The giant panda is an endangered animal found only in western China, because of human encroachment, the panda’s habitat is now reduced to six isolated patches mainly in Sichuan. Pandas are related to bears, though they are significantly different in many ways.
Bamboo is the main source of food for pandas and they spend at least 12 hours a day eating. Bamboo is a poor source of nutrition for (more…)
In traditional Chinese culture 12 is an important number when calculating time. There are 12 full moons in a year, the length of time between the full moons are relatively constant. They also observed the day could be divided into 12 equal parts. These observations led to the development of the 12 month lunar year and the 12 watch day.
The Chinese began grouping years into a twelve year cycle, assigning each year an animal symbol. Legend has it that Buddha called a meeting of all the world’s animals to determine how to restore order to the world, but only 12 heeded his call and they came to represent the 12-year-cycle, with each presiding over a year in the order they arrived at the meeting. The strong ox was in the lead and only had a river to cross to come in first, but little did he know, the cunning rat hitched a ride on his back and became the first to arrive.
The twelve animals are: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. The 12 animals associated with the years can be used to judge a person’s character by their birth year. A person born in the year of a particular animal is said to have the traits of that animal. (more…)
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM 中医 zhōngyī) has developed over thousands of years of practical experience and observation. Unlike Western medicine, which aims at curing a specific illness, TCM aims at healing the body as a whole. Records on medical studies date back over 2,000 years to the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period. During the Han dynasty there were further advances in medical studies and during the Three Kingdoms period, Hua Tuo, a famous doctor, made breath-taking discoveries in the field.
It’s easy to be a cheap to get drunk in China and it is an opportunity worth taking. Cultural barriers disappear under the revelry and camaraderie a shared drink. For every tale of Chinese history and tradition that are read through stodgy books, there are a thousand more fascinating stories about the country and its people that are told over the fifth glass of baijiu (白酒).
Inebriates often eulogize the inventor of alcohol, but in China it’s unclear to whom the praise is due. Some say it was Yi Di, a daughter of one of the rulers of the Xia dynasty. According to legend, after one taste, dad immediately banned the fiery liquid fearing that a future ruler would overindulge himself and lose the throne. Others say it was a man named Du Kang, also from the Xia or while some date it even earlier to the mythic Huang Emperor. For some, alcoholic drinking occurred in harmony with the creation of the universe.
Less speculatively, 5,000-year-old alcohol-drinking vessels were discovered in Shandong Province in 1987. An early milk-based drink called lilou was superceded by liquor distilled from cereals. Those who first drank this liquor must have thoroughly enjoyed themselves because records are incomplete and scientists can’t decide whether it was pioneered in the Eastern Han, Song, Tang or Yuan dynasties. The cereal based concoctions have evolved into modern Chinese spirits called baijiu (white alcohol). (more…)
It’s easy to tell tea is China’s national drink, tea is consumed in restaurants, at home and carried around all day in transparent thermos flasks. It’s a serious habit, and one that hasn’t been broken by the introduction of coffee or the machinations of sugary soda companies.
Over 4,000 years ago, a legendary ruler of China named Shen Nong insisted his drinking water be boiled, while sitting under a tree a single leaf dropped into his cup and turn his purified water brown. When he braved a sip, he found the new drink refreshing and thus began the cultivation of the tea plant. (more…)
The Naxi tribe is one of China’s most interesting ethnic minorities. Scattered mainly around Yunnan Province, with small settlements in Sichuan and Tibet, they were first visited by Western ethnologists in the early part of the 20th century and have been studied and written about ever since. There are about 280,000 Naxi and most live in Lijiang Autonomous County in northwest Yunnan.
The Naxi have a culture that’s rich and diverse with their own music, art and most unique of all, their thousand-year-old pictographic writing system which is similar to hieroglyphics. The Naxi language is also the only remaining pictographic written language in use. (more…)
Ancient Egyptian and Babylonian characters were invented over 5,000 years ago and have gone through golden ages of development and use, but only the ancient Chinese characters have survived the test of time and continue to be used.
Ancient Chinese people used simple pictographs to record events or record notes before the Chinese characters were invented. Over time, the pictographs became simplified to a basic outline and developed designs and meanings; this led to the beginning of pictographic characters. By the BC14th century a mature system of characters called jiaguwen (jiǎgŭwén 甲骨文) had developed. About 6,000 characters have been found inscribed on bones and tortoise shells, recording in detail the activities of sacrificial ceremonies and divinations. Most of these characters are pictographs, but the beginning of ideographs and phonographs can be seen. Ideographs and phonographs are more advanced than simple pictographs as they represent abstract ideas and sounds. (more…)
Prized for their fine wool, the Tibetan antelope population was ravaged by the 20th century due to over hunting and poaching. The Chinese government is urgently trying to stop the poaching – and numbers seem to be slowly rising.
Pantholops hodgsoni is found only on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, “the roof of the world.” These graceful animals are 1.2m tall and the males have 50cm horns giving them a similar appearance to a gazelle. The antelope grazes 4,500m above sea level and sports a specially evolved coat to deal with the extreme cold.
However, their coat is also their curse. The fiber is a fifth of the thickness of human hair and was named “shahtoosh,” or “king of wools” by Persians and “ring shawls” made from the wool have been popular for over a century. (more…)
Some basic etiquette rules that should be followed when in Tibet include:
Never touch the head of a Tibetan, the head is considered a sacred part of the body.
Show proper respect in the temples, don’t wear noisy shoes, drink alcohol, smoke or make unnecessary noise.
Don’t put your arms around someone’s shoulders.
When visiting a temple, follow the pilgrims and circle the temple clockwise, never counter-clockwise. (more…)
Princess Wencheng is the most beloved queen in Tibetan history. A beautiful and intelligent woman, she brought the Tibetans many of the scientific and agricultural advances of the Tang dynasty and is also credited with the introduction of Buddhism into the region. Born the daughter of a courtier, Wencheng became royal only later in life. Emperor Taizong of the Tang dynasty needed to find a bride for King Songtsen Gampo, the new ruler of the Tubo Kingdom (Tibet), and smart and pretty Wencheng seemed an ideal match. She was conferred the title of princess and sent west.
In AD 641, she set out from Chang’an, capital of the Tang dynasty, accompanied by envoys from both sides where they met King Songtsen Gampo in Baihai (Qinghai province). The delighted king ordered the construction of a nuptial palace by the Zhaling and E-ling lakes. They were married and honeymooned in the mountain valleys further towards Tibet. (more…)