individual or in groups

Studying is a significant part in people’s lives. A Chinese proverb says that “ It is never too old to learn.”In the whole life, a person will spend a long time on study. It it better to study alone or study in groups? These two different methods of study have their own advantages and disadvantages, it’s very difficult to make a decision in both distinctive ways. In my opinion, it depends on the person’s personality and the project of study.

Most study involves two sides: individual work and group activities. But for different projects people need use different methods. For examples, if a person is working on some calculations project, it is better to study alone. The numbers are subtle, so the person must escape from the world and concentrate on them. The study with no distraction definitely will bring people high efficiency .

Study with groups also has its advantages. Nowadays, team work is an important skill and experience for a person. A person can always learn something from the other people, sometimes others’ ideas will give a person wonderful sparkles and creative clues. This can’t be achieved by those who study alone. For some projects especially like learning a foreign language, it is better to study in groups. Especially for studying spoken language, the group members can have conversations with each other, obviously which is much better than talking to oneself.

To draw a conclusion, both studying alone and studying in group have their own advantages. People can choose different method according to different content, time and place.

Films

Entertainment is an important part for most people. Nowadays, movies have been the most popular entertainment due to the following reasons.

First, people can gain emotional satisfaction. Movies definitely offer people this kind of chance. The stories in the movies always are created to be dramatic, people can immerse themselves in the movies without worrying any real things happening on them. People can express your love, your hate, your laugh and your tears to the characters in the movies, no matter how wealthy or how poor the real life is, no matter how beautiful or how tough the real life is, anyone can enjoy the same life in the movies.

Second, people also can learn a lot of knowledge from the movies. Most of movies have very good background of arts, histories and something else. And the movies from different countries can also help people to know the world of other countries, which not anybody can visit in person.

Furthermore,watching movies can increase communication among families and friends, this is the third reason. Movies definitely create more topics for the people. In addition, the actors or actress always are the most people. It can be imaged how boring people’s lives will be without movies and movie stars,.

Last but not the least, movie is an inexpensive entertainment, it can be afforded by most of people. If you can have a good time without paying too much, most people must choose to the cinema.

To sum up, because people can gain emotional satisfaction and knowledge from the films, the films can help people to communicate with each other, and they are not expensive, films became the most popular entertainment.

Seal Carving

Seal carving is a unique part of the Chinese cultural heritage. It reveals the charm of an Eastern tradition and condenses in it the Chinese aesthetics that has lasted thousands of years.
The art can be traced back to more than 3,000 years to the Yin Dynasty when the cutting of inscriptions on tortoise shells were the only way that the ideas of human being could be recorded. During the period of Spring and Autumn when the sovereign of a state delegated power to his ministers or generals, he needed an object as the token of authorization. The art developed rapidly in the Qin Dynasty (221-207 BC) when people engraved their names on utensils and documents to claim ownership or for verification in social contacts. After the Han Dynasties, as paper became more popular, people started to stain seal engravings with colors, and then print them onto papers. For this purpose, red ink paste was created. Later the seal gradually departed politics. After the Tang Dynasty, it is also used in the autographs on paintings and calligraphic works and it has become an object of artistic appreciation in its own right.
Seals carving as works of art should excel in three aspects - calligraphy, composition and the graver's handwork. The artist must be good at writing various styles of the Chinese script. He should know how to arrange within a limited space a number of characters (some compact with many strokes and others sketchy with very few) in a perfect balance to achieve a vigorous or graceful effect. Like a master calligrapher, sometimes, he needs to exaggerate the thickness or thinness of a stroke, elaborately straighten or curve it, or even deliberately deform an ideogram to create an artistic effect. He should also be familiar with the various materials (stone, jade, gold, brass, wood or ivory) so that he may apply the cutting knife with the right exertion, technique and even rhythm. For the initiated to watch a master engraver at work is like seeing a delightful stage performance.
In the long-lasting Chinese culture, seals with other stationery produce an artistic atmosphere for the scholars' study. Seals, musical instruments, chess, calligraphic works and paintings together constitute the poetic environment of Chinese intellectuals' rooms.

Zoo

Nowadays, many cities have zoos, due to the large space and cost, some people think a zoo has no useful purpose. I don’t agree this statement, actually, I think having a zoo can benefit both human beings and animals for the following reasons.
First, a zoo is one of the best place to teach children about nature. Due to the size growing of the cities, more and more wild animals are rarely seen around us. For the younger children, a visit to the zoo not only brings them a lot of fun, but also offer the best chance to know what the animals are, which they definitely can’t learn from the books or video resources. In the zoo, children can watch the animals, hear the animals, even can touch some animals with permission. The zoo also can have some very precious and rare species which you hardly have chance to see. For example, you can see the polar bear and panda bear in San Diego’s zoo, which means you don’t need go to the polar and China to see these animals. It is also a good chance for parents to communicate with their children when they introduce all kind of animals to their child at zoo.
Second, having a zoo benefits the animals, too. With the development of science, human have more and more knowledge about the animals, from feeding to breeding, a zoo can build up a very good environment for the animals. Some precious and rare animals can be generated very well under the care of the experienced animal keeper. In fact, because of the environmental pollution and human’s hunting or some other reasons, over one hundred of various animals die out from the earth annually, some animals only can be seen in the zoos.
To sum up, I do think a zoo has very useful purpose, I can not imagine if one day there’s no zoos in the cities any more, how can children and adults know a animal just by the books.

Dragon

Chinese dragon has been a potent symbol of power and good desire a few thousands years. In ancient China, the dragon was considered as the ruler of weather and water. Many Chinese villages had temples for their local “dragon king”. In times of drought or flooding, the local gentry and government would lead the community in offering sacrifices to appease the dragon in order to ask for a rain or flood stopping. The dragon was also a symbol of imperial authority. In many dynasties, the kings and princes wore the garments with dragon pictures, and the sculpture also was used in and outside the palace.
In modern times, beliefs of dragon still are in deep heart of every Chinese. Although we Chinese know the dragon is just a creature, but people still express their desires by dragon. Most of Chinese still use the term “descendants of dragon” as a sign of ethnic identify, and all the parents use the proverbs “Hoping one’s son will become a dragon”(Be as successful and powerful as a dragon). And people like using dragon to be decorations, too, The dragon kites also have been used for a long time in large celebrations. As I said, dragon is in the deep heart of every Chinese, so we can understand why so many Chinese even the government immediately reacted the Nike’s advertisement. In the advertisement, a NBA star slew a dragon, and beat up a Kungfu master, which many Chinese think as a serious disrespect of Chinese culture.

Papercuts

Papercut is an art form originating in China. Around the first century, the Chinese invented paper, the most flexible, versatile and adaptable material. The first papercut dates back to the period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties (386-581). As a handicraft generally made by women, nearly every native girl, in the past, mastered the craftsmanship, which was even used for selection of brides-to-be.
The handicraft is rich in content. The themes usually include everything in people's daily life from dumb things to the surroundings, such as pomegranates, lotuses, peach blossoms, mice, fish, worms, fighting roosters and rabbits eating carrots, familiar objects depicted.
Papercuts are very popular in the countryside, as its initiation and spread had a close relationship with Chinese rural ceremonies or festivals – Chinese New Year celebrations, weddings, ancestor worship and other religious celebrations. People pasted papercuts on walls, windows and doors at wedding ceremonies or festivals to enhance the festive atmosphere. Papercuts can also be used as ornaments on gates, windows, walls, columns, mirrors, lamps and lanterns as well as gifts. Certain designs and colors were created to bring good fortune and wealth into the homes of those who displayed them. For example, the child, lotus and bottle gourd designs suggest a family with a large number of children and grandchildren. To get rid of the old and make way for the new, every household puts up papercuts on the newly plastered window paper on the eve of Chinese New Year. The designs of the twelve animals are indispensable.

Tomb Sweeping Festival

Tomorrow is Tomb Sweeping Festival. We call it Qingming in Chinese language which means clear and bright. It is the most important festival in spring. During the festival, people visit the gravesites of their ancestors, pay respects to the dead at their tombs and hold memorial ceremonies in honor of their ancestors. This is one of many ways to demonstrate filial piety. As part of honoring the dead, people would also spend some time cleaning the gravesite area. They would uproot the weed near the gravesite, plant some new trees, wipe the tombstones and decorate the tombstone with fresh flowers.
But it is not just a day for mourning the dead. The festival is celebrated two weeks and the dates usually turn out to be the 4th, 5th, or 6th of April, thus people also go out to celebrate the new season, the onset of warmer weather, the start of spring plowing as well as of family outings. Nowadays, Qingming is not just a day of remembrance; it is also a day to celebrate the coming of spring. With the coming of spring, nature wakes up, dressing the world in green. All is new, clean and fresh. Therefore, Qingming is also a happy occasion for outdoor activities, such as picnic, tug-of-war, kite-flying, swinging, dancing, etc. This might be an important reason why this festival has been very popular for thousands of years.

Lion Dance

Lion is an important Chinese totem, the symbol of power, majesty and courage, capable of warding off evil spirits. In this context, the Chinese consider it to be a peaceful creature. In Chinese legend, lion was the ninth son of the dragon and was the best employable guard, thus it was usually seen in front of royal palaces, offices and residences.

Lion dance is a folk recreational and sporting activity, imitating the movement of lions. As an important tradition in China, it is usually performed with the dragon dance on auspicious occasions, as lions express joy and happiness. A good performance is believed to bring luck and happiness.There usually are two performers who play the lion. One, handling the lion's head, leads the dance and shows the lion's emotions. The other plays the body and the tail. They hide themselves under a cloth attached with the head.

For a proper show, the movements must match the music played by a minimum of three pieces: drum, gong and cymbal. The loud music, along with the firecrackers and lion movements, is used to scare away "evil spirits" so that good luck will follow. Throughout the performance, the lion will imitate various moods and demonstrate similar physical gestures allowing the lion to look life-like. Emotions and expressions portrayed by the dancers include excitement, caution, curiosity, playful, anger, sleepiness, confusion, happiness, sadness, and many others.

Chinese lion dance goes back some one thousand years. The first record of the performance of an early form of the dance dates to the early Qin and Han dynasties. By the end of Ming Dynasty and at the beginning of Qing Dynasty, lion dance had become popular in Guangdong. Lion head is often made of paper and lion body of cloth. From the fourth day to the fifteenth of the New Year, lion dance groups would tour from village to village in traditional China.

Snow

It snowed again when i went out after supper. It is the end of March already. Spring should come now. But there is no sign of spring at all. It started to snow since i came here last October. The snow here always makes me think of coldness. The winter here is really too long. No wonder once a colleague said that there are only winter and summer in Calgary. He told me there are four seasons in his home country.
yeah, in my hometown, there are four seasons too. March is the spring time and we can colourful flowers all around. And even in winter, there may only be light snow once in a while. Sometimes the snow melts even before it can cover the ground. At that time, we were so eager to see snow. I remembered i had spent one winter in Beijing, which is in the north of China. It snows more often than in my hometown. I was so excited to see the white world outside after I got up on morning. I used to like the white snow so much. When the snow stopped, we went out to play with each other. We made snowman. We fought with each other with snowballs. Sometimes I would hold some snow in my hand until it melted. We also like to take pictures with the white and pure snow as a background. We did not feel cold at all.
Now, I can see snow nearly every week, but i do not have htat kind of feeling at all. I just feel it is a long , cold, and boring winter. I wonder when the spring may come.

The truth in Tibet , China

This week, the Tibet turmoil in China was broadcast on CBC several times When i watched TV. CBC reported that the Chinese government suprressed the Zhang People in Tibet who pretest to seperate from China by force. Some other western media including CNN also reported the news wrongly and distort the truth.
Actually, Tibet is part of China thousand of years ago. The life of Tibet people have improved a lot since the foundation of People's republic of China. Chinese government have try every means to develop Tibet. There are many high mountaions there and natural environment there is relatively worse. It is not easy to Zhang people to get in tough with the outside world. In order to build the railway there, thousands of Han People gave up their lives there ( Han people is the majority of Chinese). Chinese government also spent a lot of money to repair and keep the historical heritage of Tibet, Buladagong.
It is not the Zhang people who want to seperate from China. It was some few malicous people led by Dalai Lama who want to destruct the development of China. They planned the turmoil.
The suffians in Tibet set fires to a lot of buildings including government office, malls, even hospitals. many people died and many others were injured. Many people lost their wealth that they have worked for several years.
Some foreign tourist have witnessed the cruel actions of the suffians. A canadian there has seen the cruel people hit the people walking in the street with stones. They also fire the cars in the street. The 25-year-old guy from Switzerland was travelling there at that time. He saw how the suffians hit an old man riding on bike.
In order to same the people's life and wealth, the Chinese government had to take action. The goverment sent out army to stop the cruel actions of the suffians.

Yuan Longping, the "Father of Hybrid Rice"

Yuan Long Ping is derector-general of China National Hybrid Rice Research and Development Centre in Central China's Hunan Province. He had been dubbed the "father of hybrid rice"
When they people first see him, they would thought he was a farmer. Like a farmer he often works in the field, but he not only plants the rices, but also do research on the plants.
He came up with the idea of hybridizing the rice for the first time in the world in 1960s. After that he devoted most of his life growing rice in paddyfields. He has conducted extensive research related to the cultivation of new strains of hybrid rice in some ten provinces.
In 1999, more than 300 million kilograms of grain were increased from about 240 million hectares of hybrid rice, which signified the sucess of his research. The "Super Rice" yields are 30 percent higher htan those of common rice. His scientific breakthrough has fed millions of people in the world's most populous country.
But even after that achievement, Yuan won't take a break. He has a dream that popularizing new strains of grain with higher yields around the world to elimiate starvation on earch.
The FAO's 1991 statistics show that 20 percent of the world's rice output was yielded from 10 percent of the world's rice fields, which grow hybrid rice. His "Super Rice" has been introduced to more than 20 countries.
Because of Yuan Longping's contribution to the world, most Chinese people believe that he should be awarded " Nobel Prize".

I like dreams

The word"dream" has several different meanings in dictionary: a."a dream is a series of images, events, and feelings that happen in your mind while you are sleep." b. " a dream is a wish to have or be sth, expecially one that seems difficult to achieve." c. a dream is a state of mind or a situation in which things do not seem real or part of normal life.
I like all kinds of dreams. I like the dreams while sleeping. In these dreams I can do thins that cannot or is impossible to do in the waking world. I often have the same dream. In my dreams I can fly high in the sky. I fly over the mountains, over the oceans. The feeling is so good. In my dreams, i can meet my beloved grandmother who has been away for fifteen years. I am so happy to see her. In my dreams i can meet my relatives and friends far away in my hometown. I also like daydreams. I can sit there for a long time and dream a lot of wonderful dream. Although it may be a kind of illusion. After I read the story of Madam Curie in my childhood, I had hoped to be a famous scientist like her. When I was in high school, I had hoped to be a good translator and interpreter. Now, all these dreams has passed by. I arrived in Calgary. I am studying with the students most of whom are much younger than me. I am going to study a new major. I will work in a new field. I am not as young as before. But I still tell myself frequently that i should havve my dream. People often say " There is a will, there is a way."

My hometown

My homtown, Yichang, lies on the bank of Yangtze river. It is an ancient city and its history can be date back to 4000 years ago. The famous ancient beauty Wang Zhaojun and the patriotic poet Quyuan was born there.
Yichang is a beautiful city. There is a very long park along Yangtze river. In the park, you can see a lot of green grass, all kinds of trees and colourful flowers. There are also some pretty pavilious in the park. The abudant natural resoures and historical sites of Yichang are very attractive such as mountains, waterfalls, caves, stone forests and pools. Xiling gorge, which is in yichang is an important part of Three Gorges scentic spot. The three gorges Dam project is one of the great wonders in the world and it has become a toursit hot spot. Every year, millions of visitors gather there to vitness this great man-made project.
Besides the breaktaking scenery, Yichang is also abundant in local products such as oranges, persimmons, Chinese gooseberries, tea, etc. There are all kinds of nice food in Yichang. The visitor can choose restaurant to try the dishes from different parts of China. They can also have a taste of snacks with local flavour sold in the street and lanes. They are cheap and delicious.
My hometown is really a wonderful place. I miss it very much.

Hello, everyone!

Hello, everyone! I am from China. I moved to Calgary three months ago. It is the first time for me to have a blog. I am glad to share my experience with all of you. Have fun!