San Francisco, CA, USA, Jan 3 – 8 , 2012
Montreal, Canada Jan 5 – 8, 2012
Philadelphia, PA, USA, Jan 6 – 8 , 2012
Kitchener-Waterloo, Canada, Jan 10 – 11, 2012
Los Angeles (Costa Mesa), California, USA, Jan 11 – 12, 2012
New York, NY, USA, Jan 11 – 15, 2012
Toronto, Canada, Jan 12 – 15, 2012
Los Angeles, CA, USA, Jan 13 – 14, 2012
San Diego (Escondido), CA, USA, Jan 19 – 22, 2012
Providence, RI, USA, Jan 19, 2012
Mississauga, Canada, USA, Jan 19 – 22, 2012
Boston, MA, USA, Jan 20 – 22, 2012
Detroit, MI, USA, Jan 26 – 29, 2012
Atlanta, GA, USA, Jan 27 – 29, 2012
Phoenix, AZ, USA, Jan 27 – 29, 2012
Augusta, GA, Jan 31, 2012
Thousand-year-old Ancient Art of Miao Ethnic Embroidery Lives On in South China (Video)
A thousand-year-old ancient art of embroidery is still shining in the mountains of northern Guizhou Province.
As a folk art, it has been handed down from the hands of women of the minority Miao ethnic group.
The artists are the common people of the red sect of Miao people. It is so named because of their red attire. They moved from Jiangxi Province to Guizhou hundreds of years ago.
The Far Reaching Melody of the Chinese Zither
The ancient Chinese zither (guqin or simply qin (Wade-Giles ch’in)) is more than a musical instrument for performance. It has a long history, and rich and profound cultural connotations. Ancient scholars and leaders regarded it as an expression of the ideals of individual cultivation, family harmonization, statesmanship, and social stability. It was symbol of intellectual life. In the Book of Rites, it is written, “an intellectual does not casually part with his zither or se [a large stringed musical instrument].” Confucius also said, “[Be]Impassioned in poetry, observant in rites, and accomplished in music.”
Zither playing aspires to artistic conception –appreciating the inner meaning rather than stopping at mere technical perfection. It transcends the boundaries of music, embodying the harmony between mankind and nature, the cosmic concept of the relationship between Heaven and man, and ideas of life and morality. Therefore it becomes a tool for cultivating one’s moral character, enlightening to higher truths, and edifying people. Scholars spoke of the Virtue of the zither or the Tao of the zither. In Cai Yong’s “Zither Manual,” he says: “In ancient times, Fuxi made the zither to restrain oneself from becoming deviant and to guard against the development of lust, so that one can cultivate rationally and return to one’s original true self.” In Yueji, an ancient musical record, it was noted: “The virtuous is nature’s most upright, and the musician is the virtuous’ most magnificent.” Virtue is man’s innate nature, and music is the sublimation of virtue. Music in a high realm is an expression of Heavenly Principles. Continue reading
Classical Chinese Dance and Chinese Culture
Alongside ballet, classical Chinese dance is one of the most comprehensive dance systems in the world.
Classical Chinese dance has a long history of thousands of years, passed down continuously within the imperial palace and ancient Chinese theater and opera. Soaking up profound wisdom from every era and dynasty, it has become a complete system of dance embodying traditional aesthetic principles with its unique dance movements, rhythms, and inner meaning.
Dance is one part of human culture. Classical Chinese dance is grounded in 5,000 years of divinely inspired culture, and is a dance art form built upon a deep foundation of traditional aesthetics. Classical Chinese dance is rich with expressive power. Through expression of bearing and form, beautiful dance movements bring out the inner meaning of intrinsic thoughts and feelings, reflecting the peculiarities of human nature, the standard for human conduct, moral concepts, mental state, one’s value system, and so on. Continue reading
Mulan, the Most Inspiring Woman in China’s History
No other woman in Chinese history has inspired more admiration than Mulan, who is considered an embodiment of loyalty and filial piety. The ancient story of Mulan enlisting in the military on her aging father’s behalf is one of China’s most treasured legends and included in every Chinese school textbook. The story has also become quite well known outside China through a Disney animation film that has popularized this celebrated Chinese heroine.
Mulan was an actual person. Her last name was Hua. She was born in a small rural village in northern China, and purportedly lived from 581 to 618 AD during the Sui Dynasty, though other records place her between 386 and 534 AD, during the Northern Wei Dynasty. While the dates may be disputed, her story is unequivocal.
Mulan’s father was a soldier and raised Mulan like a boy. She not only learned weaving and embroidery from her mother, but also practiced martial arts, equitation, archery, and fencing with her father. In her spare time she liked to read her father’s manuals on military strategy. Continue reading
(Video) Introduction: Shen Yun Performing Arts
Shen Yun Show 2012 Vancouver, at Queen Elizabeth Theatre
The world renowned Chinese dance and music company, New York based Shen Yun Performing Arts, will be performing once again at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in February 2012, with an entirely new lineup of its world-class classical dance, numerous ethnic and folk dances, songs, and musical scores.
Shen Yun features hundreds of colorful costumes, Digital animated backdrops, and One-of-a-kind orchestra. In the two and half hour performance, audiences travel from the Himalayas to tropical lake-filled regions; from the legends of the culture’s creation over 5,000 years ago through to the story in modern China today; from the highest heavens down to the dusty plateaus of the Middle Kingdom.
The performance by Shen Yun is a presentation of traditional Chinese culture as it once was: a study in grace, wisdom, and the virtues distilled from the five millennia of Chinese civilization.
VENUE
Queen Elizabeth Theatre
600 Hamilton St., Downtown Vancouver
Vancouver, BC V6B 1A1
Canada Continue reading
Mysterious Chinese Characters (8): Yao- Medicine
Character: Yao
The character 藥 (yào) in Chinese refers to a medicine or drug. According to mythology, Shénnóng the “divine farmer”, sampled hundreds of herbs to test their medicinal value. After this, herbs 草 (căo) were thought able to heal. 藥 therefore contains the shortened version of this character, 艹, which means herbs. Shénnóng is said to have taught the Chinese their agricultural practices.
The lower half of the character is 樂 (pronounced either lè or yuè) means, on the one hand, “elation” and “happiness”, on the other hand “music.” In Chinese medicine therefore, besides the extraction of medicine from medicinal herbs, targeted application of music also played a crucial role. Continue reading
‘Five Recipes’ of Governance- Chinese Emperor of the Tang Dynasty’s Account
One day Tang Taizong, the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty, who ruled from 626 to 649 A.D., arrived at Cuiwei Palace. He asked the Officials In Waiting, “Since ancient times, although emperors could conquer the central plains of China, they failed to get minority nationalities like the Rong or the Di to accede. My abilities are inferior to the emperors of ancient times, but I have been able to accomplish more than they did. I won’t disclose the reasons for now, but would like to ask you gentlemen to please give it to me straight.”
All the officials responded, “Your majesty’s virtue is as great as heaven and earth, and it would be difficult to cover it clearly in a few words.”
The Emperor went on and said, “It is not like that. There are five reasons why I am able to accomplish what I have accomplished. First, since ancient times, emperors usually were jealous of those whose abilities surpassed that of themselves; I, on the other hand, value other people’s strong points as I value my own. Continue reading
