History, Arts & Traditions
What do the statues at Longmen tell us?
A cliff full of Buddhist images is also a record of many different people making decisions over centuries.
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Everyday China
Was “Chinese wallpaper” made for Chinese walls?
Some Chinese wallpaper was painted for European rooms. The name tells only half the story.
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History, Arts & Traditions
Can you see how fast someone wrote?
Brush-written characters can show movement as well as words, but they are built on serious practice.
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History, Arts & Traditions
Why unroll a painting slowly?
A handscroll does not give you the whole picture at once. That is part of the experience.
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Everyday China
Why is porcelain called “china”?
One ordinary English word still points to the place from which prized ceramics once travelled.
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History, Arts & Traditions
Why carve a page backwards?
A Chinese woodblock-printing workshop prepares, checks and carves a reversed page so the final impression can be read.
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Language & Meaning
Can a name become a picture?
A carved seal can turn writing into a small, personal piece of art.
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History, Arts & Traditions
How can a wooden bridge hold together?
Wooden arch bridges in south-east China use joined timbers and knowledge passed between makers. The engineering is a puzzle you can almost feel in your hands.
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History, Arts & Traditions
Why does a craft have its own night market?
A Beijing cloisonné night market turns a museum-like craft into something you can encounter after dinner.
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History, Arts & Traditions
Can a pattern tell a family’s story?
Li textile patterns from Hainan carry stories as well as colour. The people who make them know things a photograph cannot explain.
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History, Arts & Traditions
Why are museum gifts turning into plush toys?
Beijing museums have turned collection themes into plush toys and keychains. A souvenir can be a starting question instead of a shopping list.
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History, Arts & Traditions
Can a book open like a dragon?
Zhang’s version of A Dream of Red Mansions makes the scale of the work clear. The Shanghai report describes eight volumes covering the novel’s 120 chapters,…
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