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Traditional Chinese wedding dress with phoenix crown (凤 冠Qing Dynasty style. Still used in many parts of southeast Asia, including Taiwan . 26th December 2011.
Image by Kelidimari ➚ available under a Creative Commons license ➚ .
Online Chinese Dictionary Have a word or character to look-up? Use our free and extensive online dictionary . Read more…
Traditional and Simplified When you start learning Chinese you soon across the fact that there are two written forms still in use, the simplified form used in China and the old, traditional form still used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and other overseas Chinese communities. With 4,000 years of use the written Chinese language has many archaic features. On the formation of the Peoples' Republic an ambitious reform of the script was instigated which has made the learning of the characters far easier. Read more…
Ancient stone writings Stone steles form the most permanent of records. Over the centuries they have been used as memorials, reference libraries, calligraphy samples and poems. The earliest examples date back 2,500 years and the characters remain understandable. Collections of steles in Beijing , Xi'an and Qufu are numbered in the thousands. Visitors to China will have seen these revered inscriptions in all sorts of locations: mountains, houses, parks and museums documenting the lives and feelings of people over the centuries. A few are diagrams rather than text, showing maps of cities and even star maps of the heavens. They are a powerful and permanent expression of the continuity of Chinese history. Read more…
The building of China's railways The building of railways became a competitive scramble between foreign powers in the late 19th and early 20th century. Railways were seen as the key first step to opening up inland China for trade. Britain, France, Germany, Japan and America all invested in the building of them only for the investment to be lost in the following years of turmoil. Read more…
Feng Shui The ancient tradition of Feng Shui has been far reaching for thousands of years. It is still practiced today, particularly for choosing the site for buildings and graves. With the goal of harmony and balance with nature, it has excellent environmental credentials. Read more…
The Chinese Language The Chinese language is rightly treasured as the country's greatest accomplishment. Our language section introduces the historical and linguistic background that greatly adds to the appreciation of China. The written script has fascinated Western scholars for centuries. In the language section we include some introductory lessons, a guide to how it is written and some of the oldest classical texts. Read more…
