A Glimpse of Chinese Culture chapter1-8.docVIP

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 CulturePast 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