Gift giving is common. Over time, different cultures have developed their own gift-giving customs (习俗) and traditions.

In China, gifts are given for holidays, such as birthdays or special events like a dinner at a friend’s home.

While it’s true that a gift is just a gift, what is more important is the meaning behind the gift. In China, some gifts need to be avoided, including clocks, shoes, umbrellas, knives, anything in groups of four and anything in black or white.

Whether a gift is given or not, greeting cards are often used for birthdays, Christmas, Father’s/Mother’s Day, weddings, and Easter. In America, common gifts are candies or toys for children, and chocolate, fine food, books, clothes and tools for adults.

After receiving a gift, people show thanks to the person by saying “Thank you so much.” or “This is too nice.” Hugs or kisses may be exchanged. Returning gifts is not a must, but thank-you cards are very common. And they should usually be sent out in the same week when the gifts are received.

In America, gifts are usually opened at the end of an event or a birthday party, except for the wedding. Gifts are never opened during a wedding. They can be opened only after all the guests have left.

In China, writing brushes, ink sticks, paper and inkstones are called the Four Treasures of Study. Among the high-quality(高质量的) treasures, the writing brush produced in Huzhou, the ink stick produced in Huizhou, the Xuan paper made in Xuancheng and the inkstone made in Duanxi are the best-known.

Writing brushes can be used to draw pictures on painted pottery(陶器). They are mainly made of the hair of animals. Those made of wool are called yanghao and those made of the weasel’s(鼬的) tail hair are called langhao. Their artistic effects in writing and painting cannot be copied by any other pens.

The ink stick is the pigment(颜料) used in writing and painting. The ink stick produced in Huizhou is of high quality. A story goes like this: Two famous skilled men Xi Chao and his son produced a kind of high-quality ink stick. As a result, Emperor Li Yu in the Southern Tang Dynasty agreed to give them the family name “Li”. From then on, the fame of the Li Ink Stick was widespread. In the Song Dynasty, its producing area was changed into Huizhou, and it was then called the Hui Ink Stick.

Paper is among the four great inventions in ancient China. The famous Xuan paper appeared in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. In Xuanzhou, Anhui Province where Xuan paper is produced, it’s said that Cai Lun’s pupil Kong Dan took the job of producing paper but failed to make perfect white paper. Later he happened to see the ebony(黑檀木) in the rivers. It was wet with the water and turned white. Then he used the bark(树皮) to produce the world-famous Xuan paper.

The inkstone was already very popular in the Han Dynasty. The Ming and Qing Dynasties saw the appearance of the Four Famous Inkstones—Duan Inkstone, She Inkstone, Tao Inkstone and Chengni Inkstone. They can be used not only in writing and painting but also for admiration.

Many years ago in a village, Harlem, Holland, there lived a young boy. His name was Hans and he was eight years old. One autumn day, Hans went across the reservoir (水库) to visit an old blind man. He took the man some biscuits and stayed there for a while. Then, Hans decided to return to his home.

“The water in the reservoir usually gets higher in autumn,” said the old man. “Be careful Hans.” On his way home, Hans sang a song, watched the rabbits run around and picked some flowers for his mother. Suddenly, the sky got dark and heavy rain began to fall. Hans felt afraid and started to run. Just then, he heard the sound of water running away. He looked around carefully, and then noticed a very small hole in the dam (水坝).

Hans felt scared because he knew what could happen. The hole could get bigger and bigger. Then the dam could break and the whole Harlem would be covered by the water. Hans knew what to do. He put his finger into the hole, so no more water could come through it. “Please, someone, help me!” Hans shouted. But there was no one to help him. After some time, he began to feel very cold and tired, but he could not leave the dam. All night long, Hans waited and waited...

The next morning, a farmer walked by and heard Han’s cries. “I am trying to stop the water,” the boy said. “Can you help me?” The farmer called some other people and they quickly repaired the hole. Then, they took Hans home. Everyone was very proud of that boy.