Transcript Traditional Festivals A Glimpse of Traditional Chinese Culture

A Glimpse of Traditional Chinese
Culture
Traditional Festivals
Chinese Major Traditional Festivals
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Origin of Traditional Festivals
Spring Festival;
Lantern Festival;
Qingming Festival/ Tomb-sweeping Festival
Dragon Boat Festival;
Mid-Autumn Festival;
Double Ninth Festival.
Warm-up Activities
1. A list of Chinese Traditional
Festivals
 2. The Origin of Chinese Traditional
Festivals
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1. Fill in the following table about Traditional Chinese Festivals.
Festivals
Date
Food/activities
1st day of
the 1st lunar month
light lanterns, yuanxiao
(rice dumplings)
April 4-6（solar）
Pyramid rice dumplings,
dragon boat race
Mid-Autumn Festival
Traditional Chinese Festivals
Festivals
Date
Food/activities
The Spring Festival
1st day of
the 1st lunar month
Dumplings /family feast
Paste couplets…
The Lantern Festival
15th day of
the 1st lunar month
light lanterns, yuanxiao
(rice dumplings)
Tomb Sweeping Day
(Pure Bright Festival )
April 4-6（solar） Sweep tombs/ mourn the
The Dragon Boat
Festival
5th day of
the 5th lunar month
Pyramid rice dumplings,
dragon boat race
Mid-Autumn Festival
15th day of
the 8th lunar month
Moon cake
dead
Warm-up Activities
2. The Origin of Traditional Chinese Festival
 Traditional Chinese festivals has been
scheduled according to the traditional Chinese
calendric ([kæ lendrik] 日历的,历法的)system.
The traditional Chinese Calendric System
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The traditional Chinese calendric system is a
combination of the solar system and the lunar system,
which is known as nongli, the agricultural calendar.
The basic principle of nongli is, a month is a period as
long as a complete moon change cycle, and a year is a
period approximately as long as a solar year. Whenever
necessary, a leap month is added. According to this
system, 24 jieqi (24 seasonal periods or solar terms
indicating the obvious changes of weather when they
come around) are designed to guide agricultural
activities, so the system is commonly known as the
agricultural calendar(农历), and it is also known as
zhong calendar(中历), summer calendar(夏历) and
lunar calendar(阴历).
The traditional Chinese Calendric System
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Generally speaking, the ancient Chinese calendar
divides a year into four seasons(季), 24 jieqi（节气）,
72 hou（候）, 360 days（天）. To be more specific, a
day consists of 12 double hours (shichen时辰); five
days make up a hou, so there are 72 hou in a year;
three hou make up a jieqi, so a year has 24 jieqi; two
jieqi make up a month, so a year has 12 months; three
months make up a season, and four seasons make up
a year. The four seasons, the eight jieqi, the Heavenly
Stems(天干) and the Earthly Branches(地支) are all
important factors in the forming of Chinese festivals.
The traditional Chinese Calendric System
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The four seasons refer to spring, summer,
autumn and winter. According to the lunar
calendar, the first three months make up spring,
the next three summer, the following three autumn,
and the last three winter. Each season is
subdivided into three equally long periods, namely
early (meng孟), middle (zhong仲) and late (ji季).
For instance, early spring refers to the first month,
middle spring the second month, and late spring
the third month.
The traditional Chinese Calendric System
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The first eight jieqi refer to the earliest designated
and the most important eight seasonal periods. Since
ancient times, China has always attached great
importance to seasonal timing, which is closely
related to agricultural activities. As early as in the
Zhou Dynasty, the first eight jieqi were defined,
namely, the Beginning of Spring, the Spring
Equinox(春分), the Beginning of Summer, the
Summer Solstice（夏至）, the Beginning of Autumn,
the Autumn Equinox, the Beginning of Winter and the
Winter Solstice. During the Qin Dynasty, all 24 jieqi
were defined.
The traditional Chinese Calendric System
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Whenever two jieqi meet, a festival comes.
Along with the designation of 24 jieqi, many
festivals came into being. Up till now, there
are still some festivals closely related to jieqi,
for example, people now still celebrate the
Beginning of Summer, the Summer Solstice, the
Beginning of Winter and the Winter Solstice.
Today some jieqi-related festivals have evolved
into traditional festivals.
节气(24 seasonal periods or solar terms)
Spring Festival
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China’s most important festival falls on
the 1st day of the 1st lunar month each
year. Family members gather just as they
do for Christmas in the West.
In fact, with so many people returning
home, it is the busiest time for
transportation systems.
Its Origin
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Spring Festival is also called guonian,
which means keeping the monster Nian
away. There are many legends about the
origin of Nian. A popular legend from
ancient times described Nian as a fierce
monster resembling a bull with a lion’s
head. During winter, when food was
scarce Nian would leave his mountain
lair (兽穴) to eat local villagers or drive
them from their homes.
Tell the Story of Nian (student)
Preliminary Year (Xiaonian )
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The 23rd day of the 12th lunar month is
Preliminary Year. Sacrifices are offered
to the Kitchen God with families sharing
delicious food followed by preparations
for the coming Spring Festival.
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Foods, decorations, new clothes and
shoes for children as well as gifts for the
elderly, friends and relatives are
prepared. Houses are thoroughly
cleaned.
Spring Festival Couplets
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These are Chinese good luck proverbs on
red paper, often with golden trimming
and are usually about happiness, wealth,
longevity , and a satisfactory marriage,
including more children.
Spring Festival Eve
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Houses
are
brightly lit
and a
large
sumptuou
s family
dinner is
served.
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Dishes such as
chicken, fish and tofu
must be included, for
in Chinese, their
pronunciations,
respectively Ji, yu
and doufu, mean
“auspicious,
abundant and
blessed”.
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Niangao means
“higher and higher,
one year after another.”
Jiaozi, or dumpling,
means “bidding
farewell to the old and
ushering in the new”
(辞旧迎新)
The Spring Festival Gala
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In recent years, the
Spring Festival Gala,
broadcast on China
Central Television
Station (CCTV),
lasting 5 to 6 hours
has been an essential
entertainment for
the Chinese both at
home and abroad.
New Year
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During the first five days of the Spring
Festival, relatives, friends, classmates and
colleagues exchange greetings and gifts
by visiting, calling or sending messages.
Telephones lines and cables are busily
engaged on these days.
Lantern Festival
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The Lantern Festival, celebrated on the
15th day of the first lunar month, is
closely related to the Spring Festival. It
marks the end of the New Year
celebrations, following which life returns
to normal. The most prominent activity
of the Lantern Festival is the grand
display of beautiful lanterns.
Guessing Riddles
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Guessing riddles pasted onto lanterns is a
Lantern Festival tradition from the Song
Dynasty. Visitors who solve a riddle may get
prizes.
Yuanxiao
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Also called tangyuan. They are
small dumpling balls made of
glutinous rice flour with
sesame (芝麻), bean paste,
jujube paste (枣泥), walnut
meat (核桃肉), dried fruit, or
sugar and edible oil as filling.
What's more, tangyuan in
Chinese has a similar
pronunciation to “tuanyuan”,
meaning reunion.
Qingming Festival
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The Qingming Festival (or Pure
Brightness Festival) is a day for
mourning (哀悼) the dead. It is one of the
24 seasonal division points (二十四节气
划分) in the lunar calendar, falling on
April 4th-6th each year. After the festival,
the temperature rises and rainfall
increases in readiness for spring plowing
(春耕) and sowing.
Hanshi Day (寒食)
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Hanshi Day (or Cold
Food Day) is the day
before Qingming
Festival, when no
fire or smoke is
allowed and people
only eat cold food.
寒食
[唐]韩翃
春城无处不飞花，
寒食东风御柳斜。
日暮汉官传蜡烛，
轻烟散入五侯家。
Tell the Story of Jie Zitui
A Riverside Scene at Qingming
Festival
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Zhang Zeduan (张择端) of the Song Dynasty
produced one of China’s most famous works of
art: A Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival.
There are more than 500 people in the
painting, as well as scores of (许多) different
animals, carriages and sedan chairs (轿子), and
bridges and boats. It is a vivid record of the
festivities and hustle and bustle (熙熙攘攘) of
the Qingming Festival.
Dragon Boat Festival
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The Dragon Boat
Festival falls on the
5th day of the 5th
lunar month.
Tell the Story of Its Origin (student)
Dragon Boat Racing
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Dragon Boat Racing Competition is an
indispensable part of the festival, held all
over the country. Teams in dragon-shaped
boats row in time to the beat of rapid drums.
Mid-Autumn Festival
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The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the
15th day of the 8th lunar month, usually
in October.
The round shape to a Chinese means
family reunion, therefore the MidAutumn Festival is most romanticized in
China as a day of family reunion and a
festival with friends.
Tell the Story of Its Origin (student)
Appreciation of Some Famous Lines
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I raised my head, the splendid moon I see;
Then droop my head and sink to dreams
of my hometown. (举头望明月， 低头思故
乡)
My one wish for you, then , is long life; And
a share in this loveliness(the moon) far,
far away. (但愿人长久， 千里共婵娟)
Double Ninth Festival
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The Double Ninth Festival or Chongyang
Festival is celebrated on the 9th day of
the 9th lunar month. It usually falls in
October.
Double Ninth Festival can also be called
Height Ascending Festival (登高节) when
people customarily climb mountains or
towers, bringing along chrysanthemum
wine (菊花酒).
Tell the Story of Its Origin (student)
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In 1989, the Chinese
government designated (指定)
Double Ninth Festival as
Seniors' Day (老人节) as nine
is the highest odd number
and two nines are taken to
signify longevity. Since then,
the Double Ninth Festival has
become a day of loving and
respecting the aged
nationwide.
Other traditional festivals
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Double Seventh Festival
Laba (腊八) and the Eight-Treasure
Porridge
Double Seventh Festival
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The Double Seventh Festival, on the 7th
day of the 7th lunar month, is a
traditional festival full of romance. It
often falls on a day in August.
It has been regarded as China’s
Valentine's Day.
Tell the Story of the Legend of the
Cowherd and Weaver Maid (student)
Laba and the Eight-Treasure Porridge
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Laba is celebrated on the 8th day of the
12th lunar month. The 12th lunar month
is called the La month, which means a
world of ice and snow. Ba means eight.
The 8th day of that month was
considered a day for making sacrifices to
gods and ancestors to ensure a peaceful
life and a good harvest in the next year.
Laba Porridge
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Also called the Eight-Treasure
Porridge.
The main materials usually
consist of beans like red beans,
mung beans (绿豆), cowpeas (豇
豆), haricots (扁豆), peas and
broad beans, and grain like rice,
millet (小米), polished roundgrained rice, glutinous rice,
wheat, oat, corn and broomcorn
(高粱).
Ethnic Festivals
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China is a multi-ethnic country where
festivals and celebrations vary from one
ethnic group to another.
Water Splashing Festival
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Water Splashing Festival is
the Dai’s New Year, as well
as the most important
traditional festival observed
by the Dai people in China’s
Yunnan province.
Nadam Fair
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Nadam Fair is a traditional
festival observed by the
Mongolian people who
inhabit Inner Mongolia,
Gansu, Qinghai and Xinjiang.
The festival is celebrated in
July or August when the
pastures have plenty of
water, lush grass, thriving
herds, and fine weather. The
festive celebration lasts for
one to eight days.
Torch Festival
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Torch Festival is a
traditional festival of
the Yi, Bai, Lisu, Naxi,
and some other
ethinic groups
inhabiting southwest
China. It falls around
the 24th of the 6th
lunar month.
Please find more information
from the internet about other
ethnic festivals and share it with
your classmates.
Discussion
Why do you think young people in China
are increasingly interested in celebrating
some western festivals nowadays?