Cold Food Festival is a    1     (tradition) Chinese holiday celebrated before Qingming Festival, which usually falls    2     April 4 or 5.

Legend has it that Chong’er, a prince of Jin in the Spring and Autumn Period, experienced many hardships while he moved around the warring states. Once, when the prince suffered from     3     (starve), Jie Zitui, offered him food. Later, when Chong’er became the duke of Jin, he ordered a search for Jie who had gone into hiding in the remote mountains with his mother. The duke wanted Jie    4     ( serve) as one of his ministers. Contrary to    5     many people might assume, Jie, who preferred living a simple life in the Mianshan Mountain to     6     (become) a politician, refused the duke’s invitation. Chong’er ordered the mountain to be burned down to force Jie out of hiding.     7     (fortune), Jie did not give in and the fire ended up killing him and his mother. Feeling extremely sorry, Chong’er required that the setting of fire    8     (forbid) on the anniversary of Jie’s death. This meant all food was eaten cold. Therefore the festival is thus named.

Mianshan Mountain,     9     the tragedy happened, is now a famous tourist destination in Shanxi Province. In many areas of Shanxi, locals still remember this tradition.     10     cold food is not the only choice for people during the celebration, the practices of making typical cold dishes for the event have been preserved.

The ancient Xi’ an held China’s 14th National Games in September. Being the capital of thirteen     1    (dynasty) throughout Chinese history, the ancient city has never been far from sports. Starting from the Western Zhou Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty (618-907),     2     city has held many sports events. Cuju, the origin of modern football, was an     3    (amaze) game requiring kicking a ball into a net.

    4    (describe) as a form of entertainment among the public, Cuju first appeared in the ancient Chinese historical work Zhan Guo Ce (Strategies of the Warring States). In this period, people played the game     5     fun. Later, Cuju was     6    (usual) played in the army for military training purposes during the Han Dynasty. Emperor Hangaozu Liu Bang, the first emperor of the Western Han Dynasty not only liked watching Cuju games, but always tried his footwork on the playground. Liu Che, emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty,     7     was crazy about Cuju, would build a Cuju field wherever his army went. He used Cuju as a way     8    (train) soldiers. The     9    (early) record of women Cuju players can date back to the Han Dynasty.

As a way of national culture protection, Cuju     10    (list) into the first group of China’s intangible cultural heritages (非物质文化遗产) in 2006.

It’s common to see a barista (咖啡) create coffee art,     1     it’s a whole different ballgame doing same thing with tea. Han Zheming has managed to perfect the skill,     2     (create) tea art in cups, or dian cha in Chinese, which used to be a routine during the Song Dynasty.

Over the past six years, the 40-year-old Shanghai resident     3     (use) tea and spoons to create nearly 200 patterns based on ancient paintings.

Chinese tea culture started to enjoy    4     (popular) during the Tang Dynasty and flourished throughout the Song Dynasty, when tea had become a necessity for almost everyone, from nobles and scholars     5     common people, just like other essential items, such as rice, oil and salt, as     6     (suggest) by Song politician Wang Anshi.

In the Song Dynasty, the common way of having tea was through dian cha. The process begins with hot water being poured over fine powdered tea creating a paste, then more hot water     7     (add) slowly as the tea is constantly stirred by hand with a bamboo stick. This method later spread to other parts of East Asia, including Japan,     8     similarities can be seen in the way matcha is prepared today.

This action of pouring hot water is called dian, which was listed as     9     intangible cultural heritage in 2019. About tea—stirring, Han said that it usually requires stirring the mixture between 180 and 200 times before the water and the tea are     10     (full) blended.

Cha Baixi(茶百戏)：Painting On Tea Soup

Cha Baixi, an ancient Chinese tea trick, had been listed as part of China’s Intangible Cultural Heritage before the technique     1     (display) in a hit TV drama. By drawing patterns on the surface of a cup of tea, Cha Baixi     2     (go) viral for its apparent similarity with modern latte art recently. However, ten years ago, this distinctive technique was close to complete     3     (disappear).

Cha Baixi can create endless patterns such as bamboos and mountains. There are over a dozen steps, from grinding (碾碎) tea for fine powder,     4     pouring hot water, stirring the mixture for thick froth, and finally    5     (draw) the patterns. It is different from making latte because people use clear water instead of milk as the object     6     (make) the tea soup appear various patterns, which will disappear     7     (gradual) in 20 minutes.

The importance of Cha Baixi is not only that this technique is unique in the world     8     that it gives us a window into people’s lifestyle in the Song Dynasty, when leisure activities in some ways resemble     9     we have now.

As the key to the tea culture of the Song Dynasty, Cha Baixi must be passed on to the next generations so they can understand     10     (it) history.

Chinese weddings are as much about the happy couples as they are about their families. The weddings are     1     (impress) affairs that focus on blessings of happiness. The date of the wedding ceremony is chosen not     2     chance. Many couples carefully choose a favorable date     3     (bring) success to their marriage. The ceremony can last anywhere from four hours to three days,     4     depends on how many Chinese wedding traditions are observed.

The Chinese wedding invitation is     5     (typical) red with a golden Double Happiness symbol, with dates for the wedding and names of the couple     6     (include) inside.

While Chinese wedding traditions have modernized, the journey to pick up the bride     7     (be) still a lively affair. It can involve     8     use of firecrackers, playing drums, or even a lion dance.

Another vital tradition, the Chinese tea ceremony (Jing Cha),     9     (perform) at Chinese weddings to show the new couple’s respect, gratitude, and     10     (appreciate) for their parents’ love and effort in raising them. A red tea set with a Double Happiness symbol is used for the tea ceremony.