Paper cutting is one of the most popular Chinese handicrafts (手工艺). It can go back to the 6th century. From the 7th to 13th century, paper cutting became popular, especially during Chinese festivals. The art spread to the rest of the world in the 14th century.
Paper cuttings are used in many ways. Today, paper cuttings are mainly used as decorations (装饰) at ceremonies or celebrations. They decorate walls, windows, doors, pillars, mirrors, lamps and lanterns. And they themselves can also be given as gifts. Paper cuttings were also used to serve as the mould pattern (模具) for making embroideries and paintings.
Wishes for wealth, health and longevity are often expressed through paper cuttings. For example, during the Chinese New Year, the character “Fu” is pasted upside down on the door to express people’s wish for the coming of goodness. At a birthday party of an old person, paper cuttings with the character “Shou” are often seen, showing people’s wishes for living a long life. At a wedding ceremony, a red paper cutting with the character “Xi”traditionally carries wishes for happiness for the newly married couple.
The tools required for paper cutting are simply a piece of paper, usually paper in red, the most popular color in Chinese culture, and knives and scissors. So it is easy to learn how to make paper cutting
Paper Cutting
| starting in the 6th century | |
| popular from the 7th to 13th century | |
| spreading in the 1 4th century | |
| uses | decorations |
| mould patterns | |
| expression of wishes | Fu: the coming of goodness |
| Shou: | |
| Xi: happiness for the newly married couple | |
| a piece of paper | |
| scissors |
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The Tang Dynasty (618—907) was a golden age in Chinese history when art and culture, especially poems were highly developed. In Complete Tang Poems, about 48,900 poems by over 2,200 poets were collected. Li Bai and Du Fu are the most famous among them and many of their poems are well-known at home and abroad even today.
Li Bai was a romantic (浪漫的) poet during the Tang Dynasty. He was regarded, along with Du Fu, as one of the two greatest poets in Chinese history. He got inspirations (灵感) to write poems not from the reality but by imagining. Today we know about 1,100 of his poems, many of which are about everyday topics, such as nature, love, and friendship.
Du Fu was a master of all the poetic forms of his time. He showed his worries over the country and the life of the poor people. Many of his poems describe the hard realities (现实) of war, dying people living next to rich rulers… So his poems are a mirror (镜子) of the society of the Tang Dynasty.
Poems in the Tang Dynasty are the most famous and central part in cultural history with greatest achievements. Tang poems belong to metrical verse (格律诗) marked by strict rules. There are two main forms of Tang poems. Jueju is a poem of four lines and lüshi has eight lines, and both of them include five or seven characters in one line. They are the two main forms of Tang poems.
Tang poems have greatly and deeply influenced Chinese culture. Though created over 1,000 years ago, many of the poems are still widely spread today.
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Tony: Hello, everyone. I am Tony, the group leader. These are my group members, Betty and Daming. Today, I’d like to introduce the longest man-made water way — the Grand Canal（大运河） to you. Here is our presentation（展示）.
Betty: I’ll introduce the process. First we made a plan about the time we would need and how to do the project. It took us two weekends to do online searching, watch the short videos and make the slide （幻灯片）. Here it is.
It is 2,700 kilometers long in total—the longest man-made waterway in the world. The oldest part can be more than 2,500 years old. It links the north of China with Hangzhou. |  |
 | It’s a system of canals and rivers. Thousands of boats use it every day to transport food and many other goods. |
| Click here to watch the video of the canal: https://tv.cctv.com/2016/03/21/VIDEO... | |
Daming: The government is now doing new work on the Grand Canal. It is making parts of it deeper to make sure that bigger ships can use. The canal will also help to move water. There is a lot of rain in the south of China, but not so much in the north. The canal will carry lots of water from the south to the north.
Tony: The Grand Canal sees the changes of Chinese history. It’s possible for us to go on a trip along the canal to know more about Chinese history. Now, what do you think of our project? Your comments and suggestions ate always welcome. Thank you.
1. How many students are there in Tony’s group?There are
2. How long did it take the group to do the project?
It took them
3. How old is the oldest part of the Grand Canal?
It can be
4. Which word means “连接” in the slide?
It is “
5. Please write down one of the benefits（益处） of the Grand Canal.
【推荐3】In the morning this Wednesday, a red bronze horse-head statue (铜像) was donated back by Macao-based tycoon and collector Stanley Ho Hung-sun and handed over to the National Cultural Heritage Administration in Beijing (北京文化遗产管理处)China on November 13th ,2019.
These animal-head taps took turns to spray(喷) water during different hours within a day, at noon, a salvo(同时喷水) would happen.
The invading Anglo-French Alliance Forces(英法联军) rampaged through the Old Summer Palace and set it on fire in 1860. Millions of national treasures, including the 12 animal-head statues, were taken abroad in the war.
Ho spent HK$ 69.1 million ($8.8 million) to buy the statue in September 2007, and publicly exhibited it in Hong Kong and Macao promoting people’s consciousness (意识) of protecting cultural relics.
Ho decided to donate it back to the mainland on 20th anniversary of Macao’s return to China, after he contacted the National Cultural Heritage Administration, which said the statue will be given back to the Yuanmingyuan administration.
The horse-head statue is the seventh that has returned to Beijing among the 12 articles from the Old Summer Palace fountain, the rest of which are hoped to be returned in future.
1. When was the red bronze horse-head statue donated to China?2. Where were millions of national treasures taken?
3. How long has Ho kept the red bronze horse-head statue?
4. Have all the animal-head statues been returned to Beijing China?
5. Why did Ho publicly exhibit the red bronze horse-head statue in Hong Kong and Macao?
【推荐1】With a history of more than 1,000 years in China, the oil-paper umbrella used to be a rain-sheltering (挡雨的) tool for the Chinese. Although the oil-paper umbrella is now no longer commonly used for rainy days, it has never disappeared from people’s lives, especially for the Yao people living in the southwest of China. When a Yao man’s relative visits a Yao woman’s family to propose marriage (求婚), the relative will bring a red oil-paper umbrella. If the woman accepts the proposal (请求), she will take the umbrella and hang 12 small cloth bags on the umbrella’s ribs (伞架). Then the relative will give the umbrella back to the man to tell him the good news. The oil-paper umbrella made in Fenshui, a town in Luzhou, Sichuan Province is well known around the world. To make the umbrella, craftspeople (手艺人) must complete more than 70 steps. It takes a craftsperson about half a month to make an oil-paper umbrella. It can be opened and closed at least 3,000 times. Its surface won’t separate from the ribs even if the umbrella is put in water for 24 hours.
阅读短文，用符合语义及语法规则的词填空，每空一词。▶The oil-paper umbrella has a history of over 10
▶The Yao people living in the
▶The relative of the man will
▶The oil-paper umbrella
▶A craftsperson usually spends about
【推荐2】There is an old Chinese saying, (a) “If someone gives you a little drop of water, you should return a spring of water.” That means if someone helps you a bit, you should thank him a lot.
We thank our parents. They work hard all the time in order to give us a better life. They give us food and clothes, and they teach us what is right and what is wrong. We are looked after well by them.
We thank our teachers who give us dreams. (b)对于老师来说，教育我们是不易的。They teach us a lot of things, but they ask for nothing from us. We are well-educated by them.
Meanwhile (同时), we even thank people who hurt us, because they teach us important things.
We thank people who give us up, because we learn how to be independent. We thank people who are selfish (自私的), because we learn the importance of being kind.
There are a lot of people that we should thank in our life. We should express our thanks with actions, not just words. Then what action will you take to thank them?
根据短文内容，完成下列任务。
1. Why should we thank people who give us up?
2. Can we express our thanks only with words in the writer’s opinion?
3. What action will you take to thank your parents? (Give an example)
4. 将(a)处画线句子翻译成汉语。
5. 将(b)处画线句子翻译成英语。
Queenstown is in New Zealand. It’s a fun place with lots of things to do for kids. There are interesting activities every season for kids. In spring, you can enjoy nice flowers, visit large farms, meet little sheep, and feed big cows. You can have some water activities in summer, such as jet boating, paddle boarding, kayaking in a quiet cove, or going on a rafting (木筏) trip with your family. When trees start to turn yellow in autumn, there are still a lot for kids to do. Get off the main (主要的) road by bike and look for beautiful trails. On the trails, you can enjoy beautiful plants and cute animals along the way. When the snow starts to fall in winter, the real fun starts. In Queenstown, there are ski lessons for kids in many places. There are great facilities (设施). And experienced teachers in Queenstown know how to teach kids. They make the ski lessons interesting to make sure the kids are happy.
The word “cove” is a noun (n.) and means an area of sea that is partly surrounded by land.
1. Where is Queenstown?Queenstown is in
2. What can you do if you visit Queenstown in spring?
You can visit big farms, feed big cows,
3. When can you go on a rafting trip with your family?
You can go on a rafting trip with your family
4. Which English word in the passage means “小路”?
It’s “
5. Who does the underlined word “they” refer to (指代)?
It refers to
Hanfu, the traditional Chinese clothes, has become more and more popular, especially among young people. You can see them wearing Hanfu walking in the streets. Some people wear Hanfu because it is beautiful, while some may be interested in the rich culture behind it.
Zhang Zening, a girl from Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, has made more than 50 sets of Hanfu from different dynasties. She started to make her own Hanfu ten years ago because she couldn’t buy her favorite style (风格) in the market.
In order to make Hanfu, she has visited many places of interest, such as Yongle Palace in Shanxi Province, Fahai Temple in Beijing, and Dunhuang in Gansu Province. She studied from the murals (壁画) there. She also studied from paintings by Tang Bohu from the Song Dynasty. She taught herself painting and costume designs (服装设计).
Making Hanfu is not easy. It takes about a month to make each Hanfu set. Zhang now runs the He Lu Hanfu Studio (工作室) in Nanjing. She said, “For me, making Hanfu is not just about creating a piece of clothing; it’s about tasting a culture that I find amazing.”
1. Why do some people choose to wear Hanfu?2. When did Zhang Zening begin to make Hanfu?
3. How long does Zhang Zening spend making each set Hanfu?
4. Do you like Hanfu? Why or why not? (Write 30 words or more)
Chinese paper-cutting (剪纸) is a kind of folk art. People usually use knives to cut paper. It has a long history of about 1,500 years. Let’s learn something about paper-cutting.
Wonderful meanings
Paper-cutting has some wonderful meanings. Some paper-cuttings mean happiness and good luck. At the Spring Festival, people usually paste (粘贴) “Fu” on doors or windows.
Why is it red?
In China, people always love red because it is hope and life. We can see red everywhere in China. The walls of old palaces are red. Lanterns are red. Weddings are always full of red things, too.
Black paper-cutting in Shanzhou
Many of the paper-cuttings are red, but paper-cuttings in Shanzhou, Henan Province are black. Black is the best color there. Shanzhou is a dry (干的) place. People make black paper-cuttings and wish (希望) for rain.
Now, paper-cutting gets into many schools. Students can learn how to make paper-cutting at school. Li Jie, a middle school student, “I think paper-cutting is beautiful. We all love it.”
1. How long is the history of Chinese paper-cutting?
It has a long history of
2. Where do people usually paste “Fu”?
They usually paste “Fu”
3. Why do Chinese people love red?
Because it is
4. What color are the paper-cuttings in Shanzhou, Henan Province?
The paper-cuttings in Shanzhou, Henan Province are
5. What does Li Jie think of paper-cutting?
He thinks paper-cutting is
【推荐3】A sweet art-sugar painting
In China, one can often find folk artists producing sugar paintings with liquid sugar along the streets, in the parks, and around the schools.
The artists normally sit before a wooden stand where there is a smooth rock table in the middle. On the table, there is a wooden plate with various pre-painted images such as dragons, birds, dogs and flower baskets.
Sugar painting is different from traditional painting because artists must work quickly before the hot sugar cools down. They draw the picture without stopping. To get familiar with the whole process, the painter has to do some practice of normal painting in the first place.
There are two main kinds of sugar painting: plane painting and solid painting. It is easier to do the former. When producing the later, the painter needs more knowledge and techniques of sugar painting.
According to some academic studies, sugar painting originated from the Ming Dynasty. In the Qing Dynasty, sugar painting gained more popularity. In recent years, the folk artists in Sichuan have developed this art by incorporating techniques of Chinese shadow puppet and Chinese paper cutting.
Nowadays, the number of sugar painters has decreased. A certain number of artists are making efforts to preserve it by ________ and applying for the National Non-material Cultural Heritage.
1. Where can you see sugar painting in China?2. What are the pre-painted images of sugar paintings?
3. Why must the artists work quickly to finish the sugar painting?
4. Which one is easier, the plane painting or the solid painting?
5. When did the sugar painting become more popular?
6. Fill in the blank in the last paragraph.
A certain number of artists are making efforts to preserve it by
