Chinese Traditional Art中国传统艺术

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Chinese Silk（中国蚕丝）

Thousands of years have passed since China first discovered silkworms. Nowadays, silk, in some sense, is still some kind of luxury. For long, China has been famous for the various high-quality silk. The Chinese silk can be divided into Shu Brocade, Yun Brocade and Song Brocade according to their places of originality. Also there are many kinds of ethnic brocades such as Zhuang Brocade, Dong Brocade, Tujia Brocade, and Yao Brocade etc.

中国饲养蚕已有几千年的历史了，现在蚕丝依然是一种奢侈品，中国早就以高品质的蚕丝而闻名世界，根据产地可分为蜀锦、云锦和宋锦三大种，另外还有很多少数民族的品种，例如壮锦、侗锦、土家锦和瑶锦等等。

Chinese Jade（中国玉石）

The history of jade in China is as long as its civilization. The earliest jade objects found are from the Neolithic period (about 5, 000 BC). In China, jade symbolizes beauty, grace and purity; it was used in many Chinese idioms or phrases to speak about beautiful things or people. In a word, jade stands for beauty, nobility, perfection, power,and immortality in Chinese culture.

玉石的历史可以追溯到中华民族形成时期，现发现的最早玉石产自新石器时代（公元前5000年）。中国人认为，玉石是美、高雅和纯洁的象征，它也常被引用到各类的诗作和俗语中，用来形容一个人或物的高雅。在中国文化中，玉石代表着美丽、高尚、完美、力量和品德。

Chinese Kites（中国风筝）

Chinese Kites were invented by Chinese people almost 2,000 years ago. About in 12th century, kites were introduced to the western countries. At the beginning, kites were used in military affairs. During the Tang Dynasty (618～907 A.D.), kites began to be used for entertainment. The material for making kites was silk at first, while later silk was replaced by paper due to the rapid development of paper.

中国人早在2000年前就发明了风筝，12世纪时，风筝传入欧洲。最初，风筝只用作军事，到了唐朝，才开始用于人们的日常消遣。最初制作风筝的材料是丝绸，后来由于造纸行业的发展，人们开始用纸做风筝。

Cloisonné（景泰蓝）

Cloisonné is a particular craftwork of Beijing. It gains the name "cloisonné" due to its main color of blue. It is very popular and famous both at home and abroad. It won the first prize in International Fair in Chicago, USA, in Panama World's Fair in 1915.Cloisonné products include vases, bowls, plates, wine sets, lamps and lanterns, spice boxes, birds and beasts, etc. more than 60 kinds.

景泰蓝瓷器是北京一种特有的手工艺术品。景泰蓝的名字来自于瓷器的蓝色，在国内外十分著名。1915年，在美国芝加哥举行的巴拿马国际博览会上，景泰蓝一举拿下了第一名的头衔。景泰蓝的瓷器包括花瓶、碗、盘子、酒杯垫、灯笼、辣椒罐，以及各种造型的鸟，种类多达60种。

Chinese Seals（中国印章）

In China, seal (seal carving), handwriting, painting, and poem are called Chinese four traditional arts. Seal also called official seal, symbolized power in the ancient times. Chinese seals are of special patterns. In the old times, the emperor's personal seal was the national seal as well, while the seal of the official were named Yin or Zhang.

印章、书法、书画和诗作是中国的四大传统艺术瑰宝。印章又叫官印，在中国古代代表着权力。印章有很多种类，以前的皇印也是代表整个国家的印章，中文称其为“印”或者“章”。