Archive for category Cultural Relics
Kunqu
Posted by sharon in Cultural Relics on September 17th, 2009
Kunqu, also known as Kun opera or Kunqu opera, is one of the earliest forms of traditional Chinese drama. Evolved from the Kunshan melody, it has a history of more than 600 years.
At first, Kunqu was simply singing, without any costumes, makeup or acting. Later, a native Kunshanese called Liang Chenyu (1519-1591) transformed Kunqu into stage drama. He was good at play writing, poetry and music. With the help of some other talented musicians, they wrote an opera called “Washing the Silken Gauze”. The performance was a great success. Then Kunqu became quickly popular, and numerous new plays were subsequently created and staged. During Qing Dynasty (1636-1911), Kunqu became a nationwide art form.
Due to its great influence on other Chinese theatre forms, Kunqu is also known as the teacher or mother of many other types of Chinese operas.
It is an elegant opera in terms of music, recitation and the performers’ movements. Due to its soft arias and the graceful movements, it is acclaimed as watermill songs. It is also of great literary value as the performance itself has carried forward the tradition of ancient poetry and common speech.
Today, you may appreciate the art form performed professionally in some mainland Chinese cities: Beijing (Northern Kunqu Theatre), Shanghai (Shanghai Kunqu Theatre), Suzhou (Suzhou Kunqu Theatre), etc.
National Treasure Superstars — Ivory Cabbage & Radish
Posted by sharon in Cultural Relics on August 29th, 2009
They are probably the most valuable cabbage and radish in Chinese history. They are so vivid that sometimes one can not tell them from the real ones. Not to mention their age, actually, they are more than 200 years old.
It is hard to believe that they are ivory carvings as one could not find the original grain and color of ivory, but a luster which lends an appearance of transparency for the two objects. Due to the luster, most people mistake them for jade carvings.
The natural color, the clear grains, the vivid cricket…They were picked from the vegetable garden just now? They are so delicious that even cricket could not resist their attraction. Please do not disturb them, look at their postures, they are ready to fly away whenever the danger occurs.
However, the history of the two objects is still a mystery. No one knows who made them or where they came from. Unfortunately, the craftsmanship of dyeing has been lost. Researchers have tried to dye ivory but the color faded gradually eventually.
Luckily enough, we can appreciate them in Henan Museum, Zhengzhou City, Henan Province.
the Hometown for Holy Bird
Posted by sharon in Chinese Mystery, Cultural Relics on June 30th, 2009
Discovered in 2001, the Jinsha relics was the most significant archaeological discovery in the 21st century in China.
It unveiled an old kingdom’s brilliant culture, which is quite different from those in other parts of China, and yet is scarcely mentioned in Chinese records. Through six years, around 6,000 gold, jade, bronze and stone artifacts, tens of thousands of pottery items and also hundreds of elephant tusks have been unearth from this site.
Among them, Holy Bird is the most excellent one. It is a round gold foil made of 94 percent pure gold and it is only about 0.02 centimeters thick, the width of a piece of paper, and 12.5 centimeters in diameter. On the foil, there are images of the sun and four flying birds. It is speculated that the four flying birds represent the four seasons. It shows the ancient kingdom’s worship for the sun and birds .
Holy Bird was designated as the sign of China Cultural Heritage in 2005. To exhibit the treasure, a museum called Jinsha Relics Museum was built on the site and has been opened to the public.
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