For centuries, generations of clothing designers and garment makers in China have been devoted to building the “Garment Kingdom”, making the garments an important component of Chinese culture.

♦Origin of Chinese clothing

In primitive society, the Chinese lived in caves. To keep warm, they covered themselves with natural materials like leaves, grasses and animal furs.

About 18,000 years ago, the Chinese invented sewing. Animal skins were cut to fit the human body using sharpened stone and bone tools and then sewn together using bone needles. 【小题1】.

♦ 【小题2】

Chinese rules of etiquette regarding garments and ornaments started taking shape in the Zhou Dynasty. During the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States Period, the idea of fashion reached new heights. Qin Shihuang established many social systems, including that of uniforms to distinguish people’s ranks and social positions. In the Tang dynasty, clothing was more varied than before because the state was more open to the outside world. 【小题3】 They were allowed to expose their arms and back and wear dresses that absorbed elements from other cultures. They could wear men’s riding garments if they liked. Casual wear appeared during the Song Dynasty and during the Yuan Dynasty, the simple and unadorned style of clothing was mainly a combination of Mongolian and Han influences. Dramatic changes took place during the Ming Dynasty. There was no limitation to one style and natural beauty was advocated, 【小题4】. However, during the Qing Dynasty, clothes became elegant and poised (威严的).

【小题5】. There appeared the qipao, Chinese tunic suit, student uniform, Lenin — style suit, Russian dress, miniskirt, punk (怪异服装) and T-shirt.

Today, some people in China follow world fashion, but individuality has become the main trend. More and more people can enjoy beautiful fashions with traditional features and the modern chic.

During the annual political meetings, environmental protection was definitely among the biggest concerns. Actually, it was also an issue that ancient Chinese paid great attention to. In fact, the world’s earliest environmental protection concept, ministry and laws were all born in China. So, what did the ancient Chinese do to protect the environment?

In early ancient China, environmental protection was promoted to the political level. Xunzi, a famous thinker in Warring States Period, brought up the concept of managing state affairs through environmental protection. He stated in his book that vegetation (植被) should not be damaged at will. Guan Zhong, an official 400 years ahead of Xunzi, was also an environmental protection expert. During his term of office, he claimed that “a King who cannot protect his vegetation is not qualified to be a king”.

According to a record in Qing dynasty, the environmental protection ministry in early ancient China was called “Yu”, standing both for the institution and the official title. Although most functions were similar to such ministries today, the administration range of it was much larger, including the mountains, forests, rivers, lakes and so on.

The nine ministries established by Shun, an ancient Chinese king, already included “Yu”, the environmental protection ministry. The first “Yu” official was a man called Boyi, who was indeed an environmental protection expert. He was a capable assistant to Dayu, an ancient Chinese water-control expert. He invented wells, protecting people’s drinking water from pollution. He knew a lot about animals and also called for animal protection.

Environmental protection laws dated back to the ruling period of Dayu, which was more than 4,000 years ago. During his rule, he issued a ban, forbidding people to cut down wood in March or catch fish in June, the time when they were supposed to boom.

In Spring and Autumn and Warring States Period almost 3,000 years ago, “environmental protection laws” appeared in its true sense in Qin, which was recorded in Law of Fields and regarded as China’s earliest environmental protection laws.

The History of Music Festivals

Outdoor music festivals have become a big gathering of summertime for many adults. While music festivals appear to be a recent development, their history dates back to hundreds of years ago. But they have always been about bringing people together to share a common cultural experience through music. 【小题1】

The earliest known music festival occurred in the 6th century BC. After centuries’ development, by the late 1960s, Rock bands began to organize their own music festivals. Perhaps the first formal and well-known festival to Rock was the Monterey Pop Festival in 1067, which brought that band to the attention of American audiences. 【小题2】 It started in 1968 as an event with about 10,000 people.

By 1970, the festival grew to bring in more than 600,000 people, showing the popularity of music festivals to organizers. Many others also began to organize such events. The Summerfest Festival was established in 1968. 【小题3】 Interestingly, this festival made cities realize festivals could bring many benefits. This helped to spread the idea of creating not only musical festivals but also other types of festivals, such as those related to food and film.

【小题4】 It drew so many people, making it the first large Rock music festival. Billed as “three days of love and peace”, Woodstock featured many well-known bands and artists, making Rock music festivals known to many Americans and Europeans.

Today, it’s hard to imagine summer without musical festivals. Many genres now have their own music festivals, ranging from Classical music to Heavy Metal. Countries in every habitable continent have music festivals. 【小题5】 Others are intended for younger audiences or those who prefer period-based music. Music festivals have become very popular venues that have become well established as part of summer culture.