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Chapter 1

The Origin of Chinese Culture

文化词汇

Confucian philosophy 儒家哲学Confucius孔子Mencius孟子

the descendants of Yan and Huang 炎黄子孙

the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States Periods 春秋战国时期

The Art of War《孙子兵法》porcelain 瓷器

三皇五帝Three Emperors and Five Sovereigns)

Gregorian calendar/ solar calendar格里高利历,是国际通用的历法,即公历

lunar calendar阴历

the Twenty-four Solar Terms二十四节气

Chinese Zodiac生肖

Chinese Culture---Past and Present

Chinese history began with two legendary figures—Emperor Huang and Emperor Yan, who, together with their tribes, inhabited the drainage area along the middle reaches（中游）of the Yellow River. By the time of Xia Dynasty, after centuries of living side by side, these two tribes had gradually merged into（合并，融合）one. Consequently, the Chinese people usually call themselves“the descendants of Yan and Huang”.People at that time believed that the land they lived on was the center of the world, and called their state the "Middle Kingdom"(中国), thus giving China its country name.

Traditional Chinese culture is recorded not only in history books and documents, but also in archeological records(考古记载), such as ancient city walls, palaces（宫殿）, temples（寺庙）, pagodas（宝塔）, and grottos（洞窟）; artifacts（史前古器物）, such as bronze objects, weapons, bronze mirrors, coins, jade and pottery objects, and curios; and folk culture, including song and dance, embroidery（刺绣）, cuisine（烹饪）, clothing, tea ceremonies, drinking games, lanterns, riddles, martial arts（武术）, chess and kites. With a continuous history of 5,000 years, it has undergone frequent transformations to produce a rich and vital cultural heritage.

In the modern day, with the rise of western economic and military power beginning in the mid-19th century, Western systems of social and political organization have gained adherents in China. Indeed, within today‟s globalized environment, modern cultures interact and cooperate increasingly more with each other. China‟s culture of the future will most likely reflect this cross-cultural dimension. Thus, obtaining a solid underst anding of China‟s culture of the past is necessary in order to successfully embrace all that the culture has to offer to the world.

The Appellation of China

China is the appellation of our country given by foreigners. The porcelain china is the transliteration of the place name Changnan(昌南), which was the old name for Jingdezhen（景德镇）. The porcelain made in Changnan was smooth and bright, and earned another name of artificial jade. It became famous both home and abroad and was exported to Europe in large quantities.

As time passed, people in Europe forgot the meaning of Changnan and switched the original meaning of porcelain of the word “china” to the place of its origin.

The Alternative Names of China

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⏹Chixian, Shenzhou(赤县、神州)

⏹Jiuzhou (九州)

⏹Hua ( 华)

⏹Huaxia(华夏)

⏹Zhonghua(中华)

⏹Hainei(海内)

Chinese Mythology

Chinese Mythology is a collection of cultural history, folktales（民间故事）, and religions that have been passed down in oral or written form. Chinese mythology is similar to modern religion in that they both believe in relationships between mankind and a higher power.

Historians have conjectured（推测）that Chinese mythology began in 12th century BC (close to the time of the Trojan War 特洛伊战争). The myths and legends were passed down in oral form for over a thousand years, before being written down in early book such as Shui Jing Zhu and Shan Hai Jing.

The classification of myth神话的分类

Creation myth 创世神话：Nvwa Created Man(女娲造人）

Hero myth 英雄神话：Houyi Shooting the Sun(后羿射日)

War myth 战争神话：Yellow Emperor Tackled Human-God(黄帝擒蚩尤)

Cultural Mosaic

Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches

The standard Gregorian calendar is generally referred to as the solar calendar in China. The traditional Chinese lunar calendar, also known as the Jiazi calendar, counts the years in sixty-year cycles by combining two series of numbers---the 10 Heavenly Stems and 12 Earthly Branches.

The Twenty-four Solar Terms

The traditional Chinese lunar year is divided into twenty-four solar terms, according to the position of the sun on the ecliptic in relationship to the earth. The solar terms designate agricultural periods, and can predict changing seasonal conditions, temperature, and weather throughout the course of the year. They are extremely important to agricultural production.

Changes in the four seasons are determined by eight solar terms:立春( the Beginning of Spring),春分( the Spring Equinox ),立夏(the Beginning of Summer ),夏至(the Summer Solstice),立秋(the Beginning of Autumn),秋分( the Autumnal Equinox),立冬( the Beginning of Winter),冬至(the Winter Solstice )

Changes in temperature are indicated by five solar terms:小暑Slight Heat ,大暑Great Heat ,处暑the Limit of Heat ,小寒Slight Cold ,大寒Great Cold

Changing weather conditions are indicated by seven solar terms:雨水Rain Water ,谷雨Grain Rain ,白露White Dew ,寒露Cold Dew,霜降Frost's Descent ,小雪Slight Snow ,大雪Great Snow .

Recurring natural phenomena are indicated by four solar terms:惊蛰the Waking of Insects ,清明Pure Brightness ,小满Grain Full,芒种Grain in Ear

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Chinese Zodiac

In ancient times, our ancestors counted the years with 10 heavenly stems and 12 earthly branches. Althou …… 此处隐藏：21775字，全部文档内容请下载后查看。喜欢就下载吧 ……