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Art of calligraphy traditionally was considered as the highest form of fine arts in China, up to such degree, that the character of a person was judged according to the elegance of his handwriting. Art of a decorative calligraphy is represented everywhere in China, in temples, on walls of caves, on slopes of mountains and on monuments. The basic tools for a calligraphy, brush and ink, are also the basic tools for traditional Chinese painting in which basic art of lines and shades are presented. There were many architectural monuments despite of all the destructions caused by time, wars and ideological struggle in China. Traces of the past were kept in imperial constructions of Pekin, colonial buildings of Shanghai, in casual small villages and in the Buddhists and Thai temples. A part of the Chinese culture was depicted in days of a neolith (9000-6000 up to our era). There was a funeral art. Burials included both ritual accessories and weapon, and ceramic figures, figures of horses and the ceremonial subjects made of bronze. Potter's business in China also concerns the most ancient kinds of art, it is necessary to tell, that the first-ever manufacture of porcelain began by Chinese in 6 century B.C., having reached the Golden Age during the government of Dynasty Syan. The official language of China is Mandarin, a dialect on which is spoken in Pekin. More than 70 % of the population of the country speak Mandarin, but it is only the top of a linguistic iceberg. There is a set of dialects in the state, and inside of these dialects there are still some more dialects. One of seven basic dialects is Kantonese. It is spoken in provinces of Guangdong, in a southern part of Gansu, in Hong Kong and, partly, in Macao. But to visit this country it is required for you not only to get to know the idea of this language, but also it will be still necessary to apply for Chinese visa. The literary heritage of China is magnificent, but unfortunately is not translated to other languages that makes it practically inaccessible to the western readers. Traditionally literature of China is presented in two forms: classical and colloquial, national (for example, the prosaic epos about dynasty Min). Chinese theatre is very similar to an opera as music plays a great role, it also includes such genres, as acrobatics, military single combats and stylized dances. Many fans of cinema adore Chinese films shown at the international festivals and films have tremendous success. Recently there was new, the fifth after a cultural revolution, generation of talented directors, such as Jean Jimou (" Red corgo "). Add to this directors from Hong Kong John Vu ("Abrupt") and Ringo Lem (" Full contact "), and you can imagine a picture of high-grade extremely successful film-industry. Chinese cuisine is widely popular, very various and intended not for fastidious. The Chinese people tell, that they eat everything, that has four legs, except for tables. In most cases it is the simple preparation of the refined dishes from the limited number of components. Chinese cuisine can be conditionally divided into four regional categories: Peking and Shandon (with warm up rolls and pasta in the form of paper clips), slightly prepared meat and vegetables, Shanghai (the native land of "red" dishes and meat) and very spicy, with a lot of sauce of Chile. Tea - is one of the most widespread soft drinks besides coca-cola, it becomes all more popular while beer remains the most popular alcoholic drink. The word "wine" has set of values, beginning with drinks, drawn from every possible grasses, finishing rice vodka and wine with lizards, bees and pickled snakes. One more favourite drink is maotay which is made of corgo, with a smell of medical spirit, with success replacing gasoline and solvent of paints. |
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