Chinese Culture Blossoms in France——A Review of the Opening Evets of China Cultural Year in France

It was getting cold and leaves falling in Paris in November. But the opening of China Cultural Year has brought springtime warmth to Paris people, With more and more cultural events opening as scheduled, Paris people are showing growing zeal in splendid and profound Chinese culture.     

Memory of China:5000 Years of Civilization

The Olympic Games is not only a sports event but also offer a great chance for cultural exchange. In celebration of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Capital Museum hosted a grand exhibition Memory of China： 5000 Years of Civilization, aiming to showcase the brilliant Chinese history and culture to the people from the rest of the world.     

＂Tailored Culture＂： a Solution to Supply- Demand Contradiction

Governments at various levels promote cultural development at the grassroots by planning and launching cultural projects. But it has remained a problem .for these cultural projects to effectively meet cultural demand of the general public. Therefore, we need to design tailored cultural projects as a solution to solve the contradiction between supply and demand.     

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.     

Flowery Flour Buns （Huamo）

Shanxi, located in the Loess Plateau of North China, is one of the birthplaces of Chinese civilization. Over the sweep of history, local people used their wisdom and creativity to make flower-shaped steamed buns in various designs. Today, dough figurines in Dingxiang and flowery flour buns in Jinnan have been inscribed on China＇s national list for the protection of intangible cultural heritage.     

AN EMBASSY TO CHINA

From 1419 to 1422, a large diplomatic mission consisting of 510 persons and dispatched by Timurid King Shahruh Bahadur paid a visit to the Ming Empire. The delegation member and painter recorded in his diary traditions and customs he saw along his journey and politics, economy, traditions and people of the Ming Dynasty. These notes were later compiled as “An Embassy to China”, which is now referred to as an important historical record for the study of cultural exchange between Central Asia and China of the time. The author, based on this literary work, reviewed that part of history on friendly exchange between China and lran.     

Possibility and Necessity

Yair Lior approaches the synthesis of East and West through form and content. He works with traditional Chinese tools,namely the Chinese brush, inks, traditional papers and seals. But while his tools may come from the Chinese tradition, he avoids imitating the ＂Chinese spirit＂ in his artworks. Instead, Lior elaborates on universal sentiments, things all people can relate to - regardless of their cultural background.     

Meet Paris in Yu Xi＇s Documentaries

“This is a documenfary porlrayal of cultural celebrities.All the 60 interviewees have devoted themselves to the greal cause of China-France cultural exchange.Today,it is highly important to stress the preservation and promotion of cultural diversity and make     

Sculpture Exchange Promotes Peace and Friendship

While four Chinese large sculptures featuring the theme of ＂peace and friendship＂ arrived in Washington DC, New Jersey, Atlanta and Kansas respectively, four American sculptures with the same theme were shipped to China and set in Beljing, Shanghai, Foshan and Changchun respectively. This ambitious cultural exchange event, in celebration of the 30th anniversary ot Chino-US diplomatic ties, aimed to promote peace and friendship through art and express Chinese people＇s value highlighting harmony and their sincere expectation for o more peaceful world.     

Big World in a Small Box: Cultural Programmes Reach Millions of Homes简

With a click of remote control, people in Yunnan and Jiangsu provinces now can access video shows recommended by the Ministry of Culture. ＂China Cultural Network Television＂, a resource sharing project launched by the Development Centre of State Public Culture, sends cultural programmes to homes through set-top boxes. The service is also available at grassroots service stations and public digital reading rooms.     

Monuments Attesting to the History of China-Japan Friendship

The Monument to Premier Zhou Enlai in Arashiyama, the Monument to Lu Xun in Sendal, the Japan-China Friendship Monument, the Monument to the Japan-China Treaty of Peace and Friendship. . .all these Japanese monuments have close connection with Chinese politics, history and culture and attest to the history of friendship between Chinese and Japanese people. As the author wrote, people today should cherish these hard-won achievements made over the past century. Retro- active misdeeds done by Japanese rightists will be surely opposed and condemned by Chinese people and people from the rest of Asia and the world.     

Chinese Culture and Arts Shine in Eastern Europe

In October 2009, The Chinese Cultural Ministry hosted ＂China Culture Festival＂ in Czech Republic, Hungary and Serbia respectively to mark the 60th anniversary of its diplomatic ties with these three countries in Eastern Europe, In one month＇s time, Chinese artists presented fascinating performances, exhibitions, film showcases and other cultural events. Wherever these celebrations were held, the reporter can deeply feel the friendship with Chinese people and the strong interest in Chinese culture.     

Chinese New Year,a World’s Festival简

The Spring Festival is the most important traditional festival for the Chinese people.
With the increase of Ch＇ina＇s overall strength, more and more people from different countries and with different skin colors are attracted by the joyful atmosphere and unique traditions of the Spring Festival. While experiencing and enjoying the charm of Chinese culture, they can get the cultural conception of the Spring Festival, which is ＂Happy, Harmony and Sharing＂.     

Chinese Folk Arts Showcased in Olympic Village

The 29th summer Olympiad, extolled as ＂truly exceptional＂ by IOC President Jacques Rogge, has left over tremendous legacy to Beijing, in particular, its perfect combination of sports and culture. The showcases of Chinese folk arts in the Olympic Village, while amazing the whole world with their vitality and creativity, have boosted Chinese people＇s awareness of the protection of Chinese intangible cultural heritage which bears unique historical and aesthetic values     

African Extravaganza in Shenzhen

The autumn season in Shenzhen is charming. Cool breeze touches people＇s face and a permeating fragrance of orange osmanthus sways across the skyscrapers, makingthis robust city full of sense of modernity. After 30 years of opening and reform, the city is heading on faster and faster to get into the world fashion. Our story focuses on a 10-day cultural extravaganza hosted by the African artists and their Chinese counterparts in the downtown area, The ongoing ＂Focus on African Culture＂ festival is a true witness of the everlasting friendship between African countries and China.     

Innovation： a Key to Increased Cultural Exchanges An interview with Victor Konnov,director of Russia Cultural Center in Beijing

The year 2014 marks the 65th anniversary of China-Russia diplomatic relations and the Year of China-Russia Friendship for Youth. It is also the 4th anniversary of Russia Cultural Center （RCC） in Beijing. Thanks to its achievements in promoting China-Russia cultural ex- changes, RCC has gained increasing recognition among Russian expatriates and Chinese people who are interested in Russian culture. Our magazine recently took an interview with Mr. Victor Konnov, R CC＇s director.     

On Inter-cultural Dialogue

Cultural pluralism is an important indicationof the diversity of the world. In an age when thetrends of globalization, integration and uniformitydominate the international economical and politicalscenes, cultural pluralism, pronounced in thediversity of identities, characters, values andlifestyles, as well as independence of mind,becomes even more imperative for all people,individuals and blocs, ethnic groups and nationsalike. By cultural pluralism we mean that differentcultures shall share si…     

International Cultural Exchanges in the Early Stages of New China

Cultural exchanges with foreign countries have a long history in China, as the Chinese nationkeeps introducing and integrating the cultural essence of other nations to enrich and develop its own culture, the ancient Chinese intellectuals, scholars and monks devoted themselves or evensacrifice themselves to the cause of international cultural exchange, leaving many legacies of much-told stories and much-visited relics： from the Silk Road in the Qjn and Han dynasties to Fa Hsien＇s travel to South Asia.     

Art Information

China-Russia Cultural Fair to be celebrated in NE China The third China-Russia Cultural Fair will be held from August 18 to 24, according to the Chinese Ministry of Culture. With the theme of "promoting cultural trade, cultural exchange, friendly cooperation and prosperous development", the cultural festival will include such various events as people-to-people exchanges, cultural products fairs, performances,     

Stitching Skills of Suzhou Embroidery

Suzhou-style embroidery is known as the most famous of the four major embroidery styles of China. Over the sweep of history, thisembroidery genre has been nurtured in the context of cultural richness in waterside towns of southeast China and continued to evolve thanks to sldll perfection by generations of female embroiderers. Time-honored cultural traditions developed by scholars, poets and painters have enriched aesthetics, craftsmanship and coloring of the embroidery genre, endowing it with unique characteristics and enduring artistic appeals and helping to bring it with worldwide reputation.