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Hail the mighty lion dance!
Art+Culture / Local Culture
Written by : Yan Zhitu, translated by Shane Qin
Apr 2, 2008
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| Everything you wanted to know about China's most vibrant performance art .
According to Chinese customs, the lion is considered "the king of our animals" and is thus a symbol of righteous power. That said, the lion dance, one of China's greatest folk arts (and one which has been performed for over a thousand years) is still an amazingly popular attraction at many diverse festivals across China.
Of course, China is not the birthplace of the lion; so how did the dance come to be? Stories are various in their explanations.
One interesting tale says that during the reign of Emperor Han Zhang Di (汉章帝, 58-88AD) a Persian envoy came to China with a caged lion. He challenged the Emperor, saying," If anyone from Your Majesty's country can tame this beast within ten days, then my country will promise to pay tribute every year. Otherwise, our good diplomatic relationship will be aborted." Or words to that effect.
Hugely confi ... ... |
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The dream dragon and the emperor
Art+Culture / Local Culture
Written by : Yan Zhitu, translated by Shane Qin
Mar 11, 2008
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tower
guangzhou
zhenhai
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| What's the truth behind Guangzhou's Zhenhai Tower?
Located on the top of Yuexiu Hill in Guangzhou, the Zhenhai Tower (镇海楼), also known as the Five-Story Pagoda (五层楼), was built in 1380 as part of an ancient urban expansion of the city. Throughout the centuries, the building has been destroyed and rebuilt at least five times, and today stands as the Guangzhou Municipal Museum. Yet this is no ordinary building. Stories are told to color the making of this historical landmark of Guangzhou, and here's the most famous one. . .
After crowning himself the founder of The Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Zhu Yuanzhang (朱元璋, 1328-1398) sent his right-hand man, Zhu Liangzu (朱亮祖, who died in 1380), to govern Guangzhou, and ennobled him as the Yongjia Marquis.
However, the ambitious Zhu Liangzu was not satisfied with this position. "Zhu Yuanzhang was a humble cowherd, yet now he is emperor. His fate must have something to do with his family tomb, so it must have good Feng-Shui. If I bu ... ... |
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Happy birthday to . . . everybody!
Art+Culture / Local Culture
Written by : Yan Zhitu, translated by Shane Qin
Feb 4, 2008
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New Year
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| So why exactly are people "reborn" on the seventh day of Chinese New Year?
As important as Christmas is to Westerners, the Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival (春节), is regarded as the greatest of all festivals to Chinese people. It celebrates the arrival of the spring season — a season of hope for the year ahead.
It's also known as "Guo Nian"(过年). And here's why: a long time ago, there was a ferocious beast called "Nian" (年) that
attacked people on the first day of the Chinese New Year. Gradually, people found out that "Nian" was actually afraid of noise, the color red, and brightness. Therefore, as New Year approached, each family put up bright red signs and red lanterns as well as lighting firecrackers to scare the beast away. Such
customs have been passed down the generations ever since.
Perhaps you've read about this monster story from the various guidebooks about traditional Chinese culture. However, what is ... ... |
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A great gallant bird
Art+Culture / Local Culture
Written by :
Jan 28, 2008
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| About five hundred years ago, there was a Cantonese rebel leader named Huang Xiaoyang (黄萧养), known for heroic deeds and fighting against corrupted governments. He even helped the poor, just like Robin Hood.
Turned on by some traitors, Huang was imprisoned and sentenced to death. One of his inmates presumed that Huang was a man of 'incredible' power and persuaded him to escape away together. Huang agreed.
The two secretly schemed a cunning plan. When everything was ready, they broke from the jail with many other prisoners and snatched a wagon of weapons.
Regaining freedom, Huang again called for an uprising that drew in tens of thousands of people. In a pretty short period of time, the rebel force had grown strong in both manpower and effectiveness. After taking Guangzhou city, Huang was ambitious to overthrow the Ming Dynasty (1368-1683) and take over the ruling powers.
One night, ... ... |
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