1 . While telling others your zodiac sign (星座), you are being evaluated (评估). Evaluations are being made about your luck, your personality, future development and how you will do in a given year. So what is the Chinese zodiac, exactly? It’s a 12-year cycle labeled (标记) with animals, starting with a Rat and ending with a Pig. For example, if you were born in 2004, you are a Monkey.

The Chinese believe some animals are luckier than the others, such as the Dragon. Unlike in Western tradition, the Chinese Dragon stands for power, strength and wealth. It’s everyone’s dream to have a Dragon baby. Ma Yun’s parents must have been very proud. And they are not the only ones. In 2012, the Year of the Dragon, the birthrate in China increased by about 5%. That means another one million more babies. With a traditional preference for baby boys, the boy-girl ratio that year was 120 to 100. When those Dragon boys grow up, they will face much more serious competition in love and job markets.

According to the BBC and Chinese government reports, January 2015 saw a peak of cesarean sections (剖腹产术高峰). Why? That was the last month for the Year of the Horse. It’s not because they like horses so much, it’s because they try to avoid having unlucky Goat babies.

Tiger is another unwelcome animal, because of its dangerous and unstable (不稳定的) personality. Many Chinese places saw a considerable decline of birthrate during those years.

Perhaps one should consider zodiac in a different way, as those Tiger and Goat babies will face much less competition. Maybe they are the lucky ones. I went through the Forbes top 300 richest people in the world, and it’s interesting to see the most unwelcome two animals, the Goat and Tiger, are at the top of the list, even higher than the Dragon. So maybe we should consider that it’s much better to have less competition.

3 . A Taste of Chinese Tea Culture

China’s traditional tea-making practices have been added to UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage items.    1    

The origins of tea

Tea is believed to have originated in China. Ancient Chinese people first chewed on raw tea leaves for medicinal purposes, then added them to soups or greens, and brewed tea to drink.

The functions of tea

Ancient books recorded tea’s positive health effects, such as curing indigestion and improving brain function.     2     . For example, Myoan Eisai, a Japanese Buddhist priest, praised the value of tea as a medicine in his book.

    3    

Tea has gained widespread popularity since the Tang Dynasty and the Song Dynasty. especially in literary circles, including with the famous Chinese poets Bai Juyi, Su Shi, and Lu You, who all wrote poems about tea.

Tea making crafts

Since ancient times, Chinese people have been planting, picking, making and drinking tea. Traditional tea processing techniques are mainly found in four major regions for tea production in China. Associated social practices, however, are spread throughout the country and shared by multiple ethnic groups.    4    

Tea’s role in building cultural bridges

    5    . going back to when it was important produce on the ancient Silk Road and the ancient Tea Horse Road.

6 . Major Snow, the 21st solar term of the year, begins this year on Dec 7 and ends on Dec 20, marking the start of the season. It begins when the sun reaches the celestial longitude (天文经度) of 255° and ends when it reaches 270°     1    , so it is named Major Snow.

By the start of Major Snow, most of China has already seen the start of winter.     2    . At this time of year, the snow gradually settles in the Yellow River Basin. In far north there is heavy snow; while in the south, it is mild with less rainfall.

    3    . Snow adds warmth and wetness to the winter wheat, preventing dry air in winter. It can also store and lock in water needed for the following year, and it kills off bacteria and pests which decreases the risk of disease.

During Major Snow, people often eat jujube cakes, made from red jujube dates (枣) which are rich in vitamin C, protein, calcium, iron, vitamins and other nutrients.     4    . Jujube dates not only replenish (补充) the spleen and stomach, but also protect the liver, increase muscle strength, and are said to be anti-aging. Because of their affordable price and high nutritional content, jujube cakes are popular all over China at this time of year.

In some areas, cured meats become a specialty product, as a way to store meat over the winter months. As the saying goes, small snow seals the ground, heavy snow seals the river.     5    .

Major Snow is an excellent season for people to replenish their bodies. There is another saying, “Replenishing your body in winter means you will be strong enough to fight a tiger in early spring.”

7 . Hanfu, traditional Chinese costumes and a cultural carrier, has gained more attention from foreigners living in China.

“I can’t believe I’ve been in China for three years and I’ve never tried on hanfu,” Stephanie Stone, a reporter at China Daily, said in an interview she hosted. For her first hanfu experience, she went out and met Jongmay Urbonya, who is a US hanfu lover as well as a key internet opinion leader. Looking at all of the hanfu in a hanfu store, Urbonya said, “This is my dream for my future life and my life now.”

As a foreigner wearing hanfu, Stone raised a question: If someone is not ethnically(种族) Chinese, would it be a little offensive(冒犯的)to Chinese people seeing her wear this symbolic Chinese-style costume?

Elsbeth van Paridon of the Beijing Review expressed her thoughts on this question. According to her, Chinese people are tolerant and open to seeing foreigners wearing hanfu. They see it as a celebration of Chinese culture.As long as you don’t claim(声称) Chinese culture as yours, you may wear it as frequently as you want.

“We have a very nice example of what happened this summer. So basically Dior, they came out with a new skirt. And then the skirt went viral(走红) on Chinese social media with internet users saying ‘Hey, hold your horses! This is not a Dior skirt. It’s called a horse-face skirt’, which dates back to the Song Dynasty (960-1279),”said van Paridon.

“You have to understand that emotional bond is key to the whole hanfu love,” said Urbonya. “Although she does not have a Chinese face, every time she wore hanfu she would be praised by Chinese locals.”

Hanfu has also become an art form, so a lot of people mix and match it with modern accessories(配饰). “The future of hanfu is looking for combination,” said van Paridon.

10 . A Dutch collector who says he bought the Zhang Gong Patriarch—an ancient Buddha statue(佛像)containing the mummified(木乃伊化的)remains of a famous monk—has been ordered to return the stolen relic to its original owners, two villages in Fujian province. The Fujian Provincial High People’s Court announced the order on Wednesday, upholding the original ruling(裁决)made by a lower court about two years ago.

In a ruling in late 2020, the Sanming Intermediate People’s Court demanded that Oscar van Overeem, the Dutch architect and collector who bought the statue, return it to Yangchun and Dongpu villages. For local villagers, the statue is a significant cultural relic that had been at the Puzhao Temple in Sanming, Fujian province, where they could honor and worship it before it was stolen in December 1995, according to the high court. The lawyer for Van Overeem did not comment or give a statement over the ruling.

After further investigation and trial, the high court said on Wednesday that although Van Overeem has said he bought the statue in Amsterdam in 1996, he could not provide a receipt. In March 2015, he allowed the statue to be exhibited at the Hungarian Natural HIistory Museum in Budapest, the high court said.

The high court upheld the lower court’s ruling that the statue was stolen and is an illegally exported cultural relic. The high court added the statue reflects the traditional customs of southern Fujian and has a special meaning for the villagers, and, therefore, should be returned. Lawyers from both sides were present when the ruling was announced on Tuesday. A number of legislators(立法者), political advisers and journalists were also on hand for the ruling.

Lin Kaian, a villager from Yangchun who was present at the court when the ruling was announced on Tuesday, said,“I’m glad to hear the high court ruled in favor of us demanding the return of the statue. We respect the ruling, and we hope the statue will be back with us as soon as possible.”