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Han Chow, Hangzhou (2026)

08/06/2022

Have you ever tried 東坡肉 Dongpo Rou and do you like it? It is an iconic traditional Chinese braised pork belly dish, there is no evidence, but it is believed that 蘇軾 Su Shi created this “square-like pork” during his banishment to Hangzhou, and this dish was then named after his art name, 蘇東坡 Su Dongpo.

Today, people remember his name because of the famous dish, but he was actually a major scholar, writer, poet, artist, calligrapher, and politician during the Song Dynasty.
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Su Shi: 蘇軾 / 苏轼 (sū shì)
Dongpo Rou: 東坡肉 / 东坡肉 (dōng pō ròu)
Meat: 肉 (ròu)
Pork: 豬肉 / 猪肉 (zhū ròu)
Banishment: 流放 (liú fàng)
Song Dynasty: 宋朝 (sòng cháo)
Hangzhou: 杭州 (háng zhōu)
Meishan: 眉山 (méi shān)
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Dongpo Rou images courtesy of: .se
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31/05/2022

The Song Dynasty (960 - 1279) was probably the most powerful and prosperous empire economically, scientifically, educationally and militarily in the world at that time, however, people usually consider the Song Dynasty a “weak” time in Chinese history, they lost 40% of the territory as they often decided to “pay” their enemy or potential threat for “buying peace” which didn’t work in the end.

Due to the unprecedented agricultural and economic growth, the population of Northern Song grew from 50 million to about 118 million in 167 years, countless talents were born, and let’s talk about some of them later.
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Song Dynasty: 宋朝 (sòng cháo)
Jurchen: 女真 (nǚ zhēn)
Bianjing: 汴京 (biàn jīng)
Kaifeng: 開封 / 开封 (kāi fēng)
Lin’an: 臨安 / 临安 (lín'ān)
Hangzhou: 杭州 (háng zhōu)
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15/01/2021

The Imperial Robes Series: Zetian, the only female emperor in Chinese history. Her originally name is unknown, some historians believe that her birth name was 武照 Wu Zhao. She had so many names in her life, name that she gave herself or was given by others, and each name we write about her today could refers to different stage in her life: (1 - junior concubine) #武媚 Wu Mei, was given by her first husband Emperor Taizong, meaning “glamorous”; (2 - buddist nun) 明空 Ming Kong, her monastic title according to unofficial history; (3 - empress consort & empress dowager) 武后 Wu Hou, ruling the imperial state on behalf of her second husband Emperor Gaozong; (4 - empress regnant / emperor) 武曌 Wu Zhao, name that she invented and gave herself during her reign of Zhou dynasty; (5 - after death) #武則天 Wu Zetian, Zetian was a posthumous title honoured to her, meaning “obey the will of heaven”.
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#曌

06/01/2021

The Imperial Robes Series: The Tang Dynasty is considered the heyday of the Chinese civilization, and a golden age of cosmopolitan culture. In the 8th century CE, The Tang capital at Chang’an (Today’s Xi’an) was probably the most populous city in the world with close to 3 million inhabitants, 1 million inside the city and another 2 million in the surrounding suburbs.
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Tang Dynasty (618-907CE): 唐朝 (táng cháo)
Chang’an: 長安 (cháng ān)
Xi’an: 西安 (xī ān)
Reign of Zhenguan: 貞觀之治 (zhēn guān zhī zhì)
An Lushan Rebellion: 安史之亂 (ān shǐ zhī luàn)
Huang Chao Rebellion: 黃巢之亂 (huáng cháo zhī luàn)
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#中国 #中文 #学中文 #漢字 #汉语 #汉语

06/01/2021

The Imperial Robes Series: The Wei Jin Southern and Northern Dynasties was a chaotic warring period of 369 years after the collapse of the Han Dynasty, and the period ended with the unitification by Yang Jian, the Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty.
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Han Dynasty (202BCE-220CE): 漢朝 (hàn cháo)
Wei Jin Southern and Northern Dynasties (220-589): 魏晉南北朝 (wèi jìn nán běi cháo)
Sui Dynasty (581-618): 隋朝 (suí cháo)
Tang Dynasty (618-907): 唐朝 (táng cháo)
Yang Jian: 楊堅 (yáng jiān)
Emperor Wen of Sui: 隋文帝 (suí wén dì)
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04/02/2019

What a day! Today is the Chinese New Year's Eve, families will gather for a sumptuous reunion dinner, eating fish is a part of the celebrations as the Chinese word for “surplus / abundance” sounds similar to the word for fish. Also, it is "Start of Spring" today, the first solar term of the China's 24 Solar Terms, it indicates that spring begins (in the southern area of China). These two will meet again on 3rd Feb 2057.
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Chinese New Year's Eve: 除夕 (chú xì)
"Start of Spring": 立春 (lì chūn)
Surplus: 餘 | 馀 (yú)
More than sufficient every year: 年年有餘 (nián nián yǒu yú)
Fish: 魚 (yú)
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The China's 24 Solar Terms, based on the sun's position in the zodiac, were created by farmers in ancient China to guide the agricultural affairs and farming activities. The 24 solar terms reflect the changes in climate, natural phenomena, agricultural production, and other aspects of human life, including clothing, food, housing, and transportation. The 24 solar terms play important roles and have greatly influenced people's basic needs in life, and they still have an important function nowadays.

On December 1, 2016, The China's 24 Solar Terms were listed as UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage.
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#書法 #中文 #学中文 #汉语 #学汉语 #茶 #立春 @ China

03/02/2019

A short myth story of red envelopes
Red Envelope: 紅包 / 利是 / 壓歲錢
紅包 (hóng bāo)
利是 lai see -Cantonese
壓歲錢 | 压岁钱 (yā suì qián)
The Eight Immortals: 八仙 (bā xiān)
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The amount given in red envelopes never includes the number ‘4’ - that means no 4, 40, or 400 amounts - as the pronunciation of ‘four’ in Chinese sounds like the word for death. However, amounts including the number ‘8’ will bring good luck and prosperity. Go ‘8’!
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#中国 #中文 #学中文 #漢字 #汉语 #汉语 @ China

31/01/2019

Name a thing that is "chicken ribs" to you
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Throughout thousands of years of Chinese history, many Chinese sayings, proverbs, and idioms which conceal rich meaning and historical stories have passed through centuries down to this day, and they are still commonly used and spoken by Chinese people today. Whether you speak Chinese or not, enjoy some stories and maybe learn a phrase or two.
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Terms from this story
Chicken ribs: #雞肋 | 鸡肋 (jī lèi)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms: #三國演義 | 三国演义 (sān guó yǎn yì)
Luo Guanzhong: 羅貫中 | 罗贯中 (luó guàn zhōng)
Han Dynasty (202 BCE - 220 CE): 漢朝 | 汉朝 (hàn cháo)
Wei: 魏 (wèi)
Shu: 蜀 (shǔ)
Wu: 吳 (wú)
Cao Cao: 曹操 (cáo cāo)
Yang Xiu: 楊修 | 杨修 (yáng xiū)
Hanzhong: 漢中 | 汉中 (hàn zhōng)
Shaanxi Province: 陕西省 (shǎn xī shěng)
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#中国 #中文 #学中文 #漢字 #汉语 #汉语 @ Hanzhong

26/01/2019

The Lunar New Year Fair (also known as "Flower Market") history can be traced back to the Wanli Emperor age of the Ming Dynasty. It is a fair held annually a few days before Lunar New Year in China (mainly by the Cantonese) and it is one of the biggest events of all the CNY celebrations in Hong Kong. There will be 15 Chinese New Year Flower Markets in Hong Kong in 2019 (30 Jan - 5 Feb), the biggest and most popular Flower Markets are located in Victoria Park and Fa Hui Park. Are you going to one of the Flower Markets this year?
Flower Market: 花市 (huā shì)
Wanli Emperor: 萬曆帝 | 万历帝 (wàn lì dì)
Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644): 明朝 (míng cháo)
Victoria Park: 維多利亞公園 | 维多利亚公园 (wéi duō lì yǎ gōng yuán)
Fa Hui Park: 花墟公園 | 花墟公园 (huā xū gōng yuán)
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#中国 #中文 #学中文 #漢字 #汉语 #汉语 #年宵

24/01/2019

The Mingtang and the Piyong were part of a group of ritual halls that Wang Mang built in the southern outskirts of Chang'an during Western Han Dynasty. Historical documents describe the as the temple for the emperors' ancestors. The was the site of grand ceremonies such as making sacrifices to the ancestors, granting audiences with the emperor, birthday and ritual celebrations, selecting talented persons for positions, granting pensions, and giving awards.
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Mingtang Piyong: 明堂辟雍 (míng táng pì yōng)
Western Han Dynasty (202 BCE - 8 CE): 西漢 | 西汉 (xī hàn)
Emperor Pin of Han: 漢平帝 | 汉平帝 (hàn píng dì)
Chang'an: 長安 | 长安 (cháng ān)
Xian: 西安(xī ān)
Wang Mang: 王莽 (wáng mǎng)
Xin Dynasty (9 - 23 CE): 新朝 (xīn cháo)
Round outside: 外圓 | 外圆 (wài yuán)
Square inside: 內方 (nèi fāng)
Cover drawing by scholar Lee Qianlang
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#中国 #中國 #中文 #漢字 #汉语 #茶 @ Xian, China

22/01/2019

Which one do you like the most?
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Zhao Kailin's aesthetic vision is a fusion of realism and his own interpretation of Neoclassicism. More recently, Zhao's work has concentrated on depicting beautiful young women, most of whom are Asian and dressed in traditional Chinese costume. These paintings capture the essential aura of young women suspended between the innocence of childhood and the smoldering sexuality of womanhood, evoking a sense of longing, dreams and desire.
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Zhao Kailin: 趙開霖 | 赵开霖 (zhào kāi lín)
Neoclassicism: 新古典主義 | 新古典主义 (xīn gǔ diǎn zhǔ yì)
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Artwork by Zhao Kailin, Images courtesy of kailart.com
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#书法 #中文 #学中文 @ Beijing, China

20/01/2019

大寒(dà hán) Major Cold
It is the coldest time of the year.
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The China's 24 Solar Terms, based on the sun's position in the zodiac, were created by farmers in ancient China to guide the agricultural affairs and farming activities. The 24 solar terms reflect the changes in climate, natural phenomena, agricultural production, and other aspects of human life, including clothing, food, housing, and transportation. The 24 solar terms play important roles and have greatly influenced people's basic needs in life, and they still have an important function nowadays.

On December 1, 2016, The China's 24 Solar Terms were listed as UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage.
————————————————————
Check out for more Chinese vocabularies
Follow Mandarin Arts for interesting & educational posts
————————————————————
#書法 #中文 #学中文 #汉语 #学汉语 #茶 #大寒 @ China

Han Chow

08/06/2022

31/05/2022

15/01/2021

06/01/2021

06/01/2021

04/02/2019

03/02/2019

31/01/2019

26/01/2019

24/01/2019

22/01/2019

20/01/2019

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