Merry Christmas
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Posted:Dec 1, 2010 6:10 am
Last Updated:Apr 20, 2024 3:54 am 14501 Views
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Dearest friends,
Thanks a lot of the supporting and reading my page here. Christmas will come soon. i use one of my photo to design a card here for u all. wish you "merry chirstmas '!!
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The Four Greatest Classical Chinese Novels-A Souvenir Stamp Album
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Posted:Sep 3, 2010 7:05 am
Last Updated:Apr 20, 2024 3:54 am 13786 Views
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Introduction
Journey to the West
This is a mythological novel written by Wu Cheng'en in the Ming Dynasty. Based on the monk Xuan Zang's journey to India for Buddhist scriptures in the Tang Dynasty, it tells the story of how Xuan Zang, escorted by three disciples, passed eighty-one tests involving fight against demons and succeeded in getting the true scriptures. It is divided into one hundred chapters. The first seven tell the birth of the monkey named Sun Wukong and the big trouble he gets into in the Heavenly Palace. In the following chapters, he is converted to Buddhism, and, together with converted Bajie the Hog and Shaseng, Xuan Zang to India, subduing one demon after another along the way. It is a fantasized reflection of social conflicts and man's struggle between his inborn desire for freedom and reluctant yield to restriction. It also praises the monkey's courage, resourcefulness and perseverance. Its style is romantic and unique, with colorful imagination, a complicated plot, humorous language, and such unforgettable characters as the monk and Bajie the Hog. It is regarded as a masterpiece among classical romantic Chinese novels, and is important in the history of Chinese novels.
Water Margin
Written by Shi Nai'an in the Ming Dynasty, this novel tells the story of an army of peasant rebels led by Song Jiang and based in Liangshanbo, from its beginning to its final surrender to the government. It is considered the first novel about the conflict between peasantry and the landlord class, the major conflict in the feudal society. It paints a grand, exciting picture of a revolutionary struggle by peasants. Through such well depicted characters as Li Kui, Lu Zhishen, Wu Song and Lin Chong, it reveals the evil of the feudal society and the crimes of the ruling class, justifying the rebellion by ascribing it to relentless oppression and exploitation by the government. Artistically speaking, it also achieves high, with a complicated plot, lively and effective language, and clean-cut characters. Its limitation lies in the idea of the importance of 'loyalty'. The novel has a wide readership and influence.
The Dream of the Red Mansion
Originally named The Story of the Stone, this is a novel written in the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, the first eighty chapters by Cao Xueqin, and the other forty by Gao E. It describes the four noble clans of Jia, Shi, Wang and Xue and the love story of Jia Baoyu, Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai, narrating the tragic destinies of Baoyu and the girls in the Jia clan during its turn from heyday to decline. It reveals the debauchery, corruption and infighting of the nobility and its relentless oppression and exploitation of the working class. It praises the resistance by progressive-minded young nobles and some of the slaves, condemning the feudal ethical code. The language is beautiful and vivid, and there are such archetypal characters as Jia Baoyu, Lin Daiyu, You Sanjie and Qingwen. It features, for the first time in Chinese novels, smart and charming women as the embodiment of goodness in human nature. With a grand, close-knit structure and outstanding artistry, it marks the pinnacle of realism in classical Chinese novels.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms
This is a historical romance written by Luo Guanzhong at the turn from the Yuan Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty. It starts from the oath of brotherhood taken by Liu Bei, Guanyu and Zhangfei in a peach garden in 169 AD, the second year of Jianning in the reign of Han Emperor Ling, and ends in 280 AD, when Wang Rui overthrew the Kingdom of Wu and the Western Jin Dynasty reunified China, describing the conflicts between the three kingdoms of Wei, Shu and Wu as well as their rise and decline. Setting political and military events against a broad social and historical backdrop, it reveals the penetration and transformation of the period's social conflicts and its cataclysmic significance. Its description of political and military strategies has deeply influenced the Chinese. The plot is complicated and gripping, and there are such household names as Zhuge Liang, Cao Cao, Guan Yu, Liu Bei, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun. The novel covers such wars and clashes as the Battle of Guandu and the Battle of the Red Cliff. With a grand structure, diverse techniques, and concise, effective and lively language, it is the earliest Chinese novel in chapters and the best Chinese historical romance.
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Hungry Ghost Festival
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Posted:Aug 23, 2010 7:07 am
Last Updated:Sep 3, 2010 6:53 am 14470 Views
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The 14th and 15th of the seventh lunar month
Much like Western culture's Halloween, some Eastern cultures celebrate a Fall festival where they believe the gates of hell are thrown open, releasing hungry ghosts to wander the earth in search of food and taking revenge upon those who wronged them in life. This month-long festival is known as the Hungry Ghost Festival and takes place during the 7th lunar month.
Unlike other celebrations of the dead in Eastern cultures that seek to honor dead ancestors, the Hungry Ghost Festival seeks to pacify the hungry ghosts, the ghosts of strangers and the un-cared-for dead. These are the ghosts of those who died by their own hands, by accidents, by drowning or hanging who have been denied entry into heaven. Angry because they are forced to dwell in hell without food or comfort, when released, they search for souls to take their place in misery.
To Taoists（道教徒） and Buddhists（佛教徒）, these evil spirits are not to be taken lightly. They are most active at night and can take many forms including: snakes, moths（蛾）, birds, foxes, wolves, and tigers. They can even appear as beautiful men or women to seduce the living. When they possess an individual by entering the body they cause illness and mental disorders.
Throughout this month, to keep the angry spirits amused, people stage street operas and other forms of public entertainment. In the past, people did not view the street operas as they were performed only for ghosts. Other rituals（典礼，仪式）are performed to help souls enter into heaven. Taoists do their best to avoid late nights away from these amusements and rituals to steer clear of the evil spirits. To appease these wandering spirits, Buddhists and Taoists burn bundles of joss sticks, paper hell money, food, and other offerings by the roadside. Communities along rivers or near the sea float lanterns in the shape of the lotus or carved from fruit or gourds in the water to guide them away from their homes. They follow the lanterns from the river bank or sea shore till they can no longer be seen. This is done to redeem the soul of those who died by drowning.
The most important days of this month are the 14th and 15th, the days of the great feasts. On the 14th, a great feast would be held to honor family ancestors. Prayers and offerings would be made at family altars. On the following night, the 15th, they would feast for the hungry ghosts. Held outside under the full moon, these feasts feed the evil spirits so that they will leave the living alone and bribe（贿赂） the ancestors for luck with money and the harvest.
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Chinese GongFu
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Posted:Aug 20, 2010 5:49 pm
Last Updated:Aug 22, 2010 12:02 am 13763 Views
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In the center of the vast Chinese nation lies the Mountain of Songshan, one of the country’s holiest
spots and home to the Shaolin 1)Monastery, the birthplace of kung fu.
The Buddhist monks of Shaolin were 2)pacifists, who mastered a deadly art using kicks, weapons and well-placed 3)punches. They were able to kill a man with the palm of a hand. These deadly skills are 4)in line with their faith and 5)spirituality, because Buddhists believe that, in order to follow the path of 6)compassion, they must 7)root out the heart of evil.
In AD 527 the religious teacher, Da Mo, traveled from India to Shaolin to spread the word of Buddha. He spent nine years living alone and  meditating in a cave above the Shaolin temple. To keep his muscles healthy, he developed a series of movements and breathing exercises based on the movements of
animals. These were to become the basis of kung fu.
When Da Mo returned to the Shaolin temple, he began to teach the monks these techniques, and his tool of meditation evolved into a tool of 9)combat. Kung fu was born.
As Shaolin’s 10)reputation grew, more and more young 11)novices traveled from all over China and attempted to join the 12)order. They had their heads shaved as an external sign of inward purity, and they swore an 13)oath of 14)obedience to their masters. Their training was 15)relentless. Their fists would
become as hard as iron and their bodies almost www.ryedu.net.
16)impervious to pain. Training would leave its mark not just on the students but also on the temple itself, as over the centuries their pounding feet crushed the stones beneath them.
Kung fu, which in Chinese means “learned skill” or “great achievement,” has now given rise to more than 1,000 styles of martial arts. The Shaolin style is still probably the most famous of all.
Today, the temple welcomes millions of tourists a year and sells them a 17)commercialized version of its history. But in the less visited temples of the
Songshan hills, the original spirit of Shaolin lives on.
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Happy Age 28
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Posted:Aug 20, 2010 7:24 am
Last Updated:Aug 23, 2010 6:57 am 14306 Views
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Researchers discovered women feel most confident and happy with their love life and body shape shortly before they reach 30.
Women are at their happiest at the age of 28, a study has found.
Researchers discovered women feel most confident and happy with their love life and body shape shortly before they reach 30.
It is also the period in their life when they enjoy the best sex – but the happiness is relatively shortlived.
Because by the time they have turned 30 they start worrying about growing old and developing grey hair and wrinkles.
A spokesman for home hair colour brand Clairol Perfect 10, which carried out the study of 4,000 women, said: "Everything in life hits its peak at some point, and nearly reaching your thirties isn't so bad now.
"The age of 28 has been pinpointed as the time in a woman's life their hair looks the best, body shape is at its peak and confidence is at an all-time high.
The survey of 25-65 year olds recorded the age at which women were most content in 12 key areas of their life.
According to the results, women are happiest in their career at 29 and most content with their relationships one year later at 30, despite having the best sex at 28.
But all is not lost for the over 30s, as women feel most content with their financial situation at 33 and at ease with their home and family life at 32.
The research found two thirds of women feel they age more quickly than men. It also emerged that 56 per cent of women worry about losing their looks as they get older
But drinking from the fountain of youth doesn't come cheap as the average woman will spend £600 every year on beauty products in a bid to stay looking young.
The research also found women spend over five days a year on their beauty routine – an average of 22 minutes every day.
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Working Working Working~~~~
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Posted:Aug 18, 2010 7:47 am
Last Updated:Aug 20, 2010 6:39 am 14856 Views
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A record number of Japanese people worked themselves to death last year despite a government campaign to ease the country's notorious office hours.
Some 355 workers fell severely ill or died from overwork in the year to March, the highest figure on record and 7.6 percent up from the previous year, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Labour said.
Of the total, 147 people died, many from strokes or heart attacks.
Death from overwork grew so common during Japan's post-World War II economic miracle that a word was coined for it, "karoshi."
The government has tried to address the problem by promoting telecommuting and encouraging workers to take leave when they start families or need to care for elderly parents.
Critics point to the rising number of part-time jobs, saying new employees lack the security that would allow them to resist pressure to overwork.
Another 819 workers contended they became mentally ill due to overwork, with 205 cases given compensation, according to the ministry data released on Wednesday.
Mentally troubled workers killed themselves or attempted to do so in 176 cases, of which a record 66 cases were found eligible for benefits, the ministry report said.
The number of Japanese who killed themselves because of work jumped 52 percent last year, while work-induced mental illness also hit a record high, according to Health Ministry official Junichiro Kurashige.
Japan's suicide rate is among the highest in the industrialized world. More than 32,000 people took their own lives in 2004, most of them older people suffering financial woes as the country struggled through a decade of economic stagnation.
The Japanese government has earmarked substantial budget for programs to help those with depression and other mental illnesses.
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How to Make Dumplings
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Posted:Aug 16, 2010 6:15 am
Last Updated:Aug 20, 2010 7:28 am 14817 Views
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Chinese boiled dumplings are not only delicious to eat but also easy to make.
First,make the filling. You can choose your favorite meat, say pork, beef, or mutton, chop it up and mix it with chopped yellow scallions or cabbage. Meanwhile you had better put in seasonings such as salt, soy sauce, pepper, sesame oil, chopped green onion and ginger to get your favorite flavor. Stir the ingredients in a container well to make them evenly mixed.
Second,make the dough. You should measure your wheat flour to go with the filling, put it in a container, pour water hit by bit, stir it strenuously to make it sticky,then let it rest for about 20 minutes. After that you can cut part of the dough and put it on pastry hoard, knead it and cut it into small pieces. You press each piece with the pahn of your hand slightly and then roll it with a rolling pin into a round piece.
Finally comes the stage of folding the dough to make dumplings. You should hold a dough piece horizontally in your left hand, put a suitable amount of filling onto the central part, fold the side around the filling, press the upper-central part of it firmly and make firm and nice lace from left to right around the fold edge to make your finished product better-looking and free from leakage.
The Chinese make dumplings when family or friends are together on holidays. You just imagine the heartening talk and intimate atmosphere created while people are sitting together to make dumplings!
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paper cutting
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Posted:Aug 13, 2010 5:04 am
Last Updated:Aug 14, 2010 5:40 pm 14290 Views
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Paper cutting can be seen in many parts of China during the Spring Festival. People paste patterns on the window, door lintel or desks for the festival atmosphere。
It's difficult to tell when it originated. One saying is that it originated from the religious ceremony or offering sacrifices. The ancient people cut papers into animals or people. They either buried them with the dead or burned them on the funerals, wishing that things that paper stand for could be with the dead. A thousand years ago, paper cut was used for decoration. According to historic books, women in the Tang Dynasty used paper cut as headdress. In the Song Dynasty, it was the decoration of the gifts. People pasted on windows or doors or used it as decorations on walls, mirrors or lanterns. Some people made a living by it.
Paper cutting is all made by hand. It is easy to learn the rudiments. Non-craftsmen need only a knife and paper. For craftsman, they need knives and gravers of various types to make complicated patterns. It can be one piece of paper or many pieces. Simple patterns can be cut with a knife. For complicated patterns, people first pasted the pattern on the paper and then used various kinds of knives to make it. No mistake can be made during the process otherwise the work would fail.
Paper cutting covers nearly all topics, from flowers, birds, animals, legendary people, figures in classic novels, to types of facial make-up in Peking opera. Paper cutting has various styles in different parts of China.
In the past, women living in the countryside gathered in their free time to make paper cutting, which is a way to judge their skillfulness. As society develops, fewer and fewer people learn this skill while there are some who still regard it as a profession. At present, there are factories and associations for paper cutting in China. Exhibitions and exchanges are held regularly and books of this kind are published. Paper cutting has changed from decoration to a kind of art. At the same time, paper cutting also appears in cartoons, on stage, in magazines or in TV series.
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Octopus
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Posted:Jul 11, 2010 4:55 am
Last Updated:Aug 13, 2010 5:06 am 14736 Views
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I think no one don’t know what is octopus is at here; the octopus is the ultimate softie. The world cup make a octopus get famous in the world, because the octopus could predict the future.the octopus name is paul It could know which team will get win in the world cup. Do you believe that?
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Tatoo
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Posted:Jul 4, 2010 7:09 am
Last Updated:Jul 10, 2010 7:21 am 14815 Views
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Anyone have tatoo already? now some tatoo is so popular in Eur.
body organ is popula, see~~ so cool right?
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