Traditional Chinese Cultures, Art and Customs
Have you ever been moved by the film soundtrack of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon? Musician Tan Dun used a traditional Chinese musical instrument, erhu, in his arrangement. Erhu is a two-stringed bowed musical instrument and sometimes known in the west as the “Chinese violin” or “Chinese two-string fiddle”. It is a very expressive instrument and…
Dragon Boat Festival, regarded with similar significance as other Chinese festivals like Spring Festival, Tomb-Sweeping Day and Mid-Autumn Day, is a very important day to Han people in China and the history of this traditional festival dates back to 2000 years ago. Dragon Boat Festival is also known as Duanwu Festival, Calamus Festival and Chongwu…
Madam White Snake is a Chinese legend/folklore, which existed as oral traditions before any written compilation. It has since become a major subject of several Chinese opera, films and TV series. The earliest attempt to fictionalize the story appears to be “Madame White Snake Jailed Eternally in the Leifeng Pagoda“ in Jing Shi Tong Yan…
The Peony Pavilion is one of Chinese Classics written by Tang Xianzu in the Ming Dynasty. It is a romantic masterpiece in the Chinese opera history and it is said to be the Eastern version of Romeo & Juliet. The performance tradition has focused on the love story between Du Liniang and Liu Mengmei. It…
Xishi is widely been considered the most beautiful of ancient China’s “Four Beauties.” She is celebrated as a woman of extraordinary natural beauty with a universal appeal. Although many have praised Xishi’s looks, there is but little mention of her notable virtue – she had a great love for her country and her people. Background…
Chinese Paper cut or Jianzhi is one of China’s most popular folk-arts. It originated from the 6th century, various paper objects and figures used to be buried with the dead or burned at the funeral ceremony. Chinese Paper cuts, which were usually of symbolic character, were part of this ritual. After hundreds of years’ development,…
The Chinese have a custom of using Red Packets (with money inside) as a gift for special occasions. A Red Packet is a rectangular (sometimes square) paper envelope usually red in color, and often with auspicious wordings or pictures printed on it. The Red Packet (红包：hóng bāo) is also sometimes known as Ang Pow/Ang Pao…
Traditional Chinese New Year Food is a symbol of prosperity, good luck, health and long life for everyone at the table. Each and every food, either by its appearance or the pronunciation of its name, symbolizes age old Chinese beliefs. Traditional Chinese New Year Food like dumplings, spring rolls, wishes good things for the coming…
Chinese New Year or Spring Festival is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is sometimes called the Lunar New Year, especially by people outside China. The festival traditionally begins on the first day of the first lunar month in the Chinese calendar and ends on the 15th; this day is called Lantern…
