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Those exquisite cultural calendars for 2016

Cultural calendars published in 2016. [Photo/amazon; Sina Weibo]

As cultural calendars are becoming more fine and exquisite in China, various datebooks are coming out to meet different needs.

These scheduling organizers provide more knowledge and fun than simply recording a date. Here are seven high quality cultural calendars published in 2016.


The Dream of the Red Chamber Calendar. [Photo/amazon.cn; Sina Weibo]

The Dream of the Red Chamber Calendar

The calendar was designed based on the poem and couplets from the Chinese literary classic,The Dream of the Red Chamber. The poems are explained from the perspective of the context and cultural value. The calendar also added information about the elite lifestyle of ancient Chinese people and a series of traditional Chinese ink paintings and calligraphy.

"To my deep regret, I only readThe Dream of the Red Chamberonce when I was in high school. But this calendar brought me back to the amazing world written by Cao Xueqin," reader ruc1991 commented on Amazon.

The datebook got 7.7 points out of 10 on Douban, a Chinese popular review site.

"As a faithful fan ofThe Dream of the Red Chamber, I fell in love with the calendar once I got it," an anonymous Douban user said.


Wu Changshuo's Artworks Calendar. [Photo/amazon.cn]

Wu Changshuo's Artworks Calendar

Each page of this calendar is a painting from Chinese artist Wu Changshuo. The whole year is a journey into the world of Wu's art. The calendar also features Wu's 12 art essays to help readers learn more about his works.

Born in Zhejiang province in 1844, Wu achieved fame for not only painting but also calligraphy and carving.

"This is another artistic calendar I bought. And I am looking forward to the next one," a Sina Weibo user commented.


Beauty of Chinese Characters Calendar. [Photo/amazon.cn; Sina Weibo]

Beauty of Chinese Characters Calendar

This calendar is an in-depth presentation of daily-used Chinese characters that convey Chinese civilization and culture. The editor combined Chinese characters' origin, design, writing and function with their evolution and application in the past thousands of years. People can have a systematic way to learn about Chinese characters' developing history after daily reading for one year.

"This calendar is a good gift to foreigners or people who are fond of calligraphy," Sina Weibo user Hanyazi said.


Daily Poems Calendar. [Photo/amazon.cn; Sina Weibo]

Daily Poems Calendar

"I love myself, so deep, so much. I love myself holding a cup of wine and talking happily," Li Lei wrote in one poem. And these words were printed on the page for Aug 10, 2016 in a calendar named Daily Poems Calendar.

The little datebook collected poems from those today's outstanding Chinese poets. Each author's profile was also printed along with the poems. Designers aimed to lead people to spend every day in the company of poems. And with the help from 12 comments written by editor Huo Junming, readers can better understand contemporary poems.

"It's nice to read a beautiful poem every day, and especially when you can find it in a calendar," a Sina Weibo user commented.


The Palace Museum Calendar. [Photo/amazon.cn; Sina Weibo]

The Palace Museum Calendar

The theme for the 2016 Palace Museum Calendar is "Joyfulness in Peace and Prosperity", for 2016 is the Year of the Monkey and the monkey stands for "lively" and "witty" in Chinese culture.

In the calendar, designers gathered a series of happy and vivacious theme paintings collected by the Palace Museum. Information about the seasons, months and weeks were printed on the front page, and the famous paintings, calligraphy, cultural relics of the Museum on the back.

The Palace Museum Calendar for 2016 was extremely popular with 50,000 volumes sold on Singles Day in 2015.


Shanghai Landmarks Calendar. [Photo/amazon.cn; Sina Weibo]

Shanghai Landmarks Calendar

The most impressive 366 landmarks in Shanghai brighten each page of the calendar with nice pictures and texts. In both Chinese and English, this bilingual calendar presents colorful scenes of the culture and life in the city. Readers can get more information by scanning the QR code on each page.

If you go to Shanghai, this datebook might be a good guidebook as well.


Buddhist and Taoist Teachings Calendar. [Photo/amazon.cn]

Buddhist and Taoist Teachings Calendar

If you are interested in ancient Chinese philosophy, this 720-page calendar must be a perfect accompaniment for the whole year. The datebook also shares Confucius' thoughts and teachings beside Buddhist and Taoist texts.

"I read this calendar almost every day. It is more like a small encyclopedia on Chinese ancient civilization and calligraphy," user Jiaoyuren commented on Sina Weibo.

"It is a little bit thick for having 720 pages, yet easy to keep in my bag. Very nice design with paintings and classic texts and teachings of Confucius, Buddhism and Taoism," another Weibo user Xushu said.

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