Written in Bone

You may never write words on an oracle bone (甲骨) or tortoise shell, but you might see them in a museum. They are what we call “the oracle bone scripts(手迹)”.

【小题1】(celebrate) the 120th anniversary of the discovery of 【小题2】 (this) scripts, the National Museum of China is running an exhibition called ZhengGu ZeJin(证古泽今). It runs through December 22.

According to China Daily, the exhibition addresses the 【小题3】(significance) meaning of the oracle bones to the past and present of an ancient continually evolving civilization.

The earliest confirmed evidence shows that more than 3,000 years ago, people in the late Shang Dynasty 【小题4】(start) to write characters on pieces of bones and turtle shells. The oracle bone scripts are records of divinations (占卜) and prayers to the gods from people in that era.

The scripts are pictograms(象形文字). They come from pictures of the objects 【小题5】 they refer to. “The oracle bone scripts, as 【小题6】 earliest known and mature form of Chinese characters, present the beauty and uniqueness of a language that has been passed down 【小题7】(continuous), ” said Chen Nan, a professor of Tsinghua University’s Academy of Art and Design. Apart 【小题8】 learning the past, oracle bone scripts also have an influence on today.

The society producing the oracle bone scripts shared many of the characteristics 【小题9】(recognize) today as typically Chinese. “These valuable inscriptions from China show that the memory recorded in the documentary heritage(遗产)is an irreplaceable way of transmitting tradition, culture and historical 【小题10】(aware),” Marielza Oliveira, director of UNESCO’s Beijing office, told China Daily.

Suzhou is a beautiful city in east China’s Jiangsu Province. In 514 BC, Wu State’s king He Lv 【小题1】 (build) a capital in today’s Suzhou area. Now, Suzhou is famous 【小题2】 its classical (古典的) gardens.

Suzhou gardens’ 【小题3】 (feature) are their rocks, hills and elegant pavilions (亭子). From the arrangement of rocks to the properly located pavilions, every part of the gardens is 【小题4】 (careful) designed. Following the idea of borrowing neighboring scenery 【小题5】 (create) a harmonious view, the gardens create beautiful scenes in limited spaces for visitors to appreciate from different points.

【小题6】 (inspire) by ancient Chinese landscape paintings, Suzhou gardens were established in a similar way—refined, elegant, and free. Ye Shengtao, 【小题7】 is a famous writer and educator and also a local resident, writes about the gardens’ beautiful architecture and their art of perfectly joining human and natural elements in his “The Classical Gardens of Suzhou”.

Nine of the best Suzhou gardens 【小题8】 (list) as UNESCO World Cultural Heritage in 1997 and 2000. Nineteen of the 69 are under good 【小题9】 (protect) and they are open to the public. Every year, the gardens receive 【小题10】 great number of visitors from across the world.

Hakka Earth Building is a bright pearl of Chinese civilization. It is praised as a magnificent architectural work of village houses in 【小题1】 world for its long history, unique style, smart structure and magnificent scale, which is 【小题2】 (close) related to the history of Hakka people in the mountainous areas in Fujian.

Earthen houses are made 【小题3】 earth, stone, bamboo and wood, all readily available materials which are used 【小题4】 (form) walls up to 6 feet thick. The end result is a windproof, quake-proof building that is warmer in winter and cooler in summer 【小题5】 others. The top has gun holes for defensive purposes. In addition to the unique function of defending against the 【小题6】 (enemy), the earth building also has the characteristics of fire prevention, guarding against wild animals and good lighting. What is amazing about these earth buildings 【小题7】 (be) the fact that some of them are over 700 years old, surviving through natural elements, including earthquakes.

In 2008, a total of 46 Fujiantulou sites 【小题8】 (list) as World Heritage Site by UNESCO. They’re exceptional examples of a building tradition and function 【小题9】 (represent) a particular type of group living and defensive organization in a 【小题10】 (harmony) relationship with their environment.