Chinese Legends and Gods

Houyi Shot the SunsHouyi (or Yi) was the hero who shot the suns in the ancient mythology of China.Chinese GhostThe story about Zhuxi and ghosts.
The Gate GodsThe custom for the Chinese New Year.
Kitchen GodThe tradition of Chinese New Year.
Yellow EmperorHuangdi (Yellow Emperor) is generally regarded as the ancestor of the Huaxia race.
ShennongShennong, also called Yan Emperor, was the god of farming and Chinese medicine in the mythology of ancient China.
Yao EmperorYao was an emperor in the ancient legend of China. He was regarded as an ideal emperor in people's mind.
KuaFu Chased the SunA god named KuaFu determined to have a race with the sun.
Mulan Goes to DisneyDisney's latest animated movie.
NianA story about the monster and Chinese New Year.
Nvwa Mended the FirmamentThe story about Nvwa, the ancestor of mankind in the mythology of ancient China.
Nv WaThe first heroine in Chinese history.
FuxiFuxi is the legendary god in the mythology of ancient China.
Pan Gu Creates the WorldThe Chinese legend about Pan Gu.
Town God TempleIn almost every large and medium-sized city in China, one can find a Chenghuang Temple or Town God Temple. In the temple, sits a statue of the town god.
Chinese StoriesInclues tales, legends, folk stories and Chinese traditions.

China Dragon(Long)

Dragon occupies a very important postion in Chinese mythology. It shows up in arts, literature, poetry, architecture, songs, and many aspects of the Chinese conscience. The origin of Chinese dragons is unknown, but centainly pre-dates the written history.
Wine Jar, Ming Dynasty, early 16-th centuryThese brilliantly colored large stoneware vessels are one of the most popular wares of the Ming period. The lively design features two pairs of dragons pursuing the flaming jewel amidst sea acn cloud motifs. - From Two Thousand Years of Chinese Ceramics by V. Reynolds,P.H. Curtis, and Y.F. Pei
Vase, Chia Ching reign (1532-1455)Porcelain, with five-color enameled decoration of imperial five clawed dragons sporting amid waves. Art Treasures of the Peking Museum.

Gilded bronze dragon Tang Dynasty (AD618-906). Excavated 1975, Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province. Shaanxi History Museum
Royal Dragon Robes of Emperors
A portrait of Emperor Tai-Tsung, Tang Dynasty (626-649). Both the dragon motif and the yellow color are restricted to the royalty only.
The "100 boys" jacket of Empress Xiao Jing is embroidered with figures of dragons, bamboo, flowers, and 100 boys playing games, flying kites, catching birds, and pretending to be officials. Empress Xiao Jing is a comtemporary of Elizabeth I of England.
Painting of Emperor Chien-Lung [Qianlong] , Ching [Qing] Dynasty (1736-1795).
Robes
Dragon robe Minneapolis Institute of Art, Ching [Qing] Dynasty (1821-50).
Dragon robe of a MandarianThe Rising Celestial Dragon. Details of a mandrarin robe of embroidered silk, Chia-ching period (1796-1820), Qing Dynasty.
Dragon robe silkChuba, Qing Dynasty (17-th century). Metropolitan Museum, New York
Emperor KangXi at his deskEmperor KanXi of Ching Dynasty. This is his favorite location to pose for a portrait. Peking Museum, Beijing. (208k)
Red DragonA pair of dragons on a painted lacquer brush-pot, Wan-li period (1573-1620), Ming dynastry, h. 13 in.
Nine Dragon WallA very popular tourist site in Beijing is this Nine-Dragon Wall in BaiHai Park. After hundreds of years, the colors of the ceramic tiles are just as brilliant.
The wall was built in 1756. It is 21m long, about 15m high and i.2m thick. It is faced with 424 7-color ceramic tiles. At the center of the wall, there is a giant dragon, flanged by four dragons on each side. In addition to these nine large dragons, the wall is covered from edge to edge with many smaller dragons. In all, there are 635 dragons.
Overall view of the 9-dragon wall
A closer view
Jade Coiled Dragon Jade coiled dragon, Hongshan Culture (c. 4700-2920 B.C.)Liaoning Provincial Institute of Archaeology, Shenyang
Nine Sons of Dragon-And where to find them.
Tales from the Land of Dragons-Boston Museum of Arts
Discussions about Dragon robes- The Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Calendar of Dragon Boat Races
Dragon and Phoenix
Tricia's Chinese Water Dragon page Have you ever seen a Chinese water dragon before?
Chinese alligator sinensis
Chinese alligator
Celestial Dragons

China cuture

Calligraphy has traditionally been regarded as China's highest form of visual art - to the point that a person's character was judged by the elegance of their handwriting! Decorative calligraphy is found all over China, in temples and adorning the walls of caves and the sides of mountains and monuments.The basic tools of calligraphy - brush and ink - are also the tools of Chinese painting, with linework and tone the all-important components.
Despite the ravages of time, war and ideology, there's still a lot to see architecturally. Traces of the past include the imperial structures of Beijing, the colonial buildings of Shanghai, the occasional rural village and Buddhist, Confucian and Taoist temples. Funerary art was already a feature of Chinese culture in Neolithic times (9000-6000 BC), ranging from ritual vessels and weapons to pottery figures, jade and sacrificial vessels made of bronze. Earthenware production is almost as ancient, with the world's first proto-porcelain being produced in China in the 6th century AD, reaching its artistic peak under the Song rulers.
China's language is officially Mandarin, as spoken in Beijing. The Chinese call it Putonghua. About 70% of the population speak Mandarin, but that's just the tip of the lingusitic iceberg. The country is awash with dialects, and dialects within dialects - and few of them are mutually intelligible. Of the seven major strains, Cantonese is the one most likely to be spoken in your local Chinese takeaway. It's the lingua franca of Guangdong, southern Guangxi, Hong Kong and (to an extent) Macau.
China's literary heritage is huge, but unfortunately its untranslatability makes much of it inaccessible to Western readers. Traditionally there are two forms, the classical (largely Confucian) and the vernacular (such as the prose epics of the Ming dynasty). Chinese theatre is also known as opera because of the important role played by music, and has spawned such diverse arts as acrobatics, martial arts and stylised dance. Many Western film-lovers are fans of Chinese cinema, with releases enjoying success at film festivals and art-house cinemas. Recently there has been an emergence of talented 'fifth-generation' post-Cultural Revolution directors, including Zhang Yimou (Red Sorghum, Chen Kaige (Farewell, My Concubine), Wu Ziniu and Tian Zhuangzhuang. Add to them Hong Kong's East-meets-West action directors John Woo (Hard Boiled) and Ringo Lam (Full Contact) and you have a full-fledged, extremely successful film industry.
Chinese cuisine is justifiably famous, memorably diverse - and generally not for the squeamish. The Chinese themselves like to say they'll eat anything with four legs except a table. For the most part, however, it's a case of doing ingenious things with a limited number of basic ingredients. The cuisine can be divided into four regional categories: Beijing/Mandarin and Shandong (with steamed bread and noodles as staples), Cantonese and Chaozhou (lightly cooked meats and vegetables), Shanghainese (the home of 'red cooking' and wuxi spare ribs) and Sichuan (spicy, with lots of chilli). Tea is the most common nonalcoholic beverage on sale, although Coca-Cola (both original and bogus) is making inroads, while beer is by far the most popular alcoholic drink. 'Wine' is a loose term which can cover oxidised and herb-soaked concoctions, rice wine and wine containing lizards, bees or pickled snakes. Another favourite is maotai, a spirit made from sorghum which smells like rubbing alcohol and makes a good substitute for petrol or paint thinner.