Legend has     1     that tofu was discovered by a health-conscious Chinese prince named Liu An more than 2.000 years ago when he     2     (make) an elixir (丹药). He realized that soy milk left in certain conditions coagulated (凝固) and developed a pudding-like substance and that was the beginning of tofu.

It’s     3     (universal) believed that Buddhist monks visiting China brought tofu back to neighbouring countries like Japan.     4     East Asia has been eating tofu for more than 1,000 years, it took a lot longer for it to catch on globally. Benjamin Franklin, one of the United State’s founding fathers, wrote a letter     5     some soy beans attached while he was in London, praising it as a “Chinese cheese” in 1770. The letter was one of the earliest documents on record     6     mentioned tofu in the West. Li Shizeng,     7     enthusiast for tofu, is often credited with making tofu a more widely accepted food outside of Asia. It’s said that he was first sent by the Chinese government to attend a French military school. He ended up     8     (study) at the agricultural school in Montargis and becoming     9     (passion) about promoting tofu in France.

Nowadays, tofu     10     (serve) in a modern way. In many fine restaurants, the menu is designed around its textures. The dishes and ingredients change according to the seasons.

Buried deep in the ruins of the Shang Dynasty,     1     (specific) in Anyang City of Henan Province, bones of the rhino (犀牛) were found.

A collection of archaeological evidence has confirmed the     2    (exist) of rhinos in ancient China. The animal    3    (distribute) across China’s Central Plains,     4     Chinese civilization originated.

Nevertheless, the rhino was no longer wandering in the region after the Han Dynasty. One explanation is that it was the colder climate of Northeast Asia that saw the creature    5    (appear) from the pages of history. However, Zhou Yu, the writer of History of Chinese Armor (盔甲), offered up    6     explanation: the crafting of armor.

Armor was originally made of bamboo but the material possessed limited    7    (defend) capabilities. Leather armor later became popular during the pre-Qin period. Zhou’s book    8    (read) that the rhino’s thick skin was a primary material for the creation of warriors’ armor. Many ancient accounts recorded the killing of rhinos and     9    (turn) their skin into protective covering. “The huge demand     10     rhino skins might have caused the animal’s disappearance or at least its migration from the Central Plains to the southwestern regions,” Zhou told Beijing Review.

5 . Once popular sports in ancient capital Xi’an

As the capital of 13 dynasties throughout Chinese history, Xi’an has never been far from sports.

Cuju: Origin of modern soccer

Cuju first appeared in the anetent Chinese historical work Zhan Guo Ce, which described cuju as a form of entertainment. Later, cuju was played in the army for military training purposes. The earliest record of women cuju players can be traced back to the Han Dynasty. Cuju was listed into China’s intangible cultural heritages in 2006.

Jiaodi: Chinese-style wrestlíng

Sumo,   known as Japan’s “national sport”, actually originated in ancient China. Sumo was called jiaodi in ancient times. Jiaodi was performed by athletes wearing ox horns and wrestling with each other. In the Tang Dynasty, jiaodi was part of military training and a kind of entertainment and athletic sports.

Jiju: Ancient polo

Jiju is a sport which uses a stick to hit balls while riding on a horse, pretty similar to modern polo. It was popular in the Tang Dynasty. And it was also a major military training program in the army. There is a famous painting unearthed in a prince tomb in Shanxi province in 1971, which shows more than 20 men riding on horses playing polo.

Archery

The origin of archery was closely related with hunting and defense. Ancient archery was not only an athletic event and a military training program, but also part of education. In Zhou Dynasty, the archery was listed as one of the Six Arts. During the Tang Dynasty, archery was an important part of the Wuju Imperial Examinations, and five kinds of archery skills would be tested, including on-horse shot and flat shot.

A fan can drive summer heat away and help bring a cool breeze (微风).     1     ancient times, the Chinese fan has been carrying artistic and unique     2     (nation) style. China has always been regarded as “the kingdom of fans”.

The fan first appeared in China about 3,000 years ago, in the Shang and Zhou dynasties. In the early period, the fan was called “the fan of honor”,     3     (serve) as the symbol of etiquette (礼仪).

After the Qin and Han dynasties, the main     4     (shape) of fans were square, round and hexagon (六边形). The materials used to make fans     5     (be) mainly silk. People called the silk fans “court fans”    6     they were often used in royal court. The person     7     held the silk fan always looked gentle.

During the Sui and Tang dynasties, the common fans were round fans, feather fans, and some paper fans. The folding fan     8     (gradual) became popular after the Song dynasty. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the folding fan was popular in Zhejiang, Suzhou and Sichuan. Then the     9     (popular) of writing poems and drawing pictures on the cover of a fan was rising. Later, this skill     10     (introduce) to Europe and other parts of the world.