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If somebody asks that which is the earliest movie you may think of films in America. But here I would like to tell you that Chinese shadow puppet plays can be seen as the earliest movie.

The Chinese shadow puppet plays can also be called puppetry. But there are some differences between those two plays. And the Chinese puppet plays own more Chinese traditional culture. The Chinese shadow puppet plays can be dated back to western Han dynasty, about two thousand years ago. And in China many kinds of local plays are deprived from the shadow puppet plays. It also affects the development of modern film industry in China. And Chinese shadow puppets have been collected in many countries’ museums. Also they are used as presents by the government leaders to develop the relations with other countries. And they all have high artistic value.

There are many kinds of shadow puppet plays based on the province. Each shadow puppet play has its own characteristics. With the popularity of TV and movies now less and less people in China can play the shadow puppet. In 2006 shadow puppet plays have been listed in the list of the intangible cultural heritage.

The Chinese shadow puppets used in the plays can be figures, animals and other kinds of things. They are all painted and beautiful. Now many people like to use them as decorations.

According to the Chinese culture, the socialism of China has ever experienced several other periods, primitive society, slave society, feudalism society, semi-colony and semi-feudal society. 

For the thousands years of China, the system of emperor (HuangDi) which hold the right of legislative, administrative, judicial and all other powers existed for a long time until feudalism society. Actually, before the "emperor (HuangDi)", the supreme ruler of China called "Wang""Huang" or "Di", such as "ZhouWenWang""ZhouWuWang""Three Huang" and "Five Di". The first emperor could date back to the Qin Shihuang who is the first Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. of feudal society. Of cause, he is the first emperor of China.

Why Qing ShiHuang was the first emperor of China?

About 221B.C. the king of Qin, Zheng Zhao, beat other six countries which included Qi, Chu, Yan, Zhao, Wei and Han and unified them to one country that is the basic of China. So Zheng Zhao thought he was so great that the "Three Huang" and "Wu Di" could not compare with him.

And then, he wanted to change his title to show his great quality and be remembered by generations. So the emperor "HuanDi" were created from Qin.

The emperor system lasted for about two thousand years. According to the statistics, since 221 BC, China has a total of 348 orthodox emperors, and if plus those non-orthodox emperors, there are about 494 emperors in history. It still includes some baby emperors. The last emperor is "PuYi" also named "XuanTong" of Qing Dynasty. It declares that the end of Qing Dynasty when he abdicated on Feb, 12, 1912.

Following are the emperor of the top in various categories:

The oldest emperor in history is a non-orthodox emperor ZhaoTuo who was died when he was over 100 years old.

The shortest lived emperor is Shang of East Han Dynasty who was died when 2 years old.

The youngest emperor is also Shang of East Han Dynasty who became emperor when he was 100 days after born.

KangXi of Qing Dynasty governs longest for 61 years among these emperors.

The emperor of JinWu has the most concubines about 10000.

Copyright (c)Chinese Handicraft Team. Largest selection of Chinese craft for sale, such as Chinese knots, Chinese Paper-Cutting, cloth art & embroidery, shadow puppet, straw plaiting, etc. With profound historical culture, they are the best Chinese gifts or ornaments. We assure you of our Best Services at all times.

XiShi, ZhaoJun Wang, DiaoChan, YuHuan Yang are the four most beautiful women of archaic China. They lived in four different dynasties of China and usually separately described as sink fish, drop birds, shame flowers and close moon to feature their beautiful.

XiShi - Sink Fishes

XiShi was a washing voile beauty in the Yue Kingdom of Spring and Autumn Period. Once time, she was washing voile near the river and the clear water shined her charming figure and made her look more beautiful so that fishes forgot to swim and gradually sank to the river after saw her appearance. Therefore, she had the name "Sink Fishes" and it is popular until now.

ZhaoJun Wang - Drop Wild Geese

During the reign of emperor Yuan of Han Dynasty (48-33 BC), the border was not quiet for the war. In order to appease the relations with XiongNu, a barbarous nation, the emperor Yuan selected ZhaoJun Wang to marry the chieftain of XiongNu.
Therefore she was farewell to her native land and went to the XiongNu country in autumn. She was so sad that played a solemn parting song with her Pipa when she was on the way. The wild geese that were flying to south listened this mournful song and saw the beautiful woman, they forget to swing wings and fell to underground. Since then, ZhaoJun Wang owned this call "Drop Wild Geese".

DiaoChan - Close Moon

It is said that when DiaoChan appreciated the moon in the garden, the cloud covered the moon later and that was seen by Yun Wang, the father of DiaoChan. After that Yun Wang said DiaoChan was more beautiful than moon to others. Therefore, people describe DiaoChan "Close Moon".

YuHuan Yang - Shame Flowers

During the Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty, Yang was selected as a concubine from the folk. After Yang came to royal palace, she missed her home very much. One day, she went to the garden to relax herself and when she saw these blooming flower, she begin to lament her own destiny and touch the flowers with her hands, maybe they are the mimose or other reasons, these flowers closed, and this situation was seen by the maid, so they said Yang was beautiful than flower and they shamed when they say her face.

Until now, if Chinese describe beauties, they also like to use "Sink Fishes", "Drop Wild Geese", "Close Moon", "Shame Flowers" for modern people. Know more the Chinese Four Beauties information, please come here.

Know more information on Chinese culture that the Chinese festivals cannot be neglect as an important part of it. Chinese festivals are celebrated throughout the lunar year according to the Chinese calendar, and there are varieties festivals in China, but each of them is associated with a legend and most festivals are inherited from the ancient time and celebrated in memory of their ancestors.

To know Chinese festivals, we will find Chinese culture is very interesting. Next, let’s learn some vital festivals for Chinese together.

Chinese New Year, also known as Chinese Spring Festival, is the most important festival among others. It was usually celebrated on the last day of the year until the 15th of the first month of Chinese new lunar year as a welcoming to the New Year and a farewell of the old year.

During these days, lots of activities will be hold and the place like change another colorful face, in another word, it just like Chinese Christmas.

Tomb Sweeping Day, also called Qingming festival, is still one of the 24 seasonal division points in China and an important holiday for Chinese. It is usually falling on April 4-6 each year, and a day for people to honor past ancestors and sweep the tombs of the diseased and do some outdoor activities.

Dragon boat festival is another Chinese traditional feast day. It is usually happened on the 5th of May in China lunar month. This is a day to honor a great poet Quyuan in ancient China, who took his own life in the Miluojiang on that day. People will hold Dragon-boat race and eating Zong-zi, a glutinous rice dumpling in memory of him.

The Mid-autumn Festival is a festival on the 15th of August in Chinese lunar month. This day people will busy preparing moon cakes which are round and look like the bright moon and fruits, and at night, by custom, men and women, old and young will stay out of doors to enjoy the bright moonlight while eat delicious moon cakes and fruits. A beautiful fairy story will be told by people about Chang E and her moon rabbit who lived in the moon palace.

Paper cutting (jiǎn zhǐ) can be seen in many parts of China during the Spring Festival. People paste patterns on the window, door lintel (mén méi) or desks for the festival atmosphere.

It’s difficult to tell when it originated. One saying is that it originated from the religious ceremony or offering sacrifices. The ancient people cut papers into animals or people. They either buried them with the dead or burned them on the funerals, wishing that things that paper stand for could be with the dead. A thousand years ago, paper cut was used for decoration. According to historic books, women in the Tang Dynasty (táng cháo) used paper cut as headdress. In the Song Dynasty, it was the decoration of the gifts. People pasted on windows or doors or used it as decorations on walls, mirrors or lanterns. Some people made a living by it.

Paper cutting is all made by hand. It is easy to learn the rudiments (rù mén). Non-craftsmen need only a knife and paper. For craftsman, they need knives and gravers of various types to make complicated patterns. It can be one piece of paper or many pieces. Simple patterns can be cut with a knife. For complicated patterns, people first pasted the pattern on the paper and then used various kinds of knives to make it. No mistake can be made during the process otherwise the work would fail.

Paper cutting covers nearly all topics, from flowers, birds, animals, legendary people, figures in classic novels, to types of facial make-up in Peking opera. Paper cutting has various styles in different parts of China.

In the past, women living in the countryside gathered in their free time to make paper cutting, which is a way to judge their skillfulness. As society develops, fewer and fewer people learn this skill while there are some who still regard it as a profession. At present, there are factories and associations for paper cutting in China. Exhibitions and exchanges are held regularly and books of this kind are published. Paper cutting has changed from decoration to a kind of art. At the same time, paper cutting also appears in cartoons, on stage, in magazines or in TV series.

Copyright (c)Chinese Handicraft Team. Largest selection of Chinese craft for sale, such as Chinese knots, Chinese Paper-Cutting, cloth art & embroidery, shadow puppet, straw plaiting, etc. With profound historical culture, they are the best Chinese gifts or ornaments. We assure you of our Best Services at all times.

Whether for house decorations or friend gifts, most people trend to choose the deep meaning goods, such as graceful, healthy related… therefore, natural art are becoming more and more popular and eye-catching from the market among people.

Yes, natural art is created from nature and common life. It features the things that most happens around us. Seeing more modern, fashion, and luxurious things, people still like to taste all kinds of art. They seem to and be able to give people a kind of quiet, relax and enjoyment from heart.

Such as Chinese peasant paintings, which are most created by Chinese farmers or peasant artists are almost features the peaceful daily life of peasant. Women are weaving together; naive children are playing extreme happy; men are working in the field or enjoying their work and so forth. From these paintings, we could see the realistic, harmonious and the primitive beauty of life and enthusiasm for life.

I can’t help introducing another natural art - wheat stalk pictures. This really reflects the intelligence of people, because all the pictures no matter what design, animals or characters, are weaved with wheat stalk which are from natural material and do not harm to people’s health. It also can be called handicraft art, because wheat stalk pictures are all weaved by hands careful and after some processes, we could see these vivid and charming pictures.

Actually, each of the wheat stalk pictures not only is perfect for people to appreciation but has deep and different meaning for people to enjoy. Some means auspicious, some means happiness, and longevity or prosperity, etc.

If you want to know more information on Chinese peasant paintings or wheat stalk pictures or other Chinese traditional folk art, come to Chinese handicraft store and to enjoy those fascinate creations.

Natural art is worthy for people to enjoy and most people will prefer it. Don’t think they are far from us. In fact, we are in nature and they are close to us. When you online again, try to find some arts you like and you will be impressed with these things that you may don’t know before.

Copyright (c)Chinese Handicraft Team. Largest selection of China gifts for sale, such as Chinese knots, Chinese Paper-Cutting, cloth art & embroidery, shadow puppet, straw plaiting, etc. With profound historical culture, they are the best Chinese arts & crafts or ornaments. We assure you of our Best Services at all times.

According to Chinese lunar calendar, the 15th day of the 8th month is the Mid-Autumn Festival which is also known as the Moon Festival and one of the most important and traditional holiday in China.

The Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations date back to more than 2000 year ago. In feudal times, Chinese emperors prayed to Heaven for a prosperous year on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month. And this custom became prevalent in the Rang Dynasty people enjoyed and worshipped the full moon, and in Song Dynasty moon cakes were popular as gifts to express their wishes. These customs are inherited by generations until now and developed by people.

This day is considered as a harvest festival, because around this time almost the farmers have just finished their work on harvest, and they are happily reap a bumper harvest while after a year’s hard work they feel relax quiet, therefore the Mid-Autumn Festival has gradually evolved as a widely celebrated festival.

In addition, the moon will be changed round and bright on the fifth day of every lunar month, so the Moon Festival is called by people on this special day. In China, people usually regard the round things as the reunion, hence, the Moon Festival is a occasion for the family to get together. When this day coming, people will be busy preparing moon cakes, a kind of dessert which made of bean paste, minced meat, almonds, lotus seeds and so on. The moon cake is specialty of the Moon Festival. And varieties foods and fruit like apples, peaches, grapes, melons set up in the courtyard to offer the gods in their heart. People also will prepare some for themselves, and at night, by custom, men and women, old and young will stay out of doors to appreciate the round moon while eat delicious moon cakes and fruits and chat. A beautiful fairy story will be told by people about Chang E and her moon rabbit who lived in the moon palace.

Welcome to our web to know more information.

Dragon Boat Festival is another traditional festival in China and commonly falls on the 5th, May of Chinese lunar month, therefore it has another name "Double Fifth Festival".

The Original of Dragon Boat Festival

Qu Yuan, a great poet in ancient China, was a loyal and upright minister in the kingdom of Chu located in Hunan and Hubei provinces today. He was esteemed for his wise advises that had brought peace and prosperity to the kingdom Chu. However, later he was hurt by a dishonest and corrupt vilified and dismissed from his position. Qu Yuan was so disappointed and felt the country was going to corrupt that grasped a large stone and leaped into the Mi Lo river on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. There were fishermen wanted to save this great man but after they jumped into the river to find Qu Yuan, they were not found his body. At last, the Chu kingdom conquered by another kingdom Qin.

The Chu people were so sad for Qu Yuan’s death that threw rice into the Mi Lu river to feed the hungry fishes and prevent them eating his body for mourning him on the 5th, May each year.

The Customs on Dragon Boat Festival

Zongzi, a glutinous rice dumpling and bamboo leaves wrapping, were eaten by people to mean the rice offerings to QuYuan. This custom is passing until now and variety Zongzi are created by people, like eggs, jujubes, fruits, walnuts, meats and so forth filling in them.

Dragon-boat race, this is an activity that should be held on the river and symbolize the attempts to rescue and recover the Quan Yuan’s body and another custom for memory him. It is the most exciting part of the festival. The boats are usually decorated like a dragon and ranging from 40 to 100 feet in length and the head shaped like open-mouthed dragons while vivid dragon tail end on the sterns. This competition needs many rowers’ power and a drummer and flag-catcher according to the boats’ size. People whether competitors or audiences who join this activity will feel exciting and happy.

Qing Ming is also called Tomb-Sweeping Day, and as a festival it is a day for people to hold some activities to honor past ancestors. When this day coming, by custom, people will take flowers, food, wine and paper money, etc to mourn dead people and tidy up tombs, this is the reason why Qing Ming called Tomb-Sweeping Day.

In fact, Qing Ming Festival is related with another festival, Hanshi or Cold Food Day, which usually comes one day before Qing Ming Festival. At this day, people will not cooking for memory a loyal man JieZiTui who living in the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC), because he cut a piece of meat from his own leg for saving his hungry lord who was exile. After nineteen years later, the lord got a chance and went back his position, but he forgot this loyal people Jie’s sacrifice. Later he recalled and feel ashamed and decided to reward him.

However, Jie had secluded himself in a mountain with his mother. For finding Jie from this mountain, the lord ordered to set fire to drive them out. However, they were not and later Jie was found dead with his mother. In order to commemorate Jie, the lord ordered that the day Jie died was Hanshi (Cold Food) Festival - the day that only cold food could be eaten. The second year, when the lord went to the mountain to sacrifice to Jie, he found willows revived, so he gave instructions that the day after Hanshi Festival was to be Qing Ming Festival. Later, the two festivals were combined as one - Qing Ming Festival. As our ancestors often extended the day to the Qing Ming, they were later combined.

This day however is not only a festival for people to memory the dead but to celebrate the coming spring and enjoy people themselves. Qing Ming is one of the 24 seasonal division points in China and an important holiday for Chinese. It is usually falling on April 4-6 each year when is the early spring and a transition for Chinese, because it means the temperature will rise up and rainfall increases and high for farmers to work.

At this time, the trees and grass are turning green, sunshine is warm and air is fresh, so people will hold some outdoor activities on this day to hope have a new look this year, like climbing mountains, flying kites and family picnic.

At this time tourists are everywhere, and visitors should go to squares, such as Tian’an Men Square, to see all kinds of activities by the locators. Like flying kites, there will be all shapes and sizes fly in the sky, even some will hundred meters long, it is very interesting and visitors could try to flying by people themselves.

Dragon Boat Festival
It is also known as Double Fifth festival, because it falls on the 5th, May of the lunar month. Dragon boat festival commemorates of QuYuan who was a great poet in China’s earliest time, and took his own life in the Miluojiang on that day. People will hold Dragon-boat race and eating Zong-zi, a glutinous rice dumpling in memory of him when this day coming.

International Children’s Day
This is an international day for children, and celebrated on the June 1st.

The Party’s Birthday
This is a day for anniversary of the establishment of the Chinese Communist Party on July 1st which is the most important party in China.

Chinese Valentine Day
It is celebrated on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month in China and a day for lovers. This day is associated with a romantic love legend about “Niulang” a cowherd and “Zhinu” the seventh daughter of the heaven emperor.

The Army’s Day
China’s Army Day falls on August 1st. On the day, people will have activities to celebrate the birth of PLA, like gratitude performance in the army.

Mid-autumn Festival
The occasion falls on the 15th of the 8th lunar month. It is also known as the "Moon festival". This is a traditional festival in China and when the day coming people will busy preparing moon cakes which are round and look like the bright moon and fruits, and at night, by custom, family member will stay out of doors together to enjoy the bright moonlight while eat delicious moon cakes and fruits. It is also a romance day for the lovers. The festival was given a mythological flavor with legends of Chang E, the beautiful lady in the moon and her lovely rabbit.

Teacher’s Day
September 10th is a national teachers’ festival in China. This is a day not only for the students to express their respect to the contributions of their teachers but also for the society to form a social climate to respect the teachers’ valued knowledge.

Double-ninth Day
“Chong Yang Festival” is also called by people on Double-ninth Day, of cause, it is celebrate on the September 9th of the lunar month in China.

National Day
This is a public holiday for Chinese in celebrating the founding of the People’s Republic of China. It is falls on Oct. 1st each year and the National Day parade will be held on that day.