Five strokes to the portrait of the Middle Kingdom

In the consciousness of most Europeans to learn Chinese – hardly a feat of Hercules. It is understandable. After all, Latina contains 26 characters, Cyrillic – 33, and the Chinese alphabet – just some 50 thousand signs – hieroglyphs, separately or together with other sense expressing and often (but not always) components of a separate word. Each Chinese hieroglyph has a key, t. E. Counties that are on the left, on top or bottom from the main part of the hieroglyph.

Word itself "hieroglyph" By origin is not Chinese, but Greek: in the language of Athens and Sparta Hieroglyphoi "Sacred letters". According to legend, the hieroglyphs were invented during the reign of the first mythical Chinese emperor Juan di.

Hieroglyphic writing is the most important part of China’s national culture. No wonder the word "Culture" – "Ven-Hua" – also has another meaning: "be competent". Most of the hieroglyphs remain unchanged for more than 2,000 years. Some arose from the drawings, for example, hieroglyphs "Sun", "human", "wood", "prisoner" (man for the fence). Other hieroglyphs are a combination of several characters, for example two "tree" Mean "Forest", a "danger" and "possibility" together make up "a crisis". However, most signs are abstract compositions. The total number of hieroglyphs is not known. Modern well-educated Chinese knows 6-e thousand hieroglyphs, for reading newspapers enough to know 3 thousand characters.

The average dictionary includes EGs, and the large dictionary of the XVII century has NB thousand hieroglyphs. Hieroglyphs are written everywhere, but can be completely pronounced in various dialects. However, the main difficulty of Chinese is not even in memorizing hieroglyphs, but in the colors of different heights, with which hieroglyphs are pronounced. In the literary language, their four, and in regional dialects even more. And if you use the tone incorrectly, your interlocutor simply will not understand you. So learn how to explain in Chinese – really a task not from the lungs.

Thoughts

Initially, the world was chaos, consisting of the smallest particles – qi. Gradually, they were divided: the lungs, light particles – Yang – rose upstairs and joined the sky, and heavy, dark – yin – sank down, and the land turned out. Five elements were born from the interaction of Yin and Yang: water, fire, metal, wood and earth. Such is the legend of the origin of the universe, set out in the famous "Book of change" – "I-Jing".

Later, Yin and Yang began to be considered space principles, such as male and female, solid and soft, active and passive, bright and dark. The principle Yang gives things the beginning, and Yin – Completion. The world in Chinese philosophy is a lively mobile system in which Yang constantly flows into Yin and on the contrary. The main role here is given not to victory of one of the forces, and the harmony between them, the golden middle, which, according to Confucius, is "Point nearest to wisdom".

"Own it so much to respect others like himself, and to do with them as we wish you to come with us – this is what you can call the teachings about humanity". These words also belong to Confucius. Harmony with himself and the surrounding world – such is the basis of the Chinese world view. "A noble husband thinks about eight things: about seeing clear about to hear Chetkoe about his face to be friendly that his acts were respectful about that his speech is sincere Careful about the need to remember the consequences of their grinding about the need to remember justice when it is possible to benefit". Moderation and following virtues are needed in any case, whether it is a family relationship or government management. The ruler of the country should be impeccable in moral terms and to be an example for its inhabitants, because "when you behave correctly, then you will go and without an order, when you behave wrong, then do not listen, although you will order"

Medicine

Whether you have ever to watch the preparation of medicines in the Chinese Medical Shop? I assure you, the spectacle is adultery! After listening to your health complaints, the seller, he is a pharmacist, choose a few stems out of thousands lying on the shelves, give them to you, punish the decoction from them and drink to full cure. From the point of view of the Europeans – a strange way of treatment. Nevertheless, traditional Chinese medicine more than two thousand years remains one of the most efficient in the world. People’s healers of centuries studied the impact of various herbs and their compositions on certain human organs, and then tested them to determine the degree of toxicity and the optimal dose to achieve therapeutic effects.

Chinese medicine treats not a separate disease, but a man in general. According to Chinese charts, it is only an indication that something was smashed in the man itself or in his environment. Harm to health can cause not only violations in the work of internal organs, but also excessive changes in the weather, frequent mood changes, acutely experienced emotions. All this must take into account the doctor, making a diagnosis and recommending the patient, how best to deal with the discharge internally and inside.

One of the directions of traditional Chinese medicine is a acupuncture, or acupuncture. The basis of this organism is based on the management of the movement of vital energy qi. Qi moves through the body of a person through the system of main and auxiliary channels. If you insert acupuncture needles at certain points of these channels, you can eliminate the imbalance for energy and concentrate the forces of the body where it is necessary. In 1980, the World Health Organization issued a list of 43 diseases that can be effectively cured with acupuncture.

Symbols

The Chinese often call themselves descendants of the dragon. Dragon can be called a symbol of the Chinese nation. Dragons in China like the most talented people. Popular expression "I wish you to become dragons" means the wish of smart and gifted offspring. Dragon has long been considered in China by the leader of all earthly inhabitants. "Dragon Rog’s deer, camel head, damn eye, neck neck, belly resembles a sink, orline claws, tiger legs, bull ears" – Here’s how to describe his ancient Chinese treatises.

According to customs, the dragon is a deity that brings good luck, protecting people from evil and unclean. In the old days, for exile from the house of evil spirits, people looked around the house of the ash so that she resemble the outlines of the dragon. Festive dancing with a dragon symbolize happiness and prosperity. And the dragon was worshiped by the Water and Rain Deity. In the Special Temples of the Dragon God, people prayed to the Lord of the Water Element to send them a yield year and not can do flood or drought. Chinese dragon is also a symbol of male power and power. The five-plated dragon traditionally personified the emperor, a four-bed – Prince, and the three-legged – the highest officials. Dragons wriggled on imperial clothes, chased the doors and columns of the palace, rest on the ceilings and interior items.

Other animal kingdom inhabitants also represent certain virtues and vices in Chinese mythology. So, the walled peacock is a symbol of beauty, lion – courage, horse – dedication and willpower, turtle – longevity, and a monkey – tricks. Well, if there is no suitable animal in nature, you can invent it. Here, for example, a symbol of justice – the mythical animal crossing with a massive torso, dog head, long mane and forked hooves.

Creation

As you know, in English China – China. And China is porcelain. So in one word combined the name of the state and the top of his applied art. About your china, the Chinese proudly say that his blueland is similar to jade, purity – the mirror, and the sound that he publishes when touched – the sound of a qina (this is an ancient shock musical instrument in the form of a curved plate made from jade, stone or copper). The bowels of the Chinese land are rich in kaolin clay. The production of porcelain began in the VI-VIII centuries, when the potters, gradually improving the selection of the original components and the technological process, learned to produce out the finest snow-white products from clay. The first famous products from the Chinese porcelain were slim elongated vessels with a polished surface, blue and especially valuable pale green vases with relief ornaments, which in Europe got a name "Seldon". These products belong to the epochs of the Tang dynasties (VII-X century) and Song (X-XIII century). At the same time, dairy vessels from dinzhou appeared, decorated with glaze with blood vessels from Henan province, blue porcelain from cings. From the XIV century, in the era of mines, the leading center of the manufacture of porcelain becomes the city of Jingdezhen in Jiangxi Province. Solva says that the porcelain products made there were dazzling as snow, thin, like a sheet of paper, and durable like metal. Even higher than the vases and jugs themselves, the art painting was valued. Artists on the china transferred all the wealth of vegetable and animal world of China: roses, lotuses, peonies, chrysanthemums, pines, birds, animals and, of course, dragons. It is the white-blue porcelain of this period by "Silk Path" I got into Western Europe, where Europeans immediately attracted their technical perfection, wealth of forms and decor. Modern collectors also prefer particularly valuable antique Chinese china. Many magnificent products have found their place in extensive collections of ceramics Paul Ghetty, William Barrell, Richard Wallace.

so, "Book of change", Heroglyphs, Acupuncture, Dragons and Porcelain. And yet – Tao, horoscopes, tea, paper, powder, umbrellas, silk, matches … talk about the concepts and subjects, signs for China, can be infinity. But then it will not be Syu-and, and Gong-bi ("Diligent brush") – The style of traditional Chinese painting, which fixes all the details and shows the viewer the smallest details of what is happening.