2 . Chinese New Year, also called the Spring Festival, is a traditional festival celebrated by all Chinese people. Not everyone celebrates the festival in the same way, with the biggest differences between northern and southern China.

Festival Foods

In the northern cities of China, people generally eat dumplings. They are called jiaozi in Chinese, which means the turn of a lunar new year. Additionally, because they are shaped similarly to a type of ancient money, jiaozi are also regarded as a symbol of wealth.

As compared to the north, people from some southern areas traditionally eat rice cakes (niangao in Chinese), which are made of sticky (黏的) rice flour. Niangao can be interpreted as that people move up to a higher position year after year.

Festival Decorations

It is a common tradition to put up Spring Festival couplets (对联) and “Fu” characters, but some decorations differ a bit between northern and southern China.

In the north, the red “Chinese knot (结)” is also hung, representing happiness. However, in the southern areas, people like to use kumquats, a fruit like a very small orange, for decorations. Due to their yellow colour, they are usually a sign of wealth and harvest.

Red Envelope

In northern China, people usually give red envelopes to the children of their relatives or close friends only. However, people in southern China not only give red envelopes to the children of their relatives and friends, but also to their colleagues and acquaintances. In some southern areas like Guangdong Province, a company manager or a shop owner may also give red envelops to staffs on the first working day of the New Year, wishing for a fortune and giving them a strong sense of team spirit.

4 . When the day is dawning, the Center of Naxi Dongba Pictographs and Paintings of the old town Liliang welcomes his owner, He Runyuan, who is dressed in a traditional Naxi clothing. Every day, He explains Dongba culture to tourists and teaches them to write Dongba characters. “Dongba characters are not only the soul of Dongba culture, but also a treasure for the whole world,” said He. Enjoying a history of over 1,000 years, Dongba characters are an ancient system of pictographic glyphs (象形字形). They are praised to be the “living fossil (活化石)” in writing.

As a member of the Naxi group, He first learned Dongba characters at the age of 13. He loved them immediately when he first looked at the symbols. “These characters have pictographic drawings that look like humans, animals, plants etc.” He said. “They are usually colorful and recognizable.”

Though the characters are interesting, learning them is never easy. Dongba culture is always mastered by Dongbas, the Naxi priests (祭司). Without Dongbas in his village, He has to travel far to the Old Town, where many Dongbas are gathered. “In most cases, I need to walk for more than one day to the destination. To get more learning time, I always set off very early when the city is still in darkness,” said He.

But the love for Dongba culture keeps him going. For the past 30 years, He has been studying these characters every day. In 2016, He set up the Center of Naxi Dongba Pictographs and Paintings Where He beautified fans, glasses and even T-shirts with Dongba characters, hoping to pass down Dongba culture and let more people know about it.

“Our life is limited, but so long as everyone makes an effort, the life of a culture can exist forever,” He said.

Notice

10 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Dragon boat master craftsman Xu Guisheng begins his work on simple wood blocks, but he expects them to emerge as brilliant creations reflecting grand Chinese tradition. “When a boat is ready, we hold a ceremony to illuminate it. The head is bathed in water according to our local customs. They     1     (transform) from wooden boats into dragon gods.” he said. Xu, 64, is a     2     (five)-generation dragon boat craftsman in Miluo, Central China’s Hunan Province, and     3     registered inheritor(继承人) of the intangible cultural heritage. The city is known     4     a production center for the boats, which are used in races during the Dragon Boat Festival. Craftsman Xu’s workshop produced nearly 150 dragon boats last year,     5     helped to bring in more than 3 million yuan.

    6     (meet) the evolving demands of modern boat races, Xu said he is also     7     (constant) improving and innovating his techniques. “Products are mainly made from     8     (tradition) wood and can also be made with reinforced fiberglass.” he said. “These boats,     9     (include) the ones used for professional races, are sold all over the country. We make dragon boats not only for our livelihoods, but also to better pass on our traditions and skills.” he added. “We have a     10     (responsible) to pass these on to the next generation.”