中国文化中英文对照

　中国龙

　对龙图腾的崇拜在中国大约已绵延了八千多年。中国龙是古人将鱼，

　蛇，马，牛等动物与云雾，雷电等自然天象集合而成的一种神物。中

　国龙的形成与中华民族的多元融合过程同步。

　在中国人的心目中， 龙

　具有振奋腾飞，开拓变化的寓意和团结凝聚的精神。

　Chinese Dragon

　Dragon totem worship in China has been around for the last

　8,000

　years. The ancients in China considered the dragon (or Loong)

　a fetish

　that

　combines animals including

　the fish,

　snake, horse

　and ox with cloud, thunder, lightning and other natural

　celestial phenomena. The Chinese dragon was formed in

　accordance with the multicultural

　fusion

　process of the Chinese

　nation. To the Chinese, the dragon signifies innovation and

　cohesion.

　饺子

　饺子是深受中国人民喜爱的传统特色食品。

　相传为古代医圣张仲景发明。饺子的制作是包括： 1）擀皮、2）备馅、 3）包馅水煮三个步骤。

　其特点是皮薄馅嫩，味道鲜美，形状独特，百食不厌。民间有 " 好吃不过饺子 " 的俗语。中国人接亲待友。逢年过节都有包饺子吃的习俗，寓意吉利。对崇尚亲情的中国人来说， " 更岁交子 " 吃饺子，更是欢度

　页脚内容

　除夕、辞旧迎新必不可少的内容。

　Dumplings

　Dumplings are one of the Chinese people's

　favorite

　traditional

　dishes.

　According to an ancient

　Chinese legend,

　dumplings were

　first made by the medical saint-Zhang Zhongjing. There are

　three steps involved in making dumplings: 1) make dumpling

　wrappers out of dumpling flour; 2) prepare the dumpling

　stuffing;

　3) makedumplings and boil

　them. With thin

　and elastic

　dough skin, freshen and tender stuffing, delicious taste, and unique shapes, dumplings are worth eating hundreds of times.

　There's an old saying that claims, "Nothing could be more

　delicious

　than dumplings."

　During the Spring Festival

　and other

　holidays

　or when treating

　relatives

　and friends,

　Chinese people

　like to follow the auspicious custom of eating dumplings. To

　Chinese people who show high reverence for family love, having dumplings at the moment the old year is replaced by the new is

　an essential part of bidding farewell to the old and ushering in the New Year.

　针灸

　针灸是中医学的重要组成部分。

　按照中医的经络理论， 针灸疗法主要

　是通过疏通经络、调和气血，来达到阴阳归于平衡，使脏腑趋于调和

　之目的。其特点是 " 内病外治 " 。主要疗法是用针刺入病人身体的一定

　页脚内容

　穴位，或用艾火的温热刺激烧灼病人的穴位。以达到刺激经络，治疗

　病痛的目的。针灸以其独特的优势，流传至今病传播到了世界，与中

　餐、功夫、中药一起被海外赞誉为中国的" 新四大国粹 " 。

　Acupuncture

　Acupuncture is an important part of traditional Chinese

　medicine (TCM). In accordance with the "main and collateral

　channels" theory

　in TCM,the

　purpose of acupuncture is to

　dredge

　the channel

　and regulate

　qi

　and blood,

　so as to keep the

　body's

　yin and yang balanced and achieve reconciliation between the

　internal organs. It features in traditional Chinese medicine

　that "internal diseases are to b e treated with external

　therapy"/ the main therapy of acupuncture involves using

　needles to pierce certain acupoints of the patient's body, or

　adopting moxibustion to stimulate the patient's acupoints so

　as to stimulate the channels

　and relieve

　pain.

　With its

　unique

　advantages,

　acupuncture has

　been handed down generation

　after

　generation and has now spread all over the world. Nowadays,

　acupuncture, along

　with

　Chinese food,

　kungfu

　(otherwise

　known

　as Chinese martial

　arts),

　and traditional

　Chinese medicine, has

　been internationally hailed as one of the "four new national

　treasures".

　中国汉字汉字是从原始人用以记事的简单图画，

　经过不断演变发展最

　页脚内容

　终成为一种兼具音、形、意、韵的独特文字。现存中国古代最早成熟

　的文字是甲骨文，被认为是现代汉字的初形。此后，汉字又经历了金

　文、隶书、楷书、草书、行书等不同的阶段。汉字结构

　"内圆外方 "，

　源于古人 " 天圆地方 " 的观念。汉字有五种基本笔画， 即：横、竖、撇、

　捺、折。

　Chinese characters

　Chinese characters were initially meant to be simple pictures

　use to help people remember things. After a long period of

　development, it finally became a unique character system that

　embodies phonetic sound, image, idea, and rhyme at the same time. The writing system, which was extremely advanced in ancient times, began with inscriptions on bones and tortoise shells,

　and these are regarded as the original forms of Chinese characters. Afterwards, Chinese characters went through

　numerous calligraphic styles: bronze inscriptions, official script, regular script, cursive script, running script, etc.

　Chinese characters

　are usually

　round outside

　and square inside,

　which is rooted

　in ancient

　Chinese beliefs

　of an orbicular

　sky

　and a rectangular Earth. The five basic strokes of Chinese

　characters are "

　一" (the horizontal stroke), "

　丨" (the

　vertical stroke), "

　丿" (the left-falling stroke), "

　捺" (the

　right-falling stroke), and "

　乙" (the turning stroke).

　页脚内容

　中国筷子

　中国人使用筷子就餐的方式在世界独树一帜。

　有史记载用筷的历史已

　有三千多年。筷子古时称为箸，它看似简单，但却同时具有夹、拨、

　挑、扒、拌、撮、戳、撕等多种功能。中国民间视筷子为吉祥之物，

　如婚俗中将筷子隐喻为快生贵子的祝福等。

　与使用刀叉以及手抓的方

　式不同，

　成双结对的筷子含有 " 和为贵 " 的意蕴。西方人赞誉筷子是

　古老的东方文明。

　Chinese chopsticks

　The Chinese way of eating with chopsticks is unique in the world. The recorded history of chopsticks started more than three

　thousand years ago. Chopsticks were named zhu in ancient

　Chinese. They look deceptively simple to use, but possess multi-various functions, such as clamping, turning over,

　lifting up, raking, stirring, scooping, poking, tearing, and

　so on. Chopsticks were taken as an auspicious mascot by ordinary people in ancient China. For example, the partial tone of

　chopsticks is often used by people as a metaphor at weddings to indicate a blessing or benediction for the couple to have

　a baby soon. Unlike using a knife and fork or one's own hands, a pair of chopsticks also implies the meaning of "Harmony is what matters". Chopsticks are highly praised by westerners as

　a hallmark of ancient oriental civilization.

　页脚内容

　中国印章

　印章就是图章。中国历代官、私所用的印章有印信、 朱记、合同、符、

　契等等不同的称谓，而帝王所用的印章古时称玺、印、宝、章等。据

　史料记载，印章在战国时代（前

　475- 前 221）已普遍使用。

　印章的制作时将篆隶等字体、图像用阴、阳的形式雕刻而成，形状以圆、方

　为主。印章用朱色钤章，除日常应用外，又多用于书画题识，逐渐成

　为中国特有的艺术形式之一。

　Chinese seal

　A seal can also be defined as a stamp. Both the Chinese official and private seal of various dynasties have different titles, such as stamp, zhu not, contract, fu, lease and others. The

　seals used by the emperors of ancient

　China were called

　xi,

　yin,

　bao, etc.. According to historical records, seals were widely

　used during the Warring States period (475 BC ---221 BC). The

　making of a seal is to engrave fonts, such as seal characters

　and official

　script

　and so on; or images in the form of intaglio

　and embossment into the seal, basically shaped as round or

　square. Covered with a vermilion overlay, the Chinese seal is

　not only used in daily life, but it is also used to represent signatures on paintings and calligraphies. It is gradually

　becoming one of China's unique artworks.

　天干地支

　页脚内容

　天干地支是中国历法中用以记录和命名年岁的方法。

　十天干为：甲乙

　丙丁戊己庚辛壬癸；十二天干为：子丑寅卯辰巳午未申酉戌亥。古人

　观测朔望月，发现月亮圆缺

　12 次大体上是一年的天数，而两个朔望

　月约是 60 天。古人以十天干与十二地支的顺序依次相配，记录不同

　年份，60 年为一个轮回。

　干支纪年法从古沿用至今。

　按干支纪年法，

　2011 年便是辛卯年。

　Chinese era

　The Chinese era is the symbol that the Chinese calendar uses

　for

　recording

　and naming years. The ten Heavenly Stems are: jia,

　yi,

　bing, ding, wu, ji,

　geng, xin,

　ren,

　gui.

　The twelve Earthly

　Branches are:

　zi,

　chou,

　yin,

　mou, chen,

　si,

　wu, wei,

　shen,

　you,

　xu, hai. After observing the lunar month, the ancients found

　that the moon always waxes and wanes roughly 12 times a year,

　and two lunar months account for about 60 days. So the order

　of the ten Heavenly Stems and the order of the twelve Earthly

　Branches are properly matched in turn. In terms of recording

　date, 60 years

　is

　considered

　to be a full

　time

　cycle.

　The Chinese

　ear

　chronology

　was first

　invented

　in ancient

　times and is

　still

　in use now. According to the chronology of the "ten Heavenly

　Stems", 2011 is the year of "the seventh of the ten Heavenly

　Stems" and "the fifth of the twelve Earthly Branches".

　饺子是深受中国人民喜爱的传统特色食品。相传为古代医圣

　张仲景

　页脚内容

　发明。饺子的制作是包括： 1) 擀皮、2) 备焰、3) 包馅 水煮三个步骤。

　其特点是皮薄馅嫩，味道鲜美，形状独特，百食

　不厌。民间有 " 好吃

　不过饺子 " 的俗语。中国人接亲待友、逢年 过节都有包铰子吃的习俗，

　寓意吉利。对崇尚亲情的中国人来讲，

　" 更岁交子 " 吃饺子，更是欢

　度除夕、辞旧迎新必不可少的内容。

　Dumplings

　Dumplings are one of the Chinese people's

　favorite

　traditional

　dishes.

　According to an ancient

　Chinese legend,

　dumplings were

　first made by the medical saint- Zhang Zhongjing. There are

　three steps involved in making dumplings: 1) make dumpling

　wrappers out of dumpling flour; 2) prepare the dumpling

　stuffing;

　3) makedumplings and boil

　them. With thin

　and elastic

　dough skin, fresh and tender stuffing, delicious taste, and

　unique shapes, dumplings are worth eating hundreds of times.

　There's an old saying that claims, "Nothing could be more

　delicious

　than dumplings."

　During the Spring Festival

　and other

　holidays, or when treating relatives and friends, Chinese

　people Like to follow

　the auspicious

　custom of eating

　dumplings.

　To Chinese people who show high reverence for family love,

　having dumplings at

　the moment the old year is replaced

　by the

　new is an essential part of bidding farewell to the old and

　ushering in the New Year.

　页脚内容

　中国功夫

　中国功夫即中国武术，是将技击寓于搏斗和套路运动之中的

　中国传

　统体育项目，承载着丰富的中国民族传统文化。其核心思

　想是儒家

　的中和养气之说，同时兼容了道家、释家的思想。中国

　武术源远流

　长、流派林立、拳种繁多，讲究刚柔并济、内外兼修， 蕴含着先哲们对生命和宇宙的参悟。

　后世所称十八般武艺， 主要 指：徒手拳艺，

　如太极拳、形意拳、八卦掌等；器械功夫，如刀

　枪剑戟、斧钺钩叉

　等。

　Chinese Kung Fu

　Chinese Kung fu, or Chinese martial arts, carries traditional

　Chinese culture

　in abundance. It

　is a traditional

　Chinese sport

　which applies the art of attack and defense in combat and the

　motions engaged with a series

　of skill

　and tricks.

　The core idea

　of Chinese Kung fu is derived

　from the Confucian theory

　of both

　"the mean and harmony" and "cultivating qi" (otherwise known

　as nourishing one's spirit). Meanwhile, it also includes

　thoughts of Taoism and Buddhism. Chinese kung fu has a long

　history, with multi-various sects and many different boxing

　styles, and emphasizes coupling hardness with softness and

　internal and external training. It contains the ancient great

　thinkers' pondering of life and the universe. The skills in

　wielding

　the 18 kinds of weapons namedby the later

　generations

　页脚内容

　mainly involve

　the skills

　of bare-handed boxing,

　such as shadow

　boxing (Taijiquan), form and will boxing (Xingyiquan), eight

　trigram

　palm (Baguazhang),

　and the skills

　of kung fu weaponry,

　such as the skill

　of using swords, spears,

　two-edged swords and

　halberds, axes, tomahawks, hooks, prongs and so on.

　剪纸（ paper cutting

　）是中国最为流行的传统民间艺术形式之一。

　中国剪纸有一千五百多年的历史，在明朝和清朝时期（

　the Ming and

　Qing Dynasties ）特别流行。人们常用剪纸美化居家环境。特别是在

　春节和婚庆期间，剪纸被用来装饰门窗和房间，以增加喜庆的气氛。

　剪纸最常用的颜色是红色， 象征健康和兴旺。

　中国剪纸在世界各地很

　受欢迎，经常被用作馈赠外国友人的礼物。

　Paper cutting is one of China's most popular traditional folk arts. Chinese paper cutting has a history of more than 1,500

　years.

　It

　was widespread particularly

　during

　the Ming and Qing

　Dynasties. People often beautify their homes with paper

　cuttings.

　During the Spring Festival

　and wedding celebrations,

　in particular, paper cutting are used to decorate doors, windows and rooms in order to enhance the joyous atmosphere. The color most frequently used in paper cutting is red, which symbolizes health and prosperity. Chinese paper cutting is very popular around the world and it is often given as a present to

　foreign friends.

　页脚内容

　酒是中国人生活中的重要饮料之一。

　中国制酒源远流长，享誉中外。

　在中国最具有代表性的酒莫过于白酒了，

　从某种角度上来说， 中国的酒文化就是白酒文化。

　酒在中国人眼里更多的是一种交际的工具。

　酒

　渗透于整个中华五千年的文明史中，

　从文学创作、 文化娱乐到饮食烹

　饪、养生保健等各方面在中国人生活中都占有重要的位置。

　Alcohol is one of the important drinks in Chinese people's life. Chinese alcohol-making has a long history and has been renowned at home and abroad. In China, no alcohol is more representative than Chinese liquor and at some point, Chinese

　alcohol culture is Chinese liquor culture. Alcohol is more of a communication tool in Chinese people's eyes. Alcohol has

　permeated 5000 years' civilization of the whole Chinese history, which plays an important role in every aspect of Chinese

　people's life, from literary and artistic creation and entertainment to food and cooking and health preservation.

　中国武术（Chinese martial arts ）是中国民族体育的主要内容之一，是几千年来中国人民用以锻炼身体和自卫的一种方法。

　中国武术主要内容包括搏击技巧，格斗手法，攻防策略和武器使用等技术，是以自立、自强、健体养生为目标的体育活动。它体现出中国人对攻防技术及策略的理解。中国武术对生命真理探索的人文哲学的特色对现今中

　国的大众文化有着深远的影响。

　页脚内容

　Chinese martial arts is one of the main contents of China's national sports. It is one means by which Chinese people have

　been building up their bodies and defending themselves. Chinese martial arts mainly includes skills like fighting skills,

　wrestling techniques, attacking and defending strategies and weapon applications. It is a kind of sport that aims at

　independence, self-reliance and health fitness. It reflects Chinese people's understanding of attacking and defending

　skills and strategies. The humanistic philosophy of Chinese martial arts, which features the exploration of the truth of

　the life, has profound influence on Chinese mass culture nowadays.

　瓷器是中国最为重要的手工艺之一。

　中国瓷器有 3500 多年的历史，

　明清时期尤其繁荣。瓷器不仅可以用作日常餐具（

　dinnerware) 、花

　瓶等，精美的瓷器更是常常被人们用来装饰家居。

　作为高档艺术品的象征，真品瓷器常常具有极高的艺术价值和经济价值，因此，长被很

　多人视为珍藏品。

　中国瓷器受到各国人民的欢迎，

　经常被用作表达中

　外友谊的礼物。

　Porcelain

　is one of China's most important

　handicrafts.

　Chinese

　porcelain has a history of more than 3,500 years, its most

　prosperous period being Ming and Qing Dynasties.

　Porcelains

　can

　be used as daily

　dinnerware

　and vases, and delicate

　porcelains

　页脚内容

　are even commonly used for homedecoration

　by people. As symbols

　of high-end works of art, authentic porcelains are often of

　extremely high artistic and economic value and therefore they

　are often regarded as precious collections by many people.

　Chinese porcelains are popular with people around the world,

　and they are often used as presents for expressing friendship

　between Chinese and foreign people.

　每年 4 月 4 日、 5 日或 6 日是清明节（ the Qingming Festival)

　。清

　明节后气温升高，雨水增多。清明节既是中国的传统节日，也是最重

　要的祭祀（ commemoration）节日。在这一天，汉族和少数民族都会

　供奉祖先，为逝去的人扫墓。清明节也是阳光明媚、草木吐绿的时节。

　自古以来，人们就有清明踏青

　(Spring

　outings) 的习俗。人们还会在

　清明节放风筝。这时植树树苗存活率高，之后也长的快，因此清明节

　也是植树的好时候。

　The Qingming Festival falls on April 4,5,or 6 each year.

　After the festival, the temperature rises up and rainfall increases. The Qingming festival is not only a traditional festival in China, but also the most important festival of

　commemoration. Both the Han nationality and minority nationality offer sacrifices to their ancestors and sweep the tombs of the deceased at this time. The Qingming Festival is

　a time when the sun shines brightly,

　the trees

　and grass become

　页脚内容

　green. Since ancient times, people have followed the custom of Spring outings. People love to fly kits during the Qingming Festival. The Qingming Festival is also a good time to plant

　trees,

　for the survival rate of saplings is high and trees grow fast later.

　风筝是中国传统的民间艺术之一。中国风筝在春秋时期（

　Spring and

　Autumn Period ）就已出现，距今有两千多年的历史了。最初的风筝

　常用作军事用途，如测量距离、测试风向和通讯。后来它逐渐与神话

　故事、花鸟瑞兽、吉祥寓意

　(auspicious meanings)

　等结合，从而形

　成了独具特色的风筝文化。

　阳光明媚的春日里， 人们常常结伴去放风

　筝。中国风筝也受到世界各国人们的喜爱，

　很早以前就传到了世界各

　地。

　The kite is one of the Chinese traditional folk arts. The

　Chinese kite came into being in the Spring and Autumn Period

　and since then it

　has had a history

　of over two thousand years.

　Kites

　were used for

　military

　purpose initially,

　like

　measuring

　distances,

　testing

　wind directions,

　and communications.

　Later,

　it is integrated with fairy tales, luck characters such as

　flowers, birds and beasts and auspicious meanings and thus a

　unique kite culture with characteristics has been formed. In

　sunny spring

　days, people usually

　go for

　companyoutings

　to fly

　kites. The Chinese kite

　has also been

　loved by people

　from all

　页脚内容

　over the world,

　for it

　was introduced

　into

　the globe a long time

　ago.

　中国结（ Chinese knot ）是中国古老文明的一个缩影，

　是中国特有

　的民间手工艺术。中国结有着悠久的历史，在明清时期尤为盛行。在

　现代，它通常被用作室内装饰、 亲友间的馈赠礼物及个人的随身饰物。

　因其外观对称（ symmetrical ）精致，符合中国传统装饰的习俗和审

　美观念，故被命名为中国结。在北京申办

　2008 年奥运会的过程中，

　中国结作为中国传统文化的象征，深受各国朋友的喜爱。

　Chinese Knot is a miniature

　of the ancient

　Chinese civilization,

　and it

　is unique to Chinese traditional

　manual art.

　Chinese Knot

　has a long history,

　and is especially

　prevalent

　in the Ming and

　Qing Dynasties. In modern times, it usually functions as

　interior decoration, gift among relatives and friends, and

　personal

　ornament. It

　is possessed of delicate

　and symmetrical

　appearance and accords with the conventions of Chinese

　traditional

　decoration

　and aesthetics, therefore, it

　is named

　Chinese Knot. Chinese Knot, which symbolizes Chinese

　traditional culture, is well received by people all over the

　world in the course of the China's bid for hosting the 2008

　Olympics.

　中国烹饪 (Chinese cuisine)

　文化是中国文化中有关烹饪和休闲的重

　要组成部分。中国悠久的历史、广袤的疆土、好客的习俗孕育了这一

　页脚内容

　独特的艺术。中餐以其 " 色、香、味、形 " 俱全而著称。它讲究原料的选配，食物的质地，佐料（ seasonings ）的调制，切菜的刀功，适时

　的烹调以及装盘艺术。最负盛名的菜系有南方粤菜，北方鲁菜，东部

　淮阳菜和西部川菜，以

　" 南淡北咸，东甜西辣 " 见称。

　Chinese cuisine

　culture

　is an important

　part of Chinese culture

　in the aspect of cooking and leisure. This unique art owes

　itself to the long history, vast territory and hospitable

　tradition of China. Chinese food is famous for its perfect

　combination of "color, aroma, taste and appearance". It gives

　emphasis to the selection

　of raw materials,

　the texture

　of food,

　the blending of seasonings, slicing techniques, the perfect

　timing

　of cooking and the art of laying

　out the food on the plate.

　among the best-known schools of cuisine are the Cantonese

　cuisine of the south, the Shandong cuisine of the north, the

　Huai-Yang cuisine of the east and the Sichuan cuisine of the

　west, noted as "the

　light

　flavor

　of the south,

　the salty

　flavor

　of the north, the sweet flavor of the east and the spicy-hot flavor of the west".

　中国丝绸

　中国式丝绸的故乡。栽桑、养蚕、缫丝、织绸是中国古代人民的伟大

　发明。商州时期（前

　1600-前 256）丝绸的生产技术就已经发展到相

　当高的水平。西汉（前

　206- 公元 25）时张骞通西域，把中原与波斯

　页脚内容

　湾、地中海紧密联系起来， 开辟了中外交流贸易的新纪元。从此中国

　的丝绸以其卓越的品质、 精美的花色和丰富的文化内涵闻名于世，

　成

　为中国文化的象征、东方文明的使者。

　Chinese silk

　China is the homeof silk.

　Mulberry

　planting,

　sericulture,

　silk

　reeling

　and thickening

　are all

　great inventions

　of the ancient

　Chinese. As early as the Shang and Zhou Dynasties

　(1600BC-256BC), the Chinese people's silk-weaving techniques had reached an extremely high level. During the Western Han

　Dynasty (206BC-25AD), Zhang Qian, an outstanding diplomat,

　travlled around central Asia and connected China with the

　Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean, opening up a new era of

　Sino-foreign trade,

　exchange and communication. From

　then on,

　China's silk became well known for its extraordinary quality,

　exquisite

　design and color,

　and abundant cultural

　connotation.

　Hitherto,

　Chinese silk

　has been accepted as a symbol of Chinese

　culture and the emissary of oriental civilization.

　中国园林

　中国园林是把人造的山水、 植物、建筑等与自然地貌有机结合的环境艺术， 是我国古代建筑艺术的珍宝。其建造原则是 " 妙极自然，宛自天开 " 。游赏中国古典园林，能充分领略 " 假自然之景，创山水真趣 " 的园林意境。

　在世界三大园林体系中，中国园林历史悠久，内涵丰

　页脚内容

　富，被誉为世界造园史上的渊源之一。

　Chinese classical garden

　The Chinese classical garden is a precious treasure of our

　ancient

　Chinese architecture.

　It

　is an kind of environment art,

　which systematically

　combines artificial

　mountains and rivers,

　plants and buildings with the natural landscape. The

　construction standard of a Chinese classical garden is "artificial as it is, the garden must look ingenious and

　natural". Whenyou go sightseeing in a Chinese classical garden, you should be able to appreciate its aristic concept which

　"makes use of the natural landscape to create the real fun of mountains and rivers for viewers." Of the world's three major garden systems, the Chinese classical garden is hailed as one of the origins of the world's garden due to its long history

　and abundant connotations.

　文房四宝

　笔墨纸砚是中国古代文人书房当中必备的宝贝， 被称为 " 文房四宝 " 。用笔墨书写绘画在中国可追溯到五千年前。秦（前 221- 前 206）时已用不同硬度的毛和竹管制笔；汉代（前 206- 公元 220）以人工制墨替代了天然墨；有了纸张以后，简牍锦帛逐失其用；砚台则随笔墨的使

　用而发展。" 文房四宝 " 到宋朝（960-1279）以后特指湖笔（浙江湖州）、徽墨（安徽徽州）、宣纸（安徽宣州）、端砚（广东肇庆， 古称端州）。

　页脚内容

　可以说文房四宝书写了整个中华文明。

　The four treasures of the study

　The writing brush, ink stick, ink stone, and paper were requisite treasures in the study of the scholars of ancient China, and they are often referred to as the "Four Treasures of the Study". The writing brush and ink stick have been used

　by the Chinese to write and paint since 5,000 years ago. In the Qin Dynasty (221BC-206BC), people already used feathers of

　different hardness and bamboo trunks to make brushes. During the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD), man-made ink was used instead

　of natural

　ink.

　After

　paper was invented

　by the Chinese, bamboo

　slips, wooden tablets, brocade and silk, which originally

　functioned as writing surfaces, gradually faded out. The ink

　stone was first developed with the use of writing brushes and

　ink.

　after

　the Song Dynasty(960AD-1279AD), the "Four Treasures

　of the Study" particularly

　referred

　to hubi,

　the writing

　brush

　produced in Huzhou, Zhejiang province; huimo, the instick

　produced in Huizhou, Anhui province;

　xuan paper, a kind of paper

　produced in Xuanzhou, Anhui province; and duanyan, the ink

　stone made