October 28, 2010

Currently on at the Hong Kong Museum of Art is ‘The Grandeur of Chinese Art Treasures—Min Chiu Society Golden Jubilee Exhibition,’ jointly presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and the Min Chiu Society.

As announced on the website of the Hong Kong Museum of Art, ‘The exhibition, which covers the Neolithic period to the Qing Dynasty, displays excellent examples of Chinese ceramics, jade carvings and ornaments, metalware, enamelware, lacquerware, bamboo carving, wood carving, rhinoceros horn carving, glassware, snuff bottles, furniture and scholarly objects.’

The colourful brochure contains some very nice images of the objects, e.g. a pair of porcelain green oxes completely intact with ears, horns and tails, dating from the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and a yellow flowery vase with a round belly from the Qianlong era (1736-1795).

In addition to the exhibition, there are also some special activities, including two lectures, one on ‘The Story of Chinese Fans’ and the other on ‘Personal Experience in the Collection of the Classic Chinese Furniture since 1988’ and a workshop on Blue & White Porcelain Ware to be held in November. All conducted in Cantonese.

The Special Exhibition runs from 25 September 2010 till 2 January 2011. For more details, please visit the website of the Hong Kong Museum of Art.

Written by: Audrey

October 22, 2010

On the programme of the Hong Kong Dance Festival, there is a dance performance entitled Xiaosa Dongpo based on the life of the great poet Su Dongpo (1037-1101). As the website of the Hong Kong Dance Company states: ‘Su Dongpo is one of the Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties. Based on the principles of taichi, the choreography will centre on concepts of heaven, earth and man. Fusing sounds, visuals, forms and movements, the multimedia production brings back the cheerful spirit of this great man of letters, and traces his rollercoaster career in politics and key events of his dramatic life.’

If you are curious to find out how this can be expressed in dance, you can watch the trailer which is available here on youtube. The combination of movements, costumes, accessories and music looks promising. Judging from the names responsible for the performance, the dance appears to be produced by a dream team of Chinese experts from Hong Kong, Taiwan and the mainland. Performances are scheduled for 3-5 December 2010 and tickets are available at URBTIX.

In collaboration with the Hong Kong Dance Company, CCIV has invited Professor Kang Zhen from Peking University to deliver a lecture on the artistic charms of Dongpo on 19 November. Please visit our website for more details.

Written by: Audrey

October 12, 2010

The animated version of Qingming Shanghe tu, or Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival, is coming to Hong Kong next month. The scroll which has been the main attraction at the China Pavilion of the Shanghai World Expo, will be on display at the Asia World-Expo (Hong Kong International Airport) from 9 to 29 November 2010.

The animated version 30 times the size of the original painting is a fusion of innovative computer animation technology and traditional Chinese culture. According to the press release by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) yesterday, the fusion is called ‘River of Wisdom’ because ‘it depicts many cultural characteristics demonstrating the wisdom of the clever and hard-working Chinese who lived in ancient times. Apart from using this masterpiece created by painter Zhang Zeduan of the Northern Song dynasty to describe bustling urban life in day and night during the golden age of the Song dynasty, the exhibition also utilizes computer animations to introduce the wisdom of ancient Chinese architecture, culture and transport.’

It seems to me that Mrs Betty Fung, Director of LSCD, is right in expressing confidence that the exhibition is going to receive an overwhelming response from the Hong Kong people. In this age of multi-media entertainment, many people will not want to miss this opportunity to view ancient art that is actually moving. It is an amazing creation and I am sure it goes beyond Zhang Zeduan’s wildest dreams when he was painting his city.

Ticket sales will start from 19 October 2010. More details are available at the website River of Wisdom .

Written by: Audrey

October 8, 2010

The other day when I took the train, a huge suitcase tumbled half out on the platform. In spite of the obstruction, passengers boarded and alighted as if they had seen nothing.

Apparently the owner was not aware of what had happened or surely he would have come rushing out to pull his belongings back inside. As part of the boarding crowd I decided in a split second to go with the flow.

Perhaps someone should have offered to pull the suitcase up. Or were all afraid to touch somebody else’s belongings or did it look way too heavy to lift? Is it human nature or part of local culture?

Fortunately, the platform supervisor was nearby and detected the object obstructing the doors from closing. He walked calmly over, pushed the thing back inside the compartment and went back in position to blow his whistle and allow the train depart.

Written by: Audrey