Zhang Xiaohe Strikes Chord with China's White Collar Workers

Zhang Xiaohe is an online cartoon about office workers has become a hit in China. Zhang is characterized by his extra large block head. His name translates to "Zhang Little Box". The spokesman described the character creation as "The office building is like a box. The office is like a box. The apartment is like a box. The car, the subway, the elevator, the file, the desk, the chair and the book are like a box. It seems like everything is a smaller box inside a larger one.” Zhang Xiaohe and his world made of boxes have struck a chord with many young white collar workers. Many of them see the character as a reflection of their own lives at work.

Xiaohe, is a junior clerk. He works unpaid overtime, is awkward around girls and is afraid of his boss. His days are marked with uncomfortable commutes, piling paperwork and abuse by his boss. The creator of Zhang Xiaohe says the cartoon shows a more realistic white collar life that is often mischaracterized in China.

The image of white collar workers has been shining with a flavor of petty bourgeois in commercials and numerous art works. They are always presented sipping wine or engaged in something fascinating. But no one has tried to express the real bitterness and pain in their lives.

For many of China's young white collar workers, Xiaohe's boxed-in life is an entertaining version of theirs. Zhang Xiaohe represents the stories taking place around me every day, down to every detail. He has his own merchandize and a fan page where Chinese white collar workers share about their own struggles at the office.

Will The World End In 2012 ?

People keep saying that the world will end soon in 2012. We don’t know! Maybe, Maybe not! No one knows. Everyone who predicted so far was proved wrong.

But whether the world end depends on what you mean by "end". One day billions of years in the future, our sun will become a red giant and our current orbit will actually place the earth inside the sun. Will that be the end? It is possible that still further billions of years in the future our solar system will end up crushed into nothingness in the black hole at the centre of our galaxy. Is that the end you are thinking of? Or do you mean the next natural disaster, like an asteroid or comet hitting the earth, causing a global extinction event, like the one that put an end to the dinosaurs? Is that the sort of end you mean? Or, will man's stupidity cause an environmental disaster thus putting an end to all human life on the planet? How about that for an end? Lots of possible ends and much cleverer people than me cannot answer your question. All we need to do is living a good life before the world end, right?

The Homeland of Tea---China

Few days ago, I heard of one friend of mine who now studying abroad brought a lot of tea with him when he came back to his school last time. We ask him why take so much tea, he said Chinese tea are famous overseas and not easy to buy, lots of his friends like to drink Chinese tea, so he take some to his friends as a gift.

Indeed, most of Chinese drinking tea as a major part of daily life. China is the homeland of tea. Chinese tea consists of not only the material aspect but also the spiritual and cultural aspect. Of the three major beverages of the world-- tea, coffee and cocoa-- tea is consumed by the largest number of people in the world. Drinking tea has been popular since the ancient time. Tea from China, along with her silk and porcelain, began to be known the world over more than a thousand years ago and has since always been an important Chinese export.

At present more than forty countries in the world grow tea with Asian countries producing 90% of the world's total output. All tea trees in other countries have their origin directly or indirectly in China. The word for tea as a drink in many countries is derivatives from the Chinese character "cha." The Russians call it "cha'i", which sounds like "chaye" (tea leaves) as it is pronounced in northern China. The Japanese character for tea is written exactly the same as it is in Chinese, though pronounced with a slight difference. The habit of tea drinking spread to Japan in the 6th century, but it was not introduced to Europe and America till the 17th and 18th centuries. Now the number of tea drinkers in the world is legion and is still on the increase.

Will You Eat Apples On Christmas Eve?

Christmas is a western festival，like Spring Festival in China. But now, Christmas also become more and more popular in China.

I heard of eating an apple in Christmas Eve is an interesting idea. It means something special to you but could also have a special meaning to a Christian community. There is a Christmas Carol called "Jesus Christ The Apple Tree". The meaning is from the idea that man became sinful when Adam and Eve ate from the apple tree but Jesus Christ came to earth to release us from that sin and open heaven's door.

Here in China, we Chinese people eat apples on Christmas Eve, because Christmas Eve means "ping an ye", and apple means "ping guo" in Chinese. Most people think eating an apple can make you live a peaceful life in the future

In recent years, Chinese children also show their fondness for Santa Claus, they also wish for red stockings that contain presents on the Christmas Eve. It seems that eat an apple in Christmas Eve more popular. In Chinese, apples stand for safeness, so this in a way reflects our expectations for peace. I suppose this is a Chinese way to pray for another year’s happiness and smooth sailing.

The story of ancient people measure time

Nowadays, your alarm clock is telling you that it's time to get out of bed and go to work or go to school. Sometimes we hate the clock because we want to get more sleep and wish that clock would just disappear!

 But have you ever wondered how you would keep track of time if all the clocks in the world really did disappear? We can use the clock to track of time, but long ago our ancient ancestors were faced with just such a problem. Clocks, as we know them today, hadn't been invented yet.

How did ancient people first learn to measure time? The difference between the dark nights and the daylight was probably the first division of time recognized by early peoples. They would also have noticed that the sun came up over the eastern horizon and went down again below the western horizon bringing darkness to their world.

  

During the day they saw that the shadow cast by a tree, a rock, or even their own body was long early in the morning and grew shorter and shorter until it disappeared when the sun was overhead in the middle of the day. They also would have noticed that the shadow grew longer again, on the other side of the tree, as night came. After awhile they were able to tell how much of the day was over by looking at the shadows. They put a stick in the ground and made marks in the dirt to show where the stick's shadow was every hour.

Today we can catch the time easier with the clock! How convenient the clocks bring to us!

Chinese traditional female costumes

Cheongsam, also called “Qi Pao” in Chinese, is one type of traditional Chinese female costumes, which originated from a kind of ancient clothing of Manchu ethnic minority. It is regarded as a symbol of Chinese female clothing.It is featured by stand collar, right side opening, fitting waist and slip bottom, which can fully set off the beauty of the female shape.

The cheongsam displays strong national flavor and embodies the beauty of Chinese traditional costumes. Over the years the cheongsam comes and goes and today most wear it as a wedding gown, for social occasions and during the Chinese New Year. Not just popular in Asia the cheongsam has been worn in the west. It is noted for its elegance and feminine fit

In the eyes of some westerners, cheongsam is the symbol of the culture of traditional Chinese female dresses. It is designed to fit the figure of Chinese female. The cheongsam has high, closed and stand-up collar. And it has long, middle-length or short sleeves. The cheongsam shows the beauty of the female figure perfectly. Chinese women wear the cheongsams look charming, neat and elegant.

A good partner for you!

A mini cube speaker is a small device that allows you to listen to music from your MP3 player without using your headphones. The speakers are completely portable and most models offer excellent sound quality for the small size. They are shaped like tiny cubes and are small enough that you can easily fit them in your pocket for taking them with you on the go. They are full range speakers that give you the opportunity to hear your music without having to have your headphones handy.

You can use a mini cube speaker to share your music with your friends even if you are on the go as they are so lightweight that they can literally be carried anywhere.

They also make excellent gifts for anyone who owns and listens regularly to an Mp3 player and can even be a good gift for those who are typically hard to purchase gifts for. You can connect a mini cube speaker to your Mp3 player, your laptop and even your cell phone if you want to share your music or listen to it yourself without the need for headsets.