Three major Ethnic Minorities

As a large united multi-national state, China is composed of 56 ethnic groups. Among them Han Chinese account for 91.59% of the overall Chinese population and the other 55 make up the remaining 8.41% . As the combined population of these other ethnic groups is far fewer than that of the Han, they form the 55 ethnic minorities of China. These numerous ethnic groups share China's vast lands but at the same time many live in their individual communities. The relationships between the different ethnic groups have been formed over many years. The 55 ethnic minorities have their own festivals, traditional clothing, life styles, cultures, customs, languages, or even written languages, and their life is always full of color and pleasure.

 

Major Chinese ethnic minorities map

Because of the huge number, it is impossible to involve all the 56 ethnic groups in this post, so I will just talk about three major ethnic minorities.

Bai Ethnic Minority
The Bai costume has a long history. As long as 1,800 years ago, the Bai wove a kind of cloth known as "Tonghua.” During the Nanzhao Regime and the Dali Kingdom, the Bai created their own styles of clothing. Now, the clothes of the Bai people are bright and well-matching in colors, delicate and fine in embroideries, and plain and simple in style.

Bai clothing is usually adorned with camellia flowers because they view these flowers as a symbol of beauty. The Bai enjoy their lives and love flowers. They like to wear a red scarf on their shoulders and a white outer upper garment, a combination that resembles blooming camellias.

The Bai clothing for females

The Bai clothing for males

Mongolian Ethnic Minority
Many Mongols live in modern urban housing for a part of the year, but switch to the ger. At other times of the year in order to tend to domestic animals (sheep, goats, etc.). The Mongolian ger is practical in every way: it is quickly collapsible and packs away to almost nothing, making it easy to transport; its ground-hugging base and its conical top - which also sheds rain instantly - help keep the ger snug to the ground, even in strong winds; and inside, it is very roomy and ventilated. The Mongolian ger consists of a wooden, lattice frame, sometimes in sections.

Gers

Inside of a ger

 
Tibetan Ethnic Minority
Tibetan people believe in Lamaism. The believers must recite or chant Buddhism scriptures very often. For illiterate people, what they can do is to turn prayer wheels, with scriptures inside. Turning the prayer wheel is equivalent to chanting some scriptures and it has become routine work for Tibetan people. A lot of Tibetans keep portable prayer wheels at home. Prayer wheels are of different sizes and quality. But there is one thing in common, that is they all have scriptures inside. Followers of Yellow sect turn the wheel clockwise, while followers of Black sect turn it anticlockwise.

Lamas in a lama temple

The Mid-Autumn Festival

The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most important festivities in China, According to Chinese lunar calendar, the 15th day of the 8th month is the exact midst of autumn, so it's called the Mid-Autumn Festival.This day is also considered as a harvest festival since fruits, vegetables and grain have been harvested by this time and food is abundant. The Mid-Autumn Festival is an evening celebration when families gather together to light lanterns, eat moon cakes and appreciate the round moon. On that night, the moon appears to be at its roundest and brightest. The full moon is a symbol for family reunion, which is why that day is also known as the Festival of Reunion.

The Moon on the Mid-autumn Day

History
The Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional festivity for both the Han and minority nationalities. The custom of worshiping the moon can be traced back as far as the ancient Xia and Shang Dynasties (2000 B.C.-1066 B.C.). In the Zhou Dynasty (1066 B.C.-221 B.C.), people hold ceremonies to greet winter and worship the moon whenever the Mid-Autumn Festival sets in. It became prevalent in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) that people enjoyed and worshiped the full moon. In the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), however, people sent round moon cakes to their relatives as gifts in expression of their best wishes of family reunion. When it turned dark, they gazed up at the full silver moon or went sightseeing by lakes, to celebrate the festival. Since the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing dynasties (1644-1911), the custom of Mid-Autumn Festival celebration has become unprecedentedly popular.

Different Celebrated Forms
Today, festivities centered about the Mid-Autumn Festival are more varied. After a family reunion dinner, many people like to go out to attend special performances in parks or on public squares. People in different parts of China have different ways to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. 

In Guangzhou in South China, a huge lantern show is a big attraction for local citizens. Thousands of differently shaped lanterns are lit, forming a fantastic contrast with the bright moonlight.

In Zhejiang, a province in East China, watching the flood tide of the Qian-tang River during the Mid-Autumn Festival is not only a must for local people, but also an attraction for those from other parts of the country. The ebb and flow of tides coincide with the waxing and waning of the moon as it exerts a strong gravitational pull. In mid autumn, the sun, earth and moon send out strong gravitational forces upon the seas. The south of the Qian-tang River is shaped like a bugle. So the flood tide which forms at the narrow mouth is particularly impressive. Spectators crowd on the river bank,watching the roaring tital waves.

Moon Cakes
Moon cakes are the special and unique food for the Mid-Autumn Day. For generations, moon cakes have been made with sweet fillings of nuts, mashed red beans, lotus-seed paste or Chinese dates, wrapped in a pastry. Sometimes a cooked egg yolk can be found in the middle of the rich tasting dessert. Today, there are hundreds varieties of moon cakes on sale a month before the arrival of Moon Festival. In America, people can buy moon cakes in Chinese supermarkets or China Town around the date of the festival.

 

Traditional moon cakes

Different kinds of moon cakes in modern times

Ten Minutes and You Know about China

     It is a very interesting and honest video about China. The aspects of the video contain the history, cultures, customs, languages, economy, polity, food, etc. of China. 

   

        Of course the video is full of generalizations because it is only ten-minute length, but there is no way to describe an entire country without generalizing a little bit. It is good because it has bad and good sides about china.         
        Though I am Chinese I don't know everything that has been told from this video. 
        I like this video. Hope you so.

Bizarre Foods TV——Chengdu China

        Andrew gets a taste of the hottest and best Chinese cuisine in the capitol of spicy Chinese food——Chengdu China. He visits the epicenter of tongue-numbing, spicy Sichuan cuisine. Andrew finds out just how much heat he can stand by eating pig brains dunked in boiling chili oil, mind-blowing spicy rabbit heads and heart attack noodles. 

        Here are the restaurants that Andrew visits:

        Nine Bowls
        Andrew and Tiger stop at this restaurant, which is based on a Hakka tradition to serve 9 large banquet bowls: 3 cold, 3 hot, and 3 steamed, followed by a bowl of soup.
        Add.: No. 131 Luo Dai, Long Quan Yi District, Chengdu, Sichuan, China

         Mother Wang's Rabbit BBQ
        Andrew, Tiger, and his friends try some snacks at take-out rabbit joints like this one, known for its dry roasting technique.
        Add.: No. 26 Yulin Street Wuhou District, Chengdu, Sichuan, China

        Ming Ting Fan Dian Restaurant
        Rose and Melissa take Andrew to a popular restaurant where pig brains are the specialty of the house.
        Add.: Chengdu, Sichaun, China

        Yulin Chuan Chuan Xiang Hot Pot Restaurant
        At this restaurant, each table has its own cauldron filled with soup broth, chili oil and the flowering pepper hua jiao. Meats are served on skewers and dipped in the hot pot.
        Add.: No. 23-26 Yuliu Jie, Wuhou District, Chengdu, Sichuan, China

        Chef Yu’s Family Kitchen
        Andrew, Rose, and local TV host Melissa Li Yaqiong eat at this restaurant, located in an old house and serves a full dinner of 64 courses.
        Add.: No. 43 Alley Lower Tongren Road, Qing Yang District, Chengdu, Sichuan, China

        Shong Shing Leaungfet
        Andrew and his friend Tiger Chen head to a booming area of the city known as Ancient Town. One of the biggest draws is the traditional food.
        Add.: No. 53 Luo Dai Long Quan Yi District, Chengdu, Sichuan, China

        Mother Liao's Pig Feet Soup
        Andrew and Tiger grab some pig foot soup, a common ritual after a night out.
        Add.: No. 257-259 Shanxi Street, Chengdu, Sichuan, China

        Ye Feng He Dou Ban Co., LTD
        Andrew and his guide Rose Nickel visit Pixian to learn how douban, or fermented chili bean paste, is made. It's a 300-year-old tradition.
        Add.: No. 41 Nan Street, Pixian, Sichuan, China


        Wai Coa Jia Xiang
        Andrew, Rose, and Melissa make their way to a community wet market where they get a glimpse at old China.
        Add.: No.1 Street Wai Cao Jia Xiang, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
        
        Nei Jiang Rabbit Head
        Tiger takes Andrew on a street food crawl through Ancient Town. They play some street games and eat some snacks.
        Add.: No. 131 Luo Dai, Long Quan Yi District, Chengdu, Sichuan, China

        Tiger Chen’s Family Home
        Tiger lets Andrew sample his mother’s traditional home cooking. She makes everything from scratch, including her own sausage, and serves her own version of nine bowls.
        Add.: Wuhou District, Chengdu, Sichuan, China

        Street Vendors in Pixian
        Rose takes Andrew around Pixian to show him some of the other taste treats that can be found, including one that he spits out!
        Add.: Pixian, China

        The Alleys
        Andrew tags along with Rose and Melissa The Alleys, an entertainment and eating district in Chengdu.
        Add.: Qing Yang District, Chengdu, Sichuan, China

Customs at Traditional Chinese Weddings

Yesterday, one of my classmates in the university told me that she had accepted her boyfriend's proposal and they would hold a wedding next year in May. I felt so happy and congratulated her.

Because of it, I want to discuss some customs at traditional Chinese weddings.

The Predominant Colour——Red

China is different from the wedding on the West, the entire wedding's main colour is red, this is also the representative of the traditional Chinese festivity colours. Red is the color appeared most at traditional Chinese weddings, as it represents good luck and indicates that couple will live happily ever after. This change will enable the wedding jubilation. At the traditional wedding, the bride wears Chinese traditional cheong-sam and a phoenix coronet, covered with a red scarf, while the groom wears a long gown jacket, with a red cap along.

The entire wedding's main colour is red.

The traditional wedding gowns for both the bride (the right one) and the groom (the left one) , as well as their crowns.

Double Happiness

A large Chinese character, Double Happiness, on a red piece of paper or in paper cut is always put where it must strike the eyes at a young couple's wedding. It has a story behind it.

In the ancient Tang Dynasty, there was a student who was on the way to the capital to attend the national final examination, in which the top learners would be selected as the ministers in the court. Unfortunately, he fell ill halfway when he passed through a mountain village. Thanks to a herbalist doctor and his daughter, he was taken to their house and treated well. He recovered quickly due to the father and the daughter's good care. Well, when he had to leave, he found it hard to say good－bye to the pretty girl, and so did she. They fell in love. So the girl wrote down the right hand part of an antithetical couplet for the student to match:

"Green trees against the sky in the spring rain while the sky set off the spring trees in the obscuration."

"Well, I can make it though it is not easy. But you'll have to wait till I have finished the examination." replied the student. The young girl nodded in significance.

In the examination the young man won the first place, who was appreciated by the emperor. Also the winners were interviewed and tested by the emperor. As luck would have it, he was asked by the emperor to finish a couplet, which would need a right part as the answer. The emperor wrote:
   
"Red flowers dot the land in the breeze's chase while the land colored up in red after the kiss."
     
The young man realized immediately the right part of the couplet by the girl was the perfect fit to the emperor's couplet, so he took the girl's part as the answer without hesitation. The emperor was delighted to see the matching half of his couplet was so talent and harmonious that he authorized the young man's identity as Minister in the court and allowed him to pay a visit to his hometown first before holding the post. The young man met the girl happily at home and told her the emperor's couplet. They soon got married. For the wedding, the couple DOUBLED the Chinese character, HAPPY, together, on a red piece of paper and put it on the wall to express the happiness for the two events. And from then on, it has been taken on and became a social custom.

Different kinds of " Double Happiness", and they are handmade articles.

    
Spree in the Bridal Chamber
     
Though many traditional activities can no longer be seen at a traditional Chinese wedding, the spree in the bridal chamber is still common both in the country and in town.
   
The spree happens after the feast when the bride and groom go back into their chamber. Relatives and friends and neighbors, any one at the wedding in fact, can come in to play all kinds of tricks on the new couple, especially the bride. They make a lot of noise so that there is an extremely lively atmosphere in the room, which is believed to be an inseparable part of a jolly wedding.
   
Some say that this custom goes back to Han Dynasty （206 B.C.－A.D. 220）. Others say it was first started by Emperor Kuangyin Zhao, the founder of the Northern Song Dynasty (960－1127). As historical records say that Zhao was concerned about his subjects and often made personal investigation among them. One day, he was traveling in a suburb of the capital city when he came across a wedding. When he learned that the groom was too poor to hire a musical band, he pretended to be the head of a band and called in his royal band to play at the wedding. At night, as Zhao remembered that it was an unlucky day according to the divination, he stayed at the yard with his military counselor Mr. Miao, so that they might be helpful in case any mishap happened to the couple. They sat in the dim moonlight playing chess. After midnight, they caught sight of a ghost climbing over the brick fence. Zhao picked up a wooden bar and ran up to the ghost. He knocked down the ghost only to find that it was a burglar wearing a mask, who had often been stealing property from newly married homes.
   
Emperor Zhao returned to the palace and made an announcement that at all weddings there should be relatives, friends and neighbors to stay around the brides and grooms and that all should be permitted to spree to keep off any eventualities. 

Wedding sweets are required at all weddings in China. Sweets mean a sweet life for the new couple.

 

The bride at her wedding.  Her name is Jing, Hu. She is a famous TV star in China.

   
Chinese weddings are steeped in tradition. While many customs are no longer followed today, there are still a few that have survived the centuries and are a part of modern weddings. There is a Chinese saying, "It is natural to get married when you grow up." And so, marriage is very important to the Chinese culture. However, no matter what kind of wedding, the ceremony must be the most beautiful one throughout one's life because it is the symbol for the new couple that their new life begins.

A Process Map of Cooking Kung-pao Chicken

    Kung-pao Chicken is one of the traditional dishes in China, as well as one of the most famous Chinese food in the world. The process map below is a manual for lay people or Chinese food lovers of how to cook Kung-pao Chicken, which contains 20 steps and takes 30 minutes in total.

    Step 1
    Prepare the materials:
     1）Two chicken legs (without skin);
     2）Seasoning: 1 tablespoon+7-1/2 tsp oil, 5 tsp soy sauce, 4 tsp vinegar, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tsp white sugar, 2g Chinese prickly ash, 1/4 egg white, 5g shallot, 3 tsp starch, 2 tsp cooking wine, 10g dried chili, 5g ginger, 5g garlic, 2 tsp broad bean paste, 1 tsp chili oil;
     3）50g peanut (without peel).

    Step 2
    Cut meat from bone, pull bones from legs, cut the meat into cubes, and wash them with water. 5 min (Picture 1—4)

    Step 3
    Put chicken cubes, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp cooking wine, 1 tsp soy sauce, 2 tsp starch, 1/2 tsp oil, and 1/4 egg white together in a bowl and stir, 2min (Picture 5)
    
    Step 4
    Place the bowl of chicken cubes in the freezer for 10 minutes
    
    Step 5
    Finely chop shallot, ginger and garlic, cut the dried chili to pieces about 1cm long with scissors, 1 min (Picture 6)

    Step 6
    Heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat in a medium saucepan, 30 secs
    
    Step 7
    Stir peanuts with low heat in the saucepan and dish up, 3 min (Picture 7—9)

    
    Step 8
    Make a bowl of sauce mix: 2 tsp white sugar, 4 tsp soy sauce, 4 tsp vinegar,1 tsp starch, some garlic and shallot, 40ml water, mix and stir them, 1min (Picture 10)
    
    Step 9
    Put 2 tsp oil in the medium saucepan, put chicken cubes in it and fry with medium-high heat for 1-1/2 min, then dish up (Picture 11—13)

    
    Step 10
    Heat 5 tsp oil in the medium saucepan, 30 sec
    
    Step 11
    Stir-fry ginger, 2g Chinese prickly ash and some shallot until fragrant, 30 sec (Picture 14)
    
    Step 12
    Add dried chili and garlic to stir for 20 sec (Picture 15)
    
    Step 13
    Add fried chicken cubes and stir, 2 min (Picture 16)

    Step 14
    Add 2 tsp broad bean paste and stir-fry, 1 min (Picture 17)
    
    Step 15
    Add 1 tsp cooking wine when fragrant
    
    Step 16
    Add the bowl of sauce mix and stir quickly with medium-high heat, 1 min (Picture 18)
    
    Step 17
    Add fried peanuts and stir, 30 sec (Picture 19)
    
    Step 18 (optional)
    Add 1 tsp chili oil and stir, 30 sec (Picture 20)

    Step 19
    Sprinkle a little shallot
    
    Step 20
    Dish up

    Wow! It looks tempting, isn't it? Now, It's time to have a meal, let's go!

Jiuzhaigou Valley

Jiuzhaigou Valley, located in Sichuan Province, is a nature reserve and national park in China. It is known for its many multi-level waterfalls and colorful lakes, and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992.


I went there in summer 2009 for the first time, it was so beautiful that really like a fairyland on earth.

Rize Valley

Shuzheng Valley

Nuorilang Falls, although it cannot be compared with the Niagara Falls, it is special.

Sleeping Dragon Lake

 

Reed Lake

 

Five-Color Pond

What is more, Jiuzhaigou has its unique appeal in different seasons. I desire to travel there again in fall because of its different sights from those in summer.

 

Jiuzhaigou Valley in fall

 Jiuzhaigou Valley in winter

Nuorilang Falls in winter

Only one thing that let me sad, I was sick when I was there for the first time because it was too cold in morning. Although it was summer, the temperature was very low due to its high altitude. So I suggest people who plan to go there to carry enough clothes, it is completely necessary.

Four Great Ancient Capitals of China

China has a long history that has lasted over 5000 years. During this long period, there are four great ancient capitals in China. Chronologically, they are Xi'an, Luoyang, Nanjing, and Beijing.

Xi'an: the capital of the Shanxi province, which was called Chang'an in ancient time, is one of the oldest cities in China, with more than 3,100 years of history. It has held that position under several of the most important dynasties in Chinese history, including Zhou, Qin, Han, Sui, and Tang. Xi'an is the eastern terminus of the Silk Road and home to the Terracotta Army.

Mount Hua, one of the great mountains of China

Terracotta Army inside the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum, 3rd century BCE.

Bell Tower of Xi'an

Luoyang: is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province of Central China. Situated on the central plain of China, it was one of the cradles of the Chinese civilization.

 

White Horse Temple

 

Peony: the city flower of Luoyang

Longmen Grottoes

Nanjing: the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions. Nanjing has long been one of China's most important cities. It was the capital of Sun Qian's Wu during the Three Kingdoms Period and the capital of the Republic of China prior to its flight to Taiwan during the Chinese Civil War.

Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum

 

The National Government of the Republic of China in Nanjing, 1927

Zhonghua Gate is the south gate of the walled city of Nanjing. The city wall was built in the 14th century and is the longest in the world.

Beijing: also known as Peking, is the capital of the People's Republic of China. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center,[4] and home to the headquarters for most of China's largest state-owned companies.

The Forbidden City of Beijing

 

Beijing's Temple of Heaven

The Summer Palace

Today, because of their profound cultural traditions, the four cities, especially Xi'an and Luoyang, are famous of tourism, a great many people around the world go to the four cities for traveling every year.

Imperial China

    The first unified Chinese state was established by Qin Shi Huang of the Qin state in 221 BC. Qin Shi Huang proclaimed himself the "First Emperor" (始皇帝), and imposed many reforms throughout China, notably the forced standardization of the Chinese language, measurements, length of cart axles, and currency. The Qin Dynasty lasted only fifteen years, falling soon after Qin Shi Huang's death, as its harsh legalist and authoritarian policies led to widespread rebellion.

        The subsequent Han Dynasty ruled China between 206 BC and 220 AD, and created a lasting Han cultural identity among its populace that extends to the present day. The Han Dynasty expanded the empire's territory considerably with military campaigns reaching Korea, Vietnam,Mongolia and Central Asia, and also helped establish the Silk Road in Central Asia. China was for a large part of the last two millennia the world's largest economy. However, in the later part of the Qing Dynasty, China's economic development began to slow and Europe's rapid development during and after the Industrial Revolution enabled it to surpass China.

After Han's collapse, another period of disunion followed, including the highly chivalric period of the Three Kingdoms. Independent Chinese states of this period such as Wu opened diplomatic relations with Japan, introducing the Chinese writing system there. In 580 AD, China was reunited under the Sui. However, the Sui Dynasty was short-lived after a failure in the Goguryeo-Sui Wars (598–614) weakened it.

        Under the succeeding Tang and Song dynasties, Chinese technology and culture reached its zenith. The Tang Empire was at its height of power until the middle of the 8th century, when the An Shi Rebellion destroyed the prosperity of the empire. The Song Dynasty was the first government in world history to issue paper money and the first Chinese polity to establish a permanent standing navy. Between the 10th and 11th centuries, the population of China doubled in size. This growth came about through expanded rice cultivation in central and southern China, and the production of abundant food surpluses.

        Within its borders, the Northern Song Dynasty had a population of some 100 million people. The Song Dynasty was a culturally rich period for philosophy and the arts. Landscape art and portrait painting were brought to new levels of maturity and complexity after the Tang Dynasty, and social elites gathered to view art, share their own, and trade precious artworks. Philosophers such as Cheng Yi and Chu Hsi reinvigorated Confucianism with new commentary, infused Buddhist ideals, and emphasized a new organization of classic texts that brought about the core doctrine of Neo-Confucianism.

        In 1271, the Mongol leader and fifth Khagan of the Mongol Empire Kublai Khan established the Yuan Dynasty, with the last remnant of the Song Dynasty falling to the Yuan in 1279. Before the Mongol invasion, Chinese dynasties reportedly had approximately 120 million inhabitants; after the conquest was completed in 1279, the 1300 census reported roughly 60 million people. A peasant named Zhu Yuanzhang overthrew the Mongols in 1368 and founded the Ming Dynasty. Ming Dynasty thinkers such as Wang Yangming would further critique and expand Neo-Confucianism with ideas of individualism and innate morality that would have tremendous impact on later Japanese thought. Chosun Korea also became a nominal vassal state of Ming China and adopted much of its Neo-Confucian bureaucratic structure.

        Under the Ming Dynasty, China had another golden age, with one of the strongest navies in the world, a rich and prosperous economy and a flourishing of the arts and culture. It was during this period that Zheng He led explorations throughout the world, possibly reaching America. During the early Ming Dynasty China's capital was moved from Nanjing to Beijing. In 1644 Beijing was sacked by a coalition of rebel forces led by Li Zicheng, a minor Ming official turned leader of the peasant revolt. The last Ming Chongzhen Emperor committed suicide when the city fell. The Manchu Qing Dynasty then allied with Ming Dynasty general Wu Sangui and overthrew Li's short-lived Shun Dynasty, and subsequently seized control of Beijing, which became the new capital of the Qing Dynasty.

Along the River During the Qingming Festival; daily life of people from the Song period at the capital, Bianjing, today's Kaifeng.