矮: [ ǎi ] 
[ 国标码:B0AB 部首:矢 笔画:13 笔顺:3113431234531 ]
1. short (not tall)
| 例句与用法: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Archive for June 4th, 2008
Chinese Culture – Chinese Seals (4)
Wednesday, June 4th, 2008Private Seals
Private seals are naturally unregulated; therefore they show the largest variety in content, shape, size, material and calligraphy. Despite their varied characteristics, they can still be categorized based on their use.
 |
|
Leisure Seal |
Seals with names, pen names, pseudonyms etc on them were used as a signature by people in their private life. This is how artists sign their works and letters. Chinese literati commonly used a number of different pen names so identifying a person’s name from a seal can be a tricky business.
Collector seals were mainly used for the purpose of authenticating pieces of art. Thus a seal of a famous collector or connoisseur would become an integral part of a work of art and could substantially raise its value. Thus in the course of several centuries, some Chinese paintings became covered by a dozen of different seals.
The rest of private seals can be conveniently categorized under the umbrella term “leisure seals”. The inscription on these seals is usually a short text which is either a quote from a famous writing or just some saying that the owner thought important. Typical inscriptions are “Respect fate”, “Attain wisdom”, “Respect”, “Use loyalty and humanity in your affairs” etc. One could compare these seals to signatures with a quote at the end of email messages where the people append some saying they consider valuable at the end of their message.
（Source: chinaculture.org）
Children Chinese – Huang He & Yangtze Rivers
Wednesday, June 4th, 2008Not all of China’s geography acted as barriers. Some of their natural features provided fertile soil and safe drinking water. China has two major river systems – the Yellow River (Huang He) and the Yangtze River (Long River).
The Yangtze (Long River) is the third longest river in the world. It is about 4000 miles long. It floods each year and leaves fertile soil along the banks. The Yangtze River has high banks, which keeps homes safe from the annual flooding.
The Huang He (Yellow River) is about 3000 miles long. It also floods each year. The banks along the Huang He River are low. Civilization in ancient China began along the Yellow River about 5000 years ago.
These early people called all rivers in China by the nickname “The Great Sorrow“. That is because each year during the flood season, all homes along the Huang He River were destroyed. Each year, the ancient Chinese had to rebuild their homes and their lives.
Over time, people learned the techniques of flood control. The rich began to built their homes high above the river.
(Source: ancienthistory.mrdonn.org)
