Chinasage Diary

Engineer Leaders

All three recent Presidents of China studied engineering at University. Jiang Zemin : Electrical Engineering, Shanghai 1947; Hu Jintao : Hydraulic Engineering, Beijing 1965 and Xi Jinping : Chemical Engineering, Beijing 1979.
Read More

Good fortune

One of the most common Chinese characters you will see in China and on Chinese gifts is the one for good fortune This is 褔 pronounced fú in Mandarin. Symbolizing good fortune also are images of the bat because in mandarin 'bat' sounds exactly the same fú but written as 蝠. Posters showing the character are often put upside down to symbolize the wish for good fortune to come down.
Read More

Jin dynasty

When the Khitan people drove the Song dynasty out of northern China they established their capital at Zhongdu (Beijing) and in many ways turned to Chinese traditions. They bore the brunt of the assault of the Mongols and ruled for just over a hundred years.
Read More

China's neighbors

China has the largest number of land borders together with Russia. There are 14 in all, starting in East and running anti-clockwise they are: Korea (North), Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam. The length of border with Afghanistan is tiny - only 40 miles; Laos and Tajikistan have only slightly longer at 200 miles.
Read More

Tiger, tiger

In China as elsewhere the tiger is associated with strength and dauntlessness. Chinese soldiers used to wear uniforms with tiger markings to scare the enemy. The power of the tiger in traditional medicine can be taken on by eating ground up tiger body parts, still leading to much illegal slaughter. The bones are considered a good medicine against arthritis.
Read More

On this day

2002 Jiang Zemin no longer President PRC 2002 (17 years ago)
2002 Jiang Zemin no longer General Secretary Communist Party 2002 (17 years ago)
2002 Hu Jintao became General Secretary Communist Party 2002 (17 years ago)
2002 Jiang Zemin no longer Paramount Leader 2002 (17 years ago)
2002 Hu Jintao became Paramount Leader 2002 (17 years ago)
2012 Hu Jintao no longer Chairman Chinese Military Committee 2012 (7 years ago)
2012 Xi Jinping became Paramount Leader 2012 (7 years ago)
2012 Xi Jinping became General Secretary Communist Party 2012 (7 years ago)
2012 Li Keqiang became Premier PRC 2012 (7 years ago)
2012 Xi Jinping became Chairman Chinese Military Committee 2012 (7 years ago)

Tao Te Ching

Now written in pinyin as Dao De Jing, this small book is the best known ancient Chinese classic outside China. It is a set of philosophical aphorisms and riddles from the Daoist tradition. Within China the book is less well known, many Chinese would first mention the I Ching (Yi Jing) as the premier ancient classic.
Read More

On this day

976 Emperor Taizu no longer ruler 976 (1,043 years ago)
1908 Emperor Guangxu no longer ruler 1908 (111 years ago)
2012 Wen Jiabao no longer Premier PRC 2012 (7 years ago)
2012 Hu Jintao no longer President PRC 2012 (7 years ago)
2012 Hu Jintao no longer General Secretary Communist Party 2012 (7 years ago)
2012 Hu Jintao no longer Paramount Leader 2012 (7 years ago)