AN EXHIBITION OF CARVED STONE PIERS TO WELCOME CHINESE NEW YEAR

From January 24 to February 14, 2009, an exhibition on carved stone piers from Beiiing and Tianjin was held in Beijing International Sculpture Park, displaying nearly 300 pairs of traditional carved stone piers of the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties from the collection of Zhang Lianzhi, director of Tianiin Porcelain House Museum. It is the first time that an exhibition on carved stone piers has ever bean held during Spring Festival temple fairs. This largest ever exhibition on stone piers, together with the photo exhibition on stone piers by renowned photographer Cao Lijun attracted local viewers to appreciate folk traditions as a way to celebrate Chinese New Year.     

NATIONAL GALLERY EXHIBITS NEW YEAR PAINTINGS

The National Art Museum of China opened an exhibition to display its collection of New Year painting masterpieces prior to the Spring Festival 2008, or Chinese New Year.     

LEARNING CHINESE BECOMES NEW FAD

While English still remains the most widely used language for international communication in most countries around the Pacific Rim, Chinese is being taught in more and more schools in those countries. Chinese is playing an increasingly important role in daily lives and work of Asia-Pacific people. China’s dramatic rise to the world’s economic powerhouse and its rapidly growing international influence are driving the interest to learn its language. Chinese is becoming a new global language …     

THE STORY OF LIN HWAI-MIN AND HIS CLOUD GATE DANCE THEATRE

The Forum of Chinese Modern Dance took place in Beijing in July, attracting cultural celebrities, scholars and dancers from Mainland China, Hong Kong and     

MIAO PEOPLE CELEBRATES NEW YEAR BY OFFERING SACRIFICE TO TREES

Miao people is an ethnic group with a long history and mainly dwell in Asian countries like China, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia. China is the birthplace of Miao ethnic group. They originally dwelled in north China but later moved to the depth of mountains in southwest China in order to escape wars. Today Miao people are mostly distributed in mountainous areas in Hunan,     

THE TIME-HONORED ART OF CHINESE PUPPET AND SHADOW PLAY

Puppet and shadow plays are two old artistic expressions that integrate painting, engraving, carving and performing. Their history in China can date back to at least more than 2500 years.     

PALACE MUSEUM COLLECTION OF CERAMIC TOMB FIGURES

Ancient Chinese believed that souls would remain alive after human beings died. The soul, like the living, also needs clothes meals, shelters and vehicles. Ceramic tomb figures,buried as funeral objects are symbolic objects that meet needs of the dead as when they are alive. Ceramic tomb figures appeared as early as the Spring and Autumn period（770-476BC）.     

AGLIMPSE OF CHINESE MURALPAINTING

Mural painting enjoys a long history in China and numerous mural masterpieces .have been left over from ancient times.For example, Mogao Grotto Temples in Dunhuang house 492 caves with some 45000 square meters of mural painting. First built in 366 AD, Mogao Grotto Temples are the best-preserved grotto groups with the largest number of mural paintings in the world. In addition, there are more than 25,000 square meters of mural painting preserved in temples and tomb chambers in Shanxi Province. And mural paintings in Yongle Palace in Ruicheng, Shanxi and Fahai Temple in Beijing are considered classical masterpieces of Chinese mural art. The art of porcelain, lacquer, silk, cast copper, painted stone and brick in ancient China all have contributed to the diversity and excellence of mural painting skills. Since the 1970s, this art form has gained growing vitality, with a diversity of genres developed.[第一段]     

1300 YEARS OF CHINESE IMPERIAL EXAMINATION SYSTEM

The ten national permanent museum exhibitions of the year were announced on the World Museum Day on May 18, co-organized by China Museum Association, Xi＇an Municipality and China Heritage News. The permanent exhibition ＂Imperial Examination System＂ by Shanghai Chinese Imperial Examinations Museum won this annual award.[第一段]     

A GLIMPSE OF OVERSEAS CHINESE HISTORY MUSEUMS IN CHINA

Overseas Chinese history museums are cultural institutions specialized in the colleCtion and exhibition of hiStory, artifacts and references of overseas Chinese. In recent years, overseas Chinese history museums have risen as an important dimension of China＇s museum development, thanks to eye.increasing ties between overseas Chinese and their motherland, upgrading of China＇s comprehensive strength and ever-deepened studies about overseas Chinese. So far, there are eight overseas Chinese history museums in China.     

KUN QU OPERA： A LIVING FOSSIL OF CHINESE THEATRIC ART

Kun Qu Opera is one of the oldest and most influential forms of Chinese opera. It is still performed in many places around the country today. The opera is usually composed of 24 episodes, featuring arias, sophisticated story lines and minor plots involving both man and god, Performed by twelve persons, the opera combines song and recital as well as a complex system of choreographic techniques, acrobatics and symbolic gestures, Kun Qu songs are usually accompanied by string , wind and percussion instruments.     

FOUNDATION OF THE FORUM OF CULTURE AND ARTS OF UZBEKISTAN：BRINGING PEOPLE CLOSER

Foundation of the Forum of Culture and Arts of Uzbeldstan today is well known not only in Uzbekistan, but also abroad. Initially created for promotion of national arts and culture on international arena, the Foundation has developed a wide scope of activities in various directions of culture,     

A PHOTOGRAPHY FESTIVAL OF DIVERSITY AND HARMONY

With the theme of ＂diversity and harmony＂, the Sixth Pingyao International Photography Festival took place from Sept. 16 to 22, 2006. More than 1000 photographers from 41 countries displayed their works there, triggering a collision between Oriental and Western cultures in this 2800- year-old city.     

FOLK DANCE AND RELATED CULTURAL RELICS OF GUIZHOU

Miao ethnic group, most dwelling in the southwest province of Guizhou, is versed in singing and dancing. Folk dances of Miao people vary in accordance with props, movements, themes and performance venues. In terms of props, there are wooden drum dance, copper druln dance, reed pipe dance, bamboo stick dance, big knife dance, spear point dance and flower stick dance. From the perspcctive of movements, there are chicken fight dance, chicken dance, flower drum dance, rolling dragon dance and rolling pearl dance. Migration dance and stepping-bridge dance are so named because of their themes. And dances named after their different performance venues include stick-passing dance, round dance, Nan-hall dance and hidden-drum dance. Even for the same type of dances, there are minor differences in light of performance venues, gender and agc of dancers as well as instruments. The four most famous and popular types of folk dance in Guizhou include wooden drum dance, copper drum dance, flower drum dance and reed pipe dance. As these four dances are all accompanied by drums or reed pipes, Miao culture is thus called ＂culture of drum and reed pipe＂.     

CHILDREN COSTUMES AND BABY CARRIERS OF SOUTHWEST CHINA

The history of embroidered costumes in China dates back to remote past. The extant oldest embroidery ever unearthed was made in the Shang Dynasly [c. 16th centuryc. 11 th century]. In ethnicity-dwelled areas in southwest China, including Guizhou, Yunan, Guangxi and Hunan, embroidery skills are still handed down in original forms and in a matriarchic manner. Local ethnic girls learn embroider/ skills from their mothers, making embroidered clothes not only for themselves but also for their children in the future. Their delicate and exquisite embroidery fabrics have considerably enriched folk arts of China.     

THE GAME OF GO AND SONG-DYNASTY GO STONES

Recently,I was lucky to see a set of go stones made in the Ding Kiln of the Northern Song Dynasty,The ceramic go stones feel so delicate and glossy as if the black ones were like lacquer and white ones like jade.     

曹植与梵呗之进入中国

一从内典看梵呗进入中国的基本情况 引用《中国佛教术语词典》的定义,梵呗是＂宗教仪式中用来约束外在与平息内心的佛教唱颂;也用于对佛陀的赞美。＂梵呗的第一个要素＂梵＂,是＂梵览摩（Brahma）＂的音译,与印度术语语源相关;梵呗的第二个要素＂呗＂,