The 2021 International Confucius Cultural Festival was launched in September, 【小题1】 (feature) an international forum to discuss cultural civilizations and the Confucius Culture Week for Chinese and foreign students.

This annual festival 【小题2】 (include) both online and offline events, which are aimed at connecting Confucian culture 【小题3】 (fan) worldwide. Founded in 1989, it is one of the largest festivals nationally and internationally supported by tourism festivals integrating culture, tourism, and 【小题4】 (science)research with the aim of promoting ancient Chinese culture.

The Shangsi Festival, also known as the Double Third Festival is 56.【小题1】 ancient Chinese festival observed on the third day of the third lunar month. In 2018, it was set as China Huafu Day to advocate the 57.【小题2】 (elegance) traditional Chinese clothes. The first event was celebrated on April 18 that year in Xi’an.

The Shangsi Festival 58.【小题3】 (celebrate) have changed with the times. Both the feast and praying for descendants (后代) by the river 59.【小题4】 (add) in the Han Dynasty. It was after the Wei and Jin Dynasties that the event was fixed on the third day of the third lunar month. 60.【小题5】 (interesting), the calligrapher Wang Xizhi from he Eastern Jin Dynasty wrote in his Lanting Xu about 61.【小题6】 literary men composed poetry while drinking from cups 62.【小题7】 (leave) floating and moving along the winding river. In the Tang Dynasty, people went out 63.【小题8】 (hold) ceremonies and appreciate flowers along winding streams. After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the festival, developed 64.【小题9】 a spring outing featuring lively activities like drifting cups, drifting eggs, hiking and eating glutinous rice (糯米). The Shangsi Festival falls 65.【小题10】 close to the Qingming Festival that many young people today only know about the latter.

Shadow theater is a unique art form in China. Thanks to the basic principle of light and shadow projected (投影) onto a screen, performers use puppets (玩偶) 【小题1】 (make) from animal skins to tell stories in a form of opera. Two thousand years ago, the sadness of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty over the death of his favorite lover was 【小题2】 (full) relieved by the projection of her figure through a game of lights. This started 【小题3】 is now known in China as the earliest form of shadow play.

Among all the country’s branches, Beijing shadow theater stands out 【小题4】 its techniques and its specific tunes. It 【小题5】 (experience) a long period of formation and now features unique performance methods. Its vocal (声乐的) tone and actual puppets draw 【小题6】 (inspire) from Kunqu Opera and Peking Opera.

In the past, the shadow theater 【小题7】 (perform) in the fields, with all performers hidden behind the scenes; some controlled the puppets and sang, while others managed the music. A performing group would consist of six or seven people and a box of puppets. When people put on 【小题8】 play at a market, a light box and a curtain would be enough 【小题9】 (start) the show. Requiring only a few things, the theater was characterized by its mobility, often 【小题10】 (appear) at weddings, dinner parties and Chinese New Year celebrations.