Yang-Shao Culture

Yang-Shao Culture was discoveried in 1912 by Andersson, a Swedish geologist and archaeologist.



Yang-Shao Culture was a kind of Neolithic culture that flourished in China about 5000-3000 bc. Originating in western China, located in the middle reaches of the Yellow River, especially in the provinces of Shaanxi (陕西), Shanxi (山西), Henan (河南), and Gansu(甘肃).



It was a civilization of farmers who used the slash-and-burn method. Living in semipermanent villages of wattle-and-daub structures, the people raised millet and wheat and maybe have also practiced an early form of silkworm cultivation. They kept pigs and dogs—and to a lesser extent sheep, goats, and cattle—but much of their food still came from hunting and fishing. Their stone tools were polished and highly specialized. At least two classes—the rulers and the ruled—existed, and there is evidence of emerging craft specialization.



Typical of Yang-shao artistic production is the fine white, red, and black painted pottery for which the culture is sometimes named the Painted Pottery Culture. Handmade, that is, made without benefit of a potter's wheel, sintering temperature has reached about 950 ℃. The pottery is distinguished by geometric design patterns, most popular is double ear bottles with smooth lines showing highly artistic beauty. pottery may have been used primarily for gifts to the dead.



Yang-Shao Culture is a kind of Matriarchal clan commune system, Early popular collective buried together and homosexual buried together, and hundreds of people buried in a public cemetery. Each Tomb only had small difference in size and burial objects, but women burial objects slightly more than men. 








Pottery Pots, someone guess the Pattern on Pot's wall is a kind of ancient symbols









1956 fouded in Henan province, Miao-Di-Gou Culture







Yes, as you can see, besides the remains in the middle, made by shell, left is a dragon, right is a tiager 4400BC, in Henan province.

English Reference:

http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761572034/Yang-Shao_Culture.html http://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-651782/Yang-shao-culture





Chinese Reference:

http://baike.baidu.com/view/9771.htm

http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BB%B0%E9%9F%B6%E6%96%87%E5%8C%96

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Tibet(西藏)

Tibet is surely a destination apart from most in the world, the rolling hills of the high plateau and the stunning Himalayas are none to any. Today in the age of information with jet aircraft, highways and the net work of computers, mysterious places are rare to be found. But, Tibet is an exception.

Refereed as Shangri La, The Forbidden Land, The Roof of the World and by many more, the mysterious Buddhist Kingdom remained long closed to foreigners, exerting a strong hold on the imagination of the world. For centuries, it has fascinated mankind. It was hardly accessible to the outside world and has been always a challenge to human beings. Tibet, a "forbidden land" not only by man but also by nature, attracted many explorers, scholars, and pilgrims and adventure lovers, all in pursuit of "Real Shangri-la". It is not only the geographical and natural enchants but also a long historical culture and religion that appeal the foreigners to visit Tibet at least once in a lifetime.



Tibet covers 1.2 million sq. kms constituting one eighth of China's land mass, nearly as large as the total territories of Germany and France. With an average elevation of 4,000 meters above sea level, and over 50 peaks above 7,000 meters, Tibet has become a real paradise for mountaineers and explorers.



Lhasa is the spiritual and political capital of Tibet. Lhasa means in Tibetan "The land of gods". There are numerous scenic spots and historical attractions, among which Potala Palace, Nobulingka, Drepung Monastery, Sera Monastery, Ganden Monastery and Jokhang Temple being the most famous. Shigatse is the second biggest town in Tibet. Shigatse means in Tibetan "The Estate that fulfills one's Wishes ". Tashilhunpo Monastery is its major historic attraction. Mt. Kailas, the near-legendary mountain in western Tibet is holy to both Hinduism and Buddhism. People come from far away lands to perform a pilgrimage, one even circle the mountain on the stomach. The mountain is the source of four major Asian rivers.



The popular time of the year to visit Tibet is May through October. To taste Tibet with its rich cultural heritage, incredibly dramatic landscapes and fascinating political history is a lifetime dream. Please do not hesitate to contact us for any details you might wish to enquire, certainly we can find a solution for any holiday requirement in Tibet.

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Mt. Tai(泰山)

Mt. Tai was seemed as the leader of the 'Five Sacred Mountains', it is located in the center of Shandong Province, lying across the cities of Tai'an, Jinan and Zibo. Its main peak, Jade Emperor Summit, which is within Tai'an City, is about 1532.7 meters (5,029 feet) high. 





Human present at Mt. Tai can back to the neolithic period. During neolithic period, two cultures had emerged near the mountain, the Dawenkou to the north and Longshan to the south. In the Spring and Autumn Period, the mountain lay on the boundary between the competing States of Qi (north of the mountain) and Lu (south). In the ensuing Warring States Period, the State of Qi erected a 500 km-long wall to protect itself. Ruins of this wall are still present today. The name Tai'an of neighboring city is attributed to the saying "If Mount Tai is stable, so is the entire country" (both characters of Tai'an, 泰安, means "peace").



The mountain was once called Mt. Daishan, Mt. Daizong or Mt. Taiyue and was renamed Mt. Taishan in the Spring and Autumn Period (770BC-476BC). It epitomizes splendid Chinese history and culture, and was listed in the World Natural and Cultural Heritage List of UNESCO in 1987.



In ancient times, when a great emperor(or a emperor who think himself to be great) ascending to the throne, the first thing to do was to climb Mount Tai and pray to heaven and earth and their ancestors. It was said that 72 emperors of different dynasties made pilgrimages to this mountain. These special ceremonies and sacrifices earned the mountain widespread fame. In addition, many poets and literary scholars also visited the mountain to gain inspiration. The grandiose temples, the numerous stone inscriptions and stone tablets are the best testaments to these visits. Mt. Tai also played an important role in the development of Buddhism and Taoism(a local god of  Mt. Tai).



Taishan Mountain is a natural museum abounding with cultural relics and artworks. It was said there are  22 temples, 97 ruins, 819 stone tablets, and 1,018 cliff-side and stone inscriptions located on Mount Tai.

Heavenly Queen Pool, Red Gate Palace, Mid-Heaven Gate, Azure Cloud Temple are powerful examples. Stone carvings include the Buddhist Diamond Sutra in Jing Shi Valley, the Scripture of Mt. Tai and the Mo Ya Tablet.



Besides historic relics, Mount Taishan boasts unique natural scenery too. The lofty peaks, deep valleys, spectacular waterfalls, enchanting rocks and the centuries-old pines and cypresses will undoubtedly encourage you linger with no thought of leaving. The four wonders of the mountain are Sunrises from the East, the Sunset Glow, the Sea of Clouds and the Golden Belt along the Yellow River. It would be very pity to miss the four wonders. 





some photos.(from internat)




















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Mt. Huangshan(黄山)a Marvel of Natural Beauty.

Mt. Huangshan located in the southern part of Anhui Province, the Yellow Mountains (Huangshan in Chinese means yellow mountain) extend across - Shexian, Yixian, Taiping and Xiuning. They rose above the earth surface as a result of movement of the earth's crust over a hundred million years ago. Later they underwent the erosion of Quaternary glaciation and have gradually become what they are today.

Magnificent and imposing, it is a famous scenic spot full of wonderful sights.The Yellow Mountains known as Yishan in the Qin Dynasty (221 -207 B.C.) got their present name in 747 A.D. (the 6th year of the Tianbao reign of the Tang Dynasty), when Li Bai (701 -762), the great Tang poet, wrote about them in these lines:

Thousands of feet high towers the Yellow Mountains

With its thirty-two magnificent peaks,

Blooming like golden lotus flowers.

Amidst red crags and rock columns.



The Yellow Mountains are a marvel within an area of 154 square kilometres there is a crowd of peaks, 72 of which have names indicating the shapes they resemble. Lotus Brightness Apex and Celestial Capital are the three major ones, all rising above 1,800 metres. The mountains are a body of granite, often with vertical joints. Erosion and fracture contributed to shape the rocks into huge columns giving rise to lofty peaks and deep ravines. When it is cloudy the pinnacles loom in mists as if they were visionary, while in sunshine they unfold in all their majesty and splendour.



The Yellow Mountains change their colour and appearance with the alternation of seasons. In spring blooming flowers decorate the slopes in a riot of colour and fill the valleys with fragrance, in summer you see verdured peaks rising one upon another and near springs gurgling merrily. Autumn dresses the mountains in red and purple, as maples are all blazing - red; winter turns them into a world of frost and ice with silver boughs and rocks everywhere. So from ancient times it has been frequented by tourists seeking their mystery and admiring their scenery.



They come to the conclusion that the fantastic pines, the grotesque rocks, the sea of clouds and the hot springs are the four major attractions of the Yellow Mountains. As a matter of fact there are marvels almost everywhere especially in the following scenic areas: Wenguan (Hot Spring), Yupinglou (Jade Screen Tower), Xihai (West Sea), Beihai (North Sea), Yungusi (Cloud Valley Temple) and Songguan (Pine Valley Nunnery).



Owing to the peculiar terrain, the Yellow Mountains' climate is marked by a vertical change, and the vertical distribution of vegetation is also distinctive: plants on the summit, on the middle levels and at the foot belong to the frigid, temperate and subtropical zones respectively. There are more than 1500 species of plants, of which trees comprise one third. So the Yellow Mountains occupy an important place in China's botanical research. Here you will find century-old pines, firs ginkgoes, Chinese torreyas, Chinese sweet gums, nanmus, camphorwoods and the precious Magua trees, remnants of the glacial era. The Yellow Mountains abound in flowering plants; many of them are rare ones, such as Goddess Flower, the Yellow Mountains Azalea as well as camellia, plum, lily crape myrtle, orchid, Spring Herald Ina Flower and so on. It has a rich store of medicinal herbs; more than 300 kinds are found here, the notable ones being glossy ganoderma, ginseng, Chinese goldthread rhizome and Chinese cinnamon. Maofeng tea of the Yellow Mountains is well known at home and abroad.






































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Wedding scarf

Wedding scarf usually is a red cloth, in traditional chinese wedding ceremony, wedding scarf covers the bride's head to her shoulders, until the ceremony is over.

In old fashion, the wedding scraf will be put off untill the groom has said bye to all of their friends and relatives and ready to go to bed with his lady. But now, mostly will put it off in the ceremony.



Wedding scarf custom is not only popular in Han nation, bu also in some minority nation like Mongolian nation




Mongolian nation wedding in Inner Mongolia province.
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Chinese Wedding Custom

Left is a Modern portrait about Tang Dynasty wedding custom

Proposal & Betrothal

Most time there has a media person(called, Mei Ren, most time is a old woman), then the two families pick an auspicious date as the Betrothal Day. This is a formal meeting between the parents of the perspective bride and groom. The groom's family presents various proposal gifts that represents fertility and prosperity in Chinese Culture, which is also known as "Grand Gift". Thus, the two are considered officially engaged.


Pre-Wedding Ritual

After the betrothal meeting, both families will make announcement to their relatives and friends by sending out "Double Happiness Cakes" along with invitations. The bride's family then prepares dowry and give a list of the dowries to the groom's family. The groom's family performs "setting bridal bed" ritual... The groom's family decorates the bridal house for the wedding, while the bride's family prepares household accessories, mostly bedding and dining necessities, for the new home.

Wedding Day Ceremony

On the day of the wedding, two families performs "hair dressing" ritual and "capping" ritual for the bride and groom respectively. Then the groom sets out to the bride's home, and he will inevitably be blocked at her door by her friends, and the bridesmaids will play door game with the groom and his attendants. The bride and groom will then leave her home and proceed to meet the groom's parents for Tea Ceremony. The wedding date ceremony ends with a feast which features elaborate Chinese wedding food.

Wedding Night Ritual

The night of the wedding, the bridal room will lit dragon and phoenix candle to drive away the evil spirit, the newlyweds will drink wine from two cups tied together with a red string, arms crossed from each other. This is the formal wedding vow in Chinese culture. Then the bride will be offered dumplings that's boiled half-raw. The pronunciation of "raw" is the same as giving birth to children, a indication of family prosperity

Post-wedding Customs

The next morning of the wedding, the bride should get up early and make a meal for the groom's family to demonstrate that she is well-nurtured. Three days after the wedding, the groom and bride will go back to visit the bride's parents




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Yan Di,炎帝,

Yan Di, was leader of tribe with first name Jiang, and the tribe also known as Shennong tribe, it means they are professional at agriculture. It was say, Yan Di very smart when he was still a boy, and he do a lot of good things to people. Yan Di invent some farmer instrument and teach people about planting crops. To heal diease, he find many herbs and was seemed as the beginner of Chinese Traditional Medical and Medicine. He made musical instruments with five string, and enable people know etiquette.

First, Shengnong tribe living in ShanXi province, but they moved to east and conflict with another tribe, Huang Di, and they two become Chinese's ancestor. it's another story.

Yan Di made great contribution on agriculture, medical, so he was deemed as a great hero in the begin time of Chinese culture. Now, Chinese people allways says, "we are son of Yan and Huang", here Yan means Yan Di. And Yan Di also was deemed as one of the three great hero of Chinese along with Fu xi and Huang Di.


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Han fu - Chinese Costume

Stylish, beautiful, and downright cool, Chinese clothing has influenced everything from the Japanese Kimono and Korean Hanbok to outfits in movies like Star Wars. Research indicates that Chinese clothing started to take shape during the Xià 夏 dynasty (2200 BC),

and lasted until the Míng 明 dynasty (1368-1644).when it was forcibly replaced by Manchu styles (1644-1911). Pre-Qīng clothing is referred to as Hàn fu (汉服 sometimes called 衣裳 Yī shang), or the traditional dress of the Han Chinese people. Many people equate “traditional” Chinese clothing to the popular Qí páo (旗袍) or Cheongsam (长衫), however these are Manchu styles and not the form of clothing worn by Chinese people for thousands of years.

Han Fu is buttonless clothing, features wide sleeves and layered loose robes


Nowdays, there is many Han Fu fans all over china, and it becomes more and more. many fans wear Han Fu everydays, at work, at home, on buses, and tell people the story about Han Fu.





Following are Chinese styles worn throughout the dynasties: (source: http://pandagator.info/blog/?p=33)

Qin and Han:

Tang:

Song:

Yuan:

Ming:

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Huang-di Yellow Emperor黄帝

"Huang di" also "Yellow Emperor", was one of the legendary Chinese emperors. Huang di was lived in about 2600BC, he was borned in XinZheng, Henan province, and buried at QiaoShan(also named as HuangLing, this was named after Hunag di), ShanXi province. It was said, Huang di was borned at the second day in the second month in Chinese Calendar.


Huang di was deemed as the main ancestor of all Han and some Minority nation. His victory in the war with Chi You at the Battle of Zhuolu is seen as the establishment of the Han Chinese nationality.

Chinese said, Huang di is the inventor of writing, the compass, the pottery wheel, and the breeding of silkworms(actually, this was said invented by Huand di's wife).




Huangdi has been credited with written (collaborated by his physician) "Huangdi Neijing (黄帝内經 Inner Canon of Huangdi)", the principles of Traditional Chinese medicine. However, modern historiographers generally consider this book to be compiled about 200BC, more than 2000years later.(But it doesn't means Huang di done nothing on medicine, the book was named after Huang di, it would be some kind of commemorate).

Huangdi Neijing


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Fuxi--- Creator of Trigrams Symbols

Fuxi, also Fu Hsi( 伏羲, 庖牺, 庖犧) is the legendary god in the mythology of ancient China. He is also called Taihao(太昊) or Taihao Fuxi. He was born in TianShui, GanSu province, and has a snake tails like his sister "Nv wa"



Legend says, by imitating the spider, he created a net to catch fish and animals. He invented the musical instrument, Se, a plucked instrument with 50 strings, and constituted the Eight Diagrams used in divination. He married his younger sister, Nv wa, and started the reproduction of offspring one generation after another. Thus they became the ancestors of the Chinese.






Fuxi and Nv wa (portrait found in old tomb in AShiNa XinJiang province)

It was say, one day, a dragon horse emerged from the Yellow River, Fuxi invented "He Tu"(means River Picture) according to marks on its back. Then Fuxi invented the arrangement of the Trigrams (八卦 bāgùa). Because "He Tu" and Trigrams was seemed as a very important core part of Chinese culture, so Fuxi was seemed as the beginner of Chinese culture.



Dragon Horse(loong ma 龙马)




River Picture(He Tu, 河图)



In the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. - 220), Fu xi and Nv wa were carved on stone as figures with both human heads and bodies of the snake. They are human-shaped from the waist up, but are snake-like below. The lower bodies are entangled together with each other.

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Qi xi jie --- A Chinese Valentine's Day

The Qi Xi Jie occurs on the 7th Day of the 7th Month of the Chinese Calendar.

As any Chinese grandmother will tell you, the ancient celebration of true love dates back centuries when Zhinv (织女 Weaving Girl) fell in love with a young farmer named Niulang(牛郎 cow boy) at NanYang, HuBei province. Sadly, there is a classic complication - our heroine here is the granddaughter of the Lady Queen WangWuNiangNiang!


Even though the law strictly forbids relationships between mortals and immortals, the rebellious young couple fall in love and eventually marry anyway - when the unthinkable happens, and they has a girl and a boy. Upon the discovery of their relationship, the Lady Queen WangWuNiangNiang forces Zhinv to return to heaven, never to see Niulang again.


But Niulang refuses to give up. He was helped by a old cow, flies to Zhinv's side (with the help of a magic ox) only to have the Lady Queen WangWuNiangNiang then uses a hairpin to draw the Milky Way across the sky to separate the couple forever.

And after that Zhinv and Niulang must separated for 364 days of a year - except for Chinese Valenine's Day - when the Lady Queen WangWuNiangNiang takes pity on them by sending a flock of magpies to bridge the gap between the lovers and reunite them. (and then magpies was seemed as a bode well to lovers and couples)

In Chinese, "7" pronounced Qi, and this pronounciation also means "fantastic", so "the 7th Day of the 7th Month" is the most fantastic day in the year, so an old times, In the night of Qi xi jie, girls and ladys gazing stars and prays to be smart and skillful, and prays for a happy marriage.

This folktale was started about 2000 years before at Han Dynaty.

Today, on Chinese Valentine's Day, school children are asked to search the heavens where Zhinv can be found in the star Vega east of the Milky Way, and for her beloved Niulang, who steadfastly waits for her in the constellation Aquila, west of the Milky Way.

According to legend, on Chinese Valentines Day magpies can scarcely be seen, since they are spreading their wings to form the bridge in the heavens to reunite the couple once again. The evening of Chinese Valentine's Day is traditionally reserved for star gazing, and the classic retelling of the tale of Zhinu and Niulang.



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Nv Wa, Patches up the Sky(女娲补天)

Nv Wa(sometimes Nv Kua) was a female godess in Chinese lengend, she has a snake tails. and she was the creator of mankind.

After Pangu create the world, the earth was a beautiful place with blossoming trees and flowers, and full of animals, birds, fish and all living creatures. But as Nv Wa wandered about it Nv Wa felt very lonely. She pick up a handful of yellow clay near Yellow River, mixed it with water and molded a figure in her likeness. As she blowing to it, the figure came alive -the first human being. Nv Wa was so pleased with her creation that she went on making more figures both men and women. They danced around her cheerily and loneliness was dispelled.

Nv Wa is defined in China earliest dictionary by the philologist Xu Shen ( c.58-147) as being " in charge of breeding of all living things", so possibly her origin is associated with fertility.

Nv Wa was the sister and then the wife of Fu Xi, the legendary ruler who was credited with teaching man to domesticate animals and to have taught people matrimony.

Second, Nv Wa patched up the sky.

Two deities, called in Gong Gong, the God of Water and Zhu Rong, the God of Fire, were in battle. They fought all the way from heaven to earth, causing turmoil everywhere. The God of Fire won, and in anger the God of Water struck his head against Buzhou Mountain (a mythical peak supposed to be northwest of the Kunlun range in southern Xinjiang ). The mountain collapsed and down came the big pillar that held heaven from earth. Half the sky fell in, leaving a big black hole. The earth cracked open, forests went up in flames, floodwaters sprouted from beneath the earth and dragons, snakes and fierce animals leaped out at the people. Many people were drowned and more were burned or devoured. It was an unprecedented disaster.

Nv Wa was grieved that mankind which she had created undergo such suffering. She decided to mend the sky and end this catastrophe. She melted together five colored stones and with the molten mixture patched up the sky. Then she killed a giant turtle and used its four legs as four pillars to support the fallen part of the sky. She caught and killed a dragon and scared other beasts away. The she gathered and burned a huge quantity of reeds and with the ashes stopped the flood from spreading, so that the people could live happily again.

After disaster, the sky slanted to the northwest and the earth to the southeast, so since then, the sun, the moon and all the stars turn towards the west and all the rivers run southeast.

So Nv Wa was deemed as the mother of mankind, specially, the mother of Chinese.



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Pangu, Creator of the world(盘古开天地)

Pangu(盘古), also known as PunkGod in English. In Chinese legend, Pangu created the world by separating the initail formless chaos gas into the sky and the earth, the sky is Yan(阳).

It was said, in the beginning, the universe was like an egg and there was only formless chaos in the egg.

Pangu sleeping in the egg for over 18,000 years. Then one day, he woke up and cracked the egg into pieces. By separating the heavy and light parts of the egg, he created the sky and the earth. Pangu stood on the earth and held up the sky using his hands, and then he had grown with the sky until the form of the world for another 18,000 years. The distance from Earth and Sky at the end of the 18,000 years would have been 65,700,000 feet, or over 12,443 miles.

After that, Pangu died(or rest), and his body become part of the earth, says his breath became the wind; his voice the thunder; eyes become the sun and moon; his body became the mountains; his blood formed rivers; his muscles the fertile lands; his hair the stars and milky road; his fur the bushes and forests; his bones the valuable minerals; his bone marrows sacred diamonds; his sweat fell as rain.


So Chinese think Pangu as the creator of the universe, and the earlyest, strongest god, and the father of civilization.

The lengend of Pangu was first come out at Three Kingdoms (三國) period(about 220AD).



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/Duan Wu/; A Day in Memory of A Patriotic Poet "Qu Yuan"

The 5th day of the 5th month of Chinese Lunar Calendar is an important day for Chinese people. The day called "Duan Wu" (meaning Day of Right Mid-Day) is observed everywhere in China. This unique Chinese celebration dates back to earliest times and a number of legends explain its origins.




The best known story centers on a patriotic court official named Qu Yuan(340 BC-278 BC), of the State of Chu during Warring States Period more than 2,000 years ago. Qu tried to warn the emperor of an increasingly courrupt government, but fails. In a last desperate protest, he throws himself into the river and drowns. The State of Chu was soon annexed by the State of Qin.

Later Qu Yuan's sympathizers jump into boats, beat the water with their oars and made rice dumplings wrapped in reed-leaves (zongzi) and scatter them into the Miluo River in the hope that fish in the river would eat the rice dumplings instead of the body of the deceased poet.

The custom of making rice dumplings spread to the whole country. Today, people eat glutinous rice cakes to mark the occasion.

At the news of the poet's death, the local people raced out in boats in an efforts of searching his body. Later the activity became a boat race and the boats gradually developed into dragon-boats. In many places along rivers and on the coast today, the holiday also features dragon-boat races. In these high-spirited competitions, teams of rowers stroke their oars in unision to propel sleek, long vessels through the water.

It is more than 2,000 years since Qu Yuan departed. His poems are great additions to the wealth of the culture of the Chinese nation. They have been translated into a number of foreign languages and distributed worldwide. The World Peace Conference in 1953 listed him as one of the world’s top four famous literary persons on the day marking the 2230th anniversary of his death.




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