TouchBeijing.com » China Culture http://www.touchbeijing.com Fri, 08 Jul 2011 05:20:00 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 Chinese Fengshui http://www.touchbeijing.com/chinese-fengshui/ http://www.touchbeijing.com/chinese-fengshui/#comments Sun, 10 Jan 2010 06:53:28 +0000 admin http://www.touchkunshan.com/backup/?p=653 Fengshui, or Feng Shui, a special Chinese tradition in architecture, usually links the whole process from site selection, designing, construction and interior and exterior decorating in ancient times.

Feng means wind and shui is water.

Fengshui combines the trinity of the Heaven, the Earth and humans, and seeks harmony between selected site, orienting, natural doctrine and human fate. It repulses human destruction of nature and stresses cohabitation with the environment, which is regarded as perfect and occult.

In China, a fengshui practitioner, or a diviner, usually applies theories as Yingyang, Sixiang, Wuxing and Bagua, based on the principle of the Heaven and the Earth in harmony, to select an optimum place for burial site or accommodation.

Qi, deemed as the basic element of the physical world in ancient Chinese philosophy, is the essence of Fengshui. The art of fengshui advocates there is a certain field, sort of like magnetic field, termed as Qi field. An auspicious Qi field is what Fengshui practitioners seek while an evil one is what they strive to avoid.

There are five elements – long (dragon), xue (cave), sha (sand), shui (water) and xiang (orientation). They are used to avoid evil Qi and gain auspicious Qi. In order to keep Qi of the Heaven and the Earth in harmony in the construction of a new structure, earth vein should not be spoiled. The best orientation is a building with its face facing a river or a lake in the south and back against a hill in the north.

Most ancient cities in China were built under guidance of Fengshui, which was the main principle used to select locations based on their environmental surroundings. Fengshui helps to plan placement of structures of significance and confirm the location of city central axis. Usually the central axis of a city, or certain other architectural complex, ought to face certain peak of mountains nearby to make the city magnificent and solemn.

For example, the Imperial Palace in Beijing was placed on the very center of the city, and its central axis points at Jingshan Mountain which was called Guard Mountain of the Palace.

Fengshui practitioners also emphasize pagodas and their site location since pagodas are believed capable of protecting residents around them.

Although there are still many people who believe it, many people now doubt this theory.

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]]> http://www.touchbeijing.com/chinese-fengshui/feed/ 0 Panjiayuan Flea Market http://www.touchbeijing.com/panjiayuan-flea-market/ http://www.touchbeijing.com/panjiayuan-flea-market/#comments Fri, 25 Dec 2009 03:49:38 +0000 admin http://www.touchbeijing.com/?p=2555 Panjiayuan Flea Market is located at the south east of the 3rd Ring Road. It is an open air market, opened 7 days a week, but the best time to go is on weekend. The market was famous for antique dealings about 10 years ago, today it is famous for the big collections of handicraft works from the neighbouring provinces, but not entirely in the sense of antiques, you can still get some real stuff, but not very easy.

Take it as a fun place for half day shopping, or maybe just a visit to a museum, but not as a serious real antique shopping place, especially when you were told that the stuff you are staring at is from Song or Tang Dynasty…and if you really want to buy it, they will have a story on it, the only thing you can rely on is your own sharp eyes.

The market sells almost anything you can imagine, from the big vase to menus of old cameras, or personal letters, even old private diary, it could be roughly categoried into: porcelain, jade or gem, furnitures, wooden carving, clock (watch), stamps, coins, painting(mostly Chinese paintings), second hand books, newspaper and magezines, old photos (sometime you can find old family album), collections from the Cultural Revolution (Mao’s red books, notebooks, posters, bags)… all of the above could be: seemingly very old or authentic stuff, replica, or just today’s handicraft work. The price may vary a lot from just 10 to several hundres or thousands yuan.

Photos from the market:


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]]> http://www.touchbeijing.com/panjiayuan-flea-market/feed/ 0 “Tianfuhao 天福号” braised pork hock http://www.touchbeijing.com/tianfuhao-%e5%a4%a9%e7%a6%8f%e5%8f%b7-braised-pork-hock/ http://www.touchbeijing.com/tianfuhao-%e5%a4%a9%e7%a6%8f%e5%8f%b7-braised-pork-hock/#comments Sun, 28 Dec 2008 08:30:21 +0000 admin http://www.touchbeijing.com/?p=1251

“Tianfuhao” braised pork hock with soy sauce is quite unique, oily but not greasy, lean but not bony, savory and mellow, with tender skin. Although this dish is called sauced pork hock, no sauce is used. The pork hock is in sugar color. The skin sticks to the meat so that the pork hock will not be broken or fallen apart when held up by the chopsticks. The skin is in dark violet color, glistening with oil. With fresh and inviting flavor, the meat in the mouth will not cause any greasy feeling and the flavor will linger in your mouth for a long time.

“Tianfuhao” braised pork hock with soy sauce is one of the dishes awarded as “China’s time-honored brand 中华老字号” that has a history of more than 270 years. It founded as a small shop in Beijing in the third year of Qianlong’s reign in 1738 during the Qing Dynasty. The owner of the shop named Liu Fengxiang 刘凤翔 was originally from Shandong Province, Liu and his grandson set up a store in Beijing selling pork hock,their business was so so, one day in a bazaar outside of Yongdingmen Gate, they got a piece of wooden plaque with three characters “Tian Fu Hao 天福号”, literally as “Great Fortune’s”, they used it as their trade mark, their business turned out to be very successful.

Normally they braised the pork at night, and sold it in the daytime, so someone had to be on the night shift, but one night, the grandson fell into sound sleep when looking after the kitchen at night. Then, the pork hocks were over cooked but fortunately it was very delious, by accident, a servant in the Forbidden City bought the pork hock, the servant enjoyed it so much, and even gave some to the Empress Dowager Cixi, she gave high praise on it, saying that it was crisp and tender, not greasy or stuff the teeth.

From then on, the Liu’s braised pork hock was accepted as tribute by the imperial family, which gave a great fame and promotion to Tianfuhao. Puyi, the last emperor of China, was yearning for Western-style life. He wore suits, had western food and disdained the traditional food of the Qing Dynasty. However, the sauced pork hock of Tianfuhao was an exception, which was an indispensable dish on Puyi’s Western-style dining table.

And the company’s food products make it a profitable concern even to today. As a single product, about 2,000 kilograms per day of hock is sold. During traditional Chinese festivals, this number soars to 20 or 30 tons per day, as eating Tianfuhao’s food has become a traditional part of festival observances.

“In the pork market, we’re undoubtedly number one,” said Feng Juntang, an eighth generation of Tianfuhao’s braised pork- making craft said.

Now, a modern factory makes it possible to produce more food for the market, which includes more than 400 outlets and sales networks covering Central Beijing and its suburban areas. The company’s modern packaging techniques make storage easier and its sanitation more reliable. Stylish packaging is an outward sign of the company’s attempt to change with the times.

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]]> http://www.touchbeijing.com/tianfuhao-%e5%a4%a9%e7%a6%8f%e5%8f%b7-braised-pork-hock/feed/ 0 Instruments of torture of old China http://www.touchbeijing.com/instruments-of-torture-of-old-china/ http://www.touchbeijing.com/instruments-of-torture-of-old-china/#comments Thu, 18 May 2006 17:13:00 +0000 admin http://www.touchkunshan.com/backup/?p=680

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]]> http://www.touchbeijing.com/instruments-of-torture-of-old-china/feed/ 0 Chinese scholar draws map of Chinese literature http://www.touchbeijing.com/chinese-scholar-draws-map-of-chinese-literature/ http://www.touchbeijing.com/chinese-scholar-draws-map-of-chinese-literature/#comments Fri, 21 Apr 2006 05:43:43 +0000 admin http://www.touchkunshan.com/backup/?p=677 Source: Xinhua

Apr.20 – A leading Chinese scholar said on Wednesday that he has found correlation between ancient paintings with Chinese literature and tries to draw a map of ancient Chinese literature.

Yang Yi, director of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) Institute of Literature, said at a news briefing that he has published the first book of his innovative idea, The Chinese Ancient Literature Illustrated.

“The fragile paper and paintings show us spirit of the ancient Chinese literature,” Yang said in an interview with Xinhua.

In this newly-published book, Yang tried to explain context of literary documents and paintings, dated back to about 1,000 years.

“I wish to thoroughly study the integration of Chinese civilization in the dimension of literature history as well as dynamics of the Chinese culture,” Yang said.

Literary critics said Yang’s analyses on relationship between different family clans, localities and urban cultures, as well as mentality of the elite and derogated officials are academic innovations.

Including the Chinese Ancient Literature Illustrated, the CASS released more than 60 academic achievements made by its researchers recently. The CASS regulates that it will hold such kind of academic news release in every quarter.

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]]> http://www.touchbeijing.com/chinese-scholar-draws-map-of-chinese-literature/feed/ 0 Traditional temple fair held in Mt.Tai http://www.touchbeijing.com/traditional-temple-fair-held-in-mttai/ http://www.touchbeijing.com/traditional-temple-fair-held-in-mttai/#comments Mon, 17 Apr 2006 02:16:48 +0000 admin http://www.touchkunshan.com/backup/?p=675 Chinanews, Apr. 14

An ongoing traditional temple fair held in Tai Mountain in east China’s Shandong province has resumed the ancient temple culture that has a history of more than one thousand years.

According to historical accounts, the temple fair in Tai Mountain originated at the end of the Tang dynasty (618-907) and prospered during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing dynasty (1644-1911). At first, people worshipped the God of Tai Mountain on the occasion, which later developed into a folk festival with religious and tourist activities. Folk arts, breathtaking games, folk handicraft, and exchanges on ideas of longevity can all be seen during the fair.

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]]> http://www.touchbeijing.com/traditional-temple-fair-held-in-mttai/feed/ 0 Eight Trigrams of Divination http://www.touchbeijing.com/eight-trigrams-of-divination/ http://www.touchbeijing.com/eight-trigrams-of-divination/#comments Sat, 15 Apr 2006 05:46:00 +0000 admin http://www.touchkunshan.com/backup/?p=674 1,800 years ago, Daoism was founded by Lao Zi and his message was preached to the world by his disciple by the name of Mencius. It says that everything exists through the interplay of two opposite forces: male-female; positive; hot-cold; light-dark; heaven-earth; yin-yang, etc.

In the center of the dual Yin-Yang, the principles of being, surrounded by the eight trigrams of divination. The Eight trigrams represent eight animals and eight directions. At 12 o’clock are the three unbroken lines of heaven; then clockwise, clouds, thunder, mountains, water, fire, earth, and wind. These are used in fortune-telling. Daoists try to achieve harmony out of the conflict of these forces through the Dao or the Way.

Daoism was most popular in the Tang and Song, but declined in the Ming. Its most famous monasteries are in Beijing, Chengdu, Shenyang, and Suzhou.

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]]> http://www.touchbeijing.com/eight-trigrams-of-divination/feed/ 0 Feng Shui? just Wind and Water ? http://www.touchbeijing.com/feng-shuiwind-and-water/ http://www.touchbeijing.com/feng-shuiwind-and-water/#comments Sat, 15 Apr 2006 04:43:28 +0000 admin http://www.touchkunshan.com/backup/?p=664

“Feng Shui”, “Wind and Water” is that which can not be seen and can not be grasped. It is a system of dragon logy a “science” using the shape of nature objects such as rivers, hills and trees. It was possible to choose the desirable sites for tombs, house, and even cities. It was also able to foretell the spot selected. People believed in the past that a geomancer was able to counteract evil influences by good ones and to save whole districts from devastation by floods, pestilence and so forth.

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]]> http://www.touchbeijing.com/feng-shuiwind-and-water/feed/ 7 Yin and Yang http://www.touchbeijing.com/yin-and-yang/ http://www.touchbeijing.com/yin-and-yang/#comments Wed, 12 Apr 2006 07:23:26 +0000 admin http://www.touchkunshan.com/backup/?p=672 Man and woman, Yin and Yang.

A symbol of a plough on a piece of field, that is the original meaning of a man, socially man was a big labour in the field.

(below)This is the Chinese character for a woman, from the beginning, it stands for a person crouches with two arms crossed, weaving something maybe.

Maybe you have heared of Yin and Yang, the two opposing principles in Chinese phylosophy, the fomer for feminine and negative, and the latter masuline and positive.

The explaination of the Yin would be a little complicated story.

But the Yang, on the left is a picec of highland, while on the right is a lantern shinning on the top of it. Below is Yin:

Yin and Yang in a Chinese dictionary book.

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]]> http://www.touchbeijing.com/yin-and-yang/feed/ 0 Chopstick challenge! http://www.touchbeijing.com/chopstick-challenge/ http://www.touchbeijing.com/chopstick-challenge/#comments Thu, 30 Mar 2006 03:45:36 +0000 admin http://www.touchkunshan.com/backup/?p=669 From: Beijing Weekend 2001

Taking time to learn Chinese table manners could pay dividends-and avoid red faces! The wary Westerners could be forgiven for being bamboozled by some of the customs which are second nature to Chinese people gathered round the dinner table.
But refusing to pick up the chopsticks and learn by experience is a big mistake which will leave you culturally impoverished – and missing out on some of the world’s best food!

However, it pays to take heed of Chinese people’s distinctive table manners to avoid any culinary clangers.

All family members of a household will consider an expatriate to be their most distinguished guest. As a result, the expat’s seat will be put next to the chair of the eldest member of the highest generation in the family hierarchy.

Instead of serving dishes individually as in Western countries – where everyone relishes his or her own portion of food on a single plate – Chinese people are accustomed to sharing food from a number of dishes spread in the center of the table.

So, each person sitting around the table will poke his or her chopsticks into these common plates to pick up their favorite food.

Sometimes, in order to show their friendship and sincerity, Chinese hosts will also pick from dishes with their own chopsticks or spoons for you, depositing the food on your Plate.

In most eases, Chinese people do not care whether they conform to Westerners’ habits or not. However, this particular custom leaves some foreigners a little uneasy.

Moreover, you might be perplexed by a dilemama-If you eat up the food, you could feel a little queasy, being’ unaccustomed to the use of personal ‘cutlery’ – or in this case chopsticks – to serve you. Then again, refusing to eat the food is likely to offend your friends.

How to cope with such an awkward situation?

In order to avoid the predicament, you can thank your friends for their kindness and then tell them that you can help yourself.

There’s something else you should also prepare for’

While sampling the delicate dishes, Chinese friends will bombard you with a number of questions because generally they will be very curious about you.

Because off the difference of cultural background, some of these questions seem awkward, even an invasion of privacy in the eyes of some Westerners.

But, the way Chinese people see it, these questions are simply the manifestation of friendship.

Some of such questions are simply a way of showing concern towards or interest in the guest. That can include such queries as: ‘How old are you?;’ ‘Hew much is your monthly salary’? and ‘How is your husband (or wife)’?

If a question leaves you bristling, think twice and try not to be offended. Perhaps the best way to deal with such awkward situation is to make a clean breast of all the facts.

And be warned: If some stubborn Chinese friends with inquiring minds are dissatisfied with your answers, they will not stop until they get to the bottom of every question!

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