1 . Can knots be a form of art?     1    . A Chinese knot is a knot that is tied and woven from a single length of rope to be a variety of shapes and varying complexity. Knot weavers can use a variety of colors, but they usually weave deep red ones.     2    .

History of Chinese knots

People may have originally made them to record information and convey messages before people started to write. One-hundred-thousand-year-old tools that were probably used to tie and untie knots have been discovered, and there is a reference to knots in ancient literature.     3    . It is known that they were used to symbolize and express thoughts and feelings in the Tang Dynasty era (618—907).

Ancient and modern use of artistic knots

Even today, Chinese knots are rich in symbolic meaning.     4    . For example, in ancient times and even now, lovers may give a knot as a sign of their love. The ‘true love knot’ and the ‘double happiness knot’ are given or used at weddings to express common love and growing old together in reality. Knots represent love and marriage in Chinese culture. So a knot given to a marriage partner or a couple means all these things and having children as well.

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Along with being symbolic gifts or messages, knots are still used if they wear traditional Chinese clothing or as good luck charms (护身符). They are a means of fastening traditional instead of clothes buttons. Now, silk is most widely used to make these clothing knots. They are used as jewelry such as even rings, earrings and necklaces. They are sold as handicraft novelty items too.

2 . Around the World

Here is big news from Around the World.

The Chengdu Science Fiction Museum has opened its doors to the public. China’s newest museum—a star-shaped building on a lake was built in 12 months. Technology sped up the design and construction of the 635,070-square-foot museum, which has galleries, educational spaces, and cafés.

Thousands of people lined the streets of Mexico City to watch its annual Day of the Dead parade. The holiday was observed from October 31 to November 2 to remember and celebrate loved ones who have died. During this time, the dead are believed to return to the world. Families welcome them back with offerings, such as their favorite food.

A modern art exhibit at the Pyramids of Giza, titled Forever Is Now, has returned for a third year. This year’s show is the biggest yet and features works by 14 artists. The free event aims to celebrate ancient Egyptian culture with modern skills. Artists were careful not to harm the 4,500-year-old World Heritage Site.

Elementary schools in Delhi are closed for at least one week because of the city’s poor air quality. The amount of harmful materials in the air has reached nearly 100 times the acceptable limit. Delhi is often very polluted in November because that is when many farmers burn their remaining crops. To reduce the smog, officials in the city have banned polluting vehicles, construction work, and the use of fireworks.

6 . On January 17, the “Chinese Bridge” Cultural Experience & Exchange Programme kicked off at Chongqing Bashu Secondary School. International students will attend Humanities, Languages, Cultures Winter Camp online during the next week. “Chinese Bridge” is a large- scale programme for international Chinese language education sponsored by the Centre for Language Education and Cooperation. Since its launching in 2002, “Chinese Bridge” has been serving as a vital platform for Chinese language learning, understanding of China, and Chinese culture experiencing and a bridge connecting Chinese and foreign young people.

Aside from Chinese language courses, the Programme also opens courses on tea culture, Tai Chi, calligraphy, and illustration painting and holds lectures on Bayu culture. Chinese students and international students in Chongqing will be invited to share their studies and life in this city. As a result, they can help promote Chinese culture, assist attendees of the Programme in understanding China’s developments, build friendships with the attendees, and draw more international students to study in the country.

“Chongqing is attracting foreign students to study in China, more than just sending Chinese students to study abroad. It has turned into a cultural pioneer from an inheritor (继承人). Becoming the programme host proves that Chongqing has made remarkable achievements in international cooperation and educational reform,” said Li Bin, Director of International Cooperation and Exchange Division, Chongqing Municipal Education Commission.

At the end of the first day of the winter camp, students shared how they felt. Hellen from Altai State University in Russia said with excitement, “I love the Chinese classical dance and instrument performances! But my favourite is the chorus, which is said to be the theme song of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games. It is so beautiful, and I will learn to sing it.” Jac, a Chinese language teacher from KCE International School Cambodia, praised the adequate preparation by the Bashu Secondary School, and said it would be a fun and valuable learning experience for students.

7 . The Hadza hunter-gatherers of Tanzania live a life that has not changed much over ten thousand years. They have no crops, no house animals, no permanent shelters. In spite of long exposure to agriculturalist groups around them, the Hadza have maintained their lifestyle.

The story of the spread of agriculture is the story of growing population density (密度). Villages formed, then cities, then nations. Agriculture’s rise, however, came with a price. It introduced infectious diseases, social inequality, occasional famines (饥荒) and war. Professor Jared Diamond of UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) has called the adoption of agriculture “the worst mistake in human history”— a mistake from which we have never recovered.

Looking at the Hadza, you can see why he came to this conclusion. They do not engage in warfare. They do not live densely (稠密地) enough to be threatened by an infectious outbreak. They have no known history of famine (饥荒). The Hadza diet is more stable (稳定 的) and varied than that of most of the world’s citizens. They live almost entirely free of possessions. They enjoy an extraordinary amount of leisure time, “working” — actively pursuing food — only four to six hours a day.

The chief reason the Hadza have been able to maintain their lifestyle so long is that their homeland is not an inviting place. Recently, however, population growth has brought a flood of people into Hadza lands. The region has generally been viewed by outsiders as unused, a Place in need of development. The Hadza, who by nature are not a combative (好战的) people, have almost always moved away instead of fighting.

There are many things to envy about the Hadza, mostly what free spirits they appear to be. Free from schedules, jobs, bosses, bills, traffic, taxes, laws, social duties and money. But who of us could live like them? It’s incredibly risky. Medical help is far away. One bad fall from a tree, one bite from a snake, and you’re dead. The fact is that it’s too late for us to go back to the Hadza lifestyle. Of greater concern is that soon it may be impossible for them to maintain theirs.

8 . The Apostolic Library in Vatican City is home to ancient writings, rare books and reading rooms. Now, it is opening a small new space to the public where modern-day artwork can be seen next to the library's treasures.

The first show at the space is called Tutti, the Italian word for all. It was suggested by Pope(教皇) Francis' 2020 letter called “Brothers All”. The message appealed for environmental renewal, greater human unity and a more just socio-economic order in the world after the COVID-19 crisis.

Artist Pietro Ruffo of Italy's capital, Rome, was invited to design the first show. Maps and migration (迁徙) are among the common subjects of his work. At the Library, he transformed one room into a forest. In another room, Ruffo designed a modern version of one of the library's ancient maps of the Nile River. He placed both maps side by side.

The leader of the Roman Catholic Church and Vatican City ruler, Pope Francis, opened the Apostolic Library's new space last week. Pope Francis said the world was in need of new maps after COVID-19. He called for a greater sense of brotherhood. “Humanity needs new maps to discover the sense of love, of friendship and the common good,” he said. “We need a new beauty that isn't the usual reflection of power of some but a courageous map of everyone's diversity(多样性).”

The property of former US businessman Kirk Kerkorian paid for the project. Early in Francis' time as pope, he had appealed for the Apostolic Library to open itself up more to the outside world. In 2016, Francis declared the pope's summer home in Castel Gandolfo open to visitors.

The exhibit at the Apostolic Library is open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Visitors must seek admission through an online request. The price of admission is about $17.

The Apostolic Library is separate from the Vatican Apostolic Archives((档案馆), which is home to all the documentation from pope's headquarters (总部) and embassies. Both the library and the archives are open to researchers upon request.

9 . If you travel to nearly any Chinese city in the summertime, you will see people, mostly men wearing T-shirts, sitting out on the sidewalks on low chairs in the shade, playing a game with large round disks of wood.     1     Xiangqi dates back as early as the Warring States period. While experts have different opinions as to who created Xiangqi and how it is linked to Western chess, there is no doubt that by the Tang Dynasty Xiangqi was a popular game in China.     2     And in the 20th century both Sun Yat-sen and Zhou Enlai were big fans of the game.

And, though it may look quite a bit different than Western chess, Xiangqi is actually quite similar in what the pieces can do and how the game is played. Like Western chess, the object of the game is to capture the other player’s “king”.     3    

Unlike Western chess, instead of placing the pieces in squares, the pieces are placed on the intersections of lines. Another big difference between Western chess and Xiangqi is that there is a large empty space in the middle of the board, which the elephants cannot cross.     4     This space refers to an area in China where Liu Bang and Xiang Yu had a life-or-death war. The war was so influential that “the Chu River and the Han Boundary” has become a metaphor(隐喻)referring to any boundary between two opposing armies. When the Chinese people today see this name on the board, the battle scenes come to their mind, as though they are surrounded by thick smoke, able to hear the beating of war drums.     5