January 23, 2009

Time flies….it’s just a short time ago that the Pulse has offered its greeting to the readers for the arrival of the year 2009, and now it’s time for the celebration of the Lunar New Year!  This traditional Chinese festival, also called the Spring Festival, is being celebrated by Chinese people all over the world. Fireworks, cultural performances, flower fair…to name but a few activities which have captured the festive period of this time of the year.

My memory of the festival is often about the crowded Victoria Park in Hong Kong, where people scamble to take a look at the variety of temporary stalls erected on the few basketball courts there and the colourful new year plants that dotted all over the place like the peach blossoms, orchids, chysanthemums and tangerines. It is an image that has accompanied me since childhood – as I simply enjoy the feeling of wandering around the fair shoulder-to-shoulder with not only my family but also other fair-goers as it gives me a sense of warmth and festivity.

Of course, Lunar New Year is also an occasion for family union. And the folk art “paper-cutting” is one which best represents such a sentiment (at least it’s my thought) because of its relationship to people’s daily lives as they’ve been used as decorative and religious purposes. While the figures depicted in paper-cuttings are stemmed from legends, folktales, and religion, etc, they can be seen on windows, walls, columns, mirrors, lamps and lanterns in various parts of China.

So in this festive period, the Pulse wishes everybody a prosperous, and happy new year, just like the joyous face depicted in this paper-cutting!

Written by: hiuylee

January 22, 2009

Floral Princess (or the Princess Changping) is one of the most beloved Cantonese Opera for all times.  It is a tragic love story of Princess Changping, the daughter of the last Emperor of Ming Dynasty, and Zhou Xixian, a talented scholar and son of a high official. On the day thte princess is supposed to be wedded to Zhou, she is ordered by her father, the emperor, to give up her life for the honour of the royal family. It is an order that is hard to defy as the dynasty is on the brink of destruction but it is also one which is difficult to come to terms with. So which path the 15-year-old is going to take?

The heart-rending story, the melodic musical scores and the beauty of the scripts all made this Cantonese opera, penned by Tong Tik-seng, an instant success when it was premiered at the Lee Theatre in 1957. Honouring the 50th anniversary of the Floral Princess, the Chinese University of Hong Kong held an audition in 2007 and selected six young opera performers to be starred in the new adaptation of this Cantonese opera classic. Joining the historic production included veteran Cantonese opera masters and lovers, such as artistic director Danny Li Chi-kei, director Yuen Siu-fai and Yip Shiu-tuck, who’s responsible for adapting the original script to the new stage.

The long-awaited show will be premiered next month! So any Cantonese lovers, or anybody who wants to know the ultimate “fate” of the princess, then this is a show that simply cannot be missed.

Floral Princess (Youth Edition)

Leading Performers: Leung Suk-ming, Leung Wai-hong, Li Pui-yan, Song Hong-bo, Chan Hung-chun, Tong Yuen-ying

2009. 2. 19 – 21 (Thursday to Saturday) 7.30pm

Auditorium, Kwai Tsang Theatre

$230/180/120/80 (half-price tickets for full-time students, senior citizens aged 60 or above and people with disabilities)  

Tickets available at URBTIX outlets

Programme enquiry: 2388 3850 Ms Ling

For details, can go to http://www.dannystage.com/

Written by: hiuylee

January 16, 2009

First a few words of apology. I’m pretty slow in updating the blog these days because nearly all my spare time’s on reading the Legend of White Snake, one of the most famous Chinese legends that have caught the heart and soul of many, especially over the tragic life of Bai Suzhen. And so this blog couldn’t help but concentrate on this very story which has brought me to another realm of imagination.

At its most basic, the story revolves around the love between Bai, a beautiful maiden transformed by a white snake, and a young scholar, Xu Xian. Both get married with Xu unaware of Bai’s true identity, until a monk intervenes and fans the suspicion of Xu and finally Bai’s identity is exposed. At the end of the story, the monk casts the white snake under the Leifeng Pagoda. Originally an oral legend, it has since been adapted into various art forms including the opera, film and novel. It’s quite interesting to see the development of the story, one which some researchers have carried out research into. Bai’s image has been slowly evolved from a frightening demon into a brave and lovely young lady who is willing to sacrifice everything in the search for love, while Xu has also been changed from a frivolous young man into a more loyal one.

(more…)

Written by: hiuylee

January 8, 2009

Today’s a special day for the Pulse because we’ve produced our first Podcast programme for our readers! Special thanks of course should go to our first guest – Professor Wong Chuen-fung, assistant professor of the Department of Music at the Macalester College in Minnesota, who’s squeezed time during his stay in Hong Kong before returning to the US next week. The first programme is about music of minorities in China, especially music of the Uyghur and its relationship to issues like identity.

If you don’t have much idea about what Ugyhur music is, or how it’s like to carry out research into the discipline of ethnomusicology, or even if you’re simply curious about his excursion to Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and his learning experience of the traditional Uyghur instruments such as the rawap (Central Asian plucked lute) there, then this is a programme for you. You can also get a taste of what these music’s like, as music excerpts specially prepared by Professor Wong will be played during the programme. So just enjoy it!

Just a few more words, though….We want to make more interesting programmes for you all, so if you’ve any idea/thoughts or any topic that you’re interested, you can drop us a line at the blog!

Podcast: Play on page | Play in new window

Written by: hiuylee

January 7, 2009

For the first posting (except the seasonal greetings) of the New year, I’ve chosen “nature” as my main theme. Of course in a sense it is due to my love of venturing into the natural areas, but also because I’ve just revisited the Chinese Calligraphy and Painting section of the Chinese Civilisation Centre’s website. On the sub-heading “landscape”, it carries the following words:

‘Ancient philosopher Kongzi has a saying, “Man of wisdom is fond of mountain; man of benevolence is fond of water”, indicating a beginning for spiritual interaction between man, heaven and earth. This emotions Chinese devotes to Nature have never receded. Poets favour to describe the pleasant scene of landscape, as a chant of Nature. Artists also imitate nature, creating scenes of union between human and nature.’
http://www.english.cciv.cityu.edu.hk/website/?redirect=/pride_of_china/ (more…)

Written by: hiuylee

January 2, 2009

Graphics for Happy New Year Comments

Written by: hiuylee