备考2023年高考英语二轮专题：阅读理解（传统文化）

By drawing patterns on the surface of a cup of tea, chabaixi, an ancient Chinese tea trick dis-played in a recent TV drama, has gone viral for its apparent similarity with modern latte art (咖啡拉花艺术). However, ten years ago, this distinctive technique was close to disappearing completely. Zhang Zhifeng, a practitioner of chabaixi, found scenes of chabaixi in the drama aroused great interest among ordinary people.

Chabaixi can create endless patterns such as bamboos and mountains or even calligraphy. There are over a dozen steps, from grinding (碾碎) tea for fine powder to pouring boiled water, stirring the mixture for thick froth, and finally drawing the patterns. It is different from making latte because people use clear water as the object to put into the cup instead of milk. But when the water touches the surface of whipped (搅打起泡沫的) tea, it turns into a white color and disappears in 20 minutes. The process before the drawing is known as the tea-making tech-nique, diancha, the quality of which is crucial to whether patterns can be successfully produced later.

"Chabaixi is one of the countless forms of tea-making techniques in China. The importance of chabaixi is that not only this technique is unique in the world, but also it gives us a window into people's lifestyle in the Song Dynasty, a period of time when leisure activities in some ways resemble what we have now, "Zhang said.

Before chabaixi was discovered by TV audiences, the technique was listed as part of China's Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2017, after it was recovered by Zhang Zhifeng, who spent nearly 30 years studying and researching the origins and making of tea, but for him it was all worth-while.

"This technique is key to the tea culture of the Song Dynasty, and it would be a shame to let it fade. This technique must be passed on to the next generations so they can understand its history," Zhang said.

Once Popular Sports in Ancient Capital Xi'an

The ancient capital Xi'an in Northwest China's Shaanxi province is holding the National Games. As the capital of 13 dynasties throughout Chinese history, the ancient city has never been far from sports. Starting from the Western Zhou Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, the city has held many sports events.

Cuju: Origin of modern soccer

Cuju was an ancient Chinese competitive game involving kicking a ball through an opening into a net. As the ancestor of soccer, it first appeared in the renowned ancient Chinese historical work Zhan Guo Ce（"Strategies of the Warring States"）, which described Cuju as a form of entertainment among the general public. Later, cuju was commonly played in the army for military training purposes, during the Han Dynasty.

Jiaodi: Chinese-style wrestling

Sumo, known as Japan's "national sport", actually started in ancient China. Sumo was called jiaodi or jiaoli in ancient times. Ancient jiaodi, a Chinese-style wrestling, was performed by athletes wearing ox horns and wrestling with each other imitating wild oxen. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, jiaodi was highly favored by emperors. In the Tang Dynasty, jiaodi was part of military training and a kind of entrainment and athletic sports.

Jiju: Ancient polo

Jiju is a sport which uses a stick to hit balls while riding on a horse, pretty similar to modern polo. It was popular in the royal court and among common people in the Tang Dynasty. There were many fields for playing polo in the court and it was also a major military training program in the army. In the Tang Dynasty capital, there were formal polo courts, such as the stadium pavilion in Chang'an palace.

Archery

During ancient times, the origin of archery was closely related with hunting and defense. Ancient archery was not only an athletic event, a military training program, and an entertainment activity, but also part of education. As early as in Zhou Dynasty, the archery was listed as one of the six practical disciplines, also called the Six Arts, becoming an important and competitive form.

In the 2022 Beijing Olympics process, hand-kitting (手工编织的) Chinese knot, a symbol of unity and happiness in Chinese context, is loved by friends from other countries. It has a complex graceful curve, but it can be reduced to the simple two-dimensional line. It displays fantasy and wisdom of the ancient Chinese civilization. It has elegant appeal which comes from the basic tools of human life in the beginning years.

Preparation of Chinese knot, roughly divided into three categories: the basic knot, varying knot and combinatorial knot. Its knitting techniques, in addition to all the basic techniques, agree with a common principle of knitting and can be summarized as the basic techniques and combinations techniques. But the basic techniques use a single line, double line or lines to knitting, or change the use of the parallel thread (线) to separate thread so as to make colorful knot or bow section; and a combination of techniques use the extend of head and extended ear flap (耳帽), and combine various knot flexibly, complete pack of ever-changing knot ornaments (装饰).

To design a set of beautiful decorative knot, the most important thing is to determine what the knot will be used for. Accordingly, determine its size and shape, taking into account of the appropriate use of color matching and accessories. The shape, color and ornaments should suit each other. Do attach your own artistic beauty and deep emotion to it, which will be able to fully demonstrate the beauty of Chinese traditional art.

Long cultural heritage makes the Han ethnic Chinese knot techniques unique, purely cultural essence, rich in cultural heritage. Chinese knot not only has shape and color beauty, but also gain its name because of its meaning, such as endless knot, caisson knot (藻井结) and double the money knot, reflecting the ancient Chinese cultural beliefs and strong religious meanings. It represents the pursuit of truth, goodness and beauty of good intentions.

Icehouse and ice ticket

As early as Pre-Qin Dynasty, people used natural ice to keep food fresh and make cold drinks. The Zhou royal court had a specialized department called "ice administration". They collected natural ice blocks each December to store in the icehouse. During the Qing Dynasty, "ice tickets" were used and they were available only to officials and the rich.

Ice container

The most commonly used cooling tool is called "Jian", which is a big container filled with ice. It was made of clay in early Chinese history, and was later made of copper (铜). The "Jian" can be seen as an ancient refrigerator, which can be used to make cold drinks.

Hiding food in the well

During the Qin and Han dynasties, for common people, the most common way to cool off is by using their wells. Some families put a pot in the well as a cold closet, or put food in a basket and lowered the basket into the well with a rope.

Herbal drinks

During the Qing Dynasty, taking Chinese herbal medicine was popular in Beijing. In hot summer, some people preferred to drink ice water, some boiled perilla leaves, and liquorice as summer soup to keep off the heat. Ancient people also loved to make lotus seed soup in summer for the benefit of strengthening the body.

Pingyao, in the centre of Shanxi Province, is a famous historic cultural city of China and a world cultural heritage site. It's 90 kilometres south of Taiyuan on the Fen River.

People lived in Pingyao during the New Stone Age. Its long period as the seat of a county government has left Pingyao with lots of historic buildings and sites, with a 2,700-year history. Ninety-nine of them are under government protection, including Zhengguo Temple, Shuanglin Temple and Ancient City of Pingyao.

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, businessmen organised commercial(商业的) groups that did business nationwide. Shanxi Province had some of the most important ones and Pingyao was their centre. In 1823, a store, known as Rishengchang (Sunrise Prosperity), traded in bank cheques rather than in silver or gold coins. It was the beginning of modern Chinese banking. Branches(分行) were soon set up in major cities in China and other parts of Asia, leading to great development in Pingyao. Its lacquerware(漆器) became well known.

In Pingyao Ancient City are many traditional houses and commercial buildings, 3,797 of which are protected and more than 400 of which are in good condition. Not only do the houses in Pingyao show Shanxi's history and culture, but they are also valuable to the study of its history, customs, ancient buildings and art. Most of these houses are still used as homes and shops of local people.

In 1997, Pingyao Ancient City was listed in the World Heritage List as a "World Cultural Heritage Site".

The Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 closed on February 20. More than an event, the Games are also for exchanging goodwill and friendship. The design details of various elements such as the medals, emblem(图案) and mascots(吉祥物) serve this purpose. Let's take a look at these Chinese elements through the designs.

Medals

The front side of the Winter Olympic medals was based on the ancient Chinese jade concentric circle pendants, with five rings representing "the unity of heaven and earth and the unity of people's hearts". The opposite side of the medals was inspired from a piece of Chinese jadeware(玉器) called "Bi", a double jade disc with a round hole in the center.

Emblem

Inspired by the Chinese character "冬" for "winter", the upper part of the emblem resembles a skater and its lower part a skier. The ribbon-like decoration in between mainly symbolizes the host country's rolling mountains, Games venues, ski courses and skating rinks.

The blue color in the emblem represents dreams, the future and the purity of ice and snow, while red and yellow—the colors of China's national flag – present passion, youth and vitality.

Mascots

Bing Dwen Dwen, the cute mascot of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, attracts attention with the panda's full-body "shell" made out of ice. The inspiration came from traditional Chinese snack "ice-sugar gourd," (tanghulu), while the shell also resembles a space suit—embracing new technologies for a future of countless possibilities. "Bing" is the Chinese character for ice, which symbolizes purity and toughness. Dwen Dwen is a common nickname in China for children that suggests they are lovely, healthy and clever.

If you have a chance to talk with a historical figure, who would you like it to be? What would you like to know about the past or share from today? China in the Classics, a new TV show based on Chinese classics started by China Central Television (CCTV) in February, is exploring such possibilities.

In the first episode (集), the host of the show, Sa Beining, meets ancient Confucian scholar Fu Sheng, who interpreted Shangshu — The Book of Documents. Regarded as one of the five classics of ancient Chinese Confucianism masterpieces, the book records many firsts in the country. Even the expression zhongguo (China) is used there first.

The episode ends with the host bringing Fu to today's modern society, where the scholar is happy to find children learning the same things he had learned in his childhood. It increased the rating of the series with viewers giving it 9 out of 10 on Douban, a film and TV show reviewing website popular among young people.

The success of China in the Classics doesn't surprise Shen Haixiong, head of the China Media Group. Shen said in an article in the journal Qiushi, "We are happy to see the program is popular among the public, but we are more proud to find that innovative interpretation of Chinese classics are arousing young people's interest in Chinese culture."

Therefore, TV channels have been making bold attempts in recent years to attract today's younger generations. The Nation's Greatest Treasures, CCTV's cultural show in 2017, showcased China's history and culture through antiques in the top-class museums, and fired up the audience. The treasures include the 3,300-year-old Yinxu Ruins in Henan Province and the 1,300-year-old Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region.

CCTV should make a variety of programs showcasing classics and cultural traditions to appeal to the young generation's aesthetics (美学), said Zhou, a professor at the School of Arts and Communication, Beijing Normal University.

Chinese Culture Shown to the World with Love Li Ziqi, a short video blogger specializing in traditional Chinese cooking and handicrafts has gained worldwide popularity.

Li has about 20 million followers on Sina Weibo, China's equivalent to Twitter，plus 7 million followers on overseas social media networks. Many foreigners say they have got to know traditional Chinese food culture via her channel.

It is the spirit of craftsmanship (技艺) behind her works that makes Li's video clips attractive. She strictly follows the authentic traditional steps and procedures in making traditional Chinese food and handicrafts, such as peach flower wine and silk, and goes to great lengths to ensure her videos are accurate. Sometimes she spends several months producing one of her videos.

Li has been inheriting (继承) traditional Chinese culture in a rather creative way. A closer look at her videos will show that they are never with any "analysis" that makes people feel bored. They just show the audience each and every detail of traditional Chinese culture so that the latter knows how Chinese live their beautiful and elegant lives. It is that universal appeal that makes her works so attractive. Thanks to Li's efforts, many intangible cultural heritages that only existed in memories and written records now appear before our eyes. Via her short videos, Li presents the image of a beautiful and friendly China.

With the growth of the Chinese economy, people overseas are showing more interest in traditional Chinese culture. Li has shown how to satisfy that interest in a good way, namely showing the best parts of traditional Chinese culture with her heart.

To effectively present the beauty of Chinese culture to the world, we need more Li Zigi.

San Francisco chef Cecilia Chiang, who was a pioneer of Chinese cuisine in the United States, died Wednesday. She was 100. Chiang was the owner, chef and mastermind behind the game-changing San Francisco restaurant, the Mandarin. She is widely credited with bringing real Chinese food to America and was a celebrity chef before celebrity chefs were popularized.

Chiang, who was born near Shanghai, came from an upper-class Chinese family. Although She wasn't shy about acknowledging her good fortune, she faced other difficulties. Convincing the dining public that Chinese food didn't have to be Thursday's cheap take-out option, Chiang had her work cut out for her.

“Most Americans; including American-born Chinese, they didn't know about Chinese food,” Chiang explained in an interview with CNN Travel in 2018. Never having been to China, they needed to be educated on the difference. The year was 1961, and Chiang insisted on snowing diners the delicate side of Chinese food. The restaurant's wine list, filled with Chinese cultural elements, was part of her strategy. Chiang said she wanted to upgrade the Chinese dining experience. To do this, she also needed to be fully aware of aesthetics (美学).

The Mandarin, which would later occupy a much larger space in Ghirardelli Square, wasn't like other Chinese restaurants. “Is this a Chinese restaurant?” Chiang said people asked her all the, time. The Mandarin did not serve chop suey or chow mein, two standard dishes on every Chinese restaurant in the US at the time. But this is exactly what Chiang wanted to avoid. In fact, her early brushes with Chinese food in America had left her unimpressed and determined to show San Francisco what Chinese food was really like.

Not only was Chiang a woman trying to run a restaurant in a male-controlled industry, but She was also attempting to educate diners. Changing people's minds was complicated. And, Chiang, who had been retired some 20 years when she died, at one point remarked that not a single existing restaurant could compare to the Mandarin.

The peony has gained extraordinary support in an online vote to be chosen as China's national flower. The final result of the poll, initiated by the China Flower Association, will be unveiled on Friday.

The five days of voting began on Monday, and an official from the association revealed that the peony has collected more than 90 percent of the votes to date among 10 options.

"We are stepping into the new era and the county is witnessing social prosperity," the official satd. "People also have better living conditions. It is time to have an official national flower that can represent our state image and the nation's spirit."

According to the association, China's national flower should meet four standards: It should originate in China and have a long history in many regions; it should be beautiful in shape and color, to represent the Chinese culture and personality; it should have a profound historical culture and be widely known to the public; and it should be extensively used in many fields with a competitive ecological and economic value that could benefit the public.

"The peony was the national flower in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Apart from ornamental(观 赏的) value, it also has been used as a food and a traditional Chinese herb, for which it has strong economic value," Dong said. "It is widely known by Chinese people. Even my 10-year-old son and his classmates in primary school have voted for it."

By Wednesday afternoon, nearly 600,000 people had joined in the discussion on WeChat, with about 470,000 agreeing that the national flower should be only one certain flower.

Among several colors being considered, the red peony bas. gained the greatest support from the public with nearly 30,000 votes on Sina Weibo, followed by white and yellow.

Many netizens said they didn't realize that China has no national flower. In fact, many people said they had already accepted the peony as the national flower years before they saw the vote.