At first, the weather on May 17 did not seem very good – typically English weather meant a grey and overcast sky and some sprays of rain. But closer to the end of the day, just before the sunset and “The Last Forest” movie screening as I stepped onto the beautiful Christ Church, University of Oxford campus, the sun shone again, and a rainbow seemed to descend with a blessing of the day.
The sixth solar term – “grain rain” or “guyu” (谷雨) in Chinese – usually falls on April 20, and marks the end of spring. The old saying goes “Qingming ceases snow, grain rain ceases frost” (清明断雪，谷雨断霜). When this term arrives, cold weather finally ends, and the temperatures start to rise.
The Chinese name of Grain Rain originated from a classic folk story. When Cang Jie (仓颉), an official in the Yellow Emperor period, was hard at work creating characters that make up the written Chinese language, many grains miraculously fell from the sky, as ifrain. As a result, the Yellow Emperor dubbed this day “Gu Yu”, as the Gu means grains, and Yu means rain.
Confucius sinarum philosophus, sive scientia sinensis latine exposita, published in 1687, is the first edition print of the three major Confucian classics to be published together in any language other than Chinese. It’s published in Latin, making it the first recorded example of Confucian texts published in any European language. The Latin title translates to “Confucius the philosopher of China, or, the knowledge of China translated into Latin.”
Children’s Day (兒童節) is an important holiday around the world. In China, Children’s Day is celebrated on June 1st, while Hong Kong celebrates on April 4th. Although it’s often celebrated on different days, they all share one thing in common: honoring children.
Do you remember the spectacular opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics? It glittered with Chinese culture from the very start when a 24-second countdown performance was staged, with each second representing one of the 24 solar terms.
The 24 solar terms embody the ancient Chinese wisdom of observing nature, represent a picturesque landscape as the seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter change, and reflect Chinese people’s outlook on life and cosmology. Today TBC would introduce you to the third term of the 24 solar terms – Jingzhe (惊蛰).
On the 15th day of the first lunar month, two weeks after Chinese New Year, another important traditional Chinese festival, the Lantern Festival (Yuanxiao Jie元宵节) is celebrated. It is the first full moon night in the Chinese calendar, marking (the anticipation of) the return of spring and symbolizing the reunion of the family. It also marks the end of the Spring Festival. It will be celebrated on Tuesday, 15 February in 2022.
During the Lantern Festival, Chinese people would do many interesting things to celebrate it.
The Chinese zodiac is also known as Sheng Xiao (生肖) or Shu Xiang (属相). Originated from ancient zoolatry and boasting a history of more than 2,000 years, it plays an essential role in Chinese culture. The 12 Chinese zodiac animals in a cycle are not only used to represent years in China, but are also believed to influence people’s personalities, career, compatibility, marriage, and fortune.
The Spring Festival(春节) is the most distinctive Chinese traditional festival. It has a history of over 4000 years. It is generally the first day of the first lunar month of the year. Traditionally, celebrations last for fifteen days, ending on the date of the full moon, when it is at its brightest. Chinese New Year 2022 falls on Tuesday, February 1st, 2022.
Landing an internship has always been competitive for students, but the pandemic hit makes it even harder. Considering that, TBC first launched the Virtual Internship Program (VIP) in summer 2020, aiming to provide international students with remote internships to realize their potential. On 17 December, TBC held the Virtual Internship Showcase for students participated in the 2021 Fall VIP. They ended their internship journeys by sharing their experiences in this program.
The Beijing Center Library, also known as the Anton Library, was founded in 1998 with just about 200 books. A library stores the books that store its soul. With the effort of many generations of our staff to collect books, the total collections of the library amounted to 27,000 volumes at the end of 2021. It is the largest private collection of books about China written in English within Beijing and one of the largest in China.