Our weekly cultural post
Author: Diandian Jiang Qingming (清明节 Qīng míng jié), or Ching Ming, is a traditional Chinese festival celebrated on the first day of the fifth lunar month (between April 4 and 6 every year) which, according to the lunar calendar, is the day spring will return to most parts of China. Read more…
Author: Alessandro Zhuohao Hu Have you ever wondered how the ancient Chinese performed calculations in their daily life? When neither calculators nor computers existed, merchants and shopkeepers performed mathematical operations, such as calculating costs, using the so-called 珠算 (zhūsuàn) method, a traditional method of performing mathematical calculations through 算盘 (suànpán), Read more…
Author: Valentino Zhi Chi Zhao Ink wash painting (Shuǐ mò huà 水墨画) is known as the representative of traditional Chinese painting. It is a type of brush painting that uses only ink and water, mixed to create different tonalities of black. It emerged during the Tang dynasty (618-907) following the Read more…
Author: Chantelle Lee In the past decade, China has been home to two-thirds of the world’s most successful women entrepreneurs. In 2021, Hurun Research Institute released a report on the richest self-made women billionaires globally. The list concluded that the number of self-made women entrepreneurs with a 1 billion dollar Read more…
Author: Tong Yao On March 5, China celebrates the “Learn from Lei Feng Day”, involving various community-minded actions where people clean schools, parks and other public spaces. But why is this day so remarkable? Lei Feng was born in Wangcheng, Hunan province, in 1940. His childhood was marked by the Read more…
Author: GeGe Hu China is famous for its tea culture, but wine culture is equally important with its long history and many varieties. The Western drinking culture mainly exists to respect and appreciate wine itself. In China, however, wine is not only about the art of drinking, but also the Read more…
Authors: Diandian Jiang, Stella Hu 恭喜发财 GONG XI FA CAI This is the Chinese Greeting for the new year and it means “wishing you luck and prosperity”. The New Year is the most important and festive among Chinese holidays.It is a traditional 15-day festival that happens between January 21st and Read more…
Authors: Matteo WeiJian Hu, Riccardo Hu If you ever went to a Chinese restaurant or just any shop in Chinatown for whatever reason, you’ve probably already seen this cat figurine placed by the cash register. It is the fortune cat, usually made of ceramic or plastic, and it’s known everywhere Read more…
Author: Alessandro Hu The four great inventions (papermaking, printing, gunpowder, and the compass) greatly promoted the development of politics, economy, and culture in ancient China: they represent ancient China’s outstanding scientific and technological contributions to world civilization. The compass (Warring States Period, 475 B.C. – 221 B.C.) The Sinan (predecessor Read more…
Author: Basile Theaud The term Four Great Inventions of Modern China stems back to the “Four Great Inventions” of Ancient China – papermaking, gunpowder, printing and the compass. The four great inventions of modern China (high-speed rail, mobile payments, bike-sharing and online shopping) are known for having created a new Read more…