3 . Professor Zhu Yunxia, an award-winning researcher and educator at the University of Queensland and has an international reputation in cross-cultural management and strategy, believes that anyone can learn to overcome cultural barriers with the right approach. She offers the following suggestions.

Be prepared for surprises.

One country might contain different cultures—China, for example, is composed of 56 ethnic groups—and within these, people may act in different ways in different contexts and with different groups of people.     1    

    2    

While speaking the language is not necessary to understand the culture, it is important to know basic greetings and courtesies (客气话) for social interaction such as “hello” and “thank you”. These everyday phrases and rituals (礼节) are entry points which allow you to access the culture. People will also appreciate that you have made the effort.

Learn to “make strange”.

In day-to-day life, we tend to take many of our own customs and behaviors for granted without recognizing that these might appear odd from others’ point of view.     3       

Use a “cultural bridge”.

The customs of another culture can be too strange or too foreign to understand.     4     “Cultural bridges” are people whose knowledge enriches our own and who can help us understand what’s going on. Having arrived as a Chinese student, Dr. Zhu has spent over 20 years in Australia but still sometimes seeks a second opinion from her daughter who was brought up here and occasionally calls up old friends for advice in China.

Don’t focus on yourself.

    5     Instead of giving in to thoughts such as “I’m a stranger in a foreign land” or “Nobody talks to me”, try to forget yourself and focus on others. By taking a more positive approach, you can even find ways to use cultural differences to your advantage.

5 . In ancient times, people tracked the seasons by following the lunar months. Many times, the names of the moons were related with what features the seasons had.    1    It is a special name with a history dating back to Native American tribes (部落). The name is also thought to have a Celtic origin, brought over to North America by European settlers.

Regardless of where the name Wolf Moon comes from, wolves howl (嚎叫) to communicate over long distances both in North America and in Europe. It is a way of saying “here I am” to the rest of the pack or “stay away” to enemies.    2    As the late summer moves towards fall, wolves call more and more to neighbors and enemies.

    3    However, howls by a pack can last from 30 to 120 second, and longer during the breeding (繁殖) season. As a result, wolves are particularly loud in the first month of the year.    4    

Science has not shown that the Moon phase (月相) plays any particular part in the calls of wolves, but wolves are animals that are in general more active at night.    5    They point their faces toward the sky because projecting their howls upward carries the sound farther.

The first Tangshan Intangible Cultural Heritage Music Carnival (非遗音乐嘉年华),     1     (feature) three main programs: the intangible cultural heritage music carnival, heritage market, and heritage small stage, was held at Nanhu scenic area in Tangshan, Hebei province.

The carnival kicked off on November 24     2     a star-studded performance provided by many well-known singers and bands. It perfectly combined traditional instruments like pipa and guzheng with contemporary trends, creating     3     unique experience for the audience, who remained enthusiastic and     4     (engage) despite the cold weather.

Meanwhile, at the heritage market, visitors had the opportunity     5     (sample) more than 50 intangible cultural heritage projects such as Chengdu sugar painting and Weifang kite making. And at the heritage small stage, the audience     6     (treat) to a series of amazing traditional performances including crosstalk, face changing of Sichuan opera and wrestling. 

So far, this three-day event     7     (generate) online buzz with related topics trending among netizens. Many commented that they were inspired by the     8     (combine) of traditional culture and modern music and loved     9     it captured the essence of both forms of art. It not only provided a platform for showcasing intangible cultural heritage which makes its way into modern life,     10     introduced these age-old cultural forms to the younger generation.

Celebrating tradition: The enchanting Mute Festival of Qixuan village

Qixuan village, a remote Yi village located deep in the     1     (east) mountains of Xiangyun county, Yunnan province, hosts an extraordinary “Mute Festival” every year on the eighth day of the Chinese Lunar new year. This event shows respect for their ancestors and seeks blessings for a prosperous year ahead.

This age-old tradition     2     (exist) for centuries, rooted in local customs and a touching legend of a mute woman who saved the village from drought and     3     (starve) through her sacrifice. Over time, the festival has evolved from a simple tradition into a well-organized celebration.

During the festival, visitors can not help but notice the careful preparations     4     (undertake) by the villagers.     5     (suffer) a three-year epidemic, they remain commitment to a joyful life and the preservation of tradition. They     6     (diligent) arrange food, drinks, decorations, and gifts, sticking to age-old practices.

    7     the chilly mountain winds, both enthusiastic villagers and visitors thrive. When the Mute parade reaches the square, the striking mute dance will begin. With     8     diverse range of dance forms, the performance is raw, natural, and free-spirited.

One of the most striking moments is     9     the lead dancer, the Great Mute, initiates his dance, the entire village synchronize (同时发生) their movements. This unified rhythm mirrors the heartbeat of the land and its cherished traditions     10     reveals the timeless beauty of traditional culture in our ever-changing world.

    1     (create) in 2010, Chinese Language Day was designated to celebrate multilingualism and cultural    2     (diverse), and promote the equal use of the six official languages within the United Nations.

The Confucius Institute at Ljubljana University in Slovenia held an event Thursday     3     (mark) the 14th annual Chinese Language Day. Nearly 300 people participated in the event, teachers, students, lovers of the Chinese language and culture, and overseas Chinese visitors     4     (include).

“The Chinese language is increasingly becoming the very bond     5     links friendly relations between China and the world,     6     (particular) Slovenia, and promotes mutual understanding and trust between Chinese and Slovenian people,” Chinese Ambassador to Slovenia Wang Shunqing said.

The Confucius Institute also     7     (organize) workshops, such as calligraphy, painting, tea art, cultural     8     (perform) and food tasting, to showcase traditional Chinese culture in an all-round way and to build a platform for people-to-people and cultural exchanges between China and Slovenia.

    9     the end of 2021, more than 180 countries and regions around the world had offered education in Chinese language, more than 70 countries had included Chinese in their national education systems, and     10     number of people studying and using Chinese in countries other than China had reached 200 million, according to the United Nations statistics.