Felicia, Hayley and Juna

Chinese Art

Chinese Art by FeliciaChinese art began more than 4,000 year ago. That is pretty amazing that art is that old. Chinese art comes in many different forms such as painting, sketching, Cray pas, portraits, and still life. This is very familiar to the U.S because the art in the U.S is similar to the art in China. Chinese art is based on landscapes and nature. Calligraphy is one of the major arts in China. China’s paintings are of fish, frogs, deer, birds and flowers. Another popular art form is carving wood and stone. They also made fancy costumes and masks for the Peking Opera.

Chinese Art by HayleyPottery and sculptures are very popular in China.

Dragons are one of the most loved forms to

draw/paint in China. Chinese art began more than 4,000 years ago.

Art in China is very expensive.

Buddhism is an influence on Chinese people to do art.

In ancient China, they liked to paint animals, flowers,

rocks and water to express the relationship between people in nature.

Chinese usually paint things with the color blue. The Chinese people first found clay on the banks of

the yellow river and Yangtze river.

Chinese Art by Juna Dragons are one of the most popular art forms in China. The

Chinese created different sizes and colors, and they each represented something special. The

Chinese believe that dragons are good and scare bad spirits away.

Calligraphy is a beautiful art form in China. This was a historical popular art form for countless years. On old, ancient, Chinese pictures, there are little characters at the top. If you look closely, you will find this art form beautiful as well.

Pottery and sculptures are also one of the most popular art forms in China. It has been in China for many years, and is also very beautiful. 

No one can beat the rich, cultural, history of Chinese art, which is very complicated and beautiful.

As you see Chinese art, it is usually painted in red, which is a very lucky color in China.

SO, WHEN YOU SEE CHINESE ART, I HOPE YOU THINK IT’S VERY BEAUTIFUL TOO.

Colin, Mack and Rick

Chinese Calligraphy

Chinese Calligraphy by ColinI can’t believe that it’s easy for Chinese people to write calligraphy. It is hard for Americans to learn calligraphy. In school, the kids learn more than 3,000 characters. I think it’s a little bit strange that Chinese kids learn that much calligraphy

Chinese Calligraphy by MackCalligraphy is an ancient Chinese art form. As early as 4000 years ago Chinese characters were used on bones or tortoise shells. Chinese children learn 3000 characters the first six years. Chinese characters are the oldest script in the World, which is still being used today.

Chinese Calligraphy by RickCalligraphy is an oriental art that is 4 to 5 thousand years old. There are artists in the west who understand the abstract beauty of Chinese calligraphy art who believe Chinese calligraphy is the most ancient and condensed of all arts. Calligraphy is one of the four basic skills and disciplines of the Chinese literati. Zhong Yao is known as the father of regular script. Wang Xizhi is the greatest calligrapher of all time. Calligraphy is one of the highest forms of Chinese art.

Karen and Tatum

Chinese Celebrations

Chinese Celebrations by Karen Chinese people celebrate a holiday called the Dragon Boat

Festival. The Dragon Boat is 40 to 100 feet in length. The heads are shaped like a dragon opening its mouth, and the back has a scaly tail. Depending on the length of the Dragon Boat, 80 rowers can fit in the boat.

One popular belief is when the dragon wakes up, the dragon will fly in the sky to bring the spring rain to the crops. Chinese New Year starts on January 21 to February 20th. Chinese people use a calendar called the Lunar that follows the moon. At the Chinese New Year festival, they throw firecrackers at the dragon’s feet to keep them awake for the celebration. On Chinese New Year, Chinese people eat a vegetarian dish called jai.

There is a tradition that every family in China thoroughly cleans their house to sweep away any bad luck so the good luck will come in smoothly.

Some windows and doors will be decorated with lots of pretty stuff like: color paper cuts and hang the words “ happiness,’’ “ wealth,’’ and “ longevity.’’

Chinese New Year is a very happy holiday. I’m sure you would like it.

Chinese Celebrations by Tatum

Chinese New year is the longest and most important festival in the lunar calendar. This year is the year of the rabbit. One of the beliefs is that the exploding noise of firecrackers will scare away all the evil spirits and misfortune. The fifth day of Chinese New Year is called po-woo. Every Chinese household should have live plants for good luck. On the sixth to tenth day of Chinese New Year they visit their relatives and friends. Children in China get red envelopes on Chinese New Year that have money inside. Chinese New Year starts with a new moon. The lanterns festivals are a nighttime festival where children hold lanterns in a parade. On Chinese New Year Chinese families decorate their living room with vases of pretty blossoms, platters of oranges and tangerines and a candy tray with eight varieties of dried sweet fruit.

Judith, Margaret and Emily

Food and Drink

Chinese Food and Drink by Judith

Meat is the main diet for the Bai people of China. Although there are many different religions in the USA, we all eat many of the same foods.

Tea is a very popular drink for the Bai people. In the USA, we don’t have any real popular drink!

Cheese isn’t a typical Chinese food. In the USA, we use cheese for so many things!

The Chinese farmers were probably the ones who invented the rice patties. If any food was invented now in the USA, American farmers probably weren’t the one’s who would have invented it!

The chicken in China is served with the head, feet and tail. In the USA, we don’t eat our chicken with the feet! That seems gross to me!

“Nian Gao” is a sweet, sticky rice pudding. I wonder if it’s better then the USA’s rice pudding.

The Chinese eat frog, snake, dog and cat meat. In the USA, we wouldn’t even dream of that as a typical food!

Desserts are not common in China. My favorite part of dinner is the dessert!

The usual food settings on the table are: a rice bowl, a pair of chopsticks, a Chinese porcelain soupspoon, a smaller dish for dips, and a teacup. In the USA, we have forks, knives, spoons, bowls or plates!

Chinese Food and Drink by Margaret

For meals, people sat close to each other at a low table. The older people get served first. I don’t really know why but I think that is because the older people need food served quicker, so they don’t have to wait so much.

Poor people in China eat millet, rice, sorghum and wheat. On the Internet, it said that

poor people ONLY eat rice, meat, sorghum, wheat, and millet. The word only really stood out to me because in America, poor people eat nothing. In America, for the poor people it would be delicious food. I really was surprised when I saw that information on the Internet.

People in China found out that peaches taste delicious. They also found out that peaches are healthy for you as well as delicious. Wow! Thanks for China! I really love peaches. China also found the taste of cucumber. I also really like cucumbers. I eat them whole every night.

One of China’s best inventions was ice cream. I really like ice cream too. They are one of my favorite desserts. They used rice, milk, spices, and snow to make these delicious treats.

Did you know that pasta was invented in China more than 3,000 years ago? I thought that pasta came from Italy. I love pasta. Lots of other people like pasta too.

Tea is also very popular in China too. People drink tea for every meal. I always wondered if people in China got tired of drinking tea about 3 times a day.

Chinese Food and Drink by EmilyRice was the first food ever made in china.

Everyone eats rice in China. Chinese people have been drinking tea for 4,000 years and they still do. They don’t put milk in their tea. Wow! They drink a lot of tea.

Most meals have rice, noodles and dumplings. When Chinese people eat meals together they sit close to one another at a low table. It is nice that everyone has to be at the table before they eat together.

Jackson and William

Sports and Games

Sports and Games by JacksonThere are many games and sports that come from China. Martial arts are very popular in China. Acrobatics are very popular in China, they are also popular in the USA. Tug of war can be played all over China, in the USA people play it but it is not very popular. Soccer is very popular in China. I knew that soccer was the most popular sport in the world but I never knew that soccer was popular in China. Did you know that more people in China like the English soccer team Manchester United than the people in the UK? Did you know that the 2008 Olympic summer games were held in Beijing, China? Tai Chi is a Chinese martial art that people practice in the park. Rong Guotan was China’s first worldwide sports champion, he played ping-pong. The Badminton open is one of China’s most popular sporting events. Rugby Union has been played in China for over 150 years. Cricket has been played in China since the 16th century.

Sports and Games by WilliamAn emperor named Tluizong celebrated his birthday with a soccer match between royal teams. Therefore, soccer must have been around for a long time. A lot of Chinese people swim. I don’t like swimming that much because I get very tired and have trouble breathing a little bit. Chinese people created a game called Chinese checkers. Someone from America must have liked the idea of Chinese checkers and brought them to America.

Lucy and Cassandra

History

History by LucyThe Great Wall of China has been part of Chinese history for2000 years. That is very long! It is the only man made sculpture that has been seen from the moon. The first Emperor built the Great Wall. His name was Qin Emperor. The Great Wall is made of stone. China built and rebuilt the Great Wall. There are people buried inside the Great Wall, because they died when they were building it! It is amazing how they worked so hard. The Great Wall of China is 5,500.3 miles long. That is really long! The Chinese are very proud of this part of their history.

History by CassandraQin dynasty gave away his land to a family of rulers. The oldest dynasty is the Xia dynasty. In 1911 the Chinese decided not to let the emperors rule anymore. The communist party still rules China. China started to trade silk. The first Chinese emperor started in 221 B.C. Mao Zedong led the communist revolution then ruled China from 1949 to 1976.

Nate and Romy

Inventions

Inventions by NateChina has invented many of the world’s inventions. Some of these inventions are the umbrella, flamethrower, fire works and gunpowder. A lot of Chinese inventions were made during dynasties. A dynasty is a powerful family that ruled over China many years ago. China invented many useful inventions such as the clock, paper, compass and medicine. Many games were invented in China such as chess and checkers.

Inventions by RomyChina invented many things such as ice cream, the flame-thrower, the compass and many more inventions. Many inventions were invented during dynasties. A dynasty is a family that ruled over China many years ago. Dynasties must have been very, very powerful, because when they ruled China, China invented many useful inventions. China also invented the abacus, the game of chess, and the clock. China is a very smart country to invent a time-telling machine. Some of the really useful inventions that China invented are the yoke, the furnace, and iron. China also invented many fun things like the diablo and the hot air balloon. The yoke is the stick with two buckets on the end. It is used for carrying things. A diablo is a string with something that you can toss around on the string.

Ernesto and Ian

Jobs

Jobs by Ernesto China has supermarkets so people need to work the cash register. A lot of Chinese people are farmers. Farmers plant vegetables and raise farm animals. Without farms we would have no supermarkets. They have doctors that help cure people. Some doctors use acupuncture to cure headaches. They have teachers to teach kids. They have artist to paint pictures. They have soldiers in case of a war.

Jobs by IanFish farmers raise fish in special ponds. Other farmers grow rice, tea, wheat, or vegetables. Workers spend their days working the water wheel. If people didn’t do their share of work they would lose their land. People worked to pull water uphill using a wheel like mechanism. Most people in China worked in fields. Country people are farmers.

Douglas and Morgan

Song and Dance

Song and Dance by DouglasChinese music is based on a scale of five notes. There are lots of different dances in Chinese culture. They dance a lot at the Chinese New Year. Dance and music is very important to Chinese people. In their festivals they dance and sing songs. One dance is called the ribbon dance. They use red ribbons and they twirl around with them.

Song and Dance by MorganChinese music is based on a scale with five notes. In china music is very important. In the spring festival a person in a lion suit dances. Songs with only vocals are expressed with rhythmic music. Some of the Chinese instruments are called a lute and an ancient harmonica.

Ben and Hana

Chinese Toys

Chinese Toys by BenChina made a battery called 15-B 1960s Marx big shot. It is a battery that makes a toy move. They also made video glasses that could make you see a movie, video and play video games! I think it’s cool that in China they could express their hopes and desires with toys. There is so much more that China made such as a beach ball. They also made a Buzz Light Year toy from a TV show. And they made a shock pen, it’s a pen that shocks you.

Chinese Toys by HanaChina has invented many, many toys. They invented the kite, dominos, what we now call the hacky sack, and the jump rope .The Chinese used dominos to tell the future. They also invented playing cards and tricycles. It is good that they invented tricycles because little kids can learn how to ride bicycles. They also invented the razor scooter, and drinking bird!

Xavier and Sophie

Chinese Religion and Beliefs

Chinese Religions and Beliefs by Xavier

Confucius was born in 511 BCE. When Confucius was 15 years old, he was interested in learning. It was hard for Confucius to learn because he was not rich. He started to work for the rich, and was able to go to school and travel. He became a private, important teacher. His beliefs became known as Confucianism. He taught people how to be nice to each other.

Chinese Religions and Beliefs by Sophie

Buddhism is the religion based on Buddha (the awakened one) who was once a monk. It’s a religion from India, and it spread to China. They don’t believe in god but believe in meditating. He was a prince too! Buddha was originally from India. He was very rich. He taught people to be kind to each other. There was once a guy named Confucius who was like Buddha except he was originally from China.