The term jiao means "offering" or "sacrifice." It refers, in the present day, to the large-scale Taoist ceremonies organized by local communities, and by other social groups such as professional guilds and various forms of voluntary religious associations, in order to define themselves on the religious level, and specifically in order to establish or confirm the (semicontractual) relationship between the group and its tutelary deity.
The unique culinary art of dim sum originated with the Cantonese in southern China, who over the centuries have transformed tea tasting from a relaxing respite to a loud and happy dining experience.
After ten years of painstaking studies by Wu Shiqiu, a Qingyuan pensioner with only elementary-school education, Qingyuan Dialect Studies was in print a few days ago. It is ranked as a national key monograph of intangible cultural heritage.
