Straw Weaving (草编)
What’s the first thing that pops into your mind when you think of wheat straw?
·The Origin of Straw Weaving
·The Process of Straw Weaving
Straw weaving is a method of manufacturing daily items or artworks. Wu explains the process of straw weaving: selection of materials is the first step of a complicated, time-consuming and labor-intensive process that can take weeks, or even months, to complete. You need to sketch (素描) the piece on paper, which requires drawing skills.
·The Current Situation of Straw Weaving
·The Future of Straw Weaving
From her perspective, straw weaving should respond to people’s needs and preferences, while still drawing inspiration from traditional culture.
| A．Next comes weaving, shaping and preserving of the work. |
| B．The earliest straw-weaving products were discovered at Hemudu Cultural Ruins. |
| C．It was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2008. |
| D．“Craftspeople should be responsive and creative and constantly update their products,” |
| E．Most people would probably just see it as a pile of waste in a farmer’s field. |
| F．“Craftspeople should try their best efforts to promote products,” |
| G．In the past, woven straw items could be found almost in every household in the countryside. |
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【推荐1】Recently China’s netizens took to the microblogging site Weibo to passionately critique pictures Of the Great Wall in Suizhong County Liaoning province(辽宁省绥中县).
And rightly so.
The New York Times described the flattened section as a “cement (水泥) skateboarding lane dumped (遗弃)in the wilderness .” Let me explain if you haven’t seen in the photos : smooth concrete（混凝土）covers the top, and battlements (城垛) along the edges were completely destroyed--work done in the name of “conservation. " The Great Wall has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site for decades recognizing China's diverse architectural history. Undoubtedly, this particular “conservation” represents a tragedy for the whole world.
As the tourism industry in China picks up, heritage sites are coming under greater public scrutiny(公众监督). Sites that I have visited such as the Summer Palace, Terracotta Warriors and Yu Garden each see millions of tourists every year. As a result, we have grounds to believe that historic sites do need conservation for fear that the inevitable crowds of tourists will trample (践踏) them into dust.
However ，conservation should not only improve physical accessibility it should also retain the character and enhance the experience. One need not look farther than Badaling or Mutianyu in Beijing. While this Great wall restoration provides significant employment opportunities and mostly protects the wall from destruction, it is not without fault. Many visitors complain of overcrowding , the “fakeness” of gauy (花哨的) new architecture and high ticket prices.
Moreover, there is no comprehensive (全面的) academic publication in any language about the Great Wall. Little scientific knowledge proves the truth of historical and political claims. For instance, UNESCO still claims that the Great wall can be seen from space while China's first taikonaut Yang Liwei stated otherwise.
Unfortunately, the restoration of the Great Wall in Suizhong cannot be changed back to what it was before. Then what can you young people do to support the Great Wall and other historic sites in China? At least it is within your power to learn about the rich history of heritage sites, observe guidelines when visiting them and encourage others to follow your example.
1. According to the New York Times , the restoration of the Great Wall was_______| A．of no importance | B．far from satisfactory |
| C．worth the effort | D．not too bad |
| A．It cost a large sum of money |
| B．It was only focused on physical accessibility |
| C．It was not approved by the loyal government |
| D．It was meant to development tourism industry in China |
| A．it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site several years ago |
| B．it can be found in different provinces of China |
| C．It attracts a large number of tourists every year |
| D．it cannot be seen from space |
①spread the information of how to go to those sites
②study the rich history of those sites
③obey the guidelines when visiting those sites
④point out other tourists' bad behavior when visiting those sites
| A．①②③ | B．①②④ |
| C．①③④ | D．②③④ |
【推荐2】On April 18—the International Day for Monuments and Sites, China Daily’s digital employee Yuanxi and Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes’ official virtual cartoon figure Jiayao together introduced an interactive digital platform (平台) that hosts a virtual copy of the Mogao Grottoes’ Library Cave (藏经洞) to the world.
The platform was developed jointly by the Dunhuang Academy and the Chinese tech firm Tencent. It uses gaming technologies to show the historical scenes of the Library Cave in the digital world.
The Library Cave in Mogao Grottoes was discovered in 1900, with more than 60,000 cultural relics dating from the 4th century to the 11th century unearthed. It was one of the most important archaeological discoveries in the 20th century.
On the platform, visitors can role-play and “time travel” to ancient dynasties and talk with eight historical figures: The public can enter the platform through the Digital Dunhuang website and its WeChat mini program.
In the digital age, the model of “culture+ technology” has been introduced to facilitate the development of Chinese culture. The digitalization rate of China’s precious cultural relics is now over 70 percent, according to the 2022 China Digital Collection Industry Research Report released by iResearch.
Institutions such as the Palace Museum have also started online digital services of their own. Artificial intelligence (AI) technology allows the public to view the interior of the buildings through the Palace Museum’s WeChat mini program.
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism has also encouraged the development and transformation of cultural intellectual property (知识产权) by digital means. China Central Television has created a series of digital collections with different Dunhuang themes, such as the Dunhuang divine deer (神鹿) Youyou. It was created based on the image of the nine-colored deer from Dunhuang murals (壁画). The public can see the divine deer on CCTV’s own digital platform.
1. Which of the following statements about the virtual copy of the Mogao Grottoes’ Library Cave is true?| A．It was developed by the Dunhuang Academy alone. |
| B．The public can have access to it through Wechat mini program. |
| C．It has applied the latest time-traveling and gaming technology. |
| D．It was unearthed in 1900 with more than 60,000 cultural relics. |
| A．To show the latest gaming technologies. |
| B．To help cultural institutions make a profit. |
| C．To promote the development of Chinese culture. |
| D．To encourage people to explore Chinese cultural relics. |
| A．By listing figures. | B．By making comparisons. |
| C．By giving a definition. | D．By giving an example. |
| A．China’s new way in rebuilding Mogao Grottoes’ Library Cave. |
| B．China’s success in promoting the digitization rate of cultural relics. |
| C．China’s interactive digital platform in developing Dunhuang culture. |
| D．China’s latest advances in the development of cultural intellectual property. |
【推荐3】Tulou, the special residential architecture of Fujian Province was included on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List during the 32nd session of the World Heritage Committee in Quebec, Canada.
In the fourth century, Han Chinese living in the Central Plains area began to migrate south, gradually gathering in Fujian and forming the Hakka communities. As a defence against enemies, the Hakkas chose to live in compact (紧凑的) communities, and the tulou was their preferred houses. Tens of thousands of such earthen structures were constructed in Fujian Province.
Most tulous are to be found in the valleys, surrounded by high mountains, and some are in the depths of the great mountains. Most are three to four storeys high, and look like circular blockhouses (堡垒). Rooms on the first floor are used as kitchens, rooms on the second floor are used as barns (谷仓), and rooms on the third and fourth floors are for bedrooms and living rooms. For defensive purposes, the rooms on the first floor have no windows.
Raw materials for the tulou were obtained locally. Their main building material was a mixture of clay, sand, lime and water, and egg whites, brown sugar and rice water were added as adhesive agents (粘合剂). It was then mixed to form the walls. Once they dried, the walls were so hard that driving a nail into them would have been difficult. Fir branches, which are extremely strong and do not rot, were used to strengthen them, and many centuries later they have remained their original look.
Tulous are located in a region where earthquakes happen frequently, and their circular construction helps them resist the regular shocks.
The proven design even inspired one famous Peruvian architect, who paid several visits to Yongding, to build a tulou back home. Not long after, an earthquake struck only 10 kilometers away, and while all the houses around the earthen building fell down, his tulou remained.
1. From the passage, we know that tulou .| A．is a special residential architecture of Han Chinese in Fujian even today |
| B．was once the place where the Hakkas chose to live together |
| C．is also modem people’s preferred houses |
| D．looks like circular blockhouses but easy to fall down in the earthquake |
| A．most tulous are to be found in urban area |
| B．Hakkas might live an organized and harmonious life |
| C．people lived on the second floor in the tulou |
| D．no windows are on the first floor to keep the tulou strong |
| A．Hakkas built tulous when they lived in the Central Plains area |
| B．Raw materials for the tulou were obtained from far away |
| C．It is difficult to dig a hole into the walls of the tulou |
| D．Fir branches may help them resist the regular shocks. |
| A．One of UNESCO’s World Heritage List |
| B．The Function of Tulous |
| C．Yongding County and The Hakkas |
| D．The special Earthen Architecture of Fujian |
【推荐1】Held every year on 21 May, the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development celebrates culture and highlights its diversity as a symbol of inclusion and positive change. Today, we invite Nita Llonçari and Baktygul Rakymbaeva to talk about their favourite cultural heritages.
Nita Llonçari, Kosovo
Cinema ‘Lumbardhi’ in Prizren is one of my favourite sites. It’s a great representation of national culture because it goes beyond the usual definition of material heritage. The Cinema has not become a monument due to its astonishing architecture or its very old age, but because of its genuine value to the people of Kosovo.
Cultural monuments in their most basic form can teach us about why we live the way we live. Every decision taken about a monument - how it was built, why it was built, how it is protected - has an idea behind it, whether it is their protection, destruction, restoration or reinterpretation. When we look at a monument, we learn about the power heritage has to alter societies. That’s the reason we should not allow our past to be erased. Otherwise, we risk history falling into oblivion.
Baktygul Rakymbaeva, Kyrgyzstan
‘Manas’ is one of the finest narratives and an encyclopaedia of the Kyrgyz people’s life and fight for independence, statehood, culture, life-style, education and all other aspects of their life. Counting up to 937,000 lines of sentences, the oral epic has been included in UNESCO’s list of masterpieces of cultural heritages of humanity. ‘Manas’ has also been considered for World Guinness Records as the World’s Biggest Epic.
The epic has travelled through more than 1,000 years by word of mouth depicting the Kyrgyz hero Manas, his wife Kanykei, their relatives, family and their efforts to build the strong and independent Kyrgyz state. Manaschy have taken on the responsibility to pass the epic of ‘Manas’ to the next generation.
1. What do we know about Cinema ‘Lumbardhi’ from the passage?| A．It’s still not a monument. |
| B．It has a short history. |
| C．It’s greatly valuable to Kosovars. |
| D．It’s a representation of world-wide culture. |
| A．Ruins. | B．Forgetfulness. |
| C．Awareness. | D．Meaninglessness. |
| A．It’s the finest narrative. |
| B．It’s an encyclopaedia on the world. |
| C．It’s the world’s biggest Epic in Guinness. |
| D．It’s a longest novel in the world. |
【推荐2】By drawing patterns on the surface of a cup of tea, chabaixi (茶百戏), an ancient Chinese tea trick displayed in a recent TV drama, has gone viral for its apparent similarity with modern coffee art. However, ten years ago, this distinctive technique was close to disappearing. Zhang Zhifeng, a practician of chabaixi, found scenes of chabaixi in the drama aroused great interest among ordinary people.
Chabaixi can create endless patterns such as bamboos and mountains or even calligraphy. There are over a dozen steps, from grinding (碾碎)tea for fine powder, to pouring boiled water, stirring the mixture for thick froth, and finally drawing the patterns. It is different from making latte because people use clear water as the object to put into the cup instead of milk. But when the water touches the surface of whipped tea, it turns into a white color and disappears in 20 minutes. The process before the drawing is known as the tea-making technique, diancha. The quality of diancha is crucial to whether patterns can be successfully produced later.
“Chabaixi is one of the countless forms of tea-making techniques in China. The importance of chabaixi is not only that this technique is unique in the world, but also it gives us a window into people’s lifestyle in the Song Dynasty, a period of time when leisure activities in some ways resemble what we have now, ”Zhang said.
Before chabaixi was discovered by TV audiences, the technique was listed as part of China’s Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2017, after it was recovered by Zhang Zhifeng. He started researching the origins of chabaixi in the 1980s and brought the technique back in 2009 after decades of trials and practice. Zhang spent nearly 30 years studying and researching the origins and making of tea, but for him it was all worthwhile.
“This technique is key to the tea culture of the Song Dynasty, and it would be a shame to let it fade. This technique must be passed on to the next generations so they can understand its history, ” Zhang said.
1. What do the underlined words “gone viral” in paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．Become popular quickly. |
| B．Received good protection. |
| C．Started declining gradually. |
| D．Maintained highly competitive. |
| A．It develops based on coffee art. |
| B．It is painted with whipped milk. |
| C．It mainly describes beautiful scenery. |
| D．It involves complicated tea-making skills. |
| A．The origin of chabaixi. |
| B．The significance of chabaixi. |
| C．The uniqueness of chabaixi. |
| D．The development of chabaixi. |
| A．Zhang Zhifeng - A Practician of Chabaixi |
| B．Chabaixi - A Famous Tea-making Technique |
| C．Ancient Chinese Tea Trick Starting New Trends |
| D．Ancient Tea Technique Finds New Popular Recognition |
【推荐3】Known as “soft gold”, Gambiered Canton Gauze(香云纱) is the perfect silk fabric (布料) for cheongsam (旗袍). It feels smooth and comfortable, easy to wash and dry, and is also good for people’s health.
Today, Gambiered Canton Gauze is the only silk fabric in the world that’s still hand-dyed (手工染) and using natural plants. It gets its color from shuliang, a yam (薯蓣) plant growing in Shunde, Guangdong, which can help fight against bacteria (细菌) and bad smells.
The skill of dyeing Gambiered Canton Gauze has a long-lasting history of more than 500 years. In 2008, it was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage (国家非物质文化遗产).
Mr. Ouyang is an inheritor (继承人) of the Gambiered Canton Gauze dyeing technique. He started learning the technique in 2017.
The dyeing process includes 30 steps. It can take up to six months and is done by hand with materials from nature. “The plant shuliang, river mud, sunshine and grass all play key roles in dyeing,” Mr. Ouyang said.
To dye the fabric, workers put it in shuliang juice and let it dry on the grass. They repeat this many times until it turns brownish-yellow. Then, they put river mud on it to help shuliang react fully. After washing and drying again, the fabric turns black!
Mastering the technique is a tricky (棘手的) task, according to Mr. Ouyang, who said the most challenging part is controlling the density (浓度) of shuliang juice. “ Too much may cause color loss, and too little may not lead to a dark enough fabric,” he said. “Better control of density comes after many failures.”
Passing on the craft is also challenging. The job can be exhausting as workers have to be at work under the sun for eight hours each day. Therefore, only a few people work in the industry, and skilled masters are getting older as fewer young people take part.
Considering this, Mr. Ouyang has worked harder to develop the traditional craft by combining other dyeing techniques such as tie-dye (扎染) and batik (蜡染) and cooperating with famous fashion designers. They are turning the silk into both traditional and fashionable clothes that are popular worldwide. In this way, according to Mr. Ouyang, the craft can stay alive and even draw more people to join the industry.
1. What can we learn about Gambiered Canton Gauze from the passage?| A．It is hand-dyed using natural plants. |
| B．It feels comfortable, but is not easy to wash. |
| C．The art of gauze-dyeing has a history of 1,000 years. |
| D．It is the perfect material for bedding items. |
| A．Washing the fabric by hand. | B．Drying the fabric on the grass. |
| C．Putting river mud on the fabric. | D．Controlling the density of shuliang juice. |
| A．The challenges of working with silk. |
| B．The importance of skilled workers. |
| C．The challenges of passing on the craft. |
| D．The reasons why this job is important. |
| A．By promoting the traditional craft abroad. |
| B．By working with famous fashion designers. |
| C．By making the dyeing process shorter. |
| D．By combining modern technology with dyeing skills. |
