Bamboo

October 12, 2010

Chinese culture considers Bamboo lucky because Bamboo is the Chinese symbol for strength.

Bamboo demonstrates strength by growing fast and adapting to new environments. Because of this, many in China see Bamboo as a symbol of luck, which explains why Bamboo is often given as a gift.


Bamboo Flute Music & Beautiful China

In fact, Bamboo is the most popular plant in China.  Most Chinese, even in high-rise apartments, have Bamboo plants around in small pots.

Bamboo represents the spirit of summer, simplicity and humility, and respect for elders among other things.

Painting Bamboo goes back centuries. Musical instruments have been made of Bamboo.

China’s first cannons were made of Bamboo.


Painting Chinese Bamboo

My wife has planted Bamboo in the yards of every house we’ve lived in.  When my father-in-law visits from China, he has his picture taken in front of the healthiest, tallest stand of Bamboo in the yard.

In Feng Shui, Bamboo is a symbol of strength, fortitude, and rapid growth. When given as a gift, Lucky Bamboo is said to be at its luckiest.

Chinese tradition also gives meaning to the number of stalks given as a gift. Two stalks is a symbol for love, three or six represent happiness while five or seven impart health.  The more stalks there are, the more luck there will be.

Sources: The Feng Shui meanings of lucky Bamboo and Living Arts Originals

Discover Fifteen Facts that will Blow Your Mind about China

______________

Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of The Concubine Saga. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. This is the love story Sir Robert Hart did not want the world to discover.

To subscribe to “iLook China”, look for the “Subscribe” button at the top of the screen in the menu bar, click on it then follow directions.

Leave a Comment » | China, Chinese Culture, cultural differences | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

India-China Border Dispute in 2009 – Part 4/4

October 12, 2010

Since the 1962 war, China and India have continued to argue about the disputed area that was created by British Explorer McMahon in the 19th century.

Parts of the frontier are still in dispute, including a portion of Kashmir and the eastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.

The area in dispute now is Ladakh. For centuries, Ladakh was an independent kingdom but is now part of India. There are obvious cultural links with China.

In this area, no one knows where India ends and China begins.  China and India still share the biggest stretch of disputed border in the world divided by Nepal and Bhutan from Arunachal Pradesh in the south to Kashmir in the north.


Al Jazerra English – Renewed Tension Over India-China Border

P. Chidambaram, India’s Interior Minister says that it is a disputed border area.  He says that violations have taken place and are resolved by talking to each other (China with India).

India says the border violations were probably a mistake, but China says they never happened.

Diplomatic letters that Al Jazeera managed to get hold of show that both India and China are not telling the truth.  Indian nomads wondered into Chinese occupied territory and were warned to leave or face the consequences.

The diplomatic letters also show that China does not accept that the area is disputed.  Instead, China says it is their territory.

The Indian army had a heavy military presence on India’s side of the border. The Al Jazeera reporters could not visit the Chinese side.

Return to Part 3 of China and India at War in 1962 or start with Part 1

______________

Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. 

To subscribe to “iLook China”, there is a “Subscribe” window at the top of the screen in the menu bar.

Leave a Comment » | China, Chinese history, India, politics | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

China and India at War ­in 1962 – Part 3/4

October 11, 2010

The Chinese moved their Eleventh and Fifty-fifth divisions to the front.

The Indian army had four brigades set up defensive positions along the only mountain road leading south through the harsh terrain.

At the same time, India was planning to attack the Chinese army.

In a risky flanking maneuver, the Chinese sent 1,500 troops along a dangerous mountain trail to attack India’s Army in the rear and cut them in half.

The Chinese troops succeeded, and the Chinese army launched an attack from the north along the road.

India’s Sixty-second Brigade collapsed the first day. Soon after, India’s Sixty-fifth Brigade abandoned their positions without a fight.

News of the Indian army’s defeat reached New Delhi.  The Indian people panicked. Large numbers of refugees started to flow south.

Chinese army troops had advanced into India past the disputed territory. China declared a unilateral cease fire.

There were abandoned Indian weapons everywhere and the Chinese troops gathered the weapons, which were returned to India. Then the Indian troops that were prisoners of war were released.

China’s army withdraw to the 1959 border keeping the disputed territory. The war ended without a treaty to resolve the border dispute.

India’s Casualties

Killed = 4,885
POW = 3,968
Wounded = 1,697

China’s casualties
Killed 722
Wounded 1,696

Go to China and India at War – Part 4 or return to Part 2 of China and India at War in 1962

______________

Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. 

If you want to subscribe to iLook China, there is a “Subscribe” button at the top of the screen in the menu bar.

Leave a Comment » | China, Chinese history, India, politics | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

China and India at War in 1962 – Part 2/4

October 10, 2010

In the embedded video are actual battle scenes from the China-Indian conflict of 1962. Since the Chinese shot this footage, it is obvious that the dialogue has been propagandized.

India’s Nehru government repeatedly rejected China’s requests to negotiate the border dispute over the McMahon Line, which British Explorer McMahon drew on a map during the 19th century.

Instead, the Indian army built bases and outposts in the disputed area.

Chinese troops then strengthened their defenses in the disputed area.

India sent patrols into territory occupied by Chinese troops and the Indian troops were captured.

On June 4, 1962, Indian troops set up outposts deep in the disputed territory.

On September 8, 1962, Chinese troops surrounded the Indian troops to stop further advances.

In the middle of September, Chinese intelligence reported that the Indian army would soon attack.

India’s Seventh Brigade was deployed to the area to launch Operation Leghorn.

On October 9, 1962, he Indian troops crossed the river that divided the two armies and attacked Chinese positions.

The resulting battle caused the Indian Seventh Brigade to collapse and a large number of Indian troops surrendered.

Chinese troops crossed the river and pushed south, but the Indian troops retreated faster.

Heavy Chinese artillery bombed Indian troop positions. Within days, there were many dead and wounded Indian troops.

Go to China and India at War – Part 3 or return to Part 1 of China and India at War in 1962

______________

Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. 

If you want to subscribe to iLook China, there is a “Subscribe” button at the top of the screen in the menu bar.

1 Comment | China, Chinese history, India, politics | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

China and India at War ­in 1962 – Part 1/4

October 10, 2010

In this series, I’ve stitched together three different videos in four parts to show the 1962 border war between India and China.

America is not the first country to attempt nation building (Iraq).  The British Empire did it first and left behind a mess in India, the Middle East and Africa.

In the 19th century, with the reckless stoke of a pen or pencil, British Explorer McMahon drew borders on maps creating India.

Due to his arrogance, India has had border disputes and with China, Nepal and Pakistan. Source: Boundaries

In fact, before the British Empire established the Raj, India wasn’t a country and no Chinese government ever agreed to the changes McMahon made along the borders between Tibet and India. Source: Victorian Web

In 1947, soon after the end of World War II, India gained its independence from Britain, and the Indian government refused to negotiate over land that was once was part of Tibet.

After 1949, Mao’s government told India the land behind the McMahon line was part of China and wanted it back.

For the next thirteen years, China and India had many diplomatic conversations about this boundary issue.  Zhou Enlai, the first prime minister of the PRC, attempted to convince Jawaharlal Nehru to resolve the boundary issue peacefully.

With the failure of peaceful negotiations, Chinese troops were sent to the McMahon Line.

Go to China and India at War – Part 2 or discover The Sino-Vietnam War of 1979

______________

Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. 

If you want to subscribe to iLook China, there is a “Subscribe” button at the top of the screen in the menu bar.

Leave a Comment » | China, Chinese history, India, politics | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »