Famen Temple： Past and Present

＂Bodhi is actually not in the form of tree while a bright mirror is not a material object. Since there is nothing physical in the world, how can they catch the dust？＂ This poem, written by senior monk Hui Neng in the early Tang Dynasty [618 - 907], revealed the profundity of Buddhism and helped facilitate social evolution of the time.     

The ＂February 8th Festival＂ of Yi People

＂The February 8th Festival＂, also called the ＂Miku Worship Festival＂, is the traditional ancestor worship festival for the Yi nationality in Dali, Yunnan Province. The ancestor worship, singings, and banquet are the major content of this festival. The Bi village is a family village composed of Yi nationalities in the Bi family, which is located halfway up a hill and surrounded by mountains. With 68 households and 314 villagers, the village has a history of more than 500 years. According to their founding legend, their ancestors used to live in the Diancang Mountains.     

Tang Paradise Celebrates Ninth Anniversary

Shangyi Festival, also known as the Double Third Festival, is an ancient Chinese festival celebrated on the third day of the third lunar month. On this day, people would go for an outing by the water, picnic and pluck orchids. The festival this year coincides with the 9th anniversary of the Tang Paradise, a site park in the southern suburb of Xi＇an, a historic city of northwest Shaanxi province. The spring outing event entitled ＂En- voy of Spring＂ and the poetry recital for women were launched in the park to celebrate this traditional festival.     

＂The Good Person of Beijing＂ Highlights Universal Values of Humanity

<正>The little theatre drama,"The Good Person of Beijing",debuted in the end of last October and won extensive recognition.This modern drama is adapted from "The...     

The Potala Palace

The Red Hill, located in the northwest part of Lhasa,capital city of Tibetan Autonomous Region, is respected as a holy hill by local Tibetan Buddhists. The world-famous Potala Palace stands on this hill. It is said that Tupo King Songtsan Gompo ordered the construction of this magnificent palace in the Red Hill to welcome his bride, Princess Wencheng from the Tang Empire.     

Chen Ailian： Reinterpret ＂A Dream of the Red Mansion＂

Just before May 1, renowned dancer Chen Ailian, 66, starred again the grand dance drama ＂A Dream of the Red Mansion＂. The production was released in 1982 and revised in 1995. Over the past two decades, she has staged some 300 performances of this production. In 1999, she led her sixty students to tour South China, staging some 60 performances.     

HIDDEN ＂VALLEY OF FEMALE BEAUTY＂REDISCOVERED

Donnu Guo （＂Eastern State of Women＂） was an ancient kingdom governed by queens and existing during the Sui and Tang dynasties （approx. 6th-9th centuries AD）. Few historical records have been ever found about this mysterious matriarchic society until it was rediscovered one thousand years later in Danba, a county in western Sichuan Province adjacent to Tibet. Ancient watchtowers, unique terrains in the shape of plum blossoms and in particular beautiful women that have been insulated within the depth of mountains for hundreds of years,all have gained it a reputation as the ＂valley of female beauty＂.     

A Mysterious Blue Box：＂Water Cube＂ for Beijing Olympics

The National Aquatics Center, or more popularly known as ＂Water Cube＂, stands on the opposite of ＂Bird＇s Nest＂ in the Olympic Green. This miraculous building features a mysterious transparent blue appearance and an innovative structure, perfectly mixing architectural concepts and cutting-edge technologies. Based on the traditions of Chinese culture and architectural design, Water Cube stands out in a simplistic and streamlined form, creating a harmonious co-existence with Bird＇s Nest while distinguishing itself from the grandeur of the latter. The building＇s design is inspired by the traditional concept of Chinese philosophy, ＂integral unity and harmony between the round heaven and the square earth＂, which are respectively represented by Bird＇s Nest and Water Cube. While meeting functional needs for international competitions, this square blue box is considered an outstanding example integrating traditional culture with modern functional facilities.     

Louguantai： a Historic Taoist Temple

An ancient Chinese poem reads that ＂Shielded by evergreen trees and composed of numerous grotesque peaks, Mt. Zhongnan enjoys the most gorgeous landscape in Guanzhong Plain. And Louguantai is the most famous scenic attraction in this mountain.＂ Louguantai, literally meaning ＂lookout tower platform＂, is a celebrated Taoist temple of China. Located at the foot of the northern side of Mt. Zhongnan, 15 kilometers southeast to Zhouzhi County in Xi＇an, Shaanxi Province,     

Xi＇an： A Poetic City with Cultural Richness

Over the sweep of Chinese history, the Tang Empire has been widely recognized as a most powerful and prosperous era, with an open and all-inclusive attitude toward foreign culture and traditions, The Tang Dynasty is commonly hailed as the golden age for poetry. Numerous poems created in this period of time reflect social realities and daily lives of ordinary people, witnessing artistic pursuits of elite scholars and demonstrating unprecedented prosperity of this great empire.     

Liu Chenggan： A Library Culture Preserver in Modern China

Huzhou, a historical city in the southeast province of Zhejiang, was dubbed as the ＂hometown of book collection＂ by Wang Guowei, a great scholar living inthe late Qing Dynasty, The most famous private collection house in Huzhou is ＂Jia Ye Tang＂ built by a local millionaire named Liu Chenggan [1881-1963] in the first half of the 20th century,     

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.     

Han-Style Classical Dance Debuts in Beijing

From March 19th to 22nd, Beijing Dance Academy presented its grand-scale dance drama ＂Sorrows of the Tongque Stage＂ in PolyTheater in Beijing. The extraordinarily moving and unforgettable quality of this production lies in what have been called its ＂four extremes＂,     

When ＂Korean Fad＂ bumps into ＂Chinese Wind＂--Cultural Counsellor of Chinese Embassy to South Korea talks about Sino-Korea Cultural Exchange

Shi Ruilin, the Culture Counsellor of Chinese Embassy to South Korea received an interviewby a reporter trom News Agency. He said, ＂ln recent years, when the South Korean popular culture is prevailing in China, the Chinese elements are also finding its way in South Korea. The two nations are going towards a brighter future of frequent Sino-Korea cultural exchanges＂ .     

＂The Colors of Water＂： Miao Xiaolong＇s Modem Dance Concert

In China＇s dancing arena today where most dancers pursue hasty success, it is truly rare to prepare a dance concert for as long as seven years. And more amazingly,the whole production is planned and presented by merely one person who choreographs and directs the dance concert, designs all costumes, stage settings and lighting as well as dances its leading part. But Miao Xiaolong made it. Several months ago, this young talented teacher at the dancing department of the Music School of Shanghai Normal University presented his dance concert ＂The Colors of Water＂ in Shanghai.     

Lingering Melodies from Northwest China—Musical“White Dove”debutsin Poly Theatre in Beijing

A legendary story from grandma＇s ballad, a touching love story with both pain and joy. The musical “White Dove”, following the successful performance of the epic drama “Qinghai： A Mysterious Land”, has recently debuted in Poly Theatre in Beijing. This musical production is based on hua＇er, a type of song prevalent throughout northwest China, with singers interacting and improvising topical and love lyrics. “The Yellow River and the Yangtze River are like two long plaits. The Qinghai Lake is like a mirror. Doves are cwstal white and their red eyes are like agate stones...” These are the typical lyrics from this musical production.     

Chinese Tea Rich in Cultural Traditions

Chinese tea is not merely a beverage variety but also bears rich cultural traditions. Like pastries associated with Chinese traditional festivals, Chinese tea embodies cultural elements that bring it with lingering charms and added values. The famous modem drama ＂Teahouse＂ is a perfect example. Perhaps because I was born and grew up in Beijing, I like reading literature about Beijing, in particular, litera .ry works by Lao She. He is one of the greatest writers in modern China who was born of a poor Manchurian family in Beijing. He worked and lived in UK and USA for nearly ten years and committed suicide in 1966 when the Cultural Revolution broke out.     

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.     

Shi Yue： Dedicated to Chinese Traditional Music

＂In the early springime, burgeoning flowers look more beautiful in the caress of gentle breeze and against brightness of the pure moon. Ancient beauties, either slim or plump, look gloomier under shining stars... ＂ That is a line from the poem Shi Yue has written. She set the poem to music and named the composition ＂Charm of Strings＂. Shi Yue learned music composition as an optional course for one year when she studied in Central Conservatory of Music and got best performance in composition analysis and harmony. ＂I had highest examination scores in my class. They are quite helpful to my music creation later,＂ Shi said.     

＂Shanghai Dreams＂ Reveals Cruelty of Youth

Wang Xiaoshuai＇s Cannes prizewinning film Shanghai Dreams （Qing Hong） is rooted in first handed memories. In the late 60s, when China feared attack by the USSR, armament factories and other ＂front line＂ industries were relocated from cities on the eastern seaboard to remote inland areas, and idealistic young adults were persuaded to resettle in dirt-towns like Guiyang to staff them. Less than 15 years later, many were desperate to move back to the urban sophistication of such cities as Shanghai, disillusioned by life in the sticks and eager to taste the newFreedoms of the 80s. The Wu family is a case in point.