Chinasage Diary

Your daily snippet of information about China. Our diary has a daily fact, proverb and a reminder of upcoming festivals and holidays in China.
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Thu 28th Mar

Woks

Wok is one Chinese word you may know that has a Cantonese rather than a Mandarin origin. The Chinese character is pronounced as 'guo' in standard Mandarin Chinese but as 'wok' in Cantonese. In both cases it means the same thing: 'cooking pot'.
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Wed 27th Mar

Woks

Wok is one Chinese word you may know that has a Cantonese rather than a Mandarin origin. The Chinese character is pronounced as 'guo' in standard Mandarin Chinese but as 'wok' in Cantonese. In both cases it means the same thing: 'cooking pot'.
Read More

On this day

1993 Yang Shangkun no longer President PRC 1993 (31 years ago)
1993 Qiao Shi became Chairman NPC 1993 (31 years ago)
1993 Wan Li no longer Chairman NPC 1993 (31 years ago)
Tue 26th Mar

Woks

Wok is one Chinese word you may know that has a Cantonese rather than a Mandarin origin. The Chinese character is pronounced as 'guo' in standard Mandarin Chinese but as 'wok' in Cantonese. In both cases it means the same thing: 'cooking pot'.
Read More
Mon 25th Mar

Common language

Because written Chinese characters are not phonetic it is possible to pronounce the same character in many different ways. This is how the different Chinese languages have developed. Even though Mandarin is the pre-eminent one, Cantonese, Wu and others are spoken by many millions, and yet the remarkable thing is that they can intercommunicate by just writing down what they say - because the written form is the same.
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On this day

1988 Li Peng became Premier PRC 1988 (36 years ago)
Sun 24th Mar

Common language

Because written Chinese characters are not phonetic it is possible to pronounce the same character in many different ways. This is how the different Chinese languages have developed. Even though Mandarin is the pre-eminent one, Cantonese, Wu and others are spoken by many millions, and yet the remarkable thing is that they can intercommunicate by just writing down what they say - because the written form is the same.
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Sat 23rd Mar

Common language

Because written Chinese characters are not phonetic it is possible to pronounce the same character in many different ways. This is how the different Chinese languages have developed. Even though Mandarin is the pre-eminent one, Cantonese, Wu and others are spoken by many millions, and yet the remarkable thing is that they can intercommunicate by just writing down what they say - because the written form is the same.
Read More
Fri 22nd Mar

Common language

Because written Chinese characters are not phonetic it is possible to pronounce the same character in many different ways. This is how the different Chinese languages have developed. Even though Mandarin is the pre-eminent one, Cantonese, Wu and others are spoken by many millions, and yet the remarkable thing is that they can intercommunicate by just writing down what they say - because the written form is the same.
Read More
Thu 21st Mar

Common language

Because written Chinese characters are not phonetic it is possible to pronounce the same character in many different ways. This is how the different Chinese languages have developed. Even though Mandarin is the pre-eminent one, Cantonese, Wu and others are spoken by many millions, and yet the remarkable thing is that they can intercommunicate by just writing down what they say - because the written form is the same.
Read More

On this day

927 Emperor Taizu born 927 (1,097 years ago)
Wed 20th Mar

Hunan braves

Hunan is very much a central Chinese province; it has produced food for northern China for centuries. During the Taiping Rebellion the Hunan Braves under Zeng Guofan were an important military unit that led to the eventual defeat of the Taipings. This history influenced the thinking of Mao Zedong and Liu Shaoqi, both born in Hunan, in the early days of the Communist party in China.
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Tue 19th Mar

Sinbad the sailor was Chinese

The voyages of Zheng He in the early Ming dynasty marked the peak of Chinese exploration of the World. He traveled widely in the Arabian Sea and visited Mecca. The legend of Sinbad the sailor emerged not long after his voyages. Perhaps the most telling connection is that Zheng He's official title was Sanbao Taijian.
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On this day

1279 Song dynasty ended 1279 (745 years ago)
1279 Battle of Yamen 1279 (745 years ago)
Mon 18th Mar

Sinbad the sailor was Chinese

The voyages of Zheng He in the early Ming dynasty marked the peak of Chinese exploration of the World. He traveled widely in the Arabian Sea and visited Mecca. The legend of Sinbad the sailor emerged not long after his voyages. Perhaps the most telling connection is that Zheng He's official title was Sanbao Taijian.
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On this day

1839 First Opium War 1839 (185 years ago)
Sun 17th Mar

Purple Forbidden Enclosure

The Imperial Purple Forbidden City is linked to the pole of the heavens. The area surrounding the pole star is called the Purple Forbidden Enclosure 紫微垣 and emphasizes the Emperor's title as Son of Heaven tiān zǐ. Just as all constellations rotate around the pole, all Chinese activity was controlled by the Emperor.
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On this day

1998 Li Peng no longer Premier PRC 1998 (26 years ago)
1998 Zhu Rongji became Premier PRC 1998 (26 years ago)
2018 Li Zhanshu became Chairman NPC 2018 (6 years ago)
Sat 16th Mar

Purple Forbidden Enclosure

The Imperial Purple Forbidden City is linked to the pole of the heavens. The area surrounding the pole star is called the Purple Forbidden Enclosure 紫微垣 and emphasizes the Emperor's title as Son of Heaven tiān zǐ. Just as all constellations rotate around the pole, all Chinese activity was controlled by the Emperor.
Read More

On this day

2003 Zhu Rongji no longer Premier PRC 2003 (21 years ago)
2003 Wen Jiabao became Premier PRC 2003 (21 years ago)
Fri 15th Mar

Flowers and fruit

Flowers and fruit are used in Chinese art to give a symbolic meaning. Quite often this is the obvious one of grace and beauty as with orchids, plums, azaleas and magnolias. In other cases the symbolism comes from words that sound the same in Chinese, so maple means 'appointment'; orange 'good wishes'; cinnamon 'valuable' and jujube 'early'. Some have a sexual connotation so have to be used with care if used as a gift.
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On this day

220 Cao Cao died 220 (1,804 years ago)
1998 Qiao Shi no longer Chairman NPC 1998 (26 years ago)
1998 Li Peng became Chairman NPC 1998 (26 years ago)
2003 Hu Jintao became President PRC 2003 (21 years ago)
2003 Wu Bangguo became Chairman NPC 2003 (21 years ago)
Thu 14th Mar

Dragon Boat

The Dragon boat festival commemorates Qu Yuan 343 - 278 BCE an incorruptible public official who drowned himself in defiance of widespread corruption over 2,300 years ago. The festival has older roots as it is associated with the dragons that ruled the waters.
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On this day

2013 Wu Bangguo no longer Chairman NPC 2013 (11 years ago)
2013 Xi Jinping became President PRC 2013 (11 years ago)
2013 Zhang Dejiang became Chairman NPC 2013 (11 years ago)
Wed 13th Mar

Dragon Boat

The Dragon boat festival commemorates Qu Yuan 343 - 278 BCE an incorruptible public official who drowned himself in defiance of widespread corruption over 2,300 years ago. The festival has older roots as it is associated with the dragons that ruled the waters.
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Tue 12th Mar

Dragon Boat

The Dragon boat festival commemorates Qu Yuan 343 - 278 BCE an incorruptible public official who drowned himself in defiance of widespread corruption over 2,300 years ago. The festival has older roots as it is associated with the dragons that ruled the waters.
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On this day

1872 Zeng Guofan died 1872 (152 years ago)
1925 Sun Yatsen died 1925 (99 years ago)
Mon 11th Mar

Dragon Boat

The Dragon boat festival commemorates Qu Yuan 343 - 278 BCE an incorruptible public official who drowned himself in defiance of widespread corruption over 2,300 years ago. The festival has older roots as it is associated with the dragons that ruled the waters.
Read More
Sun 10th Mar

Dragon Boat

The Dragon boat festival commemorates Qu Yuan 343 - 278 BCE an incorruptible public official who drowned himself in defiance of widespread corruption over 2,300 years ago. The festival has older roots as it is associated with the dragons that ruled the waters.
Read More

On this day

1912 Yuan Shikai became President Republic of China 1912 (112 years ago)
Sat 9th Mar

Dragon Boat

The Dragon boat festival commemorates Qu Yuan 343 - 278 BCE an incorruptible public official who drowned himself in defiance of widespread corruption over 2,300 years ago. The festival has older roots as it is associated with the dragons that ruled the waters.
Read More

On this day

141BCE Emperor Wudi became ruler 141BCE (2,166 years ago)
Fri 8th Mar

Three character classic

For a thousand years one of the first children's books to learn by heart was the Three Character Primer. It introduces common characters in the language and more importantly the philosophy and dynastic history. The importance of long and hard study is underlined. The classic influenced Chinese people's attitude to education up to the present day.
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Thu 7th Mar

Leshan giant Buddha

The tallest sculpture of the Buddha in the world is at Leshan, Sichuan. It was built between 713CE and 803CE. It is 233 feet [71 meters] high and carved into the side of a cliff overlooking the Dadu river. Each toenail is sufficiently large to act as a seat for an adult. Like many early Buddhist carvings it shows strong Indian influence in design.
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Wed 6th Mar

Leshan giant Buddha

The tallest sculpture of the Buddha in the world is at Leshan, Sichuan. It was built between 713CE and 803CE. It is 233 feet [71 meters] high and carved into the side of a cliff overlooking the Dadu river. Each toenail is sufficiently large to act as a seat for an adult. Like many early Buddhist carvings it shows strong Indian influence in design.
Read More
Tue 5th Mar

Art of War

Sun Wu [544 - 496 BCE] wrote the epic “Art of War” over 2,500 years ago. It remains a classic in China and was influential on developing military tactics as far away as Europe. Indeed in the 1990s, Gulf War generals are known to have studied and used the ancient stratagems.
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On this day

1898 Zhou Enlai born at Huai'an Jiangsu 1898 (126 years ago)
1978 Song Qingling no longer Chairman NPC 1978 (46 years ago)
Mon 4th Mar

Art of War

Sun Wu [544 - 496 BCE] wrote the epic “Art of War” over 2,500 years ago. It remains a classic in China and was influential on developing military tactics as far away as Europe. Indeed in the 1990s, Gulf War generals are known to have studied and used the ancient stratagems.
Read More

On this day

581 Sui dynasty began 581 (1,443 years ago)
581 Emperor Wendi became ruler 581 (1,443 years ago)
Sun 3rd Mar

China's flag

The four smaller stars on the flag of the People's Republic represent the four classes of people: working class; peasantry; petit bourgeoisie and patriotic capitalists.
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Sat 2nd Mar

Ambitious Eunuchs

As a eunuch by definition could not father any children their ambitions turned to making their lives more comfortable. With control over access to the Emperor, all his visitors had to pay a fee to eunuchs. Although the vast majority of eunuchs had very modest income the ones who rose to the top of the pyramid of trusted Imperial servants could become immensely wealthy. Liu Jin in 1510 (Ming dynasty) amassed four million pounds in gold in just four years. The top eunuchs were able to build expensive palaces in Beijing that they could go to when their Imperial duties were complete.
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Fri 1st Mar

Ambitious Eunuchs

As a eunuch by definition could not father any children their ambitions turned to making their lives more comfortable. With control over access to the Emperor, all his visitors had to pay a fee to eunuchs. Although the vast majority of eunuchs had very modest income the ones who rose to the top of the pyramid of trusted Imperial servants could become immensely wealthy. Liu Jin in 1510 (Ming dynasty) amassed four million pounds in gold in just four years. The top eunuchs were able to build expensive palaces in Beijing that they could go to when their Imperial duties were complete.
Read More

On this day

1950 Chiang Kaishek became President Republic of China 1950 (74 years ago)
Thu 29th Feb

Ambitious Eunuchs

As a eunuch by definition could not father any children their ambitions turned to making their lives more comfortable. With control over access to the Emperor, all his visitors had to pay a fee to eunuchs. Although the vast majority of eunuchs had very modest income the ones who rose to the top of the pyramid of trusted Imperial servants could become immensely wealthy. Liu Jin in 1510 (Ming dynasty) amassed four million pounds in gold in just four years. The top eunuchs were able to build expensive palaces in Beijing that they could go to when their Imperial duties were complete.
Read More
Chengdu, Sichuan, bridge
Anshun bridge at Chengdu, Sichuan