噫: [ yì, yī ] 
[ 国标码:E0E6 部首:口 笔画:16 笔顺:2514143125114544 ]
1. (interj. of approval)
2. belch
(Source: dict.cn)
Archive for June 28th, 2008
Children Chinese – Tang Dynasty (3)
Saturday, June 28th, 2008Houses: Households in the large capital city of Ch’ang-an had baths, heaters, mechanical fans, fountains, ice-cooled rooms, mirrors, musical instruments such as the harp, ceramics, spoons, goblets of gold and silver. The rich were waited on by servants and slaves. The pagoda look became popular during T’ang times. Homes of the wealthy and of the nobles were very large, with several rooms, built of wood and brick. Farmers homes were made of sun dried brick and bamboo. They were very simple, one room homes.
Clothing, Hair Styles, and Cosmetics: Men had topknots. They shaved their heads except for the hair right in the center of the top of their head, which they let grow long. Then they wrapped it up in a knot. This was called a topknot! They used gold and decorated hair pins to keep them in place.
On their heads, women balanced jeweled crowns with little jingling bells dangling from the edges. Women used little make-up boxes that held a mirror, rouge, and lipstick. Eyebrows were carefully designed. In T’ang times, they were shaped like little mountains, like this ^. (Eyebrows have always been part of ancient Chinese fashion. In 2c BCE, eyebrows had sharp, pointed tops. In 2c A.D., eyebrows were gently curved.)
Shoes: In T’ang times, shoes were really important. They were a sign of status. Peasants wore straw sandals. Nobles wore fine cloth slippers. Nobles wore turquoise colored features in fancy hats, and silk robes with jade belts. Clothing was made of silk for the rich, and ramie cloth for the poor (woven from a plant called ramie, rough, coarse, used to make farmers clothes.)
Entertainment and Sports: They played board games such as backgammon. Music, dancing, hunting with falcons, and archery were all popular. They played a kind of football, and enjoyed polo which had been introduced from India. They had national celebrations, such as the Emperor’s Birthday, which was enjoyed by rich and poor alike.
(Source: ancienthistory.mrdonn.org)
Beijing Olympic – Guide dogs given all-clear for public venues (2)
Saturday, June 28th, 2008
Guide dogs attend the opening ceremony of the Dalian International Marathon Tournament in June. (Photo credit: China Daily)
However, although the law amendment grants the blind the right to take guide dogs to public places, detailed rules are needed to facilitate its implementation, Ma Yu’e, deputy director of the legal department of the China Disabled Persons’ Federation, said.
Ma said that the federation is now working with public security departments in Beijing and “it’s very likely that a detailed rule on guide dogs will be made before the Paralympics”.
Ma said such a change marks great progress in safeguarding the rights and interests of the blind.
“The misunderstanding that guide dogs are pets must be corrected,” she said. “They are working dogs just as police dogs are. And guide dogs are intelligent and friendly. They won’t cause any safety issues.”
Official figures show about 12.3 million people in the country suffer from visual impairments and there is an increasing demand for guide dogs.
Apart from the rule that allows guide dogs into public places, the law amendment also takes a closer look at the rights and interests of the disabled in regards to education, employment and medical care. It also stipulates that disabled people who run private businesses can enjoy favorable tax policies and be exempted from administrative charges.
Similarly, the amendment has a special chapter on promoting a barrier-free environment for the disabled.
Sun Shujun, a disabled NPC deputy from Liaoning province who was invited to the NPC Standing Committee session yesterday, said: “Not only should the environment be barrier-free. People’s mindsets and attitudes towards us disabled people should be barrier-free as well … Equal and fair treatment is what we want most.”
(Source: en.beijing2008.cn)
