Melody of ＂Jasmine Flower＂ Echoes in Olympic Venues

When hostesses dressed in outfits with image of white-and-blue porcelain and holding red flower bouquets served medals at Olympic medal ceremonies during the 2008 Games, the readapted, lingering melody of the Chinese folk song ＂Jasmine Flower＂ sounded in the sports venues. According to Wang Ning, an official in charge of medal ceremonies from the Beijing Olympic Games Organizing Committee, the music used at the medal ceremony was recreated based on the original melody of ＂Jasmine Flower＂ which is perhaps the most popular Chinese folk song.     

＂The Chinese Fever＂ in the British History

Porcelain wares were the most elegant present that China gave to Europe so that they are even called ＂China＂ in English. In the early 17th century when the Dutch people attacked Portuguese vessels and moved Chinese goods on the vessels to Amsterdam, the European women were so amazed by the elegance of the porcelain wares that they even did not dare to touch them. The production method of porcelain wares also has different versions in the West. Bacon （1561-1626） mentioned how the Chinese made porcelain in his book ＂The New Atlantis＂ （1624）. Thomas Brown （1605-1682） also pointed out two other ways of producing porcelain in the 17th century： to bury eggshells, lobster shells and plaster under the ground for 80 years; or to put the mud under the sunshine for 40 years. All these tales and legends made the porcelain wares even more sacred and precious.     

Ancient Chinese Instrument Sheng and Yu

Among ancient Chinese music instruments, sheng and yu are both wind instruments consisting essentially of vertical tubes. They were different only in form-Yu is bigger and longer than sheng. Yu gradually evolved to appear very similar looking to sheng and thus few modern people have ever heard of yu. But records of yu can be found in many ancient documents. For instance, the Chinese idiom “be there just to make up the number““ comes from a Warring-State Period story about a yu ensemble.     

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＂ .     

Guangzhou Opera House： A Theatre That Has Changed A City

＂Architecture is music in space, as it were a frozen music. ＂A theater is a perject mix of the two. The past three years has seen the construction of numerous theatres around China. They are not only cultural landmarks, but also bear significant economic and social implications. It is the joint responsibility of builders, operators and managers to make them cultural icons that play a key role in promoting local cultural and art development. The reporter recently visited Guangzhou Opera House, put in use jbur years ago, in order to find its success in bringing cultural experience Jor local citizens.     

Sun Yingdi： ＂Liszt in Primary Colours＂

On the eve of 16 October, the seats of the City Hall opera house in Wellington, New Zealand were fully occupied. Sun Yingdi, Chinese young pianist dubbed as ＂Liszt in primary colours＂, concert kicked off his nearly was giving his solo concert. The one-month-long musical tour in New Zealand, which was part of the ＂Oriental Express＂ program initiated by Chinese Cultural Ministry. The concert was a big successs. With his extraordinary skills and perfect performance, Sun touched the strict New Zealand audience so deeply that they gave him stormy applauses for quite a long time.     

＂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.     

Creativity Inspired by life＂Thou Art Understood＂ Paper Tape

Recently, the Palace Museum in Taipei unveiled the＂thou art understood＂ （literally＂l, the Emperor, understood your request!＂） paper tape, an item based on the comments thatEmperor Kangxi frequently marked in palace memorials. The tape is very popular in Taiwan as well as the mainland China and sells so good that the museum had to post a notice in its online store, saying 500 boxes of paper tape that were ready to sell on July 4th were sold out the next day. And 700 boxes restocked on July 6th were sold out in 30 minutes. From the release of the paper tape on July 3rd to the end of August, 21,672 paper tapes were sold out.     

＂Time for Chinese＂ Held in Benin＇s Chinese Culture Center

On July 11, a Chinese language proficiencydevelopment event, entitled ＂Time for Chinese＂, was held in China Culture Center in Benin. It was the 7th session of this cultural event, aiming to showcase results that Benin＇s Chinese language Learners had achieved in the center＇s training programs, Some 80 persons attended the event.     

CHINESE ＂RED＂ OIL PAINTINGS SOLD WELL IN AUCTION MARKET

Chinese ＂red＂ art, which refer to artworks depicting revolutionary subiects, have seen excellent performance in the auction market since the beginning of this year, Inparticular, the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the People＇s Republic of China gave a new push to its price rise.     

＂Most Beautiful Places in China＂ Unveiled

The results of ＂Most Beautlful Places in China＂ organized by Chinese National Geogrophy Magazine and other 34 local media institutions were unveiled recently. The voting, lasting for eight months, was conducted by experts, media organizations as well as netizens and mobile subscribers. The mast authoritative results, done by the expert panel consisting of a dozen of academicians and some one hundred specialists, were released In the magazine＇s October issue.     

FOCUS ON CHINESE CULTURE --The art exhibition ＂China in Eyes of African Artists＂ held in Benin

A s a comprising event of ＂Focus on Chinese Culture 2009＂ series, the art exhibition ＂China in Eyes of African Artists＂ , was recently held in China Culture Center in Cotonou,economic capital city of Benin. An artist delegation from Shenzhen was invited to attend this event. Some 300 officials, diplomats and artists participated in the opening ceremony.     

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.     

Ren Jie：Born to Be Chinese Harp Musician

In the cold winter, you resisted bitter coldness with Gu Zheng （Chinese harp）. You plucked strings with slim fingers and melodious sounds retreated the coldness The snow melted into clean spring water to moisten the green dreamland. You were born to be a Chinese harp musician. You opened the door of arts with the key of jouth. In the sky of music, you fly as a free bird, showing angel-like charms. Behind the brilliant music you play, however, there are not only smiles but also tears.     

＂Happy Chinese New Year＂ Tours to Thailand

Spring Festival is the most important traditional holiday for the Chinese nation. ＂Happy Chinese New Year＂ is a brand for cultural exchanges with foreign countries initiated by the Ministry of Culture. This film introduces celebrations of Chinese New Year in Thailand in 2013 and presents the joyous and auspicious Chinese Spring Festival and the colorful Chinese culture from the eyes of government officials from two countries,     

TransMusicales Strikes a Cross-border Chord

From June 18 to 19, French modern music festival TransMusicales staged its biggest production outside France in the very heart of Chinese capital, bringing the latest techno and electronic pop to an audience largely unfamiliar with outdoor pop festivals. Trans in China, a miniature Chinese version of Les Rencontres TransMusicales held each December in the French city of Rennes, was shown in a grassy amphitheatre at Chaoyang Park — a popular rendezvous of outdoor cultural events in Beiji…     

Acrobatics Promotes China-Sudan Friendship

The year 2009 marks the 50th anniversan/of China-Sudan diplomatic relations, Before thisyear of special importance came, I paid a visit to Sudan and interviewed Sudan Nalional Acrobatics Company company＇s training field where its director brought me to the saw a team of young acrobats, aged from 10 to 20, doing exercises. Dressed in uniforms with the logo of ＂Sudan Acrobatics＂, these young acrobats attentively practiced basic actions against the background Chinese music.     

Twentieth Century Chinese Music

THE Society for the Promo-tion of Chinese Cult-ure re-cently listed a number of20th century Chinese musical com-positions it considers to be master-pieces.These consist of 124 piecescreated over a span of 87 years,fromthe song“Yellow River,”written in1905,to Flute Concerto in 1991.Theyinclude vocal music in the form ofsolo,chorus and opera,and instru-mental music in the form of solos,ensembles,concertos,symphoniesand dance.The oldest musician wasShen Xingong,born in 1870;andthe youngest is Tan Dun,born in1957.The difference between theirages is,again,87 years.The worksrepresenting five generations in Chi-na’s modern and contempoary mus-ical history mark different stages inChina’s musical creation in this cen-tury.     

＂ China in London 2008＂ Brings China and UK Closer

On February 6, 2008, the eve of the Chinese Year of Rat, Chinese red lanterns ignited major shopping streets of London. For the third year running, the ＂China in London＂ season was officially launched with grand parades. This spectacular event, aiming to showcase China＇s fascinating history and culture and strengthen ties between China and UK, has attracted a huge number of local residents and many prestigious institutions like the British Museum and the Royal Opera House.