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Li LinYu 李琳玉 - Traditional Crafts: Handcraft - Oil-paper Umbrella

History

The spread of oil-paper umbrellas was started by the invention of Yun, wife of Lu Ban. "Chop bamboo sticks to thin strips, covered in animal fur, closed to become a cane, opened as a cone." Early umbrella materials were mostly feathers or silks, later replaced by paper. When oil-paper umbrellas first appeared is unknown. Some estimate that they spread across to Korea and Japan during the Tang dynasty. It was commonly called the "green oil-paper umbrella" during the Song dynasty. The popularity grew and the oil-paper umbrella became commonplace during the Ming dynasty. They are often mentioned in popular Chinese literature. By the 19th century, oil-paper umbrellas were a common item in international trade under the name kittisols.

Basic production process

The production process and required procedures are different in each region. However, in general, they can be divided into four main steps: 1.Bamboo is selected. 2.The bamboo is crafted and soaked in water. It is then dried in the sun, drilled, threaded and assembled into a skeleton. 3.Washi paper is cut and glued onto the skeleton. It is trimmed, oiled, and exposed to sunlight. 4.Lastly, patterns are painted onto the umbrella.

Oil-paper umbrella in customs and cultural ceremonies

Hakka marriage and bride dowry

In traditional Hakka marriages, the bride's parents must pay dowry to the husband's family, in which oil-paper umbrella is one of the required dowries. "纸" (Paper) is a homonym for "子" (sons) in Chinese, for the connotation of having sons early. The character "傘" (umbrella), contains five "人" (man) with the connotation of many sons and grandsons. Oil-paper umbrella is straight up, with the symbol to eradicate evil spirits. The circular appearance symbolizes "fullness" connotation of a beautiful marriage. And since the umbrella itself can shield rain and the wind, thus prohibiting evil spirits from entering in. Other dowries that come with the oil-paper umbrella include five colored pants, make up the table, door curtain, and boxes. In wealthier families, dowries could include god and jewelry or high-quality cloth or blankets. In addition, bride family would give vegetables that have homonym with positive words such as 芹菜, 大蒜, 香葱, 韭菜 that are then tied with red rope given as gifts to the husband's family.

Hakka second burial funerals

Since many of the Hakka populations are in the mountainous areas of China, most corpses are buried on the mountains. Initially, Hakka people do not put up a gravestone, however, after the second time the corpse is buried (usually 3–5 years later), the additional grander ceremony is added. When buying, usually in the eighth month of the Chinese calendar, an experienced burial master is hired to dig the old burial and enter the clean bones for an official and permanent burial at the exact spot. The oil-paper umbrella is used to cover the bones while they are being cleaned.

Hakka dance ceremony

"Umbrella Dance" is one of the traditional dances of the Hakka culture, during the ceremony, the dancer must be holding a paper umbrella and wearing a blue shirt (traditional Hakka Clothing). Hakka Dance Ceremony is an important part of the Hakka Culture along with "tea leaf drama" and "mountain song".

Engagement present of the Yao people

In the population of Yao located in Longhui County of Hunan, oil-paper umbrella is used as an engagement present by the men side. When a consensus is built between the two families, the family of the man's side would hire an experienced man to propose a marriage in the woman's house. The first propose does not require any gift but only the permission of the parents of the bride. During the day of engagement, the man's side needs to bring an oil-paper umbrella to the woman's house and place it on the sacred table located in the house; the bride must take the umbrella from the table personally and close the umbrella that is stitched with 12 triangles. Then the experienced man must bring the oil-paper umbrella back to the husband's house for the proof of a successful engagement. On the way back, the experienced man must not open the umbrella himself. If a divorce is made later, the husband must return the string on the stitch back to the bride.

Funerals of the Dai people

Dai people located in Yunnan use a special type of paper called "嘎拉沙" (Garcia) to make oil-paper umbrella, which is brushed with sesame oil. The Dai believe that the umbrella could lead the dead to heaven. This type of umbrella is still available in a village today.

Oil-paper umbrellas in China

The art of the Chinese style of oil-paper umbrellas are mostly focused on traditional black and white Chinese painting such as flowers, birds, and scenery. Others include scenes from famous Chinese literature, such as Dream of the Red Chamber and Romance of the Western Chamber. Yet, some have Chinese calligraphy instead of paintings. However, traditional colors are kept on the sticks and the scaffold of the umbrella to maintain the antiquity.

Yuhang, Zhejiang

In Yuhang District, Zhejiang, oil-paper umbrellas have been produced since the era of the Qianlong Emperor (1769), by Dong Wenyuan, who owned an umbrella shop. Oil-paper umbrellas in Yuhang are made with high mechanical skills and top materials, which provide their endurance. Prolonged exposure to sunlight and rain does no damage, thus their popularity among common people. Many travelers who passed through Yuan would buy umbrellas from Dong Wenyuan's umbrella shop as souvenirs for friends and relatives. Oil-paper umbrellas in Yuhang are available in a variety of different types and purposes, including those used for fishing or as collectibles.

In 1951, Zhejiang province has chosen Yuhang as the focused point of the industrial artifact for oil-paper umbrellas and initiated a group for this establishment in 1952. The later established "Artifact Rain Umbrella Industry Co-operations" was the first industry of artifacts in Zhejiang province. This establishment was once in the spotlight of the Chinese media, however, as the popular metallic umbrella appeared on the market and oil-paper umbrellas have faced extinction.

On December 5, 2006, artisan Liu Youquan met a government official of the Yuhang district and proposed to recover the oil-paper umbrella in Yuhan, with the intention of starting a new pop culture trend and increase local wealth. Liu spent a few hundred RMB and bought some dozens of the bamboo umbrella from a bamboo umbrella factory. But Liu did not have the skills, only to keep these as a "canvas" for 30 some years. A local media reported for a search of an oil-paper umbrella artisan and increased local awareness. Four days later, four artisans: Fang Jinquan, Chen Yue Xiang, Shen Lihua, and Sun Shuigen prompted and have intentions to recover the art (drawing oil paintings on the bamboo umbrella). They have passed their skills and technique to some local bamboo farmers and brought income to them. The governmental officials of Yuhang have listed this art for major protection and important antique artifact (Antiquities Act[1]).

Production requires skilled hands and technique as well as personal experience. Training to become a master in oil-paper umbrella manufacture requires an apprenticeship and a great deal of practice. Apprentices must practice the skills for three years to officially master this technique. Tools are made by professional blacksmiths. The material of the umbrellas is chosen with care. The umbrella scaffold is made from either bamboo or wood, tied with hair strings. The best umbrellas are made from peach flowers, as the umbrella surface is soaked in persimmon pigment. The persimmon pigment is made from fermenting the juice of green persimmons,[2] which provides a suitable stickiness. The soaked flower petals are stuck to the umbrella scaffold one by one. Paintings or pictures are drawn on the peach flower petals prior to painting tung oil on top. The finalized umbrella is left to dry in a dry dark room. It requires at least 70 steps to produce a well-crafted oil-paper umbrella.

Hunan

Oil-paper umbrellas in Changsha, Hunan province date back to about 100 years, the earliest oil-paper umbrella shop is 陶恒泰纸伞店, Which is named after Tao Jiqiao, who established the shop during the Qing dynasty.

In 1900, Liang Jingting, who worked in an umbrella shop in Changsha opened his own umbrella shop called the Lianghongfa San. It produces the old type of oil, black ink umbrella. The beautiful name Xiangtan Muji Jing Gang You San is attributed to its fine features and endurance. In 1921, the Pan Kuiqing (潘馈清) brothers started a factory called Feifei San (菲菲伞) that mass-produces umbrella skin paper. The umbrella skin it produced included traditional flowered ones and many other pictures, these umbrellas were exported to Hong Kong, Macau and South East Asia. The umbrella was awarded in a Chinese exhibition in 1929. The highest production rate was thirty thousand per year, until February 1975 when Jing Gang Yusan She(靖港雨伞社; jìng gǎng yǔsǎn shè) was abolished, and Taohengmao (陶恒茂) oil-paper umbrella production was terminated.

The raw materials of the Changsha oil-paper umbrella are skin paper, bamboo, cotton silk, rope, tung oil, persimmon water, pigment, cow horn, and wood. The umbrellas produced by Taohengmao are especially fine-featured and commit to abide by the traditional production methods with strict materials.

Taiwan

Oil-paper umbrella production in Meinong initiation has two rumors.One was that it started during the Japanese rule, during which, Lin Agui and Wu Zhenxing invited oil-paper umbrella artisans from mainland China to Taiwan for the purpose of passing the skills to the locals.The other was that oil-paper umbrella artisan Guo (郭玉琴) have arrived in Taiwan from Guangdong province. Since then, he had permanently stayed in the Meinong district and spread the skills locally. Early Meinong oil-paper umbrella factor was called "廣" (pronounced "Young") for connotations of wealth, wide and progression. In 1960, oil-paper umbrella, tobacco leaves, and rice were Meinong district's major income sources. At that time, it was the renaissance of oil-paper umbrella. It was estimated that there were at least twenty factories producing twenty thousand oil-paper umbrellas annually. However, with the rapid industrialization in Taiwan, mechanically produced Western umbrellas have replaced them in attribute to low cost, longevity, and portability. Taiwan has become the key country of Western umbrella production and forced many traditional handmade oil-paper umbrella factories out of business.

In 1970, an English journal used the Goung (广进胜) oil-paper umbrella pioneer, Lin Xianglin and his umbrella as the magazine cover, along with a detailed article on the culture and production of oil-paper umbrella. BBC have also included a series of recording of the oil-paper umbrella called the "Long Search". In addition, 1983, famous Hakka movie producer, Lin Fu-De, have incorporated the oil-paper umbrella into his drama, Star Knows My Heart. When the drama was played in the Japanese television, Taiwanese oil-paper umbrella gained impression in the Japanese, who have ordered a large quantity for imports. After 1980, with the increase of Taiwan overall financial status, Meinong's increased tourism, oil-paper umbrella have recovered its utility in the daily life along with its value as a local culture and travel souvenir.

Oil-paper umbrellas in foreign countries

Japan

Oil-paper umbrellas are often known in Japanese as wagasa, and these with a bull's-eye design are called janomegasa. The handle and scaffold are often colored black, however, sometimes other colors are applied as well. The surface paintings include traditional Japanese culture, gained popularity from the Azuchi–Momoyama period to Edo period.

Tailand

Oil-paper umbrella art in the Northern Thailand, or Chiang Mai dates back to around two hundred years. The umbrella scaffold is made from green bamboo sticks, the colors and images are abundant including pictures of scenery, animals, people and flowers. The umbrella surfaces can have a square shape in addition to the traditional circular one. Oil-paper umbrellas in Thailand have unique features, which often entice tourists to buy them. Of the several types, the most famous are the ones made in the Bo Sang village. Most farmers produce oil-paper umbrellas during their free time in specialized factories.

References

1. The Antiquities Act of 1906 (Pub.L. 59–209, 34 Stat. 225, 54 U.S.C. §§ 320301–320303), is an act that was passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by Theodore Roosevelt on June 8, 1906.

2."Hiromi Paper International". hiromipaper.com.

Terms and Expressions

1.Yun 云氏

2.Lu Ban 鲁班

3.Washi 和纸

4.Hakka 客家人

5."Artifact Rain Umbrella Industry Co-operations" 雨伞手工业合作社

6.Lianghongfa San 梁宏发伞

7.Xiangtan Muji Jing Gang You San 湘潭木屐 靖港油伞

8.wagasa (Japanese)和伞, "Japanese umbrella"

9.janomegasa (Japanese)蛇の目伞, "snake-eye umbrella"

Questions

1.What did people in Song Dynasty commonly call the oil-paper umbrella?

2.What are the general production procedures of oil-paper umbrellas?

3.Why do Dai People use oil-paper umbrellas in funerals?

4.What is wagasa?

Answers

1.It was commonly called the "green oil-paper umbrella".

2.First, bamboo is selected.Then, the bamboo is crafted and soaked in water. It is then dried in the sun, drilled, threaded and assembled into a skeleton. Next, Washi paper is cut and glued onto the skeleton. It is trimmed, oiled, and exposed to sunlight. Lastly, patterns are painted onto the umbrella.

3.Because the Dai believe that the umbrella could lead the dead to heaven.

4.Oil-paper umbrellas are often known in Japanese as wagasa.

Li Siwen 李思文 - stage entertainment:Yuan drama

The Definition of Yuan Drama

Yuan drama is a wonderful flower in the splendid cultural treasure-house of the Chinese nation, which embodies unique characteristics in ideological content and artistic achievements. Tang and Song poetry and Yuan drama have become three important milestones of the history of Chinese literature. 　　

The Yuan Dynasty was the heyday of the Yuan drama. Generally speaking, poetic drama(杂剧) and non-dramatic song(散曲) are collectively called Yuan drama, and both use north drama as a singing form. Non-dramatic song is the main body of Yuan Dynasty literature. However, the achievements and influence of poetic drama far exceed that of non-dramatic song,so some people refer to Yuan drama singly as "poetic drama", which is also "yuan dynasty opera".[1]

The Rise and development of Yuan Drama

Reasons of rise The rise and development of Yuan drama has complex reasons. First of all, the fundation of the previous society was the basis for the rise of the Yuanqu.The vast territory of the Yuan Dynasty, the prosperity of the city economy, the grand theater, the active book club and the countless audience laid the foundation for the rise of the Yuanqu; Secondly, the cultures of various ethnic groups in Yuan Dynasty exchanged and melted with each other, promoting the formation of Yuan drama; Third, Yuan drama isthe inevitable result of the inheritance and development of the literary tradition and the inherent law of poetry itself.

Development of Yuan drama The development of Yuan drama can be divided into three periods. Early period: The duriation between the founding of Yuan Dynasty and the destruction of Southern Song Dynasty. During this period, Yuan drama had just entered the poetry world from folk colloquial slang, and had distinct colloquial characteristics and a cheerful, simple and natural sentiment.Most of the authors in that period are northerners, among whom Guan Hanqing, Ma Zhiyuan, Wang Shifu, Wang Xiaojun and Bai Pu had the highest achievements. Middle period: from Zhiyuan period to post-Zhiyuan period. The creation of Yuan darama in this period began to make a comprehensive transition to literalization and specialization. Non-dramatic song became the main genre of poetry. Important writers include Zheng Guangzu, Sui Jingchen, Qiao Ji, Zhang Kejiu and so on. End: From Zhizheng period to the end of Yuan Dynasty. At this time, the composers of non-dramatic song were specialized in composing. They paid attention to the rhythm of words, deliberately seeking work in art and advocating elegance and delicacy, elegance and beauty. The represented writers are Zhang Yanghao and Xu Zaisi. [2]

Yuan Drama System

The system of Yuan drama is embodied in the following six aspects.

1.Temple(宫调): Temple refers to the mode of ancient Chinese music, the tune and temple are from court banquet music of Sui and Tang Dynasty.The north and south drama commonly used are five temples and four tones, including Zheng Gong(正宫), Zhonglu Gong(中吕宫), Nanlu Gong(南吕宫), Xianlu Gong(仙吕宫), Huangzhong Gong(黄钟宫) (five temples)(五宫), Damian tone(大面调), Double tone(双调), Shang tone(商调),Yue tone(越调) (four tones)(四调), each temple and tune has its own style. The number of opera sets and non-dramatic song sets in the yuanqu is formed by connecting two different song cards in the same palace key.

2.Qupai(曲牌): Commonly known as "Quzi", is a general name for various tunes, each with a special name, such as "Dot the red lip"(点绛唇), "Shan Po Yang"(山坡羊), etc. The total number is numerous, and there are 335 North Drama in Yuan Dynasty,each of which has a certain tune and singing method, and also stipulates the number of words, syntax, and pingshu of the song. According to this, people can fill in the new song lyrics, most of the song cards are from the folk, some of them are developed from the words, so Qupai is also the same as Cipai, but the content is not completely consistent. In addition, there are specially played Qupai, but most of them only have tunes and no lyrics.

3.Rhyme(曲韵): Yuan drama strictly abides by the requirements of the nineteen parts of the "Central China phonology" in terms of rhyme and divides it into flat, up, and go, and has the following characteristics in rhyme: flat rhyme, not avoiding heavy rhyme. It usually uses one rhyme to the end, borrowing rhyme, dark rhyme, redundant rhyme, and losing rhyme.

4.Level and oblique tones(平仄):Qu is more strict in the use of words than in Ci poetry, and pays special attention to the flatness of each last sentence.

5.Antithesis(对仗）：The Antithesis of Qu is relatively free, , that means it can use level tone to paralle with oblique tone, and level tone to parallel with level tone. There are thirteen kinds of confrontation forms of qu, such as "two-word pair"(两字对), "end-to-end pair"(首尾对), "serif pair"(衬字对), etc. and there are many characteristics in the use of language and word order combination, mainly manifested in that there are Gong Dui(a neat antithesis) and Kuan Dui(an untidy antithesis), but the phenomenon of Kuan Dui is more common; The sentence is self-contained,such as "loyal subjects are not afraid of death, afraid of death are not disloyal subjects".

Representatives of Yuan Drama

1.Guan Hanqing(关汉卿)

Guan Hanqing (1234 – c.1300), with courtesy name Hanqing and alias Yizhai(已斋), was a native of Xiezhou(解州) (present-day Yuncheng, Shanxi), and was also from Dadu(大都) (present-day Beijing) and Qizhou(祁州) (present-day Anguo, Hebei). The founder of Yuan drama, the first of the "Four Greats of Yuan Drama"(元曲四大家), together with Bai Pu(白朴), Ma Zhiyuan(马致远) and Zheng Guangzu(郑光祖), is known as the "Four Greats of Yuan Drama", and is known as "Qu sheng"(曲圣).

Guan Hanqing has the greatest achievement in poetic drama, with 67 now known and 18 extant, the most famous of which is "Snow in Summer"(《窦娥冤》). There are more than 40 Xiaoling(a short form of Yuan drama 小令) and more than 10 sets of scattered songs. Representatives of his work: "Snow in Summer","Rescued by a courtesan"(《救风尘》),"River-veiwing Pavilion"(《望江亭》),"Worshiping-the-moon Pavilion"(《拜月亭》)

2.Ma Zhiyuan(马致远)

Ma Zhiyuan, from Dadu (present-day Beijing), according to other research, Ma Zhiyuan is a native of Ma Citang Village, Dongguang County, Hebei Province, and the Dongguang County Chronicle and the Dongguang Ma Clan Genealogy are recorded. His courtesy name is Qianli(千里), which means "thousand miles" and in his later years, he used "East Fence"(东篱) as his alias to show his admiration for Tao Yuanming's ambition. The representative work is "Han Gong Qiu"(《汉宫秋》).

3.Zheng Guanzu(郑光祖)

His courtesy name is Dehui(德辉). He was a famous miscellaneous dramatist and composer inYuan Dynasty, and his miscellaneous dramas were "famous in the world and amaze boudoir"(名闻天下，声振闺阁) at that time.18 kinds ofpoetic dramas can be examined.The representative work is "Qian-nu's Soul Fleeying with Her Lover"(《倩女离魂》).

4.Bai Pu(白朴)

His original name was Heng(恒),and courtesy name was Renfu(仁甫), and later he changed his name to Pu(朴) and courtesy name to Taisu(太素), and his alias is Langu(兰谷). His ancestral home was Suizhou (隩州, near present-day Hequ, Shanxi), later migrated to Zhending(真定) (present-day Zhengding County, Hebei), and lived in Jinling(金陵) (present-day Nanjing) in his later years. He was a famous writer and miscellaneous dramatist of Yuan Dynasty, and one of "Four Greats of Yuan Drama". The masterpiece of him is "Pei Shaojun And Li Qianjun"(《墙头马上》).[3]

Four Tragedies of Yuan Drama

"Snow in Summer"(《窦娥冤》) Guan Hanqing

"Wu Tong Rain"(《梧桐雨》) Bai Pu

"Han Gong Qiu"(《汉宫秋》) Ma Zhiyuan

"Chinese Orphan"(《赵氏孤儿》) Ji Junxiang

Four Love Dramas of Yuan Drama

"Worshiping-the-moon Pavilion"(《拜月亭》) Guan Hanqing

"The West Chamber"(《西厢记》) Wang Shifu(王实甫)

"Pei Shaojun And Li Qianjun"(《墙头马上》) Bai Pu

"Qian-nu's Soul Fleeying with Her Lover"(《倩女离魂》) Zheng Guanzu

Reference

[1].https://baike.sogou.com/v144704.htm[Z].

[2].唐定耀.元曲 针砭时弊[J].神州学人,2019,(03):01-02.

[3].唱念做打 生旦净末——中国戏曲[J].万象,2019(01):34-37.

Terms and Expressions

poetic drama 杂剧

non-dramatic song 散曲

temple宫调

Zheng Gong 正宫

Zhonglu Gong 中吕宫

Nanlu Gong 南吕宫

Xianlu Gong 仙吕宫

Huangzhong Gong 黄钟宫

Damian tone 大面调

Double tone 双调

Shang tone 商调

Yue tone 越调

Qupai 曲牌

Dot the red lip 点绛唇

Shan Po Yang 山坡羊

Rhyme 曲韵

Level and oblique tones 平仄

Antithesis 对仗

two-word pair 两字对

end-to-end pair 首尾对

serif pair 衬字对

Four Greats of Yuan Drama 元曲四大家

Qu sheng 曲圣

Snow in Summer《窦娥冤》

Xiaoling 小令

Rescued by a courtesan《救风尘》

River-veiwing Pavilion《望江亭》

Worshiping-the-moon Pavilion《拜月亭》

Han Gong Qiu《汉宫秋》

famous in the world and amaze boudoir 名闻天下，声振闺阁

Qian-nu's Soul Fleeying with Her Lover《倩女离魂》

Pei Shaojun And Li Qianjun《墙头马上》

Questions

1.What is Yuan drama?

2.How many periods had Yuan drama experienced during its development?

3.What are the six aspects embodying the system of Yuan drama?

4.Who are the "four greats of Yuan drama"?

5.What are the four tragedies of Yuan drama?

6.What are the four love dramas of Yuan drama?

Answers

1. Generally speaking, poetic drama(杂剧) and non-dramatic song(散曲) are collectively called Yuan drama.

2. 3/three

3. Temple,Qupai,Rhyme,level and oblique tones,Antithesis

4. Guan Hanqing, Ma Zhiyuan, Zheng Guanzu, Bai Pu

5. "Snow in Summer", "Wu Tong Rain", "Han Gong Qiu", "Chinese Orphan"

6."Worshiping-the-moon Pavilion", "The West Chamber", "Pei Shaojun And Li Qianjun", "Qian-nu's Soul Fleeying with Her Lover"

Li Wanying 李婉莹 - Music and instruments: Erhu

Music and Instruments:Erhu

1.A Brief Introduction

The Erhu is a Chinese two-stringed bowed musical instrument. It is used as a solo instrument as well as in small ensembles and large orchestras. It is one of the main bowed string instruments in the Chinese musical family used by various ethnic groups of China. The first Chinese character of the name of the instrument (二, èr, two) is believed to come from the fact that it has two strings. An alternate explanation states that it comes from the fact that it is the second highest huqin in pitch to the gaohu（高胡） in the modern Chinese orchestra. The second character (胡, hú) indicates that it is a member of the Huqin family, with Hu commonly meaning barbarians. The name Huqin literally means "instrument of the Hu peoples", suggesting that the instrument may have originated from regions to the north or west of China generally inhabited by nomadic people on the extremities of past Chinese kingdoms.

2.The Development of Erhu

The Erhu, with a history more than one thousand years, originated from an ethnic minority in northeast China during the Tang Dynasty. And at that time, Erhu was called as Xiqin.

During the Song Dynasty, it was called as Jiqin and had achieved a high level of performance according to scholar Shen Kuo, it is said that a minister Xu Yan’s had finished his playing with one of the string broken in front of the emperor and other ministers; during the Yuan Dynasty, people could accurately illustrate the principle of making a huqin, which pave the way for its further development; during the Ming and Qing Dynasty, Huqin became a main accompaniment instrument for opera which began prevailing; during Chinese modern times, the instrument was called as Erhu, and its performance has reached a very high level after more than half a century of development and spread; during this period, Liu Tianhua（刘天华） was the one who created Erhu’s new era and was seen as the father of the modern Erhu school. He assured five positions and created the vibrato(huaxian) technique, which expanded Erhu’s register, enriched its expression and made it sound more soft and smooth. He also departed it from accompaniments which laid the foundation for Erhu to enter the hall of elegance.

After the founding of New China, ethnic and folk music developed rapidly. In order to vigorously explore the artistic treasures of folk artists, Hua Yanjun（华彦钧）, Liu Beimao（刘北茂） and other folk artists’ Erhu music was made into records, making the art of Erhu performance mushroom and develop rapidly. In the 1950s and 1960s, a group of erhu educators and performers represented by Zhang Rui（张锐）, Zhang Shao（张韶） and Wang Yi （王乙）emerged successively. Under their influence, new erhu performers such as Min Huifen（闵惠芬） and Wang Guotong（王国潼） were cultivated. For example, Erhu composer Liu Wenjin's（刘文金） Great Wall Capriccio （《长城随想曲》）gave full play to the performance of the Erhu and deliberately innovated to make the Erhu glow with new vitality and splendor.

3.Construction

The Erhu consists of a long vertical stick-like neck, at the top of which are two big tuning pegs, and at the bottom is a small resonator body (sound box) which is covered with python skin on the front (playing) end. Two strings are attached from the pegs to the base, and a small loop of string (Qian Jin) placed around the neck and strings acting as a nut pulls the strings towards the skin, holding a minute wooden bridge in place.

The parts of the Erhu:

Qín tong (琴筒), sound box or resonator body; it is hexagonal (liu jiao, southern), octagonal (ba jiao, northern), or, less commonly, round.

Qín pí/She pí (琴皮/蛇皮), skin, made from python. The python skin gives the erhu its characteristic sound.

Qín gan (琴杆), neck.

Qín tou (琴头), top or tip of neck, usually a simple curve with a piece of bone or plastic on top, but is sometimes elaborately carved with a dragon's head.

Qín zhou (琴轴). tuning pegs, traditional wooden, or metal machine gear pegs

Qiān jin (千斤), nut, made from string, or, less commonly, a metal hook

Nèi xián (内弦), inside or inner string, usually tuned to D4, nearest to player

Wai xián (外弦), outside or outer string, usually tuned to A4

Qín ma (琴码), bridge, the medium in the vibration between the strings and the skin , made from wood

Qín Gong (琴弓), bow, has screw device to vary bow hair tension

Qín diàn (琴垫), pad, a piece of sponge, felt, or cloth placed between the strings and skin below the bridge to improve its sound

Qín tuō (琴托) – base, a piece of wood attached to the bottom of the qín tong to provide a smooth surface on which to rest on the leg

4.Playing Technique

(1)Tuning

The erhu is almost always tuned to the interval of a fifth. The inside string (nearest to player) is generally tuned to D4 and the outside string to A4. This is the same as the two middle strings of the violin.

(2)Position

The Erhu is played sitting down, with the sound box placed on the top of the left thigh and the neck held vertically, in the similar fashion as that of a cello or double bass player. However, performers of more recent years have played while standing up using a specially developed belt-clip.

(3)Right hand

The bow is held with an underhand grip. The bow hair is adjusted so it is slightly loose. The fingers of the right hand are used to push the hairs away from the stick in order to create tension in the hairs. The bow hair is placed in between the two strings and both sides of the bow hair are used to produce sound, the player pushes the bow away from the body when bowing the outside string, and pulls it inwards when bowing the inside string. Aside from the bowing technique used for most pieces, the Erhu can be plucked, usually using the second finger of the right hand. This produces a dry, muted tone (if either of the open strings is plucked, the sound is somewhat more resonant) which is sometimes used in contemporary pieces.

(4)Left hand

The left hand alters the pitch of the strings by pressing on the string at the desired point. Being a fretless instrument, the player has fine control over tuning. Techniques include hua yin (slides滑音), rou xian (vibrato揉弦), and huan ba (changing positions换把).

5.Ten Chinese Erhu Classics

(1)Er Quan Ying Yue (Moon reflection in Erquan)《二泉映月》

(2)Liang Xiao (The Enchant Evening)《良宵》

(3)Ting Song (Listen to the Pines) 《听松》

(4)Kong Shan Niao Yu (The Birds Sing in Countryside)《空山鸟语》

(5)Han Chun Feng Qu (Cold Spring Wind Song)《寒春风曲》

(6)Yue Ye (Moonlight Night)《月夜》

(7)Liu Bo Qu (Flowing Wave Song)《流波曲》

(8)Bing Zhong Yin (Song by a Sick Man)《病中吟》

(9)San Bao Fo (Buddha Sambo)（三宝佛）

(10)Guang Ming Xing (Marching Toward Brightness)《光明行》

Reference [1]赵雪涵.二胡的发展历史与风格[J].北方音乐,2020(03):107-108. [2]Erhu--Wikipedia

Liu Keyi 刘可仪 - Traditional and Modern Views on Marriage and Love

Ⅰ Foreword

The concept of marriage and love is people's views and attitudes towards marriage and love. The views on marriage and love are not invariable, and people's views on marriage and love are different in different periods. The formation of the view of love and marriage has its complicated social and historical factors as well as individual subjective factors.In recent years, due to the influence of China's social and economic development and diversified changes in values, people' views and understanding of love and marriage have undergone great changes, and many new phenomena have appeared in any previous period.

Ⅱ Overview

1.Views on Marriage and Love at Ancient Times

1.1 the ancient abnormal phenomenon of love

True love only happens in more special intimate relationships. Just like a very pleasing ancient love novel, Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai two people love each other to the end, both died in love, this is not a beautiful love? You may find that true love in traditional love tends to break the rules, and is more likely to occur when there is a conflict of status or class between two people, and the result of such a relationship is not adultery, but elopement or even martyrdom.

As I said, these are still in the drama. They are people's ideal love stories and real stories. For example, the story of Zhuo Wenjun and Sima Xiangru in the Han Dynasty.

1.2 illegality of eloping

Sima Xiangru, Zhuo Wenjun and other elopements were not justified in ancient marriage norms. In ancient times, people respected the etiquette and customs of marriage, and so on. Eloping with another woman, falling in love, is a rare behavior. A normal marriage is one of matching families, bearing children, carrying on the family line, supporting husband and educating children. So in a traditional marriage, love is an anomaly. In ancient times, love was too extreme. Either two people lived a happy life, or both people died in love, just like the love story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai. They loved each other very much, but in our modern view of love, this is a very extreme approach.

2.Views on Marriage and Love in Modern Times

2.1 the normalization trend of love concepts

Love has few elements in a Chinese marriage. For them, the Chinese view of love and marriage is still based on the traditional concept of marriage. You may not have noticed that in modern times, after the widespread practice of monogamy in the 1950s, our Chinese concept of love changed a lot. For example, the word "love" began at that time, that is, since then, there has been a general understanding that in the process of getting to know each other and falling in love, one should first fall in love, even if they have been talking for several years, one should not get married.

Therefore, in modern Chinese marriage, love has become a necessity of life and a factor that people attach great importance to when getting married. In this respect, the biggest difference between Chinese modern marriage and traditional marriage. After the 1950s, free love, free marriage and free divorce became the mainstream ideology.

2.2 freedom of divorce

As far as the freedom of divorce is concerned, attitudes are also changing. The definition of "wrongful marriage" is that the court will only give a divorce if one of the parties to the marriage has a wrongful marriage, such as desertion, domestic violence, affairs, etc. After a series of struggles, people from the fault divorce law to no fault divorce law. When we talk about no-fault divorce, it means that there is no fault in the couple, but they can divorce as long as the relationship breaks down.

When the Marriage Act was enacted in 1950, our country came into being in one step. The reasons for civil divorce in China are as follows: if the relationship between the two parties is broken, the marriage relationship can be dissolved; Emotional breakdown is a sufficient ground for divorce. Western countries have been striving for fault-free divorce. From the perspective of marriage reasons, the emotional factors of husband and wife have occupied a very important position. Since ancient times, the change of marriage form from traditional to modern is delightful.

Ⅲ Changes

1.mate selection views

In ancient times, the most typical ideal marriage was "matching family status", in which the economic strength and social status of the male and female were equal, and personal feelings were not included in the marriage criteria. Nowadays, people's view of mate selection and external conditions such as family rank and property have gradually changed to internal qualities such as personal feelings and knowledge.

2. celibacy

In ancient times, the principle of male master outside and female master inside was followed, but with the liberation of women's thought, the competition between men and women in the profession became increasingly fierce, resulting in more and more single women. In western countries such as Britain and France, there has been a rise in the prevalence of celibacy and a falling birth rate, according to reports. And the single with female intellectuals in the majority, female single people think, life is not designed for fertility, people's life should take career as the most important.

3. marriage autonomy

In ancient times, marriage emphasized the order of parents, matchmakers, three wives and four concubines, etc., while modern marriage proposed monogamy, against taking concubines, women's economic independence, freedom of love, freedom of marriage, freedom of divorce and other attitudes. In some developed areas, some celebrities and elegant people regard free marriage as a virtue, and they should pay attention to civilization in form.

4. the age of first marriage

In ancient times, men and women generally married at the age of 14 or 15. At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, feminism rose, and women's ideas changed after they studied, resulting in the phenomenon of delayed marriage. The general decline of the rural economy in the late 1920s also helped to curb traditional early marriages.

Liu Qianyi 刘倩仪 - Traditional Cuisine: Tangyuan

Introduction

Tangyuan, also known as Yuanxiao, is both a traditional Chinese dessert made from glutinous rice flour and a festive food during the Lantern Festival. Tangyuan is sticky, sweet and round in shape. It is made with glutinous rice flour as the skin and the filling is made of sesame, peanuts, red beans, and even fruits. In Chinese, the pronunciation of Tangyuan is similar to "tuanyuan", which has the meanings of reunion, happiness, togetherness and harmony in Chinese, expressing people's hope for a fulfilling and blissful life.

The origin of Tangyuan

Tangyuan was originally developed in the Song dynasty(960-1279) in Mingzhou (明州) (current Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province). It was also called Yuanxiao, the same name as the Lantern Festival (Yuanxiao Festival) in China. [1]

The Winter Solstice is an important festival before the Chinese Lunar New Year. There was a saying in ancient China, “The Winter Solstice is as significant as the Spring Festival”, which shows that the ancient people paid much attention to this festival. Eating Tangyuan during the winter solstice is a traditional custom in Jiangnan (the region south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River), which symbolizes reunion with family members and good fortune. Eating Tangyuan on the winter solstice is also called “winter solstice dumpling”. There was a saying among the folks that "eating Tangyuan to grow one year older". People not only made them for themselves, but they also sent them to relatives and friends to express blessings. During the festival, Chinese people also used Tangyuan as one of the sacrifices to show their respect to Heaven and their ancestors. [2]

Historically, a number of different names were used to refer to Tangyuan. During the Yongle era of the Ming Dynasty, the name was officially settled as Yuanxiao (derived from the Yuanxiao Festival), which is usually used in northern China. “Yuanxiao” in Chinese means the first full moon night in the new year, so the festival has a remarkable meaning to people in China.

Regarding the relations between Tangyuan and Yuanxiao, there was a legend in South China. During the regime of Yuan Shikai (1912–1916), he hated the name Yuanxiao because it sounded identical to “remove Yuan” (“袁消”), in Chinese, and thus he gave orders to change the name to Tangyuan (soup balls). [3]

Nowadays, Tangyuan usually refers to the southern style, while Yuanxiao refers to the northern style.

Differences between Tangyuan and Yuanxiao

The fundamental difference lies in their making, fillings, cooking, and storage.

Yuanxiao has sweet and solid fillings and is served in a thick broth. The surface tends to be dry and soft and has a short shelf life. The process of making the dish begins with preparing the solid fillings that are then cut into small pieces. The filling is dipped into water then the dry glutinous rice flour repeatedly, until a round shape is achieved. Tangyuan can be stuffed with a variety of soft fillings that are either sweet or salty, and is served in a thinner soup. The texture is smooth and glutinous, and can be stored frozen for a long time. Tangyuan is made by wrapping the soft filling in a glutinous rice "dough" and shaping it into a ball. The southern variation is served in a broth that changes depending on the filling. Daikon radish and fish cake broth is used for savory fillings, or tong sui, which is "sugar water," for sweeter options.[4]

Types of Tangyuan

There are many types of featured Tangyuan and Yuanxiao throughout China. Here are some of the most prestigious ones:

1)Ling Tangyuan of Chongqing

In the 1930s, Mr. Lin Minghe, the founder of Lin Tangyuan, carried his vendor stand selling Tangyuan on the street of Chongqing. As his Tangyuan tasted so well that it soon became a popular snack of the town. Later, Mr. Lin worked with others to expand his business in Chongqing and opened branch restaurants in other cities like Chengdu, Kunming, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Nanning. Later he became a business tycoon. After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War in 1937, Mr. Lin vigorously funded the then government to fight against Japanese army. And his brand of Lin Tangyuan was renamed to Ling Tangyuan. Up to now, it has become one of the favorite snacks of the people in Chongqing.

2)Five-colored Tangyuan in Suzhou

Wumen Rice Noodle Restaurant in Suzhou serves its unique Tangyuan in five colors, which are stuffed with 5 kinds of fillings respectively, including pork, rose with lard, bean paste, sesame, and osmanthus flower with lard. The snack is both sweet and salty with the five colors: pink, green, golden, creamy and deep brown, which come from the natural ingredients like pumpkin, carrot, tea, wheat, etc.

3)4-flavor Tangyuan in Guangdong Province

The locals firstly boil or steam mung beans, red beans, candied white gourds, and taro roots respectively. Then peel them, add sugar, sesame, cooked lard and other seasonings to make four kinds of sweet fillings, and stuff them into the glutinous rice balls with different marks on the surface. Cook all the four types of Tangyuan in a pot of boiling water. When it is ready, every bowl will have 4 balls with different fillings. This style of Tangyuan originated in the late Qing Dynasty.

4)Sisters’ Tangyuan in Changsha

Sisters’ Tangyuan is a well-known snack in Changsha with a history of 70 years. It was named after the two sisters of Jiang’s family who ran the business years ago. They use hawthorn paste, white sugar, dried osmanthus flowers as filling. The rice balls look snowy white and translucent with a smaller size and exquisite sweet taste.

5)Chicken Tangyuan in Xingyi of Guizhou Province

Founded in the late Qing Dynasty and passed down by four generations, it has a history of more than one hundred years and has become one of the four famous snacks in Xingyi area of Guizhou today. Unlike most of the other Tangyuan, the Xingyi Chicken Tangyuan is unique with a salty taste. The sticky rice balls are filled with minced chicken, pork, chicken soup, and sesame paste.[5]

Different flavors and fillings for Tangyuan

Tangyuan is a versatile food that can be served plain as glutinous rice balls or stuffed with different fillings. It has both sweet and savory fillings. Sweet fillings are made of sugar, nutlet（果仁）, sesame, osmanthus flowers（桂花）, red beans, bean paste, or jujube paste（枣泥）. Modern tang yuan flavors can include chocolate, rose, matcha, and various fruit such as strawberry or durian. A single ingredient or any combination can be used for the filling. Savory fillings are made of crushed peanuts, minced meat, mushroom and cabbage. [6]

Steps of making Tangyuan

Making Tangyuan is rather time-consuming, but the results are impressive.

First, mix black sesame powder with pork belly fat or lard and sugar, heat the mixture a little bit, and put it on the plate. Next, you add some hot or cold water to the glutinous rice flour to form a wet dough and slowly mix it evenly. Then cut the dough into small pieces of similar weight, use hands to roll these pieces into small balls. Then make a hole in the ball, insert the sesame fillings you prepare before and knead it into a ball again in your palm. These balls are then placed into the boiled water one by one. When they float on the soup, turn the flame down and continue to boil for about one minute. Finally, turn the heat off, transfer these lovely balls into a soup bowl and enjoy your delicious meal!

Terms and Expressions

glutinous rice flour 糯米粉

The Winter Solstice 冬至

winter solstice dumpling 冬至团

Ling Tangyuan 凌汤圆

Five-colored Tangyuan 五色汤圆

4-flavor Tangyuan 四式汤圆

Sisters’ Tangyuan姐妹汤圆

Chicken Tangyuan 鸡肉汤圆

nutlet果仁

sesame 芝麻

osmanthus flowers桂花

jujube paste枣泥

Questions

1. What implied meanings does Tangyuan have?

2. When and where was Tangyuan originally developed?

3. What does the fundamental difference between Tangyuan and Yuanxiao lie in?

4. Which place serves five-colored Tangyuan?

5. When did the style of 4-flavor Tangyuan in Guangdong Province originate?

6. Which filling of Tangyuan do you like? Sweet or savory?

References

[1]百度百科 汤圆 https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E6%B1%A4%E5%9C%86/1333352#reference-[2]-16853831-wrap

[2]冬至吃汤圆的由来和寓意https://www.5068.com/jierizhishi/a243416.html

[3][5] Tang Yuan (Yunanxiao) Recipe, Chinese Glutinous Rice Balls - Easy Tour China

[4][6] Tangyuan (food) - Wikipedia

Liu Yixin 刘亦欣 - Animals：Golden Monkey

1.Introduction Snub-nosed monkey, a member of the genus Simiidae, is an IUCN endangered species with large nostrils, upturned lips, thick lips, and no cheek pouches. The snub-nosed monkey lives in broad-leaved forests and mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forests at altitudes of 1400-3000 meters. They fear the heat, but tolerate the cold, and live in families. Golden monkeys include Burmese golden monkeys, Sichuan golden monkeys, Yunnan golden monkeys, Guizhou golden monkeys, and Vietnam golden monkeys. Except Burmese golden monkeys and Vietnam golden monkeys, other golden monkeys are rare and unique to China, and are listed as endangered species on the Red List of Species. This paper will introduce three kinds of golden monkeys endemic to China.

2.Sichuan golden monkeys Sichuan Golden Monkey: the “Most Beautiful Monkey” among Primates. Only Sichuan snub-nosed monkey can truly match the word "golden silk", the other four species are all gray or black. Adult golden snub-nosed monkeys have colorful fur, with golden-red, red-brown, silver-gray hairs and long hairs around them. The main tone is yellowish-brown, thick and long. Adult male golden snub-nosed monkeys have long golden hairs of up to 30 cm on their back and shoulders. Due to the climate, the color of the golden snub-nosed monkey is also different. Every summer and autumn, they are the most beautiful. Golden brown and red long hairs set off against each other shine in the sunshine, which looks like wearing a golden cloak from a distance, looking majestic. Sichuan golden monkeys and giant pandas both belong to the treasure animals. Sichuan golden monkeys' colour is gorgeous, unique shape, grace, gentle nature, popular people's favorite, has a lot of appeal to the public, to be able to attract the public attention and get the favour of protection fund, not only can make themselves under the protection of the better, and to jointly protect the smaller species

In 2019, modern Art magazine took the lead in exclusively planning and organizing the implementation of the series of commemorative activities of "The 150th Anniversary of the Scientific discovery of The Giant Panda and golden Monkey". As the place where the giant panda and golden monkey were discovered, Sichuan has made continuous efforts in recent years to make the giant panda and golden monkey the cultural name card of Sichuan, actively do a good job in the inheritance and protection of the giant panda and golden monkey culture, and promote the development and spread of the Great Beauty of Sichuan, Ecological Sichuan and cultural Sichuan. Sichuan is vigorously developing its cultural tourism industry, comprehensively establishing its cultural tourism brand, and speeding up the construction of a strong cultural province. The successful development and dissemination of the series of themed commemorative activities of "China Double Treasure Sichuan Name Card" is not only a traditional expression of literary and artistic commemoration, but also an innovative cultural tourism publicity practice. It is also the proud work of a series of literary and art works that Sichuan Federation of Literary and art circles around the new slogan of cultural tourism.

3.Guizhou golden monkeys Guizhou golden monkey is also known as "grey snub-nosed monkey". However, its body is a bit like Sichuan golden monkey but a slightly smaller, with a long tail like an oxtail, the tail is longer than the body, giving people a particularly funny feeling, so the local people also called it "oxtail monkey". Guizhou golden monkey body back in beige, some yellow tonal, limb lateral hand upward from the shoulders back, the nose and mouth slightly concave down, face the pale gray or pale blue, is blue nose, eyebrows, ridge, shoulder MAO, 160 mm by black gradient for the light beige, under the neck, armpits, and the arms for golden, shares to yellowish gray, The body color changes of upper limbs are the same as that of lower limbs. The tail head is dark gray to the tail is yellowish white or black, the whole body is silver gray, the young is light, the top of the head is gray, the inside of the limbs is milk gray, and it is called "snub-nosed monkey". Guizhou snub-nosed monkey is a rare species unique to China and one of the rare and endangered species in the world. It was once in a prosperous period in history and was widely distributed in more than 10 provinces and regions around Guizhou. Currently, it is only confined to Fanjing Mountain area in Tongren. The number of pandas is even rarer than that of giant pandas, and it is known as "the only child in the world". Tongren has rich cultural accumulation and is a tourist city with many unique representative elements. Nowadays, Guizhou golden monkey is known by more and more people, and it is also a national first-class protected animal. Fanjing Mountain in Tongren is a tourist resort. Integrating the natural form elements of Guizhou golden monkey and the characteristic culture of Tongren into the cartoon image design will make the cartoon character more interesting and influential, and make it more accepted and liked by more people. Let people have the opportunity to contact the excellent works with the "flavor" of Tongren area. Relative to foreign complicated cartoon image, Guizhou golden monkey card image can give a person shine at the moment of feeling, careful analysis and use of the advantage resources, can make Guizhou golden monkey cartoon image design of rapid development, even in the future and foreign cartoon image tied, equal, let the cartoon image of Tongren regional culture through inheritance.

4.Yunnan golden monkeys Yunnan golden monkey is a national treasure as famous as the giant panda. Yunnan golden monkey is the most human-like animal in the world, with human-like teeth and an unforgettable "flaming red lip". In fact, in addition to the face is very human-like, Yunnan snub-nosed monkey also like human footprints, wide at the front and narrow at the back, but much smaller than human feet. In general, male monkeys have the largest foot, but it is less than half the size of adult male human feet, no more than 15 cm in length, especially indented. They are also one of the highest altitude distribution and largest primates on the earth. They live in the alpine taiga belt all year round, and are known as the "snow Mountain spirit", mysterious and elegant. Located in a global biodiversity hotspot where "three rivers flow simultaneously" in the Hengduan Mountains, Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys live in the narrow mountain range from Mangkam in Xizang province in the north to Yunlong in Dali in the south. Baima Snow Mountain National Nature Reserve is the largest Yunnan golden monkey reserve in China. Since the first golden monkey appeared, the number of golden monkeys in China has doubled to more than 3,000. Every day, when the monkeys go to sleep, the rangers go home. The next day, before the monkey got up, the ranger was already by the monkey's side, starting a new day of guarding. The first group of monkey keepers began to protect Yunnan golden monkeys at the age of 45 and have been protecting them for 22 years now. Behind the continuation of the whole Yunnan golden monkey species is the blood, sweat and tears of three generations of monkey keepers for decades. The biodiversity in Yunnan is extremely rich, and the number of species in each major group is close to or more than half of that in China. However, due to the large difference of natural ecological environment, the distribution area of biological population and ecosystem is small, the ecological adaptability is low, and it is very sensitive to external disturbance. In recent years, Yunnan has adhered to the principle of harmonious coexistence between man and nature, strengthened the protection of biodiversity, improved the system of natural protected areas, and improved the quality of ecosystem. The Chinese government and people get world must carefully biodiversity of the management behavior. The story of Yunnan's rescue of the Asian elephant, an endangered species, has warmed the world. The 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) will be held in Kunming. Yunnan accounts for 4.1% of the land area of the country, but it covers the types of ecosystems on the earth except ocean and desert. COP15 is held in Yunnan, which is inseparable from the rich resources and remarkable biodiversity conservation effect of Yunnan.

Terms and expressions Simiidaen. 类人猿科 Burmese golden monkeys 缅甸金丝猴 Sichuan golden monkeys 川金丝猴 Guizhou golden monkeys黔金丝猴 Yunnan golden monkeys 滇金丝猴 Vietnam golden monkeys 越南金丝猴

Questions How many kinds of golden monkeys are there? What are the three kinds of golden monkeys unique to China? How does Sichuan Golden Monkey differ from the other four Golden Monkey species? Where are the current distribution of The Guizhou Snub-Nosed monkeys? What animal looks most like a human?

References [1] 杨敬元 美丽中国 Beautiful China [2] 吴　蓉　田　隽　盛佳佳　魏小冲　汪　欣 黔金丝猴元素在铜仁市旅游文创产品中的设计与开发 [3] 徐元锋 曾智慧 特稿|守护“雪山精灵”滇金丝猴 [4] 新华每日电讯生物多样性保护的云南“画卷” [5] 百度百科

Ma Feifei 马菲菲 - Chinese Economy: rich businessmen

Outside of Internet success stories such as Alibaba’s Jack Ma or Baidu’s Robin Li, China has few if any widely internationally known rich businessmen. Here are some brief introduction to the rich businessmen in China.

1. Brief Introduction to Some Rich Businessmen

1. Huiyan Yang and family, 39, Country Garden Net worth: $33.1 billion Topping the list again this year is 39-year-old Huiyan Yang and her family. Also considered Asia’s richest woman, Yang is the majority shareholder of Country Garden, a property development company founded by her farmer father, Guoqiang Yang, in Guangdong in 1992. Despite seeing her wealth surge 29% over the past year, Yang dropped one spot in 2020 to rank as China’s sixth-richest billionaire overall.

2. Zetian Zhang, 27, JD.com Net worth: $23.5 billion Zetian Zhang, 27, and her husband Qiangdong Liu, 41, saw their combined wealth surge 111% to $23.5 billion in 2020 largely thanks to the meteoric growth of Liu’s e-commerce company JD.com. A businesswoman in her own right, Zhang is an investor who also serves as chief fashion advisor of JD’s luxury business. At 24, she became China’s youngest female billionaire following her marriage to Liu in 2015.

3. Hao Yan, 34, Pacific Construction Group Net worth: $21.3 billion Hao Yan, 34, is the chairman of Xinjiang-headquartered construction company Pacific Construction Group, the company founded by his father, CEO JieHe Yan in 1986.

4. Yiming Zhang, 37, ByteDance Net worth: $16.2 billion 37-year-old Yiming Zhang is the co-founder and CEO of ByteDance, the Chinese internet company behind video sharing platform TikTok. The platform has shot to prominence outside of China, now surpassing Facebook-owned Instagram to rank as U.S. teens’ preferred social media app after Snap. However, its rapid growth has also sparked national security concerns, prompting the proposed sale of its U.S. operations. Zhang Yiming, founder of internet company ByteDance, the parent company of video sharing platform TikTok.

5. Bangxin Zhang, 39, TAL Education Net worth: $14 billion With an estimated net worth of $14 billion, Bangxin Zhang is the co-founder and chairman of Beijing-headquartered tutoring business TAL Education. Founded in 2003, the company went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 2010 and has enjoyed rapid growth in 2020 under coronavirus-induced remote learning policies.

6. Gang Zhang and family, 39, Xinfalyudian Net worth: $8.8 billion 39-year-old Gang Zhang of aluminum company Xinfalyudian has an estimated net worth of $8.8 billion, having grown his fortunes 100% in the past year and jumping up 32 places in the overall 2020 rich list.

7. Xiaosong Wang, 33, Seazen Net worth: $6.4 billion Xiaosong Wang is the 33-year-old chairman and president of real estate company Seazen. Wang shares the fortune with his father, Zhenhua, 58 whom he replaced in 2019 following accusations of sexual assault.

8. Qun Wu, 32, Yuwell Net worth: $5.3 billion Qun Wu, 32, is the son of Guangming Wu, 58, founder and chairman of medical equipment maker Yuwell. Together they have a fortune of $5.3 billion, up 50% from last year.

9. Gang Ye, 39, Sea Net worth: $4.9 billion New to this year’s list is China-born Gang Ye, who was raised in Singapore and made his fortune in the city-state as one of the co-founders of internet company Sea. As the developer behind popular gaming apps such as Free Fire, Sea has benefited from a surge in gaming under lockdowns this year, becoming the world’s best-performing large-cap stock in August.

10. Hua Su, 38, Kuaishou Net worth: $3.8 billion Chinese entrepreneur Hua Su founded Kuaishou as a GIF-making app in 2011 but later transformed it into a video sharing platform popular with users particularly in rural China. Before founding the company, he worked as a programmer at Google and Chinese internet search engine Baidu.

11. Meng Yang, 38, and Li He, 36, Anker Net worth: $3.7 billion Newly-minted billionaires Meng Yang and Li He saw their combined wealth catapult to $3.7 billion this year on the back of their consumer electronics company, Anker. The Apple charger-maker doubled in valuation when it debuted on the public market this August, hitting $8 billion.

12. Xiang Li, 39, Li Auto Net worth: $3.5 billion Dubbed “China’s Elon Musk,” 39-year-old Xiang Li is the founder of electric vehicle-maker Li Auto. Founded five years ago, the Beijing-headquartered manufacturer went public on the Nasdaq in July 2020 with a valuation of $10 billion, catapulting Li to billionaire status.

13. Liang Zhang, 38, R&F Net worth: $3.45 billion Liang Zhang is the 38 son of Li Zhang, 68, founder and co-chair of Guanzhou-based developer R&F. Together, their wealth totals more than $3.4 billion.

14. Tianshi Chen, 35, Cambricon Technologies Net worth: $3.1 billion Newcomer to this year’s list is Tianshi Chen, the 35-year-old co-founder and CEO of chipmaker Cambricon Technologies. Launched in 2016, the company’s artificial intelligence-enabled technology has been used in more than 100 million smartphones.

15. Yixiao Cheng, 35, Kuaishou Net worth: $3.1 billion Also new to the list is 35-year-old Yixiao Cheng, co-founder of short video platform Kuaishou. Cheng, who began his career as a software engineer at HP, now has an estimated net worth of more than $3 billion.

16. Yifeng Wang, 36, Zhejiang Century Huatong Group Net worth: $3.1 billion Yifeng Wang, 36, and father Miaotong Wang, 63, are the vice-chairman and chairman, respectively, of automaker Zhejiang Century Huatong Group. Having recently diversified into games development, the pair has seen their combined wealth surged 83% in the past year.

17. Wei Cheng, 37, DiDi Net worth: $2.8 billion 37-year-old Wei Cheng is the founder and CEO of ride-hailing giant DiDi. Having spent eight years working at Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, Cheng launched DiDi in 2012. Today, the company ranks as one of China’s most valuable billion-dollar start-ups and Cheng is worth an estimated $2.8 billion. Cheng Wei, CEO of taxi-hailing app Didi-Kuaidi, speaks during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2015 at Dalian International Convention Center on Sept. 9, 2015 in Dalian, China.

18. Guoyuan Peng, 34, NWY Net worth: $2.6 billion Guoyuan Peng, 34, is the chairman of education group NWY, worth an estimated $2.6 billion, up 20% from 2019.

19. Zheng Cao, 37, Hangke Technology Net worth: $2.5 billion Zheng Cao, 37, is the vice president of Zhejiang Hanke Technology, the lithium battery producing company founded by his father Ji Cao, 68. With a shared 70% stake in the business, the pair is today worth an estimated $2.5 billion.

20. Yan Wu, 39, Hakim Unique Net worth: $2.5 billion Yan Wu, 39, and husband Qicheng Wang, 40, are the co-founders of Hakim Unique, an internet, media and real estate company. Together, their fortune is around $2.5 billion.

2. Main Reasons

From “Made in China” to “Innovated in China”, two features of demographic transition have also been a powerful driver of China’s growth in the past three and a half decades. The first feature is a favorable dependency ratio. China’s sharp decline in fertility rate has meant fewer young dependents to support for a given size of the working cohort. The fraction of primeage people in total population rose steadily for three decades, creating an unusually large demographic dividend, which in turn contributed to economic growth (Cai and Wang 2008; Wei 2015).

The second feature of demography that affects growth is the gender ratio imbalance of the premarital cohort. This less-studied factor may have a quantitatively significant effect as well. The one-child policy (now it is abolished) has yielded an unintended consequence in distorting the sex ratio in favor of boys. As the one-child generation enters the marriageable age, young men face a very competitive marriage market. In order to attract potential brides, families with sons choose to work harder, save more, and take on more risks, including exhibiting a higher propensity to be entrepreneurs (Wei and Zhang 2011a, b; Chang and Zhang 2015; Wei, Zhang, and Liu forthcoming). It is estimated that increasing marriage market competition due to sex ratio imbalances has contributed to about two percentage points of economic growth per year (Wei and Zhang 2011b).

The innovation, especially in technology, brings huge profit to the economy. However, it also make giant bubbles.

Words and Expressions shareholder 股东 ByteDance 字节跳动 e-commerce 电商

Questions

1. Who founded JD.com?

2. Who married Qiangdong Liu?

3. Is ByteDance the same thing as Tiktok?

4. Does Jay Chou play Kuaishou?

5. Has increasing marriage market competition due to sex ratio imbalances contributed to economic growth per year?

Answers

1. Qiangdong Liu

2. Zetian Zhang

3. No

4. Yes

5. Yes

References

1. Mengjun Yang, Shilin Zheng, Lin Zhou. 2022. Broadband internet and enterprise innovation. China Economic Review 74, 101802. 2. Yue Hua, Yue Lu, Ruili Zhao. 2022. Global value chain engagement and air pollution: Evidence from Chinese firms. Journal of Economic Surveys 36:3, 708-727. 3. Rui Chen. 2022. The effects of green credit policy on the formation of zombie firms: evidence from Chinese listed firms. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 32. 4.https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/28/chinas-youngest-richest-billionaires-and-how-they-made-their-money.html

Ou Xinyu 欧欣榆 - Opera: Chinese Local Operas

Survey

Chinese opera has a long history and is a unique dramatic art in the world. Because of China's vast territory, with many ethnic groups and different dialects in different places, a colorful variety of local operas has been formed in addition to Peking opera. According to statistics, there are more than 300 kinds of local operas throughout China, which can be called the most influential in the world, including Jin Opera, also named Shanxi Opera (晋剧), Henan Opera (豫剧), Yue Opera (越剧), Huangmei Opera (黄梅戏), Pingju Opera (评剧), Qu Opera (曲剧), Cantonese Opera (粤剧), Huai Opera (淮剧) and Lv Opera (吕剧). Among them, the five major Chinese opera genres are Peking Opera, Henan Opera, Yue Opera, Huangmei Opera, and Pingju Opera in that order. Local drama is the general name of opera genres with local characteristics popular in certain areas, such as Shanxi Opera, Henan Opera, Yue Opera, Huangmei Opera, Pingju Opera, Huai Opera, Qinqiang Opera, Sichuan Opera, Lv opera, etc. Local drama is the opposite of popular national operas such as Peking opera. As a form of traditional cultural expression, local drama refers to the form of drama that condenses the folk customs of a certain region and is thus popular among the public in that region. On the one hand, the local opera is an important part of China's intangible cultural heritage; on the other hand, the local opera has special characteristics that are different from other intangible cultural heritage. This is because local opera is a living form of traditional cultural expression, which not only inherits certain historical and cultural traditions but also looks forward to the creative transformation of cultural traditions in the expression of the spirit of the times.

Jin Opera

Jin opera, one of the four major operas of Shanxi Clapper Opera (Shanxi Bang-zi, 山西梆子), is a traditional Chinese local opera. It is also known as Zhong Lu Bang Zi (中路梆子), or Middle Opera, because it was produced in central Shanxi Province, and is mainly popular in central and northern Shanxi Province, northern Shaanxi Province, Inner Mongolia, and parts of Hebei Province. Jin opera, also known as Shanxi opera, is an important drama genre in northern China. It was named after Fenyang (汾阳), Xiaoyi（孝义）, Qixian（祁县）, Taigu（太谷）, and Taiyuan（太原） in central Shanxi. On May 20, 2006, Jin opera was approved by the State Council of the People's Republic of China to be included in the first batch of the national intangible cultural heritage list, numbered Ⅳ-18. The traditional repertoire of Jin opera is rich, with more than 200 plays being performed regularly. They include The River Weishui （渭水河）, Beating the Golden Bough （打金枝）, The Mountain of Lintong (临潼山), The Belt of Heaven and Earth（乾坤带）, The Kingdom of Shatto（沙陀国）and so on. Each of these plays shows unique characteristics. Jin opera is characterized by its melody, smoothness, beautiful tunes, roundness, friendliness, and clarity. In the process of Jin Opera’s evolution, the artists, in order to adapt to the appreciation habits of the local people, absorbed and melted the cadences and percussions of Qixian Yangko and Taigu Yangko, etc., through which they continuously improved the voice, singing and performance in all aspects, forming an artistic style of high excitement and fresh euphemism. The singing style includes fiddling, cadences and tunes, and has a high and aggressive yet fresh and ebullient style. The main types of roles in Jin Opera consist of "three big doors" (Xu Sheng, Zheng Dan, and Big Flower Face) and "three small doors" (Xiao Sheng, Xiao Dan, and Small Flower Face).

Henan Opera

Henan Opera is also known as Henan Bang-Zi and Henan Gaodiao. It is the number one local drama genre in China. Henan opera was born in Kaifeng, the ancient capital of the seven dynasties. It originated in the middle and late Ming Dynasty and has a history of more than 400 years ago. It is popular in Henan and parts of Shaanxi, Shanxi, Gansu, Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Hubei, Taiwan, etc. It is the genre with the largest number of professional opera groups and practitioners after the 21st century. With more than 1,000 traditional plays, it is one of the five major opera genres in China and the first batch on the national intangible cultural heritage list. Famous actors include Chen Suzhen, Ma Jinfeng, Chang Xiangyu, Yan Lipin, etc. The representative plays include Qin Xianglian (秦香莲), Peach Blossom Nun (桃花庵), Mu Guiying in Command (穆桂英挂帅), Hua Mulan (花木兰), etc. Yu opera is known for its singing skills, with a high and loud singing voice and a very clever combination of real and falsetto. The singing voice is very smooth, the rhythm is light and clear, and the singing style is colloquial. The spitting of words is very clear, making it easy for the audience to hear and accept, and has a unique artistic charm. The performance of Henan opera is very masculine and passionate, so it is good at performing atmospheric scenes and has strong infectious power. It is also rich in local characteristics, easy to understand, and natural, and its performance content and expressions are close to the life of the people. Although the spoken lyrics of Henan opera are not as strict and regular as the written language, nor as elaborate and elegant as the metrical poetry, they are more accurate and vivid than the written language and metrical poetry in their artistic expression by taking the essence of the spoken language in life, speaking the native language, singing the native voice, telling the native stories and expressing the native feelings.

Yue Opera

Yue Opera, also known as Shaoxing Opera, originated in the rural area of Sheng County（嵊县） in the Shaoxing region, which is the homeland of the State of Yue. It is the second largest opera genre in China and is also known as the second national opera, and is one of the five major opera genres in China. It originated in the Shaoxing area of Zhejiang Province, but matured in Shanghai, and spread throughout Shanghai and eastern Zhejiang. In its development, Yue Opera has drawn on the great achievements of Kunqu Drama and Shao Opera. It has undergone a historical evolution from a male Yue Opera to a female Yue Opera. Yue Opera has a beautiful singing voice and delicate and lyrical performances. Famous actors include Yuan Xuefen, Wang Wenjuan, Xu Yulan, etc. The representative repertoire includes The Dream of Red Mansion (红楼梦), Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai (梁山伯与祝英台), The Romance of West Chamber (西厢记), Mrs. Xianglin (祥林嫂), and Chasing Fish (追鱼). The singing style of Yue Opera is so refined that it has formed many genres. The music of the opera incorporates the beautiful melodies of the silk and bamboo from the south of the Yangtze River, and the themes of the opera mainly reflect the love between men and women. The lyrics and narration are in the dialect of Sheng County. The famous actors and actresses of Yue Opera are concentrated in Shanghai and Hangzhou. In recent years, the "Little Hundred Flowers" troupe of Yueju opera of Zhejiang Province has emerged with a wide range of talents and has become famous in China and abroad. Yue Opera is one of the few modern Chinese stage arts that has been preserved to this day that is dominated by a single gender, with female actors, female audiences, and strong female characteristics, a rare phenomenon in Chinese theater arts.

Huangmei Opera

Huangmei Opera is one of the local operas in Anhui province, which was called Huangmei Tune and Tea-picking Opera in the old days, mainly popular in Anhui Province and some areas in Jiangxi Province and Hubei Province. It originated from the tea picking song in Huangmei County, Hubei Province. After Daoguang in Qing Dynasty, the tea-catching song of Huangmei in Hubei Province was introduced to the Anqing area in Anhui Province, influenced by Qingyang cadence, and developed with local folk songs and dances, rap, and music. The traditional repertoire and music of Huangmei opera are more influenced by Huizhou opera. In its main singing voice, the big opera has flat words, firework, two lines, three lines, color cavity, etc., and small opera with their own independent singing voice. Famous actors include Yan Fengying, Wang Shaofang, Ma Lan, etc. The traditional plays performed include Marriage of the Fairy Princess (天仙配), Female Consort Prince (女驸马), The Cowherd and the Weaving Maid (牛郎织女), etc. Huangmei Opera is famous for its lyricism, smoothness, rhythm, and richness, and has rich expressive power. Its performance is real and lively, simple and meticulous by the public; beautiful tunes, catchy, both popular; the singing voice is mellow, elegant, universal; distinctive character, more active, lively, bright characters. At that time, most of the artists performing Huangmei opera came from peasants and craftsmen, who did not have professional training and could only copy the performance procedures of other major opera genres. Because of this, Huangmei opera was more like a lovely young girl from the fields than the atmospheric, gorgeous, and magnificent atmosphere represented by Beijing and Huizhou operas of the same generation.

Pingju Opera

Pingju Opera, which originated in Tangshan, Hebei Province, is one of the five major Chinese opera genres. It is a local opera popular in Beijing, Tianjin, and other parts of North and Northeast China. It was originally developed on the basis of the Hebei folk rap Lian Hua Lao. The performance procedures of the opera are mostly borrowed from Beijing opera and Bangzi and were first performed in the rural areas, where many elements were closer to life. Therefore, it is easy to express historical themes and reflect on modern life. The language is easy to understand and expressive. The famous actors include Xiao Bai Yushang, Xin Fengxia, etc. The representative plays include Widow Ma Opens a Shop (马寡妇开店), Madam Du Shi-niang (杜十娘), Little Son-in-Law (小女婿), Liu Qiao-er (刘巧儿), etc. The Pingju drama is very dynamic. It is mainly manifested in its performance style, in which the actors often interact with the audience during the performance, thus forming a dynamic stage performance. This dynamic way of performance keeps the drama alive. With its unique artistic charm, Pingju Opera has been widely spread in the motherland and has become a popular art form. The name of the Pingju opera has the meaning of commenting on the past and the present and criticizing the current problems. Compared with Peking Opera, which is good at depicting kings and generals, and Yue Opera, which is good at depicting talented people, it is the specialty of the drama to reflect on life and express reality.

Terms and Expressions

Peking Opera 京剧

Bang Zi 梆子

Middle Opera 中戏

Inner Mongolia 内蒙古

The River Weishui 《渭水河》

Beating the Golden Bough 《打金枝》

The Mountain of Lintong 《临潼山》

The Belt of Heaven and Earth《乾坤带》

The Kingdom of Shatto 《沙陀国》

Yangko 秧歌

Three big doors 三大门

Xu Sheng 须生

Zheng Dan 正旦

Big Flower Face 大花脸

Three small doors 三小门

Xiao Sheng 小生

Xiao Dan 小旦

Small Flower Face 小花脸

Henan Gaodiao 河南高调

Kunqu Drama 昆曲

Shao Opera 绍戏

Tea-picking Opera 采茶戏

Lian Hua Lao 《莲花落》

Questions

1.What are the five major Chinese opera genres?

2.What are the main types of roles in Jin Opera?

3.Please list at least 3 representative repertoires of Henan Opera.

4.What makes Yue Opera a rare phenomenon in Chinese theater arts?

5.Where does Huangmei Opera originate from?

6.What are the characteristics of Pingju Opera?

Answers

1. Peking Opera, Henan Opera, Yue Opera, Huangmei Opera, and Pingju Opera.

2. Three big doors (Xu Sheng, Zheng Dan, and Big Flower Face) and three small doors (Xiao Sheng, Xiao Dan, and Small Flower Face).

3. Qin Xianglian, Peach Blossom Nun, Mu Guiying in Command, Hua Mulan, etc.

4. It is one of the few modern Chinese stage arts that has been preserved to this day that is dominated by a single gender, with female actors, female audiences, and strong female characteristics.

5. Huangmei County, Hubei Province.

6. It is a dynamic stage performance, which reflects on life and expresses reality.

References

[1]高燕. 晋剧艺术研究[D].山西师范大学,2017.

[2]杜蓉,李刚.晋剧表演的程式之美[J].戏友,2021(04):23-25.

[3]黄河文化百科全书，华艺出版社，1994.

[4]郭克俭.豫剧唱词语言艺术特征[J].中国音乐学,2010(04):122-129.DOI:10.14113/j.cnki.cn11-1316/j.2010.04.016.

[5]段霁珊.豫剧元素在民族声乐中的实际运用[J].艺术大观,2020(31):22-23.

[6]中华文化辞典，武汉大学出版社，2010.

[7]中国旅游文化大辞典，上海古籍出版社，2001.

[8]张雪莹. 清末民初以来女性文化与越剧[D].河北大学,2016.

[9]张月月.胡连翠及其黄梅戏电视剧音乐研究[J].剧影月报,2022(03):12-13.

[10]崔迪. 评剧现代戏剧本创作研究[D].中国艺术研究院,2017.

Wang Rou 汪柔 - The Chinese tradition of ancestor worship

1. Background

Ancestor worship, a Chinese traditional custom, is a solemn folk activity. New Year's Eve, Qingming Festival, Double Ninth Festival, hungry Ghost Festival are the four major traditional festivals of the Han nationality for ancestor worship. In ancient times, this custom prevailed, due to the different customs around the different forms of ancestor worship. Chinese people have a tradition of paying homage to their ancestors. At the same time, some places also offer sacrifices to heaven and earth gods. The offerings are mainly three animal food, three kinds of tea and five of wine, etc. The parents officiate, burn three joss sticks, pray for a good harvest after bowing, and finally burn paper, commonly known as "sending money and grain". Ancestor worship has been an ancient custom with profound significance for thousands of years.

2. General statement

The Chinese people have a tradition of paying homage to their ancestors at festivals, and the Spring Festival is no exception. Offering food or flowers as a token of affection is a common ritual in China. The form of ancestor worship may vary according to religious belief, but the meaning of commemorating ancestors is the same. Family rituals is one of the most important activities. According to the folk concept, people should offer sacrifices to their ancestors as earnestly as to the heaven, earth and god, through which they pray for protection and bless from their ancestors. During the Spring Festival it is a must to worship ancestors, meanwhile inspire future generations. However, due to different customs around the country, in some places people worship before the New Year's Eve dinner; some worship around midnight on New Year's Eve; in Taiwan, ancestor worship is held for the last time of the year on New Year's Eve afternoon. There is also grave ancestor worship, commonly known as tomb offering, mainly in the cemetery to burn incense and lay offerings on the altar. In modern times, it is generally to the graves of relatives to worship. Due to the different customs around the different forms of ancestor worship, some go to the field zhan worship ancestor tomb, some to the ancestral hall, and most times it takes place in the main hall of people’s house.

3. The origin of ancestor worship

The worship originated in ancient times, and is divided into ancestor worship and worship of various ghosts and gods. Ancient people believed that ghosts and gods had great authority and could decide people's fate, so they worshipped them. They divided ghosts and gods into three categories: heaven, earth, human and ghost, and took human and ghost - ancestors as the main object of worship. They believe that although the ancestors died, the soul still exists, and can bring disasters, blessing and descendants, so they all schedule and devout sacrifice. In the process of historical evolution, the concept of family and that of ancestor worship is becoming increasingly weak in many places, but the Lingnan area attaches importance to traditional customs, so the custom of ancestor worship is still prevailing there. China has inherited the tradition of ancestor worship for thousands of years, which has multiple psychological effects, one of the most important, is to think about the source of drinking water, and worship ancestor because of filial piety. This concept of ancestor worship has been continued to the present, forming the characteristics of Chinese culture.

Ancestor worship has been an ancient custom with profound significance for thousands of years. According to historical records, during the Qin and Han Dynasties, tomb sacrifice has become an indispensable ritual activity. "Biography of Yan Yannian in The Book of Han" records that yan even thousands of miles away from Beijing in the Tomb Sweeping Day "return to the East China Sea grave". With the growing awareness of ancestor worship and kinship, the tomb sacrifice that was not included in the norms in ancient times was included in the "Five Rites". Later, the worship of the imperial court also made the tomb sacrifice more prevalent.

4. Customs

Ancestor worship has been an ancient custom with profound significance for thousands of years. According to historical records, during the Qin and Han Dynasties, tomb sacrifice has become an indispensable ritual activity. "Biography of Yan Yannian in The Book of Han" records that yan even thousands of miles away from Beijing in the Tomb Sweeping Day "return to the East China Sea grave". With the growing awareness of ancestor worship and kinship, the tomb sacrifice that was not included in the norms in ancient times was included in the "Five Rites". Later, the worship of the imperial court also made the tomb sacrifice more prevalent.

5. Types

(1) Ancestor worship on New Year's Eve

Ancestor worship on New Year's Eve is one of the traditional customs handed down to the Han people. On the one hand, it is derived from the traditional concept of "filial piety first" and "cautious and final", expressing filial piety and nostalgia to ancestors at the time of ringing out the old year and ushering in the New Year; On the other hand, it is the belief that the gods of the ancestors can protect the offspring and make them prosperous. This traditional custom has been handed down from generation to generation, people always hold a sacrificial ceremony in every New Year's Eve, expressing gratitude, praying for blessings. In the past, the ancestor worship ceremony was generally held in the ancestral temple on the afternoon of New Year's Eve, and the clans with the same family name in costumes participated in the ceremony. Before the family reunion dinner, people usually place food and wine in front of the ancestral shrine to worship. In the farming areas of northeast China, the most important ancestor worship activities are usually held at the end of the year, mostly between the 28th day of the 12th lunar month and New Year's Eve. The form of sacrifice varies according to conditions. for some ancestral officials and prosperous and rich families, they built their own ancestral hall, commonly known as "family temple", and their ancestral worship activities were held there. On the day of ancestor worship, the main male members of the local branches of the family gather together in the family temple. The sacrificial vessels used have been cleaned and the offerings prepared in advance, and the god (memorial tablets) and portraits (commonly known as images) of the ancestors of each generation are placed and hung in order of generation. Then under the auspices of the patriarch, all the people according to the level of their generations, in batches to each ancestor incense salute.

Each family is a form of ancestor worship. In many places it happens before dinner. Firstly，they go to their family tombs to worship, some just kowtow, some use the kang table to carry a table of wine, known as "to send dinner to the ancestors." The order of sacrifice begins with the seniority of the tomb. They put kang table in front of the grave, kowtow salute, then pour a cup of wine on the ground.

The main process is carried out at home, usually around the dinner on New Year's Eve. People call it "to fetch the ancestor home for the New Year". According to legend that the spirits of the dead cannot move in the daytime, so they must wait until after dark. People put incense burner, sweet drum, candlestick (commonly known as the five for) or combination of disk in the west wall or on kang hall box. After hanging the incense people began to put for the whole family size in turn kowtow salute. The offerings are usually pasta and fruit.

Many people dedicated to the New Year's Eve ancestor worship steamed bread steamed white, each point above a red dot, each two planes are stacked together for a group, generally three to five levels, each placed in white porcelain plate. These offerings have been placed until the fifth day of the first lunar month, and from the first to the fifth day of the first lunar month, two times every morning and evening in front of the ancestral shrine (tablet) incense, until the fifth night, after the ceremony to send the "ancestral", that is, the tablet or tablet back to the original place. In other areas, some memorial ceremonies are held on New Year's Eve for grandparents or parents who have recently died.

The clothes they had worn before they died are folded and placed on the kang. Then the younger generation kneels down and kowtows, saying "XX (the name for the elders) come home for the New Year." When burning paper, people will "murmur" some words of convoking thoughts and asking for blessings, and it is believed that the ancestors will certainly hear, and bring happiness and well-being for the family.

(2) Qingming Festival ancestor worship

People visit the graves of their ancestors to see if they have been caved in due to the coming of the rainy season, or if they have been pierced by rabbits or foxes. During the tomb sweeping, weeds are eliminated, new soil is added, pigs are burned, incense is burned, and paper money is burned, and simple sacrificial ceremonies are held to express the memory of ancestors. Tomb sweeping is a concrete manifestation of the harmony of the Han nationality and filial piety and virtue. Therefore, it has become one of the important festivals for Chinese around the world, showing the patriotism of remembering their ancestors and homeland.

In addition to the "mountain-top offering" of ancestor worship and tomb sweeping, there is ancestral offering, called "temple offering" in later generations. Temple offering is closely related to ancient spring performance. Though far apart in time, the two are indeed connected closely. Temple sacrifice is the common gathering of the clan. The custom of sweeping tombs and offering sacrifices to ancestors originated before the Pre-Qin Dynasty. Because of the different customs in the north and south in ancient times, sweeping tombs in some places may not be on the occasion of qingming festival. Before the Tang Dynasty, tomb sweeping was mainly carried out on the "Cold Food Festival" and "Cold clothes Festival" in some parts of northern China. It was not until the Tang and Song Dynasties that tomb sweeping began to prevail in the whole country. In many places in south China, people sweep tombs on the Double Ninth Day, Qingming Day or winter solstice day, such as in Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi or Kunming in Yunnan Province.

(3) Ancestor worship in the Yuan Dynasty

Ancestor worship in the Hungry Ghost Festival is also known as "July half" ancestor worship, for it is in the end of summer and the beginning of the winter. People believe that ancestors also return home to visit their children and grandchildren at this time, so they need to worship their ancestors.

(4) The Double Ninth Festival

The Double Ninth Festival is one of the four traditional ancestor worship festivals in China. On the annual Double Ninth Festival, people hold ancestor worship activities to pray to the gods for good fortune, and carry out activities to respect the elderly and pass on the culture of filial piety. On the Double Ninth Festival, many people hold ancestor worship activities. However, these activities also have different forms according to different regions. The Double Ninth Festival is called "taigong Mountain worship" in Cantonese, and all family members must attend. The worship of the Double Ninth Festival is to thank the ancestors for their kindness and pray for their blessing after the harvest. Therefore, the atmosphere is relaxed and joyful, and there will be no sorrow like "pedestrian's dying soul". There are many rules to sweep tombs and worship ancestors. They worship the public ancestors first, then the branch ancestors, and each family worship their ancestors.

6. The significance of ancestor worship

The meaning of ancestor worship is to recall the history and show the hope for the prosperity of descendants. Paying attention to ancestor worship is a prominent feature of Chinese etiquette. This is because ancestor worship has a good function of social education, which helps to cultivate the moral character of social members, strengthen the unity among social members, and maintain the stability of society.

Terms and Expressions

"Biography of Yan Yannian in The Book of Han" 《汉书.严延年传》 qingming festival 清明节

References

• 1. 中国传统祭祖的四大节日 ．腾讯网[引用日期2018-10-12]
• 2. 重阳节为何要敬老：中国人最该知道的四重意思 ．人民网[引用日期2018-10-21]
• 3. 谈中华知有巢知有巢识合肥 ．中国安徽在线网．2017-08-08[引用日期2020-04-23]
• 4. 燧人氏：中华之燧皇，华夏之共祖 ．赤子新闻网．2019-10-29[引用日期2020-04-23]
• 5. 海峡两岸共祭中华人文始祖伏羲 ．中国新闻网．2019-06-22[引用日期2020-04-23]
• 6. 两岸共祭中华人文始祖炎帝神农氏 ．中国新闻网．2011-04-03[引用日期2020-04-23]
• 7. 海峡两岸共祭中华“人文始祖”轩辕黄帝 ．中国新闻网．2019-10-07[引用日期2020-04-23]
• 8. 新会林氏祭祖登央视 ．新浪[引用日期2014-02-06]
• 9. 台南平埔族夜祭祖灵 赖清德巧遇甘肃陆生 ．凤凰网．2013-11-18[引用日期2013-11-19]
• 10. 重阳节祭祖习俗 ．北方网 [引用日期2018-10-12]
• 11. 清明节习俗——扫墓 ．济宁文明网[引用日期2022-04-06]

Questions

1.What does “Chinese Ancestor Worship” refer to?

2.What is the significance of Ancestor Worship in China?

3.How many types of Ancestor Worship in China are there?

Wei Jingting 魏静婷 - Opera: Huangmei opera

Brief Introduction

Huangmei opera, formerly known as Huangmei tune and Caicha opera, originated in Huangmei, Hubei Province, and developed and expanded in Anqing, Anhui Province. Huangmei opera, together with Beijing opera, Yueju opera, Pingju opera, and Yuju opera, is one of the "five major opera genres in China", and is also the main local opera genre in Anhui Province. Huangmei opera singing simple and smooth, to bright and lyrical, with rich expressive power; performance is simple and meticulous, known for real and lively. The song "Matching of Heavenly Fairies" has made Huangmei opera popular in the north and south of China, and has a high reputation in overseas. On May 20, 2006, Huangmei opera was approved by the State Council to be included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list. On May 24, 2021, Huangmei opera declared by Hubei Province was approved by the State Council to be included in the extended list of national intangible cultural heritage representative projects.

Origin

The history of Huangmei opera is not considered very long, for the origin of Huangmei opera, there are 5 mainstream statements. In all the testimony, which is recognized version of the Hubei Huangmei said. The reason for this consensus, one is that historical documents record Huangmei County is both a tea song folk song of the country, but also a place where floods and droughts are frequent, including the most vicious floods. Good song of Huangmei people in such an environment to escape around, selling the field to beg. A large number of Huangmei victims who flowed into Anhui Susong, Taihu, Huaining and other counties, received local food, but also returned a rich spiritual food - Huangmei Caicha tune and a variety of folk songs and dances.

Development

Huangmei Opera is developed on the basis of the song and dance of Huangmei Caicha tune in the adjoining areas of Anhui, Hubei and Gan provinces. One of them moved east to Anhui Huaining as the center of the Anqing area Indic language sound singing, known as Huai cavity or Huai tunes. This is the predecessor of today's Huangmei opera." Thus, it can be seen that Huangmei opera was developed on the basis of Huangmei tea opera. "Huangmei Caicha opera traditional singing set" defines Huangmei Caicha opera in this way: "Huangmei Caicha opera, referred to as 'Caicha ', is one of the excellent local opera in Hubei Huangmei Caicha tune floated into the Huaining area with the water, it flowed into a good ecological environment for opera incubation. Many opera singers and scholars call the junction of Hubei, Anhui and Jiangxi provinces as the "Golden Triangle" of opera, and Huaining County Shipai Town is one of the "opera nest".

Costume

Huangmei costumes are generally less extravagant compared to the other Chinese opera branches. There is usually a greater emphasis on the singing than the display. In Hong Kong there is not necessarily a requirement to wear any traditional Chinese opera attire. An example is the cantopop artist Jenny Tseng singing Huangmei style music with Ivy Ling Po in a concert.

Artistic features

The melody of Huangmei Opera is a plate-like variant, with three lumens: flower cavity, color cavity, and main tone. The flower cavity is mainly composed of small plays, the tone is healthy and simple, beautiful and cheerful, with a strong sense of life and the color of the folk songs; the color cavity is very popular, and it has been widely used in the small dramas; the main theme is the vocal used in the traditional Chinese drama of Huangmei opera. The Huangmei Opera is pure and fresh, exquisite and moving, with a bright and expressive sensibility, rich in expressiveness, easy to understand, easy to popularize, and deeply loved by people all over China.

Tune

Huangmei opera singing voice has three forms: the main cavity, flower cavity, three cavities ("colorful cavity", "fairy cavity", "Yin Si cavity" three cavities collectively).

The main cadence of Huangmei opera

The main cavity is the most dramatic expression of a cavity in the traditional singing cavity of Huangmei opera. It is the principle of the musical structure of the board change body (or board cavity body), and it is this main feature that makes it different from the tune embellishment body (or tune body) of the "flower cavity" and both the characteristics of the two systems "three cavities". The main cavity does not mean that it is predominant in all of Huangmei opera's repertoire. In fact, the main cavity is not used in small plays, and some big plays are not dominated by the main cavity. The reason why this cavity is called the main cavity is its musical form and musical performance function. In addition, from the history of the development of Huangmei opera music, the main cavity is also later than the flower cavity and three cavities. This development process coincides with the development of the repertoire from a one-act play, two small plays, three small plays to a series of plays and finally can play the whole course of the opera. Therefore, it can be considered that the main cavity is a product of the development of Huangmei opera to a mature stage. Its appearance, marking the basic style of Huangmei opera music frame.

Huangmei opera's flower cadence

Huangmei opera originated from folk songs and dances. Mountain and village workers of the labor songs, women and children know the lane songs, lanterns and fires in the song and dance, is the source of Huangmei opera lively. Huangmei opera in the formation of the first stage results - two small opera, three small opera process, also formed more than a hundred small songs and miscellaneous tunes of the "flower cavity" cavity system. Flower cavity from the folk songs, but the role has been not quite the same as folk songs. It has moved from the field to the stage, from a casual song to a prescribed dramatic situation, conveying the voice of the character. The cadences we see today, however similar they may be to folk songs, have been polished by dramatic waves and have some of the qualities of dramatic music, a kind of folk song-style tune system.

Classical Works

Huangmei opera's outstanding repertoire are "the fairy match" "cowherd and weaving maiden" "the story of the Sophora" "the female horse harnessed by the side of a horse" "the couple watching the lantern" "hitting pig grass" and so on. One of the most famous is the "match of the immortals", tells a moving love story: the seven immortals defied the rules of heaven, private mortal Dong Yong to marry, and was eventually broken up by the Jade Emperor.

References

1. 百度百科 黄梅戏https://baike.baidu.com/item/黄梅戏/2677?fr=aladdin 2. Berry, Michael. [2005] (2005). Speaking in Images: Interviews with Contemporary Chinese Filmmakers. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-13330-8 3. "Huangmei opera". China intangible cultural heritage digital museum. Retrieved 20 November 2019.