NY Chef Wins International Chinese Culinary Competition

By Mimi Li, Epoch Times Staff Nov 19, 2008 -

'Red Lotus,' a dish made of chicken placed in a shell and decorated resembling a flower, made in the final round by Chen Yongming, Gold prize winner in the Shandong cuisine division. (Edward Dai/Epoch Times)

NEW YORK— Dish after dish, round after round, dozens of Chinese chefs tirelessly cooked up exotic Chinese delicacies, showing off their technical skills and superb creativity. But after the judging committee had made up its mind, only one chef stood out, winning the Gold prize in the Shandong cuisine division: Chen Yongming, a Chinese-American from Flushing, Queens, whose final round dish was the colorful “Red Lotus.” …… (more details from The Epochtimes)

Gold prize winner in the Shandong cuisine division Chen Yongming prepares his preliminary round dish 'Two Dragons Floating on Clouds.' (Bing Dai/Epoch Times)

Global Chinese Han Couture Competition Winners Come Out

Epoch Times Staff,  Oct 20, 2008 -

GOLD MEDAL WINNER: “Moments” by Zhaoqing Wang won the gold medal for the formal wear

NEW YORK—Silk painted with lotuses, long trailing sashes, and royal brocade were some of the fine details on display at the first Global Han Couture Design Competition held at Manhattan’s Prince George Ballroom on Sunday, Oct. 18.

The competition was part of a series of competitions held by New Tang Dynasty Television this year, including piano, violin, traditional Chinese dance, martial arts, and voice.

More even-paced than your average fashion show, several hours of eye-popping designs from over 50 contestants paraded down the catwalk. The designs ranged from familiar styles seen in traditional Chinese paintings—simple lines, broad panels and airy fabrics—to ones resembling those worn by characters in martial arts comic books.

The competition’s guidelines were to “borrow the patterns in clothing of the Tang, Song, and Ming dynasties…to create contemporary garments,” leaving the door wide open for a variety of styles and inspirations. But because the Western-Eastern combinations tended not to work, judges reverted to authenticity as their main judging criteria.

“Our selection process is designed this way because we want to use this to help guide the development of Han fashion down the line,” said judge Amy Li, who is an award-winning fashion designer trained in China. “We will be holding this competition in the future, we would like to see, in Chinese culture we have 5,000 years of fashion so we feel it’s already very rich and there’s a lot to draw upon already and we wanted to see a little bit more of that. There were some other pieces that were not as Asian and we felt that, having incorporated the western elements, even though it was nice in some cases, that it somehow doesn’t match, so it detracted from the overall effect.”

Each contestant was allowed to submit several pieces in two categories: casual wear and formal wear. In addition to a trophy and certificates of awards, $10,000 cash prizes were rewarded to gold winners, $5,000 to silver winners, and $2,000 USD to bronze winners.

Liqing Chen from Taiwan, whose pieces featured scooping sleeves and shapes that virtually leaped out from a painting, won silver in the casual division.

“Ancient Chinese fashion was very elegant, simple yet bold,” Chen said. “Mine was not very fancy but you don’t need a lot with Han couture to make it beautiful.”

Amy Li commented on the pieces that won gold in the formal wear division. Its theme was “Moments.” “The evening wear gold winner, the theme was ‘moment’ and we felt that it captured a moment in time of traditional Chinese couture,” Li said. “It was again very beautiful and at the same time very authentic.”

Some members of the fashion industry were in the audience. Sandi Grant, a New York fashion show producer, found the show impressive.

“The different colors, I loved the colors, the sequins, the embroidery, done stitch by stitch, they’re geniuses,” she said.

Lavera Wright, a former model and fashion consultant, now trains young models and holds fashion shows for upcoming New York designers. “It’s different from regular fashion shows,” Wright said. “The models took the time to pause, they really wore those gowns – they didn’t just run across the stage. They were elegant and graceful. That’s the way I am and how I teach my girls.” …… (more details)

E-card, Vancouver, 2008, Chinese Spectacular

e-card for Chinese Spectacular 2008 Vancouver Canada

Ottawa ‘Lucky’ to Host ‘Chinese Spectacular’, Says Canadian Minister

By Cindy Chan, Epoch Times Ottawa Staff, Jan 13, 2008-

OTTAWA—The nation’s capital was treated to an impressive helping of traditional Chinese culture with the Canadian debut of New Tang Dynasty Television’s Chinese New Year Spectacular at the National Arts Centre tonight.

Canadian Environment Minister John Baird ( photo at right)  came to the pre-show VIP reception, attended by more than 100 guests, including government officials and representatives, show sponsors and leaders from the business, artistic, university, and Chinese communities.

Addressing the reception, Baird said, “I don’t think we realize how lucky we are, in the Ottawa area, in the National Capital Region, to have the performance stop here.”

Divine Performing Arts, the New York-based company presenting the show, says that beyond the aesthetics it tries to convey the traditional moral values and the true culture of China.

The show will tour over 60 cities on four continents, with stops in five other Canadian cities to follow the Canadian premiere in Ottawa.

Baird said the show presents “a very different perspective of China and the values that are at the root of a lot of Chinese civilization, which is exciting culturally and intellectually.”

“It’s certainly an exciting show, and like all cultural performances it has a great message in it. The music, the dancing, the stories behind it are amazing.”

“It’s a great performance,” he said.

Every year the Chinese communist regime attempts to interfere with the show. Last year the Chinese embassy in Ottawa went so far as to issue a statement saying it disapproved of “the participation in the ‘New Year Spectacular’ by the officials of any country in any form.” The embassy and consulates also made a great deal of publicity efforts to urge the public not to attend.

Over the last two months several U.S. officials have made public letters from Chinese consulates in the U.S. warning them not to attend the shows or to provide support or congratulatory greetings in any form.

“I didn’t receive a letter myself, but I was here last year and I am very happy to be here again this year,” said Baird.

Canada’s Governor General Michaëlle Jean sent a greeting letter, as did Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

“I have no doubt that audiences will delight in the exceptional showcase of colourful, handmade costumes, brilliant choreography and outstanding musical compositions,” said Harper in his congratulatory message.

Over ten other greetings were received from other Canadian government officials, including Minister of Public Safety Stockwell Day, Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Diane Finley, Minister of State and Secretary of State (Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity) Jason Kenney, Chair of the Conservative Caucus Rahim Jaffer, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario David Onley, and Ottawa Mayor Larry O’Brien.

Baird wished all Chinese Canadians “a Happy New Year and the very best for health and prosperity over the next year.”

 The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Divine Performing Arts shows that will perform in over 60 cities worldwide in 2008. To find a show near you, please visit www.bestchineseshows.com.

Source: the epochtimes 

Trip the light dynastic– Five millennia come alive at the Chinese New Year Spectacular

by RUPERT BOTTENBERG, the Montreal Mirror, Canada, Jan 10, 2008-

“The Year of the Rat symbolizes new beginnings and change,” says Francis Madore, spokesperson for, no, not Barack Obama, but for “not-for-profit, independent, Chinese-language television” company New Tang Dynasty TV, which is presenting the Chinese New Year Spectacular at Place des Arts this week (though the actual Chinese New Year falls on Feb. 7 this year).

(photo by the Montreal Mirror)

“The legend says that at the time of the new year, the Buddha called upon all the animals to meet him, so he could assign them roles. Only 12 showed up, and each was given a year, so people born in that year would get the characteristics of that animal. People born under the year of the rat tend to be leaders, pioneers, conquerors. They’re usually charming, passionate, charismatic, practical and of course hardworking, like you know the rat is.”

The charm quotient of rats could be debated, but the dedication of the Divine Performing Arts Troupe, composed largely of Chinese émigrés and ex-pats, is unquestionable. Among the most successful touring shows in the world, the Spectacular strives to revive five millennia of Chinese art and history without fudging the specifics.

“The movements of the dancers, the costumes they wear, the backdrops—every detail is weighed and studied so that they’re as authentic as possible,” says Madore.

“The Chinese people themselves have been disconnected from this ancient culture, which was governed by dynasties. Each dynasty had a specific culture, depending on the emperor. These are people who had high beliefs in gods and adhered to high standards of morality, and they believe that’s what enabled them to develop these rich, glorious civilizations of ancient China. Now, with the Cultural Revolution and even in historical textbooks, all this information has been altered or removed. So it’s really interesting for both Chinese and Western audiences.”

The show touches on the Tang, Qing and Song dynasties, says Madore, “and on top of that, it goes into depicting some ethnic groups that prevailed in China. For example, there’s the traditional Mongolian cup dance, where the ladies carry cups with actual milk in them on their heads. The Manchurian ethnicity is also depicted, and the Tibetans.”

Madore adds a final but not inconsequential note, an unsurprising one given the Falun Dafa Association’s collaboration on the show. “The 5,000 years of Chinese history that are covered are from the ancient times, but also modern times. Some scenes depict the human-rights issues in China in the last 50 years, so there’s something to learn there too.”

At Place des Arts (Montreal, Canada) Tuesday to Thursday, Jan. 15–17, 2008,
7:30 p.m. (also 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 16), $38–$158, all ages

- Original report from the Montreal Mirror

The Mystery of Chinese Culture & Art

The following story can help to shed some light on the mystery:

Once there was an art dealer who had a painting that depicted a young farm boy leading a horse across a bridge. The boy was facing the horse, his body leaning back, and he looked like he was exerting great effort.

One day a buyer came in and had to have this painting. However, he didn’t have enough money on him to buy this rather expensive artwork right away. So he asked the dealer to hold the painting for him while he went home to get the funds.

As the seller took the painting down, he noticed it was missing the rope the boy should have been using to lead the horse. Without much thought, he picked up an ink brush and added a rope to fix this apparent flaw in the painting.

When the buyer came back and saw the new rope, he was terribly upset. He told the dealer: “I was only willing to spend so much on this painting because of the rope that wasn’t seen but could still be felt!” 

Asian-themed performances like NTDTV’s Holiday Wonders or the Chinese New Year Spectacular offer an entirely new experience for many Westerners, partly because they are so different from the more typical, narrative-driven, performing art forms. They ask something different from the audience – a slight shift in expectations, a shift in sensibility.

The appreciation for what is implied rather than what is in plain sight sets Asian art apart from Western art. Traditional Chinese dance, for example, is less precise and strict in form than its Western counterpart, ballet. It is because it attempts to evoke a different sort of feeling. Like a glass of claret with its subtle undertones, this kind of dance leaves room for the imagination while leaving a lasting impression.

The more something is described in a concrete way, the smaller the range it covers. For example, the phrase “hot water” describes not only water but its temperature, so although “hot water” is more specific than “water,” it precludes “warm water,” “cold water,” and other kinds of water and is therefore more limited. Perhaps this is why so much of Chinese art seems to speak in generalities. Ink landscape paintings with their broad brush strokes and wide swaths intentionally left blank are particularly hard for the Western eye to grasp. These paintings can often seem vague and unclear, but to the discerning viewer, each brush stroke speaks volumes.

The same holds for the Chinese language — known for being extraordinarily concise and yet also rich and descriptive precisely because it is so succinct. Indeed, many Chinese words and proverbs contain concepts that could take paragraphs to explain in another language.

The NTDTV holiday shows seem to have struck a balance between the more refined traditional dance forms and the simple pleasures of rousing music, impressive large scale dances with dozens of dancers moving in synch, and, of course, gorgeous costumes and backdrops.

The shows offer enough new flavors to be intriguing without being overly foreign. The more subtle elements may be lost on many in the audience, but their presence nonetheless enriches the entire performance for everyone.

Ultimately, stories of grace and virtue told through song and dance will speak to us all forever. ( Original from NTDTV website )

Photo(1): Beautiful Chinese Dance, from Holiday Wonder Show

Following photos are of 2006 Holiday Wonder Show in The Beacon Theater, New York City, which was happened during Christmase time from Dec. 19 to 24, 2006, hosted by NTDTV.

After the Holiday Wonder Show, the 3-month-long 2007 Chinese New Year Spectacular global tour show, which is also hosted by NTDTV, will begin to perform first in Vancouver, Canada, in Queen Elizabeth Theatre, on Jan. 3, 2007, and then go to other 29 cities around the world.

(All above photos are from Chinese news website epochtimes’ webpage here)