Manas： the Bible of the Kirghiz

Manas is the heroic epic of the Kirghiz, a minority ethnic group living mainly in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwestern China. It is said that Manas is not the achievement of poetic inspiration, but rather a gift from the gods, and that singers of the epic suddenly were able to recite millions of lines of it on awaking from a dream. Such claims are often questioned by outsiders, yet the Kirghiz, passionate fans of Manas. do not doubt their truth.     

Manas the Immortal

The Kirghiz believe that the power of Manas can help them conquer all enemies. According to their belief, in places where descendants of Manas live, no enemy is invincible, and they will call the name of Manas when battling invaders. During the Second World War, the Kirghiz and Kazakh cavalries of the Soviet Union shouted out ＂Manas＂ as they launched attacks on the German Fascist troops.     

Five Years of Breakthrough in China＇s Human Rights Cause

In his report to the 17th Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Hu Jintao noted that the five years since the previous CPC National Congress havewitnessed important progresses in China＇s reform and opening-up undertakings and in the national endeavor to build a society of relative prosperity in all respects. These five years, he said, has also seen a ＂sound development of （China＇s） human rights cause.＂ For the first time in its history, the CPC reviewed the development of the human rights cause as an important part of national development.     

Landmark Signs of the Times

THE Chinese public has periodically selected over the past five decades what they believe to be Beijing＇s ten most impressive pieces of architecture. Buildings voted ＂top ten＂ in 1959, 1988, 2001 and 2007 reflect both the changes in China＇s architectural concepts and the country＇s progressive socio-economic transition.     

Spoiled Soil

Plastic pollution of farmland worsens as the use of polyethylene film becomes more popular Each new harvest brings Xiao Fulin,a farmer in Manas County in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region,less joy and more frustration.This is on account of the land that Xiao is using becoming increas-     

Spreading the Bible in China

According to records of the Bible Society in China, more than 300 million copies of the Bible in Chinese have been published and distributed since 1823. The spread of the Bible in China has gone through five stages.     

Life Goes On

Eighty days back from the publication day of this issue of Beijing Review,on May 12,the worst earthquake in China in more than five de- cades changed the way of life of 46.24 million people in west China.     

Making It Legal

<正>Improvements in the rule of law over the past five years A documentary dealing with the less than entertaining topic of legal matters has recently gone on to capture the public’s attention in China.According to statistics from China Central Television(CCTV),the six-part political documentary exploring the advances made in China’s legal system over the past five years had more     

Understanding China's Future

正Since its establishment in 1921,the Communist Party of China(CPC)has undergone an epic journey. On July 1, a high-profle gathering was held in Beijing to celebrate the 95th anniversary of the Party’s founding. President Xi Jinping, who is also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee,addressed the event.     

Harmony between Man and NatureAn Ecocritical Perspective on the Hezhen Yimakan

正As the global environmental crisis gets more pressing,ecological criticism has become a"distinct school."The ecological world and the relationship between man and nature in many literary works have entered the sightlines of the ecocritics.This paper argues that the rise of ecocriticism theory in the West and in China,eco criticism and in Chinese ethnic literature(in particular folk literature)is part of the same phenomenon.Secondly,the text of the Hezhen epic     

Joining Hands Northand South

<正>The signing of China-Australia FTA deal ushers in a new era for Asia-Pacific trade The final signing of the Free Trade Agreement(FTA) between Australia and China on June 18 marks the end of discussions and negotiations that have been ongoing since the mid-2000s.While nowhere near as epic as the 14-year period during which China was working on entering the World Trade Organization up to the time of its entry in 2001,     

FOREIGN PERSPECTIVES ON CHINA

<正>The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China(CPC)attracted 1,818journalists from abroad to cover the event in Beijing on October 18-24.Most of them have been based in China or visited China on several occasions.They have witnessed the changes of Chinese people’s lives in the past five years.What topics     

Ink with Feeling

IN the early 1980s, China issued a set of 16 stamps in commemoration of the artist Qi Baishi （1863- 1957）. Each featured a work by the great ink and wash master. The image on stamp number five was created in 1957, inspired by a line from an ancient poem： ＂Frogs are heard in a mountain brook miles away.＂ The story of how this work came about reveals much about the philosophy behind traditional Chinese painting.     

A Plan Is Born

China is one of the few countries that formulate a plan pertaining to economic and social development every five years.From ideas to implementation,creating a five-year plan involves many great minds.It's a complicated,sometimes drawn out process with thorough procedures—and it should be,since each plan plots the course China will take in its social and economic development over the next five years.Professor Hu Angang,Director of the Center for China Study of Tsinghua University,who took part in drawing up ...     

Is the Future Chinese？

MORE than 2,300 universities in over 100 countries have introduced Chinese courses to their curricula, and young overseas nationals flock to China each year to learn Chinese. In 2004, the number of international students in China was 400,000. with an annual increase of 20 percent in the past five years, according to the Chinese Ministry of Education.     

'Too Big to Fail' Meets Its Match

The five biggest Chinese banks posted weak profit growth in the first quarter of the year—the result of economic slowdown, surging bad loans, market-oriented reform on interest rates and increasing challenges from online investment products. The five listed state-owned commercial banks—namely the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China onstruction Bank,Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China and Bank of Communications—colloquially known as the Big Five, all reported a net profit growth of less than 2 percent in the first quarter of the year, down from an average of about 10 percent from the same period last year, according to figures from their quarterly financial reports to bourses.     

Twin Hazards The battles against poverty and pollution are waged on the same front

FOR a long time the World Bank Group has been known for its unremitting efforts on poverty alleviation, but among its 127 active projects in China, over 80 percent address environmental concerns, including cfimate change. ＂The World Bank and China celebrate the 30th anniversary of the partnership this year. The relationship has changed over time of course. In the last five years, issues revolving around climate change and sustainable growth have been the focus,＂ Carter Brandon,     

Old Friends, New Partners

China and Afiica celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations Fifty years ago in May, Egypt became the first African country to establish diplomatic ties with China, a move that ushered in a new era of Sino-African diplomatic relations. Over the past five decades, China and     

Hiking the Huashan Mountain

正After a two-hour ride from Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, the bus reached Huashan Mountain, one of the five sacred Taoist mountains in China. It took me almost five hours to hike up to the western peak.     

Exchanges

10 Million Households
A meeting of the State Council adopted a decision to renovate houses for 10 million households in rundown areas across China over the next five years. Of the total, 3.04 million households are scheduled to be serviced within the year. The program was initiated in parts of China including Uaoning Province in 2004, and was extended nationwide in 2008. By the end of 2012, it had significantly improved the living conditions of 10 million households.