Table of Contents

Preface
1 dog狗
2 door gods门神
3 Double Nine Festival 重阳节
4 dowry 嫁妆
5 dragon龙
6 Dragon Boat Festival 端午节
7 dreams梦
8 duck鸭
9 dumpling 饺子
10 eight 八
11 Eight Immortals 八仙
12 elephant象
13 elixir长生药
14 emperor/empress 皇帝/皇后
15 euphemism婉辞
16 face面子/脸
17 family 家庭
18 family tree 家谱
19 fan扇子
20 fate命/命运
21 feng shui风水
22 filial piety 孝
23 the first birthday 抓周
24 fish鱼
25 five五
26 the five elements 五行
27 the five kinds of luck五福
28 flowers花
29 four四
30 four great inventions 四大发明
31 the four treasures of the study 文房四宝
32 fox狐狸
33 fu符
34 Fu，Lu and Shou福禄寿
35 full满
36 ghost鬼
37 gift-giving送礼
38 ginger姜
39 ginseng人参
40 goat羊
41 god of wealth财神
42 god of longevity 寿星
43 gold金
44 good fortune福
45 gourd葫芦
46 the Great Wall of China 长城
47 green青
48 Guan-yin观音
49 Guan Yu关羽
50 hat帽子
Appendix

Sample Pages Preview

This series is a general introduction to traditional Chinese ideas and beliefs that are still relevant to present-day Chinese practices. It is largely intended for non-Chinese readers, as well as Chinese readers who are more comfortable with the English language and who may have just a smattering of understanding of Chinese culture.

Books on Chinese culture, especially those in the Chinese language, are often written in a serious style and generally demand some basic knowledge of the subject. The books in this series have adopted instead a topical approach, dealing with individual topics such as particular animals and festivals, feng shui, colour, numbers, folk culture, and so on, with the intention of bringing Chinese culture alive. A number of the topics, such as dragon and bat, also provide an interesting contrast between Western and Chinese beliefs.

The series is generously illustrated to make reading easy. Wherever possible, there is also a list of relevant Chinese phrases and idioms with English translations to give readers greater understanding of the topic concerned.

It is hoped that this series of books will help readers who speak different languages better understand and appreciate the cultures of others.