Some people set off firecrackers on New Year’s Eve. Do you know the story of firecrackers?

Long time ago, a monster came out on New Year’s Eve every year. When the monsters came out, villagers always hid in their houses.

On that night, it came again. It went to the first house. Suddenly it heard a noise: BANG! The noise was too loud that it scared the monster. The monster saw the fire in the house, but it didn’t know where the noise was from. The monster felt afraid, and it ran away.

The villagers went to the first house. They saw a lot of bamboo pieces in the fire. They soon realized what happened. The owner and his family lit some bamboo to warm themselves. The bamboo cracked in the fire and made a loud noise. The noise sounded like BANG. The BANG sound scared away the monster.

Later on, people invented firecrackers and made them on New Year’s Eve. It became one of the traditions at the Spring Festival.

Grain Rain is the sixth of the 24 Solar Terms (节气) in the traditional Chinese calendar which falls on April 19th this year. From ancient times to the present, Grain Rain is very important for farmers because it signals (标志着) a rise in temperature and increased rainfall, which is a good time to plant and good for the growth of crops (庄稼).

However, few people know that in Chinese fairy tale, an actual “grain rain” was recorded in the story of Cang Jie who invented the first Chinese characters (汉字). Long long ago, in order to keep records clearly, Cang Jie created a set of characters from watching the signs of birds and animals. After his great invention, grains started to pour down from the sky.

For thousands of years, in some places of China, such as Henan Province, the local people would hold some ceremonies to remember Cang Jie. Because of the Chinese fairy tale, April 20th has been designated (指定) as the annual UN Chinese Language Day since 2010. It’s around the Grain Rain Day, which falls on from April 19th to 21st.

Nowadays, for many Chinese, Grain Rain has become a day to honor Cang Jie and the invention of Chinese characters which are a treasure of Chinese people, and thousands of years of Chinese culture.

Ancient Embroidery in Danger

Embroidery(刺绣)is an important art form in Chinese culture. In the past, people embroidered on handkerchiefs, bed covers, tablecloths and dresses. Girls would embroider on a sachet(香囊) as a gift for their lovers. The most famous embroidery styles are Su embroidery from Suzhou, Shu embroidery from Sichuan, Xiang embroidery from Hunan and Yue embroidery from Guangdong.

Shu embroidery is the oldest of the four. It is known for its smooth needlework(针线) and beautiful colors. It dates back to the Han Dynasty. People sold it to other countries through the South Silk Road. It used to be a fashion item(时尚单品) in ancient Rome, according to China Daily.

Embroidery takes time and patience. It might take as long as a whole day to finish just 10 cm of embroidery. By the 1970s, Sichuan had as many as 5,000 embroiderers. But since modern machines can make cheaper embroidery products today, fewer people buy handmade Shu embroidery products. There are also very few young embroiderers, so the skill is in danger of dying out. To protect the skill, Shu embroidery was added to China’s intangible cultural heritage list(非物质文化遗产名录)in 2006.

Meng Dezhi has been making Shu embroidery for 40 years. She used to work at Chengdu Shu Embroidery Factory. But in 2005, the factory went broke(破产)and Meng lost her job.

Wanting to save the art, Meng decided to rent(租)her own place and teach Shu embroidery to others. It is not an easy job.

The work is hard and the pay is low. Not many people want to learn this skill. But Meng is trying to save it by teaching in different universities and communities. She believes that Shu embroidery stands for thousands of years of Sichuan culture and should be saved.