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Discover Chinese Culture
China is one of the Four Ancient Civilizations (alongside Babylon, India and Egypt), according to Chinese scholar Liang Qichao (1900). It boasts a vast and varied geographic expanse, 4000 years of written history, as well as a rich and profound culture. Chinese culture is diverse and unique, yet harmoniously blended — an invaluable asset to the world.
中国传统艺术
Zhōng guó chuán tǒng yì shù
Traditional Chinese Art
书法
shū fǎ - Caligraphy
Calligraphy is literally "beautiful writing" and is regarded as an art form in many different cultures worldwide. Still, the status of calligraphy in Chinese culture is unparalleled. From a very early time, calligraphy was not just decorative art in China. On the contrary, it is regarded as the supreme visual art form, which is more valued than painting and sculpture. It is listed as a way of self-expression and self-cultivation alongside poetry.
中国画
Zhōngguó huà - Chinese Painting
Chinese painting is one of the oldest continuous artistic traditions in the world. Chinese painting is executed on specially made rice paper or silk with brushes, ink and Chinese painting pigments. The subjects are mostly figures, landscapes, flowers and birds. Chinese painting can be divided into three types: figure painting, landscape painting, and flowers and birds. 1. Figure painting gives you the means to draw a good figure. In addition to inheriting the tradition, it is necessary to understand and study the basic shape, proportions and anatomical structure of the human body, and the changing laws of human movement, so as to accurately shape and express the state and spirit of the characters. There are different expressive methods in figure drawing, each with its own strengths and appropriate application according to the desired effect. 2. Landscape or coloured ink painting is a specialized art discipline with a long history. Since the Tang Dynasty, in every period there have been famous artists who specialized in creating landscape paintings. Although they have different origins, qualities, schools and methods, they all use brush and ink, colours and specific techniques. The composition of landscape painting includes mountains, water, stones, trees, houses, platforms, boats, bridges, wind, rain, cloudy, sunny, snow, sun, clouds, fog and climatic characteristics of spring, summer, autumn and winter to achieve astonishing expressiveness. 3. Chinese paintings of flowers and birds are colourful and fascinating. It is listed as a specialist subject of Chinese painting alongside landscape and figure painting. In a broad sense, flower and bird painting includes flowers and birds, animals, insects, and fish to depict the power and depth of natural beauty.
饺子
jiao zi - Chinese dumplings
Jiaozi are Chinese dumplings commonly eaten in China and other parts of East Asia. They are one of the major dishes eaten during the Chinese New Year and year-round in the northern provinces. Though considered part of Chinese cuisine, jiaozi are popular in other parts of East Asia and in the Western world, where they are sometimes called potstickers.
武术
Wǔ shù - Martial Arts
Martial arts are systems and traditions of fighting practiced for a number of reasons, such as self-defense, competition, physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment, and the preservation of a nation's intangible cultural heritage. In higher martial arts, the Dao is achieved and the world will be pacified; in medium martial arts the mind and body are at peace; It has a long history and can be traced as early as the Shang and Zhou dynasties. It has an extremely broad mass base and is a valuable cultural heritage accumulated and enriched by the Chinese working people in long-term social practice. It is one of the outstanding cultural heritages of the Chinese people and is inextricably linked with the Chinese language. Martial arts are high-level self-defence techniques to prevent invasion. Based on practical security problem solving, it allows our minds to be trained in adaptability, fitness, excellence and happiness. It is simple and easy to implement and can easily improve people's mental and physical quality, protection and fitness. Diligent and excellent, happy and responsive.
剪纸
jiǎn zhǐ - The art of paper cutting
The art of paper cutting (jiǎnzhǐ 剪纸) in China may date back to the second century AC, since the paper was invented by Cai Lun in the Eastern Han Dynasty in China. As paper became more affordable, paper-cutting became one of the most important types of Chinese folk art. Later, this art form spread to other parts of the world, with different regions adopting their own cultural styles. Because the cut-outs are often used to decorate doors and windows, they are sometimes referred to as chuāng huā (窗花), window flowers or window paper-cuts. People glued the papercuts to the exterior of windows, so the light from the inside would shine through the negative space of the cutout. Usually, the artworks are made of red paper, as red is associated with festivities and happiness in Chinese culture, but other colors were also used. Normally paper-cutting artwork is used at festivals like Spring Festival, weddings and childbirth. Papercuts always symbolizes luck and happiness.
茶道
Chá dào - 'The way of tea'
Cha Dao, translated as "the way of tea", is an ancient practice with a long lineage of tea sages, masters and teachers. It integrates tea as a plant, beverage, tradition, and medicine for body, mind, and spirit. Thus the Dao, is passed down from teacher to student. Cha Dao lives life in harmony with nature, honouring lineage, slowing down when sitting for tea, meditating with tea, and recognizing the exchange of chi and the sacred mystery that each cup of tea offers. Drinking tea has been a habit of the Chinese people since ancient times, but not everyone knows the right way to drink tea, and only a few can fully represent the process of a tea ceremony. The tea ceremony is a spiritual treasure left by our ancestors. If we can take it forward that would be wonderful. Making tea is also a way of learning. In daily life, we like to invite some old friends to drink tea and chat together in our free time. A proper tea ceremony consists of 13 steps that contain meticulous gestures and rituals. When everyone succeeds in penetrating through a deeper understanding of the Chinese tea ceremony, it pays off with a sense of exclusivity and spiritual bliss.
传统中医
Chuán tǒng zhōng yī
Traditional Chinese Medicine
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) historically dates its development from at least 8000-4000 BC, when archaeological finds of the first stone needles for acupuncture date. Its original zone of diffusion included Vietnam, Korea and Japan, and these countries eventually developed their own individual variations on it. Basic concepts in Traditional Chinese Medicine are those of harmony between yin and yang, chi, the five elements (wood (木 mù), fire (火 huǒ), earth (土 tǔ), metal (金 jīn) and (水 water), meridians, chakras and acupuncture points. Since the 1950s, TCM has been reconciled with the Western type, comparative studies have been done, and in most cases, Chinese traditional medicine doctors complete a double course, in classical medicine and traditional Chinese treatment. TCM is embodied in various forms of herbal treatment, acupuncture, Tuina massage, Qigong, dietary therapy and others.
针灸
Zhēn jiǔ - Acupuncture
Acupuncture is predominantly pain-killing therapy. It is based on polylines and points web system on the human body. The polylinear pathways are called meridians. According to traditional Chinese medicine, vital body energy (qi) passes through these meridians. Acupuncture involves inserting very thin needles into specific points along the meridians to redirect chi. In this way, our body is stimulated to dull the pain by itself. A derivative of acupuncture is acupressure, which relies on pressing specific points with fingers instead of inserting needles. A Korean version of acupuncture is auriculo-therapy, where seeds are placed on therapeutic points responsible for the movement of chi. All these therapies are based on the network of points and meridians. The Western view that acupuncture can cure everything is wrong, and this is why the unfounded skepticism associated with it is due. Even the most skilled Chinese medical practitioners have no claim to such universality. The next paragraph discusses moxy-infusion therapy, which replaces needles, hands, and seeds with a cigar-like stick that heats key points.
拔罐
bá guàn - Cupping
Because of its simple operation and convenience, it was once regarded by ordinary people as an important daily treatment method in the family. This therapy is a method of removing the air in the tank with the help of heat and using negative pressure to make it suck on the skin, causing blood stasis. Some people believe that this therapy can dispel cold and dampness, dredge the meridians, remove stasis, invigorate qi and activate blood. It serves to relieve swelling and relieve pain, remove toxins and relieve heat and has the functions of adjusting the balance of yin and yang of the human body. Cupping relieves fatigue and enhances physical fitness, to strengthen the body and remove evil - the main purpose of curing disease.
艾灸
Ài jiǔ - Moxibustion
Moxibustion is Chinese traditional treatment. As with acupuncture, it acts on point on the body’s surface. Rather than using needles, one heats up dried leaves of mugwort-a plant with healing properties used in both Asia and Europe. The heating is external. It shouldn’t be unpleasant and it is under the pain threshold. With smooth rotating movements, the doctor heats a certain part of the body, the goal being to warm it with a significant amount of heat, not to burn it. The choice of a combination of places (points) for heating and the duration of each of them are an expression of the ability and talent of the doctor.
中草药
Zhōng cǎo yào
Chinese Herbal Medicine
Another area of Traditional Chinese medicine is based on plants, but also on minerals and animal parts. Traditional Chinese medicine is divided into Chinese patent medicine and Chinese herbal medicine according to the processing technology. Chinese Herbal Medicine mainly originated in China. In addition to botanical medicines, animal medicines such as snake gallbladder, bear gall, five-step snake, deer antler, antlers, etc.; shells such as pearls and sea clam shells; minerals such as keel, magnets, etc. are used to treat diseases with Chinese medicine. A few traditional Chinese medicines originate from foreign countries, such as American ginseng.
太极
tàijí - Tai chi
Tai chi, short for T'ai chi ch'üan or Tàijí quán (太极拳), sometimes colloquially known as "Shadowboxing", is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for defense training, health benefits, and meditation.
刮痧
guā shā - Scraping
Gua Sha is a kind of Chinese medicine therapy. Through the use of scraping equipment and specific techniques, repeated scraping and friction on the surface of the human body will cause the skin to produce red miliary or dark red bleeding. The effect of blood stasis. The red spots that appear on the skin after scraping are called "sha", that is, "out of sha". From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, "Sha" is the excretion product of pathogenic diseases, and "exiting Sha" means expelling pathogenic diseases from the body. What is the effect of scraping? Gua Sha can be used to treat physical pain, respiratory diseases, or conditions where the body’s qi and blood are blocked. From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, disease is caused by stagnation of qi and blood in the body, destroying local tiny blood vessels and surrounding tissues, allowing the body to quickly discharge metabolic wastes, dispelling wind and dispelling pathogens, reconciling qi and blood, and improving body balance. Therefore, scraping has the following efficacy and benefits: Improve respiratory diseases such as colds, nasal allergies, asthma Treats musculoskeletal problems, including cervical spondylosis, frozen shoulder, lumbar disc herniation and muscle pain Improve children's respiratory tract infection, fever, children's enuresis and other problems Relieve fatigue, relax muscles Strengthen the body, promote blood circulation Who is suitable for scraping? Gua Sha is especially suitable for those who have symptoms such as initial cold, headache, neck twitching, acute neck and shoulder muscle sprain, frozen shoulder or muscle strain.
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