The Great Wall

   

In the mid-17th century, the Manchus from central and southern Manchuria broke through the Great Wall and encroached on Beijing, eventually forcing the fall of the Ming dynasty and beginning of the Qing (Manchu) dynasty (1644-1912). Between the 18th and 20th centuries, the Great Wall emerged as the most common emblem of China for the Western world, and a symbol both physical–a manifestation of Chinese strength–and psychological–a representation of the barrier maintained by the Chinese state to repel foreign influences and exert control over its citizens.Today, the Great Wall is generally recognized as one of the most impressive architectural feats in history. In 1987, UNESCO designated the Great Wall a World Heritage site, and a popular claim that emerged in the 20th century holds that it is the only manmade structure that is visible from the moon. Over the years, roadways have been cut through the wall in various points, and many sections have deteriorated after centuries of neglect. The best-known section of the Great Wall of China–Badaling, located 43 miles (70 km) northwest of Beijing–was rebuilt in the late 1950s, and attracts thousands of national and foreign tourists every day.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Wall_of_China

http://www.greatwall-of-china.com/

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/greatwall/Allabout.html

Chinese opera

Chinese opera (中国戏剧) is one of the oldest dramatic art forms in the world, along with Greece tragic-comedy and Indian Sanskrit Opera. It was very popular in ancient China and an amalgamation of various art forms. It has evolved over more than one thousand years, reaching its mature in the Song Dynasty during the 13th century. 

From the time on, Chinese opera has become a traditional art form in Yuan Dynasty. Followed by the Qing Dynasty, it became a fashionable activity among ordinary people. Chinese opera incorporated various art forms, such as song, dance, music, material as well as literary art forms to become Chinese opera. Each area in China has their own types of Chinese opera, of which the Beijing opera is one of the most famous opera.

                                       

   

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_opera

http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/arts/chinese-opera.htm

The four great invention

The four great inventions (四大发明) are inventions from ancient China that are celebrated for their historical significant achievement in Chinese culture and as a symbol of advanced science and technology in China.

1.Paper making

The earliest form of Chinese characters was inscriptions on oracle bones, followed by inscriptions on ancient bronze objects, and writing on silks. The invention that created by Cai Lun greatly contributed to the spread and development of civilization.

2.Gunpowder

Gunpowder was first invented by alchemists while attempting to make elixir or immorality. It was a mixture of saltpeter, sulphur and charcoal. It was being used in Tang dynasty for military affairs.

3.Compass

According to the basis of southward-pointing cart, the Chinese people invented a compass in the warring state period and later applied it to sea explorations and wars.

4.Printing Techniques

Inspired by engraved name seals, Chinese people invented fixed-type engraved printing around 600 A.D. The skill played an important role in the Song Dynasty but its shortcomings were apparent. It was time-consuming to engrave a model, not easy to store, and not easy to revise errors.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Great_Inventions
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/focus/inventions.htmhttp://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/culture/four-great-invention.htm

Chinese painting

Chinese traditional painting dates back to the Neolithic age about 6000 years old. Painting in China is also called guóhuà (国画) and it is one of the oldest continuous artistic traditional in the world. guóhuà means “national” or “native painting”, as opposed to western painting which became very popular in China in the 20th century. Traditional painting is done with a brush dipped in black or color ink. Oils are not used in Chinese traditional painting and the materials are normally paper and silk. Traditional painting can also be drawn on walls, folding screens, album sheets and other media.Techniques Chinese painting can be separated into xie yi and gong bi style. Xie yi style is marked by exaggerated forms and freehand brushwork. Gong be style uses highly detailed brushstrokes and delimits very precisely. SubjectTraditional Chinese painting can be classified as landscapes, flower, birds and figure paintings. Landscapes occupy a big percentage in Chinese painting, mainly depicting the natural scenery.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_painting

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/chin/hd_chin.htm

http://www.chinaonlinemuseum.com/painting-history.php

Table tennis in China

Table tennis is also called Pīngpāng qiú (乒乓球). It is the most favorite sport in China since 1980s. Table tennis has become a part of Chinese’s culture and everyone in China knows how to play “Ping Pang”.In the National aspect, Chinese national male players have won 60% World Championships of the time since 1959; Chinese national female players have won all but only two of the World Championships of the time since 1971.The community of table tennis in China continues to create many world-class players and the passion of table tennis in public allows this country to continue dominating the world of table tennis after the year of 1959. Table tennis also played an important role in China’s international relations. On April 6th, the US table tennis team was invited on an all-expenses-paid trip to play in China. It is called “Ping Pong Diplomary”.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_tennis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_tennis_in_China

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/ping-pong-diplomacy-60307544/?no-ist

Anime and Manga

Manga is read from right to left.

Anime and Manga is an incredibly popular form of entertainment that originated in Japan and has since become a large part of Japanese society and culture. Modern day manga can be defined as Japanese styled comic, which originated during the mid-1900s. The popularity of manga in Japan, and the rest of the world, has since ballooned. Today, there is a huge domestic industry for manga, and increasingly so internationally. In Japan, people of both genders and any age read manga as a form of entertainment. The range of genres in manga is very diverse, ranging from history to futuristic science fiction and from teenage romance to profound themes about life. Manga are broadly separated into four categories according to the target audience: boys, girls, youths and matured. Manga magazines, such as “Shonen Jump” can be commonly found in bookstores, bookstands and convenience stores all across Japan. When a manga series becomes popular enough, it may be made into an anime - Japanese styled animation.

Anime is an abbreviation of the word “animation,” and is use by the Japanese to refer to all types of animation, while being used to refer to Japanese animation by those outside of Japan. Anime dates back to the birth of Japan’s own film industry in the early 1900s, and has emerged as one of Japan’s major cultural forces over the past century. However, it wasn’t until after WWII, in 1948, that the first modern Japanese animation production company, one devoted to entertainment, came into being: Toei, with their first theatrical features were explicitly in the vein of Walt Disney’s films. Eventually anime spread into the west in 1963, with the first major Japanese anime export to the U.S.: Astro Boy, adapted from Osamu Tezuka’s manga about a robot boy with super-powers. Anime eventually became a popular form of entertainment with world famous examples such as “Dragonball", "Sailor Moon", "Pokemon" and "One Piece".

The popularity of manga and anime in Japan has led to the establishment of many related attractions and places of interest, such as manga cafés, maid cafés and conventions. In Tokyo, some of the world's largest anime and manga events are held annually.

A look at Akihabara, Tokyo's Electric and Anime District

 References:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2070.html

http://anime.about.com/od/animeprimer/a/Brief-History-Of-Anime.htm

http://anime.about.com/od/animeprimer/a/What-Is-Anime.htm

Japanese Language

The Japanese Language consists of three different phonetic scripts: Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji.

Hiragana, which means "rounded" or "easy", is a phonetic script which is much like English where each character has a unique sound and the characters can be written one after the next to spell out a word.  Hiragana is first to be taught when learning how to read and write Japanese. Hiragana is used to write the grammatical parts of words or sentences and write Japanese words that do not have a kanji equivalent.

Katakana, like hiragana, is a phonetic script like English where every character has a unique sound and can be written together to spell out a word. Learning katakana is usually the second step in learning how to read and write Japanese, but hiragana is usually taught first. Katakana is used to represent foreign words that have been adopted into the Japanese Language and foreign names.

Kanji, which means Chinese letter or character, was invented by the Chinese and adopted by the Japanese around the middle of the 6th century AD as the first writing method in Japan. Kanji were originally drawn as pictures from nature but eventually transformed into more generalised representations. Kanji have different two readings “on” yomi (Chinese reading) and “kun” yomi (Japanese reading). Kanji are ideograms; that is each character has its own meaning rather than just sounds and corresponds to a word. By combining kanji, more words can be created, such as, "electricity" and "car" meaning "train". There are several ten thousands of kanji characters, of which 2000 to 3000 are required to understand newspapers. A set of 2136 kanji characters has been officially declared as the "kanji for everyday use".

References:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2046.html
http://www.declan-software.com/japanese/what_is_kanji.htm
http://www.declan-software.com/japanese/what_is_hiragana.htm
http://www.declan-software.com/japanese/what_is_katakana.htm

Japanese Kimonos

 

Kimonos are Traditional Japanese clothes. Originally, "kimono" (着物) was the Japanese word for clothing. But in more recent years, the word has been used to refer specifically to traditional Japanese clothing. While commonly worn by women, kimonos are also worn by men, most notably are the Samurai, who wear it under their armour into battle.

Women’s kimonos are traditionally made from silk, but in recent years have also been made from polyester. Decoration techniques on kimonos include embroidery, yuzen painting and dyeing. Men's kimonos are made typically from matt fabrics giving them more subdued colors. Part of the reason is the women's kimonos that generate more interest because their beautiful designs make them art pieces as much as they are garments.

Kimonos are fairly expensive, with prices ranging from around 10,000 yen for a simple set made of cheap fabric to millions of yen for a luxurious silk outfit with intricate embroidery or yuzen designs.

Kimonos as we know them today originated during the Heian period (794-1192). In the Kamakura period (1192-1338) and the Muromachi period (1338-1573), both men and women wore brightly colored kimonos and Samurai dressed in colors representing their leaders. During the Edo period (1603-1868), the samurais of different feudal domains were identified by the colors and patterns of their "uniforms." They consisted of three parts: a kimono, a kamishimo and a hakama. During this time kimonos became more valuable, as kimono crafting grew into an art form, and parents handed them down to their children as family heirlooms. During the Meiji period (1868-1912), Japan, being heavily influenced by foreign cultures, adopted Western clothing and habits eventually leading to the lack of use of the kimono. Nowadays, Japanese people rarely wear kimonos in everyday life, reserving them for such occasions as weddings, funerals, tea ceremonies, or other special events, such as summer festivals.

References:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2101.html
http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/virtual/kimono/kimono01.html

Japanese Shinkansen

The Shinkansen (新幹線) is the fastest train in Japan, which was started to operate by four Japan Railways Group companies in 1964, in time for the first Tokyo Olympics. This revolution has significantly impacted on Japanese society, economy, environment and culture.
The Shinkansen connect most major cities on the island of Honshu and Kyushu, with construction of a link to the northern island of Hokkaido underway.

This has made a long distance trip much easier and more comfortable.
On the Shinkansen, attendants keep selling various types of bento (lunch box), soft drinks, alcohol and snacks.
The Shinkansen currently travels at speeds between 200-300 km/h and the speeds are expected to increase to the maximum of 360 km/h by 2020.

Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinkansen
http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20140714-built-for-speed-the-bullet-train

Japanese drinking culture

Go-kon (合コン) are a type of Japanese drinking party held by anyone looking for a girl/boyfriend.

Generally, there is one male who organises a group of his friends, and one female who invites her friends.
The number of participants in a group can be small to large but the number of each gender should be balanced: men: 4 and women 4. Go-kon are usually held at Izakaya (Japanese-style bar) at first, then if all member sagree they go to Karaoke. As the purpose of the Go-kon is to find a relationship with the opposite sex attendee, they usually exchange their phone number at the end of the Go-kon.
I hope to have Go-kon soon here in Sydney.

Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konpa
https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/t1.0-9/s403x403/10151351_779006508791099_4356483288422647931_n.jpg

Japanese fireworks festival

Japanese summer is extremely hot and humid.

There are over 200 fireworks festivals in every year in summer across the country. Japanese firework shells range in size from smaller ones to the world record holding Yonshakudama shells which are 1.2 meter in diameter and weigh several hundred kilograms.
Most festivals are held on July or August and between 5,000 and 20,000 fireworks are launched.

During the festival, basically people wear Yukata (traditional Japanese-style cloth) and enjoy watching fireworks. There are a number of stalls selling many different types of food such as Okonomiyaki (Japanese pan cake), Yakisoba (Japanese-style grilled noodle), ice cream and so on.

The most famous and oldest fireworks festival is the Sumida River Fireworks launched from barges anchored along the Sumida River between Ryogoku and Asakusa in Tokyo.

Reference
http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%8A%B1%E7%81%AB
http://m9.i.pbase.com/g2/04/939004/2/148497099.oYM3irt4.jpg

Japanese hot spring mannerisms

There are certain manners at the onsen.

Wa-situ (和室) are traditional Japanese-style rooms. Most onsens provide wa-situ for customers. Customers are expected to take shoes and slippers off on any tatami mat furface in the room. But slippers are generally provided for customers convenience.

Yukata (浴衣) and towel are provided so customers are expected to wear the yukata and take a towel when going to the Daiyokujyo (大浴場): a great public bath place.

Basically a daiyokujyo is separated for men and women. Kanji or Chinese characters are written on the entrance curtains: 男(man) and 女 (woman).

A dressing room has a number of lockers and baskets. Lockers are used only for valuable items while baskets are used for clothes.

Before entering the bath, all guests are expected to wash themselves thoroughly to keep the bath clean at individual washing points. Shampoos, hair rinses and body washes are provided for free.

Customers are generally required to set their towel off to the side of water, or place it on the top of their head but the towel should not be put in the water. This is to keep the water clean.

Reference
https://wwwtb.mlit.go.jp/hokkaido/bunyabetsu/kankou/gaikokuzin/onsenguide/onsen16.pdf
http://www.masyuko.or.jp/pc/english/images/onsen_i2.gif

Japanese hot spring culture

As Japan is a volcanically active country, the country has over thousands of hot springs that are used to make public baths known as onsen (温泉).
A Japanese phrase Hadaka-No-Tukiai (裸の付き合い) or “Naked Communication” means that not only bathing itself, but also to the way in which people communicate and understand each other at the onsen. In the atmosphere of the onsen, people can speak with one another without any barriers: age, nationality and cultural background.

For Japanese, bathing is not only for cleaning, but to refresh the body and mind. Majority of people take not only a shower but also enjoy a house bath every day. Traditionally, onsen had been used for Samurai to treat their wounds since Kamakura and Sengoku era (12th- 17th century). Onsen has become popular for medical treatment since its medical benefits were proven in mid-20th century. Recently, Japanese people frequently go on an onsen-trip not only to relieve stresses or fatigue but also to make a better relationship with family, friends and colleagues. Onsen have been a central role in Japanese domestic tourism and the total number of onsen in the country is over 3,000.

Reference:
https://wwwtb.mlit.go.jp/hokkaido/bunyabetsu/kankou/gaikokuzin/onsenguide/onsen16.pdf
http://www.holisticvanity.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/onsen-japan.jpg

Chinese Calligraphy

Chinese Calligraphy

In China, calligraphy is a type of traditional Chinese visual art and was prized above all kinds of Chinese arts in traditional China. Calligraphy is a form of communication, but as well it is a way for a person to express their inner world with beautiful handwriting and benevolence sense. Calligraphy was an important part of Chinese culture in ancient China, where children of high officials had to learn this form of art and it was essential to use calligraphy skills in a literature Imperial Examination. 

Calligraphy has a long history of surviving 2000 years and evolved into five different style of writing calligraphy. In Qin Dynasty (221BC – 206BC) the Prime Minster Li Si promoted calligraphy during the time, the first form of writing was on bronze pottery and it was known as seal characters. Calligraphers had elegant writing, which formed slender font, even speed and strength, and even thick lines and strokes. In Eastern Han Dynasty, the people had simplified the seal characters, which had too many strokes. The new form of calligraphy was much neater and more elegant than previous calligraphy writing. When beginning to write calligraphy, the point of the brush must go the opposite direction like a silkworm and steadily stretches to form a warp like a swallow. 

To practise calligraphy, you need the four treasures of study: writing brush, ink stick, paper, and ink slab. The writing brush is made of wool, bristles and others for the nib, while the shaft is usually bamboo, jade and others. As well there are different kinds of writing brushes that give writing Chinese character a distinct feature. The ink stick should be ground to look like refined black with shine. It is usually made from pine soot, which under goes a procedure of moulding, steaming and mixing with glue. Paper is now the material used to be written on, but back in ancient China, tortoise shell, ivory, bone and bronzes were used as written material for calligraphy. As for ink slab, they were made artistically and endured a passage of time to honour the royal families from the Tang Dynasty.

References:

http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/arts/chinese-calligraphy.htm

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/chcl/hd_chcl.htm