http://www.steellong.com.cn/Steellong Wire Cloth Co., Ltd - RainbowSoft Studio Z-Blog 1.8 Arwen Build 81206en-ukCopyright Steellong Your WebSite. Some Rights Reserved.Mon, 06 Sep 2010 07:43:56 +0800sales@steellong.cn (steellong)http://www.steellong.com.cn/post/447.htmlSat, 29 Aug 2009 00:47:41 +0800http://www.steellong.com.cn/post/447.html
In 1958, some silk products of 4,700 years ago were excavated in Yuhang City of Zhejiang Province, including silkfadeno, ribbons, silk ropes and some silk pieces. Although these objects had been carbonized, the clear identification of latitude and longitude of silk is a powerful proof of the master handicraft of that time.

Till the Han dynasty （206 BC- AD 220），the handicraft of silk spinning has been improved to such a high level that every silk thread was composed of 14-15 silk fibers, which can be found from the brocade excavated in Mawangdui Tombs of Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD24) in Hunan Province. With the improvement of silk spinning handicraft, the finished silk products were more powerful to convey kind of poetic imagery.

All in all, in the rich cultural heritage, the unique style of silk texture has gradually become a symbol of Oriental aesthetic spirit. In other words, it is because silk that the Chinese costume shows kind of ethereal beauty and elegance; it is because of silk that the figure in Chinese painting shows a life-like image of verisimilitude.
]]>Culturehttp://www.steellong.com.cn/post/447.html#commenthttp://www.steellong.com.cn/http://www.steellong.com.cn/feed.asp?cmt=447http://www.steellong.com.cn/cmd.asp?act=tb&id=447&key=41fb32b4sales@steellong.cn (steellong)http://www.steellong.com.cn/post/437.htmlThu, 27 Aug 2009 02:16:41 +0800http://www.steellong.com.cn/post/437.html
1. Needlework

A girl will be more attractive to a suitor if she has talents of one kind or another in addition to being beautiful. In the old days of China, needlework was necessary as part of a girl's dowry. Since the Weaving Maid is also an excellent seamstress, on the double seventh in ancient China, girls would hold weaving and needlework competitions to see who had the best hands and the brightest mind, both prerequisites for making a good wife and mother at that time. Just imagine, against the blue sky where the bright moon smiles, a pretty girl would thread the needle deftly…

2. Blossoms

The methods of keeping the skin fair and glowing by using blossoms have never been a secret to Chinese girls. On the double seventh, girls would put blossoms into a copper basin of water. The water, which would absorbe the essence of the blossoms, was said to be good to girls' skin when they washed their face.

3. Singing

On the double seventh, girls would not forget to gather and sing a song called Qiqiao (Begging for Needlecrafts). The song expressed their sweet wishes of longevity for their parents and firm friendship for their "sisters."

4. The Maid "Shrine"

Girls would also put up colorful "shrines" made of paper, fresh fruit, flowers, and incense as a tribute to the Weaving Maid and the cowherd. In some parts of Shandong Province (in East China), young women offered fruit and pastries to pray for a bright mind. If spiders were seen weaving webs on sacrificial objects, it was believed the Weaving Maid was giving a positive reply to the prayers.

5. Overhearing the Maid Crying

In the evening, people sat outdoors to observe the stars. Chinese grannies would say that, if you stood under a grapevine, you could probably overhear the Weaving Maid and the cowherd's conversation. If you were lucky enough, they would go on telling you, you could hear the crying of the Weaving Maid.

6. Making Offerings

So many things -- of joy and tears, praise and lament, hope and yearning -- fall on the double seventh. In some areas in China, seven close girlfriends would gather to make dumplings. They put into three separate dumplings a needle, a copper coin, and a red date, which represented perfect needlework skills, good fortune, and an early marriage. But the festival celebrations were not confined to girls. It proved to be a day for all the people, young and old, men and women, to make offerings. It's said if an offering were made for three straight years, the offering, or rather the wish, would come true.

7. Crop Forecast

People also saw the double seventh as an opportunity to tell whether it would be a good harvest year. If the milk river was clearly seen against the sky on the double seventh evening, it would be a good harvest year and people would enjoy crops at a low price.

8. Dolls and Puppets

As early as the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD), dolls and puppets mocking adorable animals such as mandarin ducks appeared on the market around the festival. The pretty dolls, carrying their lucky signs of reproduction and beauty, found themselves quite popular among women.

9. Sun Books

The double seventh usually falls in the early August; in the past time of courtyard-style dwellings, the shining sunlight and cool air of August would voluntarily visit the yards of tens of thousands households. Under customs, ancient intellectuals would take their collection of books out to the open-air yard to give books a complete sunbath.
]]>Culturehttp://www.steellong.com.cn/post/437.html#commenthttp://www.steellong.com.cn/http://www.steellong.com.cn/feed.asp?cmt=437http://www.steellong.com.cn/cmd.asp?act=tb&id=437&key=c1663c49sales@steellong.cn (steellong)http://www.steellong.com.cn/post/436.htmlThu, 27 Aug 2009 01:42:06 +0800http://www.steellong.com.cn/post/436.html
One day the ox suddenly opened its mouth and talked, telling the cowherd that the heavenly Weaving Maid and her sisters were going to bathe in the Silver River. The Weaving Maid was said to be the youngest of the seven daughters of the Queen of Heaven. With her sisters, she worked hard to weave beautiful clouds in the sky.

The ox told the cowherd that he should go there to rob the Weaving Maid of her clothes while she was in the water. In exchange for the return of her clothes, she would become his wife. Surprised, the cowherd willingly followed the ox's instructions and hid himself in the reeds at the riverbank, waiting for the girls to bathe. The girls did come as foretold. As they were splashing about and having fun, the cowherd rushed out of the reeds and grabbed the Weaving Maid's clothing. In panic, the sisters dashed to their clothes, hurriedly put them on, and ran away.

The Weaving Maid, deprived of her clothes, stood on the riverbank and tried to cover herself with her hair as best as possible. The cowherd told her that he would not return her clothes unless she promised to be his wife. After a little hesitation and with a mixture of shyness and eagerness, she agreed to his request and they married.

The cowherd and the Weaving Maid lived happily together and had two children before the Queen of Heaven discovered the Weaving Maid's absence. She was so annoyed she had the Weaving Maid brought back to heaven.

Seeing his beloved wife flying back to the sky, the cowherd was terrified and sad. He caught sight of the cowhide hanging on a wall. The magical ox had told him before dying of old age: “Keep the cowhide for emergency use.”

Putting the cowhide on, the cowherd, with his two children, went after his wife.

With the help of the cowhide, the cowherd was able to follow the Weaving Maid into heaven. He was about to reach his wife when the Queen showed up and pulled off her hairpin to draw a line between the two. The line became the Silver River in heaven, or the Milky Way.

The Weaving Maid went back to the heavenly workshop, going on weaving the clouds. But she was so sad and missed her husband across the Silver River so much that the clouds she weaved seemed sad. Finally, the Queen showed a little mercy, allowing the couple to meet once every year on the Silver River on the double seventh.

Magpies were moved by their true love and many of them gathered and formed a bridge for the couple to meet on the evening of Qixi.

It's said that it's hard to find a magpie on Chinese Valentine's Day in China, because all magpies fly to make the bridge for the Weaving Maid and the cowherd. The one thing to prove that is the feathers on the head of the magpies are much lesser after the Chinese Valentine's Day. And if it rains heavily on Qixi night, some elderly Chinese will say it is because the Weaving Maid is crying from happiness over meeting her husband on the Milky Way.

]]>Culturehttp://www.steellong.com.cn/post/436.html#commenthttp://www.steellong.com.cn/http://www.steellong.com.cn/feed.asp?cmt=436http://www.steellong.com.cn/cmd.asp?act=tb&id=436&key=3e4c1cb6sales@steellong.cn (steellong)http://www.steellong.com.cn/post/408.htmlTue, 18 Aug 2009 01:23:06 +0800http://www.steellong.com.cn/post/408.html
The Legend of the White Snake is based on an ancient legend about a white snake that turns itself into a beautiful woman and marries a mortal. The abbot of a Buddhist monastery Fa Hai exposes her and defeats her, splitting the married couple apart. There are, however, many different versions of the story, both in older dramas and in the various regional styles

The Tale of White Snake was created during theFive Dynasties(907-960AD), completed in theSouthern Song Dynasty(1127-1279AD) and was adapted into dramas in theYuan Dynasty(1271-1368AD). This tale has been adapted into stories, songs, novels, films, TV shows, operas, dance performances and strip cartoons. Its influence is not only felt in China, but also in countries like Japan, Korea, Vietnam and India.

Folk story experts believeZhenjiangand Hangzhou are where the Tale of the White Snake began. The story is one of the four representative tales of the Han people along with theButterfly lovers, the Tale of Mengjiangnv and the Oxherd and the Weaving Maiden.

The social thought, value and beliefs represented in the Tale of the White Snake have helped further the study of southeast Chinese culture. The many ancient traditions, which are described in the tale, make it one of the richest oral heritages in China.

]]>Culturehttp://www.steellong.com.cn/post/408.html#commenthttp://www.steellong.com.cn/http://www.steellong.com.cn/feed.asp?cmt=408http://www.steellong.com.cn/cmd.asp?act=tb&id=408&key=24ca0994sales@steellong.cn (steellong)http://www.steellong.com.cn/post/407.htmlTue, 18 Aug 2009 01:21:45 +0800http://www.steellong.com.cn/post/407.htmlShandong Dagu, which has a history of more than 350 years, is the earliest form of song accompanied by drums in northern China. Shandong Dagu, which began in the lateMing Dynasty(1368-1644), originated in the suburban area of northwestern Shandong.

Before the lateQing Dynasty(1644-1911), Shandong Dagu was very common in rural areas and the number of female singers greatly increased. After the 1930s, Shandong Dagu spread and became popular inXuzhou,Nanjing,Shanghai, and other cities in northeast China.
There are various traditional Shangdong Dagu programs. Most of the short texts are about San Guo; and there are the Dream of the Red Chamber and Shui Hu arias. There are more than two hundred arias, including dramas, plays and folklore, borrowed from Zi Di Shu. Many new programs were composed and performed after the founding of the P. R. C.

Shandong Dagu has a long history, unique tunes and distinct regional features. It contains very important historical and cultural values and has had great influence on other forms of art. Shandong Dagu, which began to decline in the late 20th Century, needs support and protection.

]]>Culturehttp://www.steellong.com.cn/post/407.html#commenthttp://www.steellong.com.cn/http://www.steellong.com.cn/feed.asp?cmt=407http://www.steellong.com.cn/cmd.asp?act=tb&id=407&key=56b616c7sales@steellong.cn (steellong)http://www.steellong.com.cn/post/406.htmlTue, 18 Aug 2009 01:11:41 +0800http://www.steellong.com.cn/post/406.html
Meng Jiangnu's story is the most famous and widespread folk tale about theGreat Wall. It talks about the separation of a loving couple and their heart-breakingly tragic ending as a result of building the Wall.

The story happened during theQin Dynasty(221BC-206BC). It tells of how Meng Jiangnu's bitter weeping made a section of the Great Wall collapse. Meng Jiangnu's husband Fan Qiliang was caught by federal officials and sent to build the Great Wall. Meng Jiangnu heard nothing from him after his departure, so she set out to look for him.
Unfortunately, by the time she reached the Great Wall, she discovered that her husband had already died. Hearing the bad news, she cried her heart out. Her howling caused the collapse of a part of the Great Wall. This story indicates that the Great Wall was the result of the hard labor of tens of thousands of Chinese commoners.

The story has spread through many regions of China for more than 2,500 years. Meng's tragedy was related to the atrocious EmperorQin Shihuangand the Great Wall. The section of the Great Wall that was toppled by Meng and the sea where she committed suicide are in today's Zibo City, Shandong Province.

The image of Meng represents the kindness of ancient women and the torture brought on the people by war. The story shows the dislike ancient people had towards war. It has been passed down from generation to generation in Bo Shan.
]]>Culturehttp://www.steellong.com.cn/post/406.html#commenthttp://www.steellong.com.cn/http://www.steellong.com.cn/feed.asp?cmt=406http://www.steellong.com.cn/cmd.asp?act=tb&id=406&key=f6acd4aasales@steellong.cn (steellong)http://www.steellong.com.cn/post/405.htmlTue, 18 Aug 2009 01:07:50 +0800http://www.steellong.com.cn/post/405.htmlXishiis known as one of the Four Great Beauties of China. Celebrated as a woman of extraordinary natural beauty with a universal appeal,Xishiwas the daughter of a tea trader in Zhuji County in the state of Yue (currentZhejiang Province) around 500BC during theSpring and Autumn Period(770-476BC). At that time, China was divided into several kingdoms fighting for power.

When the State of Yue was vanquished by the State of Wu, the King of Yue, Gou Jian was forced to serve Prince Fuchai of Wu for three years. On his release, King Gou Jian slept on brushwood and drank gall before each meal to remind himself of the humiliation his country had suffered. He plotted the downfall of his conqueror as soon as he was released. He commissioned men to search far and wide for a woman whom he could send as a tribute to Prince Fuchai of Wu. Xishi, whose beauty was much talked of even from early childhood, was selected for this task and sent to the capital.
King Gou Jian approved of the choice and had Xishi trained in royal court etiquette. Gou Jian ordered his minister Fan Li to take Xishi to the Prince of Wu as a tribute gift from Yue. During the journey, Xishi fell deeply in love with the wise minister. Fan Li also grew to admire this courageous lady who was willing to give her life for her country. Consequently, before they parted, they made a secret pledge of undying love.

They arrived at the capital of Wu and Prince Fuchai was enchanted by Xishi's appearance and doted on her. Gradually he began to neglect his political duties, preferring to idle away his time with Xishi. He frequently took her out on carriage rides to the noisy and prosperous sections of the city. On these rides, he liked to boast to those around him that he had won the heart of the most beautiful woman in the world.

Xishi, however, never lost sight of her mission. Her aim was to bewitch Prince Fuchai so that his subjects would grow restless and his friends would desert him. Xishi managed to alienate Prince Fuchai and his most-trusted general Wu Ziyi, resulting in the suicide of Wu Ziyi at the coercion of Prince Fuchai. The political chaos that ensued would enable the King of Yue to invade the state of Wu, recompensing him for his former humiliation.

The King of Yue finally annexed the State of Wu. Following the suicide of Prince Fuchai of Wu, Xishi disappeared from public life.

Some say Xishi was drowned into theYangtze Riverby the irate Wu people after the death of Prince Fuchai and the defeat of Wu State; others say Xishi lived in relative obscurity with Fan Li who became a successful trader.

This story is unique in the history of feudal China as no one has ever found fault with Xishi, even though she had caused the downfall of the State of Wu. The 2,500 year-old-tale is well known in China, and has also spread to other Asian countries like South Korea, Japan and Singapore. The tale of Xishi incorporates many aspects of traditional Chinese culture in its characters, customs and places. It has also been made into dramas and plays.

]]>Culturehttp://www.steellong.com.cn/post/405.html#commenthttp://www.steellong.com.cn/http://www.steellong.com.cn/feed.asp?cmt=405http://www.steellong.com.cn/cmd.asp?act=tb&id=405&key=4fd54ff6sales@steellong.cn (steellong)http://www.steellong.com.cn/post/395.htmlSat, 15 Aug 2009 03:42:14 +0800http://www.steellong.com.cn/post/395.html
The tale of Jigong evolved from the legend of Daoji, a ZenBuddhismhierarch inSouthern Song Dynasty(1127-1279AD). Tiantai County is believed to be the birthplace of Daoji.

Daoji was born to a comfortable family and as a baby, the abbot Xingkong named him Xiuyuan after seeing he was the reincarnation of the Arhat Xiang Long in a vision. He was an outstanding student and knew all the classics but his parents passed away when he was sixteen. As a result he had to live with his uncle and after three years of mourning he left and traveled around the country. By the time he arrived atHangzhou, he had spent all his money and he decided to be a monk atLingyin temple. The abbot accepted him as his disciple and named him Daoji.

Daoji often disguised himself as an insane monk of boundless virtue and performed many miracles to help the unfortunate and punish the wicked and the unscrupulous as well as using his power to destroy evil spirits and monsters.

In and after his life, there are many stories about him. The tale of Jigong is based on a real story and emphasizes the mysterious supernaturalism with imaginative plots. The tale reflects the social life and Zen doctrines. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368-1911AD), his story became widely known across the country.

Over 800 years, the tale has become an endless literary resource. His story was also made into novels, paintings, sculptures, movies, and TV plays. Meanwhile, the tale surely can play a role in enhancing national morals and ethos.

With the transformation of society, the tale of Jigong is dying out, and the effective measures to protect it shall be taken as soon as possible
]]>Culturehttp://www.steellong.com.cn/post/395.html#commenthttp://www.steellong.com.cn/http://www.steellong.com.cn/feed.asp?cmt=395http://www.steellong.com.cn/cmd.asp?act=tb&id=395&key=8e4fe836sales@steellong.cn (steellong)http://www.steellong.com.cn/post/394.htmlSat, 15 Aug 2009 03:31:26 +0800http://www.steellong.com.cn/post/394.html
Dong Yong legend is a well-known love story between a goddess and a mortal. TheJade Emperorof Heaven has seven daughters, the youngest of whom is the ravishingly beautiful Seventh Fairy Maiden, who daringly flees down to the human world to help a poor farmer-Dong Yong, an honest and kind-hearted serf. Then, they fall in love with each other, so they get married, in defiance of theJadeEmperor. She makes the cruel landlord shorten Dong Yong's three years' indenture to 100 days, but gods are forbidden to love mortals, so the Jade Emperor has her snatched back to heaven, breaking up the happy couple.

The Dong Yong legend is very popular in the rural areas of China. Since the 20th century, the story has always been a theme of popular literature and film.

In its 2,000 years of being passed down from generation to generation, the story has mixed with the life of the local people and has formed the basis of some local legends. There are also things named after Dong Yong, such as a stele, village and other areas. Wangrong County in Shanxi Province，Dongtai City in Jiangsu Province，Wuzhi County in Henan Province，Xiaogan City in Hubei Province all have records claiming that Dong Yong was a resident.


]]>Culturehttp://www.steellong.com.cn/post/394.html#commenthttp://www.steellong.com.cn/http://www.steellong.com.cn/feed.asp?cmt=394http://www.steellong.com.cn/cmd.asp?act=tb&id=394&key=179082c0sales@steellong.cn (steellong)http://www.steellong.com.cn/post/393.htmlSat, 15 Aug 2009 03:24:45 +0800http://www.steellong.com.cn/post/393.html
Luochuan bie gu, which is one of the famous 'three drums' (chest drum, waist drum, and bie gu) ofYan'anCity, is mainly found in Huangzhang and Yongxiang counties of Shaan'xi Province. The main feature of bie gu dancing is jumping; bie means 'jump' in the Shaan'xi dialect, so it is called bie gu.

Bie gu came from army troupes, and later combined with the local custom of praying for rain and has endured until the present day. It has already endured through six generations.
The dancers are exclusively men, and dance with cloths on their heads and battle flags on their backs. They also wear battle skirts or drums slung around their waists, and sometimes carry gongs. The dancing is powerful, wild and aggressive.

Bie gu is performed in town squares and also on the streets. If it is performed in a town square, it is usually accompanied by yangge or the lion dance, or other folk dances. If the bie gu team is marching, then they will form into two lines that move forward with the dancer's movements.

In 1996, Luochuan County was named the 'Hometown of Folk Art in China' by China's Culture Ministry.
]]>Culturehttp://www.steellong.com.cn/post/393.html#commenthttp://www.steellong.com.cn/http://www.steellong.com.cn/feed.asp?cmt=393http://www.steellong.com.cn/cmd.asp?act=tb&id=393&key=93fd2e3c