The Chinese pingfeng (folding screen) is an ancient invention and traditional Chinese furniture (家具). Its earliest common use dates from the Han Dynasty. The term pingfeng means protection from wind, showing its purpose at the very beginning.

As time passes, it has been made into different sizes with colourful paintings. On screens usually appears a dragon. It stands for nobility and power. The peacock, a beautiful bird, can be seen on screens, too. It’s a symbol of everlasting life. Beautiful flowers, which mean wealth and good luck, are also chosen as a popular design of the ping-feng. All the designs carry people’s beautiful wishes.

Behind the pingfeng lies an interesting story. In the past, the unmarried daughter of a rich family was not supposed to see or be seen by men except her father, brothers or very close male cousins. When an admirer paid a visit, however, she might take a secret look at him from a screen behind which she would be completely hidden. Her father would discuss poems with the young man and ask him to create one. If the daughter and her father were satisfied with the young man’s poem and his looks, she might agree to take him as a husband.

Today the pingfeng is back in fashion for its beauty and its practical (实际的) use as furniture. Acting as a moving wall or divider, it can be the perfect match for modern sofa s and walls, which adds style to them.

The pingfeng is more than beautiful furniture.

Do you enjoy eating chips (薯条)? The famous tomato sauce (酱) is cooked by tomatoes. The tomato firstly comes from South America, and it has been eaten by people there for many years. Today, tomatoes are popular around the world. But when they were first introduced, there were some controversies (争议).

In Europe, people did not eat tomatoes at first. Because it looked like a deadly poison (致命毒药). Germans thought that if someone ate tomatoes, he would die. But by the 1800s, people all over the world had eaten tomatoes.

Do you think tomatoes are a kind of fruit or vegetable? Tomatoes are truly fruit. But in America, tomatoes are vegetables. In the 1800s, there was import tax (进口税) on vegetables from other countries. At that time, many tomatoes were coming from other countries, and American tomato farmers were worried about making a living. The government made tomatoes a kind of vegetable so that non-American tomatoes would be taxed.

It is easy to tell that the tomato is really a fruit. Tomatoes and strawberries are truly in the same family.

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