The Lucrative Wedding Game

THE lunar year of the dog augurs auspiciousness and wealth. Consequently many courting couples have decided to tie the knot in 2006. Whether or not it lives up to their expectations remains to be seen. But as far as wedding-related commerce is concerned, 2006 will most definitely     

A Traditional Chinese Wedding

DAVID is a British man who came to work as a teacher in Beijing.There he met a girl called Miss Wang, and romance soon blos-somed between the two. They decided to get married, so they firstwent through the marriage registration procedures required by Chi-nese law. That was the easy part. When it came to the ceremonyitself, the young Briton found that he had much to learn about the Chinese way,as each detail of a traditional Chinese wedding symbolizes some cultural or philo-sophical elemen…     

改土归流后贵州少数民族生活的变迁

滇黔"第一要务"--改土归流的完成,不仅解除了"汉民被其摧残,夷人受其荼毒"这一"大害",[1]而且也对贵州的政治、经济、思想、文化等产生了极其重大的影响,尤其更加快了各少数民族生活习俗的递嬗步伐.     

The World in a Mirror

TODAY,the idea of gazing atone’s reflection in a pot ofwater when applying cos-metics seems ludicrous.but3,000 years ago there was noalternative.The vessel used tohold “mirror” water was a jian,and the character for it symbol-ized a person looking down into abasin of water.The jian was firstmade of clay,and later of bronze.     

America and Americans as I Know Them

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the normalization of US-China relations (1979-2004), China Today is pleased to publish the following candid exchange of personal experiences between a Chinese and an American.Eighty-one-year-old journalist Zhang Yan's first contact with Americans was in 1944 during WWII, when he met several US 14th Air Force GIs stationed in the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming. After the normalization of Sino-US relations in 1979, Zhang was one of the first Chinese correspondents stationed in Washington DC     

Ancient Banyan Village

NANLONG is a small village 30 kilometers south of Xingyi City in Guizhou Province, Southwestern China. The 360 ancient banyan trees,     

The Art of Bricks and Tile Ends

THE Qin Dynasty （221-206 B.C.） had four imperial polymath councilors who were highly revered by the imperial court for their intelligence and resourcefulness. Since they would not go along with Emperor Qinshihuang＇s tyranny, they re- signed together and lived a secluded life on Shangluo Mountain （Shang Moun-tain）. The hair on all their heads turned white-gray, earning them the collective epithet the ＂Four White-haired Hermits.＂     

Valentine＇s Day the Chinese Way：Love and the City

WITH increasing exchanges between China and the West, many Western ideas and customs are modifying Chinese lifestyles, and Valentine＇s Day is one of them.     

Fantasy, Somnambulism and Games in Liu Ye＇s Paintings

LIU Ye‘s paintings are a surrealistic blend of fantasy and reality. His canvases are a conglomeration of images of happy childhood and of catastrophic events unrelated to daily life. They combine to express a dread of reality. Liu beckons his viewers to join in the games of this visionary world,playing whatever roles they see fit. A girl and boy dressed in sailor suits look bemused, and two youths that magnetize the viewer‘s attention are in an obscure relationship. Spears, pistols, telescopes, pictures and books are all life‘s toys to Liu, the kind of life envisioned by postmodern artists and espoused by French philosopher Derrida.     

The Emperor and the Concubine——A Legendary Romance

TANG women were the most fortunate of all in China’s feudal history. They lived in a period of unprecedented economic prosperity, cultural and artistic diversity and, most signi cantly, gender equality.     

闽文化第七讲 福建宗教

闽文化丰富多彩,博大精深,举凡哲学宗教、语言文学、科举教育、生活习俗、戏曲音乐、绘画建筑等等,糜不齐备。下面将就其中最有特色和典型意义者分别进行介绍和论述。首先谈谈福建宗教。福建宗教主要有佛教、道教、基督教和伊斯兰教等。一、福建佛教     

THE ELE GANCE OF QUYI——The Fourth Quyi Showcase of Chinese Ethnic Minority Groups

The history and tradition of Quyi （storytelling with music and periormance） are among the longest and most profound of China＇s folk art forms. Having evolved over centuries and centuries from folk oral literature and singing, Quyi is the catch-all name of various ＂art forms of talking and singing＂ in China. For millennia Quyi has been the vehicle by which Chinese people of whatever ethnic group have expressed their way of life and revealed their inner feelings.     

Rediscovering a Kunqu Classic——Interview with Yip Kam Tim, stage and costume designer for The Palace of Eternal Youth

OSCAR-WINNING art designer Yip Kam Tim, dressed in his trademark blackand-white T-shirt and baseball cap,greets me with a welcoming smile. He is keen to talk about his latest and probably most challenging project.