中国文化概论 8个名词解释：

中国文化概论名词解释八选四2010-6-17

Lunar calendar 阴历

Lunar calendar is a traditional Chinese calendar according to which a common year has 354 or 355 days in total, 12 months of 30 days or 29 days and a lunar leap year has 383 0r 384 days in 13 months. According to changes in the position of the sun, a solar year is divided into 24 seasonal division points to facilitate farming. The years are designated by pairing items from the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches respectively so that 60 years form a circle. It is said that the lunar calendar was created during the Xia Dynasty. Hence the term, Xiali, or Xia calendar.

The Book of Songs 《诗经》

The Book of Songs is a collection of China’s 305 oldest poems from the early Western Zhou Dynasty to the middle Spring and Autumn Period, and is regarded as the earliest realistic literature in China. In the light of rhythms, the works can be divided into three sections: Feng, Ya and Song.

Four treasures of the study 文房四宝

Four treasures of the study refers to the writing brush, ink stick, paper and ink stone. It is widely accepted that the best of each of these items is represented by the Hu brush, Hui ink stick, Xuan paper and Duan ink stone, all being highly valued in both China and abroad.

Eight-part Essay 八股文

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, candidates of the imperial examinations were required to write essays in strict accordance with an eight-part form known for its rigidity of form and strict adherence to the ideology of the ruling class. New ideas were condemned. An essay in this style must consist of eight paragraphs, each paragraph must be written in a set form. Thus the Eight-part Essay in the classical literary language of earlier eras became the major written genre of the time.

Compass vehicle 罗盘车

The compass vehicle was an ancient Chinese vehicle equipped with many gear wheels and a wooden figure that always pointed south no matter which direction the vehicle went. It’s an earlier and more primitive form of the compass.

Ping-Pong Diplomacy 乒乓外交

In April 1971, at the 31st World Table Tennis Tournament in Japan, the Chinese team invited the United States table tennis (Ping-Pong) team to visit China. In 1972, the Chinese table tennis team accepted the invitation to pay a return visit to the United States. The friendly exchange between the table tennis players of the two countries opened the door to warmer relations between the Chinese and American nations, and became known as “Ping-Pong Diplomacy”.

The Silk Road 丝绸之路

The Silk Road was the main trade route running through Asia in ancient times. It started from the Weishui Valley in the east and ended on the east coast of the Mediterranean, from where it led to various places around Europe. From the Western Han Dynasty on, Chi na’s silk was exported via this route to the West, and thus a closer link between China and the West was formed, and cultural exchanges and friendly visits were promoted.

Mohism 墨子

Mohism, based on the teaching of Mozi, cherishes universal love which states that if all the people in the world loved one another, there would be no hatred, calamities and hostilities. In politics and ethics Mohism advocates honouring virtuous people, opposing fatalism and aggressive wars, and upholding thriftiness and simple funerals.