《花木兰》

Mulan is a story that has been told for ages, from the Ballad of Mulan to the most recent cinematic telling -- the 2009 feature film production ofHua Mulan, directed by Jingle Ma and co-directed by Wei Dong.     

The Legend of Mulan

1. Leading her army. Hua Mulan raids the enemy camp at night. 2. Hua Mulan fights bravely against the chief of the invading tribe. 3. Hua Mulan was in fact a beautiful young woman and good at spinning and weaving before she joined the army.     

Visiting the Hometown of Hua Mulan

IN China,the story of Hua Mulandisguising herself as a man andjoining the army is an ageless themeand every household knows the story.The name of the heroine was spreadeven wider when Walt Disney Companysuccessfully launched an animatedproduction of it.The animated film,“Hua Mulan,”caused a stir in theinternational film market.Amused andmoved by the woman’s story,morepeople became interested in its origin;sowhere is the hometown of Hua Mulan?     

What Others Are Saying...

＂Jingle Ma＇s war epic is a touching portrait of love in the time of war. ＇Mulan＇ is anchored by a strong performance by Vicki Zhao Wei, the wide-eyed expressive star vividly portraying her character＇s sorrow, anguish, fear and terror. One can＇t say the same about her physicality though, judging from the number of cutaway shots in the film during the battle scenes. This too is not director Jingle Ma＇s forte, and audiences who have seen Red Cliff will likely be unimpressed.     

One Woman's Bitter Medicine

ANGUO City in Hebei Province is a small one—only a few years ago, it was still a township—but it is well-known in Chinese medical circles as one of the four largest distribution centers of Chinese herbal medicine. Locals proudly call their hometown the "Medicine Capital." Anguo's streets are lined with medicine shops. In addition, the city is also home to a large medicine wholesale market, where hundreds of kinds of Chinese herbal medicine from all over the country Can be found. Both in the wholesale depot and in the small shops, it is striking that most buyers are men while most of the sellers are women. Song Mulan, the director of the municipal women's federation, is     

From"Six Sisters"to "China'king of Shoes"

During the War of Liberation before China was liberated in 1949. the exemplary deeds of the legendary six sisters from Shandong Province's Mengyin County who supported the front by sewing army shoes spread all over the Yimeng area. Army shoes embodied the boundless feelings, of the     

Warm Rem embrance

Shao Mulan worked as secretary and councilor in Chinese embassies to the United Arab Emirates,Viet Nam, Iraq, Turkey and Egypt. Her longest mission was to Egypt, where she stayed for more than 10 years.     

Chinese Hailed "National Fitness Program"

IN March, 1994, Liu Ji, Vice Minister of the State Physical Culture and Sports Commission (SPCSC) announced the "National Fitness Program" on behalf of Chinese government at the World Sports-for-All Congress in Uruguay. Almost all the participants thought it important to carry out the program in a country with a population of 1.2 billion. It not only helps improve Chinese people's health but also the world's average standard of health. The "National Fitness Program" is an overall, century-spanning, systematic project, which is snowballing. In 1994, the SPCSC issued the One-Two-One Project of the     

"I Climbed the Great Wall"

I finally climbed the Great Wall, A dream of my childhood; my heart is filled with pleasure at the indescribable beauty of the Wall. China's ancient civilization is best documented by the grandeur of the Wall.     

"Taking a Bite of Ginger and Drinking Some Vinegar"

ZHANG Suwo is the eldest daughter of Zhang Zhizhong, a patriotic general of the Kuomintang army. In 1949, as the chief representative of the Kuomintang government, General Zhang Zhizhong negotiated peace with the representatives of the Chinese Communist Party. Unfortunately, the civil peace agreement drawn up by the representatives of the two sides was refused by the     

"THE SITUATION OF CHINESE WOMEN" RELEASED

ON June 2, the Information Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China published the white paper "The Situation of Chinese Women." The white paper, which comprises about 20,000 characters, contains a preface and eight chapters: I. Historic Liberation of Chinese Women; II. Equal legal Status; HI. Equal Rights     

"Pipa Fairy Maiden" Zhang Hongyan

WHEN Zhang Hongyan plays the completely traditional Chinese musical instrument, the pipa, she is called a "pipa fairy maiden" by her audiences, "the pipa queen with outstanding talent and appearance" by the Hong Kong press and "a national flower of the Women Philharmonic Orchestra" in Singapore. Having completed her master's degree program at the folk music department of the Central Conservatory of Music. Zhang is continuing there as a teacher. On the unforgettable night of June 9, 1992, Zhang Hongyan presented her first solo concerto concert at the Beijing Concert Hall, in cooperation with the celebrated Central Philharmonic Orchestra based in Beijing and its famous conductor Hu Yongyan. This concert made her the first folk musical instrument player to present a special concerto concert in cooperation with a Western style orchestra. It is the result of many years of effort. Zhang was born in Shengxian County, Zhejiang Province, famous as the home of Yue Opera. Her father is a musician with a Yue Opera     

The Origin of "The East Is Red"

"THE east is red, the sun rises. China brought up Mao Zedong. He fights for the happiness of the people, he is a great liberator of the people." All Chinese know this song, but few know the origin of it. Composer Liu Zhi recalled, "I was a young actor in the Yangge Team under the Lu Xun Arts Institute of the Red Army 60 years ago. One folk performer in our troupe called Fang Xianzhang used to make a living by performing on both banks of the Yellow River. He knew a lot of Shanxi folk songs and once taught me a love song called Sesame Oil. It turned out to be the same tune with The East Is Red.     

Scroll of "On Goddess of the Luo River"

Scroll of "On Goddess of the Luo River" was painted by Gu Kaizhi, a master during the Eastern Jin Dynasty. He took the poem "On Goddess of the Luo River" by Cao Zhi, a great literary work from the Three Kingdoms period (220-265), as its chief subject. This poem illustrates the theme that true love between men and women is repressed and destroyed by the feudal ethical code and the feudal forces in feudal society. It depicts the poet's love for a goddess of the Luo River, Mi Fei, who is actually the reincarnation of the poet's favorite concubine, Zhen Fei, who had passed away.     

"Lan Ji" Gree-White Porcelain Case

The invention of porcelain is one of China's greatest contributions to world civilization. Many people have gotten to know China through its porcelain. As we all know, zhongguo and ciqi have the same spelling in English. Green-white porcelain represents a typical style that was fired in the Jingdezhen china kiln which represented the features of the Song Dynasty china kilns. The glaze is a mixture of white and green. The white can be     

Sandu Girls Caught in "Timely Rain"

IN Sandu, in Guizhou Province in southern China, I saw poverty, but also hope. Sandu, located in the south part of the province, is the only Shui Nationality Autonomous County in China. The Shui population account for 62.7 percent of the 280,000 people who live in the county, and the present and past county magistrates have always been people of the $hui nationality. Sandu boasts blue rivers and green     

"Bainiaoyi, " Bamboo-Pipe Wind Instrument Troupe

The "Bainiaoyi," or Bamboo-Pipe Wind Instrument Troupe, consists of young men and women of Miao nationality of the mountain villages in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Each of them can dance and sing well, and are often invited to perform in provinces and cities across China. Because of this, these young peasants who live deep in the mountain villages get a chance to leave their isolated homelands to visit other parts of the world and broaden their scope. The Miao people aren't the only ones to benefit from these travels. More and more people now have the opportunity to     

"Welcome Home Macao!"

IN 1999, Macao will return to Chinesesovereignty just like Hong Kong'swidely-reported restoration of 1997.Both the Chinese government and Chinesepeople look forward to this occasion like afamily reunion, or the return of a long-lostprodigal son. For we are all Chinese, nomatter whether we reside in Hong Kong,Macao or Taiwan, we share the same yellowskin and black eyes, the same writtenlanguage, the same cultural traditions, andthe unification of the Chinese nation is acommon longing in our common spirit.Whether it is the long dancing dragonssnaking their way down Macao's busy streetson holidays, the sandalwood fans sold inTaiwan's department stores or the Kung Fu ofHong Kong's ever-popular action movies,     

Sun Huanxiang-A Costume Designer for an "Emperor"

A soap opera called Legends of Emperor Qianlong was very popular in Beijing. People talked about it everywhere, including the emperor's appearance and the actor's performance as if the emperor was their old friend. Zheng Shaoqiu, who played the role of the emperor, made the chief contribution to the smash hit with     

"Carved Silk" Masterpieces

"Carved silk" originated during the Five Dynasties (907-960) period and gained great popularity during the Song Dynasty (960-1279). This particular style of weave, which features the same design on both sides, is clearly defined as if engraved with a knife. The distinct quality of the work led to the moniker "Carved Silk." The two most outstanding pieces of carved silk—