Have you ever noticed ancient art and the intricacy of each piece? If you look closely at a piece, it is as if the soul of the artist is poured onto the canvas itself. How much time was spent on one piece? Was it hours or days on end? That is the beauty of ancient Chinese art. Chinese art varied throughout ancient history; it has been characterized by the different periods of dynastic rule and been greatly influenced by different religions and great philosophers and teachers.

The Standing Woman, by Tang Yin of Ming Dynasty

(more…)

Dim Sum is a Chinese light meal that it’s usually served with Chinese tea. It is eaten from morning to early afternoon with family or friends. Dim sum consists of a great variety of choices. It has combinations of meat, seafood, vegetables, desserts and fruit.
The Dim Sums are usually served in a small steamer basket or on a small plate.

Its Name
Dim Sum is a Cantonese phrase (點心), literally “touch the heart” (order to your heart’s content). It may be derived from yat dim sum yi (一點心æ„?), meaning “a little token”. Though the English word “Dim Sum” refers to the Cantonese variety, the idea of a wide variety of small dishes for lunch also holds for other regions of China.

(more…)

Hands, legs, head. Palmistry! I bet many of you love future telling, right? Well, here are a few fun and simple ways to see what type of person you are. The lines on your hand have a lot to say! Hold it up and take a look to see what they have to tell you! 
 

 A: The Heart Line governs your emotions. The higher the line, the more passionate and jealous a person is. If the line is straight, then you’re a person who can control his or her emotions very well indeed. A heart line that curves upwards however, it indicates an outgoing and affectionate nature. Crosses and breaks in the line suggested times of sadness in love.

B: The Head Line demonstrates how you think. If your head line and life line are joined at the beginning, it means you are very cautious by nature. The further the two lines are, the more independent and risk taking you are. A strong line highlights a forceful disposition while a straight line means you are a focused thinker. However, if the line is wriggly, it means your thoughts tend to wander.

C: The life line tells you about the quality of your life. A line that runs in a wide curve means you’re a physically active person, while little lines branching off from the life line indicate an active personality. If your life line is long and deep, you’ll lead a long life filled with vitality and health. A short and shallow line might mean that you have a tendency to let your life be controlled by others. When you’re life line swings out towards the middle of your palm, it represents a life that consists of a lot of traveling.

(more…)

On the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar, the moon is full and it is time for the Chinese people to mark their Moon Festival, or the Mid-Autumn Festival. The round shape of the full moon symbolizes family reunion. Therefore, this day is a holiday for family members to get together and enjoy the full moon - an auspicious token of abundance, harmony, and luck.

Sons and daughters will return their parents’ house. Sometimes people who have already settled overseas will return to visit their parents on that day, too. Adults will usually indulge in fragrant moon cakes of many varieties with a good cup of piping hot Chinese tea, while the little ones run around with their brightly-lit lanterns. It is also a romantic night for lovers, who sit holding hands on riverbanks and park benches, enraptured by the brightest moon of the year.

This day was also considered as a harvest festival since fruits, vegetables, and grain had been harvested by this time, and food was abundant. Food offerings were placed on an altar set up in the courtyard. Apples, pears, peaches, grapes, pomegranates, melons, oranges and pomelos might be given as offerings. Special foods for the festival included moon cakes, cooked taro, and water caltrope, a type of water chestnut resembling black buffalo horns. Some people insist that cooked taro be included because at the time of creation, taro was the first food discovered in the moonlight. Of all these foods, the taro could not be omitted from the Mid-Autumn Festival.

(more…)