BeautyinCommonThings

　　EachdifferentpartofChinahasitsownspecialformsoftraditionalart.Theseusuallytrytoshowthethingsthatareimportantinlifesuchaslove,beautyandfamily.Themostcommonthings,frompapertoclaytobamboo,areturnedintoobjectsofbeauty.

　　AccordingtoChinesehistory,skylanternswerefirstusedbyZhugeKongming.Hesentthemouttoaskforhelpwhenintrouble.Today,skylanternsareusedatfestivalsandothercelebrations.Theyaremadeofbambooandcoveredwithpaper.Whenthelanternsarelit,theyslowlyriseintotheairlikesmallhot-airballoonsforalltosee.Theyareseenasbright

　　symbolsofhappinessandgoodwishes.

　　Papercuttinghasbeenaroundforover1,500years.Papercuttingsoundsveryeasybutitcanbedifficulttodo.Thepaper,usuallyred,isfoldedbeforeitiscutwithscissors.Themostcommonpicturesareflowers,fish,animals,andthingsaboutChinesehistory.DuringtheSpringFestival,theyareputonwindows,doorsandwallsassymbolsofwishesforgoodluckandahappynewyear.

　　Chineseclayartisfamousbecausetheclaypiecesaresosmallbuttheylookveryreal.The

　　piecesareusuallycutechildrenorlivelycharactersfromaChinesefairytaleorhistoricalstory.Thepiecesarecarefullyshapedbyhandfromaveryspecialkindofclayandthenallowedtoair-dry.Afterdrying,theyarefiredataveryhighheat.Theyarethenpolishedandpainted.Finally,materialssuchaswoodorpaperareaddedtomakedifferentthings.Ittakesseveralweekstocompleteeverything.ThesesmallpiecesofclayartshowthelovethatallChinese

　　peoplehaveforlifeandbeauty.