【文章內容簡介】 years is considered to be a full time cycle. The Chinese era 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”.天干地支是中國歷法中用以記錄和命名年歲的方法。十天干為：甲、乙、丙、丁、戊、已、庚、辛、壬、癸；十二地支為：子、丑、寅、卯、辰、巳、午、未、申、酉、戊、亥。古人觀測朔望月，發(fā)現月亮圓缺12次大體上是一年的天數，而兩個朔望月約是60天。古人以十天干與十二地支的順序依次相配，記錄不同年份，60年為一個輪回。干支紀年法從古沿用至今。按干支紀年法，2011年便是辛卯年。十一、hinese Beijing Opera Praised as “Oriental Opera”, Beijing Opera is a genuine national quintessence of China. It originated from many kinds of ancient local operas, especially huiban in southern China. At the end of the 19th Century, Beijing Opera evolved and took shape, being the greatest kind of opera in China. Beijing Opera is a blend of performing artssong, speech, performance, acrobatix fighting and dance. Beijing Opera portrays and narrates the plot and characters through stylized acting. The main types of roles in Beijing Opera are sheng(male), dan (young female), jing (painted face, male), and chou( clown, male or female).京劇被譽為“東方歌劇”， 是地道的中國國粹。它起源于中國多種古老的地方戲劇，特別是南方的“徽班”。到了19世紀末，京劇形成并成為中國最大的戲曲劇種。京劇是綜合性表演藝術，集唱（歌唱）、念（念白）、做（表演）、打（武）、舞（舞蹈）為一體，通過程式化的表演手段，敘述故事，刻畫人物。角色主要分生（男性）、旦（女性）、凈（男性）、丑（男性女性皆有）四大行當。十二、Chinese Taoism Taoism first originated in China. The founder of Taoism is Laozi, a philosopher and thinker who lived in the late Spring and Autumn Period (770BC476BC). Tao Te Ching whose authorship has been attributed to Laozi, is considered to be the main Taoist classic. Taoism advocates the value of a human being’s life, remends the discarding of all desires and worries from one’s mind, and encourages the cultivation of moral character and the nourishment of human nature. The following is an example of Laozi’s golden saying: The way that can be told of is not an unvarying way。 The names that can be named are not unvarying names. It was from the nameless that Heaven and Earth sprang。 The named is but the mother that rears the ten thousand creatures, each after its kind. Truly, only he that rids himself forever of desire can see the secret essences。 He that has never rid himself of desire can see only the outes.道教是中國土生土長長的宗教。創(chuàng)始人是春秋末期的哲學家、思想家老子。道教以老子所著的《道德經》為主要經典。道教主張“重人貴生”。崇尚清靜無為，修身養(yǎng)性?！暗揽傻?，非常道。名可名，非常名。無名天地之始；有名萬物之母。故常無，欲以觀其妙；常有，欲以觀其徼”便是老子的至理名言。十三、Chinese Idioms Chinese idioms refer to prehensive and integrated fixed phrases and expressions. Idioms are established and accepted by constant usage and mon practice. An idiom is a language unit that is larger than a word, but has the same grammatical function as a word. Most Chinese idioms consist of four characters. For example, ziqiangbuxi ( make unremitting efforts to improve oneself), qingchuyulan(bluer than indigo), and houjibofa (success es with time and effort). Idioms are extrated from folk proverbs, ancient works of literature, poems, fables, allusions, and wellknown sayings. Idioms are a part of the Chinese language that are concise and have great vitality.中國成語是漢語中意義完整的表示一般概念的固定詞組或短語?！俺烧Z”中的“成”既是約定俗成。成語是比詞大而語法功能又相當于詞的語言單位。絕大多數的中國成語由四個漢字組成，例如：自強不息、青出于藍、厚積薄發(fā)。成語主要從民間諺語、古代文學作品、詩歌、寓言、典故、名言警句等方面提煉而成，是漢語語言中精煉而又富有生命力的一部分。十四、China is the home of silk. Mulberry planting, sericulture, silk reeling and thickening are all great inventions of the ancient Chinese. As early as the Shang and Zhou Dynasties (1600BC256BC), the Chinese people’s silkweaving techniques had reached an extremely high level. During the Western Han Dynasty (206BC25AD), Zhang Qian, an outstanding diplomat, travelled around central Asia and connected China with the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean, opening up a new era of Sinoforeign trade, exchange and munication. From then on, China’s silk became well known for its extraordinary quality, exquisite design and color, and abundant culture connotations. Hitherto, Chinese silk has been accepted as a symbol of Chinese culture and the emissary of oriental civilization.中國是絲綢的故鄉(xiāng)。栽桑、養(yǎng)蠶、繅絲、織綢是中國古代人民的偉大發(fā)明。商周時期絲綢的生產技術就已發(fā)展到相當高的水平。西漢時張騫通西域，把中原與波斯灣、地中海緊密聯系起來，開辟了中外交流貿易的新紀元。從此中國的絲綢以其卓越的品質、精美的花色和豐富的文化內涵聞名于世，成為中國文化的象征。東方文明的使者。十五、The Chinese classical garden is a precious treasure of our ancient Chinese architecture. It is a kind of environment art, which systematically bines 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.” When you go sightseeing in a Chinese classical garden, you should be able to appreciate its artistic concept which “makes use of the natural landscape to create the real fun of mountains and rivers for viewers.” Of the world’s t