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[28 Dec 2009 | Comments Off on Chinese Puppetry: Oriental Art of Puppets | 6,077 views]
Chinese Puppetry: Oriental Art of Puppets

Puppet show is a common form of performance art that you can find in many different cultures. Although its exact date of origin is hard to define, many historians believe that puppet show is developed with other drama forms around 2000 years ago independently in various ancient cultures.

As a performance art, puppet show is believed to be “originated in Han dynasty, and thrived in Tang Dynasty”. In Three Kingdom Period, puppets were used in juggling performances; in Sui Dynasty, puppet show was introduced in storytelling.

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[30 Nov 2009 | Comments Off on Gold Awardee Videos of China Wuqiao International Circus Festival | 2,874 views]
Gold Awardee Videos of China Wuqiao International Circus Festival

This year from 10.31 to 11.08, a few weeks ago, 12th CWICF had just successfully taken place with 32 programmes by 200+ performers from 22 countries. I think all the programmes are amazing and deserve a prize, but only three of them are awarded the Gold Lion Prize. One is “圣斗-地圈” (means “Saint Seiya – Ground Hoops”) by China National Acrobatic Troupe, the other two are both performed by North Korea National Acrobatic Troupe (Yes, North Korea). Here, I provide you the video of two of these gold awardees. Hope you will like them.

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[6 Nov 2009 | 2 Comments | 3,792 views]
Chinese Juggling: Challenge the Limits of Humankind

China is one of many civilizations that have recorded juggling in early cultures. Most history books recorded this vivid performance art throughout Chinese history. The earliest juggling record dates to more than 2,000 years ago.

Here I list some Chinese juggling videos selected from YouTube for you. Some of them are totally unique for Chinese juggling; some are Chinese originated but also adapted by western juggling; some are universal but of Chinese characteristics.

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[22 Oct 2009 | 3 Comments | 7,392 views]
Siyi: Four Arts of the Chinese Scholar

How do you show somebody your wit and civilization as a person of learning? Speaking 6 different languages, playing piano or violin, having doctoral degrees, etc., nowadays, the criteria could be pretty diversified in a modern world.

In ancient China, to qualify yourself as a well-educated person, you should learn four skills for your self-cultivation and to prove your talent. These four skills are:

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[8 Sep 2009 | 2 Comments | 11,151 views]
Chinese Knotting: the Art of Knotting

Like many other traditional Chinese art, Chinese knotting has a long history. It dates back to prehistoric times, when ancient Chinese ancestors tied knots to record events and things in their everyday life.

The phenomenon of knot tying continued to steadily evolve over the course of thousands of years with the development of more sophisticated techniques and increasingly intricate woven patterns. During the Qing Dynasty, knotting finally broke from its pure folklore status, becoming an acceptable art form in Chinese society and reached the pinnacle of its success.