The Chinese New Year:
This holiday is also known as the Spring Festival. It falls on the first day of the first lunar
month. Chinese years are grouped in sets of 12 with each year represented by an animal
(a zodiac sign). It is often said that a person displays the characteristics of the animal
representing the year in which they were born.
The Chinese New Year is a time of great excitement and celebration for all Chinese
around the world. In some Asian countries, the festivities may last for weeks. On New
Year’s Eve, family members gather for a huge luxurious feast. Many of the foods served
have a symbolic meaning. Some foods have names that sound the same as Chinese
characters (words). These Chinese characters have a prosperous meaning, and the
shapes and colors of the foods symbolize health, happiness, and good fortune. On New
Year’s Day, family members eat a vegetarian dish called “jai”. All of its ingredients are tied
to prosperous symbols.
The New Year is ushered in joyfully with the thunderous roar of exploding firecrackers to
frighten away evil spirits. The dragon dance is a vital part of this celebration. The dance
was originally performed to please the dragon, the god of water, and to ask for rain during
periods of drought. The dragon is a symbol of strength, dignity, and success. During the
Chinese New Year, people greet each other with the phrase, “Gung Hay Fat Choy” to wish
each other best wishes and prosperity This phrase means “ Happy New Year.”
Families will visit relatives and friends to wish them a Happy New Year. The younger
members visit their elders. After “Gung Hay Fat Choy” is wished for the elders, the elders
in return give “l(fā)ucky money” to their younger visitors. “Lucky money”; is money that is
placed into specially designed red envelopes. Married couples give “l(fā)ucky money” to their
children and to the unmarried children of relatives and friends. New Year gifts (oranges,
tangerines, and New Year candy) are exchange between relatives and friends
The Dragon Boat Festival:
The Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. There are
many stories regarding the origin of this festival. The most popular and widely accepted
story concerns Qu Yuan, a minister during the Warring States Period (475 - 221 BC). Qu
Yuan was a wise man and was admired by the common people. He fought against the
corruption in the Emperor's administration. The minister lost his position as a key advisor
to the Emperor due to his betrayal by other officials. In exile, Qu Yuan traveled, taught,
and wrote for several years. When he heard the Emperor was defeated, he fell into despair
and threw himself into the river. Fishermen rushed out in long boats, beating drums to
scare the fish away and casting rice dumplings into the water, so the fish would not eat
Qu Yuan’s body.
Starting with that day, people commemorate Qu Yuan through Dragon Boat Races and
the eating of rice dumplings. The dumplings are the traditional food for the Dragon Boat
Festival and are called zong zi. The dumpling is a steamed glutinous rice ball wrapped in
bamboo leaves and filled with eggs, beans, meat, and mushrooms.
Dragon boat races are the most exciting part of this festival and draw crowds of
spectators. Dragon boats are brightly painted canoes. The front is shaped like an open-
mouthed dragon, and the stern is shaped like a scaly tail. Ranging anywhere from 40 to
100 feet in length, it can take up to 80 rowers to power one boat. A drummer and a flag
catcher stand at the front of the boat. Before a dragon boat can enter the competition, it
must be “brought to life” by painting the eyes of the open-mouthed dragon at the front of
the boat in a sacred ceremony. Races can have any number of boats.The winner is the
first team to grab a flag at the end of the course. Annual races take place all over China,
Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and in other overseas Chinese communities during this
festival.
The Moon Festival:
The Moon Festival is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month. It is then
that the moon is at its brightest and roundest for the year. This festival is similar to the
American Thanksgiving holiday and celebrates bountiful harvest. As with every Chinese
holiday, the Moon Festival is accompanied by a special food rich in stories about the
festival’s origin. The moon cakes are the main treats at any Chinese celebration of the
Moon festival. A moon cake has a cookie crust and is filled with lotus seed paste or red
bean paste with salted egg yolks. The cakes have special characters inscribed on their
top for longevity or harmony. A moon cake is quite filling even though it is only the size of
a human palm.
The most famous legend surrounding the Moon Festival is its possible role in Chinese
history. In the 13th century, moon cakes were the perfect instrument for hiding and
passing along plans for rebellion against the Mongols of the Yuan Dynasty. The leaders of
the rebellion, as the Moon Festival drew near, ordered the making of these special cakes.
Baked into each moon cake was a message with the outline of the attack. On the night of
the Moon Festival, the rebels successfully attacked and overthrew the Yuan Dynasty.
According to another legend, in ancient times, the Earth once had ten Suns circling
around it. Each Sun took its turn illuminating the Earth. One day all ten Suns appeared
together, scorching the Earth with extreme heat. Hou Yi, a strong and tyrannical archer,
shot down nine of the suns. A goddess rewarded Hou Yi with the elixir of life that granted
him immortality. His wife, Chang E. knew that other people’s lives would be miserable if
Hou Yi lived forever, so she drank the potion to save the people from her husband. After
drinking it, she felt herself floating and flew to the Moon. Hou Yi loved his divinely beautiful
wife so much; he would not shoot down the Moon. Even today, the Chinese like to think of
the Moon as the home of Chang E.
Feng Shui:
Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese art of living in harmony with nature. The words
Feng Shui translate literally as “wind and water. The blowing and flowing
characteristics of these two elements are seen as affecting our environment and
wellbeing. Feng Shui offers guidelines for living in harmony to assure that there is
love, health, and wealth in our lives.
Feng Shui is not magic or superstition. It is an elaborate strategy based on
specific principles that have been refined over thousands of years. These principles
reveal ways to balance all the energies of the environment. If positive energy flows
through our environment, then the people living in that environment will also benefit.
Today people realize that the environment does affect them, and Feng Shui is a
key to understanding how our surroundings do influence all of us. This time-
honored formula continues to guide us to place objects of fortune in our
environment to stimulate positive energy in that environment. Living in harmony
with the natural forces of nature can lead to a healthy, happy, and prosperous life.
An Introduction to Chinese Traditional Medicine:
The Chinese Traditional Medicine,known as the natural treatment medicine,
considers a man's body as a part of the whole universe. So any changes of
the universe system may cause the man's disease. Excepting the
astronomical terminal influence on the man's body,there are six infiltrations
that damage the man's health from outside. The six infiltrations are: Wind,
Cold, Summer-Heat, Dryness, Wetness and Hotness. And besides,there are
seven modes of emotion which damage the man's health from inside. The
seven modes of emotion are: Overjoying, Anger, Sadness, Fear, Grief,
Unceased-Thinking and Worrying.
According to The Chinese Traditional Medicine, not only the blood supplies
nutrition for the body, but also another kind of material takes more important
effect in such work,the very important material is a kind of Energy-Flow (In
Chinese it's called Qi).
Just like the blood flows in the vessels, the Energy-Flow flows in twenty
special accesses (The accesses are named Meridians,including 12 common
Meridians and 8 extra Meridians). If any of the Energy-Flow accesses
(Meridians) are blocked, or the Energy-Flow (Qi) is weakened,there must be
a cause of diseases.
Four diagnostic methods are used in The Chinese Traditional Medicine:
Inspection, a method of observing the sick's mental state, facial expression,
tongue-coating, complexion,etc; Listening, a method of examining the sick's
voice, tone and fluency in speaking; Inqiring, a method of diagnosing illness
by asking about its cause, history, and current state; Pulse-Judgement, a
method of judging various diseases by finger-feeling the 28 modes of pulse.
The medicinal Sinoherb,comprising hundreds of kinds, may perform various
functions to the human's body,such as Warm, Cool, Restoring
Energy-Flow(Qi), Tonifying Blood, etc.
The Chinese Traditional Medicine used to differentiat various diseases by
using the above four diagnostic methods,and thus gives the patient proper
treatments and medicinal herbs.