1 . Titles like “taoli” and “quanzi” have rooted (根植于) themselves deeply into ancient Chinese history and culture. Let’s have a look.

Modesty and respect

Chinese people often call their sons quanzi. When Chinese parents use quanzi to refer to their sons, they are being modest (谦虚的). Of course, most parents have high expectations for their children and want them to be successful. However, they don’t usually talk about this in front of others. Instead, they try to play it down. This is similar to that even rich Chinese people may call their big houses hanshe.

Although people are modest about themselves, they praise others a lot. They call their own sons quanzi, but others’ sons linglang, which is a respectful way to say “your son”.

Spreading seeds (种子) of education

There is a Chinese idiom (俗语) taoli mantianxia, referring to a teacher who has taught so many students that they spread across the country like peach and plum trees (桃树和李树). The idiom comes from a story about Zizhi. As a teacher, Zizhi was both kind and strict. He often pointed at a peach and plum tree in his yard when asking his students to work hard. “You should become a useful person to benefit society, just like when the peach and plum trees bloom (开花) and produce fruit,” he said.

Keeping these words in their minds, many of Zizhi’s students went on to different places around the country, achieving great things along the way. Since then, “peach and plum trees” has been used to refer to students who have been successful in their jobs.

During the Spring Festival, Liu Huimin sets up a furnace (熔炉) with his team. Inside the furnace, there     1     (be) burning-hot liquid (液体) iron. The craftsmen (工匠) will throw it     2     the air to create fireworks.

This performance is known as “Datiehua” or “Dashuhua.” As     3     (it) name suggests, the traditional art form was inspired by the process of forging (锻造) iron. For more than 1, 000 years, it has     4     (serve) as a form of celebration during China’s Spring Festival and Lantern Festival.

According to Liu, the furnace needs to be heated for nearly forty     5     (minute) before the show starts and the temperature inside of it must be     6     (high) than 1, 500℃. Only in this way can the liquid iron be fine enough to create amazing sparks (火花).

When night falls, the show starts. Using a big long spoon, a man takes the molten (熔化的) iron from the furnace. He then hits     7     spoon with a piece of wood. Bang! Bang! The red hot molten iron becomes dazzling (耀眼的) sparks. These shining “stars” light up the night sky     8     (sudden). In some ways, they can be more beautiful than real fireworks.

    9    , great danger lies behind the wonderful show. The artists wear straw hats and sheep skin coats as a kind of     10     (protect), but accidents still happen. “Although it’s dangerous, I’m just happy to bring joy to people.” Liu said.

Chopsticks have been a big part of Chinese food culture since a long time ago. Let’s read and learn more about them.

The first pair of chopsticks     1     about 5,000 years ago. It is said that Dayu,     2     ancient Chinese leader, invented them. At that time, there was a flood in China. Yu was very     3     and wanted to control the flood. So he ate his meals quickly to save more time. But the meat in the pot was too hot to eat     4     his hands. Then he used two     5     to help him hold the meat.

Chopsticks are     6     of different kinds of materials, such as steel, gold, silver, and so on. Now wood or bamboo is usually used to make chopsticks     7     wood or bamboo is easy to get and convenient to carry around.

You may not know     8     chopsticks are not only popular with Chinese, but also well liked by foreigners. Although it seems easy for us to use, it is really difficult for foreigners. So people came up with a creative     9     —— a eating tool called “chork” (筷叉).     10     has a fork on one end and chopsticks on the other. In this way, they can deal with the problem smartly.

Tai chi, part of Chinese culture, is popular around the world. This ancient martial art (武术) has been practiced by more than 40 million people in more than 150 countries.     1    .

◆It is good for both body and mind.

Tai chi is a kind of gentle martial art.     2    . In the slow movements, you need to focus on your mind as well as on what your body is doing in that moment. You can go at your own speed.

◆    3    .

Tai chi is suitable for all ages and different levels of health. There is little risk of damage to your joints (关节). It’s an exercise that can be easily done, including those in wheelchairs.

◆It can prevent falls.

    4    . Certainly, the key point is on balance, with sideways and backwards movements helping to have a stronger body.

◆It may reduce pain.

A small body of research indicates that doing Tai chi regularly can help repair knee problems and lower back pain.

◆It may improve brain power.

Advantages aren’t just physical.     5    , especially for older people. Still it’s considered safe and suitable for the elderly.

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

8 . You must have read or heard of the sad love story between Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu. But can you imagine the singing opera in English instead of speaking poetic Chinese?

Jia and Lin are two characters from the classic Chinese novel A Dream of Red Mansions (《红楼梦》), written by Cao Xueqin. Now the book has been made into an English-language opera. After being performed in San Francisco, the US, the performance came to Beijing, Changsha and Wuhan in 2017.

Many of the opera’s creators have backgrounds in both Chinese and American cultures, including the director and dramatists. Their understanding of both cultures helped them change a Chinese classic into a foreign-language opera.

The book, which covers the rise and fall of the Jia family, has 120 chapters and hundreds of characters. But opera writer David Henry Hwang cut down the number of characters to just seven. Hwang, a Chinese-American, focused on the love story between Jia and Lin and tried to write a tragedy (悲剧) that everyone would understand.

The art director Timmy Yip, from Hong Kong, tried to help foreigners understand the characters by using costumes and stage decorations (装饰). He compared Lin to water and gave her a light green costume. When Lin showed up on stage, there was usually water around her.

The creators considered the work of introducing a Chinese classic to foreigners was worth doing. Hwang told China Daily he was happy to “have made a contribution (贡献) to the land where my parents were born”.

Have you heard of the horse-face skirt? This Chinese skirt dates back to the Song Dynasty.

In 2022, French fashion (时尚) brand Dior     1     the design of the skirt. Many hanfu lovers began to     2     the knowledge of the skirt. This helped more people learn about traditional Chinese clothes. “For us, wearing the skirt is not just for     3    ,” said Mao, one of the hanfu lovers. “It also     4     our love for Chinese culture.”

Recently, the skirt has gotten more love. Many famous Chinese people have worn it to international occasions (场合). And during this past Spring Festival, lots of young people wore the skirt when they went on     5    .

People in other countries like the horse-face skirt, too. Chinese clothing companies have gotten a lot of     6     for it from abroad. A report studied how     7     the skirt was among foreign users of Chinese short video platforms.

Last year, users from     8     than 90 countries shared content (内容) about the skirt! This is a good     9     of Chinese culture going global (走向世界).

Besides the skirt, “new Chinese-style clothes” is also a hot topic. They have     10     won the hearts of many people in the world.