Spring Festival culture going to the world
[Experience of Spring Festival]
The puppet show entered the Bo Gu Pavilion in England.
Lin Weiguang, correspondent of Guangming Daily in London
On the first day of New Year’s Day, the British National Maritime Bo Gu Pavilion in Greenwich, the southeast suburb of London, is full of strong China flavor. On this day, red lanterns were hung around the "Great Map Hall" on the second floor of the Bo Gu Pavilion, and graceful and melodious Cantonese music was played. People from all over Britain came here early and sat on the floor, expecting to wait for the Spring Festival cultural feast prepared by artists from China.
The press officer of Bo Gu Pavilion told reporters that they have "formed the habit of Spring Festival" in recent years and organized some celebrations every year, but it is the first time to vacate the "Great Map Hall" of Bo Gu Pavilion for a large art troupe from China. The artists who participated in the performance came from Guangdong Puppet Art Theatre and Guangdong Music and Quyi Troupe. This time, they brought three national intangible cultural heritages of China from Guangdong to the British audience — — Lingnan Puppet, Guangdong Music and Cantonese Opera, two inheritors of intangible cultural heritage — — Puppet master Cui Keqin and Cantonese opera actress Liang Yurong also participated in the performance with the delegation, representing the highest level of these projects.
The theme of the day’s activity was the "Happy Spring Festival" Guangdong Puppet Show Workshop, and the puppet show became the main content of the 75-minute performance. Artists have comprehensively displayed four different forms of puppet shows, such as bag puppet, stick puppet, marionette and shadow puppet, through puppet shows such as Dragon and Phoenix, Mu Guiying’s Valley Exploration, The Empress Flower and Monkey King Thrice Defeats the Skeleton Demon.
Cui Keqin’s "Puppet Love" pushed the performance of the day to a climax. Accompanied by the violin music "Butterfly Lovers", Cui Keqin danced with a puppet nearly one meter high and holding a 10-meter-long red silk in his hand. People communicated, interacted and felt like a couple in love, dancing in love, graceful and moving. Sincere emotional communication makes the puppets in the hands of actors as vivid as real people. They looked at each other for a while, lifted their hands for a while, and stood side by side, expressing their feelings for each other. They were inseparable. The 10-meter-long silk danced in the hands of the puppet with a stick head to express the inner feelings of people and couples, giving people a novel and charming, fresh and stretched artistic enjoyment, which won the applause and applause of the audience present.
Xiang Xiaowei, Minister Cultural Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in the UK, said that the "Happy Spring Festival" held in the UK this year was very rich in content, including performances in the square, parties for young students, Chinese culture entering the campus, film screening and other activities. He believes that the cultural exchange between China and Britain should not be limited to meeting the audience on the stage of the theater, but also important to communicate with the younger generation. He hopes that more British teenagers will like China culture by holding such activities.
(Guangming Daily, London, February 1st)
The Spring Festival is getting more and more prosperous in America.
Guangming Daily correspondent in Washington Wang Chuanjun
In recent years, with the improvement of China’s comprehensive national strength and global influence, and with the arrival of more tourists, overseas students and investments from China, during the Spring Festival in China, there are more and more activities to celebrate the Lunar New Year, from Chinatown in all parts of the United States to major American metropolises and even some areas with few Chinese, from literary and art circles to political circles, business circles and international institutions. The Spring Festival in China is becoming more and more prosperous, and the "China flavor" is getting stronger and stronger.
On January 26th, a "golden rooster" stood in the Bloomingdale chain store in the United States, and the Spring Festival in China was full of "year flavor". Guangming Daily reporter Wang Chuanjun took a bright picture.
Celebrate the Spring Festival in many parts of the United States
On the evening of January 26th, fireworks with the theme of Spring Festival were set off over the Hudson River in front of the Consulate General of China in new york, and the series of celebrations for the Spring Festival of the Year of the Rooster in China reached a climax. As one of the third series of activities "Happy Spring Festival Art China Meeting" jointly sponsored by China Central Academy of Fine Arts and the US-China Cultural Association, the Spring Festival theme fireworks are composed of four chapters: Winter, Hundred Birds, Spring Return and Feng Laiyi, which integrate the circulation of natural seasons and the image of "Hundred Birds" and "Phoenix" into the traditional China philosophy of harmonious development of nature, everything and civilization.
On January 28th, in Washington, D.C., the Smithsonian Institution American Art Museum held the 4th "China New Year Family Day", which kicked off a series of "Happy Spring Festival" activities in the greater Washington area. 7500 people spent the New Year’s Day with a strong flavor by watching the lion dance performance and observing the traditional handicrafts in China. In order to ensure that the American people can experience the authentic traditional culture of China, the China Embassy in the United States invited a number of craftsmen from Beijing to show the American people traditional skills such as calligraphy, paper-cutting, dough kneading and mane making.
According to the museum, the annual "China New Year Family Day" is the most attended event in the museum. The audience wrote a thick stack of comment cards to the museum, which were full of praise. In addition to Family Day, concerts, Peking Opera, film screenings and other colorful activities will last until the 15th day of the first month to show the American people the traditional culture and contemporary features of China.
In Costa Mesha, California, the American Pacific Symphony Orchestra held a concert and charity evening to celebrate China New Year on January 28th. In this activity to celebrate the Spring Festival of the Year of the Rooster in China, the Pacific Symphony Orchestra invited Yang Huishan and Zhang Yi, pioneers of Chinese modern glass art, to share their artistic creation ideas and show their works. According to the organizer, these glazed artworks created by Yang Huishan and Zhang Yi are full of Chinese excellent traditional cultural elements, showing the form and meaning of oriental aesthetics and conveying the beauty of Chinese culture. Their glazed art and symphony "get together".
It is understood that during the Spring Festival of the Lunar New Year of the Rooster, more than 10 domestic art groups held more than 60 cultural activities in San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, Portland, Seattle, Las Vegas, Reno and Frey Si Nuo.
The legal status of the Spring Festival has made progress.
On January 26th, local time, US Congresswoman Grace Meng from new york announced that she had put forward a resolution requesting the US House of Representatives to formally recognize the Lunar New Year in 2017. This motion calls on the House of Representatives to recognize the importance of the Lunar New Year in the historical and cultural fields in 2017. The resolution also expresses the highest respect to Asian Americans and all the people around the world who celebrate the Lunar New Year. In addition, the motion also introduces the history and customs of the Lunar New Year in detail, and extends good wishes to all people who celebrate the Lunar New Year. According to the reporter, in the past few years, Grace Meng has been pushing the National Assembly to recognize the Lunar New Year through legislation. In 2015 and 2016, the proposal was passed by the Senate.
According to reports, as early as December 17, 2014, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill, agreeing to establish the Spring Festival as a statutory school holiday in schools with dense Asian population in New York State. This means that the Spring Festival has become a public holiday for Asian community schools in new york, and New York has therefore become the first state in the United States to regard the Spring Festival as a public holiday. In addition, Chinese lawmakers and Chinese communities in California are also making every effort to promote the state’s legal recognition of the Lunar New Year.
(Guangming Daily, Washington, February 1 ST)
Golden Rooster reports New Year’s Celebration and penetrates Sydney City.
Li Jiabin, reporter of Guangming Daily in Canberra
The 2017 Lunar New Year Celebration in China, Sydney was grandly opened on January 27th, and the celebration will last until January 16th. From New Year’s Eve to New Year’s Day, the exterior walls of many landmark buildings, including Sydney Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Sydney City Hall, State Library and Circular Pier Railway Station, lit up "China Red" for three consecutive nights, making Sydney a fiery city.
Moore, Mayor of Sydney, said that the festive season is a good time for people to reunite with their relatives and friends. The Lunar New Year celebration in China, Sydney is the largest in the world outside China. The celebration attracts millions of tourists to downtown Sydney every year, offering a three-dimensional oriental feast of sight, hearing and taste for everyone, and it is also a good opportunity for local Asian communities in Sydney to show their cultural charm. At first, the celebration was a small-scale Chinatown community activity, and now it has extended to Sydney Harbour. Last year, about 1.3 million people participated in it, making it the third largest annual event in Sydney. In 2017, the Lunar New Year celebration has prepared more than 80 wonderful activities including cultural performances, food festivals, art exhibitions and dragon boat races for everyone in the city. The whole city of Sydney will be rhythmic for the New Year of the Rooster, and everyone can find their favorite.
As the commercial and cultural center of Sydney, Martin Square has also created a unique festive atmosphere for the people. It is the activity place of Lunar Lantern Food Street. There is a 50-meter-long red lantern ceiling in the square, where you can not only enjoy the dynamic melody and colorful entertainment activities contributed by contemporary musicians, but also taste delicious food and raise a glass.
During the Lantern Festival, the dragon boat race will be held in Sydney waters, which will attract 3,000 competitors for two days. It is the largest dragon boat race in the southern hemisphere, and there will be a race every 10 minutes throughout the weekend, with more than 100 wonderful professional, business and community competitions to feast your eyes on. (Guangming Daily, Sydney, February 1st)
Guangming Daily (February 2, 2017, 04 edition)
[Cultural Writing]
How to make "Spring Festival Story" sung overseas?
Wang Chuanjun
"The sound of firecrackers is one year old, and the spring breeze warms Tu Su." The joyful atmosphere and peaceful atmosphere of the Spring Festival have been passed down in China for thousands of years, and now they are going abroad and the fragrance is floating overseas.
Guangming Daily reporters in the United States have heard and witnessed the "Spring Festival stories" being staged in the greater Washington area. A landmark shopping mall in the greater Washington area — — "Tai Sen Corner" is decorated with elements of China Spring Festival. Rows of red lanterns are hung high, and clusters of red flowers surround the majestic golden rooster. On the first day of the lunar new year, the shopping mall held a series of activities to celebrate the new year; The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a famous American art hall, has launched many projects such as Spring Festival concerts, Spring Festival family days, Chinese Peking Opera, folk music and acrobatic performances to meet the audience’s "New Year" needs; The prestigious Smithsonian Institution American Art Museum and Foehrer Sechler Museum hold activities such as "China New Year Family Day" for American families & HELIP; …
Why is the Spring Festival more and more popular abroad? The reporter interviewed Li Hong, Minister Counselor of the Cultural Office of the China Embassy in the United States. Li Honggong believes that the Spring Festival is an inclusive and friendly China culture, and its beautiful meanings such as harmony, reunion, joy and blessing are loved by people all over the world and easily accepted by overseas people. Secondly, the number of tourists and overseas students traveling abroad in China is increasing day by day, and their local travel, life and study have had a far-reaching impact on local culture and economy, so the Spring Festival has gradually become a local cultural and economic hotspot. Thirdly, overseas. During the Spring Festival, many central and local literary and art organizations perform overseas, which directly promotes the influence of the Spring Festival around the world.
Chen Nanping, chairman of the Rose Cross-cultural Understanding Promotion Association, who has been committed to Sino-US cultural exchanges, believes that China has become the second largest economy in the world, its international status is rising day by day, China’s trade and investment with the United States and other countries are increasing, and the learning of Chinese in the United States and other countries has gradually become the mainstream, which also makes the Spring Festival cultural activities more and more extensive and grand in the United States and around the world.
The Spring Festival in China is getting more and more prosperous, but there is still a long way to go to become an international festival in a world with diverse cultures and different national conditions. Chen Nanping pointed out that in order to make the global acceptance of the Spring Festival in China continue to rise, we must first make related activities more humane and interesting, pay attention to interaction with the people, and let the people have a sense of participation. Secondly, the way of telling stories should not be dogmatic, cramming or long and rigid. Li Honggong also stressed that in the process of promoting cultural exchanges between China and the United States in the United States, she deeply realized that only by vividly interpreting the "Spring Festival Story" can the Spring Festival culture be rooted in the fertile social soil of a foreign land. While telling stories, we should first avoid rushing for success. Only by avoiding arrogance and rashness can we reach the realm of "moistening things and being silent" in the Spring Festival culture. This requires cultural exchange workers to tamp down the grass-roots work, respect the national conditions and political and cultural ecology of various countries, actively cooperate with local mainstream cultural institutions, make use of local resource advantages and communication platforms, focus on creating the cultural connotation of the Spring Festival, and jointly launch Spring Festival programs that meet the preferences of local people, so that local people can feel the joy and celebration of the Spring Festival in interaction, learn more about China Spring Festival stories, and understand China Spring Festival culture, so that "Spring Festival Stories" can be spread continuously around the world.
Guangming Daily (February 2, 2017, 04 edition)
The "old first month" became hot in Japan.
Guangming Daily reporter in Tokyo Zhang Guannan
On New Year’s Eve, the overseas Chinese shops in New Okubo, Tokyo, were crowded, and there were many Chinese shopping for new year’s goods. On the shelves, there are all kinds of annual goods in China, such as Spring Festival couplets, jiaozi, glutinous rice balls, and so on. The Chinese people who shop are also filled with smiles. They discuss what to eat for the New Year’s Eve and choose their favorite ingredients. This year’s Spring Festival coincides with the weekend, and many Chinese in China don’t need special leave to spend the most important traditional festival in Japan, saying that they are "very happy".
The Spring Festival is called "the old first month" in Japan. After the Meiji Restoration, the Japanese government announced that it would begin to use the Gregorian calendar. Therefore, there is no Spring Festival in modern Japan. However, with the increasing number of Japanese in China, Japanese culture keeps pouring in, and Japan gradually has the atmosphere of Spring Festival, especially where Chinese gather. For example, Zhonghua Street in Yokohama held a countdown event on New Year’s Eve to welcome the Lunar New Year. On the New Year’s Day, there is a lion dance and a green picking performance, and there is a dragon lantern dance performance on the Lantern Festival. This is the 31st time that Zhonghua Street in Yokohama has held a series of activities to celebrate the Spring Festival, and the Chinese in Japan have gradually warmed up in Japan.
Japanese tourists visiting China during the Spring Festival holiday have also become an important factor in the "warming up" of the Spring Festival in Japan. It is reported that about 6 million people in China traveled abroad during the Spring Festival this year, and the second most popular place to travel is Japan. This is not only because the travel time to China is short, but also because of the similar cultural atmosphere, which makes Japan a popular choice for Japanese tourists to travel during the Spring Festival.
(Guangming Daily, Tokyo, February 1 ST)