Over 2,300
universities in about 100 countries teach Chinese to meet the surging demand
for Chinese language skills.
At the 1st
International Conference on Chinese Language held in Beijing in 2004, an
initial group of 25 Confucius institutes around the world were officially
acknowledged by the Chinese government. Since then, the number has increased to
121 instuitutions in 55 countries and regions. So far about 30 million people
are studing Chinese around the world.
The
Chinese Book of Shui was recently published by the Bashu Publishing House and
the Sichuan Ethnic Publishing House.The publication is part of an effort to
rescue the vanishing language of the Shui minority living in Sandu and Libo of
Guizhou Province. The book mainly features historical records and documents
written in Shui language. It includes 1,453 documents, which provide detailed
information on the language’s development.
Known as a
living fossil, the Shui language has been listed as a “Chinese Intangible
Cultural Heritage List.”
Young
people of Miao (Hmong) ethnic group living in Taijiang County of Guizhou
Province celebrate the traditional “Sisters Festival” on the 15th day of the
third lunar month every year. Hundreds of young girls in splendid attire sing
and dance, and at the same time look for their lovers among the audience.
During the daytime all the boys and girls share the same kind of food. The
dancing continues into the night when the real courtship begins and people
start singing to each other. Because of the love connection, the festival is
also called “the Valentine’s Day” for the Miao people.There are many tales
about the origin of the festival. Some believe this ancient tradition came down
through the ages unchanged by Miao people during their migrations southward.
The festival is also a feast for the eye of Miao ethnic costumes as well as
folk songs and dancing.
Archaeological
findings in Aohan Banner, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, have supplied full
and accurate materials relevant to the study of the culture and history of
north China.
An
8,000-year-old village of Xinglongwa Culture was discovered in Aohan Banner. It
is the oldest village site so far discovered in China. Relics found in
Zhaojiagou show that people began to live on farms about 7,000 years ago. Many
relics of Hongshan Culture, like the stone tombs in Caomao Mountain and the
“Goddess of Hongshan,” provided good evidence that the city-state was taking
shape about 5,000 years ago. Xiaoheyan Culture of 4,000 to 5,000 years ago
shows the close relation between local people with those living in central
China and the Yangtze River valley.
The
excavations in Dadianzi and Chengzishan yielded evidence of the Xiajia Lower
Layer Culture dating back 3,000 to 4,000 years ago; while the sites of Xiajia
Upper Layer Culture show that early people understood the technology of bronze
mining and casting 2,000 to 3,000 years ago. Two sections of Great Wall
coursing through the middle of Aohan show that the area was once part of the
State of Yan and home to the nomadic tribes in North China since the Spring and
Autumn Period (770-476 BC).
Organized
by the Chinese Tibetan Culture Protection and Development Association, a
symposium of Tibetan culture was held in Beijing, attracting about 120 scholars
and experts from 12 countries and regions. The event, with the theme of
protecting Tibetan cultural heritage, was the first of its kind in the country.
Nu Shu is
a written language created and used exclusively by Yao women in Jiangyong of
Hunan Province. The secret language has aroused great interest among Chinese
experts. In fact, only a handful of women still understand or can read the
language. To help keep this ancient language alive, Chinese woman writer Shang
Shu wrote a novel “Nu Ke”, the first novel about this dying language.
For
thousands of years men have played dominant roles in Chinese families and women
were regarded as “tang ke” or visitors of the family, Shang said. The novel’s
title, which literally means women visitors, addresses not only the subordinate
role of women but also their quest for love and happiness.
Log on to
www.djangar.cn and you will find comprehensive news about Djangar and
information about the study of Djangar both in Mongolian and Chinese. The
website is a joint effort by Hebukesaier Autonomous Prefecture government and
the China Djangar Research Association. The new website shows the first logo of
Djangar which was released at the International Seminar of Djangar held in
Uygur in September. The website features eight section: news, Djangar, Djangar
abroad, Djangar in China, research, papers, data base and photo galleries. The
information covers a wide range of topics such as the popularity of the epic,
folk singers and the cultural symbolism of the horse in Djangar.
The epic
Djangar, once popular among Mongolians living in Xinjiang, is about the great
deeds of the hero Djangar who leads his people to fight against invaders and
protect their homeland.
Most
primary schools in Tibet teach in the Tibetan language, except for some schools
where the majority of children are Han people. So far there are 890 primary
schools in Tibet with Tibetian students comprising 95.6 percent of total
enrollment. Students of other ethnic groups total 313,000, or about 4.5 percent
of the total.
Liangre
Ethnic Culture Village, located six kilometers north of Lhasa, is crowded with
tourists. As the only agriculture tourism site in Tibet, the village attracts
hundreds of visitors everyday.
Nestled in
the heart of Lhalu Wetland National Nature Reserve, the area was once home to
the Tibetan’s ancestors about 4,500 years ago. Tunmi Sangbuza created the
Tibetan language in the area. Relics could be found everywhere. One was built
by Songtsen Gampo in the 7th century.
In
addition to the Tibetan Buddhism and fantastic highland scenery, the area is
also famed for its well-preserved Tibetan culture and lifestyle.
Global
warming is melting glaciers in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau at an unprecedented pace.
It is predicted that the glaciers would decrease by 28 percent by 2050.
Satellite
data shows that the shrinkage of glaciers is the most tangible environmental
change in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Experts explained that climate change is a
major factor affecting the environmental changes in the area, and human
activities aggravate the already degraded ecosystem. Chinese scientists have
found that rising temperatures have exacerbated the shrinkage of glaciers in
western China in the past 50 years.
Experts
argue that there is little rain in the area and the glaciers in the area are
mostly formed by high elevation. So the global warming has greater effect on
the “roof of the world” than glaciers in other parts of the world.
A new
system for the recognition of multi-languages has been successfully developed
by Chinese experts.
Based on
the recognition system for Chinese and English, the new system works for
documents written in Mongolian, Tibetan, Uygur, Kazak, Korean and Khalkha. The
recognition rate reaches 96.89 percent. The system featuring cutting edge
technology is the fruit of an eight-year effort by 40 Chinese researchers.
“I can’t
go back to school without the policy of free nine-year compulsory education,”
exclaimed 15-year-old Yuan Aifeng, an orphan girl living in Sanzhiyang Village
of Du’an County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Both of her parents died and
life became extremely hard for the young girl.
She is one
of the rural students who are now exempt from paying fees and their tuition
over the course of their nine-year compulsory education. In addition, she receives
a subsidy for her living expenses. “Going to school is my dream and the policy
makes my dream come true.” Yuan said.
Zhuang
ethnic minority, with a population of 150 million, is China’s largest minority
group and mostly live in Guangxi. The local government is dedicated to
improving the education and helping rural children like Yuan have opportunities
to complete their education. The efforts have achieved great success. Since
2006, 6.3 million rural children have been exempt from paying tuition, 1.31 million
of them get free textbooks and 230,000 of them get a subsidy for their living
expenses.
“That
means the nine-year compulsory education is fully implemented among China’s
largest ethnic minority,” said Yu Yizhong, an official of Guangxi Education Bureau.
The
central government pays half of the fees while the local government has to
shoulder the other half. For a poverty-stricken area, it is a great challenge.
Experts
call for a new regulation to protect traditional houses of Dai ethnic group,
which are now vanishing as they are being replaced by modern buildings. The
local government is now drafting regulations which are expected to take effect
in 2008.
The
traditional houses of the Dai people are mostly built of bamboo and feature a
unique style. With the rapid development of the local economy, more and more
cement buildings have sprung up in some regions of Xishuangbanna.
The
regulation, covering detailed rules, efforts, management systems and financial
resources, is to ensure that the traditional architecture of Dai people is
under better protection.
Bi Guangming, known as the “king of Sanxian” in Bamao Village of Shilin Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province, has made over 2,000 Sanxian, the traditional three-string plucked instrument of Yi people with a history of 1,000 years. The heaviest one is about 100 kilogramms while the lightest is only 300 grammes.
RESCUING THE CHINESE GIANT SALAMANDER
In the
past, people were both in inexplicable awe and veneration of a four-legged,
strange-looking creature that made a noise like a crying baby and that would
occasionally appear on the shores of some rivers in the mountain valleys of
southern China. Its odd appearance is due to its wide, flat head and its tiny
sunken eyes. It also has a flat tail and four short legs, with four claws on
the front feet and five on the back feet. Due to its cries that sound like that
of a baby crying, Chinese people call it the “baby fish”.
But of
course, what people may not know is that this is a rare and precious creature
that has existed for three hundred thousand years, called the Chinese giant
salamander.