3 . It is no secret that China has an amazingly rich history and culture. My first exposure (接触) to Chinese culture came totally by chance. One day, I entered my grandfather’s personal library and took a book named Tao Te Ching from one of the shelves. As an 8-year-old, the book’s content completely confused me, but it provided me with an early connection to a beautiful and great philosophical (哲学的) tradition that still influences me today.

Around this time, I also came across several cartoons heavily inspired by traditional Chinese culture and martial arts such as Avatar: The Last Airbender and Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat. Both cartoons describe beautiful landscapes and buildings similar to those found in classical Chinese paintings. This further developed my love of the rich and beautiful culture.

At school I began studying Chinese. My interest in the language developed early on, combining my love of travelling with my love of meeting new people. Later on, my interest in the language developed into exploring widespread Chinese culture. I wanted to challenge myself in a totally new linguistic (语言的) landscape and listen to the lives and stories of others in their own language. I have been lucky enough to have lived in China for around three years. I loved every second I spent there and there is never a shortage of things to see and do, people to meet, and foods to enjoy.

It is safe to say that my journey to studying Chinese has only just begun and these first steps are only a drop in the ocean of lifelong learning, but as the Chinese philosopher Laozi says, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

5 . While the Memorial Hall of Xu Beihong has been closed in light of the COVID-19 (新冠肺炎), art lovers can take a virtual (虚拟的) tour of the former home (故居) of the renowned Chinese painter who lived from 1895 to 1952.

The hall hosted a live streaming (直播) show on International Museum Day, which falls on May 18 every year, and a docent (讲解员) described for viewers the story behind Xu’s artworks. The show attracted nearly 2.9 million views online within 90 minutes.

Nine other Beijing-based former residences of late celebrities—such as Chinese writer Lu Xun, political persons Soong Ching Ling and Li Dazhao—did the same that day in an effort to connect online viewers with art.

Altogether, the 10 shows were watched by 35.13 million people.

“The number of virtual visitors has exceeded that of physical visitors since last September,” said Li Qing, deputy curator (馆长) of the Memorial Hall of Xu Beihong. Live streaming has an edge. It helps us highlight the most iconic collections and interact with more audiences. It has extended the scope and functions of museums’ public services, he added.

“Amid the virus outbreak, works of literature and art displayed in our museum have played a role in lifting moods and giving people hope,” said Liu Qing, a staff member of Beijing Luxun Museum and the New Culture Movement Memorial of Beijing.

According to officials with the Beijing Information Office and the Beijing Administration of Cultural Heritage, 94 themed events were rolled out on May 18 including 50 online exhibitions and 15 live streaming shows.

They are part of the city government’s plan to build Beijing into a city of museums, according to local officials.

“There are 187 registered museums in Beijing. It is a large number,” said Ling Ming, deputy director of the Beijing Administration of Cultural Heritage. “The plan, on the one hand, can help each of them find out their own characteristics and on the other hand, help build a more diverse museum system.”

Beginning in 2018, the Beijing government created interactive programs and mobile apps and encouraged residents to engage in International Museum Day celebrations online, Ling added.

“This year, cloud computing technology was utilized,” he said.

6 . November 17 is an important day for black cats in Italy. An animal rights group has named that day as “Black Cat Day” to stop the killing of thousands of the cats. Why do people hate this animal so much? It is because people believe black cats bring bad luck if you see them walking across your path.

The black cat is just one of the symbols of superstition (迷信). You may already know that Western people don’t like the number 13. Besides knocking over a salt bottle, they also believe that walking under a ladder, opening an umbrella indoors and breaking a mirror can also bring bad luck.

According to Andrew Macaskill, who works for Teens, British people believe it is unlucky to see one magpie (喜鹊). But two bring good luck. “In Britain, people like to have a horseshoe over door. They believe it can bring good luck.” Macaskill said，“But the horseshoe needs to be the right way up, The luck runs out if it is upside down.”   

In the US, people usually spit on a new baseball bat before using it for the first time. They think this can bring good luck. Also, it is believed that good spirits live in trees. So by knocking on anything made from wood, people can call upon those spirits for protection against misfortune. People in the US also believe there are devils in brooms (扫帚). So don’t lean a broom against a bed. The evil spirits will cast a spell on the bed.

8 . Social customs and ways of behaving change. Things which were considered impolite many years ago are now acceptable. Just a few years ago, it was considered impolite behavior for a man to smoke on the street. No man who thought of himself as being a gentleman would make a fool of himself by smoking when a lady was in a room.

Customs also differ from country to country. Does a man walk on the left or the right of a woman in your country? Or doesn’t it matter? What about table manners? Should you use both hands when you are eating? Should you leave one on your lap, or on the table?

The Americans and the British not only speak the same language but also share a large number of social customs. For example, in both America and England people shake hands when they meet each other for the first time. Also Englishmen will open a door for a woman or offer their seat to a woman, and so will most Americans. If a dinner invitation is for 7 o’clock, the dinner guest either arrives close to that time or calls up to explain his delay.

The important thing to remember about social customs is not to do anything that might make other people feel uncomfortable, especially if they are your guests. There is an old story about a man who gave a formal dinner party. When the food was served, one of the guests started to eat his peas (豆) with a knife. The other guests were amused or shocked, but the host calmly picked up his knife and began eating in the same way. It would have been bad manners to make his guest feel foolish or uncomfortable.

9 . Sports are full of math. It is not just the score of the matches but lots of other numbers. So if you like all the numbers in sports, you may want to check out the National Math Festival (NMF) from 10 am to 4 pm Saturday at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

The festival—this is the third NMF—will be full of fun activities connected with math for kids. There is a new game called Flagway, in which teams of five to eight players move across a game floor using their speed and knowledge of math.

John Urschel, who once played for a famous American football team, will speak about the physics in football. He is studying advanced math at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

But it's not all sports at the festival. There will be lots of other activities on how math is related to such non-sports activities as dance, music and the environment.

Like magic shows? Magician Mark Mitton will show how you can play tricks (把戏) in front of your friends with everyday objects.

Did you see the movie Frozen? Joseph Teran, a teacher at the University of California, Los Angeles, will speak about the math behind the special effects in the movie. Speaking of movies, the festival will show a film from the science television series Nova called Prediction by the Numbers. It shows how math is used to predict many things, including storms and TV game shows.

Kids and adults will be playing board games during all six hours of the festival. You can bring your favorite game or just join in the fun.

Kirsten Bohl, the project director of the NMF, says she wants kids who come to the festival to think, “Wow! I didn't realize math was so interesting and tied to so many things in my life.”

Maybe you want to know how much money your family will pay to attend the festival. Kids cost zero dollars, zero cents. Adults cost the same. Even if you have a huge family, all those zeros add up to zero.