Analysis of Artifacts in Professor Zhous House 1.

Why are carvings of bamboo on the wall? Professor Zhous husband is from Sichuan province which locates in the southwest part of China. Sichuan province is abundant in bamboos. Thats well explains why it is pandas hometown. In China, bamboo symbolizes a man of noble character. Putting carvings of bamboo in the living room shows the hosts good virtue and the essence of Chinese culture at the same time. Why is the color gold? The wood they used for carving is yellowwood. According to Professor Zhou, yellowwood is hard to erode, so they bought this material for the carvings. Additionally, gold is the color that represents wealth, and also represents their wish for a prosperous future. Why are three carvings on the wall? The space limit on the wall determines that three carvings are proper. What is more,

three is a number meant for completeness in China. Where were the carvings made? They were made in Zhejiang province where is famous for wood carving. After all processes had been done, they were shipped to the U.S.A. These carvings have cost thousands of dollars, so they pay special attention to preserve the carvings. 2.

What are these on the door? This is the door leading to their garage. There are a lot of fridge magnets on the door. They said they never buy any souvenir except fridge magnets when they were still students. Now they can afford more expensive collections, but they will continue to buy fridge magnets because it has become their habit. These fridge magnets came from different parts of the world and they contributed a lot to the attractive door display in their house. Looking at the door, I feel motivated because I also want to

travel around the world like them. They keep remind me to work hard. Besides fridge magnets, there are also many menus on the door held by a little paw. These menus give them detailed instruction on how to cook delicious and authentic Chinese dishes. It is fun to read those menus for they not only tell the amount of raw material people should prepare and how to cook, but also clearly state why these dishes should be cooked in certain ways. The instruction is especially useful for students like me. As a result, whenever I go her home, I will surely visit this door. 3.

What are these in the picture? As we can see in the picture, there are two porcelain vases on both sides. The ceramic arts could date back to the Neolithic Age which is about 5000 years from now. This is the heritage passed on from Chinese ancestors. It is also the proof of the wonderful Chinese culture. Additionally, the birth place of ceramic arts is Jingdezhen which locates in Jiangxi province, southeast part of China. That is where I come from. I am always proud to hear the praise of ceramic arts. On the porcelain vases, Chinese ink and wash paintings have been printed. These two paintings are all about mountains.

The painter stood on the top of the mountain and depicted the lush trees and the floating cloud creating a wonderland. On the right side, there are also several bamboos on the vase. It is obvious that bamboo plays an important role in their hearts. What is the handwriting in the middle talking about? This is Psalm 23 from the Old Testament in Bible. The main idea is to praise God, and to show their great attitude towards God. The couple is devout Christians. This calligraphy is hanged on their front wall in the living room. Everyone can see this clearly when stepping into the room. As far as I am concerned, this is a combination of Chinese and western culture. Many people transform themselves to complete Americans when they have lived in the U.S.A for a long time. However, they two never forget their identity though they became Christians. They never forget that they have the obligation to carry on Chinese culture even they are not China.

Tips: 1. Introduction and cohesion 2. The life of Chinese students and teachers in Charlotte 3. Celebrating western festivals in the U.S.A.