in it’s original state. It is recommended to see that if you can’t decide which area of the Wall you want to see.  

It sure has attracted me!

 

~*Feng Shui*~ Tuesday, Apr 29 2008 

Culture and Religion fablala 5:00 pm

Some of you might be wondering what ‘Feng Shui’ is. Well, it is a Chinese practice believed to utilize the Laws of both Heaven and Earth to help improve life by receiving positive Qi (flow of energy).

The main theories of Feng Shui are Qi, Polarity, Magnetic North and Luopan Compass and Bagua.  

It’s interesting that you can find schools that teach Feng Shui. You learn the practice of arranging your furniture, for example, in your house. You do this in order to achieve harmony within your own environment.

It has been researched that the lunar cycle, weather, seasons and colours alter our emotions and our behaviour.

Luckily Feng Shui consultants are there to help determine what kind of atmosphere a person will flourish in. They then create an environment for you to feel comfortable in and help you succeed. They will look at colours, art, plants, lighting, the type of furniture etc.

I’ve been fascinated about Feng Shui for a while and do share some belief in it.  

 

~*Chinese Weddings*~ Monday, Apr 28 2008 

Culture , fablala 9:41 am

When I hear about Indian weddings, they last for a couple of days, and preparation is done many months ahead. They are very bright and colourful. A friend of mine went to two weddings within the same month. I always love to hear her stories. When it’s her wedding, I’ll be able to experience one for myself.

So I was wondering what a traditional wedding might look like in China because I’m not familiar with marriage rituals, or weddings in general. Here’s what I’ve found out.

In China, marriage became a custom between 402 – 221 B.C. On the whole there are six rituals known as “three letters and six etiquette”.

There are three letters: request letter, gift letter and wedding letter. The request letter is given to the bride’s family from the groom’s family to formally request a marriage. The gift letter accompanies the gifts of the groom’s family to the bride’s family before the wedding. Last but not least, the wedding letter. This is given on the actual wedding day, which is an official acceptance of the bride into the groom’s family. 

The “six etiquettes”  are the proposal, birthdates, bride price, wedding gifts, arranging the wedding and the wedding ceremony. 

Some of the preparations are for example, the bride-to-be will be put in a separate part of the house with her closest friends, but away from her family. During this time, they sing laments to mourn the bride’s separation from her family. 

Another is the installation of the bridal bed. On the day before the wedding, a new bed is purchased. Children are invited onto the bed as an omen to fertility. So the more children there are on the bed, the better. Red dates, oranges, lotus seeds, peanuts and pomegranates are put on the bed. 

The actual day of the wedding is divided up into 5 parts. There is a “hair dressing ritual” for the bride and a “capping” ritual for the groom. This symbolises their start into adulthood and are very important to wedding preparations. Red, which is a symbol of joy, is predominantly in their clothing. 

The other parts are the procession from the groom’s house to obtain the bride, then the bride’s journey to the groom’s house and lastly, arriving at the groom’s house.

The wedding ceremony is fairly simple in comparison to the preparations. At the family alter, the bride and groom pay homage to Heaven and Earth, the family ancestors and the kitchen God. Tea, with two lotus seeds or two red dates are put into a cup and offered to the groom’s parents. Then the bride and groom bow to each other. This completes the marriage ceremony. 

 

~*Chinese Festivals*~ Sunday, Apr 27 2008 

Culture and Religion , , fablala 5:57 pm


Some of the most famous Chinese festivals are Chinese New Year, the Lantern Festival, Dragon Boat festival and Moon or Mid-Autumn festival.

Let me just give you a small overview about what each is about.

Let’

s start off with Chinese New Year. It is one of the most important festivals! The new years falls in between the months of January and February, of course it depends on the Lunar, or moon, calendar.

To prepare for this special occasion, houses are being cleaned thoroughly. Tangerine trees, Chinese paintings and calligraphy are sold in masses.

On the eve of the New Year you spend time with your family and friends where prayers are made. Then on the actual New Year you wear new 

shoes and new clothes to symbolize the New Year. You get small red packets containing money in them!

The days after, you spend time with your relatives and pray for good fortune, until the fifteenth day.

This is where the Lantern festival joins in. It lasts 3 days long. Good fortune, health and happiness are the main symbols on these lanterns. Many lanterns are also hung in homes.  Then after the Lantern festival, everything slowly settles down back to normal life.

Throughout the New Year, “lion” dances are performed. Being a “lion” dancer takes years of practice, as you have to have good coordination to dance the “lion”

.

But it is a spectacular event, which everyone must experience once in a lifetime!

The Dragon Boat Festival is held on the fifth day of the fifth moon, which is usually around June time. This day is to honour the Chinese port and patriot, Wut Yuan, as he drowned himself in the river. 

The local people threw food into the water so that the fish would not feed on his body. On this day boat races are held. The boats are long and decorated very colourful.  They are about 45 to 120 feet long.

The Moon festival is celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month. Traditionally, family members get together with friends and eat moon cakes and pomeloes outside under the moon. You see many carrying brightly, coloured lanterns and some are lit on towers. Mid-Autumn trees are planted as well. Similarly to Chinese New Year, there are fire dragon dances. 

Hopefully these gave you a nice insight on their traditions!

 

~*Culture Part III: Music*~ Saturday, Apr 26 2008 

Culture fablala 10:00 am

I’m quite new to the music area of China as I myself, listen to English songs instead of Chinese ones. So while writing this post, I am learning something new too.

I found out so far, that the music of China is divided into modern, national, traditional and regional music.

The modern music consists of mainly C-pop, which is either in Cantonese, or Mandarin, similar to J-pop, which is pop music from Japan. Then there is rock, Chinese rap and Hong Kong and Taiwanese hip-hop.

The forefather of Chinese rock is Cui Jian. His first rock song was called “I Have Nothing”. During this time, it was the first time an electric guitar was used in China. After this, he became one of the most famous performers of the 1980’s.

C-pop was apparently founded by Li Jinhui, with the shidaiqu genre. Shidaiqu is a mixture of Chinese folk/European jazz fusion music. It originated from Shanghai. 

Traditional music is Opera, Yayue and Instrumental. The music here, is usually played on solo instruments or in small ensembles. Some instruments include: plucked and bowed stringed instruments, flutes, cymbals, gongs and drums. 

National includes historical anthems, patriotic or revolutionary music, “March of the Volunteers” and “Three Principles of the People”. Mainly the music performed here encourages national pride. 

The different regions of music are Tibet, Guangxi, Yunnan, Sichuan, Manchuria, Xinjiang, Hua’er and Kuaiban.  

 

~*Culture Part II: Art*~ Friday, Apr 25 2008 

Art and Culture fablala 5:59 pm

Two words: Terracotta Army. 

One of the most fascinating things anyone could ever see. I considered this army as art because in a way, it is. 

In 1974 farmers discovered these terra cotta figures, which dated back all the way to 210 BCE. They were found near Xi’an, Shaanxi province. 

The figures differ in height, but they are in between 184 cm and 197 cm (6ft – 6ft 5in). They are pretty tall. They are taller than me! 

In the Terracotta Army you can find following figures: warriors, horses, officials, chariots, strongmen, musicians and acrobats. 

The Terracotta Army was buried with Emperor of Qin in 209-210 BC. The purpose of the Army was to help rule another empire with Shi Huangdi in the afterlife. Others think they were simply built for protection. 

Local craftsmen and government labourers created these figures. The body parts, head, arms, legs and torso were made separately and then put together. According to studies, eight face moulds were used. Clay was added to give them individual facial features.

The Terracotta Army lies in four pits. They are 1.5km east of the burial mound and are approximately 5 metres deep. In a way they act as guards to protect the tomb from an attack from the east (where all the conquered states were). The walls around them and ground layers are as hard as concrete. Sadly some figures are damaged and decaying. 

Outside of China, museums have had exhibitions about the Army. In Britain, for example, the British Museum hosted an exhibition called “The First Emperor – China’s Terracotta Army“. The exhibition lasted from 13 September 2007 until 6 April 2008.  

 

~*Culture Part I: Languages*~ Friday, Apr 25 2008 

Culture fablala 10:28 am

In China the main two languages that are spoken are Mandarin and Cantonese. Just like every other country, there are parts of China that have various dialects.

Sometimes you are able to understand each other and sometimes you can’t because the language is completely different.

From Mandarin and Cantonese, Mandarin is nowadays, the one spoken more often. It’s supposed to be the ‘easier’ one as it only has 4 different tones. Whereas Cantonese has 8 or 9 tones!

I am planning on learning Mandarin very soon. I feel strange when people ask me whether I speak “Chinese” and I say no. Not only do I want to know how to speak it, but I want to learn how to write as well. 

Believe it or not – Mandarin is the most spoken language in the world, on top of English. And I always thought English was the most common language. 

China is a booming country and will become an important country in the future. Knowing the language could give you, as a person, really good advantages.  

 

~*Traditional Chinese Dress*~ Thursday, Apr 24 2008 

Culture and Fashion and Religion fablala 6:58 pm

When it comes to Chinese New Year, or any related occasion, I think the best thing you can wear is the traditional Chinese dress that are available in a wide variety of colours.

Red, blue, white, pink, black etc. But the most common colour you would find in China is RED.

For girls, you can have the dress either short or long and combine it with anything that’s into fashion nowadays. Such as black tights, they would like fabulous under the shorter dresses. 

It doesn’t even have to be a dress if you are more of a prefer-jeans-with-top kind of person. They have blouses for that matter.

What I really like about them is how they make you look slimming. But the material feels nice too. I also love the different kinds of prints you can get. My favourite ones are the ones with the dragons on them or with flowers.

Even celebrities wear them as a fashion icon. 

 

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