Chinese

Chinese Assess Culture and Heritage

by Maria Galinovic via “The Leader“

AS ANY student of history knows, the Chinese have been in Australia for a long time.

They were part of the gold rush of the 1850s and have been arriving ever since — in small numbers, and in waves.

But should they retain their Chinese culture and heritage in Australia?

Some say yes and some say no — and there will be an attempt to settle the question in The Great Gap Debate on Thursday when people from St George will join teams of people from all over Sydney to fight for the affirmative and the negative.

Organisers Mikall Chong from Bexley and Daphne Lowe Kelley from Drummoyne are reworking a similar debate held earlier this year in Mandarin.

Both believe that this sort of debate has to be run in English to attract a wider range of people. . . . . .

“Gaga for Gangnam: $20 Million Bet on Bringing Korean Pop Culture to China”

by Lilian Lin via “The Independent“

Korean pop with Chinese characteristics? As the Korean pop culture craze in China continues to grow, some companies are betting heavily on the Middle Kingdom’s appetite for more Gangnam Style-style entertainment.

Hong Kong’s Media Asia and Taiwan’s Fubon Group recently teamed up with South Korea’s SM Entertainment, the country’s music and artist management giant, to set up an investment fund with $20 million in seed money to support various film &TV projects, focusing on China and global Chinese-language audiences.

SM, which manages a slate of top-tier Korean artists, including Girls’ Generation — a popular Korean girl band that won big at the YouTube Music Awards last year – says China is its most important market. According to the agreement, MediaAsia will also begin representing three artists currently backed by S.M Entertainment, including the Korean boy band EXO – a currently 11-member group that has three Chinese members and battled Justin Bieber and One Direction for Worldwide Act at MTV European Music Award last year.

The deal comes after Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit earlier this year to Seoul, when the two countries signed a string of deals to accelerate cultural exchanges, including an agreement to allow China-Korea co-production films to be seen as domestic films, allowing them to bypass strict imported film quotas in China’s theaters.

“Korean and Chinese government are looking forward to accelerating culture exchanges,” said Han Se-min, CEO of S.M Culture & Contents. “It definitely facilitates our cooperation.”

China’s obsession with all things Korean spans, of course, Psy’s smash hit Gangnam style, which remains beloved by China’s middle-age women who love to dance in public parks, as well as toddlers encouraged to dance in kindergarten classrooms.

This year’s K-pop craze in China, though, has been given further fuel by the rom-com Korean TV series “My Love From the Star.”

The smash hit TV series not only sparked a new fondness in China for fried chicken and beer – a dish often eaten by characters on the show – it also turned Kim Soo-hyun, a fresh-faced Korean heartthrob best known for playing the show’s ageless alien character, into a most-wanted star for China’s advertisers. Ads featuring his image touting everything from mineral water to shoes to moon cakes are ubiquitous in China. The show has been watched more than 14.5 billion times since last December’s debut. . . . .

Coming Exhibition: Loving Devotion: Enter the Mandala

“Enter the Mandala”

“Taima Mandala” (1300s – 1400s)

Who: Asian Art Museum

When: Mar. 14, 2014 – Oct. 26, 2014 (Tues-Sun. 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Thurs. 10 a.m. – 9 pm.)

Where:

Asian Art Museum
200 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA

How Much:

Adults ~ $15
Seniors, Students, Youth ~ $10

More Information: Here.

“Mandalas are maps of Buddhist visionary worlds.

Minutely detailed and saturated with philosophical meaning, these works (most often paintings or sculptures) are a feast for the eyes and the mind—nested squares and circles are arrayed to represent the center of the cosmos and the four cardinal directions. For Buddhist practitioners, however, mandalas are not just images to view, but worlds to enter—after recreating the image in their mind’s eye, meditators imaginatively enter its realm.But is it possible to have this experience without years of meditative discipline?

Enter the Mandala says yes. In this exhibition, 14th-century paintings align a gallery with the cardinal directions, transforming open space into an architectural mandala—a chance to experience the images in three dimensions, to dwell in the midst of the cosmic symbols and be transported to another world. Visitors can literally “enter the mandala,” exploring places in the cosmos—and perhaps themselves—that might otherwise remain invisible. “

Chinese Calligraphy, Painting Exhibition Opens in Albania

“Chinese Calligraphy, Painting Exhibition Opens in Albania”

by Wang Siwei via “Xinhua English News“

A woman watches a traditional Chinese painting at a Chinese calligraphy and traditional painting exhibition kicked off in Tirana, capital of Albania on July 25, 2014. About 18 artists from China displayed their masterpieces to Albanians during the exhibition, which will last to July 29. (Xinhua/Wang Siwei)