If you have the chance to go back to ancient China and ask educated man what his biggest dream was, he would tell you that he wants to become a zhuang yuan, a title (give) to the scholar came first in the highest imperial examination.
In ancient China, it was not that (ease) to be an official. You have to take exams first. The exams are very difficult and have many (procedure). The outcome has to be confirmed by the Emperor (he). The number one scholar with the best score in the imperial exam is called zhuang yuan. Once you (select) as zhuang yuan you will be appreciated by the Emperor and appear in a parade downtown a red robe and a tall, strong horse. Zhuang yuan is referred to the elite scholars. Now the imperial competitive examination (cancel) for many years.
However, people still like to call (good) person in their field a zhuang yuan. An old saying goes that there are 360 trades and every trade has his master, or zhuang yuan.
Confucius and Chinese Philosophy
(bear)in 551 BC, Confucius has made the greatest contribution to Chinese culture of anyone in history. he was raised in a poor family, he visited famous scholars and learned a lot. He developed his thoughts into a system of philosophy, (know) as Confucianism, emphasized(注重) self-cultivation, harmonious relationships with each other and respect the elderly. Friends should be honest to each other. (rule)should make an effort (provide) a happy life for people. Meanwhile, he was a great teacher who devoted himself to(promote)education for ordinary people. He travelled around to publicize(宣传) his political thinking but failed. But he never gave up. Over the last 2000 years, his philosophy (continue) to influence China as well as rest of the world. He is considered as the symbol of oriental(东方的) culture as well.
The Peasants (Ⅱ)
At noon they hoe up weeds;
Their sweat drips on the soil.
Who knows the rice that feeds
Is the fruit of hard toil!
Food is a necessity for survival. But do you know how much work goes into producing it? The poem The Peasants (II), (write) by Li Shen, a Tang Dynasty poet, shows (we) the hardship of the peasants.
The first two lines describe a common scene peasants are working their lands at noon with the sun (hang) high in the sky, sweat dripping. In the last two lines, the poet (direct) points out that the rice we eat is the fruit of peasants' hard work.
Simple as the poem is in its language, it is profound in the theme, reminding people the significance of treasuring food. According to the FAO, an estimated 1.3 billion tons of food, or one-third of total food produced for human consumption, is wasted globally each year. Therefore, it's highly suggested that every grain of rice (value). In China, we have adopted a law on food waste (offer) legal backing to the country's efforts which not only safeguard food security promote the traditional virtue of thrift (节俭) as well.
Next time you want to throw away food, please think twice.
As winter comes, hands and feet can easily get cold especially among women. Thick gloves can be one of the best (option) yet some makes wearing them is not convenient, especially when people want to do something with (they) hands.
However, this was not a problem for ancient Chinese people, had a more exquisite (精美的) tool to keep their hands warm: hand warmers.
There is no accurate (write) record regarding the origin of this tool, but there are some tales about its invention.
One folk story concerns an emperor of the Sui Dynasty who visited Jiangsu in the winter. Due the bitter cold, the local official asked manufacturers (design) a small warmer for the emperor that could be held in one's hands. Thus the hand warmer was created.
By the Song Dynasty, the tool was in widespread use. Techniques for producing the tool were (wide) employed in the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty. Many poems and books from this period recorded people (use) hand warmers. A Dream of Red Mansions, the classic novel by Cao Xueqin in the Qing Dynasty, also featured a maid sending a hand warmer to the heroine Lin Daiyu in one chapter.
Zhang Mingqi, a veteran manufacturer of hand warmers, was considered first-class craftsman in the Qing Dynasty. The tools that he produced (bear) his surname, called Zhang-style hand warmers.