中国文化英语教程Unit 2
中国文化英语教程Unit1andUnit2孔子和老子的比较精品PPT课件
Answer one
I prefer Confucius. The reason why are as followed.
Teachings and philosophy have deeply influenced Chinese.
Emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships.
Answer two
I considered that Confucius ‘s thoughts was better than Laozi’s . The reason why are as followed.
The Confucius required people to hold Heaven in awe.
Confucius pay great attention to harmonious human relationships.
Confucius stresses on self-reflection .
Answer two
• Different • Laozi’s enlightening views are based
on his philosophy of naturalness and non-action.
Answer two
• All in all, I support Confucius, resulting from its thoughts meets the needs of our time to build up a harmonious society and ag的学习习惯
The foundation of success lies in good habits
《中国文化》英语教程复习题及答案
I. Chinese Cultural Terms :1.绿茶green tea2.红茶black tea3.乌龙茶oolong tea4.黑茶dark tea5.花茶scented tea6.茉莉花茶jasmine tea7.八大菜系eight major schools of cuisine /8 Regional Chinese Cuisines8.茶道tea ceremony9.茶具tea set10.紫砂壶boccaro teapot11.北京烤鸭Beijing roast duck12.清蒸鱼steamed fish13.狗不理包子Goubili steamed buns14. 佛跳墙Buddha Jumping the Wall15. 《论语》The Analects16. 《诗经》The Book ofSongs17. 《道德经》Classic of the Way and Virtue18.道家Daoism19.汉字Chinese character20.象形文字pictograph21.甲骨文oracle-bone inscription/ oracle-bone script22.篆文seal character/ seal script23.文房四宝four treasures of study24.丝绸之路the Silk Road25. 海上丝绸之路the Maritime silk road26.一带一路倡议The Belt and Road Initiative27.西域the Western regions28.敦煌石窟the Dunhuang Grottoes29.春秋时期the Spring and Autumn Period30. 方块象形文字the square-shaped pictographic character31. 颜(真卿)体the Yan style32. 民间艺术folk arts33.年画New Year pictures34.剪纸paper cutting /papercuts35.皮影戏shadow play36.苏绣Suhou Embroidery37.造纸术paper making38.印刷术printing39.佛经Buddhist scripture40.行书running script /semi-cursive script41.草书cursive script42.楷书regular script/standard script43.隶书official script/ clerical script44.砚the ink slab/ the ink stone; 墨ink stick45.六艺：礼乐射御书数“six arts” : ritual,music,archery, carriage driving , calligraphy , and mathematics46.毛笔the writing brush47.宣纸xuan paper/ rice paper48.中国书法Chinese calligraphy49.简体字：simplified characters50. 繁体字complex characters/ traditional characters51.中国结Chinese knots52.佛教Buddhism53.国徽national emblem54. 国旗national flag55. 国歌national anthemII. Multiple choices (每题三个选项中选一个最佳答案)1)Which of the following is irrelevant to the pictographic symbols of Chinese characters? (下列哪项与汉字的象形符号无关？)Aspiration. 吸Imagination.想象Creativity.创造力Allusion.典故2) Which of the following statements is true of the name of Fudan Universit(y关于复旦大学的名称，下列哪个陈述是正确的？)The characters both stand for "the sun rising on the horizon"这.些字符都代表着“太阳在地平线上升起”The name is taken from a Chinese classical poem.这个名字取自中国古典诗歌The name encourages the students to get up early in the morning.这个名字鼓励学生早上早起The characters are intended to tell the students to make progress day by day.这些字旨在让学生们一天天地进步3) Which of the following languages mostly consists of language pictures(下列语言中哪一种主要由语言图片组成？) ? B___Mandarin Chinese. 普通话Hieroglyphs of ancient Egypt.古埃及的象形文字Oracle-bone inscription. 甲骨文Seal characters.篆书4) The symbol for “swimming” is closest to (“游泳”的符号最接近的是)oracle-bone inscription 甲骨文Mandarin Chinese 普通话seal characters 篆书none of the above 没有选项5)The symbol for “athletics” contains the ingredients of (“运动”的符号包含了)dancing and running 跳舞、跑步running and swinging 跑步和摆动dancing and swinging 跳舞和摆动triathlon and football 铁人三项和足球6)All the following are the titles of Confucius excep(t以下孔子的头衔除了) ___.Ban educator 一个教育家A biologist 一个生物学家A scholar 有识之士A philosopher 一个哲学家7)The expression “filial piety” most probably means being (“孝”的意思很可能是指) ___.DLoyal to the state 忠于国家Obedient to sister(s) 听姐姐的话Responsible for the family 对家庭负责Dutiful to parents 孝顺父母8)Which of following can best describe Confucius’ view on the relationship between man and nature (下面哪一个最能说明孔子对人与自然关系的看法？) ___.D Brothers 兄弟Husband and wife 夫妇Doctor and patient 医生和病人Mother and son 母子9)Through burial and ancestral worship rituals,people can learn that (通过丧葬和祭祖仪式，人们可以了解到。
中国文化英语教程文本 (1)精选全文
精选全文完整版（可编辑修改）Part I Wisdom and BeliefsUnit 1 Confucian thought on heaven and humanityConfucius (551-479 BC), known in China as Kongzi, given name Qiu and alias Zhongni, was a native of Zouyi (present-day Qufu in Shandong Province) of the State of Lu during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC). A great thinker, educator and founder of Confucianism, Confucius is an ancient sage to the Chinese people. His words and life story were recorded by his disciples and their students in The Analects (Lunyu).Confucius on Heaven: the source of EverythingIn the Shang (1600-1046 BC) and Zhou (1046-256 BC) dynasties, the prevalent concept of “Heaven”was that of a personified god, which influenced Confucius. Generally, however, Confucius regarded “Heaven” as nature. He said, “Heaven does not speak in words. It speaks through the rotation of the four seasons and the growth of all living things.”Obviously, heaven equaled nature, in the eyes of Confucius. Moreover, nature was not a lifeless mechanism separate from humans; instead, it was the great world of life and the process of creation of life. Human life was part and parcel of nature as a whole.Confucius on People: ren and liRen and Li are the two core concepts of Confucius’s doctrine about people.When his students Fan Chi asked him about ren, Confucius replied, “love people”. This is Confucius’ most important interpretation of ren. Love for the people is universal love. Confucius further emphasized that this kind of love should “begin with the love for one’s parents”. He believed no one could love people in general if they did not even love their own parents. Confucius regarded “filial piety and fraternal duty”as the essence of ren. The Doctrine of the Mean (Zhongyong) quotes Confucius as saying, “The greatest love for people is the love for one’s parents.” He also said, “Children should not travel far while their parents are alive. If they have no choice but to do so, they must retain some restraint.” He did not mean that children should not leave their parents at all. What he meant was that children should not make the parents anxious about them while away from home. Confucius said again, “Children should think often of the age of their parents. They should feel happy for the health and longevity of their parents. They should also feel concern for the aging of their parents.”By ren, Confucius meant universal love based on love for one’s parents. How should people love one another then? Confucius said, “One should be aware that other people may have similar desires as oneself. While fulfilling one’s desires, allow others to fulfill their desires as well.” He further said, “Do not do toward others anything you would not want to be done to you.” Thus from oneself to one’s family, from family to society, one should extend love to all people. Mencius (c. 372-289 BC), a great Confucian scholar, best summarized ren as, “loving one’s parents, loving the people, loving everything in the world.”Li refers to rituals, traditions and norms in social life. Of these, Confucius regarded burial rituals and ancestral worship rituals as the most important, because they rose from human feelings. He said, “A child should not leave his parents’ bosom until he is three years old.” He naturally love hisparents. The ritual of wearing mourning for a deceased parent for three years was an expression of the child’s love and remembrance.Confucius on the State of lifeBefore Confucius, only the nobility had the right to education. He was the first figure in Chinese history to initiate private education. According to historical records, Confucius taught for many years and trained 3,000 disciples. A total of 72 of them excelled in the “six arts”, i.e., ritual, music, archery, (carriage)driving, calligraphy, and mathematics. A great educator, Confucius has been admired by later generations as the “sage of sages”.Confucius believed the basic goal of education was to cultivate “persons of virtue”, who should have sound character and uplifted minds. Such people should be able to shoulder important social responsibilities and to make contributions to society. Confucius regarded lofty ideals, great virtue, love of people, and the “six arts” as the general principles of education. Of these, virtue was the most important. His students were involved in a variety of professions, including politics, trade, education, diplomacy, ritual ceremony, and classifying ancient books. Whatever they did, they all wanted to improve their learning of the humanities and to enhance their virtue.Unit 2 Laozi’s philosophy of Non-actionThe book Laozi was written around the sixth century BC. The author is generally believed to be Lao Dan, or Laozi – a recluse who lived during the Spring and Autumn Period. Few records have survived about Lao Dan, who was said to have once held a low civil position in the royal court, in chare of the archival records of the Zhou Dynasty. Yet, due to his great learning, even Confucius was said to have traveled miles to consult him.Laozi, also known as Classic of the Way and Virtue (Dao De Jing), consists of just over 5,000 Chinese characters. Its 81 chapters are divided into two parts, Dao (the Way) and De (Virtue). Short as it is, the book has played a tremendous role in the development of Chinese culture. It became the basis of Daoism, the school of philosophy parallel to Confucianism in ancient China. The thought of Laozi formed the foundation of Daoism, the most influential indigenous school of religion in China. It has also exerted a direct impact on the characteristics, trends of thought and aesthetic sensibilities of the Chinese nation. Today Laozi still plays a role in the development of Chinese thinking. Naturalness and Non-action“Naturalness” is an important concept of Laozi’s philosophy. It refers to a natural state of being, an attitude of following the way of nature. Laozi emphasized that everything in the world has its own way of being and development: birds fly in the sky, fish swim in the water, clouds float in the sky, flowers bloom and flowers fall. All these phenomena occur independently and naturally without following any human will, and humans should not try to change anything natural. Laozi admonished people to give up on any desire to control the world. Following the way of nature is the way to resolving conflicts between humans and the world.“Non-action”is another important concept of Laozi’s philosophy. It is the guarantee of “Naturalness”. Laozi said, “(Dao or the Way) acts through non-action,”by which he did no mean that one should do nothing and passively wait for something to be achieved. Neither did he deny human creativity. What he meant is that human enterprises should be built on the basis of naturalness, not on many attempts to interrupt the rhythm of nature. Human creativity should be in compliance with the ways of nature.The philosophy of Non-contentionOn the basis of “naturalness”and “non-action”, Laozi proposed the view of “overcoming the strong by being weak”. The era Laozi lived in was replete with endless wars. Therefore, war was an important treme for philosophers, and ant-war thinking was the norm. Even the great strategist Sunzi advocated “winning a war without fighting it”, not to mention the great thinker Confucius, who strongly championed a government based on love. Their contemporary Mozi (c. 468-376 BC), founder of Mohism, also condemned wars while calling for “love for all”.According to Laozi, war springs from humanity’s bloated desires. Conflict arises out of people’s struggles to satisfy their desires, and conflict escalates into war. Therefore, Laozi’s philosophy is based on “non-contention”. To him, human striving and competitive strife is the root cause of decline; desiring nothing is the natural way of life.Laozi said, “The greatest virtue is like water.”He compared his philosophy of “non-contention” to water, to distinguish it from the law of the jungle. He said, “Water nourishes everything but contends for nothing.” To Laozi, humans tend to seek higher positions while water always flows to lower places. Driven by desire, humans like whatever they think is superior while despising whatever they think is inferior. Yet water always flows downward. As the source of life, water nourishes all living things on Earth. No life can exist without water. Water contributes to the world without regard for gain or loss. Remaining low, level and tranquil, water embraces and reflects everything under heaven. The way of water is completely different from the way of people with avid desires.But the philosophy of Laozi is by no means weak. On the contrary, it is full of strength. According to Laozi, water accumulates great strength in its weakness and quietude. Its strength can break down all barriers in the world. He said, “Nothing in the world is weaker than water. Yet nothing is stronger than water when it comes to breaking something strong.”Water is a typical example of the weak winning over the strong. Water is invincible because it desires nothing and contends for nothing.Unit 3 Chinese Buddhist CultureWho am I? Where am I from? Where am I going?Men are mortal. But death is not an once-and-for-all thing. They enter the rotating Wheel of Six Realms:Heaven, Human, Asura, Animal, Hungry Ghost, Hell.Documents stored in computer can be canceled at will, but what we have done in our life, and actually in our innumerable lives, cannot. What has been done has been done. The information is stored in your true “self”, not the physical one, and will accompany you life after life, and determines which Realm you enter.Only when we are completely free from lust, hatred, and folly, can we manage to break away from the capture of the rotating Wheel, and achieve perpetual enlightenment, discovering your true “self”.In Buddhism there isn’t any dominating god who controls your destiny. We are the maker of our own fate. What we are at present is a result of what we have done in the past; and what we will be in the future is decided by what we are doing at present. What we have done form the “karma”, which, like a gene, decides on your future story. But this “gene” can of course be modified, by doing good deeds and obtaining healthy biological and spiritual energy, so as to change our future course of career. We are, therefore, our own master. What are the basic requirements for a Buddhist?Five Prohibitions for the laymen:1) Don’t kill;2) Don’t steal;3) Don’t seek aberrant sensual pleasures;4) Don’t talk irresponsibly;5) Don’t drink alcohol.Part II Creativity and ExchangeUnit 4 The Silk RoadThe silk road refers to a transport route connecting ancient China with Central Asia, West Asia, Africa, and the European continent. It appeared as early as the second century BC and was traveled mainly by silk merchants. The term “Silk Road”, or “die Seidenstrasse”in German, was first noted down by the German geographer Ferdinand Von Richthofen at the end of the 19th century.The silk road began in Chang’an (present-day Xi’an, capital of Shaanxi Province), passing through Gansu and Xinjiang to Central Asia, West Asia, and to lands by the Mediterranean. There were no signs of communication between ancient Chinese civilization and Mediterranean civilization in earlier history. In about the seventh century BC, the ancient Greeks began to learn about an ancient civilization to the east, yet knew little about it. Before the Silk Road, according to archeological findings, there had already existed an intermittent trade route on the grasslands from the Yellow River and the Indus River drainage areas to the Euphrates and the Tigris, and the Nile drainage areas. Yet real communication between China, Central and West Asian countries, Africa and the European continent did not develop until the opening of the Silk Road.Zhang Qian, Trail BlazerThe pioneer who blazed the trail of the Silk Road was Zhang Qian (c. 164-114 BC). In Zhang Qian’s time, the Chinese has little knowledge about Central and West Asian countries, Africa or Europe, although they were aware of the existence of many different countries and cultures in faraway places to the west.During the reign of Emperor Wu (r. 140-135 BC), there were 36 small kingdoms in the Western Regions (present-day Xinjiang and parts of Central Asia). All of them were later conquered by the Huns, who then posed a direct threat to the Western Han and blocked the dynasty’s path west. Under these circumstances, Emperor Wu appointed Zhang Qian to lead a team of more than 100 envoys to the Western Regions.The mission was to unite the Indo-Scythic people against the Huns, who once killed their chieftain. Zhang Qian’s team set out in 138 BC. No sooner had they entered the Hexi Corridor (northwest of present-day Gansu Province), than they were captured by the Huns. After being held under house arrest for over ten years, Zhang Qian and only one other remaining envoy managed to escape and return to Chang’an in 126 BC. Their accounts about the Western Regions were a revelation to Hun emperor and his ministers.In the next two decades, Emperor Wu launched three major campaigns against the Huns, forcing them to retreat from the Western Regions. In 119 BC, the emperor sent Zhang Qian on a second mission to the Western Regions. This time Zhang Qian went further west, while his deputies reached more than a dozen countries in South and West Asia, and the Mediterranean.Zhang Qian’s two missions to the Western Regions opened up the road to the west. EmperorWu adopted a series of measures to strengthen ties with the Western Regions, including encouraging Han People to trade there.Soon the route was bustling with caravans of camels carrying goods of all types and reverberating with the tinkling of their bells. Through the Silk Road, trade flourished between China and Central, South and West Asian countries, Africa and Europe. In 166, envoys from Rome arrived via the Silk Road in Chang’an, were they set up an embassy.Part III Art and AestheticsUnit 5 Music: Govern the Country, Nourish the Mind The tradition of Chinese music dates back to remote antiquity. Governing the country and nourishing the mind through music are two of the main functions of this tradition.Governance Through MusicAccording to ancient Chinese culture, rituals provided the norms of conduct of people. The goal was to maintain social order.Music was for the mind’s cultivation and expression. Its purpose was to enhance people’s outlook on life and imbue them with energy and creativity, such that they could enjoy a more harmonious and happier spiritual life. Individual contentment would then lead to social harmony, as well as to a more harmonious relationship between people and nature. The highest level of ancient Chinese music was to represent spiritual with nature.The prominent stature of music in ancient China explains the emergence of sophisticated instruments from early times. Chime bells were one example. First used in the Shang Dynasty, they became quite popular during the Western Zhou Dynasty (1046-771 BC). In 1978, a fine set of chime bells was unearthed in Hubei Province, from the tomb of Marquis Yi, a local lord in a small state called Zeng during the Warring States Period.The Marquis Yi chime bells consist of 65 bells arranged in three rows. The first row includes 19 niu bells, and the second and third rows include 45 yong bells. The bells in each row differ from one another in shape and size, emanating(发出) different tones. In addition, there is a separate and much larger bell used to adjust pitch. Like the bells, the from is made of bronze, weighing as much as five tons or more. The total weight of the bells is more than 440 kilograms. While the bells bear inscriptions totaling more than 2,800 Chinese characters relating to music and the making of the instrument, the frame is carved with exquisite patterns in relief (浮雕) and fretwork(回纹细工). Instruments of such a scale and such fine craftsmanship were quite rate in the world at the time. Five musicians were needed to play the instrument. Each bell produces two tones when struck at the respective sound points as marked. The entire set of chime bells is able to produce all the tones of a modern piano.Consoling the Mind with MusicThe Chinese zither tends to create a tranquil air. The composition Wild Geese Landing on the Shallow Shore is such an example. With a relaxed rhythm, the first part of the piece depicts a calm Yangtze River under a clear autumn sky. The second part progresses into livelier rhythms to imitate the chirping of many birds. The third part presents a thematic scene of wild geese leisurely landing on the shallow shores of the Yangtze, as a gentle breeze makes the water ripple. To Chinese musiciansand music lovers, the contentment of the wild geese represents the human heart.The zither was also instrumental in communication between ancient scholars and artist. The famous zither composition, Three Stanzas of Plum Blossoms, was based on an Eastern Jin Dynasty story of the poet Wang Ziyou (王子猷) (c. 338-386) and the flute player Huan Yi (桓伊) (?-383). One day the poet was taking a boat trip when he overheard someone on the riverbank say Huan Yi was passing by. Although the two had never met before, they admired each other as poet and flute player. Despite his lower rank of office, Ziyou sent a family member to request Huan Yi to play the flute. Without hesitation, Huan Yi dismounted from his carriage and played Three Stanzas of Plum Blossoms, while Ziyou listened from his boat. After finishing, Huan Yi mounted his carriage and drove on. Ziyou, too, continued with his boat journey. The two of them exchanged not a single word, yet both were content with the communication of their hearts through the music.The flute’s three stanzas were later converted into a composition for the Chinese zither, which has become one of the best-known musical works –as an expression of otherworldly feelings through its eulogy of the plum flower’s purity, fragrance and resistance to the cold.Unit 6 Flying strokes of CalligraphyThe evolution of Chinese characters font甲骨文the Oracle bone script→金文Jinwen (Inscriptions on bronze )→篆书Seal script→隶书Official script→楷书Regular script→草书Cursive script→行书running scriptWang Xizhi and Preface to the Lanting Pavilion CollectionIn the Hall for Cultivation of Mind of the Palace Museum, there is a Three-treasurer Study, which derives its name for the three most valuable calligraphic works housed here. These three treasures, most valued and adored by Emperor Qianling (r. 1736-1795) of the Qing Dynasty, were A Sunny Scene after a Quick Snow by Wang Xizhi, Mid-Autumn by Wang Xianzhi and Boyuan by Wang Xun (349-400). As father and son, Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi hae been known as the “Two Wangs”, their works universally recognized as the peak of Chinese calligraphy.Unit 7 Porcelain – Calling Card of Chinese Culture In English, the country and “porcelain”share the same name –“China”. This proves that Europeans have long known of China’s relationship to porcelain. Porcelain found its way to Europe in the 15th century, occupying an important position in the exchanges between China and other countries. The Keisel Randy Museum in Germany houses a blue-and-white bowl dating back to the Ming Dynasty. Throughout history, China, along with other Asian countries, and Europe maintained a busy and vast trade in porcelain. From 1602 to 1682, the Dutch East India Company transported more than 16 million articles of porcelain to Europe. Porcelain garnered a good reputation for China for its sophistication and elegance, and played an important role in the wave of the Europeanidealization of China during the 17th and 18th centuries. In the rococo style popular in Europe of that time, one could sense, from time to time, the influence of “Chinese vogue”represented by China’s styles of porcelain and gardens.Porcelain is of great significance in the history of Chinese civilization. Pottery was the predecessor of porcelain, while glazed pottery was the basis for the emergence of porcelain. Around the first century, porcelain production first emerged in China, and by The Song Dynasty it had become mature. Song-Dynasty porcelain represented the acme of Chinese porcelain technique. Five famous kilns, the Jun, Ding, Guan, Ge, and Ru, were all creative and original in their respective products, and their porcelain ware has been imitated by later generations throughout the ages. In the Yuan Dynasty, Jingdezhen became the center of the Chinese Porcelain industry.Pure Blue-and-White PorcelainPure and elegant beauty is the goal that porcelain pursues, and this ideal is best explained in the production of blue-and-white porcelain.Blue-and-white porcelain is a typical artifact of porcelain in China. Among the porcelain exported during the Ming and Qing dynasties, 80 percent was blue-and-white. Chinese-made blue-and-white porcelain ware emerged long before the founding of the Tang Dynasty, but it was not until the Yuan Dynasty that this type of porcelain came to be produced in quantity, with the attendant masterpieces. The Ming Dynasty witnessed the maturity of the art, and a large number of valuable pieces were produced in this period. Jingdezhen, a small town that created the enchanting blue-and-white porcelain of the Yuan Dynasty, became its porcelain-producing center; and in the subsequent Ming Dynasty, the imperial kilns were established here. Blue-and-white porcelain is now the most representative of Chinese porcelain.To produce blue-and-white porcelain, cobalt oxide is requisite. It is employed to draw on the white roughcast before glaze is applied. After kilning at a high temperature, the roughcast turns into blue-and-white porcelain, since cobalt oxide turns blue with heat. The white surface with blue patterns and a shiny sheen of glaze produces a pure, elegant and transparent effect.Unit 8 Peking Opera: Artistry of PerformersThe Delights of Peking Opera MasksChina’s Peking Opera radiates with the beauty of resplendent color –vivid, intense and glamorous. This artistic beauty comes not only from the costumes but also from the masks of exaggerated, dazzling designs, gleaming with red, purples, whites, yellows, blacks, blues, greens, every diverse color imaginable.Masks, applied to the two roles of the “jing”or “painted-face role”and the “chou”or “clown”, serve two purposes. One is to indicate the identity and character of the role. For example, a “red face”means the person is loyal and brave; a “black face”signifies the person is straightforward; and “a white face”identifies the person as crafty and evil. The other purpose is to express people’s appraisal of the roles from a moral and aesthetic point of view, such as respectable, hateful, noble, ridiculous, etc.Peking Opera Performance: Sing, Speak, Act, and FightThe performance of a Peking Opera actor can be summarized into four basic aspects, of singing, speaking, acting, and fighting, the core of which is a combination of song and choreography.Singing is of utmost importance in the performance of Peking Opera, because first of all, Peking Opera is a singing art. Any famous Peking Opera boasts several wonderful arias that are well-known and popular with audiences. The charm of the melodies usually embodies the sublime realm of the art of Peking Opera. Unable to appreciate the magic of Peking Opera arias, one would fail to enjoy the profound beauty of the art itself.Speaking refers to character monologs and dialogs, which serve to propel the development of the story. Speaking, like singing, needs to be executed in an appealing way.Acting and fighting mean that actors employ physical movements to express the emotions of the characters and the circumstances. Acting includes body movements and eye movements, solo dancing or group dancing, etc. Most of the dancing is choreographed movements from everyday life. Fighting is choreographed martial arts and acrobatics to depict fight or battle scenes. As the art of Peking Opera depends on movement to depict events, actors are given much room to perform on the stage.In the opera Picking up the Jade Bracelet, the young woman Sun Yujiao and the young scholar fall in love with each other, their eyes affixed on each other as if a thread connected them. Then, as Matchmaker Liu uses her pipe to pull the “virtual” line up and down, the young couple’s eyes accordingly move up and down. These actions produce great humor and add much significance to the performance.Acting and fighting serve the whole “play”or the “world of images”, but at the same time they are themselves a beautiful art in both form and skill. For example, in King Chu Bids Farewell to His Concubine, artist Mei Lanfang performed a sword dance in a miraculously skillful way, which became very popular with audiences. This is a type of beauty in form. As for the beauty of skill, this usually includes some very difficult acrobatic movements, often referred to as “superb skills”.The uniqueness of performances in Peking Opera lies in the fact that the singing, speaking, acting, and fighting, all focus on one or two actors in the play.These performers used to be called “jue’er”, hence “mingjue” was used to refer to famous actors or actresses. In this sense, the world of imagery created in Peking Opera mainly relies on the singing, speaking, acting, and fighting of actors, especially in the performance of the famous plays. This is the biggest difference between Peking Opera and other forms of performing arts in terms of aesthetic appreciation. And the remark –“Peking Opera is the art of performers”–well describes its quintessence.The Beauty of a “Visual World”Depicting a “visual world”is a distinctive feature of Peking Opera. Its virtually consists of two aspects: one is virtual movements, and the other virtual settings. Virtual movement refers to imitating actions onstage. For example, riding a horse. Onstage, an actor cannot ride a real horse, but can only hold a whip and imitate the movement of galloping by walking around the stage, turning the body, wielding the whip, and pulling the reins. A virtual setting means creating an imagined environment onstage. For example, rowing a boat. As there is no water or boat on the stage, an actor usually takes an oar and, through actions, makes the audience “see”the rowing of a boat on water.One is At the Crossroad. This opera describes the story of two yamen runners escorting Jiao Zan to prison. On the way they stay at an inn for the night. Ren Tanghui, whose task is to protect Jiao Zan, checks in at the same time. The owner of the inn, however, suspects Ren Tanghui is planning to murder Jiao Zan, so he gropes his way into Ren’s room at night. Thus a fight starts. What is special about the performance is that, although the fight happens at night, the stage is brightly lit; yet the audience is able to sense it is a pitch-dark night from the actors’performances, which feature stealthy movements typical of people in darkness. Sometimes, one man’ s sword swishes down, onlya few inches away from the other’ s face, yet the latter feels nothing, thus producing a breathtaking yet meaningful and humorous effect.The other example is Autumn River, a play transplanted from Sichuan Opera. This story describes a young nun, Chen Miaochang who leaves the nunnery to pursue her lover Pan Bizheng. Onstage, there is neither water nor boat, but through the performance of the young woman and the old boatman, the audience is able to obviously “see”that the stage is a river. The boat sways forward; all the way there the girl complains about the boat for being slow, while the old boatman keeps teasing her about her anxiety to see her lover. The performance is full of wit and humor.These examples describe the function of the “virtual world” in the art of Peking Opera, which provides limitless room for the performances of actors; and in return, performers present the audience with a world of images full of appealing wit. If in fact the stage of At the Crossroad was really all black to represent the dark night, and there was a real boat on the stage of Autumn River, what could the actors do? And what we still find as much wit and meaning in the performances? We doubt it.Part IV Folk CustomsUnit 9 Life with Fragrant TeaTea is a wonderful beverage originally produced in China about 4,000 years ago. During the Tang Dynasty, Japanese monks introduced tea seeds to Japan, and by combining tea with Zen Buddhism, created the world-famous Japanese tea ceremony. In the 17th century, the Dutch took to Europe the Chinese habit of tea drinking, which then became a tradition of the Europeans. In England in particular, people developed the custom of afternoon tea. Prior to the 19th century, all the tea in the world was grown in China, and even the English word “tea”was a transliteration of the pronunciation of “tea”in the Fujian dialect of China. Tea is an important contribution of the Chinese people to the world.Ways of Savoring TeaThe Chinese people look to tea drinking as an art, which incorporates a wide range of knowledge; the taste of tea might be light, yet the meaning is rich and deep.The Chinese attach great importance to the water, tea leaves, tea set, and fire, when making and drinking tea.Water is an element of priority in the making of tea. To make a good cup of tea, quality water is a must. The ancient Chinese commented on tea making thus: the tea must be new, and water must be live, or flowing. Lu Yu(陆羽) (733-804), the Saint of the Tang Dynasty, pointed out that, to make fine, water from high mountains is the best, followed by water from rivers and wells. In the cloud-enveloped high mountains, crystal clear spring water is the best for making tea; water in the brooks though also good, is not pure because it smells of the earth, therefore is only second best. Considered third is water from wells, as artificial springs from underground are often stagnant and tinted with the flavor of salt. It is thus no match at all for uncontaminated mountain spring water. Unluckily for us today, we do not even have the third type of water to make tea; we use either tap water or artificially purified water – a true pity indeed!As making good tea needs good water, Chinese people have long developed the tradition of valuing springs, while springs have become famous because of people’s love for tea. It is said that Lu。
中国文化英语课件Unit2Laozi’sPhilosophyofNon-action
Introduction
• It also exerts a direct impact on the characteristics, trends of thought and aesthetic sensibilities of the Chinese nation and is still playing a role in the development of Chinese thinking.
Introduction
The influence of Laozi
• The book has played a tremendous role in the development of Chinese culture.
• It became the basis of Daoism, the school of philosophy parallel to Confucianism in ancient China.
Confucius consulting Laozi about li
Introduction
Why is Li Ran known as Laozi rather than Lizi? There are two explanations as to the source of “Laozi”. Some say during the period when Li Ran was alive, Lao and Li were pronounced in the same way. So “Laozi” actually sounded the same as “Lizi” at that time. The second legend is that Li Ran was born with white eyebrow and white beard like an old man. Thus he was called “Laozi”.
中国文化英语教程文本
Part I Wisdom and BeliefsUnit 1 Confucian thought on heaven and humanityConfucius (551-479 BC), known in China as Kongzi, given name Qiu and alias Zhongni, was a native of Zouyi (present-day Qufu in Shandong Province) of the State of Lu during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC). A great thinker, educator and founder of Confucianism, Confucius is an ancient sage to the Chinese people. His words and life story were recorded by his disciples and their students in The Analects (Lunyu).Confucius on Heaven: the source of EverythingIn the Shang (1600-1046 BC) and Zhou (1046-256 BC) dynasties, the prevalent concept of “Heaven”was that of a personified god, which influenced Confucius. Generally, however, Confucius regarded “Heaven”as nature. He said, “Heaven does not speak in words. It speaks through the rotation of the four seasons and the growth of all living things.” Obviously, heaven equaled nature, in the eyes of Confucius. Moreover, nature was not a lifeless mechanism separate from humans; instead, it was the great world of life and the process of creation of life. Human life was part and parcel of nature as a whole.Confucius on People: ren and liRen and Li are the two core concepts of Confucius’s doctrine about people.When his students Fan Chi asked him about ren, Confucius replied, “love people”. This is Confucius’ most important interpretation of ren. Love for the people is universal love. Confucius further emphasized that this kind of love should “begin with the love for one’s parents”. He believed no one could love people in general if they did not even love their own parents. Confucius regarded “filial piety and fraternal duty”as the essence of ren. The Doctrine of the Mean (Zhongyong) quotes Confucius as saying, “ The greatest love for people is the love for one’s parents.” He also said, “Children should not travel far while their parents are alive. If they have no choice but to do so, they must retain some restraint.” He did not mean that children should not leave their parents at all. What he meant was that children should not make the parents anxious about them while away from home. Confucius said again, “Children should think often of the age of their parents. They should feel happy for the health and longevity of their parents. They should also feel concern for the aging of their parents.”By ren, Confucius meant universal love based on love for one’s parents. How should people love one another then? Confucius said, “One should be aware that other people may have similar desires as oneself. While fulfilling one’s desires, allow others to fulfill their desires as well.” He further said, “Do not do toward others anything you would not want to be done to you.” Thus from oneself to one’s family, from family to society, one should extend love to all people. Mencius (c. 372-289 BC), a great Confucian scholar, best summarized ren as, “loving one’s parents, loving the people, loving everything in the world.”Li refers to rituals, traditions and norms in social life. Of these, Confucius regarded burial rituals and ancestral worship rituals as the most important, because they rose from human feelings. He said, “A child should not leave his parents’ bosom until he is three years old.” He naturally love his parents. The ritual of wearing mourning for a deceased parent for three years was an expression of the child’s love and remembrance.Confucius on the State of lifeBefore Confucius, only the nobility had the right to education. He was the first figure in Chinese history to initiate private education. According to historical records, Confucius taught for many years and trained 3,000 disciples. A total of 72 of them excelled in the “six arts”, i.e., ritual, music, archery, (carriage)driving, calligraphy, and mathematics. A great educator, Confucius has been admired by later generations as the “sage of sages”.Confucius believed the basic goal of education was to cultivate “persons of virtue”, who should have sound character and uplifted minds. Such people should be able to shoulder important social responsibilities and to make contributions to society. Confucius regarded lofty ideals, great virtue, love of people, and the “six arts” as the general principles of education. Of these, virtue was the most important. His students were involved in a variety of professions, including politics, trade, education, diplomacy, ritual ceremony, and classifying ancient books. Whatever they did, they all wanted to improve their learning of the humanities and to enhance their virtue.Unit 2 Laozi’s philosophy of Non-actionThe book Laozi was written around the sixth century BC. The author is generally believed to be Lao Dan, or Laozi – a recluse who lived during the Spring and Autumn Period. Few records have survived about Lao Dan, who was said to have once held a low civil position in the royal court, in chare of the archival records of the Zhou Dynasty. Yet, due to his great learning, even Confucius was said to have traveled miles to consult him.Laozi, also known as Classic of the Way and Virtue (Dao De Jing), consists of just over 5,000 Chinese characters. Its 81 chapters are divided into two parts, Dao (the Way) and De (Virtue). Short as it is, the book has played a tremendous role in the development of Chinese culture. It became the basis of Daoism, the school of philosophy parallel to Confucianism in ancient China. The thought of Laozi formed the foundation of Daoism, the most influential indigenous school of religion in China. It has also exerted a direct impact on the characteristics, trends of thought and aesthetic sensibilities of the Chinese nation. Today Laozi still plays a role in the development of Chinese thinking.Naturalness and Non-action“Naturalness” is an important concept of Laozi’s philosophy. It refers to a natural state of being, an attitude of following the way of nature. Laozi emphasized that everything in the world has its own way of being and development: birds fly in the sky, fish swim in the water, clouds float in the sky, flowers bloom and flowers fall. All these phenomena occur independently and naturally without following any human will, and humans should not try to change anything natural. Laozi admonished people to give up on any desire to control the world. Following the way of nature is the way to resolving conflicts between humans and the world.“Non-action”is another important concept of Laozi’s philosophy. It is the guarantee of “Naturalness”. Laozi said, “(Dao or the Way) acts through non-action,” by which he did no mean that one should do nothing and passively wait for something to be achieved. Neither did he deny human creativity. What he meant is that human enterprises should be built on the basis of naturalness, not on many attempts to interrupt the rhythm of nature. Human creativity should be in compliance with the ways of nature.The philosophy of Non-contentionOn the basis of “naturalness” and “non-action”, Laozi proposed the view of “overcoming the strong by being weak”. The era Laozi lived in was replete with endless wars. Therefore, war wasan important treme for philosophers, and ant-war thinking was the norm. Even the great strategist Sunzi advocated “winning a war without fighting it”, not to mention the great thinker Confucius, who strongly championed a government based on love. Their contemporary Mozi (c. 468-376 BC), founder of Mohism, also condemned wars while calling for “love for all”.According to Laozi, war springs from humanity’s bloated desires. Conflict arises out of people’s struggles to satisfy their desires, and conflict escalates into war. Therefore, Laozi’s philosophy is based on “non-contention”. To him, human striving and competitive strife is the root cause of decline; desiring nothing is the natural way of life.Laozi said, “The greatest virtue is like water.”He compared his philosophy of “non-contention” to water, to distinguish it from the law of the jungle. He said, “Water nourishes everything but contends for nothing.” To Laozi, humans tend to seek higher positions while water always flows to lower places. Driven by desire, humans like whatever they think is superior while despising whatever they think is inferior. Yet water always flows downward. As the source of life, water nourishes all living things on Earth. No life can exist without water. Water contributes to the world without regard for gain or loss. Remaining low, level and tranquil, water embraces and reflects everything under heaven. The way of water is completely different from the way of people with avid desires.But the philosophy of Laozi is by no means weak. On the contrary, it is full of strength. According to Laozi, water accumulates great strength in its weakness and quietude. Its strength can break down all barriers in the world. He said, “Nothing in the world is weaker than water. Yet nothing is stronger than water when it comes to breaking something strong.” Water is a typical example of the weak winning over the strong. Water is invincible because it desires nothing and contends for nothing.Unit 3 Chinese Buddhist CultureWho am I? Where am I from? Where am I going?Men are mortal. But death is not an once-and-for-all thing. They enter the rotating Wheel of Six Realms:Heaven, Human, Asura, Animal, Hungry Ghost, Hell.Documents stored in computer can be canceled at will, but what we have done in our life, and actually in our innumerable lives, cannot. What has been done has been done. The information is stored in your true “self”, not the physical one, and will accompany you life after life, and determines which Realm you enter.Only when we are completely free from lust, hatred, and folly, can we manage to break away from the capture of the rotating Wheel, and achieve perpetual enlightenment, discovering your true “self”.In Buddhism there isn’t any dominating god who controls your destiny. We are the maker of our own fate. What we are at present is a result of what we have done in the past; and what we will be in the future is decided by what we are doing at present. What we have done form the “karma”, which, like a gene, decides on your future story. But this “gene” can of c ourse be modified, by doing good deeds and obtaining healthy biological and spiritual energy, so as to change our future course of career. We are, therefore, our own master. What are the basic requirements for a Buddhist?Five Prohibitions for the laymen:1) Don’t kill;2) Don’t steal;3) Don’t seek aberrant sensual pleasures;4) Don’t talk irresponsibly;5) Don’t drink alcohol.Part II Creativity and ExchangeUnit 4 The Silk RoadThe silk road refers to a transport route connecting ancient China with Central Asia, West Asia, Africa, and the European continent. It appeared as early as the second century BC and was traveled mainly by silk merchants. The term “Silk Road”, or “die Seidenstrasse”in German, was first noted down by the German geographer Ferdinand V on Richthofen at the end of the 19th century.The silk road began in Chang’an (present-day Xi’an, capital of Shaanxi Province), passing through Gansu and Xinjiang to Central Asia, West Asia, and to lands by the Mediterranean. There were no signs of communication between ancient Chinese civilization and Mediterranean civilization in earlier history. In about the seventh century BC, the ancient Greeks began to learn about an ancient civilization to the east, yet knew little about it. Before the Silk Road, according to archeological findings, there had already existed an intermittent trade route on the grasslands from the Yellow River and the Indus River drainage areas to the Euphrates and the Tigris, and the Nile drainage areas. Yet real communication between China, Central and West Asian countries, Africa and the European continent did not develop until the opening of the Silk Road.Zhang Qian, Trail BlazerThe pioneer who blazed the trail of the Silk Road was Zhang Qian (c. 164-114 BC). In Zhang Qian’s time, the Chinese has little knowledge about Central and West Asian countries, Africa or Europe, although they were aware of the existence of many different countries and cultures in faraway places to the west.During the reign of Emperor Wu (r. 140-135 BC), there were 36 small kingdoms in the Western Regions (present-day Xinjiang and parts of Central Asia). All of them were later conquered by the Huns, who then posed a direct threat to the Western Han and blocked the dynasty’s path west. Under these circumstances, Emperor Wu appointed Zhang Qian to lead a team of more than 100 envoys to the Western Regions.The mission was to unite the Indo-Scythic people against the Huns, who once killed their chieftain. Zhang Qian’s team set out in 138 BC. No sooner had they entered the Hexi Corridor (northwest of present-day Gansu Province), than they were captured by the Huns. After being held under house arrest for over ten years, Zhang Qian and only one other remaining envoy managed to escape and return to Chang’an in 126 BC. Their accounts about the Western Regions were a revelation to Hun emperor and his ministers.In the next two decades, Emperor Wu launched three major campaigns against the Huns, forcing them to retreat from the Western Regions. In 119 BC, the emperor sent Zhang Qian on a second mission to the Western Regions. This time Zhang Qian went further west, while his deputies reached more than a dozen countries in South and West Asia, and the Mediterranean.Zhang Qian’s two missions to the Western Regions opened up the road to the west. Emperor Wu adopted a series of measures to strengthen ties with the Western Regions, includingencouraging Han People to trade there.Soon the route was bustling with caravans of camels carrying goods of all types and reverberating with the tinkling of their bells. Through the Silk Road, trade flourished between China and Central, South and West Asian countries, Africa and Europe. In 166, envoys from Rome arrived via the Silk Road in Chang’an, were they set up an embassy.Part III Art and AestheticsUnit 5 Music: Govern the Country, Nourish the MindThe tradition of Chinese music dates back to remote antiquity. Governing the country and nourishing the mind through music are two of the main functions of this tradition.Governance Through MusicAccording to ancient Chinese culture, rituals provided the norms of conduct of people. The goal was to maintain social order.Music was for the mind’s cultivation and expression. Its purpose was to enhance people’s outlook on life and imbue them with energy and creativity, such that they could enjoy a more harmonious and happier spiritual life. Individual contentment would then lead to social harmony, as well as to a more harmonious relationship between people and nature. The highest level of ancient Chinese music was to represent spiritual with nature.The prominent stature of music in ancient China explains the emergence of sophisticated instruments from early times. Chime bells were one example. First used in the Shang Dynasty, they became quite popular during the Western Zhou Dynasty (1046-771 BC). In 1978, a fine set of chime bells was unearthed in Hubei Province, from the tomb of Marquis Yi, a local lord in a small state called Zeng during the Warring States Period.The Marquis Yi chime bells consist of 65 bells arranged in three rows. The first row includes 19 niu bells, and the second and third rows include 45 yong bells. The bells in each row differ from one another in shape and size, emanating(发出) different tones. In addition, there is a separate and much larger bell used to adjust pitch. Like the bells, the from is made of bronze, weighing as much as five tons or more. The total weight of the bells is more than 440 kilograms. While the bells bear inscriptions totaling more than 2,800 Chinese characters relating to music and the making of the instrument, the frame is carved with exquisite patterns in relief (浮雕) and fretwork(回纹细工). Instruments of such a scale and such fine craftsmanship were quite rate in the world at the time. Five musicians were needed to play the instrument. Each bell produces two tones when struck at the respective sound points as marked. The entire set of chime bells is able to produce all the tones of a modern piano.Consoling the Mind with MusicThe Chinese zither tends to create a tranquil air. The composition Wild Geese Landing on the Shallow Shore is such an example. With a relaxed rhythm, the first part of the piece depicts a calm Yangtze River under a clear autumn sky. The second part progresses into livelier rhythms to imitate the chirping of many birds. The third part presents a thematic scene of wild geese leisurely landing on the shallow shores of the Yangtze, as a gentle breeze makes the water ripple. To Chinese musicians and music lovers, the contentment of the wild geese represents the humanheart.The zither was also instrumental in communication between ancient scholars and artist. The famous zither composition, Three Stanzas of Plum Blossoms, was based on an Eastern Jin Dynasty story of the poet Wang Ziyou (王子猷) (c. 338-386) and the flute player Huan Yi (桓伊) (?-383). One day the poet was taking a boat trip when he overheard someone on the riverbank say Huan Yi was passing by. Although the two had never met before, they admired each other as poet and flute player. Despite his lower rank of office, Ziyou sent a family member to request Huan Yi to play the flute. Without hesitation, Huan Yi dismounted from his carriage and played Three Stanzas of Plum Blossoms, while Ziyou listened from his boat. After finishing, Huan Yi mounted his carriage and drove on. Ziyou, too, continued with his boat journey. The two of them exchanged not a single word, yet both were content with the communication of their hearts through the music.The flute’s three stanzas were later converted into a composition for the Chinese zither, which has become one of the best-known musical works –as an expression of otherworldly feelings through its eulogy of the plum flower’s purity, fragrance and resistance to the cold.Unit 6 Flying strokes of CalligraphyThe evolution of Chinese characters font甲骨文the Oracle bone script→金文Jinwen (Inscriptions on bronze )→篆书Seal script→隶书Official script→楷书Regular script→草书Cursive script→行书running scriptWang Xizhi and Preface to the Lanting Pavilion CollectionIn the Hall for Cultivation of Mind of the Palace Museum, there is a Three-treasurer Study, which derives its name for the three most valuable calligraphic works housed here. These three treasures, most valued and adored by Emperor Qianling (r. 1736-1795) of the Qing Dynasty, were A Sunny Scene after a Quick Snow by Wang Xizhi, Mid-Autumn by Wang Xianzhi and Boyuan by Wang Xun (349-400). As father and son, Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi hae been known as the “Two Wangs”, their works universally recognized as the peak of Chinese calligraphy.Unit 7 Porcelain – Calling Card of Chinese CultureIn English, the country and “porcelain”share the same name –“China”. This proves that Europeans have long known of China’s relationship to porcelain. Porcelain found its way to Europe in the 15th century, occupying an important position in the exchanges between China and other countries. The Keisel Randy Museum in Germany houses a blue-and-white bowl dating back to the Ming Dynasty. Throughout history, China, along with other Asian countries, and Europe maintained a busy and vast trade in porcelain. From 1602 to 1682, the Dutch East India Company transported more than 16 million articles of porcelain to Europe. Porcelain garnered a good reputation for China for its sophistication and elegance, and played an important role in the wave of the European idealization of China during the 17th and 18th centuries. In the rococo stylepopular in Europe of that time, one could sense, from time to time, the influence of “Chinese vogue”represented by China’s styles of porcelain and gardens.Porcelain is of great significance in the history of Chinese civilization. Pottery was the predecessor of porcelain, while glazed pottery was the basis for the emergence of porcelain. Around the first century, porcelain production first emerged in China, and by The Song Dynasty it had become mature. Song-Dynasty porcelain represented the acme of Chinese porcelain technique. Five famous kilns, the Jun, Ding, Guan, Ge, and Ru, were all creative and original in their respective products, and their porcelain ware has been imitated by later generations throughout the ages. In the Yuan Dynasty, Jingdezhen became the center of the Chinese Porcelain industry.Pure Blue-and-White PorcelainPure and elegant beauty is the goal that porcelain pursues, and this ideal is best explained in the production of blue-and-white porcelain.Blue-and-white porcelain is a typical artifact of porcelain in China. Among the porcelain exported during the Ming and Qing dynasties, 80 percent was blue-and-white. Chinese-made blue-and-white porcelain ware emerged long before the founding of the Tang Dynasty, but it was not until the Yuan Dynasty that this type of porcelain came to be produced in quantity, with the attendant masterpieces. The Ming Dynasty witnessed the maturity of the art, and a large number of valuable pieces were produced in this period. Jingdezhen, a small town that created the enchanting blue-and-white porcelain of the Yuan Dynasty, became its porcelain-producing center; and in the subsequent Ming Dynasty, the imperial kilns were established here. Blue-and-white porcelain is now the most representative of Chinese porcelain.To produce blue-and-white porcelain, cobalt oxide is requisite. It is employed to draw on the white roughcast before glaze is applied. After kilning at a high temperature, the roughcast turns into blue-and-white porcelain, since cobalt oxide turns blue with heat. The white surface with blue patterns and a shiny sheen of glaze produces a pure, elegant and transparent effect.Unit 8 Peking Opera: Artistry of PerformersThe Delights of Peking Opera MasksChina’s Peking Opera radiates with the beauty of resplendent color –vivid, intense and glamorous. This artistic beauty comes not only from the costumes but also from the masks of exaggerated, dazzling designs, gleaming with red, purples, whites, yellows, blacks, blues, greens, every diverse color imaginable.Masks, applied to the two roles of the “jing”or “painted-face role”and the “chou”or “clown”, serve two purposes. One is to indicate the identity and character of the role. For example, a “red face”means the person is loyal and brave; a “black face”signifies the person is straightforward; and “a white face”identifies the person as crafty and evil. The other purpose is to express people’s appraisal of the roles from a moral and aesthetic point of view, such as respectable, hateful, noble, ridiculous, etc.Peking Opera Performance: Sing, Speak, Act, and FightThe performance of a Peking Opera actor can be summarized into four basic aspects, of singing, speaking, acting, and fighting, the core of which is a combination of song and choreography.Singing is of utmost importance in the performance of Peking Opera, because first of all, Peking Opera is a singing art. Any famous Peking Opera boasts several wonderful arias that are well-known and popular with audiences. The charm of the melodies usually embodies the sublime realm of the art of Peking Opera. Unable to appreciate the magic of Peking Opera arias, one would fail to enjoy the profound beauty of the art itself.Speaking refers to character monologs and dialogs, which serve to propel the development of the story. Speaking, like singing, needs to be executed in an appealing way.Acting and fighting mean that actors employ physical movements to express the emotions of the characters and the circumstances. Acting includes body movements and eye movements, solo dancing or group dancing, etc. Most of the dancing is choreographed movements from everyday life. Fighting is choreographed martial arts and acrobatics to depict fight or battle scenes. As the art of Peking Opera depends on movement to depict events, actors are given much room to perform on the stage.In the opera Picking up the Jade Bracelet, the young woman Sun Yujiao and the young scholar fall in love with each other, their eyes affixed on each other as if a thread connected them. Then, as Matchmaker Liu uses her pipe to pull the “virtual” line up and down, the young couple’s eyes accordingly move up and down. These actions produce great humor and add much significance to the performance.Acting and fighting serve the whole “play”or the “world of images”, but at the same time they are themselves a beautiful art in both form and skill. For example, in King Chu Bids Farewell to His Concubine, artist Mei Lanfang performed a sword dance in a miraculously skillful way, which became very popular with audiences. This is a type of beauty in form. As for the beauty of skill, this usually includes some very difficult acrobatic movements, often referred to as “superb skills”.The uniqueness of performances in Peking Opera lies in the fact that the singing, speaking, acting, and fighting, all focus on one or two actors in the play.These performers used to be called “jue’er”, hence “mingjue” was used to refer to famous actors or actresses. In this sense, the world of imagery created in Peking Opera mainly relies on the singing, speaking, acting, and fighting of actors, especially in the performance of the famous plays. This is the biggest difference between Peking Opera and other forms of performing arts in terms of aesthetic appreciation. And the remark –“Peking Opera is the art of performers”–well describes its quintessence.The Beauty of a “Visual World”Depicting a “visual world”is a distinctive feature of Peking Opera. Its virtually consists of two aspects: one is virtual movements, and the other virtual settings. Virtual movement refers to imitating actions onstage. For example, riding a horse. Onstage, an actor cannot ride a real horse, but can only hold a whip and imitate the movement of galloping by walking around the stage, turning the body, wielding the whip, and pulling the reins. A virtual setting means creating an imagined environment onstage. For example, rowing a boat. As there is no water or boat on the stage, an actor usually takes an oar and, through actions, makes the audience “see”the rowing of a boat on water.One is At the Crossroad. This opera describes the story of two yamen runners escorting Jiao Zan to prison. On the way they stay at an inn for the night. Ren Tanghui, whose task is to protect Jiao Zan, checks in at the same time. The owner of the inn, however, suspects Ren Tanghui is planning to murder Jiao Zan, so he gropes his way into Ren’s room at night. Thus a fight starts. What is special about the performance is that, although the fight happens at night, the stage isbrightly lit; yet the audience is able to sense it is a pitch-dark night from the actors’performances, which feature stealthy movements typical of people in darkness. Sometimes, one man’ s sword swishes down, only a few inches away from the other’ s face, yet the latter feels nothing, thus producing a breathtaking yet meaningful and humorous effect.The other example is Autumn River, a play transplanted from Sichuan Opera. This story describes a young nun, Chen Miaochang who leaves the nunnery to pursue her lover Pan Bizheng. Onstage, there is neither water nor boat, but through the performance of the young woman and the old boatman, the audience is able to obviously “see”that the stage is a river. The boat sways forward; all the way there the girl complains about the boat for being slow, while the old boatman keeps teasing her about her anxiety to see her lover. The performance is full of wit and humor.These examples describe the function of the “virtual world” in the art of Peking Opera, which provides limitless room for the performances of actors; and in return, performers present the audience with a world of images full of appealing wit. If in fact the stage of At the Crossroad was really all black to represent the dark night, and there was a real boat on the stage of Autumn River, what could the actors do? And what we still find as much wit and meaning in the performances? We doubt it.Part IV Folk CustomsUnit 9 Life with Fragrant TeaTea is a wonderful beverage originally produced in China about 4,000 years ago. During the Tang Dynasty, Japanese monks introduced tea seeds to Japan, and by combining tea with Zen Buddhism, created the world-famous Japanese tea ceremony. In the 17th century, the Dutch took to Europe the Chinese habit of tea drinking, which then became a tradition of the Europeans. In England in particular, people developed the custom of afternoon tea. Prior to the 19th century, all the tea in the world was grown in China, and even the English word “tea”was a transliteration of the pronunciation of “tea”in the Fujian dialect of China. Tea is an important contribution of the Chinese people to the world.Ways of Savoring TeaThe Chinese people look to tea drinking as an art, which incorporates a wide range of knowledge; the taste of tea might be light, yet the meaning is rich and deep.The Chinese attach great importance to the water, tea leaves, tea set, and fire, when making and drinking tea.Water is an element of priority in the making of tea. To make a good cup of tea, quality water is a must. The ancient Chinese commented on tea making thus: the tea must be new, and water must be live, or flowing. Lu Yu(陆羽) (733-804), the Saint of the Tang Dynasty, pointed out that, to make fine, water from high mountains is the best, followed by water from rivers and wells. In the cloud-enveloped high mountains, crystal clear spring water is the best for making tea; water in the brooks though also good, is not pure because it smells of the earth, therefore is only second best. Considered third is water from wells, as artificial springs from underground are often stagnant and tinted with the flavor of salt. It is thus no match at all for uncontaminated mountain spring water. Unluckily for us today, we do not even have the third type of water to make tea; we use either tap water or artificially purified water – a true pity indeed!。
中国文化英语教程unite2
“道”就是自然规律；顺其自然，则受益于自然。
Lao-Tzu’s sayings:
上善若水。
The highest good is like water.
人往高处走，水往低处流。
Man struggles upwards; water flows downwards
ቤተ መጻሕፍቲ ባይዱ
THANK YOU
look.And his apprentice was curious.The carpenter told him that the tree product useless wood that was the reason why it had been able to live so long. The wiasdom of the “useless tree”lies exactly in its uselessness,or its naturalness.
position in the royal court,in charge of the archival
records of the Zhou Dynasty.
The Classic of the Way and Virtue is the Laozi's ,which consists of just 5000 Chinese
Laozi's Life and Thought
Laozi(571-471BC) we also called him Lao Dan is
a recluse who lived during the Spring and Autumn Perio.He was said to have once held a low civil
中国文化英语教程unit2Main
上海外语教育出版社 出版
策 划：李冰诗 责任编辑：仝琳 校对测试：蒋雯璐
郑州大学外语学院 制作 主 编： 范春香 王伟 编 者： 李珩 寇平 郭华 丁萌 02
Reading A:
World Cultural Heritage in China
03 Reading B:
A Visit to Huangshan Mountain
04 Reading C:
“Warriors” Protect Hutong with Cameras & Problems of Hutong
Unit 2 Places of Interest
This unit introduces students to the renowned places of interest in China. Reading A “World Cultural Heritage in China” is an introductory reading retrieved and adapted from online resources. It briefly describes a few iconic cultural and natural heritage sites in China. Reading B, “A Visit to Huangshan Mountain”, is a translated excerpt from Xu Xiake’s Travel, a famous book in Chinese history. Reading C consists of two passages, “ ‘Warriors’ Protect Hutong with Cameras” and “Problems of Hutong”, which present controversial points of view about the preservation and renovation of Hutong in Beijing.
中国文化英语教程 侯香浪 主编 何明霞 主编 -回复
中国文化英语教程侯香浪主编何明霞主编-回复Chinese Culture English Tutorial: A Journey into the Richness of Chinese HeritageIntroduction:Chinese culture has a history spanning thousands of years, encompassing a multitude of facets that make it truly unique. In the following article, we will explore various aspects of Chinese culture, including its history, language, arts, and traditions.Part 1: A Glimpse into Chinese HistoryChinese history dates back more than five thousand years, with the dynastic period being the most significant. The Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties laid the foundation for the Chinese civilization, establishing traditions and cultural practices that are still prevalent today. The Han, Tang, and Ming dynasties followed, contributing to China's cultural and technological advancements.Part 2: Language and CommunicationThe Chinese language, Mandarin, is one of the most widely spoken languages worldwide. Its unique writing system, consisting of characters, is a testament to the rich cultural heritage. Charactersrepresent both meaning and sound, making Chinese literature captivating and distinct. Learning Mandarin is essential to understanding the nuances of Chinese culture and connecting with its people.Part 3: Art and AestheticsChinese art holds a prominent place in the world culture, encompassing various forms such as calligraphy, painting, and sculpture. Calligraphy, an expressive way of writing characters, is regarded as a visual art form in its own right. Paintings often depict landscapes, capturing the essence of nature's beauty. Intricate sculptures, such as the Terracotta Army, reflect the skilled craftsmanship embedded in Chinese art.Part 4: Traditional Festivals and CustomsChinese culture is renowned for its colorful festivals and traditions. The Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, is the most widely celebrated. Families gather for feasts, exchange red envelopes containing money, and watch lion and dragon dances. Other significant festivals include the Mid-Autumn Festival, Qingming Festival, and Dragon Boat Festival, each with its unique customs and rituals.Part 5: Philosophical TraditionsChinese culture is heavily influenced by ancient philosophical traditions, like Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. Confucianism, with its emphasis on social order and filial piety, has greatly shaped Chinese society. Taoism emphasizes harmony with nature and simplicity, while Buddhism offers spiritual guidance. These philosophies have had a profound impact on the values and ethics upheld by the Chinese people.Part 6: Traditional Medicine and Martial ArtsTraditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical system that has been practiced for centuries. Based on the balance of Yin and Yang energies, TCM includes various therapies like acupuncture, herbal medicine, and massage. Martial arts, such as Tai Chi and Kung Fu, are not only physical practices but also ways of cultivating discipline, self-defense, and spiritual growth. Both TCM and martial arts showcase the holistic approach to health and well-being in Chinese culture.Part 7: Cuisine and Tea CultureChinese cuisine is renowned for its diverse flavors and exquisitepresentation. From the spicy flavors of Sichuan cuisine to the delicate tastes of Cantonese cuisine, there is a vast array of regional dishes to explore. Tea, an integral part of Chinese culture, is not just a beverage but a symbol of hospitality and friendship. The traditional tea ceremony exemplifies the harmony between humans and nature.Conclusion:Chinese culture is a treasure trove of history, traditions, artistic expressions, and philosophical wisdom. From its ancient dynasties to its modern adaptations, Chinese culture has captivated people worldwide. Embracing Chinese culture offers a glimpse into a world of vibrant traditions, profound philosophies, and rich heritage that continues to inspire and enthrall.。
中国文化英语教程U PT
Porcelain—Calling Card of Chinese Culture
ContentBiblioteka Lead-in Text study Exercises
Lead-in
Do you know the five famous kilns (窑) in Song Dynasty?
• Porcelain found its way to Europe in the 15th century, occupying an important position in the exchanges between China and other countries.
Introduction
• The Ming Dynasty witnessed the maturity of the art, and a large number of valuable pieces were produced in this period.
Pure Blue-and-White Porcelain
Nature’s Craft
• crackling: a porcelain terminology • The crackles occurred during kilning due to
flawed workmanship, but latter on crackleware become a craze (时尚) in Song Dynasty, and was passed down to this very day.
Five famous kilns are the Jun, Ding, Guan, Ge, and Ru.
Text study
英语畅谈中国文化unit2课文翻译
用英文畅谈中国文化unitChinese Culture中国文化The wisdom of confucius discuss«孔子智慧»探讨的是The most important school of Chinese philosophy中国哲学最为重要的学派——Confucianism儒家学派——with the focus on重点探究its Core Concepts Ren and Li.其核心思想“仁”和“礼”Ren means goodness or benevolence and Li means ritual or propriety “仁意”指美德和仁慈，礼意指礼仪和规范.Ren and Li were advocated by Confucius孔子倡导“仁”和“礼”2500years ago for the purpose of在2500年前是为了restoring political order of Zhou Dynasty恢复周朝的政治秩序The doctrine has excerted a great influence on自那时起，“仁礼”学说极大地影响了Chinese culture ever since.中国哲学。
from cultivating filial piety at home to giving love to everybody ,until 从培养家庭孝道到博爱天从Keeping social and political order in a country至维持国家的社会和政治秋With Ren and Li“仁礼”之下.Chinese culture is characterized by中国文化提倡harmony and equilibrium和谐与安宁building harmonious relationships between human and nature建立和谐关系人与自然之间between any individuals and Keeping equilibrium Socially人与人之间以及维护国家在社会上。
《中国文化英语教程》各单元useful expression合辑
珠江夜游 Pearl River Night Cruise
五岳 the five great mountains
飞来峰 the Floating Peak
四合院 siheyuan/quadrangle
天下第一关 the First Pass under Heaven
九曲桥 the Bridge of Nine Turnings
点心 dim sum 粥 congee/ porridge/gruel 肠粉 rice noodle roll 小笼包 small steamed bun 煎饺 fried dumpling 虾饺 shrimp dumpling 萝卜糕 turnip cake 蛋挞 egg custard tart 花卷 flower scallion roll 馒头 mantou/ plain steamed bun 奶黄包 sweet cream bun 麻球 sesame seed ball
fuzz tip 碧螺春 green spiral
茶花 茶树 采青 杀青 饮茶 品茶 泡茶 茶道 茶馆 茶几 茶具 茶盘
camellia tea bush tea harvesting tea heating tea drinking tea tasting tea brewing; infusing tea ceremony tea house tea table tea wares; utensils tea tray
采菊东篱下，悠然见南山 For I pick chrysanthemums under the eastern hedge, and far away to the south I can see the mountains.
远上寒山石径斜，白云深处有人家 A flag-stone path winds up into the chilly hills, where houses are just discernible amid the thick white cloud.
中国文化英语教程unit2Reading A
Text Reading Tasks Mini-pedia
Unit 2 Places of Interest
World Cultural Heritage in China
Para. 1 Since China joined the International Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage in 1985, the number of world heritage sites in China has increased to 47 by September，2014, next only to Italy that has 49 on the list. Of these 31 are cultural heritage sites, 10 are natural heritage sites, and 4 are cultural and natural (mixed) sites. Here are some iconic places on the list.
Unit 2 Places of Interest
The Summer Palace Para. 2 The Summer Palace in Beijing integrates numerous traditional halls and pavilions into the Imperial Garden conceived by Emperor Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty between 1750 and 1764 as the Garden of Clear Ripples. Using Kunming Lake, the former reservoir of the Yuan Dynasty’s capital and Longevity ll as the basic framework, the Summer Palace combined political and administrative, residential, spiritual, and recreational functions within a landscape of lakes and mountains, in accordance with the Chinese philosophy of balancing the works of man with nature. As the culmination of several hundred years of Imperial garden design, the Summer Palace has had a major influence on subsequent oriental garden art and culture.
中国文化英语教程unit2Reading-B全文
Unit 2 Places of Interest
Para. 2b I followed his suggestion and reached the top of the Bright Summit, where I saw the Celestial Capital Peak and the Lotus Peak standing side by side before me the Green Hill and the Gate of Three Seas encircling its backside. Down below were extremely high precipices and perpendicular peaks lying side by side on a ravine, the Prime Minister’s Col. A huge rock stood in front of the Bright Summit, falling and then rising abruptly, as if it were broken in half from the middle. It lay detached over the ravine, with grotesque pine trees growing all over it. I climbed the rock sideways and perched at its top while my uncle Xunyang squatted at the top of the Bright Summit, each commenting on the beauty of the magnificent views from our own perspectives.
中国文化英语教程unit2Reading A
Unit 2 Places of Interest
Para. 8 West Lake is surrounded on three sides by “cloud-capped hills” and on the fourth by the city of Hangzhou. Its beauty has been celebrated by writers and artists since the Tang Dynasty (AD 618907). In order to make it more beautiful, its islands, causeways and the lower slopes of its hills have been “improved” by the addition of numerous temples, pagodas, pavilions, gardens and ornamental trees which merge with farmed landscape. Since the Southern Song Dynasty (13th century) ten poetically named scenic places have been identified as embodying idealized, classic landscapes that manifest the perfect fusion between man and nature. West Lake is an outstanding example of a cultural landscape that displays with great clarity the ideals of Chinese landscape aesthetics, as expounded by writers and scholars in Tang and Song Dynasties.
unit 2 text A中国文化英语概论
3.What characteristics does the population distribution have in China? The geographicalexplanations for them?4.What are the geographical factors in the shaping of people's character?Video-based classroom discussion1. Explain the possible relationship between politics and geography or that between economy and geography by using reliable resources.2. How many countries are there in the world now? Describe the changes in the number of countries in 20th century.3. What do you think of “globalization Chinese style” mentioned in the speech?Topics for further discussion1. Describe the changes in the map of China over history.2. Do you agree with the speaker on the “Greater China Co-prosperity Zone”? Why or why not?3. Can the infrastructures like oil pipelines really help to bring down borders to build a borderless world in the future?conducted at the level of the township or town. Each county has, on average, some two dozen townships and towns, with a national total of 40,000 townships and 20,000 town governments. There are just under 800,000 village governments, the lowest level of rural administration, or about two dozen per township. The average village population is a little over 1,000 -- though the villages vary significantly depending on whether they are locatedin densely or sparsely populated regions. (1850 words)Section A Fill in the tables with information from the passage.Table 1 Comparison and contrast between China and US in geographical termsTable 2 Distribution of population in ChinaSection B Distinguish Between Facts and OpinionsRead the passages carefully and try to distinguish facts from opinions by judging whether it is is mainly opionions or facts that are expressed in each of the following paragraphs. Do you disagree with the author ’s opinions?Part II Building your vocabularySection A Crossword PuzzleSection B Useful ExpressionsDirections: Translate the following into English using the expressions you have learned in Text A.1.生长期5.手工艺品6.流动商贩7.社会阶层8.自上而下9.自下而上10.通商口岸11.自我认同12.地域刻板印象13.权利寻租14.自治区15.直辖市16.特别行政区Part III Critical Thinking SkillsWhy is critical thinking important?Do you think it is important to be able to provide evidence and reasoning for the opinions you hold, especially when you make judgmental opinions like praise and condemnation? If your answer is yes, critical thinking is important to you because it enables you to provide reasons for your actions. Critical thinkers do not just go with the flow and accept whatever's given to them."Most people are not in charge of their ideas and thinking. Most of their ideas have come in to their minds without their having thought about it. They unconsciously pick up what the people around them think. They unconsciously pick up what is on television or in the movies. They unconsciously absorb ideas from the family they were raised in."(/resources/class-syllabus-fall-93.cfm)Task:1. Read the following excerpt from Peg Tittle’s book on critical thinking and share with the class your ideas after reading it:People who believe whatever they're told without examining the evidence and the reasons linking the evidence to the claims-in-question—that is, without examining the reasoning—are vulnerable to charlatans, crackpots, and bosses. They're especially vulnerable to calculating corporations who believe their mandate, their only mandate, is to maximize their income. Critical thinking is thus especially important as media conglomerates monopolize what we read, hear, and see. According to Free Press's website, updated in 2008, Disney owns ABC, Touchstone, and Miramax; Viacom owns MTV, CMT, and Paramount Pictures; CBS owns Simon & Schuster; Time-Warner owns AOL, HBO, Warner Bros., and Little, Brown and Company; GE owns NBC and Universal Pictures; and so on. Now since, for example, GE makesa lot of money selling weapons (at least back in 1986, when 11 percent of their revenues came fromnuclear weapons*; war is good for their business, so it's quite possible that NBC (remember they're owned by GE) intentionally shows movies that glorify war, portraying soldiers as heroes. And if you're nota critical thinker, you probably won't even notice that, let alone challenge it.*: /mm2001/01july-august/julyaug01interviewmulvey.htmlthis unit? Now try to think critically and develop your own ideas over the following questions:１）If we overlap a map of Europe over the map of China, what latitudinal differences will you find?Do you think these differences explain to some extent the cultural differences between China and the Euroeapn countries?２）How do the Yangtze River differ from the Yellow River in terms of its cultural, social and economical significance?３）How can we translate the geographical inequalities of China into economic and social terms? ４）How do the Northerners differ from those who live in the South of China?Part IV Cultural NotesJohn Bryan Starr is a lecturer in the Political Science Department at Yale University. He also serves as a consultant to the Connecticut Superintendents Network at the Connecticut Center for School Change in Hartford, and to school districts in the tri-state area. He was educated at Dartmouth College. He spent the following four years as a United States Naval officer.After teaching Chinese politics at Berkeley for ten years, he moved to Yale in 1978. While continuing to offer course work in Chinese politics at Yale, he served as Executive Director of the Yale-China Association for fifteen years and, subsequently, as President of China Institute in New York City. In the course of his work for these organizations he traveled frequently to Hong Kong, Taiwan and the People’s Republic of Chin a. He has written extensively on contemporary Chinese politics and political thought. His most recent book, Understanding China, was published by Hill & Wang in 1997. A third edition of the book was released in 2010.After ten years, John Bryan Starr has thoroughly revised and updated his classic introduction to the background of, the data about, and the issues at stake in China’s present and future. In the new edition, Starr seamlessly weaves in additional material on the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, the Chinese government’s ongoing efforts to curb the influence of the Internet, and the intensifying trade disputes between the United States and China. In this succinct, modest, and refreshingly forthright book--now revised and updated for the new century--Starr introduces to the uninitiated reader the background, basic data, and issues at stake in China's crisis-ridden present and future.------A book review on Understanding China。
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Naturalness and Non-action
• Following the way of nature is the way to resolving conflicts between humans and the world.
Naturalness and Non-action
Non-action (无为)
• Non-action is the guarantee of “naturalness”.
Naturalness and Non-action
“(Dao or the Way ) acts through non-action (无为而 无不为).” —Selected from Laozi How do you understand this line? • By saying “(Dao or the Way ) acts through nonaction”, Laozi did not mean that one should do nothing and passively wait for something to be achieved. Neither did he deny human creativity. • What he meant is that human enterprises should be built on the basis of naturalness, not on any attempts to interrupt the rhythm of nature. Human creativity should be in compliance with the ways of nature.
Introduction
Laozi
• Laozi (《老子》), also known as Classic of the Way and Virtue (Dao De Jing. • The author is generally believed to be Laozi. • It consists of just over 5,000 Chinese characters. Its 81 chapters are divided into two parts, Dao (the Way) and De (Virtue).
Unit 2 Laozi’s Philosophy of Non-action
Content
Lead-in
Text study
Exercises
Lead-in
“The Dao that can be trodden is not the enduring and unchanging Dao. The name that can be named is not the enduring and unchanging name. (Conceived of as) having no name, it is the Originator of heaven and earth; (conceived of as) having a name, it is the Mother of all things.” What’s the Chinese version of these lines?
• Therefore, Laozi’s philosophy is based on “noncontention”.
• Human striving and competitive strife is the root cause of decline; desiring nothing is the natural way of life.
Introduction
The influence of Laozi
• The book has played a tremendous role in the development of Chinese culture.
• It became the basis of Daoism, the school of philosophy parallel to Confucianism in ancient China. • The thought of Laozi formed the foundation of Daoism, the most influential indigenous school of religion in China.
Text study
Introduction
Naturalness and Non-action
The Philosophy of Non-contention Returning to Newborn State
Introduction
Laozi
• Laozi (about 571-471 BC), also called Laodan, surname Li, given name Ran and alias Boyang.
The Philosophy of Non-contention
Overcoming the strong by being weak
• On the basis of “naturalness” and “non-action”, Laozi proposed the view of “overcoming the strong by being weak (以柔克刚)”. • The era Laozi lived in was replete with endless war. • War was an important theme for Laozi, and antiwar thinking was the norm.
The Philosophy of Non-contention
• According to Laozi, war springs from humanity’s bloated desires. Conflicts arises out of people’s struggle to satisfy their desires, and conflict escalates into war.
Naturalness and Non-action
“Great ingenuity appears to be stupidity (大智若愚).” —Selected from Laozi
How do you understand this line? • “Great ingenuity” refers to the highest level of ingenuity, arising so naturally that it does not resemble ingenuity at all. • Ingenuity can be achieved through human effort, but “great ingenuity” is superior to ordinary ingenuity.
Naturalness and Non-action
Naturalness (顺应自然)
• It refers to a natural state of being, an attitude of following the way of nature. • • Everything in the world has its own way of being and development. Natural phenomena occur independently and naturally without following any human will, and humans should not try to change anything natural.
Why is Li Ran known as Laozi rather than Lizi? There are two explanations as to the source of “Laozi”. Some say during the period when Li Ran was alive, Lao and Li were pronounced in the same way. So “Laozi” actually sounded the same as “Lizi” at that time. The second legend is that Li Ran was born with white eyebrow and white beard like an old man. Thus he was called “Laozi”.
Introduction
Laozi in the world
• It is first introduced into Europe possibly as early as the 15th century • It has become one of the most translated philosophical works of ancient China.
• Famous versions of its translation include that of James Legge and that of Stephen Mitchell.