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Dongjie Road Subdistrict, Linhe
The Dongzhi Festival or Winter Solstice Festival is a traditional Chinese festival celebrated during the Dongzhi solar term (winter solstice), which falls between December 21 and December 23. The origins of this festival can be traced back to the yin and yang philosophy of balance and harmony in the cosmos. After this celebration, it is believed that days will have longer daylight hours and therefore create an increase in positive energy flowing in. The philosophical significance of this is symbolized by the I Ching hexagram '' fu'' (, "Returning"). Also, many people think it is the day with the shortest daylight, and longest night. Traditional activities In Chinese, the word "Dong" means "winter" while "Zhi" means "arrival" giving the literal meaning of the festival "the coming of winter". Dongzhi celebrates the winter solstice, usually around December 21 to 23, and is observed on the longest night of the year. Symbolizing the victory of light over darkness, Dongzhi, represe ...
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Tangyuan (food)
Tangyuan are a traditional Chinese cuisine, Chinese dessert made of glutinous rice shaped into balls that are served in a hot broth or syrup. They come in varying sizes, anything between a marble to a ping-pong ball, and are sometimes stuffed with filling. Tangyuan are traditionally eaten during the Lantern Festival, but because the name is a homophone for reunion ( zh, t=團圓, s=团圆, p=tuányuán, first=t) and symbolizes togetherness and completeness, this dish is also served at weddings, family reunions, Chinese New Year, and the Chinese winter solstice festival, Dōngzhì (winter solstice) festival. Description Tangyuan is a versatile dessert with a delicate taste and soft, chewy texture. While it can be served in its simplest form as a plain white ball of glutinous rice, it can also be stuffed with either black sesame or other fillings such as crushed peanuts. They can also be colored, fried, and boiled. Tangyuan is made by wrapping the glutinous rice around the fil ...
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Han Dynasty
The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) and a warring interregnum known as the Chu–Han Contention (206–202 BC), and it was succeeded by the Three Kingdoms period (220–280 AD). The dynasty was briefly interrupted by the Xin dynasty (9–23 AD) established by the usurping regent Wang Mang, and is thus separated into two periods—the #Western Han (202 BC – 9 AD), Western Han (202 BC9 AD) and the #Eastern Han (25–220 AD), Eastern Han (25–220 AD). Spanning over four centuries, the Han dynasty is considered a Golden ages of China, golden age in Chinese history, and had a permanent impact on Chinese identity in later periods. The majority ethnic group of modern China refer to themselves as the "Han people" or "Han Chinese". The spoken Chinese ...
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Chinese Surname
Chinese surnames are used by Han Chinese and Sinicization, Sinicized ethnic groups in Greater China, Korea, Vietnam and among overseas Chinese communities around the world such as Singapore and Malaysia. Written Chinese names begin with surnames, unlike the Western name order, Western tradition in which surnames are written last. Around 2,000 Han Chinese surnames are currently in use, but the great proportion of Han Chinese people use only a relatively small number of these surnames; 19 surnames are used by around half of the Han Chinese people, while 100 surnames are used by around 87% of the population. A report in 2019 gives the List of common Chinese surnames, most common Chinese surnames as Wang (surname), Wang and Li (surname 李), Li, each shared by over 100 million people in China. The remaining eight of the top ten most common Chinese surnames are Zhang (surname), Zhang, Liu, Chen (surname), Chen, Yang (surname), Yang, Huang (surname), Huang, Zhao (surname), Zhao, Wu (surn ...
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Amulet
An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word , which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects a person from trouble". Anything can function as an amulet; items commonly so used include statues, coins, drawings, plant parts, animal parts, and written words. Amulets which are said to derive their extraordinary properties and powers from magic or those which impart luck are typically part of folk religion or paganism, whereas amulets or Sacramental, sacred objects of Organized religion, formalised mainstream religion as in Christianity are believed to have no power of their own without faith in Jesus and being blessing, blessed by a clergyman, and they supposedly will also not provide any preternatural benefit to the bearer who does not have an Disposition#Religion, appropriate disposition. Talisman and amulets have interchangeable meanings. ...
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Chilblains
Chilblains, also known as pernio, is a medical condition in which damage occurs to capillary beds in the skin, most often in the hands or feet, when blood perfuses into the nearby tissue, resulting in redness, itching, inflammation, and possibly blisters. It occurs most frequently when predisposed individuals, predominantly women, are exposed to cold and humidity. Ulcerated chilblains are referred to as kibes. Temperature-related chilblains can be prevented by keeping the feet and hands warm in cold weather and avoiding exposing these areas to extreme temperature changes. Once the diagnosis of chilblains is made, first-line treatment includes avoiding cold, damp environments and wearing gloves and warm socks. Chilblains can be idiopathic (spontaneous and unrelated to another disease), but similar symptoms may also be a manifestation of another serious medical condition that must be investigated. Related medical conditions include Raynaud syndrome, erythromelalgia, fros ...
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Zhang Zhongjing
Zhang Zhongjing (; 150–219), formal name Zhang Ji (), was a Chinese pharmacologist, physician, inventor, and writer of the Eastern Han dynasty and one of the most eminent Chinese physicians during the later years of the Han dynasty. He established medication principles and summed up the medicinal experience until that time, thus making a considerable contribution to the development of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Biography Though well known in modern Chinese medicine and considered one of the finest Chinese physicians in history, very little is known about his life. According to later sources, he was born in Nanyang, held an official position in Changsha and lived from approximately 150 to 219 AD. Exact dates regarding his birth, death and works vary, but an upper limit of 220 AD is generally accepted. It is also speculated that he created jiaozi ( - gyoza/ dumplings/potstickers) to help people with frostbitten ears. During his time, with warlords fighting for their o ...
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Sweet Osmanthus
''Osmanthus fragrans'' (), variously known as sweet osmanthus, sweet olive, tea olive, and fragrant olive, is a flowering plant species native to Asia from the Himalayas through the provinces of Guizhou, Sichuan and Yunnan in China, Taiwan, southern Japan and Southeast Asia as far south as Cambodia and Thailand.Flora of China''Osmanthus fragrans''/ref>Flora of Pakistan''Osmanthus fragrans''/ref> In China, it is the "city flower" of the cities of Hangzhou, Zhejiang; Suzhou, Jiangsu; and Guilin, Guangxi. In Japan, it is the "city tree" of Kitanagoya, Aichi Prefecture; Kashima, Saga, Kashima, Saga Prefecture; Beppu, Ōita Prefecture; and the "town tree" of Yoshitomi, Fukuoka, Yoshitomi, Fukuoka Prefecture. Etymology The genus name ''Osmanthus'' is composed of two Greek etymons: "οσμη" (osme) meaning “smell” and "ανθος" (anthos) meaning "flower". The specific name ''fragrans'' is a borrowing from the Latin meaning “odorous, fragrant” referring to the intense fragrance ...
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Glutinous Rice
Domestication syndrome refers to two sets of phenotypic traits that are common to either domesticated plants or domesticated animals. Domesticated animals tend to be smaller and less aggressive than their wild counterparts; they may also have floppy ears, variations to coat color, a smaller brain, and a shorter muzzle. Other traits may include changes in the endocrine system and an extended breeding cycle. These animal traits have been claimed to emerge across the different species in response to selection for tameness, which was purportedly demonstrated in a famous Russian fox breeding experiment, though this claim has been disputed. Other research suggested that pleiotropic change in neural crest cell regulating genes was the common cause of shared traits seen in many domesticated animal species. However, several recent publications have either questioned this neural crest cell explanation or cast doubt on the existence of domestication syndrome itself. One recent publica ...
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Rice Wine
Rice wine is an alcoholic beverage fermentation, fermented from rice, traditionally consumed in East Asia, Southeast Asia and South Asia, where rice is a quintessential staple crop. Rice wine is made by the fermentation of rice starch, during which microbes enzyme, enzymatically convert polysaccharides to sugar and then to ethanol. The Chinese ''mijiu'' (most famous being ''huangjiu''), Japanese ''sake'', and Korean ''cheongju (beverage), cheongju'', ''dansul'' and ''takju'' are some of the most notable types of rice wine. Rice wine typically has an alcohol content of 10–25% alcohol by volume, ABV, and is typically served warm. One panel of taste testers arrived at as an optimum serving temperature. Rice wines are drunk as a wine and food pairing, dining beverage in East Asian, Southeast Asian and South Asian cuisine during formal dinners and banquets, and are also used as cooking wines to flavoring, add flavors or to neutralize unwanted tastes in certain food items (e.g. sea ...
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Jiuniang
''Jiuniang'' is a sweet, soup- or pudding-like dish in Chinese cuisine. It is also known as sweet wine or sweet rice wine. It consists of a mixture of partially digested rice grains floating in a sweet saccharified liquid, with small amounts of alcohol (1.5–2%) and lactic acid (0.5%). It is made by fermenting glutinous rice with a starter called '' jiuqu'' containing ''Rhizopus oryzae'' or ''Aspergillus oryzae'' and often yeast and bacteria. Ingredients and preparation It was first developed as a by-product of '' mijiu'' production and generally speaking is partially digested rice from a young rice wine (or vinegar) ferment. If eaten quickly or held at 10 degrees or less, which halts the fermentation, the product can be consumed as ''jiuniang''. If the temperatures are raised and fermentation continues, ''jiuniang'' will eventually produce rice wine or rice vinegar. ''Jiuniang'' is most commonly made and consumed in the winter, where fermentation can be halted easily.Li, Jia ...
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Incense
Incense is an aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term is used for either the material or the aroma. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremonial reasons. It may also be used as a simple deodorant or insect repellent. Incense is composed of aromatic plant materials, often combined with essential oils. The forms taken by incense differ with the underlying culture, and have changed with advances in technology and increasing number of uses. Incense can generally be separated into two main types: "indirect-burning" and "direct-burning." Indirect-burning incense (or "non-combustible incense") is not capable of burning on its own, and requires a separate heat source. Direct-burning incense (or "combustible incense") is lit directly by a flame and then fanned or blown out, leaving a glowing ember that smoulders and releases a smoky fragrance. Direct-burning incense is either a paste formed around a ...
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Suzhou, Jiangsu
Suzhou is a major prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. As part of the Yangtze Delta megalopolis, it is a major economic center and focal point of trade and commerce. Founded in 514 BC, Suzhou rapidly grew in size by the Eastern Han dynasty, mostly due to emigration from Northern and southern China, northern China. From the 10th century onwards, it has been an important economic, cultural, and commercial center, as well as the largest non-capital city in the world, until it was overtaken by Shanghai. Since Chinese economic reform, economic reforms began in 1978, Suzhou attained GDP growth rates of about 14% in 35 years. In 2023, Suzhou had 5 million registered residents. Suzhou is listed as the 48th List of cities by scientific output, cities by scientific output according to the Nature Index 2022. The city is home to universities, including Soochow University (Suzhou), Soochow University, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong–Liverp ...
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