China has a long history of agriculture, so in the earliest stages its festivals were intimately tied up with farming. Today, the Chinese continue to celebrate these festivals, bringing them even closer to their ancestors, creators of a splendid culture.

The art of clay figure modeling in China boasts a long history that dates back to the Neolithic Age (about 4,000 to 10,000 years B.E). For instance, some pottery pigs and sheep have been discovered at the 6,000 to 7,000-year-old Hemudu site in Zhejiang Province. And the life-size terra cotta warriors and horses unearthed in 1974 from the mausoleum of the First Emperor (259-210 BC) of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) have been referred to as the "Eighth Wonder of the Ancient World." In fact, archaeologists have excavated a great number of pottery figurines, animals, chariots, and boats from the tombs of the following Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220). Naturally, the funeral custom of burying figurines and objects with the dead gave impetus to the development of clay sculpture at that time.

在将近上千年的时间里，中国无论在经济上还是文化上，都遥遥领先于世界其他国家，以至于伏尔泰曾经这样赞颂中国：“中国人在道德和政治经济学、农业、生活必需的技艺等等方面已臻境地。”古人所取得的巨大成就，既是中国人无上的荣誉，也成了中国人甜蜜的负担。事实上，几乎后来所兴起的任何一种新的思想，都可以在更早的古人那里找到类似的说法，甚至在很多时候，古人说得更为清晰和透彻。这种独特的情形，逐渐造就了中国人重继承而不重开创的品格。中国的人文学者，更看重“言必有据”，“字字皆有出处”，强调自己的思想是溯源于古代的某位学者，而轻视那种标新立异、违背古人原则的理论。当贵古贱今成为一种社会风气时，即使要阐述一种全新的思想，也往往要先披上一层古人的外衣，借助于对古代典籍的再诠释而实现。也正因为如此，

Kite-flying is age-old traditioiChina. Its history cabe traced back to the Spring and AutumPeriod（770-476 BC）and the Warring States Period（475-221）wheMoxi and Lu Ban，According to Historical Records，made a woodeKite respectively.Famous Kite-makers of the Qin-Haperiod（221 BC-AD25）included HaXiand Zhang Liang.Since then，accounts of Kite-flying cabe found imany pre-Tang annals such as the History of SoutherDynasties and the New History of Tang；mostly Kites were used for military purposes，either carrying messages or exerting a deterrent effect of the enemy forces.

自古以来，养蚕作为中国的诞生地，有着享誉全球的机织和染色真丝面料，面料具有装饰性和实用价值由于其精致，简单，庄严模式和丰富的地方特色，民间染织技术也成为一道亮丽的文化风景线。 本书包括了深受各国人民喜爱的众多种机织和染色产品介绍，相信这本书能帮助大家窥视到中国民间艺术的织造和印染艺术的魅力。