Cloze: Cultural Traditions in China

China is an ancient country, with thousands of years of history which lay a rich basis for the lives of ___________________________(1) inhabitants today. ___________________________(2) some of the ancient Chinese myths and cultural traditions ___________________________(3) been forgotten or are no longer observed, many of them are still remembered and incorporated into everyday life. Taking a ___________________________(4) into the cultural traditions of China can reveal a lot about the way ___________________________(5) the people live.

One of the most interesting bits of Chinese lore can be found in what is known ___________________________(6) the Jade Culture. Jade is a stone that was first identified in the first Chinese dictionary in around 100 AD. There are two types of jade (nephrite), which is native ___________________________(7) China, and hard jade (jadeite) which was imported from Burma starting in ___________________________(8) 1200s. Jade is important in China not only because of its beauty, but also for its virtue and cultural significance. Confucius said that jade had eleven virtues, some of which include the fact that it stands ___________________________(9) beauty, purity and grace. The Chinese character for jade, Yu, ___________________________(10) often used in names and sayings to connote beauty.

Another of the many Chinese cultural traditions is the bamboo culture. Bamboo is grown pretty ___________________________(11) everywhere in China, with most people having gardens in which they grow bamboo. Bamboo chopsticks are the most common ___________________________(12) of tableware in China, and bamboo is also the material out of ___________________________(13) the Chinese flute is made. People often use bamboo paintbrushes, and bamboo culture festivals are even held throughout the year.

A final cultural tradition can be seen in the dragon culture. Dragons are an important part of Chinese tradition. People from China often ___________________________(14) themselves to be ‘the descendants of the dragon’. China's emperors believed that they truly were dragons, calling the beds they slept ___________________________(15) dragon beds, and even their robes dragon robes. Dragons are also seen all over the imperial palaces, and dragon screens are seen as a symbol of the emperor's power.

Adapted from an article written by Richard Monk

About the author:
Richard Monk is with FactsMonk.com – a site with facts about everything.