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Christmas Reflections

Readers expecting another commentary on the exploitation of Christmas in materialistic China will be sorely disappointed here. I'll spare you the platitudes about how the Middle Kingdom is embracing (good or bad) Christmas commercialism in a feeding frenzy. There's enough said about China's spiritual vacuum being filled by rampant consumerism during the current economic boom affecting the new proletariat; enough written about the surge of prosperity affecting the new elite.

One gem I've truly learned about this country over the past six years of living on the Mainland is that every stereotype, cliche and generality about China will find its antithesis in short time. China is the Great Dichotomy, the ancient mystery, the master of ruse, of oxymora and ambiguities. Continuously, I've witnessed a people excessively self-abashed and proud, cunning and naivete, oftentimes in conjunction with one another.

China relishes in its contradictions; it is far too comfortable with anomalies and schisms. Zi xiang mao dun (phonetically pronounced Zih shee-ahng maow dwun), is the Mandarin phrase for "contradicting itself." It literally means 'shield and spear,' which goes back to the old story about one possessing the impenetrable shield along with the omnipotent sword. How can there be both? Ah, the love of contradictions. Even Mao ZeDong liked to quote the old Taoist expression: "The extreme becomes its opposite."

In China, things oftentimes are not what they appear. I've found it's best to hold off on passing judgments and stereotyping here; anytime I've assumed something to be a general fact, I've later glimpsed its hidden opposite, shimmering in the shadows like a newly exported Christmas bauble.

Wishing all of our readers a safe and relaxing holiday season. Shung dahn kwye luh! (Merry Christmas!)

Holiday Travel

Since traveling is synonymous with the holiday season, here are some helpful vocabulary words you'll need to know for getting around in China. As you're venturing off to enticingly new places to experience, be sure to pack a copy of SPEAK E-Z CHINESE In Phonetic English in your travel bag. We can promise you, the hassles of communication are all but eliminated when you're out and about with thousands of words and phrases literally at your fingertips!

Chinese Peasant Painting

One of the absolutey coolest folk arts in China is the peasant paintings created in any of the forty so-called "Painting Villages" scattered throughout the Middle Kingdom. Each of these villages has its own identifiable art style, created by non-academic artists/farmers depicting customs and daily life in the country. Two of the most famous art villages are Huxian, located southwest of Xian, and Jinshan, which is in the southeastern Yangtze River area near Shanghai. The charm of these paintings lies in their naivete' and playfulness, their exaggerated modeling and bright colors, and in the rhythmic patterns and surrealistic imagery.

The art possesses the simplicity of people who live and work far away from the complexities of city life, and they portray almost every aspect of rural living: feeding livestock, harvesting, children playing, village festivals, and the celebration of special traditions. Most of the paintings are illustrated with child-like figures, flattened perspectives rendered out of memory and/or imagination.

Farmer Paintings are a relatively new art form. The style emerged back in the late 1970s, when the Chinese painter, Wu Tongzhang began teaching painting techniques to the farmers in Jinshan. Most of these first painters were older women skilled in various folk arts that had been passed down through generations. These traditional folk arts, such as embroidery, paper cutting, weaving, and woodcarving heavily influenced the painting styles that have now developed.

Peasant Paintings are made from tempera paint mixed with chalk and painted on rice paper, then they are usually attached to heavier paper. After designing a painting, the artist paints it many times, yet each painting is considered "original" since it was rendered by the original artist, and invariably, variations exist each time the artist paints the painting, making each one unique.

In The News...

World's tallest snow sculpture almost finished

Xinghua, BEIJING, Dec. 16

"Romantic Feelings," the world's tallest snow sculpture, is almost finished and will debut at the 20th International Snow Sculpture Art Expo which opens on Dec. 20 at the Sun Island Scenic Area in Harbin, capital of northeastern China's Heilongjiang province.

The 35-meter-tall and 162-meter-long snow sculpture will be placed in the expo's main square known as the "Romantic and Marvelous Area." Visitors will be able to play the first "ice piano" there.

With the theme of "Focus on Harbin, Savor France," the expo will consist of seven scenic areas.

Along with the expo, the eighth Heilongjiang Provincial Snow Sculpture Competition, the 14th National Snow Sculpture Competition and the 13th International Snow Sculpture Competition will run concurrently.