A story from ZhuangZi: The cook cutting up a bull

The cook cutting up a bull

-- A story from "ZhuangZi ", the Taoist classic

Prince Wen Hui's cook was cutting up a bullock. Every blow of his hand, every heave of his shoulder, every tread of his foot, every thrust of his knee, every sound of the rending flesh, and every note of the movement of the chopper were in perfect harmony—rhythmical like the dance of ˜The Mulberry Grove,' simultaneous like the chords of the "˜Ching Shou'. ('The mulberry Grove' and 'Ching Shou' are two pieces of beautiful antique music )

"˜Ah, admirable,' said the prince, "˜ that your art should become so perfect!' The cook laid down his chopper and replied: "˜What your servant loves is Tao, which is more advanced than art.When I first began to cut up bullocks, what I saw was simply whole bullocks.When I first began to clean, what I saw was simply whole messes. "After three years' practice, I saw no more bullocks as whole. "At present, I work with my mind, but not with my eyes.The functions of my senses stop; my spirit dominates. "Following the natural veins, my chopper slips through the great cavities, slides through the great openings, taking advantage of what is already there. I did not attempt the central veins and their branches, and the connectives between flesh and bone, not to mention the great bones. "A good cook changes his chopper once a year, because he cuts. An ordinary cook changes his chopper once a month, because he hacks. Now my copper has been in use for nineteen years; it has cut several thousand bullocks; yet its edge is as sharp as if it just came from the whetstone. "At the joints there are always interstices, and the edge of the chopper is without thickness. If we insert that which is without thickness into an interstice, there is certainly plenty of room for it to move along! "Nevertheless, when I come to a complicated joint, and see that there will be some difficulty, I proceed anxiously and with caution. I fix my eyes on it. I move slowly. Then by a very gentle movement of my chopper, the part is quickly separated, and yields like earth crumbling to the ground. "Then standing with the chopper in my hand, I look all around, with an air of triumph and satisfaction. Then I wipe my chopper and put it in its sheath'." "˜Excellent," said the prince, "˜from the words of this cook, I learned the ways of cultivating life'."

(The translation is from the http://milindasquestions.com/2005/08/08/butchery/ and the book "Chuang-tsu "

================================================

庖丁解牛 庖丁为文惠君解牛。手之所触，肩之所倚，足之所履，膝之所踦，砉然向然，奏刀？然，莫不中音：合于《桑林》之舞，乃中《经首》之会。 　　文惠君曰："嘻，善哉！技盖至此乎？" 　　庖丁释刀对曰："臣之所好者，道也；进乎技矣。始臣之解牛之时，所见无非牛者；三年之后，未尝见全牛也。方今之时，臣以神遇而不以目视，官知止而神欲行。依乎天理，批大郤，导大窾，因其固然，技经肯綮之未尝，而况大？乎！良庖岁更刀，割也；族庖月更刀，折也。今臣之刀十九年矣，所解数千牛矣，而刀刃若新发于硎。彼节者有间，而刀刃者无厚；以无厚入有间，恢恢乎其于游刃必有余地矣！是以十九年而刀刃若新发于硎。虽然，每至于族，吾见其难为，怵然为戒，视为止，行为迟。动刀甚微，？然已解，如土委地。提刀而立，为之四顾，为之踌躇满志；善刀而藏之。" 　　文惠君曰："善哉！吾闻庖丁之言，得养生焉。"

TuCheng Shen and the tiger girl: An old story in Tang dynasty(THE FULL TRANSLATION)

申屠澄者，贞元九年，自布衣调补濮州什?尉。

之官，至真符县东十里许遇风雪大寒，马不能进。路旁茅舍中有烟火甚温煦，澄往就之。有老父妪及处女环火而坐， 其女年方十四五，虽蓬发垢衣，而雪肤花脸，举止妍媚。父妪见澄来，遽起曰："客冲雪寒甚，请前就火。"澄坐良久，天色已晚，风雪不止，澄曰："西去县尚 远，请宿于此。"父妪曰："苟不以蓬室为陋，敢不承命。"澄遂解鞍，施衾帱焉。

其女见客，更修容靓饰，自帷箔间复出，而闲丽之态，尤倍昔时。有顷，妪自外 挈酒壶至，于火前暖饮。谓澄曰："以君冒寒，且进一杯，以御凝冽。"因揖让曰："始自主人。"翁即巡行，澄当婪尾。澄因曰："座上尚欠小娘子。"父妪皆笑 曰："田舍家所育，岂可备宾主？"女子即回眸斜睨曰："酒岂足贵，谓人不宜预饮也。"母即牵裙，使坐于侧。

TuCheng Shen is a man in Tang dynasty. At the 9th year of ZhengYuan, he was rose to be a offical in Pu state.
He traveled to Pu state. When he reached the east of county of ZhenFu, a big storm hit him. It was badly cold.  His horse stopped advancing. 

There was a hut beside the road, warmed with fire pot. He went into and saw an old man 、an old woman and a girl sat beside the fire pot. The girl was about fourteen or fifteen years old. Dirty dresses as she was, she looked as beautiful as a flower. 

When the old man saw TuCheng,  he sat up immediately and said,

 "It's too cold out side, my guest, come in for a warm, please." 

TuCheng sat down, waited for a long time. Till night, but the storm didn't stop. TuCheng said,

 "It's far from the county of ZhengFu,  shall I stay here tonight?" 

The old man said, "Of course. "So  TuCheng released his horse, and setup his sleeping bed.

At the time the little girl saw TuCheng,  she went into her room and dressed up. She came out later and looked more beautiful than before. 

For a moment, the old woman bringed some wine in, place it above the fire pot to make it warm. The old woman said to TuCheng, "Have a drink please, it can help you to defend the cold." TuCheng said,"Thanks  my host, you first." So the old man drank first. TuCheng  drank the wine last.

TuCheng said, "It need a girl to join our drank." 

The old man and woman laughed, and said, 

"She is only a daughter of presant, how dare she to drink with my guest?" 

The girl heard, looked back and said, 

"How valuable your wine is, why says that I cannot drink?" 

So the old woman bring the little girl beside the fire pot.  They drank together.

澄始欲探其所能，乃举令以观其意。澄执盏曰：" 请征书语，意属目前事。"澄曰："厌厌夜饮，不醉无归。"女低鬟微笑曰："天色如此，，归亦何往哉？"俄然巡至女，女复令曰："风雨如晦，鸡鸣不已。"

Now, TuCheng could try to find out is the girl clever or not. So he recommanded that they should all say something for drinking. Holding the cup, he said,"Every one of us should say several sentences from sutra. The meaning of the sentances should close to this drinking."

He said first,"Happly we are drinking in the night, the one who don't get drunk, won't go back!",which is a sentence in the "book of poem".

while he was saying, the girl put down her head, smiled and said:"So bad is today's wether, where can you go back to?"

After a while, it's the girl's turn. The girl said,"It's windy and raining, just like the night. The cock is darking and darking, without an end!",which is also a sentence from the "book of poem".

澄 愕然叹曰："小娘子明慧若此，某幸未昏，敢请自媒如何？"翁曰："某虽寒贱，亦尝娇保之。颇有过客，以金帛为问，某先不忍别，未许，不期贵客又欲援拾，岂 敢惜。"即以为托。澄遂修子婿之礼，祛囊之遗之，妪悉无所取，曰："但不弃寒贱，焉事资货。"明日，又谓澄曰："此孤远无邻，又复湫溢，不足以久留。女既 事人，便可行矣。"又一日，咨嗟而别，澄乃以所乘马载之而行。

TuCheng was shocked. He said,"Girl, you are so smart! It's lucky that I havn't been married yet. Shall I beg you to marry me?"

The old man said,"Poor as I am, I am very treasure with my daughter. There were some guests who asked me to marriy the girl to them, with golden and present. It was hard to me to leave her, so I didn't not agree yet. But now, my honor guest,it you who ask me for her. How dare I disagree?" 

So he agreed with the marriage. At the time, TuCheng gave a salute to the old man as father-in-law. He took out all his money and treasure, send them to the old man and woman. The old woman said,"It's our honor to marry my daughter to you. How can we receive this?" So they took nothing from him.

The next day, they told TuCheng,"This place is so lonely, without any neighbour, and it's too wet and small. So you should not stay here for long. My daughter has been married to you, you should leave now."

So, at next day, TuCheng said good bye to them. He put the girl on horse, and left the house.

既至官，俸禄甚薄，妻力以成其家，交结宾客，旬日之内，大获名誉，而夫妻情义益浃。其于厚亲 族，抚甥侄，洎僮仆厮养，无不欢心。后秩满将归，已生一男一女，亦甚明慧。澄尤加敬焉。

He reach the office. The salary was fairy cheap, but his wife gave him a lot of help. She was kind to his friends and workmates. Only in half of a month, they got famous and respect. 

The wife was also kind to his relatives and servants. Everyone was happy and loved her. When the year passed, TuCheng's time in office was going to full. They had a boy and a girl now. TuCheng loved and respected his wife even more.

常作赠内诗一篇曰："一官惭梅福，三年愧孟光。此情何所喻，川上有 鸳鸯。"其妻终日吟讽，似默有和者，然未尝出口。每谓澄曰："为妇之道，不可不知书。倘更作诗，反似妪妾耳。"澄罢官，即罄室归秦，过利州，至嘉陵江畔， 临泉藉草憩息。其妻忽怅然谓澄曰："前者见赠一篇，寻即有和。初不拟奉示，今遇此景物，不能终默之。"乃吟曰："琴瑟情虽重，山林志自深。常尤时节变，辜 负百年心。"吟罢，潸然良久，若有慕焉。澄曰："诗则丽矣，然山林非弱质所思，倘忆贤尊，今则至矣，何用悲泣乎？人生因缘业相之事，皆由前定。"

Once a time, TuCheng wrote an poem for his wife, which read,

"How can I be so lucky as an little officer, with so beautiful a flower?

 Three years passed, I'm more happy than MengGuang.

 Do you even know how much I love you? 

 Look, there are a pair of YingYuan birds above the river."

His wife read it always. It seemed that she had make some reply, but she did not say a word. 

She usually told TuCheng, "A woman must have some knowledgy of 'book'. Knowing this, if I make a poem, it seems that I'm a concubine."

When TuCheng finished his office job, he led his family back to Qin, his hometown. They traveled through LiZhou, to ChangJiang river, and having a rest on a grass land, near the water. 

The wife looked sadly. She told TuCheng, "When I read your poem, I has make a reply at the time. I prefered to not let you know it. But now, we meet this sight,how can I keep it secret?"

So she sang a poem:

"So sweet as you and me, a husband and a wife

But what I love most, is the mountain and forest

As the time changed, I'm afraid more and more

How can I betray to you, with your full heart on me?"

When she finished, she weeped for a long time. It seemed that there were something she was missing.

TuCheng told her,

"It's a beautiful poem, but, why mountain and forest? It's not a good thing to a woman. Are you missing your father and mother? we are going to reach there soon. Don't be so sadly. Human's lifes are arranged before their born aready, you should take it happier."

后二十余 日，复至妻本家，草舍依然，但不复有人矣。澄与其妻即止其舍，妻思慕之深，尽日涕泣。于壁角故衣之下，见一虎皮，尘埃积满。妻见之，忽大笑曰："不知此物 尚在耶！"披之，即变为虎，哮吼拿撄，突门而去。澄惊走避之，携二子寻其路，望林大哭数日，竟不知所之。

After that, twenty days passed, they reach the home of the wife. The house was still their, but no one living in now. They stoped in the house. 

The wife missed them so much that she cried every day. 

One day, they found a skin of tiger at the corner. There were full of dust on it. When TuCheng's wife saw it, suddently she laughed loudly and said, 

"HA, I don't know that it's still here!"

She put on the skin. At once, she turned into an tiger! The tiger roared loudly, run fast, broke the door and left.

TuCheng was shock and run away. He found the backing road with his two babies finally. They cry sadly for several days, toward the forest

No one knows where had they been to now.

TuCheng Shen and the tiger girl: An old story in Tang dynasty

申屠澄者，贞元九年，自布衣调补濮州什�尉。
之官，至真符县东十里许遇风雪大寒，马不能进。路旁茅舍中有烟火甚温煦，澄往就之。有老父妪及处女环火而坐， 其女年方十四五，虽蓬发垢衣，而雪肤花脸，举止妍媚。父妪见澄来，遽起曰："客冲雪寒甚，请前就火。"澄坐良久，天色已晚，风雪不止，澄曰："西去县尚 远，请宿于此。"父妪曰："苟不以蓬室为陋，敢不承命。"澄遂解鞍，施衾帱焉。
其女见客，更修容靓饰，自帷箔间复出，而闲丽之态，尤倍昔时。有顷，妪自外 挈酒壶至，于火前暖饮。谓澄曰："以君冒寒，且进一杯，以御凝冽。"因揖让曰："始自主人。"翁即巡行，澄当婪尾。澄因曰："座上尚欠小娘子。"父妪皆笑 曰："田舍家所育，岂可备宾主？"女子即回眸斜睨曰："酒岂足贵，谓人不宜预饮也。"母即牵裙，使坐于侧。
澄始欲探其所能，乃举令以观其意。澄执盏曰：" 请征书语，意属目前事。"澄曰："厌厌夜饮，不醉无归。"女低鬟微笑曰："天色如此，，归亦何往哉？"俄然巡至女，女复令曰："风雨如晦，鸡鸣不已。"
澄 愕然叹曰："小娘子明慧若此，某幸未昏，敢请自媒如何？"翁曰："某虽寒贱，亦尝娇保之。颇有过客，以金帛为问，某先不忍别，未许，不期贵客又欲援拾，岂 敢惜。"即以为托。澄遂修子婿之礼，祛囊之遗之，妪悉无所取，曰："但不弃寒贱，焉事资货。"明日，又谓澄曰："此孤远无邻，又复湫溢，不足以久留。女既 事人，便可行矣。"又一日，咨嗟而别，澄乃以所乘马载之而行。
既至官，俸禄甚薄，妻力以成其家，交结宾客，旬日之内，大获名誉，而夫妻情义益浃。其于厚亲 族，抚甥侄，洎僮仆厮养，无不欢心。后秩满将归，已生一男一女，亦甚明慧。澄尤加敬焉。
常作赠内诗一篇曰："一官惭梅福，三年愧孟光。此情何所喻，川上有 鸳鸯。"其妻终日吟讽，似默有和者，然未尝出口。每谓澄曰："为妇之道，不可不知书。倘更作诗，反似妪妾耳。"澄罢官，即罄室归秦，过利州，至嘉陵江畔， 临泉藉草憩息。其妻忽怅然谓澄曰："前者见赠一篇，寻即有和。初不拟奉示，今遇此景物，不能终默之。"乃吟曰："琴瑟情虽重，山林志自深。常尤时节变，辜 负百年心。"吟罢，潸然良久，若有慕焉。澄曰："诗则丽矣，然山林非弱质所思，倘忆贤尊，今则至矣，何用悲泣乎？人生因缘业相之事，皆由前定。"
后二十余 日，复至妻本家，草舍依然，但不复有人矣。澄与其妻即止其舍，妻思慕之深，尽日涕泣。于壁角故衣之下，见一虎皮，尘埃积满。妻见之，忽大笑曰："不知此物 尚在耶！"披之，即变为虎，哮吼拿撄，突门而去。澄惊走避之，携二子寻其路，望林大哭数日，竟不知所之。

TuCheng Shen is a man in Tang dynasty. In the 9th year of ZhengYuan, he was rose to be a offical in Pu state.
He traveled to Pu state. When he reached the east of county of ZhenFu, a big storm meeted him, and it was badly cold.  His horse stopped advancing. There was a hut beside the road, warmed with fire pot. He went to there. He saw an old man 、an old woman and a girl sat beside the fire pot. The girl was about fourteen or fifteen years old. Dirty dresses as she was, she looked as beautiful as a flower. The old man saw TuCheng, sat up immediately and said, "It's too cold out side, my guest, come in for a warm, please." TuCheng sat down, waited for a long time till night, and the storm didn't stop yet. TuCheng said, "It was so far from the county of ZhengFu, shall I stay here tonight?" The old man said, "Of course. ". Now, TuCheng released his horse, and setupped his sleeping bed.
When the girl saw TuCheng, she went in her room and dressed up. When she came out again, she looked more beautiful than before. For a moment, the old woman bringed some wine in, place it abovt the fire pot to make it warm. She said to TuCheng, "Have a drink to defend the cold, please." TuCheng said,"Thanks, my host first." So the old man drank first. TuCheng was the last one to drank the wine. TuCheng said, "It need a girl to join our drank." The old man and woman laughed and said, "She is only a daughter of persant, how dare she to drink with my guest?" The girl heard, looked back and said, "How valuable your wine is, why says that I cannot drink?" So the old woman bringed her beside the fire pot.
(to be continue)

You and me(Liu Huan and Sarah Brightman)

the theme song for the 2008 Summer Olympics: You and me (Liu Huan and Sarah Brightman) Lyrics
北京2008奥运会主题歌：我和你（刘欢 莎拉-布莱曼 合唱) 歌词

• Official Music Video
• Official You and Me mp3

我和你，心连心，同住地球村
(Pinyin: Wǒ Hé Nǐ, Xīn Lián Xīn, Tóng Zhù Dìqiúcūn)
(English translation: You and me, heart to heart, we live in the same Earth's village)

为梦想，千里行，相会在北京
(Pinyin: Wèi Mèngxiǎng, Qiān Lǐ Xíng, Xiānghuì Zài Běijīng)
(English translation: For dreams, we travel a thousand miles, to meet in Beijing)

来吧！朋友，伸出你的手
(Pinyin:Lái Ba, Péngyou, Shēn Chū Nǐ De Shǒu)
(English translation: Come! Friend, reach out with your hands)

我和你，心连心，永远一家人
(Pinyin:Wǒ Hé Nǐ, Xīn Lián Xīn, Yǒngyuǎn Yījiārén)
(English translation: You and me, heart to heart, forever we are one family)

You and me, from one world, we are family
Travel dream, a thousand miles, meeting in Beijing
朋友，来吧, put your hand in mine
(Pinyin:Péngyou, Lái Ba)
(English translation: Friends, Come!)
You and me, from one world, we are family

You and me, from one world, we are family
We are family
Travel dream, a thousand miles, meeting in Beijing
朋友, Friend 来, Meeting in Beijing
(Pinyin:Péngyou, Friend Lái, Meeting in Beijing)
(English translation: Friends, come Friends, meeting in Beijing)

我和你，心连心，同住地球村
(Pinyin: Wǒ Hé Nǐ, Xīn Lián Xīn, Tóng Zhù Dìqiúcūn)
(You and me, heart to heart, we live in the same Earth's village)
You and me, from one world, we are family

为梦想，千里行，相会在北京
(Pinyin: Wèi Mèngxiǎng, Qiān Lǐ Xíng, Xiānghuì Zài Běijīng)
(English translation: For dreams, we travel a thousand miles, to meet in Beijing)
Gather...in Beijing

来吧！朋友，牵住你的手
(Pinyin:Lái Ba, Péngyou, Qiān Zhū Nǐ De Shǒu)
(English translation: Come! Friend, reach out with your hands)

You and me, from one world, we are family

*Lyrics taken from wikipedia*

A song of "On the YouZhou Building"

A song of "On the YouZhou Building"

------------

Looking forward, I cannot see any ancient people;
Looking behind, I don't see any coming person.
So long and long this universe will be, as I am seeing now,
I cannot help but weeping, sadly and lonely!

------------

Author: ZiAng Chen
Time: Tang dynastic


In Chinese:

登幽州台歌

前不见古人，后不见来者
念天地之悠悠，独怆然而涕下！

（唐）陈子昂

Joke: gas problem

A little old lady goes to the doctor ... and says, "Doctor, I have this problem with gas（屁）, but it doesn't really bother me too much. They never smell and are always silent. As a matter of fact, I've farted（放屁） at least 20 times since I've been here in your office. You didn't know I was farting because they don't smell and are silent." The doctor says, "I see. Here's a prescription. Take these pills 3 times a day for seven days and come back to see me next week." The next week the lady goes back. "Doctor," she says, "I don't know what the hell you gave me, but now my farts ... although still silent... stink（发臭） terribly." The doctor says, "Good! Now that we've cleared up your sinuses（your sinuses are the spaces in the bones of your head that are connected to the inside of your nose，这里指嗅觉）, let's start working on your hearing."

What's Green Timer?

What's Green Timer?

Green Timer(URL: http://code.google.com/p/greentimer, Chinese name: 绿色报时器) is a little software that can notify you to do something, by displays a little message bolloon in the rightdown position of you screen. It can notity you to have a rest every one hours, or notify you to call a customer tomorrow morning.

So, you won't forget anything important now.

Green Timer aim at a good time managment habit for you. When you can arrange your time rightly, you will find out that your job turnning easy, and you may find that you can spend more time staying with your family. So we call it "Green Timer".
You can learn more of time managment by Green Timer in our wiki:
http://code.google.com/p/greentimer/wiki/GreenIdeal


more info:

Green Timer Download Page:
http://code.google.com/p/greentimer/downloads/list

User Forum:
(Google) http://groups.google.com/group/greentimer
(douban) http://www.douban.com/group/greentimer


Rational:
http://www.gtdlife.cn/

A song of Chang-gan (The River Merchant's Wife: A Letter)

I love "Tang Shi" ( the Poems of Tang dynasty ) from Childhood. Among so many poets of Tang dynasty, I love Li Bai most. I woud do some translation work for this great poet, if I have time.
Today I saw a translation of "The River Merchant's Wife: A Letter", which is a famous poem of Li Bai. To my surprise, I cann't understand what is this poem saying. I planed to find the original Chinese version and at last I understand now: their are some misunderstand in the translation. It's funny, yes?

Here is a better version:
http://www.chinese-poems.com/lb1.html

Another translation:

A Trader's Wife
Li Bai

My forehead covered by my hair cut straight,
I played with flowers pluck'd before the gate.

On hobbyhorse you came upon the scene,
Around the well we played with plumes still green.

We lived, close neighbors on Riverside Lane,
Carefree and innocent, we children twain.

At fourteen years when I became your bride,
I'd often turn my bashful face aside.

Hanging my head, I'd look towards the wall,
A thousand times I'd not answer your call.

At fifteen years when I composed my brows,
To mix my dust with yours were my dear vows.
Rather than break faith, you declared you'd die.
Who knew I'd live alone in a tower high?

I was sixteen when you went far away,
Passing Three Gorges studded with rocks grey,

Where ships were wrecked when spring flood ran high,
Where gibbons' wails seemed coming from the sky.

Green moss now overgrows before our door,
Your footprints, hidden, can be seen no more.

Moss can't be swept away, so thick it grows,
And leaves fall early when the west wind blows.

The yellow butterflies in autumn pass
Two by two o'er our western garden grass.

This sight would break my heart and I'm afraid,
Sitting alone, my rosy cheeks would fade.

Oh, when are you to leave the Western land?
Do not forget to let me know beforehand!

I'll walk to meet you and not call it far
To go to Long Wind Sands or where you are.

长干行

作者: 李白

妾发初覆额，折花门前剧。 郎骑竹马来，绕床弄青梅。 同居长干里，两小无嫌猜。 十四为君妇，羞颜未尝开。 低头向暗壁，千唤不一回。 十五始展眉，愿同尘与灰。 常存抱柱信，岂上望夫台。 十六君远行，瞿塘滟�堆。 五月不可触，猿声天上哀。 门前迟行迹，一一生绿苔。 苔深不能扫，落叶秋风早。 八月蝴蝶黄，双飞西园草。 感此伤妾心，坐愁红颜老。 早晚下三巴，预将书报家。 相迎不道远，直至长风沙。

【按】全诗活泼动人，感情细腻，缠绵婉转；语言坦白，音节和谐；格调清新隽永，是诗歌艺术上品。尤其"青梅竹马""两小无猜"为千古佳语。 　　【长干】古金陵里巷名 　　【剧】游戏 　　【抱柱】《庄子・杂篇・盗跖》"尾生与女子期于梁下，女子不来，水至不去，抱梁柱而死" 　　【三巴】巴东、巴郡、巴西 　　【长风沙】在今安徽安庆东长江边上

Real China: Hukou System in China(ZT)

Hukou System in China
Hukou system is a society control mothod. It changed billions of people's life, in about 50 years.
The origin link of this article is: link: http://home.wangjianshuo.com/archives/20060610_hukou_system_in_china.htm, thanks to Jian shuo Wang.
Chinese translation of this article: http://home.wangjianshuo.com/cn/20080125_ceieaec.htm

Hukou System in China

It is not easy to realize how strange it is when you live in an existing system, but when you have the chance to talk with people from other countries, you realize the huge difference.

I enjoyed my talk with my great friends tonight, and we talked about the Resident Permit (Hokou) system in China. To be honest, I didn't feel it too strange before I explained it with my own mouth. After that, even I think it is not reasonable at all, and astonished to hear what came out of my own mouth. Let me explain it to you.

What is Hukou

Hukou is basically a resident permit given by the government of China. It is issued on family basis. Every family have a Hukou booklet that records information about the family members, including name, birth date, relationship with each other, marriage status (and with whom if married), address and your esmployer...

Everyone has a Hukou in China.

Hukou before 1980

Before 1980, Hukou is extremely important. People are required to stay at the small area they were born (where the Hukou is), and stay there until they die. They cannot move around. They can travel, but there is no access to job, public services, education, or even food in other places. It is just like visiting other places with a B-1 (business) type of visa - you can visit, but cannot work there (it is illegal), cannot go to school (not accepted), cannot go to hospital (without a hukou, you are not treated). For food, in those old days, you cannot buy food no matter how much money you have. You need to use Liangpiao (The currency for food) with money together to get food. Liangpiao is only issued by the government of the place your Hukou is registered. So basically, you can survive with the Liangpiao you get for some days, but not long (especially taken the consideration that Liangpiao issued by one province or city cannot be used in another province or city).

So basically, at that time, without Hukou, people cannot move. There are very few people move around in the country, but their status is practically the same as illegal immigrants in U.S.

To move Hukou from one place to other is very hard - just as hard as getting green card for U.S. It is even harder to move from rural area to city - basically, there are too types of Hukou, one is rural Hukou, and the other is city Hukou. To move from rural to rural is easier, but to move from rural to city is very hard - it takes years. Only in very few situations does the change happen: 1) You enter a university in city, or 2) You marriage someone in city. Both of the cases, you need to wait for a long period of time to get it. There is limited Hukou open every year, so you need to compete to get it.

Hukou after 1980

After the year of 1980, a lot of things change. In practice, Hukou is not enforced as strong as before. The starting point is that Liangpiao is not required to buy food - money along work. For work, there are still huge difference for people with a Hukou or without a Hukou (the same till today), but it is possible to move.

This made it possible for many immigrant workers to leave their land and go to cities to seek for labor-intensive work. Typical works are workers in texile factory, consitruction workers, and nannies. However, the education of their children is still a big problem. They cannot receive education as other children, so some places, they setup school only for people without Hukou (immigrant worker school). Personally, I feel it even bad than the old "black and white seperation" policy.

Today

Today, Hukou does not play that important role as before, but there are still a lot of difference. Here are some examples:

1) Medical Insurance. For example, people living in Shanghai without Shanghai Hukou are not covered by social medical insurance. If the person get ill, he/she needs to pay for it by him/herself. This is not a big deal though, since more and more commercial insurance can help on this.

2) Job. Many job only opens to people with Shanghai Hukou. This is some type of discrimination, but some employers have to do that because there are still difference by the regulation.

3) Safety. Guangzhou is an extreme case. Four years ago, when I visited Guangzhou, my friends told me to bring my national ID card with me at any time. Police may stop anyone at any time on the street to check the ID card. If they find the address of the ID card is not in Guangzhou, and the person don't have a temp resident permit, they have the right to detain the person and return him/her to their place of origin. This is the common practice in many cities. This regulation was abandoned as late as 2003, when a guy named Sun Zhigang was beaten to death during the detain period of time.

Hukou and Me

Hukou has a high impact for me. I didn't go to kindergarten in my whole life, since at the time I moved to city at the age of 5, I didn't get my Hukou yet. It took long time to get it, so the kindergarten refused to accept me. I stayed at home until I am 7 and got Hukou. If I didn't got Hukou at that time, the risk was, I could not even go to primary school. This is a real story.

From my primary school to the end of my high school (1982 - 1995), my Hukou is at Luoyang. When I entered Shanghai Jiaotong University, my Hukou was transferred temporarily to SJTU for four years. When I graduated, it was a critical period of time that I have to find a local high-tech job, and I was qualified for the limited number of open Hukou positions. The standards are high - you have to be in certain major, with good record, and hired by compaines in certain area. It works exactly as how immigration works in Canada or U.S. Back to my story, I obtained the Shanghai Hukou. Then I transferred my Hukou from the university to a place in Shanghai (I even don't know too clearly about what that place is). Only after I bought my own apartment three years later could I transfer my Hukou from that place to the address of my apartment. That is the long story. My current resident permit is at Shanghai, at my own apartment.

If I go to Beijing, I will have some trouble. According to the regulation, I need to obtain a temp resident permit in Beijing. The "temp resident permit" is a big step ahead from the original Hukou system, since at least, I can get something to proof I can legally stay in that city (v.s. previously there is no way to do that). However, it is still a very bad thing. People cannot help asking "Why I need to TEMPERARILY stay in my OWN country"?

Challenges it Brings

Although the current system is widely regarded as unfair and inhumane, I do see the challenge to remove this system. The benefits the government gives to people with different Hukou are so different, especially in city and village. I believe if it is abandoned, a short time chaos will happen - many people move from village to city, and from smaller city to larger cities. If it is not handled well, it will cause big problem. It is just the case like if all the borders in the world is opened and people can move freely from one country to the other over night, you can imagine what will happen.

How to solve this historical problem is a big challenge for this generation of people in China.

P.S. When we discussed about business, I said, in history, people in China don't move as frequent as in U.S., so the demand for selling and buying houses are not that big. People asks: "Why? Why people don't move". I said "Well. It is a long story to tell." You have seen the whole story here. Pretty long, isn't it? :-)

P.S.2. I drove to my friend's house in San Francisco tonight. It is 51 miles. It is hard to believe in China - to go to a place 82 km away for dinner and get back the same night? It is crazy.

Posted by Jian Shuo Wang at June 10, 2006 3:59 PM
Copyright: You are free to redistribute this work, as long as you keep this disclaimer and this link: http://home.wangjianshuo.com/archives/20060610_hukou_system_in_china.htm

Xi'an: the captial of accent China(1)

Their are two cities in China that everyone who came to China must not miss. First is BeiJing, and the second is Xi'an.
I lived in South China(ShenZhen), but I have the opportunity to visit Xi'an several times. A lot of photos are taken. So I would write some articles to interduce it.

1.West Centre street of Xi'an

2.The drum-tower in the West Center street

3. A Famous snack restaurant: Jia San Soul-filled Bread

2.The bell-tower at the Center of Xi'an

Who's Jin Yong(Louis Cha)?

Who's Jin Yong?

 [This article is mostly based on wikipedia]

 

1.         general interduction

Jin Yong (Chinese: 金庸; pinyin: Jīn Yōng; Cantonese Yale: Gàm Yùhng), born February 6, 1924, pen name of Louis Cha (traditional Chinese: 查良�; simplified Chinese: 查良镛; pinyin: Zhā Liángyōng), OBE, is one of the most influential modern Chinese-language novelists. Co-founder of the Hong Kong daily Ming Pao, whom he started in 1959, he was the paper's first editor-in-chief and held this position until 1993, when he retired.

Cha's fiction, which are of the wuxia genre, has a widespread following in Chinese-speaking areas, including Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia. His fifteen novels and short fiction composed between 1955 and 1972 earned him a reputation as one of the finest wuxia ("martial arts and chivalry") writer ever. He is currently the best-selling Chinese author alive; over 100 million copies of his works have been sold worldwide[1] (not including unknown number of bootleg copies)

Cha's works have been translated into Korean, English, Japanese, French, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Burmese and Thai and he has many fans abroad as well, thanks to the numerous adaptations of his works made into films, television series, and video games.

Asteroid 10930 Jin Yong (1998 CR2) is named after him.

 

2.         WuXia works of Jin Yong

 

   1. The Book and the Sword - T: ��恩仇� S: 书剑恩仇录 (first published on The New Evening Post in 1955)
   2. Sword Stained with Royal Blood - T: 碧血� S: 碧血剑 (first published on Hong Kong Commercial Daily in 1956)
   3. The Legend of the Condor Heroes - T: 射�英雄� S: 射雕英雄传 (first published on Hong Kong Commercial Daily in 1957)
   4. Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain - T: 雪山�狐 S: 雪山飞狐 (first installment appeared on the first issue of Ming Pao in 1959)
   5. The Return of the Condor Heroes - T: 神��� S: 神雕侠侣 (1959)
   6. Other Tales of the Flying Fox - T: �狐外� S: 飞狐外传 (1960)
   7. Swordswoman Riding West on White Horse T: 白��西� S: 白马啸西风 (first published on Ming Pao in 1961)
   8. Blade-dance of the Two Lovers T: ��刀 S: 鸳鸯刀 (first published on Ming Pao in 1961)
   9. Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre - T: 倚天屠�� S: 倚天屠龙记 (first published on Ming Pao in 1961)
  10. A Deadly Secret - T: �城� S: 连城诀 (first published on Southeast Asia Weekly 《�南�周刊》in 1963)
  11. Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils - T: 天�八部 S: 天龙八部 (1963)
  12. Ode to Gallantry - T: �客行 S: 侠客行 (1965)
  13. The Smiling, Proud Wanderer - 笑傲江湖 (first published on Ming Pao in 1967)
  14. The Deer and the Cauldron - T: 鹿鼎� S: 鹿鼎记 (1969-1972)
  15. Sword of the Yue Maiden - T: 越女� S: 越女剑 (1970)

After Jin Yong completed all his titles, it was discovered that the first characters of the first 14 titles can be joined together to form a couplet with 7 characters on each line:

Traditional Chinese:

�雪�天射白鹿
笑�神�倚碧�

Simplified Chinese:

飞雪连天射白鹿
笑书神侠倚碧鸳

Loose translation:

Shooting a white deer, snow flutters around the skies;
Smiling, [one] writes about the divine chivalrous one, leaning against bluish lovebirds (or lover)

3.         Jinology

 

The study of Jin Yong's work has spun off an individual area of study and discussion: Jinology. For years, readers and critics have written works discussing, debating and analyzing his fictional world of martial arts; amongst the most famous are by Jin Yong's close friend and famous Chinese sci-fi novelist, Ni Kuang, who has written series of criticism analyzing the various personalities in his books.

Despite Jin Yong's popularity, some of his novels were banned outside Hong Kong due to political reasons. A number of them were outlawed in the People's Republic of China in the 1970s as they were thought to be satires of Mao Zedong and the Cultural Revolution; others were banned in the Republic of China on Taiwan as they were thought to be in support of the Communist Party of China. None of these bans exists today, and Jin Yong's complete collection has been published multiple times in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Mainland China. Many politicians on both sides of the Straits are known to be readers of his works; Deng Xiaoping, for example, was himself a well-known reader.

In late 2004, the People's Education Publishing House (人民教育出版社) of the People's Republic of China sparked off controversy by including an excerpt from Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils (天龙八部) in a new senior high school Chinese textbook. While some praised the inclusion of popular literature, others feared that the violence and unrealistic martial arts described in Jin Yong's work were unsuitable for high school students. At about the same time, Singapore's Ministry of Education announced a similar move for Chinese-learning students at secondary and junior college levels.

Cha has also been made an honorary professor by Peking University, Zhejiang University, Nankai University, Soochow University, Huaqiao University, National Tsing Hua University, Hong Kong University (Department of Chinese Studies), the University of British Columbia, and Sichuan University, as well as an honorary doctor by Hong Kong University (Department of Social Science), Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the Open University of Hong Kong, the University of British Columbia, Soka University and the University of Cambridge. He is also an Honorary Fellow of St Antony's College, Oxford and Robinson College, Cambridge, and Wynflete Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford.

When receiving his honorary doctorate at the University of Cambridge, Cha expressed a wish to be a full-time student at Cambridge for 4 years to attain a non-honorary doctorate.
As of June 2007, Cha is still studying for his PhD in Oriental Studies (Chinese History) at St. John's College, Cambridge.

4.         Characters in his novels

 

The "Five Supreme" martial artists (五�)

One of the most successful portrayal of characters in Jin Yong's works is the creation of the "Five Supreme" martial art practitioners in the Condor Heroes series. The quintet, which originally comprised Huang Yaoshi ("�邪"���) ("East Heretic"), Ouyang Feng of the West ("西毒"���) ("West Venom"), Duan Zhixing ("南帝"段智�) ("South Emperor"), Hong Qigong ("北丐"洪七公) ("North Beggar") and Wang Chongyang ("中神通"王重�) ("Central Divinity") in Condor Heroes after the first Duel of Hua Shan (�山��), proved to be both a source of controversies and a scene of drama as the story proceed through Condor Heroes into The Return of the Condor Heroes. The composition of the quintet was eventually updated to comprise Huang Yaoshi ("�邪"���) ("East Heretic"), Yang Guo ("西狂"��) ("West Obsession"), Yideng the Monk ("南僧"一�) ("South Monk"), Guo Jing ("北�"郭靖) ("North Hero") and Zhou Botong ("中�童"周伯通) ("Central Mischief").

Wang Chongyang (王重�) who was the winner of the Hua Shan duel was a true historical Taoist monk who founded the Quanzhen Sect of Taoism in the Song Dynasty to whom Jin Yong paid the highest accolade in being the winner of the champions in the Five Supremes who taught generations of heroes to follow, and in recognition of Taoism teachings in which many variants of the martial arts terminology in his novels have been derived from, in namesake if not in practice.

Dugu Qiu Bai (�孤求�)

Dugu Qiu Bai was given the nickname "Sword Devil" to reflect his skill and devotion in swordsmanship. Dugu Qiubai's surname, �孤, is a last name from a tribe in northern China. As individual words, the word �means single, and 孤 means alone. His name, 求�, means "seeking defeat". It is generally assumed that he gave this name to himself in his later years, when he could find no one to best him.

 

5.         Patriotism, Jiang Hu and development on Hero-ism

 

Chinese nationalism or patriotism is a strong theme in Jin Yong's work. Throughout his books, Jin Yong places emphasis on the idea of Han Chinese self-determination and identity, and many of his novels are set in time periods when China proper was occupied or under the threat of occupation by northern peoples such as Khitans, Jurchens, Mongols, or Manchus. However, Jin Yong gradually evolved Chinese nationalism into an inclusionist concept which encompasses all present-day non-Han minorities. Jin Yong himself expresses a fierce admiration for positive traits of non-Han Chinese people, like the Mongols and Manchus. In The Legend of the Condor Heroes, for example, he casts Genghis Khan and his sons as capable and intelligent military leaders against the corrupt and ineffective bureaucrats of the Han Chinese Song Dynasty.

Jin Yong's books references ranging from Traditional Chinese Medicine, acupuncture, wushu, music, calligraphy, weiqi, tea culture, philosophical thoughts like Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, and imperial Chinese history. Historical figures often intermingle with fictional ones, making it difficult for the layperson to distinguish which is which ― a feature that attests to the believability of his characters.

His works show a great amount of respect and approval for traditional Chinese values, especially Confucian ideals such as the proper relationship between empire and subject, father and son, elder brother and younger brother, and (particularly strongly, due to the wuxia nature of his novels), between master and disciple, and fellow disciples. However, he also questions the validity of these values in the face of a modern society, such as ostracism experienced by his two main characters ― Yang Guo's romantic relationship with his martial arts master Xiaolongnü (which was considered highly improper) in The Return of the Condor Heroes. Jin Yong also places a great amount of emphasis on traditional values such as face and honour.

Jin Yong breaks all the rules down in his final work The Deer and the Cauldron, where Wei Xiaobao is a bastard brothel boy who is greedy, lazy, and utterly disdainful of traditional rules of propriety. In his fourteen other serials, the protagonists or the heroes were explored meticulously in various aspects of their relationships with their masters, their immediate kins and relatives, and with their suitors or spouses. With the exception of Wei XiaoBao, all the heroes have acquired and attained the zenith in martial arts, most would be epitome or embodiment of the traditional Chinese values in words or deeds, i.e. virtuous, honourable, respectable, gentlemenly, responsible, patriotic and so forth.

In The Deer and the Cauldron, Cha intentionally created an anticlimax and an anti-Hero in Wei Xiaobao who possesses none of the desirable traditional values and no knowledge in any form of martial arts, and depends on a protective vest made of alloy to absorb full-frontal attack when in trouble, and a knife that can cut through anything. Wei was a street wise womanising weasel in short, with no admirable qualities whatsoever. One of Cha's contemporaneous fiction writer Ngai Hong or Ni Kuang wrote a connected critique to all of Cha work and concluded that Cha culminated his work with The Deer and the Cauldron as a satire to his earlier work, and a reminder to the readers for a reality check.

6.         Jin Yong in English

 

In the last few years, Jin Yong's novels have been translated into English. The books currently available are:

    * The Book and the Sword (��恩仇�) - published by Oxford University Press, translated by Graham Earnshaw, edited by John Minford and Rachel May
    * The Deer and the Cauldron (鹿鼎�) (in three volumes) - published by Oxford University Press, translated by John Minford
    * The Legend of the Condor Heroes (射�英雄�) - forthcoming from John Minford and Oxford University Press (This project was abandoned a few years ago.)
    * Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain (雪山�狐) - published by the China University Press, translated by Olivia Mok

Other works available in English include:

    * Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre (倚天屠��) - in comic book form by Wing Shing Ma, published by ComicsOne
    * The Legendary Couple (神���) - in comic book form by Tony Wong, published by ComicsOne
    * Laughing in the Wind (笑傲江湖) - DVD collection of the 2001 CCTV series with English subtitles released in the United States.

 

You can find some translation of his works by his fans in following website:

1:wuxiaworld.org

Smiling Proud Wanderer

The Legendary Siblings

Legend Of The Condor Heroes - Jin Yong

2:spcnet.tv

Yitian Sword, Tulong Saber Book 4

Smiling Proud Wanderer Chapter 36-40

Legendary Siblings

3: Sword of the Yueh Maiden

4: The Book And The Sword

4: The Deer and the Cauldron.

 

7.         Adaptations

 

There are more than sixty TV series and films adapted from Jin Yong's novel. Dozens of role-playing games are based on Jin Yong's novels, a notable example of which is Heroes of Jin Yong (金庸群��), which was based on the major characters in Jin Yong's novels.

china history chronicle

china history chronicle:

Chronicle	Great Classic Literature and Philosophy
People's Repulic of China (1949 - )	Mao ZeDong, Deng XiaoPing, Louis Cha
Repulic of China (1911 - 1949)	Jiang JieShi, Lu Xun
Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911)	The Most Famous Chinese Classic Novel: A Dream of Red Mansions
Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644)	Great Classic Novel: Journey to the West Historical Literature: Three Kingdoms
Yuan Dynasty (1279 - 1368)	Yuan Poems
Jin Dynasty (1115 - 1234)
Liao Dynasty (907 - 1125)
Song Dynasty (960 - 1279) ---- Southern Song Dynasty (1127 - 1279) ---- Northern Song Dynasty (960 - 1127)	Song Proses Great Classic Novel: Water Margin, or Outlaws of Margin people: li QingZhao, XinQiJi, Su Dongpo
Five Dynasties (907 - 960)
Tang Dynasty (618 - 907)	Tang Poems people: li bai, Du Fu
Sui Dynasty (581 - 618)
Northern and Southern Dynasties (386 - 581)
Jin Dynasty (265 - 420)
Three Kingdoms (220 - 280)	Zhuge Liang, Guan Yu, Cao Cao
Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD) ---- Eastern Han (25 - 220) ---- Western Han (206 BC - 23 AD)	Wu Emporor, Sima Qian, Su Wu, Zhang Qian
Qin Dynasty (221 BC - 206 BC)	<=== 1st Emperior who united China Qin Shi Huang
Zhou Dynasty (11th BC - 221 BC) ---- E. Zhou Dynasty (770 BC - 221 BC) ---- W. Zhou Dynasty (1066 BC - 711 BC) Shang Dynasty (16th BC - 1066 BC) Xia Dynasty (21st BC - 16th century BC)	Pre-Qin Great Philosophers Laozi Sunzi, and his The Art of War Confucius, and his Analects, The Great Learning, Doctrine of the Mean Mencius
Prehistoric Times (2.1 million years ago - 21st century BC)

Chinese, China Today :spring festival

original source:http://www.chinesecultureonline.org/today.jsp?catName=festival&centerName=spring%20festival

Chinese Spring Festival

source: China.org.cn

The Spring Festival is the most important festival for the Chinese people and is when all family members get together, just like Christmas in the West. All people living away from home go back, becoming the busiest time for transportation systems of about half a month from the Spring Festival. Airports, railway stations and long-distance bus stations are crowded with home returnees. The Spring Festival falls on the 1st day of the 1st lunar month, often one month later than the Gregorian calendar. It originated in the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600 BC-c. 1100 BC) from the people's sacrifice to gods and ancestors at the end of an old year and the beginning of a new one. Strictly speaking, the Spring Festival starts every year in the early days of the 12th lunar month and will last till the mid 1st lunar month of the next year. Of them, the most important days are Spring Festival Eve and the first three days. The Chinese government now stipulates people have seven days off for the Chinese Lunar New Year. Many customs accompany the Spring Festival. Some are still followed today, but others have weakened. On the 8th day of the 12th lunar month, many families make laba porridge, a delicious kind of porridge made with glutinous rice, millet, seeds of Job's tears, jujube berries, lotus seeds, beans, longan and gingko. The 23rd day of the 12th lunar month is called Preliminary Eve. At this time, people offer sacrifice to the kitchen god. Now however, most families make delicious food to enjoy themselves. After the Preliminary Eve, people begin preparing for the coming New Year. This is called "Seeing the New Year in". Store owners are busy then as everybody goes out to purchase necessities for the New Year. Materials not only include edible oil, rice, flour, chicken, duck, fish and meat, but also fruit, candies and kinds of nuts. What's more, various decorations, new clothes and shoes for the children as well as gifts for the elderly, friends and relatives, are all on the list of purchasing. Before the New Year comes, the people completely clean the indoors and outdoors of their homes as well as their clothes, bedclothes and all their utensils. Then people begin decorating their clean rooms featuring an atmosphere of rejoicing and festivity. All the door panels will be pasted with Spring Festival couplets, highlighting Chinese calligraphy with black characters on red paper. The content varies from house owners' wishes for a bright future to good luck for the New Year. Also, pictures of the god of doors and wealth will be posted on front doors to ward off evil spirits and welcome peace and abundance. The Chinese character "fu" (meaning blessing or happiness) is a must. The character put on paper can be pasted normally or upside down, for in Chinese the "reversed fu" is homophonic with "fu comes", both being pronounced as "fudaole." What's more, two big red lanterns can be raised on both sides of the front door. Red paper-cuttings can be seen on window glass and brightly colored New Year paintings with auspicious meanings may be put on the wall. People attach great importance to Spring Festival Eve. At that time, all family members eat dinner together. The meal is more luxurious than usual. Dishes such as chicken, fish and bean curd cannot be excluded, for in Chinese, their pronunciations, respectively "ji", "yu" and "doufu," mean auspiciousness, abundance and richness. After the dinner, the whole family will sit together, chatting and watching TV. In recent years, the Spring Festival party broadcast on China Central Television Station (CCTV) is essential entertainment for the Chinese both at home and abroad. According to custom, each family will stay up to see the New Year in. Waking up on New Year, everybody dresses up. First they extend greetings to their parents. Then each child will get money as a New Year gift, wrapped up in red paper. People in northern China will eat jiaozi, or dumplings, for breakfast, as they think "jiaozi" in sound means "bidding farewell to the old and ushering in the new". Also, the shape of the dumpling is like gold ingot from ancient China. So people eat them and wish for money and treasure. Southern Chinese eat niangao (New Year cake made of glutinous rice flour) on this occasion, because as a homophone, niangao means "higher and higher, one year after another." The first five days after the Spring Festival are a good time for relatives, friends, and classmates as well as colleagues to exchange greetings, gifts and chat leisurely. Burning fireworks was once the most typical custom on the Spring Festival. People thought the spluttering sound could help drive away evil spirits. However, such an activity was completely or partially forbidden in big cities once the government took security, noise and pollution factors into consideration. As a replacement, some buy tapes with firecracker sounds to listen to, some break little balloons to get the sound too, while others buy firecracker handicrafts to hang in the living room. The lively atmosphere not only fills every household, but permeates to streets and lanes. A series of activities such as lion dancing, dragon lantern dancing, lantern festivals and temple fairs will be held for days. The Spring Festival then comes to an end when the Lantern Festival is finished. China has 56 ethnic groups. Minorities celebrate their Spring Festival almost the same day as the Han people, and they have different customs.

China New Year - Spring Festival

Do you know, which is the most important festival in China?
Yes, you may known the answer: Spring Festival(春节, chun1 jie2), you can call it Chinese New Year also.
You may kown it, cause the bbc may told you:
Snow delays Chinese return home for Spring Festival by Steph Ball
China has been left reeling this week, struggling to cope with the deluge of snow and rain which has hit the length and breadth of the country. The snow has blighted the journey for millions as they return home to celebrate the "Spring Festival"...

In Spring Festival, when people meet, they will say "gong xi fa cai" to each other(恭喜发财, gong1 xi2 fa1 cai 2, which means: you will be happy, for you will get lots of money! It's funny, yes?)
In Chinese, "get lots of money" is "发"(fa1), which means flower is openning too.
So that is why I sent you the picture above.
The flowing is bloomimg. The metaphor is a best wishes for you: Happy new year! You will be rich!

Fwd: 看到的人都��

��特�的花ㄧ定要寄�你们， 希望大家在未�的日子都走好� �就是仙人掌 (cactus)�花 !!

Do you know, which is the most important festival in China?
Yes, you may known the answer: Spring Festival(春节, chun1 jie2), you can call it Chinese New Year also.
You may kown it, cause the BBC may told you:Snow delays Chinese return home for Spring Festival by Steph Ball
China has been left reeling this week, struggling to cope with the deluge of snow and rain which has hit the length and breadth of the country. The snow has blighted the journey for millions as they return home to celebrate the "Spring Festival"...

I will tell you why millions of people would be blighted next day.
In Spring Festival, when people meet, they will say "gong xi fa cai" to each other(恭喜发财, gong1 xi2 fa1 cai 2, which means: you will be happy, for you will get lots of money! It's funny, yes?)
In Chinese, "get lots of money" is "发"(fa1), which means flower is openning too.
So that is why I sent you the picture above.
The flowing is bloomimg. The metaphor is a best wishes for you: Happy new year! You will be rich!

What is China, moon and flower?

Their is a famous Chinese saying:
the Moon in the water, and the flower in the mirror
(in Chinese:镜花水月，pingyin:jing4 hua1 shui3 yue4）
Sounds nice?
But it's use to description the kind of things that looks nice, but not true; or the things that you have try hardly to get, but false at last.
Not a good word, right? But don't you think that it's a beautiful word?
Actually, this word is first appeared in Chinese Buddhism books. The Buddha told us that everything is not exist. Everything you are longing for, would destroy and disppare; and at last, youself will be dead and disppared too.
So, it's a sad and beautiful world.
All the Chinese Articles are like these: saddly,but beautifully.
If you understand it, you can understand China.
This why I named my blog: China, moon and flower.

I living in China, Shenzhen. Shenzhen is a beautiful city in South China, lying next to HongKong. As the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games come closer and closer, I find that lots of Foreigners show great interest at my country. What is more, I find that their are so many misunderstand around my country. So, I decided to write this blog, to interduce China to so many friends in other countries.
My English is not so well. Writing articles in English is hard to me, but I'll try my best. If you find any problems in the article, tell me please.
And the most important is: if you have any problem in China, tell me at once, I'll write the answer in my blog.