Forbidden

CityThe

Forbidden

City

was

the

Chineseimperial

palace

from

the

Ming

Dynastyto

the

end

of

the

Qing

Dynasty.

It

islocated

in

the

middle

of

Beijing,

China,and

now

houses

the

Palace

Museum.For

almost

five

hundred

years,

it

served

asthe

home

of

emperors

and

their

households,as

well

as

the

ceremonial

and

political

centerof

Chinese

government.

The

palace

complex

exemplifies

traditional

Chinese

palatial

architecture,and

has

influenced

cultural

and

architectural

develo

East

Asia

and

elsewhere.The

Forbidden

City

was

declared

a

World

Heritage

Site

in

1987,and

is

listed

by

UNESCO

(聯(lián)合國科教文組織)

as

the

largest

collection

of

preserved

ancient

wooden

structures

in

thGreat

WallThe

Great

Wall

of

China

is

aseries

of

stone

and

earthenfortifications

in

northern

China,built

originally

to

protect

thenorthern

borders

of

theChinese

Empire

againstintrusions

by

various

nomadic

groups.

Several

walls

have

been

built

since

the

5th

century

BCare

referred

to

collectively

as

the

Great

Wall,

which

hrebuilt

and

maintained

from

the

5th

century

BC

through16th

century.

One

of

the

most

famous

is

the

wall

builtbetween

220–206

BC

by

the

first

Emperor

of

China,

Qin

S

Huang.

Little

of

that

wall

remains;

the

majority

of

the

existing

wall

was

built

during

the

Ming

Dynasty.Chinese

Classical

Garden

The

Chinese

Classical

Garden

is

a

place

for

solitary

or

social

conteof

nature.

Chinese

gardens

were

created

in

the

same

way

as

a

combination

of

lands

and

paintings

together

with

poems

-this

was

the

so-called“poetic

ga

The

design

of

Chinese

gardens

was

to

provide

a

spiritual

utopia(烏托邦

one

to

connect

with

nature,to

come

back

to

one‘s

inner

heart,to

come

to

ancient

idealism.Chinese

gardens

are

a

spiritual

shelter

for

peop

they

could

be

far

away

from

their

real

social

lives,and

close

to

the

an

way

of

life,their

true

selves,and

nature.This

was

an

escape

from

the

frustration

and

disappointment

of

the

political

problems

in

China.Th

plants

as

symbols.

Bamboo(竹子)was

used

in

every

traditional

Chinese

garden.This

is

because

bamboo

represents

a

strong

but

resilient(達(dá)觀

character.Often

pine(松樹)is

used

to

represent

longevity(長壽),per

tenacity(堅(jiān)韌)and

dignity(莊嚴(yán)).The

lotus(蓮花)is

used

to

symboliz

Flowering

peaches(碧桃花)are

grown

for

spring

color,and

sweet

olive欖)as

well.The

chrysanthemum(菊花)is

used

to

symbolize

splendor,

luster(光彩)and"the

courage

to

make

sacrifices

for

a

natural

life".Peonies(牡丹)symbolize

wealth

and

banana

trees

are

used

simply

for

th

sound

they

make

in

the

breeze.Chinese

folklore

Chinese

folklore

includes

songs,dances,puppetry(木偶戲),and

toften

tells

stories

of

human

nature,historical

or

legendary

eventand

the

supernatural,or

stories

explaining

natural

phenomena

anddistinctive

landmarks.

The

main

influences

on

Chinese

folk

tales

have

been

Taoism(道教),

Confucianism(儒教)and

Buddhism(佛教).Well-known

Chinese

folk

tales

include:

The

story

of

Qi

Xi(七夕),also

known

as

the

Story

of

the

Magpie

Bridge(鵲橋)or

the

Story

of

Cowherd(牛郎)and

the

Weaving

Maid(織女),which

tells

how

the

stars

Altair(牽牛星)and

Vega(織女星)cametheir

places

in

the

sky.

The

story

of

Hua

Mulan(花木蘭),the

female

warrior

who

disguised

herself

as

a

man.The

story

of

Chang"e(嫦娥),the

goddess

of

the

moon.The

story

of

the

Magic

Paintbrush(神筆馬良).

The

story

of

Meng

Jiangnü(孟姜女),the

woman

who

sought

her

husbanat

the

Great

Wall.

The

story

of

Sun

Wukong(孫悟空),the

Monkey

King-from

the

popular

novel

Journey

to

the

West(《西游記》).Kung

FuChina

is

one

of

themain

birth

placesof

Eastern

martial

arts.The

names

of

martialarts

were

called

Kung

Fuor

its

first

name

Wushu.China

also

includes

the

home

to

the

well-respected

Shaolin

Monastery

and

Wudan

Mountains.The

first

generation

of

art

started

more

for

purpose

of

survival

and

warfare

than

art.Over

time,so

forms

have

branched

off,while

others

have

retained

a

dChinese

flavor.Regardless,China

has

produced

some

of

most

renowned

martial

artists

including

Wong

Fei

Hung(飛鴻),Bruce

Lee(李小龍)and

many

others.Numbers

in

Chineseculture

In

Chinese

culture,certain

numbers

are

believed

by

some

to

be

auspicious(吉利)or

inauspicious(不利)based

on

the

Chinese

word

that

the

number

name

sounds

similar

to.However

some

Chinesepeople

regard

these

beliefs

to

be

superstitions.

Since

the

pronunci

and

the

vocabulary

may

be

different

in

different

Chinese

dialects,

rules

are

generally

not

applicable

for

all

cases.

Because

of

the

supposed

auspiciousness

of

certain

numbers,

somepeople

will

often

choose,

attempt

to

obtain,

or

pay

large

sums

fornumbers

that

are

considered

to

be

lucky

for

their

phone

numbers,street

addresses,

residence

floor

,driver"s

license

number,

vehiclicense

plate

number,

bank

account

number,

etc.

Lucky

numbers

are

based

on

Chinese

words

that

sound

similar

to

other

Chinese

words.

The

numbers

6,

8,

and

9

are

believed

to

have

auspicious

meanings

because

their

names

sound

similar

to

words

thathave

positive

meanings.table

manners

Chinese

table

manners

are

the

traditional

styles

that

are

used

foeating

in

the

region

of

China.In

most

dishes

in

Chinese

cuisine(烹

food

is

cooked

in

bite-sized

pieces

and

easy

to

grab

and

eat.

Therefore,chopsticks

are

used

at

the

table

instead

of

forks

and

kni

Eating

is

a

dominant

aspect

of

the

Chinese

culture.

In

China,

eatin

out

is

one

of

the

most

accepted

ways

to

treat

guests.

Similar

to

Westerners

drinking

in

a

bar

with

friends,

eating

together

in

China

way

to

socialize

and

deepen

friendship.

There

are

many

traditions

that

govern

table

manners

in

China

such

athe

correct

treatment

of

guests

and

how

to

use

chopsticks

correctlyAlthough

each

Chinese

household

has

its

own

set

of

table

mannersand

rules,

the

foundational

traditions

used

to

welcome

guests

are

tsame.Chopsticks

Chopsticks

are

small

tapered

sticks

used

in

pairsof

equal

length

as

the

traditional

eating

utensils(用具)of

China.Generally

believed

to

have

originated

in

ancient

China,they

can

also

be

foundin

some

areas

of

Tibet

and

Nepal

that

are

close

to

Han

Chinese

populations.Chopsticks

are

most

commonly

made

of

bamboo

or

plastic,but

are

also

made

of

metal,

bone,

ivory,and

various

types

of

wood.The

pair

of

sticks

is

maneuvered

in

onehand,

between

the

thumb

and

fingers,

and

used

topick

up

pieces

of

food.cuisine The

overwhelmingly

large

variety

of

Chinese

cuisinecomes

mainly

from

the

practice

of

dynastic

periodemperors

hosting

banquets(宴會(huì))with

100

dishes

per

meal.A

countless

number

of

imperial

kitchen

staff

andconcubines

were

involved

in

the

food

preparation

proce

Over

time,many

dishes

became

part

of

the

everyday-citizen

culture.Some

of

the

highest

quality

restauranwith

recipes

close

to

the

dynastic

periods

includeFangshan

restaurant

in

Beihai

Park

Beijing

and

the

Orio

Pavilion.Arguably

all

branches

of

Hong

Kong

eastern

style

or

even

American

Chinese

food

are

in

some

ways

rooted

from

the

original

dynastic

cuisines.Leisure

A

number

of

games

and

pastimes

arepopular

within

Chinese

culture.

The

mostcommon

game

is

Mah

Jong.

The

samepieces

are

used

for

other

styled

games

sucas

Shanghai

Solitaire.Others

include

Pai

Gow(牌九).

Weiqi

and

Xiangqi

are

also

popular.Ethnic

games

like

Chinese

yo-

yo(溜溜球)are

also

part

of

the

culture.architecture

Chinese

architecture,examples

of

which

can

be

found

from

over

2,000

years

ago,has

long

been

a

hallmark

of

the

culture.There

arecertain

features

common

to

Chinese

architecture,regardless

ofspecific

region

or

use.The

most

important

is

its

emphasis

on

width,the

wide

halls

of

the

Forbidden

City(故宮)serve

as

an

example.

Another

important

feature

is

symmetry,

which

connotes

a

sense

of

grandeur

as

it

applies

to

everything

from

palaces

to

farmhouses.

Onnotable

exception

is

in

the

design

of

gardens,

which

tends

to

be

asasymmetrical

as

possible.

Like

Chinese

scroll

paintings,

the

princunderlying

the

garden"s

composition

is

to

create

enduring

flow,

tothe

patron

wander

and

enjoy

the

garden

without

prescription,

as

innature

herself.

Feng

shui

has

played

an

important

part

in

structuradevelopment.music?Mo

Li

Hua

,which

means

‘Jasmine

Flowers’,

is

apopular

Chinese

folk

song.It

was

created

during

the

Qianlong

Emperor

period

of

the

Qing

Dynasty.There

are

two

versions

of

the

song,the

more

well

known

one

fromthe

Jiangsu

Province,and

the

other

from

Zhejiang

Provi

They

have

different

lyrics

and

a

slightly

differentmelody(曲調(diào)).

The

melody

has

become

well

known

among

Westernlisteners

as

it

was

included

by

Giacomo

Puccini

in

his

opera

Turandot(圖蘭朵),where

it

is

associated

with

"Turandot"s

splendor".

This

song

was

sung

by

a

young

Chinese

girl

and

broadcasto

the

world,

at

the

closing

ceremonies

of

the

2004

Summ

Olympics

in

Athens,

Greece,

to

introduce

the

next

Olymp

Games

site,

accompanied

by

the

music

by

Peking

University

students.

At

the

2008

Beijing

Olympic

Games

this

music

was

used

in

all

awarding

ceremonies.無法獲取該音頻文件。Spring

Festival

Spring

Festival

is

the

most

important

oftraditional

Chinese

holidays.It

is

often

inaccurately

called“Lunar

New

Year”,because-as

part

of

the

lunisolar

Chinese

calendar(農(nóng)歷)-the

date

is

partially

de

based

on

lunar

phase.The

festival

tradit

begins

on

the

first

day

of

the

first

monthChinese

calendar

and

ends

with

Lantern

Fe

which

is

on

the

15th

day.Chinese

New

YearEve,a

day

where

Chinese

families

gather

ftheir

annual

reunion

dinner,is

known

as

c

(除夕).It

literally

means“Year-pass

EvRed

envelopes

or

red

packets(紅包)Fireworks(煙花)Firecracker

ban(鞭炮)

According

to

tales

and

legends,the

beginning

of

ChinNew

Year

started

with

the

fight

against

a

mythical

beascalled

the

Nien

(年).Nien

would

come

on

the

first

day

o

New

Year

to

devour

livestock,crops,and

even

villagerespecially

children.To

protect

themselves,the

villawould

put

food

in

front

of

their

doors

at

the

beginningevery

year.It

was

believed

that

after

the

Nien

ate

thethey

prepared,it

wouldn’t

attack

any

more

people.Ontime,people

saw

that

the

Nien

was

scared

away

by

a

littchild

wearing

red.The

villagers

then

understood

thatNien

was

afraid

of

the

colour

red.Hence,every

time

whthe

New

Year

was

about

to

come,the

villagers

wouldhang

red

lanterns

and

red

spring

scrolls

on

windows

anddoors.People

also

used

firecrackers

to

frighten

awayNien.From

then

on,Nien

never

came

to

the

village

agaiThe

Nien

was

eventually

captured

by

Hongjun

Laozu,an

ancient

Taoist

monk.The

Nien

became

Hongjun

Laozu"smount.Qingming

Festival

The

Qingming

Festival

is

a

traditional

Chinese

festival

on

the

104th

day

after

the

winter

solstice(冬至)(or

the

15th

day

from

the

Spring

Equinox(春分)),usually

occurring

around

Aprilof

the

Gregorian

calendar(公歷).Astronomically(天文學(xué)上)it

is

also

a

solar

term(節(jié)氣).The

Qingming

festival

falls

on

the

first

day

of

the

fifth

solar

term,named

QingmingIts

name

denotes

a

time

for

people

to

go

outsideand

enjoy

the

greenery

of

springtime(踏青)andtend

to

the

graves

of

departed

ones.

A

drizzling

rain

falls

like

tears

on

theMourning

Day;

The

mourner"s

heart

is

breaking

on

hisway.

Where

can

a

winehouse

be

found

todrown

his

sadness?

A

cowherd

points

to

Almond

Flower(杏花)Village

in

the

distance.Duanwu

Festival

Duanwu

Festival

，also

known

as

Dragon

Boat

Festiv

is

a

traditional

and

statutory

holiday

associated

wi

Chinese.

The

festival

occurs

on

the

5th

day

of

the

5th

of

the

lunar

calendar

on

which

the

Chinese

calendar

iThe

focus

of

the

celebrations

includes

eating

the

ridumpling

zongzi,drinking

realgar

wine(雄黃酒),and

dragon

boats.

The

best-known

traditional

story

holds

that

the

festcommemorates

the

death

of

poet

Qu

Yuan.

Qu