中国文化英语教程Unit15
Unit 15 Traditional Chinese Culture
1. 中国杂技以其丰富的节目、悠久的历史、独特绚丽的艺术特色，屹立于世界杂技艺术瑰宝之林。
Chinese acrobatics ranks among the best in the world thanks to its rich repertory, long history, as well as its distinctive and colorful artistic characteristics.2. 苏州因城内水道遍布而享有“东方威尼斯”之美誉。
With numerous waterways covering the town, Suzhou is crowned as the “Oriental Venice”.3. 上海博物馆陈列有600余件上自新石器时代，下至清末的历代陶瓷器精品。
Shanghai Museum displays over 600 pieces of finest ceramics from the New Stone Age to the end of the Qing Dynasty.4. 京剧是一种集歌剧表演、歌唱、音乐、舞蹈和武术于一体的表演艺术。
Beijing Opera is a performing art that integrates opera, singing, music, dancing and martial arts.5. 中国是一个历史悠久、文化灿烂的多民族国家。
China is a multi-ethnic nation with a long history and a splendid culture.6. 端午节吃粽子、赛龙舟是我们的传统习俗。
It has been a traditional custom of Chinese people to eat zongzi, rice wrapped in reed leaves and hold dragon boat races during the Dragon Boat Festival.7. 今天，中医以其独特的疗效和科学本质赢得了全世界的广泛赞誉。
中国文化英语教程文本
Part I Wisdom and BeliefsUnit 1 Confucian thought on heaven and humanityConfucius (551-479 BC), known in China as Kongzi, given name Qiu and alias Zhongni, was a native of Zouyi (present-day Qufu in Shandong Province) of the State of Lu during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC). A great thinker, educator and founder of Confucianism, Confucius is an ancient sage to the Chinese people. His words and life story were recorded by his disciples and their students in The Analects (Lunyu).Confucius on Heaven: the source of EverythingIn the Shang (1600-1046 BC) and Zhou (1046-256 BC) dynasties, the prevalent concept of “Heaven”was that of a personified god, which influenced Confucius. Generally, however, Confucius regarded “Heaven”as nature. He said, “Heaven does not speak in words. It speaks through the rotation of the four seasons and the growth of all living things.”Obviously, heaven equaled nature, in the eyes of Confucius. Moreover, nature was not a lifeless mechanism separate from humans; instead, it was the great world of life and the process of creation of life. Human life was part and parcel of nature as a whole.Confucius on People: ren and liRen and Li are the two core concepts of Confucius's doctrine about people.When his students Fan Chi asked him about ren, Confucius replied, “love people”. This is Confucius' most important interpretation of ren. Love for the people is universal love. Confucius further emphasized that this kind of love should “begin with the love for one's parents”. He believed no one could love people in general if they did not even love their own parents. Confucius regarded “filial piety and fraternal duty”as the essence of ren. The Doctrine of the Mean (Zhongyong) quotes Confucius as saying, “The greatest love for people is the love for one's parents.”He also said, “Children should not travel far while their parents are alive. If they have no choice but to do so, they must retain some restraint.”He did not mean that children should not leave their parents at all. What he meant was that children should not make the parents anxious about them while away from home. Confucius said again, “Children should think often of the age of their parents. They should feel happy for the health and longevity of their parents. They should also feel concern for the aging of their parents.”By ren, Confucius meant universal love based on love for one's parents. How should peoplelove one another then Confucius said, “One should be aware that other people may have similar desires as oneself. While fulfilling one's desires, allow others to fulfill their desires as well.”He further said, “Do not do toward others anything you would not want to be done to you.”Thus from oneself to one's family, from family to society, one should extend love to all people. Mencius (c. 372-289 BC), a great Confucian scholar, best summarized ren as, “loving one's parents, loving the people, loving everything in the world.”Li refers to rituals, traditions and norms in social life. Of these, Confucius regarded burial ritualsand ancestral worship rituals as the most important, because they rose from human feelings. He said, “A child should not leave his parents' bosom until he is three years old.”He naturally love his parents. The ritual of wearing mourning for a deceased parent for three years was an expression of thechild's love and remembrance.Confucius on the State of lifeBefore Confucius, only the nobility had the right to education. He was the first figure in Chinese history to initiate private education. According to historical records, Confucius taught for many years and trained 3,000 disciples. A total of 72 of them excelled in the “six arts”, ., ritual, music, archery, (carriage)driving, calligraphy, and mathematics. A great educator, Confucius has been admired by later generations as the “sage of sages”.Confucius believed the basic goal of education was to cultivate “persons of virtue”, whoshould have sound character and uplifted minds. Such people should be able to shoulder important social responsibilities and to make contributions to society. Confucius regarded lofty ideals, great virtue, love of people, and the “six arts”as the general principles of education. Of these, virtue was the most important. His students were involved in a variety of professions, including politics, trade, education, diplomacy, ritual ceremony, and classifying ancient books. Whatever they did, they all wanted to improve their learning of the humanities and to enhance their virtue.Unit 2 Laozi's philosophy of Non-actionThe book Laozi was written around the sixth century BC. The author is generally believed to beLao Dan, or Laozi –a recluse who lived during the Spring and Autumn Period. Few records have survived about Lao Dan, who was said to have once held a low civil position in the royal court, in chare of the archival records of the Zhou Dynasty. Yet, due to his great learning, even Confucius was said to have traveled miles to consult him.Laozi, also known as Classic of the Way and Virtue (Dao De Jing), consists of just over 5,000 Chinese characters. Its 81 chapters are divided into two parts, Dao (the Way) and De (Virtue). Short as it is, the book has played a tremendous role in the development of Chinese culture. It became the basis of Daoism, the school of philosophy parallel to Confucianism in ancient China. The thought of Laozi formed the foundation of Daoism, the most influential indigenous school of religion in China. It has also exerted a direct impact on the characteristics, trends of thought and aesthetic sensibilitiesof the Chinese nation. Today Laozi still plays a role in the development of Chinese thinking. Naturalness and Non-action“Naturalness”is an important concept of Laozi's philosophy. It refers to a natural state of being, an attitude of following the way of nature. Laozi emphasized that everything in the world has its own way of being and development: birds fly in the sky, fish swim in the water, clouds float in the sky, flowers bloom and flowers fall. All these phenomena occur independently and naturally without following any human will, and humans should not try to change anything natural. Laozi admonished people to give up on any desire to control the world. Following the way of nature is the way to resolving conflicts between humans and the world.“Non-action”is another important concept of Laozi's philosophy. It is the guarantee of “Naturalness”. Laozi said, “(Dao or the Way) acts through non-action,”by which he did no mean that one should do nothing and passively wait for something to be achieved. Neither did he deny human creativity. What he meant is that human enterprises should be built on the basis of naturalness, not on many attempts to interrupt the rhythm of nature. Human creativity should be in compliance with the ways of nature.The philosophy of Non-contentionOn the basis of “naturalness”and “non-action”, Laozi proposed the view of“overcoming the strong by being weak”. The era Laozi lived in was replete with endless wars. Therefore, war was an important treme for philosophers, and ant-war thinking was the norm. Even the great strategist Sunzi advocated “winning a war without fighting it”, not to mention the great thinker Confucius, who strongly championed a government based on love. Their contemporary Mozi (c. 468-376 BC), founder of Mohism, also condemned wars while calling for “love for all”.According to Laozi, war springs from humanity's bloated desires. Conflict arises out ofpeople's struggles to satisfy their desires, and conflict escalates into war. Therefore, Laozi's philosophy is based on “non-contention”. To him, human striving and competitive strife is the root cause of decline; desiring nothing is the natural way of life.Laozi said, “The greatest virtue is like water.”He compared his philosophy of“non-contention”to water, to distinguish it from the law of the jungle. He said, “Water nourishes everything but contends for nothing.”To Laozi, humans tend to seek higher positions while water always flows to lower places. Driven by desire, humans like whatever they think is superior while despising whatever they think is inferior. Yet water always flows downward. As the source of life, water nourishes all living things on Earth. No life can exist without water. Water contributes to the world without regard for gain or loss. Remaining low, level and tranquil, water embraces and reflects everything under heaven. The way of water is completely different from the way of people with avid desires.But the philosophy of Laozi is by no means weak. On the contrary, it is full of strength.According to Laozi, water accumulates great strength in its weakness and quietude. Its strength can break down all barriers in the world. He said, “Nothing in the world is weaker than water. Yet nothing is stronger than water when it comes to breaking something strong.”Water is a typical example of the weak winning over the strong. Water is invincible because it desires nothing and contends for nothing.Unit 3 Chinese Buddhist CultureWho am I Where am I from Where am I goingMen are mortal. But death is not an once-and-for-all thing. They enter the rotating Wheel of Six Realms:Heaven, Human, Asura, Animal, Hungry Ghost, Hell.Documents stored in computer can be canceled at will, but what we have done in our life, and actually in our innumerable lives, cannot. What has been done has been done. The information is stored in your true “self”, not the physical one, and will accompany you life after life, and determines which Realm you enter.Only when we are completely free from lust, hatred, and folly, can we manage to break away from the capture of the rotating Wheel, and achieve perpetual enlightenment, discovering your true “self”.In Buddhism there isn't any dominating god who controls your destiny. We are the maker of our own fate. What we are at present is a result of what we have done in the past; and what we will be in the future is decided by what we are doing at present. What we have done form the “karma”, which, like a gene, decides on your future story. But this “gene”can of course be modified, by doing good deeds and obtaining healthy biological and spiritual energy, so as to change our future course of career. We are, therefore, our own master. What are the basic requirements for a BuddhistFive Prohibitions for the laymen:1) Don't kill;2) Don't steal;3) Don't seek aberrant sensual pleasures;4) Don't talk irresponsibly;5) Don't drink alcohol.Part II Creativity and ExchangeUnit 4 The Silk RoadThe silk road refers to a transport route connecting ancient China with Central Asia, West Asia, Africa, and the European continent. It appeared as early as the second century BC and was traveled mainly by silk merchants. The term “Silk Road”, or “die Seidenstrasse”in German, was first noted down by the German geographer Ferdinand Von Richthofen at the end of the 19th century.The silk road began in Chang'an (present-day Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province), passingthrough Gansu and Xinjiang to Central Asia, West Asia, and to lands by the Mediterranean. Therewere no signs of communication between ancient Chinese civilization and Mediterranean civilizationin earlier history. In about the seventh century BC, the ancient Greeks began to learn about an ancient civilization to the east, yet knew little about it. Before the Silk Road, according to archeological findings, there had already existed an intermittent trade route on the grasslands from the Yellow River and the Indus River drainage areas to the Euphrates and the Tigris, and the Nile drainage areas. Yetreal communication between China, Central and West Asian countries, Africa and the European continent did not develop until the opening of the Silk Road.Zhang Qian, Trail BlazerThe pioneer who blazed the trail of the Silk Road was Zhang Qian (c. 164-114 BC). In ZhangQian's time, the Chinese has little knowledge about Central and West Asian countries, Africa or Europe, although they were aware of the existence of many different countries and cultures in faraway places to the west.During the reign of Emperor Wu (r. 140-135 BC), there were 36 small kingdoms in the Western Regions (present-day Xinjiang and parts of Central Asia). All of them were later conquered by the Huns, who then posed a direct threat to the Western Han and blocked the dynasty's path west.Under these circumstances, Emperor Wu appointed Zhang Qian to lead a team of more than 100 envoys to the Western Regions.The mission was to unite the Indo-Scythic people against the Huns, who once killed theirchieftain. Zhang Qian's team set out in 138 BC. No sooner had they entered the Hexi Corridor (northwest of present-day Gansu Province), than they were captured by the Huns. After being held under house arrest for over ten years, Zhang Qian and only one other remaining envoy managed to escape and return to Chang'an in 126 BC. Their accounts about the Western Regions were arevelation to Hun emperor and his ministers.In the next two decades, Emperor Wu launched three major campaigns against the Huns,forcing them to retreat from the Western Regions. In 119 BC, the emperor sent Zhang Qian on a second mission to the Western Regions. This time Zhang Qian went further west, while his deputies reached more than a dozen countries in South and West Asia, and the Mediterranean.Zhang Qian's two missions to the Western Regions opened up the road to the west. EmperorWu adopted a series of measures to strengthen ties with the Western Regions, including encouragingHan People to trade there.Soon the route was bustling with caravans of camels carrying goods of all types andreverberating with the tinkling of their bells. Through the Silk Road, trade flourished between China and Central, South and West Asian countries, Africa and Europe. In 166, envoys from Rome arrived via the Silk Road in Chang'an, were they set up an embassy.Part III Art and AestheticsUnit 5 Music: Govern the Country, Nourish the MindThe tradition of Chinese music dates back to remote antiquity. Governing the country and nourishing the mind through music are two of the main functions of this tradition.Governance Through MusicAccording to ancient Chinese culture, rituals provided the norms of conduct of people. The goalwas to maintain social order.Music was for the mind's cultivation and expression. Its purpose was to enhance people'soutlook on life and imbue them with energy and creativity, such that they could enjoy a more harmonious and happier spiritual life. Individual contentment would then lead to social harmony, as well as to a more harmonious relationship between people and nature. The highest level of ancient Chinese music was to represent spiritual with nature.The prominent stature of music in ancient China explains the emergence of sophisticated instruments from early times. Chime bells were one example. First used in the Shang Dynasty, they became quite popular during the Western Zhou Dynasty (1046-771 BC). In 1978, a fine set of chime bells was unearthed in Hubei Province, from the tomb of Marquis Yi, a local lord in a small state called Zeng during the Warring States Period.The Marquis Yi chime bells consist of 65 bells arranged in three rows. The first row includes 19niu bells, and the second and third rows include 45 yong bells. The bells in each row differ from one another in shape and size, emanating(发出) different tones. In addition, there is a separate and much larger bell used to adjust pitch. Like the bells, the from is made of bronze, weighing as much as five tons or more. The total weight of the bells is more than 440 kilograms. While the bells bear inscriptions totaling more than 2,800 Chinese characters relating to music and the making of the instrument, the frame is carved with exquisite patterns in relief (浮雕) and fretwork(回纹细工). Instruments of such a scale and such fine craftsmanship were quite rate in the world at the time. Five musicians were needed to play the instrument. Each bell produces two tones when struck at the respective sound points as marked. The entire set of chime bells is able to produce all the tones of a modern piano.Consoling the Mind with MusicWild Geese Landing on the The Chinese zither tends to create a tranquil air. The composition Shallow Shore is such an example. With a relaxed rhythm, the first part of the piece depicts a calm Yangtze River under a clear autumn sky. The second part progresses into livelier rhythms to imitatethe chirping of many birds. The third part presents a thematic scene of wild geese leisurely landing on the shallow shores of the Yangtze, as a gentle breeze makes the water ripple. To Chinese musicians and music lovers, the contentment of the wild geese represents the human heart.The zither was also instrumental in communication between ancient scholars and artist. The Three Stanzas of Plum Blossoms, was based on an Eastern Jin Dynasty famous zither composition,One ) (-383).桓伊王子猷story of the poet Wang Ziyou () (c. 338-386) and the flute player Huan Yi (day the poet was taking a boat trip when he overheard someone on the riverbank say Huan Yi waspassing by. Although the two had never met before, they admired each other as poet and flute player. Despite his lower rank of office, Ziyou sent a family member to request Huan Yi to play the flute. Three Stanzas of Plum played and Yi dismounted from his carriage Without hesitation, Huan Blossoms, while Ziyou listened from his boat. After finishing, Huan Yi mounted his carriage and drove on. Ziyou, too, continued with his boat journey. The two of them exchanged not a single word, s three 'yet both were content with the communication of their hearts through the music.The flutestanzas were later converted into a composition for the Chinese zither, which has become one of thethe of its eulogy expression of otherworldly feelings through best-known musical works –as ans purity, fragrance and resistance to the cold.'plum flower Unit 6 Flying strokes of CalligraphyThe evolution of Chinese characters font甲骨文the Oracle bone script→金文Jinwen (Inscriptions on bronze )→篆书Seal script→隶书Official script→楷书Regular script→草书Cursive script→行书running scriptWang Xizhi and Preface to the Lanting Pavilion CollectionIn the Hall for Cultivation of Mind of the Palace Museum, there is a Three-treasurer Study,which derives its name for the three most valuable calligraphic works housed here. These three treasures, most valued and adored by Emperor Qianling (r. 1736-1795) of the Qing Dynasty, were A Sunny Scene after a Quick Snow by Wang Xizhi, Mid-Autumn by Wang Xianzhi and Boyuan byWang Xun (349-400). As father and son, Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi hae been known as the“Two Wangs”, their works universally recognized as the peak of Chinese calligraphy.Unit 7 Porcelain –Calling Card of Chinese CultureIn English, the country and “porcelain”share the same name –“China”. This proves that Europeans have long known of China's relationship to porcelain. Porcelain found its way to Europein the 15th century, occupying an important position in the exchanges between China and other countries. The Keisel Randy Museum in Germany houses a blue-and-white bowl dating back to the Ming Dynasty. Throughout history, China, along with other Asian countries, and Europe maintaineda busy and vast trade in porcelain. From 1602 to 1682, the Dutch East India Company transported more than 16 million articles of porcelain to Europe. Porcelain garnered a good reputation for Chinafor its sophistication and elegance, and played an important role in the wave of the European idealization of China during the 17th and 18th centuries. In the rococo style popular in Europe of that time, one could sense, from time to time, the influence of “Chinese vogue”represented by China's styles of porcelain and gardens.Porcelain is of great significance in the history of Chinese civilization. Pottery was thepredecessor of porcelain, while glazed pottery was the basis for the emergence of porcelain. Aroundthe first century, porcelain production first emerged in China, and by The Song Dynasty it had become mature. Song-Dynasty porcelain represented the acme of Chinese porcelain technique. Fivefamous kilns, the Jun, Ding, Guan, Ge, and Ru, were all creative and original in their respective products, and their porcelain ware has been imitated by later generations throughout the ages. In the Yuan Dynasty, Jingdezhen became the center of the Chinese Porcelain industry.Pure Blue-and-White PorcelainPure and elegant beauty is the goal that porcelain pursues, and this ideal is best explained in the production of blue-and-white porcelain.Blue-and-white porcelain is a typical artifact of porcelain in China. Among the porcelainexported during the Ming and Qing dynasties, 80 percent was blue-and-white. Chinese-madeblue-and-white porcelain ware emerged long before the founding of the Tang Dynasty, but it was not until the Yuan Dynasty that this type of porcelain came to be produced in quantity, with the attendant masterpieces. The Ming Dynasty witnessed the maturity of the art, and a large number of valuable pieces were produced in this period. Jingdezhen, a small town that created the enchantingblue-and-white porcelain of the Yuan Dynasty, became its porcelain-producing center; and in the subsequent Ming Dynasty, the imperial kilns were established here. Blue-and-white porcelain is now the most representative of Chinese porcelain.To produce blue-and-white porcelain, cobalt oxide is requisite. It is employed to draw on thewhite roughcast before glaze is applied. After kilning at a high temperature, the roughcast turns into blue-and-white porcelain, since cobalt oxide turns blue with heat. The white surface with blue patterns and a shiny sheen of glaze produces a pure, elegant and transparent effect.Unit 8 Peking Opera: Artistry of PerformersThe Delights of Peking Opera MasksChina's Peking Opera radiates with the beauty of resplendent color –vivid, intense and glamorous. This artistic beauty comes not only from the costumes but also from the masks of exaggerated, dazzling designs, gleaming with red, purples, whites, yellows, blacks, blues, greens, every diverse color imaginable.Masks, applied to the two roles of the “jing”or “painted-face role”and the “chou”or “clown”, serve two purposes. One is to indicate the identity and character of the role. For example, a “red face”means the person is loyal and brave; a “black face”signifies the person is straightforward; and “a white face”identifies the person as crafty and evil. The other purpose is to express people's appraisal of the roles from a moral and aesthetic point of view, such as respectable, hateful, noble, ridiculous, etc.Peking Opera Performance: Sing, Speak, Act, and FightThe performance of a Peking Opera actor can be summarized into four basic aspects, of singing, speaking, acting, and fighting, the core of which is a combination of song and choreography. Singing is of utmost importance in the performance of Peking Opera, because first of all, Peking Opera is a singing art. Any famous Peking Opera boasts several wonderful arias that are well-known and popular with audiences. The charm of the melodies usually embodies the sublime realm of the art of Peking Opera. Unable to appreciate the magic of Peking Opera arias, one would fail to enjoy the profound beauty of the art itself.Speaking refers to character monologs and dialogs, which serve to propel the development ofthe story. Speaking, like singing, needs to be executed in an appealing way.Acting and fighting mean that actors employ physical movements to express the emotions of the characters and the circumstances. Acting includes body movements and eye movements, solo dancingor group dancing, etc. Most of the dancing is choreographed movements from everyday life. Fighting Pekingof art the As scenes. battle or fight depict to acrobatics and arts martial choreographed isOpera depends on movement to depict events, actors are given much room to perform on the the Picking up the Jade Bracelet, the young woman Sun Yujiao and the young scholar fall in love operawith each other, their eyes affixed on each other as if a thread connected them. Then, as MatchmakerLiu uses her pipe to pull the “virtual”line up and down, the young couple's eyes accordingly the significance to and add much and down. These actions produce great humor move up“world of images”, but at the or the ”“play performance.Acting and fighting serve the wholeKing Chu Bids same time they are themselves a beautiful art in both form and skill. For example, in Farewell to His Concubine, artist Mei Lanfang performed a sword dance in a miraculously skillful way, which became very popular with audiences. This is a type of beauty in form. As for the beauty of skill,.”this usually includes some very difficult acrobatic movements, often referred to as “superb skillsspeaking, singing, fact that the Peking Opera lies in the of The uniqueness performances inacting, and fighting, all focus on one or two actors in the play.“mingjue”was used to refer to famous , hence er”jueThese performers used to be called “'actors or actresses. In this sense, the world of imagery created in Peking Opera mainly relies on thesinging, speaking, acting, and fighting of actors, especially in the performance of the famous plays.This is the biggest difference between Peking Opera and other forms of performing arts in terms ofwell –art of performers”“And the remark –Peking Opera is the aesthetic appreciation. describes its quintessence.Visual World“”The Beauty of ais a distinctive feature of Peking Opera. Its virtually consists of two ”Depicting a “visual worldaspects: one is virtual movements, and the other virtual settings. Virtual movement refers to imitatingactions onstage. For example, riding a horse. Onstage, an actor cannot ride a real horse, but can onlyhold a whip and imitate the movement of galloping by walking around the stage, turning the body, wielding the whip, and pulling the reins. A virtual setting means creating an imagined environment onstage. For example, rowing a boat. As there is no water or boat on the stage, an actor usually takesthe rowing of a boat on water.”an oar and, through actions, makes the audience “see At the Crossroad. This opera describes the story of two yamen runners escorting Jiao One isZan to prison. On the way they stay at an inn for the night. Ren Tanghui, whose task is to protect Jiao Zan, checks in at the same time. The owner of the inn, however, suspects Ren Tanghui is planning tos room at night. Thus a fight starts. What is special murder Jiao Zan, so he gropes his way into Ren'the yet is brightly lit; fight happens about the performance is that, although the at night, the stagefeature which performances, from the actors' pitch-dark audience is able to sense it is a nights sword swishes down, only 'stealthy movements typical of people in darkness. Sometimes, one man s face, yet the latter feels nothing, thus producing a breathtaking 'a few inches away from the otheryet meaningful and humorous effect.RiverAutumn story Opera. This transplanted from The other example is Sichuan , a playdescribes a young nun, Chen Miaochang who leaves the nunnery to pursue her lover Pan Bizheng. Onstage, there is neither water nor boat, but through the performance of the young woman and thethat the stage is a river. The boat sways forward; “see”old boatman, the audience is able to obviously。
中国文化英语教程文本
P a r t I W i s d o m a n d B e l i e f s Unit 1 Confucian thought on heaven and humanityConfucius (551-479 BC), known in China as Kongzi, given name Qiu and alias Zhongni, was a native of Zouyi (present-day Qufu in Shandong Province) of the State of Lu during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC). A great thinker, educator and founder of Confucianism, Confucius is an ancient sage to the Chinese people. His words and life story were recorded by his disciples and their students in The Analects (Lunyu).Confucius on Heaven: the source of EverythingIn the Shang (1600-1046 BC) and Zhou (1046-256 BC) dynasties, the prevalent concept of “Heaven”was that of a personified god, which influenced Confucius. Generally, however, Confucius regarded “Heaven” as nature. He said, “Heaven does not speak in words. It speaks through the rotation of the four seasons and the growth of all living things.”Obviously, heaven equaled nature, in the eyes of Confucius. Moreover, nature was not a lifeless mechanism separate from humans; instead, it was the great world of life and the process of creation of life. Human life was part and parcel of nature as a whole.Confucius on People: ren and liRen and Li are the two core concepts of Confucius’s doctrine about people.When his students Fan Chi asked him about ren, Confucius replied, “love people”. This is Confucius’ most important interpretation of ren. Love for the people is universal love. Confucius further emphasized that this kind of love should “begin with the love for one’s parents”. He believed no one could love people in general if they did not even love their own parents. Confucius regarded “filial piety and fraternal duty”as the essence of ren. The Doctrine of the Mean (Zhongyong) quotes Confucius as saying, “The greatest love for people is the love for one’s parents.” He also said, “Children should not travel far while their parents are alive. If they have no choice but to do so, they must retain some restraint.” He did not mean that children should not leave their parents at all. What he meant was that children should not make the parents anxious about them while away from home. Confucius said again, “Children should think often of the age of their parents. They should feel happy for the health and longevity of their parents. They should also feel concern for the aging of their parents.”By ren, Confucius meant universal love based on love for one’s parents. How should people love one another then Confucius said, “One should be aware that other people may have similar desires as oneself. While fulfilling one’s desires, allow others to fulfill their desires as well.” He further said, “Do not do toward others anything you would not want to be done to you.” Thus from oneself to one’s family, from family to society, one should extend love to all people. Mencius (c. 372-289 BC), a great Confucian scholar, best summarized ren as, “loving one’s parents, loving the people, loving everything in the world.”Li refers to rituals, traditions and norms in social life. Of these, Confucius regarded burial rituals and ancestral worship rituals as the most important, because they rose from human feelings. He said, “A child should not leave his parents’ bosom until he is three years old.” He naturally love his parents. The ritual of wearing mourning for a deceased parent for three years was an expression of the child’s love and remembrance.Confucius on the State of lifeBefore Confucius, only the nobility had the right to education. He was the first figure in Chinese history to initiate private education. According to historical records, Confucius taught for many years and trained 3,000 disciples. A total of 72 of them excelled in the “six arts”, ., ritual, music, archery, (carriage)driving, calligraphy, and mathematics. A great educator, Confucius has been admired by later generations as the “sage of sages”.Confucius believed the basic goal of education was to cultivate “persons of virtue”, who should have sound character and uplifted minds. Such people should be able to shoulder important social responsibilities and to make contributions to society. Confucius regarded lofty ideals, great virtue, love of people, and the “six arts” as the general principles of education. Of these, virtue was the most important. His students were involved in a variety of professions, including politics, trade, education, diplomacy, ritual ceremony, and classifying ancient books. Whatever they did, they all wanted to improve their learning of the humanities and to enhance their virtue.Unit 2 Laozi’s philosophy of Non-actionThe book Laozi was written around the sixth century BC. The author is generally believed to be Lao Dan, or Laozi – a recluse who lived during the Spring and Autumn Period. Few records have survived about Lao Dan, who was said to have once held a low civil position in the royal court, in chare of the archival records of the Zhou Dynasty. Yet, due to his great learning, even Confucius was said to have traveled miles to consult him.Laozi, also known as Classic of the Way and Virtue (Dao De Jing), consists of just over 5,000 Chinese characters. Its 81 chapters are divided into two parts, Dao (the Way) and De (Virtue). Short as it is, the book has played a tremendous role in the development of Chinese culture. It became the basis of Daoism, the school of philosophy parallel to Confucianism in ancient China. The thought of Laozi formed the foundation of Daoism, the most influential indigenous school of religion in China. It has also exerted a direct impact on the characteristics, trends of thought and aesthetic sensibilities of the Chinese nation. Today Laozi still plays a role in the development of Chinese thinking. Naturalness and Non-action“Naturalness” is an important concept of Laozi’s philosophy. It refers to a natural state of being, an attitude of following the way of nature. Laozi emphasized that everything in the world has its own way of being and development: birds fly in the sky, fish swim in the water, clouds float in the sky, flowers bloom and flowers fall. All these phenomena occur independently and naturally without following any human will, and humans should not try to change anything natural. Laozi admonished people to give up on any desire to control the world. Following the way of nature is the way to resolving conflicts between humans and the world.“Non-action”is another important concept of Laozi’s philosophy. It is the guarantee of “Naturalness”. Laozi said, “(Dao or the Way) acts through non-action,”by which he did no mean that one should do nothing and passively wait for something to be achieved. Neither did he deny human creativity. What he meant is that human enterprises should be built on the basis of naturalness, not on many attempts to interrupt the rhythm of nature. Human creativity should be in compliance with the ways of nature.The philosophy of Non-contentionOn the basis of “naturalness”and “non-action”, Laozi proposed the view of “overcoming the strong by being weak”. The era Laozi lived in was replete with endless wars. Therefore, war was an important treme for philosophers, and ant-war thinking was the norm. Eventhe great strategist Sunzi advocated “winning a war without fighting it”, not to mention the great thinker Confucius, who strongly championed a government based on love. Their contemporary Mozi (c. 468-376 BC), founder of Mohism, also condemned wars while calling for “love for all”.According to Laozi, war springs from humanity’s bloated desires. Conflict arises out of people’s struggles to satisfy their desires, and conflict escalates into war. Therefore, Laozi’s philosophy is based on “non-contention”. To him, human striving and competitive strife is the root cause of decline; desiring nothing is the natural way of life.Laozi said, “The greatest virtue is like water.”He compared his philosophy of “non-contention” to water, to distinguish it from the law of the jungle. He said, “Water nourishes everything but contends for nothing.” To Laozi, humans tend to seek higher positions while water always flows to lower places. Driven by desire, humans like whatever they think is superior while despising whatever they think is inferior. Yet water always flows downward. As the source of life, water nourishes all living things on Earth. No life can exist without water. Water contributes to the world without regard for gain or loss. Remaining low, level and tranquil, water embraces and reflects everything under heaven. The way of water is completely different from the way of people with avid desires.But the philosophy of Laozi is by no means weak. On the contrary, it is full of strength. According to Laozi, water accumulates great strength in its weakness and quietude. Its strength can break down all barriers in the world. He said, “Nothing in the world is weaker than water. Yet nothing is stronger than water when it comes to breaking something strong.”Water is a typical example of the weak winning over the strong. Water is invincible because it desires nothing and contends for nothing.Unit 3 Chinese Buddhist CultureWho am I Where am I from Where am I goingMen are mortal. But death is not an once-and-for-all thing. They enter the rotating Wheel of Six Realms:Heaven, Human, Asura, Animal, Hungry Ghost, Hell.Documents stored in computer can be canceled at will, but what we have done in our life, and actually in our innumerable lives, cannot. What has been done has been done. The information is stored in your true “self”, not the physical one, and will accompany you life after life, and determines which Realm you enter.Only when we are completely free from lust, hatred, and folly, can we manage to break away from the capture of the rotating Wheel, and achieve perpetual enlightenment, discovering your true “self”.In Buddhism there isn’t any dominating god who controls your destiny. We are the maker of our own fate. What we are at present is a result of what we have done in the past; and what we will be in the future is decided by what we are doing at present. What we have done form the “karma”, which, like a gene, decides on your future story. But this “gene” c an of course be modified, by doing good deeds and obtaining healthy biological and spiritual energy, so as to change our future course of career. We are, therefore, our own master. What are the basic requirements for a BuddhistFive Prohibitions for the laymen:1) Don’t kill;2) Don’t steal;3) Don’t seek aberrant sensual pleasures;4) Don’t talk irresponsibly;5) Don’t drink alcohol.Part II Creativity and ExchangeUnit 4 The Silk RoadThe silk road refers to a transport route connecting ancient China with Central Asia, West Asia, Africa, and the European continent. It appeared as early as the second century BC and was traveled mainly by silk merchants. The term “Silk Road”, or “die Seidenstrasse”in German, was first noted down by the German geographer Ferdinand Von Richthofen at the end of the 19th century.The silk road began in Chang’an (present-day Xi’an, capital of Shaanxi Province), passing through Gansu and Xinjiang to Central Asia, West Asia, and to lands by the Mediterranean. There were no signs of communication between ancient Chinese civilization and Mediterranean civilization in earlier history. In about the seventh century BC, the ancient Greeks began to learn about an ancient civilization to the east, yet knew little about it. Before the Silk Road, according to archeological findings, there had already existed an intermittent trade route on the grasslands from the Yellow River and the Indus River drainage areas to the Euphrates and the Tigris, and the Nile drainage areas. Yet real communication between China, Central and West Asian countries, Africa and the European continent did not develop until the opening of the Silk Road.Zhang Qian, Trail BlazerThe pioneer who blazed the trail of the Silk Road was Zhang Qian (c. 164-114 BC). In Zhang Qian’s time, the Chinese has little knowledge about Central and West Asian countries, Africa or Europe, although they were aware of the existence of many different countries and cultures in faraway places to the west.During the reign of Emperor Wu (r. 140-135 BC), there were 36 small kingdoms in the Western Regions (present-day Xinjiang and parts of Central Asia). All of them were later conquered by the Huns, who then posed a direct threat to the Western Han and blocked the dynasty’s path west. Under these circumstances, Emperor Wu appointed Zhang Qian to lead a team of more than 100 envoys to the Western Regions.The mission was to unite the Indo-Scythic people against the Huns, who once killed their chieftain. Zhang Qian’s team set out in 138 BC. No sooner had they entered the Hexi Corridor (northwest of present-day Gansu Province), than they were captured by the Huns. After being held under house arrest for over ten years, Zhang Qian and only one other remaining envoy managed to escape and return to Chang’an in 126 BC. Their accounts about the Western Regions were a revelation to Hun emperor and his ministers.In the next two decades, Emperor Wu launched three major campaigns against the Huns, forcing them to retreat from the Western Regions. In 119 BC, the emperor sent Zhang Qian on a second mission to the Western Regions. This time Zhang Qian went further west, while his deputies reached more than a dozen countries in South and West Asia, and the Mediterranean.Zhang Qian’s two missions to the Western Regions opened up the road to the west. Emperor Wu adopted a series of measures to strengthen ties with the Western Regions, including encouraging Han People to trade there.Soon the route was bustling with caravans of camels carrying goods of all types and reverberating with the tinkling of their bells. Through the Silk Road, trade flourished between China and Central, South and West Asian countries, Africa and Europe. In 166, envoys from Rome arrivedvia the Silk Road in Chang’an, were they set up an embassy.Part III Art and AestheticsUnit 5 Music: Govern the Country, Nourish the Mind The tradition of Chinese music dates back to remote antiquity. Governing the country and nourishing the mind through music are two of the main functions of this tradition.Governance Through MusicAccording to ancient Chinese culture, rituals provided the norms of conduct of people. The goal was to maintain social order.Music was for the mind’s cultivation and expression. Its purpose was to enhance people’s outlook on life and imbue them with energy and creativity, such that they could enjoy a more harmonious and happier spiritual life. Individual contentment would then lead to social harmony, as well as to a more harmonious relationship between people and nature. The highest level of ancient Chinese music was to represent spiritual with nature.The prominent stature of music in ancient China explains the emergence of sophisticated instruments from early times. Chime bells were one example. First used in the Shang Dynasty, they became quite popular during the Western Zhou Dynasty (1046-771 BC). In 1978, a fine set of chime bells was unearthed in Hubei Province, from the tomb of Marquis Yi, a local lord in a small state called Zeng during the Warring States Period.The Marquis Yi chime bells consist of 65 bells arranged in three rows. The first row includes 19 niu bells, and the second and third rows include 45 yong bells. The bells in each row differ from one another in shape and size, emanating(发出) different tones. In addition, there is a separate and much larger bell used to adjust pitch. Like the bells, the from is made of bronze, weighing as much as five tons or more. The total weight of the bells is more than 440 kilograms. While the bells bear inscriptions totaling more than 2,800 Chinese characters relating to music and the making of the instrument, the frame is carved with exquisite patterns in relief (浮雕) and fretwork(回纹细工). Instruments of such a scale and such fine craftsmanship were quite rate in the world at the time. Five musicians were needed to play the instrument. Each bell produces two tones when struck at the respective sound points as marked. The entire set of chime bells is able to produce all the tones of a modern piano.Consoling the Mind with MusicThe Chinese zither tends to create a tranquil air. The composition Wild Geese Landing on the Shallow Shore is such an example. With a relaxed rhythm, the first part of the piece depicts a calm Yangtze River under a clear autumn sky. The second part progresses into livelier rhythms to imitate the chirping of many birds. The third part presents a thematic scene of wild geese leisurely landing on the shallow shores of the Yangtze, as a gentle breeze makes the water ripple. To Chinese musicians and music lovers, the contentment of the wild geese represents the human heart.The zither was also instrumental in communication between ancient scholars and artist. The famous zither composition, Three Stanzas of Plum Blossoms, was based on an Eastern Jin Dynasty story of the poet Wang Ziyou (王子猷) (c. 338-386) and the flute player Huan Yi (桓伊) (-383).One day the poet was taking a boat trip when he overheard someone on the riverbank say Huan Yi was passing by. Although the two had never met before, they admired each other as poet and flute player. Despite his lower rank of office, Ziyou sent a family member to request Huan Yi to play the flute.Without hesitation, Huan Yi dismounted from his carriage and played Three Stanzas of Plum Blossoms, while Ziyou listened from his boat. After finishing, Huan Yi mounted his carriage and drove on. Ziyou, too, continued with his boat journey. The two of them exchanged not a single word, yet both were content with the communication of their hearts through the music.The flute’s three stanzas were later converted into a composition for the Chinese zither, which has become one of the best-known musical works –as an expression of otherworldly feelings through its eulogy of the plum flower’s purity, fragrance and resistance to the cold.Unit 6 Flying strokes of CalligraphyThe evolution of Chinese characters font甲骨文the Oracle bone script→金文Jinwen (Inscriptions on bronze )→篆书Seal script→隶书Official script→楷书Regular script→草书Cursive script→行书running scriptWang Xizhi and Preface to the Lanting Pavilion CollectionIn the Hall for Cultivation of Mind of the Palace Museum, there is a Three-treasurer Study, which derives its name for the three most valuable calligraphic works housed here. These three treasures, most valued and adored by Emperor Qianling (r. 1736-1795) of the Qing Dynasty, were A Sunny Scene after a Quick Snow by Wang Xizhi, Mid-Autumn by Wang Xianzhi and Boyuan by Wang Xun (349-400). As father and son, Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi hae been known as the “Two Wangs”, their works universally recognized as the peak of Chinese calligraphy.Unit 7 Porcelain – Calling Card of Chinese Culture In English, the country and “porcelain”share the same name –“China”. This proves that Europeans have long known of China’s relationship to porcelain. Porcelain found its way to Europe in the 15th century, occupying an important position in the exchanges between China and other countries. The Keisel Randy Museum in Germany houses a blue-and-white bowl dating back to the Ming Dynasty. Throughout history, China, along with other Asian countries, and Europe maintained a busy and vast trade in porcelain. From 1602 to 1682, the Dutch East India Company transported more than 16 million articles of porcelain to Europe. Porcelain garnered a good reputation for China for its sophistication and elegance, and played an important role in the wave of the European idealization of China during the 17th and 18th centuries. In the rococo style popular in Europe of that time, one could sense, from time to time, the influence of “Chinese vogue”represented by China’s styles of porcelain and gardens.Porcelain is of great significance in the history of Chinese civilization. Pottery was the predecessor of porcelain, while glazed pottery was the basis for the emergence of porcelain. Around the first century, porcelain production first emerged in China, and by The Song Dynasty it had become mature. Song-Dynasty porcelain represented the acme of Chinese porcelain technique. Five famous kilns, the Jun, Ding, Guan, Ge, and Ru, were all creative and original in their respective products, and their porcelain ware has been imitated by later generations throughout the ages. In theYuan Dynasty, Jingdezhen became the center of the Chinese Porcelain industry.Pure Blue-and-White PorcelainPure and elegant beauty is the goal that porcelain pursues, and this ideal is best explained in the production of blue-and-white porcelain.Blue-and-white porcelain is a typical artifact of porcelain in China. Among the porcelain exported during the Ming and Qing dynasties, 80 percent was blue-and-white. Chinese-made blue-and-white porcelain ware emerged long before the founding of the Tang Dynasty, but it was not until the Yuan Dynasty that this type of porcelain came to be produced in quantity, with the attendant masterpieces. The Ming Dynasty witnessed the maturity of the art, and a large number of valuable pieces were produced in this period. Jingdezhen, a small town that created the enchanting blue-and-white porcelain of the Yuan Dynasty, became its porcelain-producing center; and in the subsequent Ming Dynasty, the imperial kilns were established here. Blue-and-white porcelain is now the most representative of Chinese porcelain.To produce blue-and-white porcelain, cobalt oxide is requisite. It is employed to draw on the white roughcast before glaze is applied. After kilning at a high temperature, the roughcast turns into blue-and-white porcelain, since cobalt oxide turns blue with heat. The white surface with blue patterns and a shiny sheen of glaze produces a pure, elegant and transparent effect.Unit 8 Peking Opera: Artistry of PerformersThe Delights of Peking Opera MasksChina’s Peking Opera radiates with the beauty of resplendent color –vivid, intense and glamorous. This artistic beauty comes not only from the costumes but also from the masks of exaggerated, dazzling designs, gleaming with red, purples, whites, yellows, blacks, blues, greens, every diverse color imaginable.Masks, applied to the two roles of the “jing”or “painted-face role”and the “chou”or “clown”, serve two purposes. One is to indicate the identity and character of the role. For example, a “red face”means the person is loyal and brave; a “black face”signifies the person is straightforward; and “a white face”identifies the person as crafty and evil. The other purpose is to express people’s appraisal of the roles from a moral and aesthetic point of view, such as respectable, hateful, noble, ridiculous, etc.Peking Opera Performance: Sing, Speak, Act, and FightThe performance of a Peking Opera actor can be summarized into four basic aspects, of singing, speaking, acting, and fighting, the core of which is a combination of song and choreography.Singing is of utmost importance in the performance of Peking Opera, because first of all, Peking Opera is a singing art. Any famous Peking Opera boasts several wonderful arias that are well-known and popular with audiences. The charm of the melodies usually embodies the sublime realm of the art of Peking Opera. Unable to appreciate the magic of Peking Opera arias, one would fail to enjoy the profound beauty of the art itself.Speaking refers to character monologs and dialogs, which serve to propel the development of the story. Speaking, like singing, needs to be executed in an appealing way.Acting and fighting mean that actors employ physical movements to express the emotions of the characters and the circumstances. Acting includes body movements and eye movements, solo dancing or group dancing, etc. Most of the dancing is choreographed movements from everyday life. Fighting is choreographed martial arts and acrobatics to depict fight or battle scenes. As the art of PekingOpera depends on movement to depict events, actors are given much room to perform on the the opera Picking up the Jade Bracelet, the young woman Sun Yujiao and the young scholar fall in love with each other, their eyes affixed on each other as if a thread connected them. Then, as Matchmaker Liu uses her pipe to pull the “virtual” line up and down, the young couple’s eyes accordingly move up and down. These actions produce great humor and add much significance to the performance.Acting and fighting serve the whole “play”or the “world of images”, but at the same time they are themselves a beautiful art in both form and skill. For example, in King Chu Bids Farewell to His Concubine, artist Mei Lanfang performed a sword dance in a miraculously skillful way, which became very popular with audiences. This is a type of beauty in form. As for the beauty of skill, this usually includes some very difficult acrobatic movements, often referred to as “superb skills”.The uniqueness of performances in Peking Opera lies in the fact that the singing, speaking, acting, and fighting, all focus on one or two actors in the play.These performers used to be called “jue’er”, hence “mingjue” was used to refer to famous actors or actresses. In this sense, the world of imagery created in Peking Opera mainly relies on the singing, speaking, acting, and fighting of actors, especially in the performance of the famous plays. This is the biggest difference between Peking Opera and other forms of performing arts in terms of aesthetic appreciation. And the remark –“Peking Opera is the art of performers”–well describes its quintessence.The Beauty of a “Visual World”Depicting a “visual world”is a distinctive feature of Peking Opera. Its virtually consists of two aspects: one is virtual movements, and the other virtual settings. Virtual movement refers to imitating actions onstage. For example, riding a horse. Onstage, an actor cannot ride a real horse, but can only hold a whip and imitate the movement of galloping by walking around the stage, turning the body, wielding the whip, and pulling the reins. A virtual setting means creating an imagined environment onstage. For example, rowing a boat. As there is no water or boat on the stage, an actor usually takes an oar and, through actions, makes the audience “see”the rowing of a boat on water.One is At the Crossroad. This opera describes the story of two yamen runners escorting Jiao Zan to prison. On the way they stay at an inn for the night. Ren Tanghui, whose task is to protect Jiao Zan, checks in at the same time. The owner of the inn, however, suspects Ren Tanghui is planning to murder Jiao Zan, so he gropes his way into Ren’s room at night. Thus a fight starts. What is special about the performance is that, although the fight happens at night, the stage is brightly lit; yet the audience is able to sense it is a pitch-dark night from the actors’performances, which feature stealthy movements typical of people in darkness. Sometimes, one man’ s sword swishes down, only a few inches away from the other’ s face, yet the latter feels nothing, thus producing a breathtaking yet meaningful and humorous effect.The other example is Autumn River, a play transplanted from Sichuan Opera. This story describes a young nun, Chen Miaochang who leaves the nunnery to pursue her lover Pan Bizheng. Onstage, there is neither water nor boat, but through the performance of the young woman and the old boatman, the audience is able to obviously “see”that the stage is a river. The boat sways forward; all the way there the girl complains about the boat for being slow, while the old boatman keeps teasing her about her anxiety to see her lover. The performance is full of wit and humor.These examples describe the function of the “virtual world” in the art of Peking Opera, which provides limitless room for the performances of actors; and in return, performers present the audience with a world of images full of appealing wit. If in fact the stage of At the Crossroad was。
中国文化英语教程
中国文化英语教程the culture of teawhen a guest comes to my home from afar on a cold night, i light bamboo to boil tea to offer hi ancient chinese poechina is the home country of tea.before the tang dynasty, chinese tea was exported by land and sea, first to japan and korea, then to india and central asia and, in the ming and qing dynasties, to the arabian peninsula. in the early period of the 17th century, chinese tea was exported to europe, where the upper class adopted the fashionof drinking tea. chinese tea like chinese silk and china has become synonymous worldwide with refined culture. at the heart of the culture of tea the study and practice of tea in all its aspects is the simple gesture of offering a cup of tea to a guest that for chinese people today is a fundamental social custom, as it has been for centuries.china traces the development of tea as an artform to lu yu, known as the saint of tea in chinese history, who lived during the tang dynasty and who wrote the book of tea, the first ever treatise on tea and tea culture. the spirit of tea permeates chinese culture, and throughoutthe country there are many kinds of teas, teahouses, tea legends, teaartifacts and tea customs. better-known places to enjoy a good cup of tea in china include beijing noted for its variety of teahouses; fujian and guangdong provinces and other places in the southeast of china that serve gongfu tea, a formal serving of tea in tiny cups; the west lake in hangzhou, also the homeof the tea connoisseurs association, noted for its excellent green tea; and provinces in southwest china like yunnan where the ethnic groups less affected by foreign cultures retain tea ceremonies and customs in original tea-growing areas."when a guest comes to my home from afar on a cold night i light bamboo to boil tea to offer hi" — ancient chinese poechina is the home country of tea. before the tang dynasty chinese tea was exported by land and sea first to japan and korea then to india and centralasia and in the ming and qing dynasties to the arabian peninsula. in the early period of the 17th century chinese tea was exported to europe where the upper class adopted the fashion of drinking tea. chinese tea—like chinese silk and china—has become synonymous worldwide with refined culture. at the heart ofthe culture of tea—the study and practice of tea in all its aspects—is the simple gesture of offering a cup of tea to a guest that for chinese people today is a fundamental social custom as it has been for centuries. chinatraces the development of tea as an art form to lu yu known as "the saint of tea" in chinese history who lived during the tang dynasty and who wrote the book of tea the first ever treatise on tea and tea culture. the spirit of tea permeates chinese culture and throughout the country there are many kinds of teas teahouses tea legends tea artifacts and tea customs. better-known places to enjoy a good cup of tea in china include beijing noted for its variety of teahouses; fujian and guangdong provinces and other places in the southeast of china that serve gongfu tea a formal serving of tea in tiny cups; the west lake in hangzhou also the home of the tea connoisseurs association noted for its excellent green tea; and provinces in southwest china like yunnan where the ethnic groups less affected by foreign cultures retain tea ceremonies and customs in original tea-growing areas.china is the home of tea, is the birthplace of tea culture. the discovery and utilization of tea in china, has a history of four thousand or five thousand years, and long fill do not decline, spread throughout the world. tea is one of the world's most popular, the most popular, beneficial to the physical and mental healthy green drinks. tea into the world in one, advocate tea, a world.tea culture including tea tasting techniques, art appreciation, operation means of tea a better environment for the taste of the tea of my mood.the process of form and spirit of unity, is the process of the formation of the tea culture phenomenon. it originated long ago, has a long history, profound culture, and religious activity. the whole world has more than countries and area residents are fond of tea. some places tea tea as a kind of enjoyment of the arts to promote. the tea is identical, each has its own merits. the chinese people have always had a guest to tea custom, which fully reflects the chinese national civilization and politeness.since i started my major in the tea culture of china, i have been deeply impressed by its sophistication and beauty. i would like to share some fascinating aspects of the tea culture of china.in a country with the history of five thousand years, the chinese tea drinking habit dated back to the tang dynasty (-ad). it became a national tradition and led to development of a delicate tea drinking ritual. over the centuries, poets and artists in china wrote many marvelous masterpieces, in appreciation of tea and chinese people’s constant love of tea drinking .one of the best-known writers is lu yu, who was regarded as the “tea sage ” for he composed the first book on tea. in his classic book, he detailed hisstudies of tea, such as the origin of tea, tea tools, tea picking, tea cooking, tea ceremony and well-known areas where tea was grown. and the valuable knowledge he recorded has laid foundation for modern tea culture development.based on ways in which tea leaves are processed, there are five distinct types of tea. they are as follow: the green tea, the black tea, the wulong tea, the compressed tea and the scented tea. among them, may foreigners arefamiliar with the green tea. the longjing tea, of the green type, has a reputationin china, tea has a very long history, and has formed a chinese tea culture. at the same time, tea is good for our health and is loved by many people. chinese tea culture is broad and profound. it includes not onlymaterial culture, but also profound spiritual civilization. talking about chinese tea. can be traced back to ancient times, it is from the tang dynasty and song dynasty flourished.from then on, the spirit of tea permeated the court and society, and went deep into chinese poetry, painting, calligraphy, religion and medicine. for thousands of years, china has accumulated a large number of tea cultivationand production of material culture, but also enriched the spiritual culture of tea."when a guest comes to my home from afar on a cold night i light bamboo to boil tea to offer hi" — ancient chinese poechina is the home country of tea. before the tang dynasty chinese tea was exported by land and sea first to japan and korea then to india and centralasia and in the ming and qing dynasties to the arabian peninsula. in the early period of the 17th century chinese tea was exported to europe where the upper class adopted the fashion of drinking tea.chinese tea—like chinese silk and china—has become synonymous worldwide with refined culture. at the heart of the culture of tea—the study andpractice of tea in all its aspects—is the simple gesture of offering a cup of tea to a guest that for chinese people today is a fundamental social custom as it has been for centuries. china traces the development of tea as an art formto lu yu known as "the saint of tea" in chinese history who lived during the tang dynasty and who wrote the book of tea the first ever treatise on tea and tea culture.the spirit of tea permeates chinese culture and throughout the country there are many kinds of teas teahouses tea legends tea artifacts and tea customs. better-known places to enjoy a good cup of tea in china include beijing noted for its variety of teahouses; fujian and guangdong provinces and other places in the southeast of china that serve gongfu tea a formal serving of tea in tiny cups; the west lake in hangzhou also the home of the tea connoisseurs association noted for its excellent green tea; and provinces in southwest china like yunnan where the ethnic groups less affected by foreign cultures retain tea ceremonies and customs in original tea-growing areas.in the vast cultural tradition of the motherland, tea culture, as a real and enduring historical deposit, is no longer the topic of moving guests to talk about tea and meeting friends; it is no longer the support of literati to show off their lofty and smart, but is becoming a useful material for people to explore, utilize, research and develop.there are many young people who like to drink ice in summer. in fact, hot tea, especially some mellow famous tea, is more thirst quenching. in ancient china, people had already known how to use hot tea to relieve the heat and to release internal heat. usually, after drinking hot tea, the skin will sweat slowly, and sweat can help the body to dissipate heat, that is to say, with the drinking of hot tea, the heat will be discharged slowly. however, for cold drinks, the heat is difficult to volatilize in a short time and remains in the body, causing the mouth and esophagus to feel cold for a short time, and soon it will feel unbearably hot. after sweating to dissipate heat, the skin of the body will automatically cool down, making people feel cool and comfortable. the ancients said: a cup of tea, calm nature cool. in fact, it contains scientific theory and life accomplishment.of course, if the function of tea is only to quench thirst and relieve summer heat, there is no need to form a huge tea culture. according to the quality, materials and processing technology of tea, tea has the following health functions:1、 anti radiation chrysanthemum tea, made from white chrysanthemum and superior oolong tea, is an essential tea for office workers who are exposed to electronic pollution every day. because chrysanthemum in tea has the function of detoxification, it can resist and eliminate the accumulated summer heat, harmful chemicals and radioactive substances in the body.2、 puer tea, which can eliminate fat and flat stomach, has the effect of promoting fat metabolism in most chinese teas, and puer tea is an expert in removing excess fat. the elements contained in tea can enhance the decomposition of abdominal fat.3、 luohan fruit tea is a kind of sweet tea. for women who want to keep graceful but like sweet food, luohan fruit tea is not only a kind ofsubstitute but also a good drink.4、 chinese wolfberry tea can cure constipation. if a person cant defecate for three consecutive days, he should buy some chinese wolfberry tea to drink, or brew it himself, because chinese wolfberry can defecate the stool attached to the intestinal wall.5、 its good to smoke aloe tea with false and true, but once smoking causes pathological changes, its too late to repent. for the sake of health, its better to quit smoking as soon as possible. when you want to smoke, you can make a pot of aloe tea, which is similar to cigarettes. its the best substitute to relieve smoking addiction.6、 in modern society, it is necessary to drink oolong tea which can sober up in an appropriate amount. there are many times when drinking and getting drunk. in order to prevent the body from being empty and cold, expel the accumulated alcohol and cholesterol in the body, and sober up as soon as possible, you only need to drink the same amount of oolong tea as the wine.7、 we know that its really indecent for adults to eat snacks, especially when working in foreign enterprises. there is a kind of sweet tea extracted from rosaceae plants, because it stimulates the satiety center of the brain, it controls the appetite and achieves the effect of understanding hunger.therefore, it is not difficult to see that tea plays an important role in our daily life. in addition, tea has the following functions and medicinal value:1. gargling with tea can strengthen teeth. gargling with leftover teaafter a meal can gargle out food residue. when gargling, let the tea move repeatedly in the mouth, it can remove the tartar, improve the physiological function of oral mucosa, and enhance the acid resistance and anti-corruption ability of teeth.2. tea has the functions of hair care and beauty. it can remove dirt and greasy. after washing, it can make the hair black, soft and glossy. moreover, the tea does not contain chemicals and will not hurt the hair and skin. after washing face in the evening, use cotton ball dipped in tea to smear face, adhere to often, can eliminate the black spots on the face. wipe your eyes with tea in the morning to eliminate dark circles.3. relieve the symptoms of cold, throat inflammation, hoarseness, may be a cold, drink a few cups of strong tea with rock sugar, immediately feel fresh mouth, pain reduced.4. tea contains a lot of tannic acid, which has a strong bactericidal effect, especially for filamentous bacteria causing beriberi. beriberi patients, if the tea is boiled into thick juice every night to wash their feet for a long time, they will be cured. however, tea washing feet, to persevere, a short period of time will not have a significant effect. when making tea, it is best to use green tea; after fermentation of black tea, tannic acid content is much less.in addition, the tea residue or air dried waste tea is wrapped with gauze and put into the refrigerator, which has a good effect on eliminating the odor in the refrigerator. the washed tea still has inorganic salts, carbohydrates and other nutrients, which can promote the growth of flowers and plants when piled in the flower bed or pot.there are many traditions in china, such as going to spring festival on tomb sweeping day and sticking window decorations on spring festival. but what i want to talk about today is tea culture. china is not only the hometown of tea, but also the birthplace of tea culture. the discovery and utilization of chinese tea has a history of four or five thousand years, and has spread all over the world for a long time. tea culture is a wonderful flower in chinese culture. chinese tea culture has a long history!one day, i saw my grandfather brewing tea, and found that the tea was small and round, with a little sharp on the top.i saw that my grandfather was going to make tea. he first put the tea into the cup, and then poured some hot water. a few minutes later, the tea slowly melted away, just like a beautiful butterfly dancing in the water, floating to the surface of the water. the color of the water changed from transparent to light green, beautiful! finally, a cup of tea is ready. i opened the lid andsmelled a faint fragrance. i found that the speed of these tea brewing is much faster than that of cooking and boiling water. i have never seen tea brewing so fast. i was surprised to open my mouth! tea not only has a sweet smell, but also has a unique taste, a little green and a little bitter.chinese tea culture has a long history!china is the home of tea, is the birthplace of tea culture. the discovery and utilization of tea in china, has a history of four thousand or five thousand years, and long fill do not decline, spread throughout the world. tea is one of the world's most popular, the most popular, beneficial to the physical and mental healthy green drinks. tea into the world in one, advocate" tea, a world".tea culture including tea tasting techniques, art appreciation, operation means of tea a better environment for the taste of the tea of my mood. the process of form and spirit of unity, is the process of the formation of the tea culture phenomenon. it originated long ago, has a long history, profound culture, and religious activity. the whole world has more than countries and area residents are fond of tea. some places tea tea as a kind of enjoyment of the arts to promote. the tea is identical, each has its own merits. the chinese people have always had a "guest to tea" custom, which fully reflects the chinese national civilization and politeness.it is 4, years since the chinese began to grow and drink tea.there’re many kinds of tea in china, of which longjing tea is famous all overthe world. tea is usually drunk in tea sets. a tea set is made up of a tea pot and someteacups, which are both made of china.most chinese are fond of drinking tea. tea is served not only at tea house and restaurants but also at home. people also drink tea during breaks at offices or factories. it has been discovered that drinking tea does a lot of go od to people’s health.a cup oftea can make you relaxed and refreshed. and it’s said that green tea can prevent cancers. that’s why tea is becoming more and more popular with people.last week,a group of foreign students visited our school to experience the tea culture,which attracts them a lot.and l,on behalf of thestudents'union,showed them around the tea house of our school.there are all sorts of tea pots and cups in the tea house.impressed by the unique shapes of tea sets and good smells of the tea,they couldn't wait to know how to make tea.then i displayed the process of making tea and gave them a detailed introductio of tea,including its long history,its rich varieties and so on.with my encouragement,students decided to have a try by themselves.they were all absorbed in the charming tea culture.at the end we took a picture together to memorize the unforgettable activity.the tea house witnessed an enjoyable time for all of us.。
中国文化英语教程文本
Part I Wisdom and BeliefsUnit 1 Confucian thought on heaven and humanityConfucius (551-479 BC), known in China as Kongzi, given name Qiu and alias Zhongni, was a native of Zouyi (present-day Qufu in Shandong Province) of the State of Lu during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC). A great thinker, educator and founder of Confucianism, Confucius is an ancient sage to the Chinese people. His words and life story were recorded by his disciples and their students in The Analects (Lunyu).Confucius on Heaven: the source of EverythingIn the Shang (1600-1046 BC) and Zhou (1046-256 BC) dynasties, the prevalent concept of “Heaven”was that of a personified god, which influenced Confucius. Generally, however, Confucius regarded “Heaven”as nature. He said, “Heaven does not speak in words. It speaks through the rotation of the four seasons and the growth of all living things.” Obviously, heaven equaled nature, in the eyes of Confucius. Moreover, nature was not a lifeless mechanism separate from humans; instead, it was the great world of life and the process of creation of life. Human life was part and parcel of nature as a whole.Confucius on People: ren and liRen and Li are the two core concepts of Confucius’s doctrine about people.When his students Fan Chi asked him about ren, Confucius replied, “love people”. This is Confucius’ most important interpretation of ren. Love for the people is universal love. Confucius further emphasized that this kind of love should “begin with the love for one’s parents”. He believed no one could love people in general if they did not even love their own parents. Confucius regarded “filial piety and fraternal duty”as the essence of ren. The Doctrine of the Mean (Zhongyong) quotes Confucius as saying, “ The greatest love for people is the love for one’s parents.” He also said, “Children should not travel far while their parents are alive. If they have no choice but to do so, they must retain some restraint.” He did not mean that children should not leave their parents at all. What he meant was that children should not make the parents anxious about them while away from home. Confucius said again, “Children should think often of the age of their parents. They should feel happy for the health and longevity of their parents. They should also feel concern for the aging of their parents.”By ren, Confucius meant universal love based on love for one’s parents. How should people love one another then? Confucius said, “One should be aware that other people may have similar desires as oneself. While fulfilling one’s desires, allow others to fulfill their desires as well.” He further said, “Do not do toward others anything you would not want to be done to you.” Thus from oneself to one’s family, from family to society, one should extend love to all people. Mencius (c. 372-289 BC), a great Confucian scholar, best summarized ren as, “loving one’s parents, loving the people, loving everything in the world.”Li refers to rituals, traditions and norms in social life. Of these, Confucius regarded burial rituals and ancestral worship rituals as the most important, because they rose from human feelings. He said, “A child should not leave his parents’ bosom until he is three years old.” He naturally love his parents. The ritual of wearing mourning for a deceased parent for three years was an expression of the child’s love and remembrance.Confucius on the State of lifeBefore Confucius, only the nobility had the right to education. He was the first figure in Chinese history to initiate private education. According to historical records, Confucius taught for many years and trained 3,000 disciples. A total of 72 of them excelled in the “six arts”, i.e., ritual, music, archery, (carriage)driving, calligraphy, and mathematics. A great educator, Confucius has been admired by later generations as the “sage of sages”.Confucius believed the basic goal of education was to cultivate “persons of virtue”, who should have sound character and uplifted minds. Such people should be able to shoulder important social responsibilities and to make contributions to society. Confucius regarded lofty ideals, great virtue, love of people, and the “six arts” as the general principles of education. Of these, virtue was the most important. His students were involved in a variety of professions, including politics, trade, education, diplomacy, ritual ceremony, and classifying ancient books. Whatever they did, they all wanted to improve their learning of the humanities and to enhance their virtue.Unit 2 Laozi’s philosophy of Non-actionThe book Laozi was written around the sixth century BC. The author is generally believed to be Lao Dan, or Laozi – a recluse who lived during the Spring and Autumn Period. Few records have survived about Lao Dan, who was said to have once held a low civil position in the royal court, in chare of the archival records of the Zhou Dynasty. Yet, due to his great learning, even Confucius was said to have traveled miles to consult him.Laozi, also known as Classic of the Way and Virtue (Dao De Jing), consists of just over 5,000 Chinese characters. Its 81 chapters are divided into two parts, Dao (the Way) and De (Virtue). Short as it is, the book has played a tremendous role in the development of Chinese culture. It became the basis of Daoism, the school of philosophy parallel to Confucianism in ancient China. The thought of Laozi formed the foundation of Daoism, the most influential indigenous school of religion in China. It has also exerted a direct impact on the characteristics, trends of thought and aesthetic sensibilities of the Chinese nation. Today Laozi still plays a role in the development of Chinese thinking.Naturalness and Non-action“Naturalness” is an important concept of Laozi’s philosophy. It refers to a natural state of being, an attitude of following the way of nature. Laozi emphasized that everything in the world has its own way of being and development: birds fly in the sky, fish swim in the water, clouds float in the sky, flowers bloom and flowers fall. All these phenomena occur independently and naturally without following any human will, and humans should not try to change anything natural. Laozi admonished people to give up on any desire to control the world. Following the way of nature is the way to resolving conflicts between humans and the world.“Non-action”is another important concept of Laozi’s philosophy. It is the guarantee of “Naturalness”. Laozi said, “(Dao or the Way) acts through non-action,” by which he did no mean that one should do nothing and passively wait for something to be achieved. Neither did he deny human creativity. What he meant is that human enterprises should be built on the basis of naturalness, not on many attempts to interrupt the rhythm of nature. Human creativity should be in compliance with the ways of nature.The philosophy of Non-contentionOn the basis of “naturalness” and “non-action”, Laozi proposed the view of “overcoming the strong by being weak”. The era Laozi lived in was replete with endless wars. Therefore, war wasan important treme for philosophers, and ant-war thinking was the norm. Even the great strategist Sunzi advocated “winning a war without fighting it”, not to mention the great thinker Confucius, who strongly championed a government based on love. Their contemporary Mozi (c. 468-376 BC), founder of Mohism, also condemned wars while calling for “love for all”.According to Laozi, war springs from humanity’s bloated desires. Conflict arises out of people’s struggles to satisfy their desires, and conflict escalates into war. Therefore, Laozi’s philosophy is based on “non-contention”. To him, human striving and competitive strife is the root cause of decline; desiring nothing is the natural way of life.Laozi said, “The greatest virtue is like water.”He compared his philosophy of “non-contention” to water, to distinguish it from the law of the jungle. He said, “Water nourishes everything but contends for nothing.” To Laozi, humans tend to seek higher positions while water always flows to lower places. Driven by desire, humans like whatever they think is superior while despising whatever they think is inferior. Yet water always flows downward. As the source of life, water nourishes all living things on Earth. No life can exist without water. Water contributes to the world without regard for gain or loss. Remaining low, level and tranquil, water embraces and reflects everything under heaven. The way of water is completely different from the way of people with avid desires.But the philosophy of Laozi is by no means weak. On the contrary, it is full of strength. According to Laozi, water accumulates great strength in its weakness and quietude. Its strength can break down all barriers in the world. He said, “Nothing in the world is weaker than water. Yet nothing is stronger than water when it comes to breaking something strong.” Water is a typical example of the weak winning over the strong. Water is invincible because it desires nothing and contends for nothing.Unit 3 Chinese Buddhist CultureWho am I? Where am I from? Where am I going?Men are mortal. But death is not an once-and-for-all thing. They enter the rotating Wheel of Six Realms:Heaven, Human, Asura, Animal, Hungry Ghost, Hell.Documents stored in computer can be canceled at will, but what we have done in our life, and actually in our innumerable lives, cannot. What has been done has been done. The information is stored in your true “self”, not the physical one, and will accompany you life after life, and determines which Realm you enter.Only when we are completely free from lust, hatred, and folly, can we manage to break away from the capture of the rotating Wheel, and achieve perpetual enlightenment, discovering your true “self”.In Buddhism there isn’t any dominating god who controls your destiny. We are the maker of our own fate. What we are at present is a result of what we have done in the past; and what we will be in the future is decided by what we are doing at present. What we have done form the “karma”, which, like a gene, decides on your future story. But this “gene” can of c ourse be modified, by doing good deeds and obtaining healthy biological and spiritual energy, so as to change our future course of career. We are, therefore, our own master. What are the basic requirements for a Buddhist?Five Prohibitions for the laymen:1) Don’t kill;2) Don’t steal;3) Don’t seek aberrant sensual pleasures;4) Don’t talk irresponsibly;5) Don’t drink alcohol.Part II Creativity and ExchangeUnit 4 The Silk RoadThe silk road refers to a transport route connecting ancient China with Central Asia, West Asia, Africa, and the European continent. It appeared as early as the second century BC and was traveled mainly by silk merchants. The term “Silk Road”, or “die Seidenstrasse”in German, was first noted down by the German geographer Ferdinand V on Richthofen at the end of the 19th century.The silk road began in Chang’an (present-day Xi’an, capital of Shaanxi Province), passing through Gansu and Xinjiang to Central Asia, West Asia, and to lands by the Mediterranean. There were no signs of communication between ancient Chinese civilization and Mediterranean civilization in earlier history. In about the seventh century BC, the ancient Greeks began to learn about an ancient civilization to the east, yet knew little about it. Before the Silk Road, according to archeological findings, there had already existed an intermittent trade route on the grasslands from the Yellow River and the Indus River drainage areas to the Euphrates and the Tigris, and the Nile drainage areas. Yet real communication between China, Central and West Asian countries, Africa and the European continent did not develop until the opening of the Silk Road.Zhang Qian, Trail BlazerThe pioneer who blazed the trail of the Silk Road was Zhang Qian (c. 164-114 BC). In Zhang Qian’s time, the Chinese has little knowledge about Central and West Asian countries, Africa or Europe, although they were aware of the existence of many different countries and cultures in faraway places to the west.During the reign of Emperor Wu (r. 140-135 BC), there were 36 small kingdoms in the Western Regions (present-day Xinjiang and parts of Central Asia). All of them were later conquered by the Huns, who then posed a direct threat to the Western Han and blocked the dynasty’s path west. Under these circumstances, Emperor Wu appointed Zhang Qian to lead a team of more than 100 envoys to the Western Regions.The mission was to unite the Indo-Scythic people against the Huns, who once killed their chieftain. Zhang Qian’s team set out in 138 BC. No sooner had they entered the Hexi Corridor (northwest of present-day Gansu Province), than they were captured by the Huns. After being held under house arrest for over ten years, Zhang Qian and only one other remaining envoy managed to escape and return to Chang’an in 126 BC. Their accounts about the Western Regions were a revelation to Hun emperor and his ministers.In the next two decades, Emperor Wu launched three major campaigns against the Huns, forcing them to retreat from the Western Regions. In 119 BC, the emperor sent Zhang Qian on a second mission to the Western Regions. This time Zhang Qian went further west, while his deputies reached more than a dozen countries in South and West Asia, and the Mediterranean.Zhang Qian’s two missions to the Western Regions opened up the road to the west. Emperor Wu adopted a series of measures to strengthen ties with the Western Regions, includingencouraging Han People to trade there.Soon the route was bustling with caravans of camels carrying goods of all types and reverberating with the tinkling of their bells. Through the Silk Road, trade flourished between China and Central, South and West Asian countries, Africa and Europe. In 166, envoys from Rome arrived via the Silk Road in Chang’an, were they set up an embassy.Part III Art and AestheticsUnit 5 Music: Govern the Country, Nourish the MindThe tradition of Chinese music dates back to remote antiquity. Governing the country and nourishing the mind through music are two of the main functions of this tradition.Governance Through MusicAccording to ancient Chinese culture, rituals provided the norms of conduct of people. The goal was to maintain social order.Music was for the mind’s cultivation and expression. Its purpose was to enhance people’s outlook on life and imbue them with energy and creativity, such that they could enjoy a more harmonious and happier spiritual life. Individual contentment would then lead to social harmony, as well as to a more harmonious relationship between people and nature. The highest level of ancient Chinese music was to represent spiritual with nature.The prominent stature of music in ancient China explains the emergence of sophisticated instruments from early times. Chime bells were one example. First used in the Shang Dynasty, they became quite popular during the Western Zhou Dynasty (1046-771 BC). In 1978, a fine set of chime bells was unearthed in Hubei Province, from the tomb of Marquis Yi, a local lord in a small state called Zeng during the Warring States Period.The Marquis Yi chime bells consist of 65 bells arranged in three rows. The first row includes 19 niu bells, and the second and third rows include 45 yong bells. The bells in each row differ from one another in shape and size, emanating(发出) different tones. In addition, there is a separate and much larger bell used to adjust pitch. Like the bells, the from is made of bronze, weighing as much as five tons or more. The total weight of the bells is more than 440 kilograms. While the bells bear inscriptions totaling more than 2,800 Chinese characters relating to music and the making of the instrument, the frame is carved with exquisite patterns in relief (浮雕) and fretwork(回纹细工). Instruments of such a scale and such fine craftsmanship were quite rate in the world at the time. Five musicians were needed to play the instrument. Each bell produces two tones when struck at the respective sound points as marked. The entire set of chime bells is able to produce all the tones of a modern piano.Consoling the Mind with MusicThe Chinese zither tends to create a tranquil air. The composition Wild Geese Landing on the Shallow Shore is such an example. With a relaxed rhythm, the first part of the piece depicts a calm Yangtze River under a clear autumn sky. The second part progresses into livelier rhythms to imitate the chirping of many birds. The third part presents a thematic scene of wild geese leisurely landing on the shallow shores of the Yangtze, as a gentle breeze makes the water ripple. To Chinese musicians and music lovers, the contentment of the wild geese represents the humanheart.The zither was also instrumental in communication between ancient scholars and artist. The famous zither composition, Three Stanzas of Plum Blossoms, was based on an Eastern Jin Dynasty story of the poet Wang Ziyou (王子猷) (c. 338-386) and the flute player Huan Yi (桓伊) (?-383). One day the poet was taking a boat trip when he overheard someone on the riverbank say Huan Yi was passing by. Although the two had never met before, they admired each other as poet and flute player. Despite his lower rank of office, Ziyou sent a family member to request Huan Yi to play the flute. Without hesitation, Huan Yi dismounted from his carriage and played Three Stanzas of Plum Blossoms, while Ziyou listened from his boat. After finishing, Huan Yi mounted his carriage and drove on. Ziyou, too, continued with his boat journey. The two of them exchanged not a single word, yet both were content with the communication of their hearts through the music.The flute’s three stanzas were later converted into a composition for the Chinese zither, which has become one of the best-known musical works –as an expression of otherworldly feelings through its eulogy of the plum flower’s purity, fragrance and resistance to the cold.Unit 6 Flying strokes of CalligraphyThe evolution of Chinese characters font甲骨文the Oracle bone script→金文Jinwen (Inscriptions on bronze )→篆书Seal script→隶书Official script→楷书Regular script→草书Cursive script→行书running scriptWang Xizhi and Preface to the Lanting Pavilion CollectionIn the Hall for Cultivation of Mind of the Palace Museum, there is a Three-treasurer Study, which derives its name for the three most valuable calligraphic works housed here. These three treasures, most valued and adored by Emperor Qianling (r. 1736-1795) of the Qing Dynasty, were A Sunny Scene after a Quick Snow by Wang Xizhi, Mid-Autumn by Wang Xianzhi and Boyuan by Wang Xun (349-400). As father and son, Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi hae been known as the “Two Wangs”, their works universally recognized as the peak of Chinese calligraphy.Unit 7 Porcelain – Calling Card of Chinese CultureIn English, the country and “porcelain”share the same name –“China”. This proves that Europeans have long known of China’s relationship to porcelain. Porcelain found its way to Europe in the 15th century, occupying an important position in the exchanges between China and other countries. The Keisel Randy Museum in Germany houses a blue-and-white bowl dating back to the Ming Dynasty. Throughout history, China, along with other Asian countries, and Europe maintained a busy and vast trade in porcelain. From 1602 to 1682, the Dutch East India Company transported more than 16 million articles of porcelain to Europe. Porcelain garnered a good reputation for China for its sophistication and elegance, and played an important role in the wave of the European idealization of China during the 17th and 18th centuries. In the rococo stylepopular in Europe of that time, one could sense, from time to time, the influence of “Chinese vogue”represented by China’s styles of porcelain and gardens.Porcelain is of great significance in the history of Chinese civilization. Pottery was the predecessor of porcelain, while glazed pottery was the basis for the emergence of porcelain. Around the first century, porcelain production first emerged in China, and by The Song Dynasty it had become mature. Song-Dynasty porcelain represented the acme of Chinese porcelain technique. Five famous kilns, the Jun, Ding, Guan, Ge, and Ru, were all creative and original in their respective products, and their porcelain ware has been imitated by later generations throughout the ages. In the Yuan Dynasty, Jingdezhen became the center of the Chinese Porcelain industry.Pure Blue-and-White PorcelainPure and elegant beauty is the goal that porcelain pursues, and this ideal is best explained in the production of blue-and-white porcelain.Blue-and-white porcelain is a typical artifact of porcelain in China. Among the porcelain exported during the Ming and Qing dynasties, 80 percent was blue-and-white. Chinese-made blue-and-white porcelain ware emerged long before the founding of the Tang Dynasty, but it was not until the Yuan Dynasty that this type of porcelain came to be produced in quantity, with the attendant masterpieces. The Ming Dynasty witnessed the maturity of the art, and a large number of valuable pieces were produced in this period. Jingdezhen, a small town that created the enchanting blue-and-white porcelain of the Yuan Dynasty, became its porcelain-producing center; and in the subsequent Ming Dynasty, the imperial kilns were established here. Blue-and-white porcelain is now the most representative of Chinese porcelain.To produce blue-and-white porcelain, cobalt oxide is requisite. It is employed to draw on the white roughcast before glaze is applied. After kilning at a high temperature, the roughcast turns into blue-and-white porcelain, since cobalt oxide turns blue with heat. The white surface with blue patterns and a shiny sheen of glaze produces a pure, elegant and transparent effect.Unit 8 Peking Opera: Artistry of PerformersThe Delights of Peking Opera MasksChina’s Peking Opera radiates with the beauty of resplendent color –vivid, intense and glamorous. This artistic beauty comes not only from the costumes but also from the masks of exaggerated, dazzling designs, gleaming with red, purples, whites, yellows, blacks, blues, greens, every diverse color imaginable.Masks, applied to the two roles of the “jing”or “painted-face role”and the “chou”or “clown”, serve two purposes. One is to indicate the identity and character of the role. For example, a “red face”means the person is loyal and brave; a “black face”signifies the person is straightforward; and “a white face”identifies the person as crafty and evil. The other purpose is to express people’s appraisal of the roles from a moral and aesthetic point of view, such as respectable, hateful, noble, ridiculous, etc.Peking Opera Performance: Sing, Speak, Act, and FightThe performance of a Peking Opera actor can be summarized into four basic aspects, of singing, speaking, acting, and fighting, the core of which is a combination of song and choreography.Singing is of utmost importance in the performance of Peking Opera, because first of all, Peking Opera is a singing art. Any famous Peking Opera boasts several wonderful arias that are well-known and popular with audiences. The charm of the melodies usually embodies the sublime realm of the art of Peking Opera. Unable to appreciate the magic of Peking Opera arias, one would fail to enjoy the profound beauty of the art itself.Speaking refers to character monologs and dialogs, which serve to propel the development of the story. Speaking, like singing, needs to be executed in an appealing way.Acting and fighting mean that actors employ physical movements to express the emotions of the characters and the circumstances. Acting includes body movements and eye movements, solo dancing or group dancing, etc. Most of the dancing is choreographed movements from everyday life. Fighting is choreographed martial arts and acrobatics to depict fight or battle scenes. As the art of Peking Opera depends on movement to depict events, actors are given much room to perform on the stage.In the opera Picking up the Jade Bracelet, the young woman Sun Yujiao and the young scholar fall in love with each other, their eyes affixed on each other as if a thread connected them. Then, as Matchmaker Liu uses her pipe to pull the “virtual” line up and down, the young couple’s eyes accordingly move up and down. These actions produce great humor and add much significance to the performance.Acting and fighting serve the whole “play”or the “world of images”, but at the same time they are themselves a beautiful art in both form and skill. For example, in King Chu Bids Farewell to His Concubine, artist Mei Lanfang performed a sword dance in a miraculously skillful way, which became very popular with audiences. This is a type of beauty in form. As for the beauty of skill, this usually includes some very difficult acrobatic movements, often referred to as “superb skills”.The uniqueness of performances in Peking Opera lies in the fact that the singing, speaking, acting, and fighting, all focus on one or two actors in the play.These performers used to be called “jue’er”, hence “mingjue” was used to refer to famous actors or actresses. In this sense, the world of imagery created in Peking Opera mainly relies on the singing, speaking, acting, and fighting of actors, especially in the performance of the famous plays. This is the biggest difference between Peking Opera and other forms of performing arts in terms of aesthetic appreciation. And the remark –“Peking Opera is the art of performers”–well describes its quintessence.The Beauty of a “Visual World”Depicting a “visual world”is a distinctive feature of Peking Opera. Its virtually consists of two aspects: one is virtual movements, and the other virtual settings. Virtual movement refers to imitating actions onstage. For example, riding a horse. Onstage, an actor cannot ride a real horse, but can only hold a whip and imitate the movement of galloping by walking around the stage, turning the body, wielding the whip, and pulling the reins. A virtual setting means creating an imagined environment onstage. For example, rowing a boat. As there is no water or boat on the stage, an actor usually takes an oar and, through actions, makes the audience “see”the rowing of a boat on water.One is At the Crossroad. This opera describes the story of two yamen runners escorting Jiao Zan to prison. On the way they stay at an inn for the night. Ren Tanghui, whose task is to protect Jiao Zan, checks in at the same time. The owner of the inn, however, suspects Ren Tanghui is planning to murder Jiao Zan, so he gropes his way into Ren’s room at night. Thus a fight starts. What is special about the performance is that, although the fight happens at night, the stage isbrightly lit; yet the audience is able to sense it is a pitch-dark night from the actors’performances, which feature stealthy movements typical of people in darkness. Sometimes, one man’ s sword swishes down, only a few inches away from the other’ s face, yet the latter feels nothing, thus producing a breathtaking yet meaningful and humorous effect.The other example is Autumn River, a play transplanted from Sichuan Opera. This story describes a young nun, Chen Miaochang who leaves the nunnery to pursue her lover Pan Bizheng. Onstage, there is neither water nor boat, but through the performance of the young woman and the old boatman, the audience is able to obviously “see”that the stage is a river. The boat sways forward; all the way there the girl complains about the boat for being slow, while the old boatman keeps teasing her about her anxiety to see her lover. The performance is full of wit and humor.These examples describe the function of the “virtual world” in the art of Peking Opera, which provides limitless room for the performances of actors; and in return, performers present the audience with a world of images full of appealing wit. If in fact the stage of At the Crossroad was really all black to represent the dark night, and there was a real boat on the stage of Autumn River, what could the actors do? And what we still find as much wit and meaning in the performances? We doubt it.Part IV Folk CustomsUnit 9 Life with Fragrant TeaTea is a wonderful beverage originally produced in China about 4,000 years ago. During the Tang Dynasty, Japanese monks introduced tea seeds to Japan, and by combining tea with Zen Buddhism, created the world-famous Japanese tea ceremony. In the 17th century, the Dutch took to Europe the Chinese habit of tea drinking, which then became a tradition of the Europeans. In England in particular, people developed the custom of afternoon tea. Prior to the 19th century, all the tea in the world was grown in China, and even the English word “tea”was a transliteration of the pronunciation of “tea”in the Fujian dialect of China. Tea is an important contribution of the Chinese people to the world.Ways of Savoring TeaThe Chinese people look to tea drinking as an art, which incorporates a wide range of knowledge; the taste of tea might be light, yet the meaning is rich and deep.The Chinese attach great importance to the water, tea leaves, tea set, and fire, when making and drinking tea.Water is an element of priority in the making of tea. To make a good cup of tea, quality water is a must. The ancient Chinese commented on tea making thus: the tea must be new, and water must be live, or flowing. Lu Yu(陆羽) (733-804), the Saint of the Tang Dynasty, pointed out that, to make fine, water from high mountains is the best, followed by water from rivers and wells. In the cloud-enveloped high mountains, crystal clear spring water is the best for making tea; water in the brooks though also good, is not pure because it smells of the earth, therefore is only second best. Considered third is water from wells, as artificial springs from underground are often stagnant and tinted with the flavor of salt. It is thus no match at all for uncontaminated mountain spring water. Unluckily for us today, we do not even have the third type of water to make tea; we use either tap water or artificially purified water – a true pity indeed!。
中国英语文化教程习题答案
中国英语文化教程习题答案中国英语文化教程习题答案中国英语文化教程是一本广泛使用的教材，旨在帮助学习者更好地了解中国的文化背景和英语的应用。
然而，对于许多学习者来说，教材中的习题往往是一个困扰。
本文将为大家提供一些中国英语文化教程习题的答案，以便帮助大家更好地学习和理解。
第一章：中国的传统节日1. 中国的春节通常在哪个月份庆祝？答案：中国的春节通常在农历的正月初一庆祝。
2. 中国人为什么会放鞭炮？答案：中国人放鞭炮是为了驱赶恶鬼和带来好运。
3. 中国的中秋节通常在哪个月份庆祝？答案：中国的中秋节通常在农历的八月十五庆祝。
第二章：中国的饮食文化1. 中国人为什么喜欢使用筷子？答案：中国人喜欢使用筷子是因为筷子在中国文化中象征着团结和和谐。
2. 中国的四大菜系是哪些？答案：中国的四大菜系是川菜、粤菜、湘菜和鲁菜。
3. 在中国，吃饭时为什么要碰杯？答案：在中国，碰杯是为了表达对彼此的祝福和尊重。
第三章：中国的传统艺术1. 中国的京剧是哪个省份的传统戏曲？答案：中国的京剧是北京的传统戏曲。
2. 中国的国画通常使用什么颜料？答案：中国的国画通常使用水墨颜料。
3. 中国的传统音乐中常见的乐器有哪些？答案：中国的传统音乐中常见的乐器有古筝、琵琶、二胡等。
第四章：中国的历史名胜1. 中国的长城建于哪个朝代？答案：中国的长城建于秦朝。
2. 中国的故宫位于哪个城市？答案：中国的故宫位于北京市。
3. 中国的西湖位于哪个城市？答案：中国的西湖位于杭州市。
通过以上习题的答案，我们可以更好地了解中国的文化背景和传统习俗。
同时，希望这些答案能够帮助大家更好地学习和掌握中国英语文化教程中的知识点。
祝大家学习进步！。
Unit15 Chinese Literature(中国文化)
Fiction in the Ming and Qing Dynasties
• In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the novels • flourished and formed a mighty current in literature.During these time there are four repersentative works.Do you know what are they ?
Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Outlaws of the Marsh
Journey to the west
A Dream of Red Mansions
Unit 15 Chinese Literature
The Book of Songs（诗经）
The Book of Songs is the earliest anthology of Chinese poetry. It’s contains those poems (305 poems) created during the early Western Zhou dynasty to the middle of the Spring and Autumn Period. It's also called Poems or Three Hundred Poems.
LiBai and DuFu are regarded as the twin masters of the Tang poetry.Widely praised as the "Immortal of Poems",LiBai abounded with passion and talent.DuFu is revered as "Sage of the Poems"by the posterity.
中国文化英语教程Unit15全文
Rhythm of Calligraphy
Zhang Xu was a Chinese calligrapher of the Tang Dynasty. A native of Suzhou, he became an official during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. Legend has it that whenever he was drunk, he would use his hair as brush to perform his art, and upon his waking up, he would be amazed by the quality of those works but failed to produce them again in his sober state.
• As father and son, Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi have been known as the “two Wangs”.
• Their works universally recognized as the peak of Chinese calligraphy.
Introduction
The brush is the traditional writing implement in Chinese calligraphy. The body of the brush can be made from either bamboo, or rarer materials such as red sandalwood, glass, ivory, silver, and gold. The head of the brush can be made from the hair (or feathers) of a wide variety of animals.
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Lead-in Text study Exercises
Lead-in
Can you tell the English name of the following calligraphy?
Standard Script (楷书) Running Script (行书) Cursive Script (草书)
Introduction
Calligraphy brushes feel soft , supple (柔软的), and are elastic and highly ductile (韧性的), paving the way for the emergence of the art of calligraphy.
1) the square-shaped pictographic characters— whose beautiful forms provided preliminary conditions for the art of calligraphy;
2) the writing brush—an important invention in the history of Chinese culture and the basis for calligraphy to germinate (形成) and develop.
Introduction
The brush is the traditional writing implement in Chinese calligraphy. The body of the brush can be made from either bamboo, or rarer materials such as red sandalwood, glass, ivory, silver, and gold. The head of the brush can be made from the hair (or feathers) of a wide variety of animals.
Rhythm of Calligraphy
• Calligraphy is the art of lines, or strokes. • A dancer can obtain great wisdom from
calligraphy, while an ancient calligrapher can be inspired by dance. • There is some common element that calligraphy and dance share, which is none other than their internal vital energy between the lines, the soul of calligraphy as well as the soul of dance.
Text study
Introduction Rhythm of Calligraphy Wang Xizhi and Preface to the
Lanting Pavilion Collection “Hidden Style” of the Yan Script
Introduction
Rhythm of Calligraphy
Rhythm of Calligraphy
In the Tang Dynasty, the master calligrapher Zhang Xu (张旭) became absorbed running-cursive script but made little progress. One day, on the streets of the capital Chang‘an, he saw a crowd of people gathering to enjoy a performance by Lady Gongsun (公孙大娘), a famous dancer of the time. She was performing a sword dance, her supple body and flying robe mixing with the movements of the sword up and down. Zhang Xu was enchanted (迷 住), and it was through this performance that he discovered the genuine beauty of calligraphy and made rapid progress in his profession.
• The English word “Calligraphy” is unable to cover all the connotations of the art of Chinese writing.
• Two factors contributed to the evolution of Chinese calligraphy:
Rhythm of Calligraphy
Lin Huaimin (林怀民), a famous dancer from China‘s Taiwan Island and director of the Cloud Gate Dancing Troupe, once choreographed (设计舞蹈动 作) a collective dance named “Running-Cursive Script (行草)”, which gained him worldwide fame. His inspirations came from Chinese calligraphy, and dancing enlivened the spirit of the art of writing.