Bai Ming Patches Up Fragments of Civilization

In the 1980s, he exchanged his grandfather＇s curio collections for a color TV set, a refrigerator and a cassette recorder, the three popular luxuries of the time. He called himself a ＂spendthrift＂ of his family then. In the 1990s, he dug for ceramic fragments in the demolishment site in Ping＇an Avenue and therefore gained the nickname ＂Fragment Bai＂. In 2000, he co founded ＂Mu Ming Tang＂, a museum to display ancient ceramic fragments, and obtained a new title,     

Archaeologist Zou Heng： Life Savings Spent on Books

Zou Heng＇s house is nothing but a library. Most of his rooms, even the space beneath the bed, are filled with books. He began to buy books in his college years in the end of the 1940s and has kept doing so until now. The walls of his study are all furnished with bookcases reaching to the ceiling and even the desk and the floor are piled with books. Though in his eighties, he spends most of his time in reading and writing. His wife told me that he got up early at 5 am and work at the desk until late at night.     

A Hard and Lofty Mission—— The Translation and Publication of the Japanese Edition of ＂ The Panorama of the Great Wall＂

In November 11, 2003, the renowned Chinese writer Zhou Erfu, at age 83 and in the advanced stage of cancer, strenuously wrote a letter to his Japanese friend Yi Kenichiro, inquiring about the translation and publication of the Japanese edition of his novel ＂The Panorama of the Great Wall＂ which reflects the whole period of the Chinese people＇s anti-Japanese war from 1937 to 1945. Yi Kenichiro, with a medium-sized figure, gentlemen-like appearance and unswerving disposition, is a Japanese professor expert in Chinese literature and language. He was then busy with his teaching work and the translation of the Japanese version of Zhou＇s novel. Receiving Zhou＇s letter, he fell into a sad mood and hoped Zhou could be recovered soon and live up to the day when the whole novel was published in Japan.     

College or Village？A Glimpse of the New Campus of Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts

The old campus of Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts, located in the city＇s industrial area, have long suffered dust and noise pollution from the thermal power plant, freight yards, the steel plant, the train station and storehouses in the neighborhood. The academy principal Luo Zhongli still remembers that he couldn＇t hold tight the powder-hidden basketball without saliva in his hand when he played basketball gaines as a college student decades ago. It is his lifelong dream to have a beautiful, clean new campus where artists and students can enjoy.     

Chinese Athlete Breaks 110-meter Hurdles World Record

Liu Xiang of China set a world mark in the 110-meter hurdles on July 12, brealdng the record he shared with Britain＇s Colin Jackson. Liu＇s time of 12.88 seconds at the IAAF Super Grand Prix athletics meeting in Laussane, Switzerland was 0.03 better than the record he matched in winning gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics.     

PAN YUANSHI AND HIS COLLECTION OF CHINESE NEW YEAR PRINT

Pan Yuanshi, an art teacher in his early years and a renowned print artist, enjoys high respect among southern Taiwan＇s art circle. In his professional career as the CEO of Chimei Foundation, he remarkably enhanced its public exposure and abilities to organize events, making it the most important cultural and art foundation in southern Taiwan.     

Ceramic Artist Gao Feng：In Pursuit of Glory of Life

In the beginning of his career, Gao Feng served as an apprentice in a ceramic workshop, doing errands for his masters. With several months of practicing and training, he acquainted himself with every process of ceramic making and developed interest in this profession dealing with clay and fire, One year later, he was transferred to the ceramic studio of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing. At that time, except Jingdezhen and a few other ceramic sites in frontier areas, the technique of ceramic throwing had been generally replaced by machine molding and infilling.     

John Leighton Stuart：the Closest Stranger

John Leighton Stuart was born in Hangzhou in June,1876.His parents were among the earliest American missionaries to China.He lived with his parents in Hangzhou.Although an American by nationality,Stuart considered himself"a Chinese more than an American".At the age of 11,he was sent to school in Virginia,where he was teased by classmates for his ignorance of the language.During his college years,influenced by the Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions,he made his decision for missionary service.In 1904,after his marriage,he returned to Hangzhou with his wife as a missionary.     

A Chinese Farmer Grows Ball-like Gourds as Olympic Gifts

July 17, 2008 marked the 88th birthday of Juan Antonio Samaranch, former president of the International Olympic Committee, On July 18,Zha Taishan, a farmer from Wuwei, northwest Gansu Province of China, with the coordination through China Collectors Association, went to Samaranch＇s residence in Barcelona, Spain to celebrate his birthday. Zha offered Samaranch three gourds in the shape of the football, the basketball and the volleyball respectively as his birthday gifts. With seven years of special care and growth, these gourds are innovative products that have obtained six national patents. When he presented the gifts to Samaranch, he felt so excited that he couldn＇t help shedding tears. At the very moment when he hugged with Samaranch, Zha forgot all the hardship and difficulties he had experienced in the past seven years.     

Shaolin Kong Fu：A Blend of Buddhism and Martial Arts

On March 22,2006,Russian President Vladimir Putin paid a visit to the Shaolin Temple in central China＇s Henan Province during his two-day state visit to China,Guided by Abbot Shi Yongxin ,the president appreciated Shaolin Kong Fu which has been nurtured in profound oriental philosophical values,In his talks with the abbot,Putin said,＂I would like to thank the Shaolin Temple for giving me such an opportunity,I want to be here,because I have long admired and respected Shaolin Temple and its cultural traditions.＂     

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.     

Liu Xiaoqing and Her Bird Paintings

In a chilling evening of early winter in Beijing, I met Liu Xiaoqing, a female painter, in a restaurant famous for its spicy crab. Our talk started with a popular verse line by Chairman Mao, which reads, ＂In the vast sky the eagles hover, In the clear water the fish swim, All creatures contend for freedom.＂ While the great leader expressed his political ambition, we can see from the verse mankind＇s admiration of birds＇ freedom over the sky. Birds are favored creatures by mankind. But humans＇ greedy exploitations over the nature have resulted in killing and extinction of more and more bird species.     

BETWEEN REALITY AND ABSTRACTION：Zhan Wang＇s Contemporary Sculpture

Zhan Wang is a pioneering artist in China＇s contemporary sculpture circle.Born in 1962 in Beijing, he graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts and currently works as associate fellowship with the Institute of Sculpture Creation and Research under the academy. From 1990, Zhan began creating surrealistic sculptures. He began worldng on ＂The Mao Suit＂ series from 1993 and devoting himself to experimental art from 1994. In 1995, Zhan founded a studio with two other artists, aiming to explore relationships between art and society. Based on this studio, he presented two experimental exhibitions - ＂Development Plans＂ and ＂Women ＆ Sites＂. From 1995, Zhan began replicating Chinese classical rockery stones and completed a series of works of stainless steel rockery stone and floating stone. Zhan＇s creations highlight the integration between ideas and objects, with an attempt to transform pure handicraft techniques into conceptual behaviors. In 1998, Zhan released his thesis entitled ＂Conceptual Sculpture： Materialized Ideas＂. From 2000, he began doing experiments on composite art independently. Zhan＇s sculpting works have been collected by many art museums and private collectors, including Australia, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, USA as well as Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.     

YAO DIXIONG： SOUL MATE TO HORSE

Though the outstanding Australian Chinese artist Yao Dixiong won a world fame with his painting work ＂2000 Kangaroo＂ which＇s 63 meters longand the creation, 100 meter-long ＂Human and Nature - Soul of Australia＂, he continued to realize his artistic dream of being a distinguished horse-painter.     

Wu Guangzhong：A Legend of the Art Market

A Leading Artist in the Art Market Wu Guanzhong is a big name in the history of Chinese contemporary art.In 1978, he held his first solo exhibition in the then Central Institute of Art and Design at age 59. Since then, he has amazed the art market with one miracle after another.     

ORIGINAL PRINT PAINTING RISES WITH POTENTIAL VALUES FOR COLLECTION

Printing painting usually refers to varieties of painting printed on wood, stone, linoleum, copper and zinc blocks carved by knife or etched by chemicals. China is generally recognized as the inventor of printing painting, but for quite a long time, it has had a poor market for print painting trade, with only few collectors dedicated to for this type of painting. In recent years, with print paintings by master artists gaining outstanding performance in the international market, values of original print painting have begun to be recognized in China＇s collection market.     

The Modern Artistry of Ting Shao Kuang

TING Shao Kuang,a Chinese-American artist,is famousfor his modem heavy-colorpainting.Born In Chenggu County,Shaanxi Province,in 1939,he stu-died sketch and watercolor In themiddle school attached to the Cen-tral Academy of Fine Arts from1955 to 1957 in Beijing,then en-tered the Central Institute of Artsand Crafts to study decorative paint-ing,graduating in 1962 with excel-lent grades.During his study in theinstitute he won the appreciation ofnoted artists Zhang Ting,ZhangGuangyu and Pang Dongqin andwas deeply influenced by their theo-ry of color and line.The sevenyears‘training laid a solid founda-tion for his art career.     

Bullfight Tradition in China

The old and interesting tradition of bullfight has been preserved and practiced in Congjiang Counly, Guizhou. Local ethnic groups like Miao and Dong people have long relied on buffalos for farming and worship them. In Miao villages, buffalo heads are hanged at village entrances and buffalo horns are placed under deity niches. Miao people regard buffalos as their parents. Their worship of buffalos dates back to pre-history time. In the Book of History, it is written that ＂Legendary tribe chief Chi You, who is a figure with an ox head and a human body, has horns in his head.＂     

Zhou Enlai and Chinese Fine Arts

March 5, 2008 marked the 110th anniversary of late Premier Zhou Enlai＇s 110th birth anniversary. Zhou Enlai was a great Marxist and outstanding revolutionary. As a major member of the first generation of the leadership of Chinese Communist Party and the People＇s Republic of China, he devoted all his life to his beloved motherland and people. He enjoyed widespread respect among Chinese people of all ethnic groups and his lofty spirit and personality have been considered valuable assets in the history of Chinese nation. On the occasion of his 110th birth anniversary commemorative events were launched nationwide.