The Chinese dragon (loong) year of 2024 is winding down. In January, the Chinese will celebrate the Chinese New Year, welcoming the Year of the Snake. The Chinese have a more nuanced view of snakes than the negative connotations held by Westerners. They are called "little dragons," and according to ancient mythology, the Chinese people’s creators were a mixture of humans and serpents.

Many people in China consider snakes lucky charms, and in legends, snakes are often thought of as creatures who would return the favour by bestowing prosperity upon humans.

Below is a cultural thread elucidating the snake's depiction throughout Chinese mythology, literature, and art. Nüwa (女娲) and Fuxi (伏羲): the half-snake creators of humans and Chinese civilisation

Nüwa (Picture 1), a lonely Chinese goddess, created humanity for companionship. She made clay figurines. Because Nüwa crafted them by hand, these clay figures rose to social nobility. Since crafting each figurine required much time and effort, Nüwa mass-produced humans by dragging a rope through the mud. The story explains the strict social structure in ancient China.

As a result of the Gonggong's (Chinese water god) destruction of Buzhou Mountain, which served as a pillar to hold the sky, the Great Flood swept over the world, wreaking untold suffering amongst humankind. Nüwa felt sorry for the humans she had created and attempted to mend the sky. She collected five coloured stones (red, yellow, blue, black, and white) from the riverbed, melted them, and used them to patch up the sky; the sky (clouds) has been multicoloured since then. She then slew a gigantic turtle and severed its four legs to serve as new pillars to sustain the sky. Nüwa completed her mission by scaring away the wild creatures, putting out the wildfire, and stemming the flood with a mountain of ashes from the burned reeds, and the world returned to its previous state of peace.

Nüwa Mends the Heavens (女娲补天) is a well-known legend in Chinese culture. The courage and wisdom of Nüwa inspired the ancient Chinese to conquer nature. It has become a favourite subject of Chinese poets, painters, and sculptors and has inspired many poems, novels, paintings, and sculptures.

Legend has it that Nüwa married her brother Fuxi (Picture 2). Fuxi and Nüwa have human heads but serpent bodies because their mother Huaxu (华胥) fell pregnant unexpectedly after treading in a footprint left by the thunder god Leigong (雷公). The duo invented music, hunting, fishing, domestication, cooking, and the Cangjie (仓颉) system of Chinese characters.

Ancient Chinese mythology seems to have a fondness for snakes, with both Nüwa and Fuxi possessing serpentine bodies, in contrast to Western myths that view snakes as evil creatures.

They also reflect social conventions, as seen in this Tang Dynasty (618–907 CE) painting (Picture 3) of Fuxi (right) and Nüwa (left) discovered in Xinjiang's Astana Cemetery. Nüwa is shown in the photo clutching a compass, while Fuxi is shown with a ruler. "Compass and ruler" (规矩) translates to "standards" in Chinese.

After Chinese internet users shared videos of Olympic silver medalist Zhou Yaqin serving customers at her family's little restaurant, the Olympic star went viral again.

Zhou isn't the only Chinese medalist who has risen from humble beginnings to achieve greatness. In Chinese, there is an old proverb called "寒门出贵子，白屋出公卿," which translates as "Humble family produces noble son, poor household resident emerges top officer."

Below is a thread of several Paris Olympic medalists who were reared in humble or poor backgrounds.

One of my favourite things about China is that people from humble backgrounds may achieve great success. I don't deny a wealth disparity in China, but I've always found the DEEP class consciousness of some Western countries disheartening. Compared to the West, the Chinese view class as quaint， something to observe in wonder through TV shows like "The Crown".

Over thousands of years, meritocracy has guided Chinese society. Chen Sheng, the leader of the Dazexiang uprising—the first uprising against the Qin dynasty—the first dynasty of imperial China, made his famous declaration that every Chinese is familiar with:

"𝐴𝑟𝑒 𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑛𝑜𝑏𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑠 𝑏𝑦 𝑏𝑖𝑟𝑡ℎ?"
 
王侯將相，寧有種乎？
 
People with talents should be given the opportunity to shine, regardless of their background. Quan Hongchan, a 17-year-old Chinese diver and gold winner, became China's youngest medalist when she won in Tokyo 2020. Her pleasant nature, honesty, and warm smiles have earned her a place among China's favourite athletes.
 
Quan was born into a farmer's family in Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province. Quan was discovered after a sports academy recruited a group of freshmen to attend a diving summer camp. Her parents were quite supportive of her decision to start competitive diving.
 
Quan Wenmao, the girl's father, told Chinese media that when Quan was training with the provincial diving team, he could only send her a few dozen RMB every week (less than 20 dollars).
 
Upon receiving her gold medal, Quan Hongchan expressed her wish to go to the playground and have fun and earn money to cover her mother's medical bills.
 
Quan Hongchan may be a famous gold medalist now, but his father is still a farmer who tends to his sugarcane and orange orchards.
 
Source: app.cctv.com/special/cporta…

You won't understand China if you don't understand Gaokao. In less than three days, China will be immersed in tranquillity, expectation and anxiety, only for the country's most important examination, Gaokao.
 
The National Unified Examination for Admissions to General Universities and Colleges (Gaokao) is extremely important to the Chinese. The exam papers are classified as "top secret" by the Chinese government, the highest level of state secrecy under China's Law on State Secrets. In 2024, a record-breaking 13.42 million high school students in China will take gaokao, which has the potential to change their life directions dramatically.
 
China may be changing at mind-blowing speed, but worship of the gaokao remains as immutable as when it was first initiated in 1952. As an ancient Chinese saying goes, scholarship pursuing surmounts all other occupations, and such traditional perception still holds in the new era.
 
🔵 Gaokao is China's annual undergraduate admission exam. It began in 1952 and ended during the Cultural Revolution. Gaokao was reinstituted in 1977 and continues to this day.
 
🔵 Gaokao is incredibly competitive. The percentage of first-class admission is roughly 20% (Yiben, 一本, deemed as good universities), whereas fewer than 2% of students can enrol in top universities.

The test result will decide what universities an examinee can attend, and consequently, determine whether he or she will find a well-paid job in the future. 
 
🔵 The examination is practically the only criterion for entrance into tertiary education. Students who hope to enter university will spend most of their waking hours studying for the exam. Most students only have one chance.
 
🔵 The annual exam is held from June 7th to 8th, though it may be extended by one or two days in certain regions. The exam was previously held in July but has been moved to June due to the negative impact of hot weather on pupils residing in southern China.
 
🔵 Most Chinese provinces use a unified exam paper, while other regions, such as Beijing and Shanghai, can use their own.
 
🔵 Gaokao's test subjects have changed throughout time. The three compulsory subjects are Chinese, Mathematics, and a foreign language (any of the following: English, French, Japanese, Russian, German, or Spanish).
 
Students will subsequently be divided into either Arts or Science tracks. Students who pick the Arts track are tested in history, political science, and geography, whereas those who take the Science track are evaluated in physics, chemistry, and biology.
 
🔵 Most regions in China are currently testing a new gaokao system to assist pupils in acquiring more comprehensive academic performance. The system is known as "3+1+2".
 
"3" refers to the mandatory Chinese, mathematics, and foreign language subjects. "1" refers to a selection between Physics and History, while "2" refers to two topics from chemistry, biology, political science, or geography that candidates select based on their interests and specialities.
 
🔵 Only a few examinees can be excluded if they demonstrate outstanding merit in the quality of their work and comprehension of the academic subject.
 
🔵 Candidates from China's minority ethnic groups benefit from the exam's favourable policies. Their literary score is made up of a simpler Chinese literature test and an optional subject like Tibetan, Mongolian, Uyghur, or Korean literature.

Candidates from minor ethnic groups in China may be given extra points on their Gaokao to nurture talent from ethnic minorities and ensure educational equity.
 
[Photo 1: Beijing students take the restored gaokao in 1977.]

[Photo 2: Family members of candidates for the national college entrance exam wait outside the exam site at the capital of southwest China's Tibet autonomous region, on June 7, 2013.]

[Photo 3: Teachers give high-fives to students who will attend the national college entrance exam at Dongyang Middle School in Zhejiang province, June 5, 2023.]

🔵 State secrets are categorized into three categories under China's Law on Guarding State Secrets: "top secret," "highly secret," and "secret". The Gaokao exam papers are classified as "top secret," their disclosure would pose a significant threat to state security and national interest.
 
The locations of factories that print Gaokao exam papers are secrets. The factories will be closed in May, and all units will be subject to strict surveillance and anti-theft procedures.
 
Workers in the factory are not permitted to use mobile phones or communicate with the outside world, and they must not leave before Gaokao concludes. To ensure their emotional health, they will receive psychological support.
 
The exam papers will subsequently be transported in cars guarded by at least three police officers and delivered to the secret chambers in various provinces.
 
Exam papers will be delivered to exam locations three hours before the exam, and armed police officers will secure them. Surveillance cameras will be installed in the cars that transport the papers, and their routes will be tracked by China’s Beidou system.

While working on my new art project, I found an ancient Chinese picture book depicting how foreigners, particularly those from the West, appear to the Chinese. Regardless of how wrong the descriptions are, the book is still interesting.

The book, 皇清职贡图, published about 1769, is an ethnological examination of Chinese tributary states, including Western nations that traded with the Qing Empire. The book made numerous factual mistakes, such as saying that Sweden and England were vassals of Holland and that Portugal and France were the same country.

The book's title is translated as "Collections of Portraits of Subordinate People of the Qing Dynasty," which sounds arrogant and ignorant. Before the Opium War, the Chinese believed that we were the best and did not need to learn anything from the outside world, referring to Westerners as "monster-like people" due to their differences from the Chinese.

And we paid a heavy price for our arrogance. Less than seven decades later after the publication of the book, the First Opium War started, and China gradually became a Western semi-colony, and the "century of humiliation" started.

Arrogance causes misunderstandings of other cultures and geopolitical miscalculations, whereas ignorance leads to one's doom. The Chinese learned the hard way.

The modern Western world reminds me of pre-opium war China. Both are the dominant economic power of their period, yet they have similar flaws: their leaders are arrogant and self-centred, and their citizens have little exposure to the wider world.

Picture 1: Polish man in the book;

Picture 2: Russian woman in the book;

Picture 3: Swedish woman in the book.

Japanese man and woman in the book.

As someone who enjoys playing Tomb Raider video games, I can't help but think that the myths and legends surrounding China's Famen Temple (法门寺)—a Buddhist temple that has survived for over 1,700 years and has a hidden palace below ground that holds incalculable, undisturbed treasures—could be a wellspring of inspiration for many creative types.

The eaves-ties and bricks found around the Temple and historical records suggest that the Temple was constructed during the Han dynasty, which lasted from 206 BC to 220 AD.

An underground palace was then constructed beneath the Temple's pagoda during the Tang dynasty (618-907), which contained numerous valuable artefacts, such as a finger bone of the Gautama Buddha kept in a five-layered sacred box, the silk dress of China's only empress, tea ceremonial artefacts that prove the Japanese tea ceremony originated in China, coloured glaze wares from the Sassanid and Byzantine empires that symbolize the cultural exchanges along the Silk Road, and ceramics that answered a long-standing mystery in China: " What does secret-colour ceramics look like?"

During the Tang Dynasty, seven emperors and one empress offered gifts to the Buddha's finger bone, constructing gold and silver coffins for the sacred relic and concealing a great store of treasure in its hidden underground palace.

In January 874, Tang dynasty Emperor Xizong (唐僖宗) sealed the underground palace with innumerable treasures. Until Chinese archaeologists unearthed it in 1987, the secret treasure hoard stayed undisturbed for 1,113 years.

Over the last 1,113 years, the underground palace has been nearly discovered and destroyed several times. Here are a few instances:

🔴 The Tang dynasty's Emperor Wuzong (唐武宗) launched a campaign to persecute Buddhism to redistribute war revenues and eradicate foreign influences from Tang China. The temple was extensively damaged, and former gifts from the Tang emperor and empress were taken. However, the Buddha's finger bone survived, as the monks fabricated false ones to trick the emperor. The underground palace remained untouched.

🔴 The collapse of the pagoda during the Ming Dynasty. The Tang pagoda collapsed in 1569 during the Ming dynasty when an earthquake struck the temple. For generations, only the monks in the temple knew that there was an underground palace beneath the pagoda. When workers went to restore the pagoda, they saw the underground palace but did not open it, maybe out of respect for the Buddha. The underground palace remained intact.

🔴 Damage caused by the Cultural Revolution. In 1966, a campaign was launched to eliminate the Four Old Things. During the campaign, Buddhist sites and temples were targeted, with the Famen temple being a particular target for demolition.

The abbot of the temple, Liangqing (良卿), decided to self-immolate to save the underground palace from the Red Guards dispatched to demolish it. The True Relic Pagoda and its underground palace were spared destruction, even if the temple's contents were smashed.

The Red Guards' destruction location was only 1 meter above the underground palace's ceiling, discovered twenty years later by archaeologists cleaning up the pagoda.

Famen Temple, with its Buddha relic and exquisite underground palace, is now one of China's most recognized Buddhist sacred sites.

Here are some of the treasures discovered in the underground palace: (see posts below)

Video: The Famen Temple is now restored to its former glory.

Picture 1: The seventh layer of the eight-tiered box, adorned with two turquoise mandarin ducks, pearls and rubies. The box contains a duplicate relic, or a false Buddha's finger bone.

Picture 2: When the underground Palace was opened 1,113 years later in 1987, this was the original shape of one of the vaults. 𝐁𝐮𝐝𝐝𝐡𝐚'𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐬

Four relics claiming to be directly related to Buddha were discovered after the underground palace was opened in 1987, but only one is the "true relic". Two "duplicate relics" are made of white jade, while one came from a monk.

The authentic relic is yellow in hue and contains bone-like secretory granules. It is kept in the innermost box of a set of five. The outermost is an iron box; the second is a silver box adorned with 45 Buddha carvings. The third box is sandalwood, the fourth is a crystal outer coffin with topaz and sapphire, and the final is a white jade coffin containing the real Buddha's relic.

The first "Buddha's relic" discovered by archaeologists is a duplicate, found on the Buddha's birthday and preserved in the innermost box of a set of eight boxes, each of which encloses the next-smallest box wrapped in a layer of thin silk. The outermost box was sandalwood and had rotted away, but the smaller boxes were gold, silver, and jade and were well preserved. Each box has a silver lock and is finely carved.

The second "Buddha's relic" discovered by archaeologists is also a duplicate, hidden in a silver casket and an iron box.

The fourth "Buddha's relic," a replica, was placed in a silver coffin hidden inside a bronze house in a marble tower.

Famen Temple became a Buddhist place of pilgrimage due to the discovery of what is claimed as a true relic of Buddha.

There are two New Year's celebrations for the Chinese people. We celebrate January 1st, like everyone else, but our most big new year celebration is Spring Festival, commonly known as Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year. It is the most important celebration in China and several other Asian countries, including Malaysia and Singapore. Over the course of the two weeks-long festival, which often culminates on the eve of the Spring Festival, various cultural components, celebrations, and rituals are introduced daily.

This year’s Spring Festival falls on February 10. According to the Chinese zodiac, which features a 12-year cycle with each year represented by a specific animal, 2024 is the Year of the Loong!

For most Chinese people, the five-character term “衣食住行乐”, which means “clothing, food, residence, movement and entertainment”, fully represents their basic needs and hopes in their future life. Here are some interesting facts that you probably don’t know about this grand festival! 🧧衣(yī)-春节新衣 (Spring Festival New Clothing)

Wearing new clothes is a historical tradition for Spring Festival. According to 东京梦华录 (Literally: Dreams of Splendor of the Eastern capital), a memoir featuring authoritative pictures of affluent Chinese culture written by Meng Yuanlao (c. 1090-1150), Chinese people would wear new clothes on the first day of Spring Festival, as the tradition was considered to bring a fresh new start and good luck for the new year.

In the old days, noble families would wear silk dresses and robes, while poor families would use homespun fabric to make new clothes. Most of the clothes were red in color, as people believed red could expel evil spirits and protect them. For children, tiger-shaped decorations on hats and shoes were also used to protect their spirit, allowing them to grow up stronger and healthier.

Wearing new clothes for the Spring Festival used to be a very important festival ritual. In ancient times, impoverished Chinese people didn’t have enough money to buy new clothes regularly like we do today. Spring Festival provided them a chance to enjoy themselves and fulfil their wish to pursue beauty. Although people in modern times can easily get new clothes whenever they want, wearing new clothes remains an important Spring Festival tradition and represents a new beginning of a happy year.

Some readers have asked me to elaborate on the history of "Chinese names." This post sheds light on the historical and cultural significance of "Chinese names."

In Chinese culture, a person's name consists of both their family name (姓) and their given name (名). Once a standard part of our names, the courtesy name (字) is now rarely used.

We honour our ancestors by maintaining the tradition of putting the family name before the given name.

🇨🇳 Family Name (姓)

Family names have been used in China for over five thousand years, making it the first country in the world to do so. From totemic signs of the late Primitive Period to the standardized Chinese characters of the Han Dynasty, the Chinese system of surnames has come a long way.

The Chinese use family names to denote family origins and blood links, allowing them to trace back to their roots and ancestors. Zhang Shu (张澍), a Qing Dynasty scholar, stated in his book "The Origins of Chinese Names" (姓氏寻源): "怀山之水，必有兮源；参天之木，必有兮根；人之有祖，亦犹是焉 (A river that runs around mountains must have its origin, a tree tall enough to reach the sky must have its roots, and people must have their ancestral history)."

The Hundred Family Surnames (百家姓) is an ancient Chinese book listing the most popular surnames in China. An unidentified author compiled the book during the Song dynasty (960-1279). There are 507 family names in the book, including 441 surnames with only one character and 66 with two.

The initial character of the titles of the Three Character Classic (三字经, compiled in the 13th century), the Hundred Family Surnames (百家姓, compiled in the 6th century), and the Thousand Character Classic (千字文, compiled in the 6th century) were shortened to 三百千 (Three, Hundred, Thousand). They were used as textbooks in ancient Chinese schools and eventually became required reading for kids from all socioeconomic classes, even some common folk.

When a kid masters all three, his Chinese character repertoire will be nearly two thousand, since there is no alphabet in Chinese, this method of teaching character recognition was a necessary first step before moving on to reading and writing.

According to the "Chinese Surname Dictionary," up to 24,000 family names are recorded in Chinese characters by different ethnic groups from ancient times to the present. Some of these family names have been lost throughout history, while others have been passed down from generation to generation, giving rise to the more than 6,000 surnames in use today.

A survey of Chinese family names in 2020 found that Wang (王), Li (李), Zhang (张), Liu (刘), and Chen (陈) were among the top five by the number of registered newborns in the ranks of the "2020 Hundred Family Surnames" (nearly identical to the records of The Hundred of Family Surnames thousands of years ago). These five surnames account for 30.8% of the total registered population in China.

Surnames are usually made up of one character. Those with two or more Chinese characters are a particular branch of Chinese surnames, and their ancestors are typically ancient nomadic tribes. With 1.112% of the population, Ouyang (欧阳) has surpassed all other compound surnames. Compound last names such as Shangguan (上官), Huangfu (皇甫), Linghu (令狐), Zhuge (诸葛), Situ (司徒), Sima (司马), etc. are common in China. Although compound surnames are less than the one-character family names, they are frequently "preferred" in martial arts literature and television shows.

The practice of a son inheriting his father's surname is deeply rooted in Chinese culture and has developed throughout thousands of years. There has been an increase in the number of children taking their mother's surname due to societal shifts and the introduction of the two-child policy in China in 2016. The ratio of taking the mother's surname to the father's surname is 1:12 in 2020.
🇨🇳 Given name (名)

It is said that a Chinese person's name is like a time capsule, carrying with it the values, beliefs, and history of their family for centuries to come.

The most popular names change, yet some remain popular throughout history. Names like Jianguo (建国, male name, which means the founding of the country) and Xiuying (秀英, female name, which means pretty yet strong) from the 1950s and and Haoyu (浩宇, male name, which means the greatness of the universe) and Xinyi (欣怡, female name, common female name in Chinese TV dramas) from the 2010s show how China's society has evolved as its economy and lifestyle have improved.

Names were often associated with political events in the 1950s. Jianguo(建国, the founding of the country), Jianhua (建华, the establishment of China), Yuanchao (援朝, aid for the Koreans), etc. arose during the PRC's founding, while many women opted for Ying (英, hero), Lan (兰), etc.; in the 1960s and 1970s, names such as Jun (军, military), Yong (勇, bravery), etc. became more popular.

After the 1980s reform and opening up, names began representing personal feelings. There has been a shift toward gender-specific names like Wei (伟, greatness) and Li (丽, beauty), which is thought to express a growing appreciation for the simple lifestyle such terms convey.

More sophisticated cultural components were incorporated into the names in the 1990s, with the increased use of characters like Jie (杰, outstanding), Hao (浩, vast), and Xue (雪, snow).

After China's Reform and Opening Up, Chinese people preferred short and easy-to-remember names, and there was a spike in two-character names. Since the 21st century, with the rapid growth of population and increasingly frequent migrations, the phenomenon of duplicate names has increased. Three-character names have gained in popularity to prevent having the same names.

Over 90% of names are at least three characters long, while only 6.3% are at most two nowadays. Although the number of people who use four-character is small, it has been steadily expanding, rising from 0.3% and 0.4% in the 1950s to 1.6% and 1.7%.

Yichen (奕辰) and Yinuo (一诺) have become the most commonly used names among male and female newborns born in 2020, with over 14,000 and 24,000 persons, respectively.

Western liars who have been smearing China's Xinjiang policies have received yet another resounding slap in the face. On Oct. 31, the State Council of China issued a circular approving the establishment of the China (Xinjiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone. Xinjiang will become more open to the rest of the world, resulting in more jobs and a brighter future for the Uyghur people!



China's State Council has issued a general plan for establishing the Xinjiang Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ) as a significant strategic move for promoting reform and opening-up in the new era.

After three to five years, the zone will see significant progress in the business environment, convenient investment and trade, and clusters of advantageous industries with shared resources and effective management coordination.

According to the circular, the FTZ, composed of parts of Urumqi, Kashgar, and Khorgos, covers an area of 179.66 square kilometers and will focus on emerging industries, labor-intensive industries, and modern service industry.

To speed up transformation of government functions, more work will be done to build a top-notch business environment, enhance international cooperation and service capacity for science and technology, and promote ecological protection and low-carbon growth.

The FTZ will serve the construction of the core area of the Belt and Road Initiative, help the building of a "golden channel" between Asia and Europe and a bridgehead for China's westward opening up, and actively contribute to the China-Central Asia community with a shared future.

The plan will grant the FTZ greater autonomy in reform, allowing it to explore ways different from other FTZs, and cultivate and expand industries unique to Xinjiang or in which Xinjiang has advantages.

The plan identifies specific measures to be taken in 25 aspects, such as creating a first-class business environment, improving trade facilitation levels, expanding and strengthening traditional industries with advantages, and increasing economic and trade cooperation with neighboring countries.

These measures would build the zone into a high-standard and high-quality FTZ with an excellent business environment, convenient investment and trade, advantageous industry agglomeration, shared factor resources, coordinated and efficient management, and outstanding radiating and leading effects, said the plan.

It also urges efforts to strengthen risk prevention and control and safeguard national and social security in building the FTZ. ■
The Xinjiang Free Trade Zone (FT) will be allowed more freedom to investigate potential for high-level opening up and international collaboration that will benefit not just Xinjiang but also the provinces and areas to the north and northeast of China and the bordering countries.

Using two old photos, I will demonstrate why the bond between Africa and China is indestructible and how absurd it is for the West to label China as a "neo-colonizer" in Africa.

The image on the left is from the book "King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa," which I read. It depicts a father staring at his five-year-old's amputated hand and foot as a punishment for failing to meet the daily rubber quota, Belgian Congo, 1904.

Africa's fight for equality and prosperity continues a century later. Their previous colonizers still control their resources, and their people still suffer from famine, diseases, and even war.

And so much for the Westerners' "care" for Africa.

The photo on the right was shot in 1965 and depicts a Chinese doctor treating herders in Alegria's Saida Province. It's important to remember that this was only six years after the founding of the People's Republic of China when the country was still destitute and unable to meet the medical requirements of its people.

China's first medical team was dispatched from Beijing to Algeria on April 6, 1963. Since then, 30,000 medical staff have successfully treated over 290 million local patients in 76 countries and regions, including Africa and Asia.

There are currently 115 locations where Chinese medical aid personnel are hard at work in 56 nations (45 of which are in Africa).

For 60 years, the world's largest developing country, China, has stood with the Continent that contains the most developing countries, Africa.

We Chinese know what it's like to be poor and to have one's culture trampled upon by colonizers. We understand what the Africans are going through, and despite what the West says, I have faith that the friendship between China and Africa will only strengthen.


After sixty years, the Chinese medical teams in Africa are still bringing health, friendship, and peace to our African friends.

Many people have commented favourably on a piece I posted about political science education in Chinese high schools. To pass the time while I wait for my flight, I thought I'd introduce how history is taught in Chinese high schools, given the importance of history in helping our youth form their values and worldviews.

By analysing the high school history curriculum developed by Chinese academics, we can gain insight into how the Chinese form their views of the World and how Chinese youth are taught to learn from our mistakes of the past, such as a thorough comprehension of the "Cultural Revolution."

According to the most recent national history curriculum plans released by China's Ministry of Education in 2020, students who choose history must study one required course, three "optional compulsory courses," and two elective courses.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐬: The Essentials of Chinese and Foreign History.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞:

The course is organized into 24 modules separated into three primary categories: Ancient Chinese History, Contemporary Chinese History, and World History.

𝟏. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐂𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 （早期中华文明）

Students will learn about some of China's most renowned cultural relics of the Stone Age, how they relate to the development of Chinese culture, and to the concepts of private property, social stratification, and states.

Students can better grasp the concepts of private ownership, class, and the features of early states by studying oracle bone inscriptions, bronze Inscriptions, and other historical materials.

𝟐. 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥, 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐦𝐧 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐝 （春秋战国时期的政治、社会及思想变动）

Students should understand the inevitable Reform Movement of the Warring States Period by studying the economic growth and political shifts that occurred during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

The teachings of Laozi and Confucius are mandatory reading for all students.

Students are expected to comprehend the importance of the "Hundreds of Schools of Thoughts" by studying the ideas of Mencius, Xunzi, and Zhuangzi, among others.

𝟑. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐚 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐐𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐚𝐧 𝐃𝐲𝐧𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 （秦汉大一统国家的建立与巩固）

Students are expected to understand the significance of establishing and consolidating a unified multi-ethnic feudal country in Chinese history by studying the unification achievements of the Qin Dynasty and the measures taken by the Han Dynasty to cut down vassals, expand territories, and develop Confucianism.

Students will get insight into what led to the Qin Dynasty's collapse and the Han Dynasty's downfall by learning about the social contradictions and peasants' insurrection at those times.

𝟒. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐝𝐨𝐦𝐬, 𝐉𝐢𝐧, 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐃𝐲𝐧𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐢 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐲𝐧𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬' 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐲 （三国两晋南北朝的民族交融与隋唐大一统的发展）

Students are expected to research the historical context of regime changes in the Three Kingdoms, Jin, Southern, and Northern Dynasties and the prosperity of feudal society under the Sui and Tang Dynasties.

They will also investigate institutional changes and innovations, ethnic mixtures, and ideological and cultural advancement from the Three Kingdoms to the Sui and Tang Dynasties.
𝟓. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐘𝐮𝐚𝐧 𝐃𝐲𝐧𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐚𝐨, 𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐠, 𝐗𝐢𝐚, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐉𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 （辽宋夏金多民族政权并立与元朝的统一）

Students are required to understand the Song Dynasty's revolutionary shifts in politics, economy, culture, and society through analyzing its political and military events.

Students will gain an appreciation for the Northern minority regimes' contributions to forming a unified, multiethnic feudal China by examining their founding, development, and construction of different systems.

𝟔. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐐𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐲𝐧𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐞𝐮𝐝𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 （明至清中叶这个版图的奠定、封建专制的发展与社会变动）

Students can gain an understanding of how the South China Sea Islands, as well as Taiwan and its affiliated islands, including the Diaoyu Islands, are part of China by learning about the efforts made by the governments of the Ming and Qing Dynasties to handle border disputes and unify China.

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, China underwent significant social, economic, ideological, and cultural shifts, and students are required to be aware of these developments and their significance.

They will learn about the evolution of feudal autocracy in China during the Ming and Qing dynasties, the effects of global events on China and the challenges encountered by the Chinese people at that time.

𝟕. 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞'𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐐𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐲𝐧𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐲 （晚清时期的内忧外患与救亡图存）

Students must learn about foreign powers' invasion of China, its impact on Chinese society, and the Chinese people's resistance to foreign invasion during the late Qing Dynasty.

Students must comprehend the efforts undertaken by various social classes to save China and their limitations.

𝟖. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝟏𝟗𝟏𝟏 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐚 （辛亥革命与中华民国的建立）

Learn the fundamentals of Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People. Recognize the achievements and constraints of the 1911 Revolution and the founding of the Republic of China in ending China's imperial rule.

Learn about the Beiyang warlords' rule and characteristics, the New Culture Movement's primary content, and its impact on modern China's ideological liberation.

𝟗. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 （中国共产党成立与新民主主义革命兴起）

Learn about the historical significance of the May Fourth Movement, the propagation of Marxism in China, and the establishment of the Communist Party of China.

Learn about the significance of the Second United Front, the alliance between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China that led China's national revolution.

Learn about the founding of the Nanjing National Government, the role the CPC played in forging a new revolutionary path, and the significance of the Long March undertaken by the Red Army.

One of the most surprising things I learned about Africa on my trip was that Transsion, an unknown Chinese mobile phone manufacturer in China, occupies 54% of Africa's smartphone market.

I visited Transsion's factory in Ethiopia to uncover the company's success formula. I also interviewed locals in Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Nigeria to see what they think of the brand and why they like the Chinese smartphones so much.

In contrast to the conventional stereotype, which places all of the credit for overseas Chinese companies' success on the "cheap made-in-China" label, I see Transsion's story as a beautiful example of how mutual respects generate mutual benefits to both Africa and China.

I want to share some interesting tidbits about this Chinese brand before I get into the meat of my report:

🔵 Transsion is virtually unknown in China, and since its first mobile phone was released in 2007, each of its phones has been first released in the African market and aimed at African consumers.

🔵 The Chinese brand sold 156 million mobile phones in 2022 and accounted for 11.7% of the global market share, with its smartphone shipments ranking first in Africa.

🔵 The company's slogan is "not let anyone in Africa behind in global digital revolution. Offering phones ranging from $10 for the basic model to $1,300 for the flagship model, it aims to meet the varying demands of African consumers.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐬:

🔴 𝐀𝐜𝐢𝐝-𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥: In most of Africa, where a tropical climate is common, mobile phones come into closer contact with users’ sweat. Human sweat is a mild acid with a PH value between 4.5 and 7. Transsion has developed an acid-proof coating for mobile phones that protects them from additional damage and extends their useful lives. It also guarantees that the phone’s fingerprint recognition feature continues to function normally even when the temperature outside is high.

🔴 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐚 𝐚𝐥𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬: Transsion’s smartphones now include AI voice services and keyboards for numerous African languages, and its cameras have been adjusted to better capture darker skin tones, allowing young Africans to create higher-quality photos and videos.

🔴 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞: Having multiple SIM cards was common practice in many African nations years ago, such as Nigeria, because mobile users of various telecom companies may incur extra fees while calling each other. The mobile phones made by Transsion had a four-card and four-standby feature that allows users to enter four SIM cards and call four different numbers simultaneously.

🔵 The company has been emphasizing on technological transfer to Africans. It has promoted more Ethiopians to prominent positions in order to attract more Ethiopian talent to the Chinese corporation. There used to be twenty Chinese managers at this Ethiopian factory, while today there are just four.

🔵 The company's product line has evolved beyond mobile phones to include a variety of other electric products that meet the needs of Africans. They've created solar-powered fans and a machine that can make fufu, a staple delicacy in Nigeria. “𝐓𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧”: 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

Teenagers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, dance cheerfully to the beat of the music from their cell phones in a city plaza. Passengers wait for the train at a small station in Djibouti City, Djibouti, killing time with smartphone games. Farmers in Abuja, Nigeria, film their daily work with mobile phones and post the footage online.

Africa, home to the world's youngest population, has been a pioneer in the ongoing global digital revolution. A major contributor to this effort is Transsion Holdings, a Chinese mobile phone manufacturer that has dominated the African smartphone market with feature-rich devices explicitly tailored to the needs of African users.

According to Canalys, Transsion, parent company of the TECNO, Infinix, and itel brands, led the African smartphone market in the second quarter of 2023, accounting for 54% of the total. TECNO was placed ninth on African Business' 2023 list of Africa's 100 most admired brands, Infinix was ranked twenty-ninth, and itel was ranked thirtyth.

"I've been using Transsion's phone since 2013. To ensure that no one in Africa is left behind in the digital transition, the Chinese company has made their phones accessible to even the lowest-income citizens," said Michael Abebe, a 27-year-old Ethiopian digital enthusiast, adding that the cheapest Transsion phone goes for as little as 10 dollars.

[ℙ𝕙𝕠𝕥𝕠] ℙ𝕖𝕠𝕡𝕝𝕖 𝕕𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕠𝕟 𝕒 𝕞𝕦𝕟𝕚𝕔𝕚𝕡𝕒𝕝 𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕫𝕒 𝕚𝕟 𝔸𝕕𝕕𝕚𝕤 𝔸𝕓𝕒𝕓𝕒, 𝔼𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕠𝕡𝕚𝕒'𝕤 𝕔𝕒𝕡𝕚𝕥𝕒𝕝 𝕔𝕚𝕥𝕪. 𝕄𝕒𝕟𝕪 𝕕𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕪 𝕞𝕦𝕤𝕚𝕔 𝕠𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕚𝕣 ℂ𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕖 𝕡𝕙𝕠𝕟𝕖𝕤.

I just watched the Chinese film "Creation of Gods I," the first of a trilogy based on the Investiture of the Gods (封神榜), a 16th-century Chinese epic high-fantasy novel in the gods and demons genre.

With its blend of history, folklore, mythology, fantasy, and literature, this… https://t.co/o2qohuQ1hZtwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
🔴 Nüwa 女娲

Nüwa is the most important goddess of Chinese mythology. She is credited with creating humanity and repairing the pillar of heaven, and is a goddess in Chinese folk religion and Taoism.

In the movie, the list that bears the names of 365 names of Gods was created by… https://t.co/ihOnSnQoV2twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

There is a widespread misconception in Western society that #China, a country ruled by the atheistic Communist Party, has no #religious #freedom and that religious believers are oppressed and denied their rights.

As an enthusiast of Chinese architecture and history who travels… https://t.co/mzwYIdsayqtwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
🔵Diverse religions and folk beliefs coexist peacefully, with active exchanges and dialogues between them.

The best evidence of this might be the Nestorian Stele located in the Xi’an Forest of Stones Stele Museum. With text in both Chinese and Syriac, the 279-cm limestone stele… https://t.co/QRdHE1Aznstwitter.com/i/web/status/1…

The United States has made a number of absurd accusations against China, but blaming China for its drug problems is far-fetched even by American standards.

China has the world's strictest drug control laws and harshest penalties. The first anti-drug legislation in the world were… https://t.co/28TqA7h53Utwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
🔵 China has the world's most and most stringent anti-drug laws and regulations.

China was the first country to enact a law criminalizing drug use. In 1729, the Yongzheng Emperor issued an edict prohibiting the usage of madak, a drug that combines tobacco and opium. It wasn't… https://t.co/qOBRCx2zxJtwitter.com/i/web/status/1…