There’s a pig and two people.The two people drive the pig into a house and raise it together.

有一头猪和两个人，两个人把猪赶到一间房子里，一起养它。

Thus making the Chinese character ‘jia’ which means ‘family’.

因此，汉字“家”的意思是“家庭”。

In Chinese daily life,the whole family includes three generations: Grandparents,parents and children live together.

在中国人的日常生活中，整个家庭包括三代:祖父母、父母和孩子住在一起。

Taking care of each other,looking after the young and supporting the parents are the traditional values of Chinese people.

互相照顾，照顾孩子，赡养父母是中国人的传统价值观。

You can easily find a typical Chinese jia all over the world.

在世界各地，你都可以很容易地找到典型的中国家庭。… Read the rest

Chinese names(xing ming) are different from Western ones.

和西方人的习惯不一样。

The family names(surnames) come first and given names come last.

中国人的姓名是姓在前，名在后。

People usually ask each other’s ‘xing ming’ when they meet. If they share the same family name,they believe that their ancestors were relatives,500 years ago.

在两个中国人见面的时候会问起对方的姓氏，倘若同姓，两人就会很高兴地说：“咱们 500 年前是一家”。

The family of Confucius is an example of Chinese family names.

孔子家族是中国姓氏的标本。

A young man can trace his family line to an ancestor who lived 2,500 years ago.

它可以让一个今天的青年人一代代追溯到 2500 年前的祖先。

It is like a tree: leaves,branches and roots are connected by the family name.

这就像一颗大树，从一片叶子到根茎，联系他们之间关系的就是姓。

There are supposedly more than 20,000 family names in China.

据说，中国有两万个姓。

The secret of where your ancestors came from and what they did are concealed in ‘xing ming’.

祖先从哪里来，为什么来到这里，他们是干什么的，这些秘密都藏在姓名里。… Read the rest

It is said that the Chinese nation was created by a female god. She made clay figures and gave lives to them.

在中国的上古神话中，一位女神用泥土捏成好多小人，还赋予它们生命。

There are two heroes in Chinese history: the Yellow Emperor and Yan Emperor.

中华民族出两位大英雄叫做黄帝和炎帝。

Legends say that all the Chinese are their descendants.

有人说中国人都是他们的后裔。

The Chinese nation is composed of 56 ethnic groups(minzu) with distinct features.

中华民族是中国所有民族统称，它包括了 56 个民族。

The minzu are distributed all over China with their own traditions.

这些民族分布在中国的各个地方，他们都有各自的风俗。

Cultural characteristics of songs and dances of the Uyghur,Water-Splashing Festival of the Dai,silver ornaments of the Miao and the Naadam fair of the Mongolian people.

维族的歌舞，傣族的泼水节，苗族的银饰，蒙古族那达慕大会。

People use ‘brothers’ to describe their relationship among different minzu.

中国人喜欢用兄弟来比喻各个民族之间的关系，

Brotherhood means that different minzu live harmoniously as a huge family.

意思是说：在中华民族的大家庭里大家都是亲密的一家人。… Read the rest

The Chinese character yu,which means fish with a plump body and round eyes.

丰满的鱼身，圆圆的眼睛，这就是鱼字。

Yu is related to special meanings and legends.

它在中国有着丰富的含义和传说。

There was a yu in the Yellow River. Yu wanted to jump over the Dragon Gate,so that he could become a dragon.

黄河里有条鱼，它想跳过龙门变成龙。

However,only quite a few yu could accomplish that feat in the turbulent river.

水流湍急，只有极少数的鱼可以跳过去。

People with great achievements in study or business are often compared to these yu who have turned into dragons.

后来，人们用这个故事比喻在学业、事业上的飞黄腾达的人。

Therefore,carps,a kind of yu,represent achieving prosperity through hard work.

因此有人也把鲤鱼当做勤劳致富的象征。

Yu is a word with the double meaning in China.

鱼，在中国是一个双关语。

A Spring Festival painting featuring a yu is a symbol of an affluent life.

年画《有鱼》象征富富有余。

Yu remind Chinese of prosperity and fortune.

中国人看到鱼就会想到富裕和财富。

Thus,people like to raise yu to pray for good luck.

因此人们都喜欢养鱼来增添喜气。

Yu is a produce of nature and a mascot in Chinese daily life.

鱼是自然之物，也是中国人生活里的吉祥物。… Read the rest

Noodles,mian tiao,are a kind of time-honored Chinese food.

面条是中国的一种很古老的食品。

Records say that nobles were fond of the food about 30 centimeters long,which is made of flour and boiled in water more than 1,900 years ago.

早在 1900 多年前，书上就记载了那时的贵族喜欢吃一种一尺多长的、用水煮熟的面食。

Mix flour with water and make the mixture into a paste,and then cut it into strips.

面条是用面粉加水做成面团，再加工成条状的食物。

This is how mian tiao is made. Miao tiao can be boiled or fried.

可以煮、炒、炸等多种吃法。

Noodles in China also represent preeminence.

在中国，面条还有美好的意义。

Therefore,people always have noodles on their birthday to wish for a long lifespan.

于是人们在生日的时候都会吃上一碗面条，代表长寿。

Noodles are one of the Chinese favorite food,just like the bread for Westerners.

面条在中国是一种人人喜爱的基本食品，就像西方人离不开面包一样。… Read the rest

Jiu plays an amazing role in the daily life of Chinese people.

在中国人的生活里，酒扮演着一种神奇的角色。

Chinese started to brew jiu 6,000 years ago,according to archaeological findings.

据现有的考古发现，6000 多年前中国人就开始酿酒了。

People have worked hard to improve the process of making jiu for thousands of years.

为了酿出最好的酒，中国人一直在探索酿造方法。

Chinese mainly drink white spirits and rice wine.

中国人以饮白酒、黄酒为主。

White spirits are distilled from sorghum or maize.

白酒是以高粱、玉米等为原料蒸馏酿制的。

The equipment used for drinking has changed a lot over the course of history. The jiu culture developed with the containers changing from wine goblets to handless cups.

几千年来，饮酒器具也在不断变化，从樽到盅演变着中国的酒文化。

As a magical beverage and custom,it has accompanied important occasions,such as weddings and birthdays for more than 6,000 years.

酒饮与生活习俗紧密相联，陪伴着中国人经历出生、结婚、生子等人生的重要场合已经有 6000 多年了。

 … Read the rest

Is there a kind of food that is cheap,delicious and nutritious? Yes! It is Chinese dou fu.

有没有一种既便宜又美味，而且营养丰富的食物。有，它就是中国的豆腐。

Some 2,100 years ago,a noble who longed for immortality developed all kinds of prescriptions every day.

2100 多年前，一位贵族渴望长生不老，他每天研制各种药房。

One day,he accidentally dropped plaster into soybean milk. The soybean milk curdled into something like pudding.

一天，他不小心把石膏碰翻到豆浆中，豆浆凝固成一块白白嫩嫩的东西。

He boldly tested it and found it very delicious.

他大胆尝试了一下，发现非常美味。

The new dish is what we called dou fu food today.

这就是我们今天的豆腐。

Dou fu is made of soybeans,which are rich in protein.

豆腐的原材料非常简单，主要是黄豆，它富有丰富的蛋白质。

Dou fu can be cooked with fish,vegetables and other ingredients. We can also eat it rare.

豆腐可以搭配鱼、蔬菜等食材烹制，也可以生吃。

The easiest way is to put a little bit of chives,oil and salt with dou fu.

最简单的吃法是放点小葱和油，加上一点点盐，这就是一盘美味的豆腐了。

Dou fu tastes light,yummy and really melts into your mouth.

豆腐的味道清淡、入口即化。

In China,dou fu is quite popular. You can find it on any dining table.

在中国，每家的餐桌上可都少不了豆腐。… Read the rest

If you want to look for a nutritious meal to share with your family,you should choose hotpot,huo guo.

如果要寻找适合一家人分享的美食，一定是火锅。

Huo guo has a history of more than 1,700 years in China.

火锅在中国有 1700 多年的历史了。

To keep out the cold,people pull lamb chops in the boiling pot and ate them.

人们为了抵御寒冷，把切成薄片的羊肉放入锅中烫熟。

Huo guo ingredients should be selected carefully.

真正精致的火锅对于食材的选择非常挑剔。

Only five parts of a lamb should be used and cut into sheets for cooking.

每只羊身上只有五个部位可以切成肉片。

The sauce is composed of more than ten seasonings.

调料由十几种佐料调配而成。

The ingredients of the sauce are the commercial secret of hot pot.

每种佐料的比例是火锅店的商业机密。

Huo guo is popular all over China. There are various styles of huo guo.

火锅被全中国人所喜爱，发展出风格各异的品种。

Vegetables and meat can be boiled in huo guo.

还可以涮各种蔬菜肉类。

Sharing hot pot meals of meat and vegetables boiled in savory both with your family is a great experience in the depth of winter.

在寒冷的冬天，和家人一起吃一顿热腾腾的火锅实在是一种享受。

Is huo guo the best choice? Do you want to try it?

火锅难道不是最好的选择吗？你想试试吗？… Read the rest