With most people staying at home due to COVID-19, livestreaming (直播) has become more and more popular. It is not only enjoyable, but has also provided a new stage for traditional culture artists.

On video sites (网站) and apps such as Douyin and Bilibili, many traditional artists are trying livestreaming for the first time. Some of them sing Peking Opera, some show their artworks, while others perform calligraphy (书法) or classical Chinese music.

Li Jun is a laosheng (old male role) Peking opera performer from the Shanghai Jingju Theater Company. During the outbreak, the 59-year-old started livestreaming for the first time. Unlike performing on a theater stage, Li uses everyday places as his stage, including his backyard, study room, and even a treadmill (跑步机). Besides singing, li also teaches viewers about Peking Opera in a humorous way.

“Livestreaming has brought this elegant (高雅的) art down to earth,” one viewer said.

“It allows young people to have easier chances to this traditional art and learn more about it.” Up to now Li has more than 6,000 fans on Douyin, while one of his videos has received 42,000 views on Bilibili.

Other kinds of artists also see livestreaming as a new opportunity. On March 26th the third China Huafu Day, Bilibili livestreamed a fashion show. Performers presented beautiful clothes in traditional Chinese styles, including those from the Wei, Tang and Ming dynasties. During the show viewers not only enjoyed seeing the clothes but also watched how performers used ancient styles of make-up. For example, one blogger taught people how to draw the guiye eyebrow (桂叶眉), which was a typical make-up style during the Tang Dynasty.

As Guangming Daily noted, livestreaming has created a new way through which traditional culture can be kept alive.

In recent times, the COVID-19 pandemic has broken the age-old habit of shaking hands. It is most widely used as a greeting, but when did shaking hands become the standard greeting?

The handshake dates all the way back to the 9th century BC. King Shalmanesar III ruled over Assyria, a very larger country of the ancient Middle East. In the 5th century BC, in Greece, this was a symbol of peace, showing that neither person carried a weapon（武器）. The handshake also makes an appearance in Homer’s ancient poem, the Iliad（伊利亚特）. In it, two characters “shook each other’s hands”.

However, these handshakes were not used as greetings. The earliest reference to（提及到） a handshake greeting is in the 16th century novels by French writer Francois Rabelais, says Dutch sociologist Herman Roodenburg.

The handshake, though a European practice, is now often seen in big cities of China. It was first introduced into China after the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty（朝代） at the beginning of last century. Thanks to Dr. Sun Yat-sun, many unknown and unforeseen practices were imported from Europe, for example, to work on weekdays and to have a day off on Sundays, the brushing of teeth, and handshaking. In old China, when people met or parted, they bowed to each other and cupped their own hands one in the other, moving them up and down several times in front of the chest to show respect. This tradition has a long history in China, but nowadays it is seldom used except on some special occasions（场合）.

During the COVID-19 outbreak, in many countries, people have started touching elbows（肘） or ankles（脚踝） to greet each other instead of shaking hands, as this is believed to be safer.

Since its creation in the 12th century, A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains (Qianli Jiangshan Tu) has become very popular with lots of people.

A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains is one of the best traditional Chinese paintings. Wang Ximeng is its painter. To people’s surprise, he finished this painting when he was only 18 years old. Unluckily, this painting is his only painting left.

This painting is a typical blue-green landscape painting(青绿山水画). In it, the painter used bright blues and greens to show China’s beautiful rivers and mountains. After over 900 years, the colors are still as bright as new. The painting is about 12 meters long. It has six parts. The painter creatively linked(连接) each part with bridges and water.

The painting not only fully shows China’s natural beauty, but also shows harmony(和谐) between humans and nature. In the painting, there are fishing villages, houses, and people such as fishermen taking a boat in the river and sellers and buyers in a crowded market. With his great skill in painting, the artist showed Chinese people’s love for life, their home and the country.