中国文化通览资料

1、Translation of Useful ExpressionsChinese expressionsEnglish Translation黄河流域Yellow River Valley文化融合,政治纣-Cultural fusion and political unity游牧部落nomadic tribesmen疆域Territory; realm; frontier小农经济The small-scale peasant economy封建主经济Suzerain/ landlord / owner-peasant economy自然经济形态The natural economic patt

2、ern农、林、牧、副、渔Agriculture, forestation, herding, fishing and third industry cooperation中原The Central plains重农轻商Encourage farming, limit commerce24节气The 24 Solar Terms战国时期The Warring States period男耕女织The man cultivating the land and the woman weaving at home自给自足的自然经济Self-sufficient natural economy沙A sh

3、eet of loose sand草根阶层The grass-roots level人头税The poll tax水能载舟,亦能覆舟The water that carries the boat can also overturn it.多L体Integrated pluralism吐故纳新Discard the old and embrace the new炎黄子孙the descendants of Yandi and Huangdi礼仪之邦The land of ceremony and propriety统观念The conception of great national unity

4、甲骨文The inscriptions on tortoise shells or animal bones铭文The inscriptions on bronze or copper wares象形、指事、会意、形声examplesPictographs, self-explanatory, associative compounds, pictophonetic method四书五经The Four Books and The Five Classics书同文、行同伦The standardized written language and behaviors儒、道、佛、法家Confuci

5、anism, Classical Taoist thinking, Buddhism, the Legalist School焚书坑儒Burn books and bury Confucian scholars alive无为而治To govern by doing nothing独尊儒术、罢黜百家Pay supreme tribute to Confucianism while banning all other schools of thoughts四大创造Four Great Inventions of Ancient China:1) the invention of paper ma

6、king technology2) the art of printing3) the making of the gunpowder4) the compass守内虚外Internal defense and external slackening重文轻武Lay stress on the cultural achievement while make light of the military exploits清明上河图The scroll of painting: the festival of Pure Brightness on the RiverChinese expression

7、sEnglish Translation求和谐,主平衡Seek for Harmony and Maintaining Equilibrium消灾祈福Avert calamities and pray for blessings临时抱佛脚Clasp Buddhas feet when in trouble seek help at the last moment六合The six realms of Heaven and Earth, East and West, North and South内圣外王Internalized as cultivation and externalized a

8、s governance of virtue真诚、正心、修身Sincerity, integrity and intellectual cultivation齐家治国平天下Keep your family in order, govern the state effectively and bring peace to the world中庸The golden mean天人合一Oneness of man and naturek统Great National Unity集体利益Values of Collectivism/ Collective interest人伦Human relatio

9、ns普天之下莫非王士,率 士之滨莫非王臣All the land under the sun belongs to the king; all the people within this country are the king s subjects.?史记?The Historical Records宗族关系The patriarchal relations赴汤蹈火Go through fire and water中华民族的脊梁The spiritual tower of Chinese nation否极泰来Out of depth of misfortune comes bliss以柔克

10、刚Conquer the rigid with the gentle一张一弛Alternate tension with relaxation仁者爱人The benevolent love others仁政Benevolent government以民为本People are the foundation of the state民为贵,社稷次之,君 为轻People come first, the state comes second and the king third性善论The theory of original goodness of human nature小国寡民A small

11、 state with a small population无为而治The rule of inaction汉代经学Imperial Confucianism in the Han Dynasty课堂重点1) The Four Books (The Great Learning , The Doctrine of the Mean , The Confucian Analects , and The Works of Mencius ) and The Five Classics (The Book of Poetry , The Book of History , The Book of R

12、ites , The Book of Changes , and The Spring and Autumn Annals ) cover a wide range of subjects and are the most important textbooks for the Confucian scholars to disseminate the educational thoughts of the Confucian School and a must for ancient scholars who had to pass the imperial competitive exam

13、ination to become government officials.2) The Great Learning is about the cultivation of one s moral character and the wisdoms of governing a country during the “daxue (or great learning or higher education) period of ancient China.3) The Confucian Analects or The Analects embodies the Confucian con

14、cept of ren or humanity or benevolence, and another concept of yi or righteousness.4) The Works of Mencius embodies the philosophical and political thinking of Mencius. He developed and enriched the “ren and yi theory of Confucius and supposed that every man is good by nature, and called for a benev

15、olent government.5) The Book of History is an incomplete collection of the history of ancient China. It is an invaluable reference for the study of the primitive and feudal societies in ancient China and is the source of narrative writing in China as well. This book consists of three parts:the exhor

16、tations, oaths or declarations by the lords to their subjects; the advice or suggestions of the subjects to their lord; folklores or other materials6) The Spring and Autumn Annals is a canonical book of history. It consists of three Commentaries: the Commentary of Zuo focuses on history; the Comment

17、aries of Gongyang and Guliang concentrate on comments on historical events.7) Beijing Opera emerged in Qing Dynasty, when Kun opera was gradually on the wane becauseit was only enjoyed by the nobles in the royal court, not the general public. It is a treasure of the Chinese nation as well as a cultu

18、ral symbol of China, and is enjoyed by a large Chinese audience.8) Classification of Beijing Opera9) Figure painting is the earliest kind of traditional Chinese painting; It reflects to a great degree aesthetic and artistic thinking of Confucian scholars, with the aim to rectify one s mind and make

19、people abstain from their desires. It is divided into five major categories: gongbi (detailed brushwork), jianbi (sketchy brushwork), xieyi (free hand brushwork), baimiao (outline drawing), and pomo (splash-ink).10) Traditional Chinese landscape painting embodies the Chinese people s conception of n

20、ature, their aesthetic awareness, and their wisdom and sentiment. It is a unique tradition of Chinese landscape painting to create artistic conception( viz. to seek a unity of form and spirit, of human feelings and natural settings, with an emphasis on the expression of the painte rs own thoughts and feelings).11) Calligraphy is native to China; it is a traditional art with a long history and national characteristic features. It has five major scripts, namely the Seal Character,Official Script, Regular Script, Running Script, and Cursive Script12) Four Great Masters