Guqin:an Ancient Instrument with Aesthetic Beauty

While guqin from the Tang, Song, Ming and Qing dynasties are now collected as antiques, it is in truth a musical instrument. If its collector cannot interact with it, it is merely an expensive object.——by Zhao Jiazhen     

Classical Guqin Maker Tian Shuangkun

The quiet and melodious music led me to Tian Shuangkun＇s courtyard house in the depth of a hutong （alley） in the downtown of Beijing. Tian is a master maker of the Guqin, a seven-stringed zither known as China＇s oldest stringed instrument.His studio is furnished with traditional Chinese stuffs - old- style furniture, calligraphic and ink painting works, old pictures and the guqin as well. While I appreciated all these, Tian explained to me the long history of the guqin and his lifelong pursuit of perfection in making the guqin.     

BEIJING＇S TRAD TIONAL ARCHWAYS

The pailou, also known as paifang, is an archway of a memorial or decorative nature. It is a classical architectural style of ancient China which is supported by a single row of columns and designed to separate and coordinate architectural space. With a simplistic and exquisite appearance, the pailou has both decorative and practical functions. When erected at thoroughfare crossroads, it can serve as a direction guide and add to aesthetic and cultural richness of a town; when installed in classical gardens, it helps to screen or separate sceneries while contributing to the beauty of the landscape.     

FORM WITHOUT CONTENT： Lin Zhaohua＇s Drama Practice in the 1990s

＂In essence, art is an ability to express one＇s feeling to others and this ability is expressed by materializing a proper form for some feeling.＂ This aggressive motto by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche has been venerated as a guiding principle by experimental artists. Drama experiments done by Lin Zhaohua in the 1990s, in some sense, have testified to the definition that drama is a living text. Lin, as an experimental drama director, has not only planned but also presented this living text on the stage.     

Seal-shaped Houses in the Old Town of Miao Ethnic Group

The old town of Zhenyuan, standing among high mountains with a long river winding through it, is a strategically important town in southwest China. In ancient times, it was located on a road linking Southeast Asian nations and the capital of the Chinese Empire. As an old town and gateway in eastern Guizhou Province which is dwelled by Miao people, Zhenyuan enjoyed many historical remains and the most famous is Black Dragon Cave. In fact, it is not merely a single cave, but refers to a lar…     

The Legend of Bixi

Bixi is a reptile-like creature that resembles the tortoise. You can find it mostly at the entrances of temples and tombs. People believe that it can travel long distance with a huge stone on his back and enjoy long life. That is why so many ancient stone tablets were carved in the form of Bixi. It is said that Bixi can bring you good luck if you touch it. As an old Chinese ballad goes, "If you touch Bixi's head, you will worry nothing. If you touch Bixi's back, you will avoid any troubles…     

Form without Content Lin Zhaohua’s Drama Practice in the 1990s

“In essence, art is an ability to express one’s feeling to others and this ability is expressed by materializing a proper form for some feeling.” This aggressive motto by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche has been venerated as a guiding principle by experimental artists. Drama experiments done by Lin Zhaohua in the 1990s, in some sense, have testified to the definition that drama is a living text. Lin, as an experimental drama director, has not only planned but also presented this living text o…     

A Way of Life

"Life is like a card game: the cards you get are a matter of chance; how you play them is up to you." Philosophers and artists all over the world have produced thousands of analogies about the puzzles of life, but this epigram by Indian politician Nehru is especially noteworthy. Eventually, the cards in my hands will be played out. There is one card - life - that will be taken away without warning. Fortunately, it is still in my hands, and I am searching for the best way to play it. I will do so freely and handsomely; meanwhile, I'd like to share my pleasures with those who appreciate my game. This game needs a plan, as well as some dedication.- from Life is a Game by Fu Weici     

Review and Impression：Chinese Movies

The year of 2005 marked the centennial anniversary of Chinese film.Over the past century,film has changed people＇s ways of life,influenced their ideas and concepts and expanded their sphere of imagination.As a celebrated American critic said.film is the most typical art form of the time which has an integrated feature in both technology and society.Therefore,it takes an important responsibility to develop,restore and upgrade people＇s ability to feel and experience. The year of 2005 has passed and to review Chinese movies in the past year will fring us a delightful memory.     

The Long Return Journey of the Lost Cultural Relics

As the wheels of time move forward,modern generations can only get a glimpse of their ancestors‘ life from the cultural relics of a people. Maybe it is the intuitive bond between one life and another that makes everyone feel an emotional attachment to cultural relics.Every cultural relic is just like a cord,making connections among blood ties as well as different regions. Long time span dose not keep us from knowing about them from books and feeling them in our culture, but unfortunately, they are kept in the splendid buildings at the far end of the ocean, without really being understood.     

Silhouette of Beijing Olympic Basketball Stadium

A lmost ten kilometers to the west of Beijing downtown area, when you drive along the .Chang＇an Boulevard and slightly pass thefourth-ring road, you will see a golden-color rectangular complex under the sunshine showing off its beauty to Beijing citizens. This is the preliminary and final competition venue for the Olympic basketball games.     

Bridal Fashion Now a Blossoming Industry in China

It is an expectation of every new couple to have a romantic wedding and it is the dream of every young girl to own a beautiful wedding dress. At the just concluded China International Fashion Week, the bridal fashion show that debuted on the mainland instantly became a highlight of the event.     

A Life of Red Sandalwood

If you drive along the Chang＇an Avenue eastward in Beijing and pass through skyscrapers in CBD, you will soon encounter a complex of ancient buildings of Ming and Qing styles - China Red Sandalwood Museum. Behind the immense door lies an ancient art palace. This is the world＇s largest museum of red sandalwood architectures and carvings and also the only private museum in China that has ＂China＂ in its name, which receives the most heads of states and foreign government officials.     

Qianling Mausoleum

The Qianling Mausoleum is located on Mount Liang, six kilometers west to the town of Qianling County, Shaanxi Province and near the city of Xi’an, formerly the Tang capital. This spectacular tomb complex is the best preserved and has never been looted among all the 18 tombs housing the remains of emperors of the Tang Dynasty. The Qianling Mausoleum is now protected as a key site under the state-level conservation.Mount Liang, 76 kilometers west to Xi’an, is a limestone structure. In ancient times, it was a strategically important place where Qin Dynasty     

Opera of Zeng Family： A Theatric Legend

T he repertoire of Meng opera is mostly involved with the legend about Meng Jiangnu wailing in the Great Wall which happened in the Qin Dynasty. This theatric expression can date back to the mid-Ming Dynasty. Five hundred years of evolution have made it a folk art form integrating clan sacri ce and theatric performance. There is a popular legend about the origin of Meng opera. It is said that in 1447, Zeng Zihua, an ancestor of Zeng family in Chixi, carried his blind mother on his back a…     

Art Finance Makes New Business

“Art has never been so close with money as it is today. Over the past several decades, art has become a global business. If you want to learn about what changes have taken place in the art world and the relationship between people and art, you must be aware of the power of finance involved,” Noah Horowitz wrote in his book “Art of the Deal： Contemporary Art in a Global Financial Market”.     

Meng Jinghui： Twenty Years Dedicated to Contemporary Drama

Wearing a black leather coat and a headset, Meng Jinghui paced to and fro behind a huge tempered glass screen. When his new drama ＂Love Is More Cruel Than Death＂ was presented for the second round, he answered to an audience, ＂I don＇t know who will be the audience for this drama. 1 think it is enough to find 10,000 audiences who can understand it in Beijing.     

Liukeng:A Village of Great Antiquity

Liukeng is an old village situated on a green hills-surrounded basin land in the southwest of Le'an County, Jiangxi Province. The Wujiang River meanders through it and stretches all the way to join the Ganjiang River, the province's mother river. With an area of about 3.6 square kilometers, the village is where some 4,000 people surnamed Dong currently live and prosper.     

Wuyutai:Time-honored Brand Makes New Success

Wuyutai is a century-old tea shop brand which owns some 300 chain stores across the country. The past 15 years witnessed this time-honored brand’s fastest growth when it launched and expanded franchised operation and made intensive and extensive efforts to develop new varieties of tea products.Wuyutai’s success lies in the first-class products and services it provides to customers. In the future,Wuyutai will as     

Sino-Sun Architects ＆ Engineers

Sino-Sun is an A-Class state architectural design company organized by a group of experts who have returned to China after studying abroad. In the 10 yearssince its establishment, it has grown into an outstanding andwell-known design team, which has influence in the national archi-tectural design field.