The Taipei Palace Museum： A Collection of Unique Treasures

To avoid chaos caused by war, nearly 20,000 cases of cultural relics from the Forbidden City in Beijing were moved southward in the 1930s. Parts of the imperial collection were then relocated to Waishuanghsi in Taipei. Many people do not know that there are two palace museums in China： one in Beijing and another in Taipei.     

Cultural Heritage Protectors Lose Tenure

THE Ministry of Culture recently stripped 105 institutions of their authority to preserve items listed as state level intangible cultural heritage. Reasons given included the absence of legal person status and an independent corporate bank account; also that administrative changes inhibited capacity to fulfill obligations. Six were found to be failing in their duties     

The Past Preserved

<正>With a history of several thousand years,central China's Hunan Province boasts a large number of cultural relics.The Hunan Provincial Museum in the provincial capital of Changsha alone houses more than 180,000 ancient artifacts.According to Yu Yanjiao,a researcher with the museum,there are four"must-knows"about Hunan's cultural heritage.Birthplace of rice Hunan's climate and soil are eminently suitable for the growth of rice.In 1995,four rice kernels dating back over 10,000 years were discovered in the archaeological site of Yuchanyan in Daoxian County,Yongzhou,which indicates that wild rice has been grown in the region since ancient times.Archaeological discoveries indicate that there are multiple locations in which wild rice used to be grown in Hunan.In 1988,a large quantity of rice husks mixed in with broken pottery pieces were found in the Pengtoushan Site in Lixian County,Changde City.These rice husks were identified to date back 9,000 years.     

Tourism in Ningbo

ITis said that whenEmperor Qinshihuang,the first emperor inChinese history, dispatched a fleet of ships to Japan to seek theelixir of life 2,000 years ago,they started from today's NingboCity in Zhejiang Province.Ningbo boasts a large number of cultural and historicalrelics. The Hemudu ruins of theNew Stone Age prove that theYangtze River, like the YellowRiver, was one of the cradles ofthe Chinese nation. The ruins ofkilns at Shanglin Lake were thebirthplace of blue porcelain inChina. …     

Focus

VoiceThe Administration still emphasizes that our top priority is to ensure the safety and longevity of cultural relics for posterity;excavation is only considered as a last resort, Tong Mingkang,deputy chief of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH),remarked at the evaluation conference to select the top ten archeological discoveries in 2010. Of the archeological digs approved by SACH,90 percent were     

Kunqu:Humankind''''s Common Cultural Heritage

IN May 2001, UNESCO forthe first time awarded thetitle of "Masterpieces of theOral and intangibleHeritage of Humanity" to 19outstanding cultural forms fromdifferent regions of the world.Kunqu Opera, a school of tradi-tional Chinese opera, was amongthem. It is the only Chinese artform listed, and is now a facet ofthe common cultural heritage ofhumankind.Criteria used in the selectionprocess were outstanding value,roots in cultural tradition, affir-mation of cultural identity,source of ins…     

Restoring Cultural Heritage Sites Most of the post-quake cultural heritage rescue and protection projects in Sichuan have been completed

The State Administration of Cultural Heritage recently rewarded 132 individuals and organizations for their work in rescuing and protecting cultural relics damaged by the Wenchuan earthquake on May 12,2008.Two world cultural heritage sites,145 key state-level cultural heritage sites and 285 provincial-level cultural heritage sites as well as more than 1,000 city or county-level cultural heritage sites in Sichuan,Gansu and Shaanxi provinces were damaged by the earthquake,said Shan Jixiang,Director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.     

丹青和鸣——“民族百花”中国画名家邀请展作品选登（英文）

<正>Master painters representing China's cultural diversity recently exhibited their works as part of an invitational to promote the significant role that ethnic fine arts play in contemporary China.To encourage artists to follow the progress of national minority areas and maintain their enthusiasm for minority-related subjects,15 master painters representing 10 of China's minzu,or ethnic minorities,were hosted at the"Minzu Hundred Flowers"Chinese     

Nadam

Editor＇s Note： China＇s vast territory and long history have engendered a profuse and colorful intangible cultural heritage. Wang Wenzhang, president of the China Art Academy, and his staff have spent years on comprehensive research into China＇s intangible heritage with the aim of salvaging aspects of it that are in danger of dying out. Talking to Wang Wenzhang on the subject truly brings home its universal significance. As Wang says, ＂The intangible cultural heritage immanent in folklore, ballads, festivals and handicrafts constitute the quintessence of a nation.＂ Folk festivals are a main aspect of the cultural heritage of China＇s various ethnic groups, one that we will explore and bring to our readers throughout 2008. To quote Wang Wenzhang once more, ＂History enables knowledge of a nation; knowing its intangible cultural heritage gives insight into its spirit.＂     

Marriage Law Revisions Reflect Social Progress in China

THE first Marriage Law wasissued on May 1st, 1950, soonafter the founding of the People'sRepublic of China in 1949.Chinese women were henceforth liberatedfrom the feudal marriage system. In 1980,the second PRC Marriage Law wasapproved in the interests of reinstating the legal system that had been ridden over roughshod during the "cultural revolution"(1966-70).In 2000,after two decades of economic and social reform, it was decidedthat the Marriage Law should again be revised. These revisi…     

Shanghai for Art and Culture Hounds

SHANGHAI is not only an economic powerhouse, but also a cultural wellspring of China. A rough count will come up with more than 20 well-known museums, not to mention art galleries of various importance that number no less than 100. These cultural and art facilities add diversity to the itinerary of visitors headed for the World Expo.     

Relics Reduced to Rubble

Quake damage leaves worst cultural relic loss in 60 years The deadly earthquake in Sichuan has not only taken tens of thousand of lives and left millions homeless, but it has also had a cultural impact. Standing on the rubble of a temple in Dujiangyan City that was heavily dam- aged after the May 12 earthquake,     

Absorbing the Culture Shock

Participants at a forum on communication between cultures generate ideas on how China can deal with its growing cultural deficit Five months ago, Ding Wei, Assistant Minister of Culture, described China's deficit in international cultural trade as "huge" at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office. "Our statistics years ago showed that the ratio of imports of cultural products to exports was 10 to 1," he     

A Reciprocal Exchange

<正>The Year of China in South Africa will have far-reaching cultural andbusiness benefitsOne of Africa's leading economies and the world's largest developing country continue to forge even stronger trade,investment and cultural ties that will define the long-term relations of the two nations.In the joint communique between South Africa and China issued in 2013 by Chinese     

Can You Talk between the Lines？

EVERY Chinese is proud of their country＇s 5,000 years of cultural his tory. However, if people from the Western world were to interpret this culture in the wrong way, it would be quite difficult to communicate. Bearing in mind the cultural differences, many expats will have encountered conversational awkwardness with Chinese employees or colleagues.     

Learning Culture Through Language

In order to begin the study of Chinese culture, we must first acknowledge that it i sso completely different from our own, that any cultural or political parallels that we draw between the     

Russian Art：A Run on Oils in China

SHAO Jialing is president of an interior decoration company in Heihe, a northern border city cozying up to Russia＇s Amurskaya Oblast. His office is decorated with several Russian oil paintings, suggesting a certain cultural sophistication. In recent years locals have developed a great interest in Russian oil paintings, and now fine her doors to the public, Qin noticed that many of her patrons were looking to acquire one or two oil paintings to present as gifts to their newlywed friends, or as house wanning gifts.     

Thirty Years of Chinese Contemporary Art

IN 2007, Chinese artists heed a number of retrospective exhibitions, such as the Retrospective Exhibition of the No Name Group （1979）, the Exhibition of 1985 Avant-garde Fine Art, the Retrospective Exhibition of the Star Art Group of 30 Years Ago, and the Exhibition of the Qingdao Dream of Modern Artists in the 1980s. Thirty years ago, however, many of the works now openly displayed were exhibited unofficially, and some were even banned by the government. Conventional wisdom holds that China＇s contemporary art can be divided into four periods - the first being the post-＂cultural revolution＂ period of 1976-1984, the second lasting from 1985 to 1989, the third from 1990 to 1999, and the fourth from 1999 to the present.     

A Global Inspiration——the China Disabled People＇s Performing Art Troupe

AS a large-scale,multi-disciplinary theatrical performance by the China Disabled People＇s Performing Art Troupe,My Dream was a cultural highlight of the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games.It included 18 programs that ranged from music and Peking Opera,to dance dramas and musicals.Its evocation of Oriental charm,with a blending of international cultural themes,left many audiences in tears.     

Youth Cultural Exchange Held in France and Monaco

At the invitation of the municipal government of Nice and the Monaco-China Association, the 2012-2013 China-France and China-Monaco youth cultural and art exchanges sponsored by the CPAFFC were held on the