Archive for the Culture Category
Daylight-robbery relic auction
If someone took away what belonged to you, the last thing you would want to do is buy it back.
This simple logic also applies to the Chinese government’s attitude towards the upcoming auction in Paris of its long-lost relics, two invaluable bronzes of a Rat and Hare from Yuanmingyuan Garden, or the Old Summer Palace.
Unique Chinese culture beyond the Wall
By Liu Jun (China Daily)
The Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympics revealed the Middle Kingdom on a fascinating scroll that displayed some of the most iconic Chinese elements: beautiful blue-white porcelain, the writing brush, xuan paper and ink slab. But perhaps most attractive of all were the Olympic medals inlaid with jade.
As more people grow [...]
The Actual Journey to the West
By staff reporter HUO JIANYING Chinatoday
The following story is supplementary reading for grade schools in China: A long time ago, there lived a boy monk in a temple on the mountain. His daily tasks were to clean the temple yard early each morning, fetch water and, after his morning scripture class, walk down the rocky [...]
The Classic Mirror of Wise Rule
By staff reporter HUO JIANYING Chinatoday
The Tang Dynasty (618-907) is a glorious chapter in Chinese history. It was when Emperor Taizong (named Li Shimin) (597-649) led China into a period of unprecedented political and social harmony, as well as economic and cultural prosperity. Scholar and court official Fan Zuyu (1041-1098) of the succeeding Northern Song [...]
Chinese Sword Culture
By staff reporter HUO JIANYING Chinatoday
The sword first appeared in China during the early age of cold weaponry, but its use in close-quarters combat was relatively short. By the early third century it had departed the battlefield and become a main artistic motif. Later still, it was an appurtenance denoting social standing.
Star of Stage
Swordplay combines [...]
Tales from the Yin Ruins
By staff reporter HUO JIANYING Chinatoday
The Yin Ruins mark what was once the magnificent capital of the ancient Shang Dynasty (14th-11th centuries B.C.) that changed its name after moving to Yin. The city, along with the history of the entire dynasty, remained buried and obscured from actual human cognizance for more than 3,300 years. It [...]
Legends of Jade
By YANG YINING Chinatoday
Gold may be the world acknowledged international hard currency, but within the context of millennia-old Chinese culture, jade is infinitely more precious. There is an ancient Chinese saying: “Gold may be evaluated, but jade is priceless.”
In the China of 8,000 years ago, jade was regarded as a distillation of the essences of [...]
Heroic, Historic, Operatic Yang Generals
By staff reporter HUO JIANYING Chinatoday
The patriotic deeds of valor by the Yang family of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), are recorded in China’s history, distilled in its folklore and refined in Peking Opera.
Having been celebrated by story-tellers, writers and dramatists throughout the centuries, the Yang family’s acts of self-sacrificing heroism, as performed in the [...]
Role-Defining Peking Opera Stage Makeup
By staff reporter HUO JIANYING Chinatoday
Peking Opera stage makeup is applied in a spirit similar to that of paint to canvas. The “picture” on a performer’s face instantly identifies him or her in one of the hundreds of roles in the Peking Opera gallery.
Female Roles
When describing an angry man, Chinese people often describe him as [...]