对联的哲学渊源及深层民族文化心理，乃是古代中国人把握和认识事物的阴阳二元观念。对联的特征是“对仗”：字数相等，词性相当，平仄相合，内容相关，节奏相应。对联习俗多样，有春联、婚联、寿联、挽联、茶联等。
The antithetical couplet (also called duilian) is also known as yinglian or duizi. An antithetical couplet is a kind of national writing style, which is composed by the skillful manipulation of the characteristic of the Chinese language that one character corresponds with one syllable. The philosophical origin and national cultural psychology of the antithetical couplet are the notion of yin-yang duality, according to which the Chinese recognize and master things. The feature of the antithetical couplet is an “antithesis”: equal characters, the same part of speech, the level and oblique fitting with each other, the contents being related, and the rhythms corresponding. There are many types of antithetical couplets, such as Spring Festival couplets, marriage couplets, birthday couplets, elegiac couplets, and antithetical couplets about tea, etc.
5. Chinese Weiqi
中国古代四大艺术“琴棋书画”的“棋”特指围棋。围棋可谓中国的国棋。古称为奕，别称坐隐、受谈。围棋规则简单而玄妙无穷。棋盘方圆不及二尺，有十九纹棋路，三百六十一枚棋子。表面上对弈双方是对黑白棋子的排布，实则是个人心智、胆识、耐力的比拼。围棋象征宇宙天地，包含了象数易理、兵法策略、治国安邦等无穷的哲理，充分体现了中国文化中的智慧与灵性。
The four art forms in ancient China are guqin, chess, calligraphy, and painting. And chess particularly refers to Chinese Weiqi.Weiqi could be called the national chess of China. In ancient times, Weiqi was called Yi, with the alternative names Zuoyin and Shoutan. The regulations of Weiqi are both simple and complex at the same time. A full Weiqi set has 361 playing pieces and is played on a board with a 19 by 19 grid. The circumference of the board is less than 2/3 metre. Playing Weiqi may look like an arrangement of two sides’ black and white pieces. However, it is actually a competition between two players and it tests their wisdom, courage, and patience. Weiqi symbolizes Heaven and Earth. It contains countless philosophical theories, such as the theories embodied in the image-numerology in The Book of Changes, the art of war, and theories on state administration and national security, which embodies the wisdom and the spirit of Chinese culture.
6. Peking Opera
京剧被誉为“东方歌剧”，是地道的中国国粹。它起源于中国多种古老的地方戏剧，特别是南方的“徽班”。到了19世纪末，京剧形成并成为中国最大的戏曲剧种。京剧是综合性表演艺术，集唱（唱歌）、念（念白）、做（表演）、打（武）、舞（舞蹈）为一体， 通过程式化的表演手段，叙述故事，刻画人物。角色主要分生（男性）、旦（女性）、净（男性）、丑（男性女性皆有）四大行当。
Praised as “Oriental Opera,” Peking Opera is a genuine national quintessence of China. It originated from many kinds of ancient local operas, especially huiban in southern China. At the end of the 19th Century, Peking Opera evolved and took shape, becoming the greatest kind of opera in China. Peking Opera is a blend of performing
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arts---song, speech, performance, acrobatic fighting and dance. Peking Opera portrays and narrates the plot and characters through stylized acting. The main types of roles in Peking Opera are sheng (male), dan (young female), jing (painted face, male), and chou (clown, male and female).
7. Chinese Taoism
道教是中国土生土长的宗教。创始人是春秋（前770---前476）末期的哲学家、思想家老子。道教以老子所著的《道德经》为主要经典。道教主张 “重人贵生”，崇尚清净无为、修身养性。“道可道，非常道。名可名，非常名。无名天地之始；有名万物之母。故常无，欲以观其妙；常有，欲以观其徼” 便是老子的至理名言。 Taoism first originated in China. The founder of Taoism is Laozi, a philosopher and thinker who lived in the late Spring and Autumn Period (770BC---476BC). Tao Te Ching, whose authorship has been attributed to Laozi, is considered to be the main Taoist classic. Taoism advocates the value of a human being’s life, recommends the discarding of all desires and worries from one’s mind, and encourages the cultivation of moral character and the nourishment of human nature. The following is an example of Laozi’s golden saying:
The way that can be told of is not an unvarying way; The names that can be named are not unvarying names. It was from the nameless that Heaven and Earth sprang;
The named is but the mother that rears the ten thousand creatures, each after its kind.
Truly, only he that rids himself forever of desire can see the secret essences; He that has never rid himself of desire can see only the outcomes.
8. Chinese Idioms
成语是汉语中意义完整地表示一般概念的固定词组或短语。”成语“中的”成“即时约定俗成。成语是比词大而语法功能又相当于词的语言单位。绝大多数的中国成语由四个汉字组成，例如：自强不息、青出于蓝、厚积薄发。成语主要从民间谚语、古代文学作品、诗歌、寓言、典故、名言警句等方面提炼而成，是汉语语言中精炼而又富有生命力的一部分。
Chinese idioms refer to comprehensive and integrated fixed phrases and expressions. Idioms are established and accepted by constant usage and common practice. An idiom is a language unit that is larger than a word, but has the same grammatical function as a word. Most Chinese idioms consist of four characters. For example, ziqiangbuxi (make unremitting efforts to improve oneself), qingchuyulan (bluer than indigo), and houjibofa (success comes with time and effort). Idioms are extracted from folk proverbs, ancient works of literature, poems, fables, allusions, and well-known sayings. Idioms are a part of the Chinese language that are concise and have great vitality.
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