The 74-year-old art historian Mimi Gates has     1     (enthusiastic) participated in the conservation of the Dunhuang relies for years. When speaking about     2     topic, she goes from the cultural and historical background of the caves to the vivid details of certain paintings there.

Looking back, Gates says     3     changed her life was the decision to visit Asia when she was young. She found herself     4     (attract) to Asian culture, and decided to start with China as her primary interest. She paid her first visit     5     Dunhuang in 1995 and “had a brief glimpse of the     6     (great) of Dunhuang”. The Dunhuang grottoes are a 1,600-year-old UNESCO World Heritage site     7     (comprise) about 500 caves and a large collection of Buddhist art. She was invited to return in 2009     8     (present) a paper at a conference there. Spending a few days there, Gates visited the caves whenever she had free time.

When Fan Jinshi, the then-head of the Dunhuang Research Academy,     9     (visit) the US to raise funds for the protection of the site, Gates suggested setting up a foundation     10     accepted Fan’s offer to help organize and chair the foundation, for it was such a spectacular site and so important to humanity in her mind.

The painting Prosperous Suzhou, ink and color on paper, 1,241cm in length and 36.5cm in width, is     1     (current) housed in the Liaoning Provincial Museum.The painting     2    (complete) in 1759 during the Qing Dynasty.     3    (paint) in hand scroll format (手卷) with cavalier perspective painting methods, the entire piece vividly illustrates     4    urban life of Suzhou during the High Qing era, with lively trades, countless businessmen and various goods. The whole scroll describes the local conditions and customs in the southern     5    (region) of the Yangtze River, including the landscape of lakes and hills, city wall and     6    (it) gates, ancient ferries and rowing boats, towns along the river, folk customs, and shops of all trades, all of     7    reflect the prosperity (繁华) of Suzhou in the mid-18th century. Therefore, it     8    (hold) extremely high historical and artistic value.       

China Post issued a set of six special stamps based on this painting     9    May 18,2022. This set of stamps, designed by Xing Wenwei, fully reproduces the artistic conception of the original painting,     10     (create) a unique visual effect.

Among the Han people, which make up a vast majority of     1     (China) total population, the passage into adulthood is no longer celebrated,     2     in those very traditional families. In ancient times, this ceremony marked a person’s transition to adulthood and     3     (refer) to as the capping or hair-pinning ceremony.

This ceremony started from the clan society (氏族社会) and continued to be held until the Qing Dynasty. The Manchu rulers then felt that this ceremony was     4     (meaning) and thus abolished this ceremony which     5     (last) for thousands of years. From then on the Han people have to enter the stage of adulthood without knowing it. Nowadays, it is mainly in those minor ethnic groups that this life passage is still celebrated. In some parts of China, this ceremony is experiencing a     6     (revive).

When a young man reached 18 or 20 years old, the capping ceremony,    7     (consist) of several procedures, would be held. The hair of the young man should be done up and pinned, and after     8     three caps of different materials should be placed on the youth’s head. The hair-pinning ceremony,    9     the mother or another senior pinned the girl’s hair, would be held when a girl was 15 years old.

There are other interesting customs concerned. For example, boys of the Yao nationality have to pass about ten dangerous tests and take oaths (宣誓)     10     (conduct) bad deeds.

Patrick Sommier, a French theater director, is dovoted to passing on the true meaning of Chinese operas to the French public.

On the occasion of the     1     (celebrate) for the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France in 2004, Sommier     2     (invite) to cooperate on a joint project to spread Peking Opera in France. Sommier says that when he arrived in China, like many other     3     (European), he showed great interest in Chinese operas. The beauty of Peking Opera     4    (immediate) caught his heart, he says.

Recalling his first cooperation with the Chinese team, Sommier says he was impressed by the actors’ makeups, costumes,     5     the characters of incredible strength. He was also touched by the Chinese professors’ effort     6     (pass) their acting skills to their students by acting with them. One professor explained, “In China, opera is     7     art requiring lifelong devotion and the effect of the performance largely     8     (depend) on the actors’ inner strength and acting skills.”

Sommier began exploring into different performance forms and suggested introducing Chinese operas     9     the French audience. The team then gave some     10     (origin) performances, some without makeups or costumes and some with students performing classics in a traditional way.

A skywell, or “tian jing” in Chinese, is a typical feature of a traditional home in Southern and Eastern China. They are commonly seen in homes     1     (date) to the Ming and Qing dynasties, which     2     (design) to house different generations of relatives. Despite their varied sizes and designs, these skywells are typically square and located in     3     heart of the house. They serve to allow in light, enhance airflow, and harvest rainwater.

Since decades ago, the government     4     (advocate) green buildings, promoting environmentally-friendly practice. The increased interest towards traditional Chinese architecture is leading to the restoration of historic buildings with skywells     5     modern use. Architects are also looking towards the principles behind skywells while designing new buildings     6     (save) energy. The Dongguan TBA Tower in Guangdong Province, for example, brings natural airflows into every floor with internal “windpipes”    7     function in a similar way to skywells. The aim is to keep the building's temperature     8     (comfort) in all seasons, using only natural airflow.

The fact that skywells still exist today shows     9     clever ancient builders were in using nature's elements to create energy-sufficient and sustainable living spaces. These timeless architectural     10     (wonder) continue to inspire architects in their efforts to find green solutions for cooling homes and buildings.

Xi’an, capital city of Shaanxi, served as the capital of 13 dynasties in Chinese history, which in total     1    (last) about 1,100 years. Consequently, the ancient history of Shaanxi is to some degree the ancient history of China. Shaanxi History Museum considers     2     a duty to be a showcase of Chinese ancient civilization.

People call Shaanxi History Museum “Bright Pearl in Ancient Capital and Precious Treasure of China”, for it is an art palace     3    (full) showing Shaanxi history and culture as well as Chinese ancient civilization. Its architectural buildings and exhibits have made it famous as a first-class museum in China     4     it was opened to the public in 1991. It covers     5     total area of 65, 000 square meters.

The basic halls in the museum are divided into three exhibition halls     6     2,000 cultural remains to display the history of ancient times in chronological (编年的) order. The first exhibition hall     7    (locate) on the ground floor while the other two are on the second floor.

While     8    (design) the buildings in Shaanxi History Museum, the great designer used     9    (tradition) palace construction of Tang Dynasty for reference. Adopting symmetry axis (轴对称) layout with main and supporting buildings in order, the complex     10    (architecture) show the unique presence of Tang Dynasty.

Chinese culture is full of wonders. The reason why human culture can be exchanged and spread is       1     the civilization itself has deep value.

On October 12, 2022,     2     Italian astronaut released photos of China from space with sentences from Lantingji Xu, a famous article     3     (write) by Wang Xizhi, a calligrapher from the Eastern Jin Dynasty in China. The post received a lot of praise for the beauty of classical Chinese literature. But this is not the first time that it       4     (be) a focus of attention outside China.

In the 19th century, missionary Angelo Zottoli included the article in his Cursus Litteraturae Sinicae and considered it an       5     (essence) piece.

The prophet(先知) Muhammad is known for a saying     6     (wide) circulated in many parts of the Middle East: “Seek knowledge even if you have to go as far as China.” This expresses the desire of the Arab people     7     ( seek) knowledge from China.

British writer Oscar Wilde, in an article, shared his insights about Chuang Tzu(庄子369B.C.－286B.C.), “ He is one of the Darwinians     8     Darwin(达尔文1809－1882): He traces man from the germ, and sees his unity with nature.”

Some Turkish sinologists(汉学家) say that The Art of War contains Chinese wisdom; some Kazakhstan sinologists say they have a special     9     (fond) for Confucian wisdom; some Russian sinologists say they love translating Chinese poetry. From the moment they began to “re-examine” Chinese philosophy, everything was just a matter of       10     (reveal) the mysterious veil(面纱).