| Below is a list of articles with the most recent ones listed first. |
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Animals that symbolize love in China |
| Animal symbolism has a long history in Chinese culture... |
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Taboos and Superstitions of Chinese New Year |
| During Chinese New Year, you are likely to see many beautiful decorations adorning homes, businesses and public places... |
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Celebrating Western Valentines Day in China |
| Western Valentines Day has become a hugely popular festival in China over the past few years since the Middle Kingdom has opened to the West... |
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Auspicious Undulations: Chinese New Year Dragon Dances |
| Dragons are one of the most powerful symbols in all of Chinese culture... |
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Chinas Luckiest Flowers |
| Just like most major cultural groups in the world, the Chinese have strong associations with flowers. Flowers are an important gift-giving tradition and there are many special rules about which flowers to give and when to give them... |
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Lucky Cat and Fortune Bat - Auspicious Chinese Animals |
| Since the dawn of time, animals have played important symbolic roles throughout China. Both real natural animals and mythical beasts have taken on lucky, auspicious or generally superstitious meanings that still hold up today... |
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Confucius Temples: Houses of Worship in Ancient China |
| Undoubtedly, the most famous and influential thinker and philosopher in Chinese history was Confucius... |
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Four Professions of Ancient China |
| As far back as the Zhou Dynasty (1045-256 BC), Chinese professional classes were divided into four major groups. These were shi, or scholars, nong, or farmers, gong, or artisans and shang, or merchants... |
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Imperial Exams: The Worlds First Standardized Tests |
| Few people realize that the first standardized tests ever given in the world were taken in China... |
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Forbidden delights in the Imperial Palace |
| Chinas Imperial Palace, also known as the Forbidden City, is the oldest and grandest imperial structure in the Middle Kingdom. It was once the stately home of 24 different emperors and their attendants and families during the Ming and Qing Dynasties... |
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Solace and Contemplation in a Chinese Garden |
| Classical Chinese gardens were popular early in Chinese history, but the design and structure of the gardens we know today was not established until the Ming Dynasty... |
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Poems of love and loss: Song Dynasty Ci |
| China has a long and rich literary tradition, not the least of which includes many forms of poetry and verse. Among them, perhaps some of the most beautiful, sorrowful and tangible are the ci... |
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Sweet Mid-Autumn Snacks: Mooncakes |
| Mooncakes are a special pastry eaten in celebration of Chinas Mid-Autumn Festival, the second most important festival in the Middle Kingdom after Chinese New Year... |
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Chinas Luckiest Numbers |
| As in many cultures, there are certain numbers that are luckier than others in China. Where in the West, 7 might be considered an extremely lucky number, while 13 is bad luck, China has its own version of auspicious digits... |
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The Goddess of Mercy - Guan Yin |
| Guan Yin (or kwan-yin) is the Chinese goddess of compassion and mercy. Believed to have originally derived from the Sanskrit Avalokiteśvara, popular depictions of Guan Yin come from Chinese Taoist religion... |
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Ghost Money Buys a Good Afterlife |
| The Chinese have always held strong beliefs about spirituality, ancestors and the afterlife... |
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Foo Dogs are Ancient Guardians |
| If you have ever walked in to a Buddhist temple or Chinese imperial palace, you probably noticed two menacing statues standing near the doorway, guarding the entrance. These statues are known as foo dogs or guardian lions and their imagery is extremely common within Chinese historical architecture..... |
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Firecrackers are Chinas passion |
| It is no secret that the Chinese invented gunpowder and, with it, firecrackers. A trip to China today will only reconfirm that fact, as fireworks and crackers are still extremely popular for just about every event... |
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Door gods keep evil spirits away |
| China has a well-known tradition of hanging likenesses of important people and symbols around their homes and buildings, especially near the doors. One such important image is that of the door gods... |
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Traditional Remedies: Chinese Medicine |
| Traditional Chinese Medicine (known simply as TCM) is the oldest known medical tradition in the world, going back some 2000 years... |
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The Yellow River: Chinas Blessing and Curse |
| The Chinese call the Yellow River the Mother River and the Cradle of Chinese Civilization because it is thought that the original Chinese people first came from the Yellow River basin... |
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The Yangtze: Chinas Longest River |
| The 3rd longest river in the world, the Yangtze River winds its way more than 6,000 km from the western mountains of Chinas Qinghai Province to the East China Sea in Shanghai... |
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Strategic Chinese Chess |
| Chinese chess is a game of strategy played by two opponents. The game is known in Chinese as xiangqi... |
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Old Hundred Names Chinas Most Common Surnames |
| Old Hundred Names (nao bai xing) is an idiomatic Chinese expression that refers to ordinary people or common people... |
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Couplets Greet You at the Door |
| Walking through the entrances to many palaces, homes or important buildings, you are likely to spot a panel of characters down each length of the door frame on both sides... |
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New Year Pictures that Welcome the Future |
| Spring Festival is the Chinese New Year celebration, which takes place on the first day of the first lunar month, usually around January or February each year... |
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Ancient Beijing Neighborhoods The Hutongs |
| Beijing is an ancient city abounding in traditional culture. The oldest, most time-honoured areas of Beijing are the hutongs - old-fashioned neighborhoods that exist along narrow laneways throughout Beijing... |
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The Symbolic Meanings of Flowers in China |
| China is a culture of flowers. Its traditional art and customs are infused with symbols and habits that pertain to flowers... |
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China: A Nation of Many Languages |
| China is an extremely diverse nation. It is home to more than 56 recognized ethnic groups and hundreds of different types of languages to accompany them... |
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Filial Piety: the Most Important Virtue in Chinese Culture |
| According to Chinese tradition Filial Piety is the most important virtue to be cherished through out the span of ones parents lifetime... |
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