ElaineR

The Top 10 Chinese Masterpiece Paintings

Jul 252010

The Top 10 Chinese Masterpiece Chinese Paintings

Chinese paintings use ink, brush and colour pigment to draw on silk or rice paper. This is very different to the Western paintings.

During the Beijing Olympics ceremonies in 2008, you probably have seen the breath-taking scenes of opening a scroll of pictures. I have no doubt it was inspired by the traditional Chinese paintings and calligraphies. Some of the top 10 famous Chinese Paintings below are indeed big but with delicate details.

The Top 10 famous Chinese Paintings below are selected by professionals in China and are officially recognized by the Chinese government. Below is a snapshot of what they look like:

Goddess Luo Rhapsody 洛神赋

Artist: Kǎizhī顾恺之 (344-405 A.D)

Luo Shen Poem 洛神赋was written by the famous poet and calligrapher Cao Zhi 曹植during 192-232 A.D. Son of the famous general and later King of Wei (one of the 3 small countries before China was united) Cao Cao 曹操, Cao Zhi was a renowned poet at his time.

In the Luo Shen Poem, Cao Zhi described his love for the Goddess (Shen) from the river Luo – how beautiful she was and how frustrated that his love for her could not be fulfilled since she’s not from this earth. It was believed that Cao Zhi was showing his struggles in a relationship with a married woman in the poem.

The romance of this love beyond reach was captured by the painter Gù Kǎizhī.

Pace of Emperor步辇图

Artist: Yan Liben阎立本 (601～673A.D.)

The painting was based on a historical fact about the marriage between Princess Wen Cheng in China to the King of Tibet. Sitting in the Emperor’s carriage was the father of Princess Wen Cheng Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty.

The story goes that there were 5 countries who proposed to Emperor Taizong wanting to marry his beautiful daughter. In order not to upset anyone, Emperor Taizong requested all the ambassadors who came to propose to sit in a test. In the end, it was Tibet who won. So Princess Wen Cheng then moved to Tibet and became their queen. The cross-culture marriage started even then!

When Princess Wen Cheng moved to Tibet, her dowry included Buddha statues, jade and gold jewelleries, 36 classic rolls of books, different types of cooking ingredients, brocade fabrics, 300 books about god and fate, right and wrong, 60 books about manufacturing and engineering, 100 Chinese medicine recipes, 4 types of medical books, 5 types of medical treatment methods, 6 types of medical machines and many different types of seeds. It was a big troupe.

Beautiful Ladies in the Tang Palace 唐宫仕女图
Artist: Zhang Xuan张萱 & Zhou Fang 周昉 (around 7l3～741 A.D.)

Listed in the Top 10 Famous Chinese Paintings are a series of paintings of beautiful women by 2 painters. Painting beautiful women had a long history in China. These series of paintings were the portraits of the beautiful women who are from the Royalties in the Tang Dynasty. From their beautiful faces, readers can have some indications of their life. Although wearing very beautiful clothes, some of them had no smiles. Also, “Rounded and plump” was the beauty standard in Tang Dynasty. It’s clearly portrayed in these pictures (even although Westerners may not necessarily agree!).

Five Oxen 五牛图
Painter: Han Huang 韩滉 (723～787 A.D.)

An oxen is a very important symbolism of energy and hard work in the farming life of whole of China. The 5 cattles portrayed here have different demeanour. It had been a popular private collection item for years before the Chinese National Museum got a chance to buy it and became part of their collections. When China celebrated their 60^th National Day anniversary, they produced gold coins based on these 5 oxen.

Han Xizai Banquet 韩熙载夜宴图
Painter: Gu Hong Zhong顾闳中 (910-980 A.D.)

Han Hee-set was a senior official at the Tang Dynasty. He was notorious for his debauched parties and life style. From the surface of indulgence and excessiveness, sadness was showed in people’s faces.

The Grand Territory千里江山图
Painter: Wang Ximeng王希孟

When the painter finished this painting, the artist was only 19. It was immediately recognized as a masterpiece. Unfortunately he died not long after.

Qingming Riveside清明上河图
Painter: Zhang Zeduan 张择端 (around 1101-1125 A.D.)

The painting portrays activities by the banks of River Bian汴 during the 12^th Century China.

The painting is huge, over 5m long and portrayed more than 500 characters with different clothes and different gestures.

River Bian was an important transportation channel. By the 2 sides of the river, there were many commercial activities, which were portrayed in amazing details in the painting.

Spring Dwell in Mountain 富春山居图
Painter: Huang Gongwang黄公望 (1269—1354 A.D.)

The inspiration of this painting was taken from Fu Chun River in Jijiang. – another renowned painting on mountain and river.

One collector loved this painting so much that before he died he ordered it to be burned and be buried with him. Luckily, his niece tried to rescue. But it was damaged and broken into 2 parts.

During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Emperor Qianlong was presented with 2 copies of the painting – one fake, one real. But he took the fake one as real and even stamped the royal zeal on it. It was investigated later by professionals and proven that the one that Emperor Qianlong ignored was actually the real one.

The painting is now collected by Jijiang Museum.

Palace in Early Spring汉宫春晓图
Painter: Qiu Ying仇英 (1498-1552)

A picture to portrait the different activities in early Spring morning inside the Palace including doing make-up, watering the plants, gardening, feeding birds, singing and dancing, playing chess, reading, appreciating paintings, drawing, playing with children, delivering food etc.

One Hundred Horses百骏图
Painter: Lang Shih-ning (Giuseppe Castiglione, 1688-1766)

Giuseppe Castiglione was a missionary, who was a member of the Society of Jesus. He went to live in China and called himself Lang Shih-ning while he was there. Giuseppe served as an artist in the court.

Trained as an artist in Italy, Giuseppe combined the techniques of Chinese and Western painting and created a truly East meets West style.

Giuseppe spent over 50 years in China and died there.

The painting is now collected by New York Metropolitan Museum.

Sources:

http://www.zhnews.net/html/20100329/163557,213855.html

http://baike.baidu.com/view/1158321.htm#1

Review of Hostellerie du Val de Sault

Food & Travel 6 Responses »

Jul 112010

Picking France as a holiday destination can be expensive. From my experience, the best value you can get without sacrifising quality too much is to stay in Logis (pronounciation similar to “lo shi” in French), an independently run lodging promoted and structured under an organisation called Logis de France in the beginning. The brand has since expanded outside France and also have logis in Belgium, Germany, Italy and Luxembourg. Therefore, it’s now called Logis Hotels instead of Logis de France. There are different gradings in terms of the rooms and the food. But you can always get good genuine French cooking from logis. That’s what you will expect from logis and also what they try to achieve.

I have stayed in different logis in France with different gradings and with many different interesting stories. They have recently introduced a new category called The Logis d’Exception. From the surface of it, you know it should be exceptional. There’s only one in Provence region called Hostellerie du Val de Sault, which I tried last month. I am going to review it from my experience.

Booking
You can book through Logis Hotels web-site or call their Paris office, who will help you call the logis and book for you. The Paris office can handle English speaking very well. So it’s quite convenient to hand things over to them. But I chose a more challenging way which is to contact the hotel directly through email, thinking that it’s an exceptional hotel, their English should be ok. But I forgot, it’s still a logis, run mostly by French families and they are not chain hotels. This is the beauty of it, really. With my sporadic French vocabulory and their minimal English, there were some misunderstandings in terms of when the deposit would be charged. Calling them was no use. It only made the situation worse. We just set off with confidence that things would be fine.

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Finding Hostellerie du Val de Sault
It’s not too difficult to find the logis. Once you arrive the village centre of Sault, you will see signage all the way through. It’s only about 5 minutes’ drive from the Sault centre.

Reception
Upon arriving, all anxiety disappeared. Flanked by poppies and lavenders and then tall trees, we were taken into a beautiful land in the middle of a forest. Dotted with small charasteristic houses, Hostellerie du Val de Sault appeared in front of our eyes. Not typical chain hotel as it is, you won’t see any bell boys, doorman or concierge manager. It’s complete tranquility. We spotted a small house in the front of the huge area. There’s a sign out there saying “Reception”. We know where to go. Stepping in, we were welcomed with a big grin from Patrick, who’s eager to leave as it’s almost 5. Provencal life style! But Patrick was truly helpful and so relaxed.

Apart from Patrick, there’s also Pierre the Peacock welcoming us. We called him Pierre because he’s French!

Pierre the Peacock at Hostellerie du Val de Sault

Rooms
Our rooms are not in the main complex. They are situated about 2 minutes’ drive from the main hotel. It’s called Villa Yvette, where the owner lives. Yes, we were staying in the owner’s house! It’s a big house. Half of it was rented out to guests. It has got 3 en-suite rooms with a private swimming pool and it’s a lot cheaper than the rooms in the main hotel. We paid €125/person/day including B&B+dinner while the rooms in the main hotel would have cost €165. That’s the main reason we chose Villa Yvette.

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Villa Yvette at Hostellerie du Val de Sault

It was such a charming villa with view open to a valley and poppy fields.

View outside Villa Yvette at Hostellerie du Val de Sault

Apart from a very minor plumbing problem in the bath (typical of France especially when you are in the rural area), everything was pristine and we were very pleased.

Food
All Logis d’Exception should have at least the standard of 3 pots or Table of Distinction,which is equal to Michilin standard restaurant. Hestellerie du val de Sault has the rating of Table of Distintion and it did not disappoint us. The chef Yves Gattechaut lived up to the expectation of a Michilin starred restaurant and logis. It’s simple, elegant using lots of local ingredients. I always wonder how would you describe French food. One of my friends summed up in a brilliant way “A French chef will try to release the geniune favour from the food itself.” That’s why you don’t see lots of curry or spices in French food. And Yves’ cooking was exactly like that. From a simple home cured meat from local lambs to tomato mousse with local herbs, it’s just so good.

Friendliness
The hotel has been running by Yves Gattechaut for 17 years. Yves’ daughter Eva was a darling. Her no-pressure genuine hospitality made you feel so welcomed and well attended. The wine she recommended with a very resonable price was excellent. Hurah to Eva !

Surrounding Areas
There are so much to explore near Sault. Apart from hunting for lavender fields in the summer, the famous characteristic villages Gordes and Rousillon are only about 30-40 mins’ drive away. Of course, Hostellerie du val de Sault has its own spa, indoor pool and walking trails in the forest. All you need is time.

Overall, I give a 8/10 to Hostellerie du val de Sault. The 2 points are to do with the French plumbing problem.

Hope you have a pleasant stay.

Where to see Lavender in Provence?

Life Philosophy 13 Responses »

Jul 042010

Starting from mid-Jun, the lavender plants will start to bloom in many parts of Provence, France. It will last until mid August, when farmers start to harvest the lavender and make them into all different types of scented products we love today: lavender oil, lavender soap, lavender lotion, lavender herbs, you name it.

But Provence is very big. Where exactly can we see the lavender fields (Champs de Lavande in French – meaning lines and lines of lavender)? I have just been back from a lavender hunting trip and can share some of my experience.

The only thing I could find from the search engine was an image which shows patches of lavender fields in Provence area. I used the map and a bit of my own experience in the area since it’s my third time and managed to find some beautiful Champs de Lavande in the early stages of the blooming season.

Thanks to the help of a French Tourism Office, I got this map of Routes de Lavande (the routes of Lavender), which I am going to share with you and anyone who are passionate about Provence. The map shows the routes of where the lavender fields are and I found it very useful especially if you are driving a car. You can click to enlarge.

Routes_of_Lavender_Provence

We stayed in Sault en-Provence (circled white above). Sault is in high altitude. From the village centre viewing point, you can have a panoramic view of many fields of Lavender down in the valley especially in the peak season of July. From here, it’s only about 30-40 minutes drive to the popular villages of Gordes and Roussillon. If you take a small road from Sault (D943 and then D230) and pass St-Saturnin-les-Apt before going to Gordes or Roussillon, you will be able to catch a lot of lavender fields along the way already. This is not shown exactly on the map above.

Gordes, a Renassiance town and Roussillon, a village built on red earth are definitely worth visitng by the way.

From Sault, take D950 to Banon, you will be able to see some beautiful lavender fields and the bonus French poppy fields as you can see from the photos below.

Another wonderful route to see Lavender is on the way to and out of Valensole (circled white in the map above) through D15 and D6. On these roads, you will see the lavender fields which are so big that you cannot see where they end. With the summer breeze, comes the wonderful smell of lavender. There is no other place on earth you will want to be in.

Lavender hunting in Provence is fun and the area is so big. If you follow the map above and some of my tips, you’ve got to bump into a few at least. Do not need to be bothered with joining the large group lavender tours. Just hire a car and do your own adventure. You have all the time you need and take as many pictures as you want. Although, there’s a difference between the West and the East about taking pictures in traveling as I pointed it out in my other post Some interesting cutural differences between East and West with the following picture:

Lavandin
One thing I have learnt from this trip isthat there’s a separate species very similar to lavender called lavandin. So I was told that lavandin was a hybrid species in the sage family and it could produce 4 times more oil than lavender. We bumped into a shop in Ste-Croix de-Verdon on the west edge of lake Ste-Croix (Lac de Ste-Croix), which sold mainly lavandin products. I took a photograph of one of the products, which shows what lavandin is like. The buds are bigger than lavender’s. Lavender in French is lavande and this hybrid species is called lavandin.

Hope you will like Provence as much as I like it. Click here to see more photos of lavender in Provence. The pictures were taken in mid-June, when the lavender season had just started. Imagine, what will it be like when it’s in peak season? I can’t wait to revisit my beloved Provence again.

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Steak Tartare

Food & Travel 3 Responses »

Jul 022010

I just came back from a trip to Provence and had the most wonderful steak tartare I’ve ever had. Curious as usual, I was very eager to find out how did the name tartare come from. What does it mean? Is steak tartare originated from France? Is tartare a French word?

First, the meaning of steak tartare. A quick seach in Google, most definition sites give it a meaning of raw finely chopped beef served with onion etc. etc. I was convinced that the term “steak tartare” was used to refer to this type of serving of beef or other raw meat and tartare does not mean raw. After some more digging, most sources including Wikipedia refer to the origin of the word tartare to the nomadic Tatar (or Tartar) people, who are Turkic (a broad ethenic group including Turks and many Central and Asian people) from Northeast of Mongolia. The story goes that when Tatar people invaded Europe, for the convenience sake, they often ate raw meat.

There’s also another belief that tatar later on became tartar because it took on a Greek word Tartarus, meaning hell. Some source said that it negatively refered to the Tatar invasion.

If you go to the French Wikipedia site and search for tartare. Then use Google translation to English, you will see that one entry of tartare was translated to Tartarus.

No matter what, I believe that the origin of steak tartare came from the Tatar race, who ate raw meat, not because it was served with tartare sauce in the beginning as some sources quoted.

The earliest description of the steak tartare is in 1875 according to the French Wikipedia source.

Today, seasoning ingredients used include salt, pepper, capers, parsley and onion finely chopped with a dash of Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco all linked with a raw egg yolk and good quality olive oil. Oh, the meat, it was sirloin I had. Fresh of course.

I was lucky to try the steak tartare in a logis in Menton (Provence) recently served with traditional mouth-watering chips. I took a video. The quality is not particularly good. But you get an idea. Très bon.

Making Steak Tartare in a logis in Menton, Provence, part 1 of 3
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Making Steak Tartare in a logis in Menton, Provence, part 2 of 3
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Making Steak Tartare in a logis in Menton, Provence, part 3 of 3
[youtube]73x_mLwqY9w[/youtube]

Some interesting cutural differences between East and West

Arts & Culture 5 Responses »

Jun 272010

Understanding of Chinese/Asian culture vs. Western…

This is an interesting resesarch. Many people know the fundamental cultural differences between the East and the West but fail to articulate. I was forwarded this brilliant visual presentation of Asian culture vs. Western culture. Since Chinese is a dominate race in Asia, I must say that this reflects more Chinese culture vs. Western culture and gives a generalization of the Asian culture, which also comprises Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Malay etc. There are some similarities among other Asian cultures due to the social make-up and the influence to each other because of the proximity. But each of them has its own distinct characteristics.

As someone (a Chinese) who’s married to a Westerner, I cannot agree more with the clear observation presented in this Chinese culture vs. Western culture visulization.

According to my source, these icons were designed by Liu Young who was born in China and educated in Germany. See how much you agree with this.

Blue –> Westerner Red –> Asian/Chinese
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[View with PicLens]

Opinion

Contacts

Anger

Punctuality

Queue when waiting

Sundays on the street

Party

In the restaurant

Stomach ache

TOP OF PAGE

Traveling

Definition of beauty

Handling of problems

Three meals a day

Transportation

Elderly in day to day life

Shower Timing

Moods and weather

The boss

What’s trendy

The child

Way of life

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Lexiaguo (Luoxiagou) – where is it in China?

Food & Travel 30 Responses »

May 292010

Below is the information forwarded to me recently. It’s about a very beautiful place in China. It’s called Lexiaguo. Does Lexiaguo exist? The pictures look stunning. Since I used to travel to China a lot and have never heard of this place, I did some research myself. Original text from the forwarded email:

Lexiaguo – southwest of Kunming in Yunnan, China
It is located in the south-western part of Kunming , 2600 ft. above sea level, a remote area. Because of its lack of infrastructure and inadequate transportation and lodging, most travel agencies would not think of going there. But for those who have seen the pictures of the Red land, no one can resist being attracted to its beautiful scenery. This extra-ordinary reddish brown soil is a result of oxidized iron (and various other oxidized metallic minerals). In these mountains and hills every inch of land is cultivated to the maximum causing unwanted damage to the place through erosion that’s why returning to forestry is being advocated. Because each family owns different sizes and shapes of land and each plant its own preference of crops, this beautiful tableau is produced. During harvest time, the soil is turned over and exposes this unusually red color. In September, white-coloured oil flowers are in bloom on the whole mountain. It is a pity they cover up the beautiful red color. The best time for sightseeing tour is middle of November. Different seasons, different time, different sunlight produce different colors.

I later found out that the wider known name of this place is called Dongchuan Red Land (东川红土地) in Kunming, Yunnan. Lexiaguo mentioned in the forwarded email is a small village in the Dongchuan Red Land and the correct pinyin spelling should be Luo Xia Gou or La Xia Gou (落霞沟), literally means a ditch of fallen red colours since it’s situated between two mountains on both sides. Luoxiagou is more widely used. If you type La or Luo on the keyboard with Chinese language setting, you get the option of the same Chinese character. Try typing in Dongchuan Red Land in Google images, you will see many more breath-taking photos. I also found a map with the name of the small villages around that area. I have tried to collage different maps from Google to give everyone an idea of Kunming of Yunnan in relation to Dongchuan and Xintianxiang, where the Dongchuan Red Land fields are located. The map on the left shows location of different villages. You can click to enlarge.

All the images on the forwarded email are scenes from different villages in the Dongchuan Red Land area in Kunming. Below are a few images from

Luoxiagou (Lexiaguo).

lexiaguo_luoxiagou_落霞沟5-jpg-670x519

lexiaguo_luoxiagou_落霞沟3-jpg-670x363 Dongchuan Red Land images. Enjoy the stunning scenery.

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Vanity

Life Philosophy No Responses »

Jul 222009

Most of us are vain in nature.

I found this trait “prominently subtle” in men. Not being sexist. But it is true. The more successful the man is, the more vain he can be. Women express vanity in clothes, jewellery and body shape. Men express it in wealth, status and indeed many in their clothes and shoes as well, not just cars and beautiful girlfriends.

“They think I am rich.”
“They think I am capable.”
“They think I am beautiful.”

Once we have this feeling in us, we feel good about ourselves. I suppose there’s nothing wrong about that. We all want (and sometimes desperate) to look good in other people’s eyes. It’s a matter of degree. Life is about balance, isn’t it?

Let’s do a test about the degree of vanity in you by truthfully answering the following questions:

1) Do you always notice that everyone seems to look at you when you are in a party?
2) Do you always go for the best possible top of the line products (no matter it is the Finest line in a supermarket, or a car or gadgets or a handbag) even you know it will be stretching your budget limit?
3) Do you always look into a mirror?
4) Do you like to meet important people a lot, like celebrity, senior government officials, or a very rich person etc.?
5) Do you always want to talk about your holidays but find it difficult or boring to listen to other people’s holiday experience?
6) Are you over-exercising?
7) Do you still dream to do something that you don’t normally do and will surprise all your friends, like writing a novel, starting a big business, getting a degree or buying a second home just to impress?
Do you feel you are richer than most of your friends?
9) Are you feeling a bit embarrassed by some of your family members?
One last question:
10) How many pairs of shoes do you have? – for women
10) What type of car are you driving? – for men

Keep the answers to yourself.

Vanity has a lot to do with class. According to some sociologists, people want to distinguish themselves as a different class by acquiring a special taste or knowledge in certain things, like the knowledge of wine. By demonstrating special knowledge in appreciating wine, they put themselves above many.

If we are honest with ourselves, the older we get, the more vain we become. Or may be it’s just simply a struggle between managing the peer group pressure and striving for a better life for ourselves?

Yes vanity is empty. Vanity also plays a part in the over 40s in order to maintain the balance of self-esteem that is constantly challenged by the ups and downs in life.

I wish we all play it well.

Mourning for Michael Jackson

Life Philosophy 11 Responses »

Jun 292009

I am mourning for the death of Michael Jackson.

Those in my age (in the 40s) know very well that he has been part of our life. It did not matter where you lived. It did not matter whether you liked pop music or not. You could not be possible not heard of Michael Jackson if you are in my age. He was everywhere. He is still everywhere. I did not realize the scale of the impact only after his death. He united so many people in so many different parts of the world – from USA to Russia, from New Zealand to Scotland. His music and he himself as a person brought people together. The impact was so strong that it had surpassed any religion or political differences.

The last few days were spent in wandering along the memory lane of our youth by listening to Michael Jackson’s songs repeatedly. Read his interviews. Looked at his photos. Read stories about his trial. I wish I had known him more. I wish I had been more connected to him.

The more I read, the more I realized how much the world has just lost – a generous genius, who has given all his gift to us – to entertain us, to inspire us, to encourage us, to comfort us, to make us feel good and to tingle our emotions.

He might not be perfect as a human being. That made him one of us. We all have our confusions, temptations, emotions. I did not hear him judge anyone in any of his interviews. Also, being in the PR business for over 20 years, I know very well the destructive power and the capability of fact-twisting and sensationalizing technique of the media. Sometimes, they may not do it with intention. Unfortunately, journalists are also human beings. They form their own opinions on things and use part of the facts to support their opinion and the clever ones with words can create a real drama.

No one can judge the personal life of Michael Jackson. In fact, no one can judge anybody’s personal life.

Look at the joy and hope he brought to those many children in sickness. I finish this mourning by using one of his own songs he wrote in honor of a pediatric AIDS victim Ryan White. Now I use this to mourn my feelings for Michael Jackson, the true giver.

Like A Comet
Blazing ‘Cross The Evening Sky
Gone Too Soon

Like A Rainbow
Fading In The Twinkling Of An Eye
Gone Too Soon

Shiny And Sparkly
And Splendidly Bright
Here One Day
Gone One Night

Like The Loss Of Sunlight
On A Cloudy Afternoon
Gone Too Soon

Like A Castle
Built Upon A Sandy Beach
Gone Too Soon

Like A Perfect Flower
That Is Just Beyond Your Reach
Gone Too Soon

Born To Amuse, To Inspire, To Delight
Here One Day
Gone One Night

Like A Sunset
Dying With The Rising Of The Moon
Gone Too Soon

If you feel the same, join me and leave your comments.

Religion in China

Religion & Spiritual No Responses »

Jun 172009

Tips on China’s Culture

One quarter of the population on this earth are Chinese. Just in China alone, there are 1.3 billion people. As I am writing, how many more are born? It is impossible to generalize the tactics to deal with different Chinese people. Here I am sharing with you some of my experience from working in the area and being a Chinese myself! Remember: this is my personal experience only. You need to spend time, show respect and open your mind in order to understand anybody, as it is true in all human relationships.

There are so many different aspects involved in understanding Chinese. You can take the approach of ideology, business, philosophy, religion, economy and of course the most trendy “the art of war“.

What is the religion in China?

What is the religion in China? Or what are the religions in China? Tradionally, do the Chinese believe in God? I need to be careful. This is a theological question, but with political sensitivity. Everybody knows that one of the Communist’s ideologies during Chairman Mao period was “religion is poison”.

The basic philosophies which formed more or less the traditional Chinese moral system are Ru (Confucius), Fo (Buddhism) and Dao (Daoism, also called Taoism).

These are philosophies, not religion, because they do not point us to worship any specific deity. But the values between parents and children, between husbands and wives, between emperors and citizens, between different hierachies are laid-out. It is the norm that seniority deserves respect. This belief of giving respect to your seniors is very much deep-rooted in the value sytem of the Chinese. That may explain some of the behaviours of the Chinese government.

Fate is another subject that derived from the 3 major streams of philisophies, especially from Taoism. Fate is something mysterious, beyond our control. Our life is somehow guided by fate. The way to deal with it is to come to terms with fate. Another major concept, which comes from the Buddhism, is Yuan Fen (an ordained tie that brings people together, especially couples). This Yuan Fen is a lubricant in all sorts of relationships, be it business or personal. There are so many manufacturers, why do I feel particularly drawn to you? Apart from you have a better offer, Chinese believe, it is Yuan Fen that brought us together.

So, go back to the question. Traditionally, do the Chinese believe in God? My own personal view is yes. Chinese believe in “a” God. We have sayings from the ancient books like “3 feet above there is a God”, “the heaven’s net is tight, you can’t run away with it” (meaning if you have committed a crime, no where you can hide), “you will be punished by what you did, if not today, the time will come”. This concept in heaven forms the conscience in our heart which guards our behaviour.

Chinese Language

Arts & Culture No Responses »

Jun 152009

Tips on China’s Culture
One quarter of the population on this earth are Chinese. Just in China alone, there are 1.3 billion people. As I am writing, how many more are born? It is impossible to generalize the tactics to deal with different Chinese people. Here I am sharing with you some of my experience from working in the area and being a Chinese myself! Remember: this is my personal experience only. You need to spend time, show respect and open your mind in order to understand anybody, as it is true in all human relationships.

What is the language?

Mandarin is the official language in China, although people in different parts of China may speak their own dialets. For example, Cantonese is the predominant spoken language in Hong Kong and most of Guangdong province.

When it comes to written Chinese, the gramma and style are more or less the same in Mandarin and Cantonese (of course there are different colloquials). The only major difference is that people within Mainland China write in simplifeid characters and people in Hong Kong and Taiwan write in traditional Chinese characters. It is confusing, isn’t it? Yes, the dramatic history of China has produced variations in culture and languages in different parts of the country.

BTW, there is no such thing as written Cantonese. Many of the words in spoken Cantonese are simply non-existent. The sentence structure is also different from the written language. That is why it is more difficult for foreigners to learn Cantonese than Mandarin. In recent years, the media and some writers in Hong Kong try to make up words they speak into written format. I guess years later, there may be a developed system of written Cantonese!

Be careful when you first learn to speak Mandarin or Cantonese, there are 4 intonations in one Mandarin word and 9 in a Cantonese word. If your intonation is slightly off, it can mean something totally different!

To make it simple, here is a chart:

	Write in	Speak
Chinese within Mainland China	Simplified Chinese characters	Mandarin
Chinese in Taiwan	Traditional Chinese characters	Mandarin
Chinese in Hong Kong	Traditional Chinese characters	Cantonese

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ElaineR

The Top 10 Chinese Masterpiece Paintings

Review of Hostellerie du Val de Sault

Where to see Lavender in Provence?

Steak Tartare

Some interesting cutural differences between East and West

Understanding of Chinese/Asian culture vs. Western…

Lexiaguo (Luoxiagou) – where is it in China?

Vanity

Mourning for Michael Jackson

Religion in China

Chinese Language

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