Sunday, June 15, 2008

From my daughter's friend 是女兒的朋友送來的


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  1. lesleyJune 17, 2008 at 12:36 AM

    http://www.tata.gov.cn/guide/destination/view3.php?cityid=01013700900&id=0101370108201030014
    山东省威海市荣成市天鹅湖

    区内拥有世界上最大的天鹅栖息地——成山卫天鹅湖。湖内水质清洁明澈，沙滩纯净金黄，蓝天碧水金沙滩，景色秀丽，气候宜人。每年11月份至翌年4月份，万只大天鹅、几万只野鸭、大雁不远万里，从西伯利亚、内蒙古等地呼朋唤友，成群结队悄然降落，栖息越冬，形成世界上最大的天鹅湖，被国内外专家学者誉为“东方天鹅王国”。

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  2. lesleyJune 23, 2008 at 9:17 PM

    "Gargling Jade" and "Heartbroken"

    In the Southern Song there were two famous women writers; one was called Li Qing Zhao and the other was called Zhu Shu Zhen. They were both expert at composing ci , and they could also write verse (shi) and literary compositions (wen) very well. Li Qing Zhao's works the "Gargling Jade Ci" and Zhu Shu Zhen's works the "Heartbroken Ci" have been kept to this day.

    Li Qing Zhao came from Licheng (present-day Ji'nan City in Shandong Province). Her father, Li Ge Fei, had been a lang extraordinary in the Ministry of Rites and was a very learned person. Her mother, Wang Shi, was Zhuang Yuan's granddaughter, and could write a good essay. Having grown up in this sort of home and been nurtured by her parents from a young age, by her youth Li Qing Zhao was already highly accomplished in literature and could write literary compositions, verse and ci very well. In her eighteenth year, she was given in marriage to Zhao Ming Cheng, an Imperial College student. The husband and wife got on very well together, and Li Qing Zhao would often encourage her husband to be a good student. Later on, when Zhao Ming Cheng became an official, of the official salary he received, apart from sufficient to support a thrifty and simple life, the rest was all used to buy books and paintings and antiquities. Every time he bought a good book, a good painting or an antiquity of value, he would quickly take it back home, light a candle after dinner and together with Li Qing Zhao would study it and appreciate it, stopping only when the candle was finished.

    Li Qing Zhao's memory was particularly good, and Zhao Ming Cheng could also recite a lot of ancient books by heart. When the two of them, husband and wife, had free time, they would play a game together. One would give an event from ancient times, and the other would have to give where it was recorded, the book, volume number and page number. Whoever got it right, won, and whoever got it wrong, lost.

    Later, Zhao Ming Cheng was assigned to go away to another place as official. Li Qing Zhao stayed behind at home alone and often used the form of a ci to write letters to her husband. The words and lines in these ci were graceful, rich in feeling, and also often carried words of encouragement. When Zhao Ming Cheng read them he was very moved, and sighed, exclaiming that he couldn't better her. One year at the Chong Yang Festival (Double Ninth Festival 9th day of the ninth lunar month), Li Qing Zhao was by herself at home drinking wine and admiring the chrysanthemums. Feeling lonely, she took up her pen and inscribed a "Drunk under Flower Shadows":

    Mist and thick clouds tire of endless day, the auspicious essence leaves the golden animal. Happy festival it's Double Brightness again, jade pillow gauze cabinet, in the middle of the night coolness first comes.

    At east fence holding my wine cup after dusk, there's a dark scent filling up my sleeves. Don't say it won't drive out my soul, rolled-up curtain west wind, compared to the chrysanthemum I am thin.

    Li Qing Zhao sent this ci to Zhao Ming Cheng. Zhao Ming Cheng thought the ci was very well written and vowed to write an even better one. So closing the door and refusing guests, giving up sleep and forgetting to eat, he spent three days and nights writing more than fifty ci to the tune of "Drunk under Flower Shadows". Then he recopied Li Qing Zhao's ci, and put it in amongst them. He took them all together to his good friend, Lu De Fu, for him to appreciate, and asked him to review them critically to find the few best-written ones. Lu De Fu read all of the ci through from beginning to end quite a number of times, and finally he said to Zhao Ming Cheng, "I think amongst these more than fifty ci there is only one which is the best." Zhao Ming Cheng hastened to ask which one it was. Lu De Fu pointed to the one Li Qing Zhao had written and said, "This one's the best."

    In 1129 AD, in Jiankang, Zhao Ming Cheng fell ill and died. At this same time the Jin troops seized Li Qing Zhao's home area of Shandong. With the nation defeated and the family dead, Li Qing Zhao was extremely grieved. She had no choice but to take the family books, paintings and antiquities with her and seek refuge at her younger brother, Li Hang's place, in Zhejiang. In the midst of the turmoil and chaos of war, the two of them, sister and brother, rushed about everywhere, and quite a lot of the books, paintings and antiquities were lost. This increased Li Qing Zhao's sufferings even more.

    The country's calamity and her own personal unhappiness made Li Qing Zhao sigh deeply with emotion. When her husband was alive, she often wrote about drinking wine, admiring flowers, the yearning between lovers, those sorts of ci, with exquisite descriptions and a freshness of style. Now she was in no mood to write ci in that way, and she started to write sad, anxious, bleak, burdened ci, into which she placed her life experience and her feelings. These ci are deeply moving, and possess definite social significance. In a ci to the tune of "Every Sound Lentemente", Li Qing Zhao wrote:

    Search search seek seek, cold cold clear clear, bleak bleak sad sad alone alone. Sudden warmth turns to cold it's the time, when it's hardest to recuperate. Three cups two small cups of light wine, how can they match the evening wind with his noise! The wild geese pass by yes, and it really pains me, in the old days we knew each other.

    All over the ground chrysanthemums heap up, withered and damaged, now who would pick them? Watching at the window, by myself how does it get so dark! The wutong tree is devoting itself to the drizzle, when dusk comes it's plop plop plip plip. All of these things, how could the one word 'ennui' suffice!

    This ci begins with seven pairs of repeated words, writing about Li Qing Zhao with the nation defeated and the family dead, overcome with boredom and wanting to find comfort for her spirit. However, the result of her search is desolate bleakness, which makes her feel even more tragic and sad. It is difficult to bear. Continuing on, she writes of the autumn weather suddenly warm again, but the next moment turning cold, and feels that these sorts of days are the most difficult to get through. She wants to drink a few cups of light wine to dispel her cares, but the autumn wind's whistling at night means that even after the wine she cannot sleep. Right then, the swan geese, which had delivered messages for her in those years, fly over honking plaintively. And how much hearing that familiar call could break your heart! Outside the window all over the ground are withered and fallen chrysanthemums. The ones that have not fallen on the ground have already shrivelled up; there is no way they are worth picking. Watching at the window by herself, how could she endure the dark? The light rain at dusk in autumn beats down on the already dead yellow wutong leaves, and the plip plop plip plop sound just heightens ones vexation. For this series of scenes, how could you possibly use the one word 'ennui' to cover them all?

    However, at a time when strong enemies were pressing on to the border, melancholy and sentiment were of no use in resolving the situation. How much Li Qing Zhao wanted to do as the 'real men' did and go down onto the battlefield to serve her country! In the summer of one year, she wrote a bold and daring shi, expressing the thoughts in her heart. In the poem she wrote:

    In life be an outstanding personality, then in death become a spirit hero.
    Up until now I think on Xiang Yu , unwilling to cross over to Jiangdong .

    This poem conveys the poet's aspiration, while alive to be a person of exceptional ability in the world, and after death also to be a hero amongst the spirits. She utterly detested the Southern Song ruling classes' seeking of temporary ease and compromise, their decadence and licentiousness. They weren't even as good as Xiang Yu in his day, embarrassed to meet the Jiangdong elders after his defeat.

    Even though the ci Li Qing Zhao wrote in her late period are full of sadness and worry, bleakness and hardship, if you understand them together with the background of the period and her life experience, you will find that they are full of the flavour of the times, and very socially significant.

    Translated from Zhu Zhongyu, Chinese History Stories - Southern Song and Jin, China Children's and Young People's Press, Beijing, 1982

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  3. lesleyJune 23, 2008 at 9:18 PM

    The period of Zhu Shu Zhen's life was perhaps a little later than Li Qing Zhao's. She was from Qiantang (today's Hangzhou City in Zhejiang Province), and the family lived amid the beautiful scenery of Taocun . In her youth she already knew how to write verse, compose ci, and paint paintings. However, the experiences of her life were also very miserable. She had had a true love. They had once on the night of the Lantern Festival gone to see the lanterns together, and were intoxicated in the gaiety of "Fire trees silver flowers all you can see is red, show up the sky drumming and piping stir up spring wind". But in feudal times marriage was not for you to take charge of yourself, it had to be arranged by your parents. She was unable to marry her sweetheart, and was given in marriage to a merchant. The merchant knew only how to do business and make money, and as for 'poetry and painting' he was not the least bit interested. Because of this, Zhu Shu Zhen was very upset. She could only shut the door to write poetry and relate her sorrow when her husband was away on business. She wrote all of her tears and shattered heart into the ci, so her collection of ci is called the "Heartbroken ci". "Butterfly loves the Flowers" is the most famous of them; the subject is the poet's vexed mood in the spring.

    Outside the building weeping willows hundreds of thousands of strands, I long to tether youth, short-staying spring moves on. As if I'm willow down floating at the front of the wind, I follow spring and then ask where's it gone?

    Filled with green are the hills and streams a cuckoo can be heard, I suppose they do it unfeelingly, surely they also mean to upset me. Holding up my wine to send off spring spring doesn't speak, at dusk though there's a pattering rain.

    This gist of this ci is: Outside the building there are millions of weeping willow twigs, and I wanted to use them to tether youth, so that people wouldn't grow old, but youth has quietly passed by. Just like the willow down flying in front of the wind, I went off following spring, but now I have no idea what direction spring has headed off in. In the hills and by the rivers the trees are already green and shady, the cuckoo calls out miserably every night; even though it is without any feeling, wouldn't you also get the idea there was some intention to annoy? I take up my winecup to see off spring, but spring won't say anything. When dusk arrives, there's a pitter pattering light rain; that must be spring weeping just before it passes away!

    The main thing Zhu Shu Zhen wrote into this ci was her own sadness and vexation. She writes that the years have gone by, and a person's life easily becomes old. The sentiments are extremely sincere, and the level of writing skill is very high. Her works are of definite help in raising our level of literary accomplishment.

    Translated from Zhu Zhongyu, Chinese History Stories - Southern Song and Jin, China Children's and Young People's Press, Beijing, 1982

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  4. lesleyJune 23, 2008 at 9:27 PM

    艺术> 新西兰 - [ Translate this page ]二十世纪的新西兰涌现出许多著名的作家和作品，如约翰・摩根和他的《Man Alone》、罗宾・海德和他的《The Godwits Fly》、莫里斯・沙德波特和他的《Strangers and ...
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    斑尾塍鹬“E7”的迁徙之旅- 红隼的个人空间- 丹东风云网- Powered by X-Space - [ Translate this page ]E7”是一只雌性斑尾塍鹬的代号。2007年2月6日，科学家在新西兰的米兰达港,在其皮下植入一个小型卫星跟踪装置，下面他的迁徙旅程由卫星来报告的。
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    http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0803/S00032.htm

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  5. lesleyJune 24, 2008 at 2:00 AM

    ‘1939年，羅繽‧海德在其《龍之徽章》(Dragon Rampant)一書中描述了歌頌中國人的第一場偉大戰爭。’（Google)

    NZEPC- authors - Robin Hyde - Robin Hyde in China, 1938 ... she went instead to Japanese-occupied Shanghai, meeting Rewi Alley there and ... Robin Hyde was reported missing in enemy territory 19 May-30 June 1938. ...
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  6. lesleyJune 25, 2008 at 12:16 AM

    Kathleen Hall Memorial Scholarship The He Ming Qing (Kathleen Hall) Memorial Scholarship is established by the New Zealand China Friendship Society Inc. to provide three-year scholarships for ...
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    驻奥克兰总领馆与新西兰中国友好协会奥克兰分会共同举办“回忆历史 ... - [ Translate this page ]马总领事还高度赞赏了新中友协奥克兰分会继承路易·艾黎和何明清对中国人民的友好 ... 董必武交往的情况以及她穿越枪林弹雨、在太行山骑着毛驴昼伏夜行，与中国军民共同 ...
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  7. lesleyJune 25, 2008 at 2:46 AM

    孙犁：荷花淀- [ Translate this page ]她像坐在一片洁白的雪地上，也像坐在一片洁白的云彩上。她有时望望淀里，淀里也是一片银白世界。水面笼起一层薄薄透明的雾，风吹过来，带着新鲜的荷叶荷花香。 ...
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  8. lesleyJune 25, 2008 at 11:46 PM

    Lou Shou draws the "Ploughing and Weaving Plates"

    In ancient China there was a myth. It was said that the Weaving Maid Star on the east side of the Silver River in the Heavens was the granddaughter of the God of Heaven. She was clever and deft, and month after month, year after year, she was busy spinning and weaving, weaving beautiful cloud brocades and heavenly robes. She grew up, getting older day by day, until the time came when she should be married. The God of Heaven married her to the Cowherd Star on the west side of the Silver River. After the Weaving Maid Star had married the Cowherd Star and they became husband and wife, she put her spinning and weaving away to one side. This made the God of Heaven very angry, and to punish her, he made her go back to the east side, to go to the workroom to spin and weave; she was not allowed to go out. Only once each year, on the night of the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, was she allowed to cross a bridge put up by the magpies, and go to the west side to meet with the Cowherd Star. And that is the story behind the Cowherd and Weaving Maid's "Magpie Bridge Assignation".

    This myth was not invented out of nothing. It is the depiction of the 'men plough women weave' self-sufficient natural economy of the human world in literary art.

    Once it entered feudal society, China's foundation form of production was a 'men plough women weave' small-scale peasant economy, with families and households as the basic unit. The men cultivated the fields and produced grain, and the women picked mulberry leaves and raised silkworms, reeled silk and wove silk fabrics, or spun hemp and wove linen cloth . This type of 'men plough women weave' small-scale peasant economy was the basis for the development of China's feudal economy, and after capitalist production relations appeared, it was a major form of China's social production, and so the literary and artistic works, the murals, carvings, and poetry of history, all depict it to some extent. The "Illustrations of Ploughing and Weaving", drawn by Lou Shou in Southern Song times, focus on depicting the state of affairs of 'men plough women weave' production.

    Lou Shou, style name Shou Yu, native of Yinxian (Ningbo City in present-day Zhejiang Province), was once county magistrate of Yuqian County. Yuqian County is to the west of Lin'an , at the foot of Tianmushan mountain, the place where the Tianmuxi river arises. It has the mountain behind it and faces onto the water; the scenery is beautiful and the land is fertile. On the mountain, the mulberry trees form groves, and on the flat land below, paddy rice is grown. When Lou Shou was county magistrate, he was very concerned about the weal and woe of the people, and once, making nothing of the hardships, he travelled everywhere privately, observing and interviewing, to understand the production and living circumstances of the people. Sometimes he would go down into the fields to interview the farming men at their cultivation work, to enquire whether the year's harvest had been good or poor; and sometimes he would go up onto the mountain to interview the silkworm women picking their mulberry leaves. By means of these on-the-spot surveys, Lou Shou wanted to help the toiling peasants overcome some of their production and living difficulties.

    Because he had lived among the common people for a long time, Lou Shou was very familiar with the 'men plough women weave' state of affairs in the countryside. According to his own first-hand data comprehended over a long time, he drew page after page of cultivation illustrations and spinning and weaving illustrations. All put together, they were a systematic set, the "Ploughing and Weaving Plates". On each illustration he also inscribed a poem conveying his own thoughts. There are twenty illustrations of cultivation in the "Ploughing and Weaving Plates" showing the circumstances of South China's paddy rice production. The whole process, from the raising of rice seedlings, soil preparation, and transplanting the seedlings, to weeding the fields, lifting water by waterwheel, applying fertiliser, and harvesting, are all drawn very clearly, and there are also the circumstances of hemp growing, cotton growing and vegetable growing. Next, there are twenty-four spinning and weaving illustrations. The drawings of the processes, from picking mulberry leaves and silkworm rearing, to reeling silk, spinning hemp, spinning cotton, weaving cloth, weaving silk, and bleaching and dyeing, are extremely detailed. Lou Shou's aim in drawing this set of "Ploughing and Weaving Plates" was to show the laboriousness of peasant production, and to teach people to cherish the fruits of peasant labour and that they should economise on food and clothing and not be extravagant and wasteful.

    In the Southern Song, China's level of agriculture and handicrafts production rose significantly. At that time, a large number of the working people of North China migrated south to escape the oppression of the rulers of the Jin State. Together with South China's working people they opened up the fertile land of South China, developing the agricultural and handicrafts production of the South in a big way.

    At that time, there was a type of low-lying paddy field surrounded by dykes, in other words reclaimed lake bottom land. This sort of land utilised lake bottom sludge as fertiliser, the crops grew strongly and luxuriantly, and the production was higher than for other types of cropland. In South China there also appeared wooden-framed mound-fields floating on the water, in other words wooden rafts were placed on the water, earth was spread on them and crops were grown there. They were called 'turnip' fields. In Fujian, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and Sichuan, where there were many hills, the peasants also opened up terraced fields at the foot of the hill, brought in river water to irrigate them, and grew paddy rice. According to records in the ancient books, by the time of the Southern Song, China's peasants had already developed around two hundred varieties of paddy rice. Amongst them were long-grained and short-grained rice suited to eating as boiled rice, and also glutinous rice suited to making New Year cake and wine. The good varieties of rice were glittering and translucent like jade, the grains were well-proportioned, and after boiling, the cooked rice was fragrant and sweet and good to eat. Because large numbers of North Chinese people had moved south, wheat growing was also popularised in the South, and many places took two crops of rice or wheat in a year. Apart from this, cotton growing also spread to the Yangtse and Huai river valleys, and in addition to weaving silk and linen, the women of the farming families also spun and wove cotton into cloth. In 1966, in Lanxi County in Zhejiang Province, archaeologists found a cotton blanket woven in Southern Song times. It was seven chi five cun long, and three chi five cun wide , and the woven work was really quite elegant, showing that the technology of the cotton textiles industry of the time was already at quite a high level.

    Apart from this, the growing of tea was also quite widespread. The hill belts in many places had big expanses of tea plantations. Tea taxes became an important form of tax revenue for the Southern Song government. At that time, there was also development in vegetable cultivation. The types of vegetables were gradually increased. In addition to China's own local vegetables, some foreign introduced vegetables, such as spinach, lettuce, and the loofah gourd, arrived in China at this time. They were well-received by the Chinese people, and their cultivation was very quickly popularised in many places.

    It was due to this type of development in agricultural production that it was actually possible for Lou Shou to draw the "Ploughing and Weaving Plates" as a set systematically.

    The shipbuilding industry in Southern Song times was also very advanced. Apart from "pedal-wheel boats", ocean-going vessels used for marine trading could also be made. An ocean-going vessel of those times could accommodate several hundred people and a large quantity of cargo, along with one years grain provisions for those several hundred people. You could also make wine and keep pigs on board, to ensure that those who went to foreign places by sea had wine to drink and meat to eat on the vessel. Using a compass to indicate direction, this type of vessel would go to more than twenty countries in succession.

    At the time, Jingdezhen in Jiangxi had already developed into a centre of production of the porcelain handicrafts industry, large-scale with a lot of firing kilns. The division of labour was quite fine; some specialised in making blanks, some specialised in applying glazes, some specialised in painting designs and some specialised in kiln-firing. Jingdezhen-made porcelain was pure white and jade-like in quality, the painting work was meticulous, the colours were bright and gay, and it was well-received by the people. In recent years, the countries of Africa, Japan and Korea have discovered under the ground or on the seabed many ancient Chinese ceramic items left over from ancient times, and of those the majority are Song porcelain. From this it can be seen that the porcelain produced in Song times was already being sold to the various parts of the world. Apart from this, Zhejiang's Longquan and Sichuan's Guangyuan areas both produced famous and precious porcelain.

    The papermaking and printing industries of Southern Song times were also very advanced. Sichuan used paper-mulberry bark or bamboo to make paper, called paper-mulberry bark paper and bamboo paper. Anhui and Jiangxi on the other hand used hemp or bamboo to make paper. These papers were all good materials for printing pictures and books.

    In Sui and Tang times, block printing had been invented, and in the Northern Song, moveable type printing was invented. However, in the Southern Song, moveable type printing was not yet widespread, and the majority of works were still printed using block printing. At the time, Lin'an's Imperial College (Guozijian) was the highest seat of learning in the whole country, and had set up a block printing department. The books printed there had the ink well-distributed and the handwriting was clear. They were known as "Imperial Office" . The two towns of Masha and Chongren at Jianyang in Fujian were centres of book printing as well, and the books they printed were also very elegant. It is said that Lou Shou's "Ploughing and Weaving Plates" was printed at that time; it is a pity it has not been handed down. Not many books printed in the Song Dynasty have come down to us today, though some are kept in the Beijing Library and some of the other large libraries. These works are a precious cultural legacy of the Chinese people.

    In the Northern Song, due to the continual development of production and in order to meet the requirements of trade, the world's earliest paper money started to appear. At the time it was called jiaozi or qianyin (which is just today's circulated banknotes). In Southern Song times, in order to expropriate the people's property, the ruling class had the Ministry of Revenue at the court print a large quantity of paper money called kuaizi. Because too much was issued, this led to inflation.

    From the "Ploughing and Weaving Plates" that Lou Shou drew, we can see that the agriculture and handicrafts industry production of the time as well as the situation of development in science and culture and in domestic and external trade, all of these, were built on the foundation of the 'men plough women weave' natural economy.

    Translated from Zhu Zhongyu, Chinese History Stories - Southern Song and Jin, China Children's and Young People's Press, Beijing, 1982

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  9. lesleyJune 26, 2008 at 2:28 AM

    Silk Route Flowers and Rain (ballet in six acts) music by Han Zhong Cai, Hu Yan, and Jiao Kai. Written by the Gansu Province Song and Dance Ensemble. Choreographed and directed by Liu Shao Xiong, Zhang Qiang, Zhu Jiang, Xu Qi and Yan Jian Zhong. First performed in 1979 at Lanzhou. Story: On the Silk Route of the Flourishing Tang, the painter-worker, Spiritbrush Zhang, saves the Persian merchant, Yinusi, who has fallen down exhausted in the desert, and has also unexpectedly lost his daughter, Yingniang. Several years later, in the Dunhuang marketplace, Yinusi generously helps the needy, buying back the freedom of Yingniang who has become a song and dance girl, and father and daughter are reunited. In the Mogao Grottoes, from the daughter's dance poses, Spiritbrush Zhang paints the representative work of the Dunhuang murals - Reverse-playing pipa girl delights Heaven. In order to avoid suffering Shi Cao's violent treachery, Yingniang and Yinusi go back to Persia. Later, Yinusi is assigned to the Tang as ambassador, and so Yingniang sets foot on the route back to China. In order to vent his personal spite, Shi Cao instigates the bandit, Dou Hu, to hold them up and rob them below the beacon tower outside Yang Guan. Spiritbrush Zhang lights a fire to give the alarm, and saves Yinusi from danger and disaster. At a Friendly Meeting of Twenty-seven States at Dunhuang, Yingniang disguises herself and puts on a performance, and using the opportunity to recite the facts of Shi Cao's and Dou Hu's crimes, she wipes out the Silk Route's hidden dangers.

    The music of the whole work is just like a tactful narrative poem; pay particular attention to the expressive effect of the melody and the national musical vocabulary. Because it has absorbed the implicit flavour and mode qualities of ancient music such as "Chun Jiang Hua Yue Ye" and "Yue'er Gao", as well as the expressive forms of folk opera music, it therefore has a strong ancient music style and a distinctive national flavour. Based on Iranian musical materials, it has also been elaborated to quite precisely reflect the customs of the Persians in the work. The whole work is run through in a concentrated way with the musical images of the major characters, Yingniang, Spiritbrush Zhang, Yinusi, and Shi Cao. Yingniang's theme is honest and good, refined and beautiful:
    …(Yingniang's theme in musical notation)…
    In order to support each of the dance scenes, quite a few wonderful musical phases appear in the whole work, completely matched and, moreover, full of a certain specific character. For example, "the apsara fairies", "the reverse-played pipas", "the young Persian girl", "the embroidery dance", "the rainbows and feathers dance", "the Oriental Dance".

    Wang Qin Yan et al ed., Music Appreciation Handbook, Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House, Shanghai, 1983

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  10. lesleyJune 26, 2008 at 8:33 PM

    Patriotic poet Qu Yuan

    The Dragon Boat Festival on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month has always had the customs of dragon boat racing and making zongzi . These are the pure and holy sacrifices the people of China make to the great patriotic poet, Qu Yuan. This poet, whose memory has been cherished by the people through the long ages, used his boundless and ardent love for his native land, his great loathing of society's darkness, and his passionate quest for truth, to cast many immortal poems. These poems are not only China's precious cultural inheritance, but are also resplendent gems given to the cultural treasury of mankind.

    Qu Yuan (approximately 340-278 BC) lived in the State of Chu, and once held the post of" zuotu" . In the turbulence of the Warring States period, facing the menace of the state of Qin, Qu Yuan did all he could to advocate allying with Qi to resist Qin, and to oppose accommodation and surrender. So that the Chu State could avoid danger and disaster, he put forward the "uphold virtue and receive talent" and "stick to the rules and don't deviate" series of political propositions for the state's prosperity and strength. Due to slander by treacherous court officials and the King of Chu's stupidity, Qu Yuan was unable to realise his ideals, and instead was dismissed from office and sent into exile. In his long period of exile, he was unwilling to leave his native land. He took up his pen and composed the "Encountering Sorrow", and then threw himself into the Miluo River and ended his life. All throughout his life Qu Yuan wrote many deathless poems; the "Encountering Sorrow" and "The Nine Declarations" , twenty or so poems in all, are still in existence.

    "The Nine Declarations" is the overall title of nine poems. These poems include sorrowful statements, realistic descriptive narratives, bold and unrestrained lyrics, and strong commentaries. Amongst them, the ode to a material thing as a self-metaphor, "In Praise of the Orange Tree", is just like a sluggish trickling stream, pure and fresh, expressing the poet's noble and unsullied sentiments of "holding a nature free from selfishness" and being "unyielding against the vulgar tide" . The eleven poetic works created by the poet on the basis of the music and songs accompanying sacrifices to the spirits, "The Nine Songs" , are bright and musical, with simple words but deep meanings, and are rich in the colour and flavour of folk songs. Some of the poems even have a dramatic plot, exquisitely and richly imagined. Amongst them, in "The Spirits of the Fallen", with robust strokes, the poet depicts an 'unflinchingly facing death' warrior picture scroll. With intense feeling, the poem sings a powerful and stirring dirge, and even today when you read it, you feel moved and inspired over and over again. "Heaven Questioned" is an even more ingenious poem. The poem raises one hundred and seventy-two questions. Like the 10,000 li Yangtse River billows, racing along without pause, it shows the poet's inexhaustible zeal to seek the truth. The lines of the whole poem are irregular and random, and it is "a first-rate piece of remarkable writing" in China's literary history.

    Qu Yuan's representative work, the "Encountering Sorrow", is the longest lyric poem in China's classical literature. It is a romantic masterpiece, sparkling with patriotic brilliance. The poet uses lively and elegant language to describe and narrate his own chaste and undefiled person and deeds, and his lofty aspirations. He expresses his fervently held high ambition to keep his ideals without regret through extreme and repeated mortal dangers. The romantic description in the poem which wanders the heavens above and the earth beneath and expresses sincere feelings in a made-up fantasy world, is artistic expression of originality and ingenuity. The section which writes of Ling Fen divining that he should depart and leave the country, is at an even greater height of artistic conception. He uses the Ling oracle's valediction and his own patriotic heart to compose a sharp dilemma and conflict, puts ardent love for native land above worldly reasoning and forges and tempers it, and from this he makes people see clearly the image of a great patriot sharing weal and woe.

    Qu Yuan's great character and glistening poems have had a huge influence in history. Today the people of China and the people of the world all revere this great poet. He is the pride of the Chinese nation.

    Translated from Wang Yong Kuan et al., Native Land, China Youth Press, Beijing, 1983

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  11. lesleyJune 26, 2008 at 9:02 PM

    Nine Springs Spring

    Green pebble green, blue pebble blue,
    on Hengling Mountain there's a Nine Springs Spring.
    Even though its name is Nine Springs Spring,
    one spring has water, and eight springs have none.

    Yes! Since it is called the Nine Springs Spring, why is there only one spring?…

    Well, if you want to know the reason, we'll have to start at the beginning.

    The Xihe have a Hengling Mountain,
    On its back sleeping it touches the sky!

    This is a two-line song which the Xihe people's ancestors have passed down, what it is talking about is the Hengling Mountain of long ago. The Hengling Mountain of long ago was not like it is nowadays, mountain not like a mountain, ridges not like ridges, just a flat old tumble-down earthern mound. In those days, strange peaks pierced the cloudy sky, thick forests hid the red sun, tigers and leopards walked in the undergrowth, flood dragons hid in the deep pools, and round about for several hundred li it was a very famous mountain. On the mountain there weren't many tracks, and at the bottom of the mountain there weren't many houses. There was just one family who lived at the foot of the mountain beside the river. It was the Li family, the old man, with his two sons and a daughter, four people altogether. People living on a mountain live off the mountain. The old man was a hunter, and the two sons knew how to catch dragons and hunt tigers. The older son called Da Lang, and the younger son was called Er Lang, the daughter's name was Kuihua. The old man had been at Hengling Mountain all his life, chopping down poisonous snakes and getting rid of beasts of prey, eating in the wind and sleeping in the dew, breaking through brambles and thorns. Old, and with his strength failing, his back bent and his hair white, he could no longer go up into the mountain. One day, he took his sons and daughter by the hand, and pointing to the strange peaks and odd ridges shrouded in mist, he said:

    "The nine springs on the mountain are sea springs. There are nine evil dragons hiding in them, and they often stir up trouble. In my life I have not been able to get rid of them, but you are young and strong. You must think of a way to get rid of these nine scourges, to be sure for ever that all will be well in this place."

    Not long after he had finished saying these words, the old man died, leaving the three of them, the brothers and sister, to manage by themselves. The older brother tilled the land at the bottom of the slope, the younger brother cut firewood on the mountain, the younger sister gathered herbs by the cliffs, and they managed to get by not too badly.

    Hengling Mountain's cluster of peaks surrounded a 10,000 zhang deep pool; the water was as black as lacquer, and its stink soared up to the sky. Every year at the time when the spring thunder rolled and the Peach Blossom River rose and the carp were fat, the nine evil dragons would visit the pool. They stirred up the clouds and the rain, and breathed out mists and fogs. When they were in good spirits, it was calm and nothing would happen, but if their tempers rose, immediately there would be three zhang high muddy waves below Hengling Mountain, and boats going about on dry land.

    That year in the summer, the wheat on Older Brother's land was ripe, a bright yellow stretch of gold. The three of them, the brothers and sister, wielding their sickles, came in high spirits to gather in the wheat. Their field songs made heaven ring, and drifted into Hengling Mountain. When the nine dragons heard the harvesters as happy as all that, their hearts were so jealous that they threshed their tails, and black clouds immediately tossed and tumbled. Out of a clear boundless sky, a thunderbolt, and torrential rain along with hailstones as big as hens' eggs came pelting down. The three of them, the brothers and sister, were so angry their eyes smouldered. As they looked on, a year's sweat and toil was gobbled up by the dragons!

    The next day, Older Brother, Da Lang, took up his father's bow and arrow and his younger brother's woodcutter's knife to go into the mountain to settle accounts with the evil dragons. His brother and sister tried to pull him back but they couldn't. They wanted to go with him, but he wouldn't agree to it. He just told them:

    "You're still young, stay here. Supposing the dragons do kill me, wait until you're grown up and then avenge me!"

    The brother and sister looked at the path their older brother had taken, but the path was cut off by white cloud. They called out to their older brother again and again, but all they could hear was the valleys echoing the mountains, they couldn't hear Older Brother calling back. They looked and looked, they looked and bored through the thousand-layered rocks, they looked and the maple leaves all over the mountain turned red, they looked and stopped the wild geese from flying south, but they couldn't look their brother back - Older Brother, poor Older Brother! He must have fought bravely all by himself, and couldn't escape the dragons, and been cruelly killed by the ferocious dragons!

    Older Brother Da Lang was gone never to return. Er Lang and Kuihua were planning how to avenge him. Suddenly from the east a white crane with a red bill flew in, landed in the big pine tree in front of the gate, and sang to the two of them:

    Li Er Lang, Li Er Lang,
    to take revenge go to the East,
    wear out invincible shoes a hundred pairs,
    at the Eastern Sea find the fairy soles.

    When Er Lang heard the words of the white crane's song, he was both happy and sad. Happy that there was a way to take revenge, and sad that he would have to go far away to the Eastern Sea to look for a treasure. His younger sister would have to stay there all by herself, and who would look after her? But Kuihua girl could handle it, she was little but her will was strong, and after she saw what her brother was thinking, she said briskly:

    "My brother! Rest easy, just go. I won't be lonely. I have the sun, the moon, and the stars in the sky for companions, and I have the bees, the butterflies, the flowers and the birds on the earth for neighbours. As long as every day, when the sun rises, you turn around and look at me, all will be well and nothing will happen. But I hope you'll hurry there and hurry back, and take revenge and get rid of the scourges."

    When Li Er Lang saw that his sister was quite firm in her resolve, he was very happy, and putting his dry rations on his back, and facing into the just risen sun, he left. Kuihua saw him off as far as the top of East Mountain, and the two, brother and sister, finally parted.

    On and on, but Li Er Lang could handle it, climbing high mountains, crossing great rivers, thirsty and a mouthful of long-running water, hungry and a handful of pineseeds, braving the sun and moon's three rays and out in the wind, the frost, the rain and the dew, the soles of his feet full of thorns and each step a bloodstain, wearing out who knows how many pairs of straw sandals. On and on, the further he went the hotter it got, the further he went the more tired he was. The sun burnt his skin all over and the sandals rubbed his feet raw, his clothes were blown to tatters by the wind and the dry rations he had with him were all gone. But he still kept facing towards the place the sun rose, and keeping on, keeping on. Whenever the sun rose, he would turn around and look at his sister. On and on, the moon waxed and waned and the flowers bloomed and withered, who knows how many days or years he had travelled, when he finally got to the blue, blue sky, and the hazy, hazy water, where the edges of the sky and the earth meet, at the shore of the Eastern Sea.

    The sun was still sleeping in the Eastern Sea, it hadn't woken up. The mighty waves beat down on the shore, sending up piles of snow-white spray. On the barren beach there wasn't a single clump of grass to be seen, let alone any fairy soles! Li Er Lang was hungry and thirsty, tired and weary; he tossed away the broken straw sandals on his feet, threw himself down on a big black rock, and fell asleep immediately. He had just gone into a deep sleep, when suddenly he heard someone calling him. He opened his eyes to have a look, only to see a rosy glow filling the sky, and bright golden light. He was lying in a golden-domed, silver-walled, white jade tiled crystal palace. The bed was made of ivory, inlaid with 10,000 jewels, shining and dazzling him. Rubbing his eyes, he sat up in the bed, and saw a white-bearded old man looking at him with a smile on his face. The old man, walking with a coral walking stick, led him by the hand out of the palace, and pointing to a reef in the mighty waves, said with a smile: "Li Er Lang, look at your straw sandals."

    Li Er Lang raised his head to look, only to see, squeezing out of the solid rock and facing into the strong sea wind, on that reef which couldn't raise a cun of grass, there were some strange things growing, like flowers but not flowers, like grass but not grass, they looked exactly like shoe soles. The dark green soles were full of spines, hard and sharp, dotted thickly, like countless needles. As he looked on, one sole then the next, they grew higher like a pyramid.

    The white-bearded old man seeing that Li Er Lang was staring blankly, spellbound, patted his shoulder and said: "These are the fairy soles. If you wear out invincible shoes you can find them. Getting them depends completely on effort, but once you have them, your heart's desires can be yours."

    With that, the old man pointed with his coral walking stick, and a fairy sole flew down into his hand. The old man handed over the fairy sole to Li Er Lang, and with a "We'll meet again some day!" he disappeared. Holding the fairy sole in both hands, Li Er Lang looked all around, but there was no crystal palace to be seen! And he was standing on the beach. There was only a resplendent red sun already risen from the Eastern Sea, and groups of seagulls bathed in the sunlight, chasing the waves and sporting with them, circling freely.

    Li Er Lang took up the fairy sole to return home, only to feel a gust of wind was roaring past his ears, and then he was back in his native place. He went down in front of the gate of his own home and had a look: the thatched cottage had collapsed a long time ago, hares were running round inside the vents of the kang, and the top of the kitchen range had green grass all growing in it. He called out, "Little Sister!" so shocked that the trees swayed and leaves fell down. He called out, "Little Sister!" a second time so stunned that the wind and the clouds changed colour, and when he was just going to open his mouth to call out a third time, he suddenly heard someone on the top of East Mountain calling back. He looked to the left, and couldn't see his sister. He looked to the right, and couldn't see his sister. All he could see was that, on a straight-up-and-down green stalk, there was a magnificent golden flower, just like a round, round face, greeting him and merrily laughing, and the green leaves all over its stem were waving to him. He walked over to the flower, and with both hands holding the round, round flower disc, he asked, "Can it be that you are my little sister? If you are Little Sister, nod your head three times. If you're not Little Sister, don't nod."

    That uncommon flower nodded its head three times.

    It turned out that this flower was Kuihua girl turned into a flower. From when her brother had faced into the early risen sun and left, she had stood on the top of East Mountain and looked fixedly to the east. Every time she saw the sun rise over the mountains, she thought of her parting words to her brother, and her heart was full of happiness. When the wind came, she stretched her feet out into the earth, and her toes put down roots into it. When the rain came, she held out her skirts in her hands to keep the rain off, and they turned into green leaves. In the daytime, she greeted the sun with a hearty laugh. At night she sang songs to the stars. The soft breeze combed her hair, and the dewdrops moistened her face. The bees and butterflies came and had heart-to-heart talks with her. Winter passed, spring came, one year, two years, and slowly she had turned into this kind of uncommon flower.

    Li Er Lang gave an account to the flower of how he had found the fairy soles, and then turned and went up Hengling Mountain. He shouted "Change!" and the fairy sole in his hand changed into a bright, shining double-edged sword. Hand rising, sword falling, and the strange peaks piercing the sky were whittled down to a mound, and the 10,000 zhang deep pool was filled in as well. The nine evil dragons had lost their deep pool, and they shot into the sky and rushed at him. Each one bared its fangs and brandished its claws, its mouth spurting out black clouds. They were so annoyed that the rivers turned over and the seas tipped out, the ground moved and the mountains swayed. But Li Er Lang could handle it! He faced the nine dragons without the least sign of fear, and waving his sword, cut to the east and thrust to the west. When the sword was raised, it seemed to startle the thunder and lightning, and when it fell, it was as if the earth split open and the mountains collapsed. He kept on fighting the nine dragons until there were eight dragon heads on the ground, the muddy blood turning into a river, and just one injured one had escaped!

    Li Er Lang chased the evil dragon closely, chasing it to the bottom of Tazi Mountain. There was a cave at Tazi Mountain. The dragon had no way of escape, and when it saw the cave it wriggled in. With a swish of his sword Li Er Lang chopped it, chopping two deep gullies out of the 10,000 zhang cliff. It turned out that the dragon which had killed Li Da Lang was this very one. From its belly Li Er Lang picked out a rusty woodcutter's knife.

    After Li Er Lang had killed the nine dragons, with nine large millstones on his hand like a tray, he went to Hengling Mountain again. He used the millstones to dam up eight of the springs, and was just going to dam up the ninth, when suddenly, the white-bearded old man he had met on the shore of the Eastern Sea, dropped down from the sky, riding a white crane. He held his hand fast, and said laughing in astonishment, "Li Er Lang, leave one for the children of the future to use."

    Li Er Lang stayed his hand. And that's why nowadays the Nine Springs Spring only has one spring left.

    After Li Er Lang had got rid of the scourges and taken revenge, the white-bearded old man ushered him away. He followed the old man to the Eastern Sea, and went to drive the sun's carriage for him. The sun rode in a solid gold cast carriage with six fire dragons to pull it, and going from the Eastern Sea to the Western Sea every day, he had to have a valiant and industrious, faithful and reliable driver. The previous few drivers had often caused delays, and so the old man recommended Li Er Lang to the sun. When Li Er Lang drove for the sun, he never caused delays, every day he always rose from the sea on time. Whenever he drove the carriage through the space of his native place, he would always lean out towards the top of East Mountain and have a look. And the flower on top of East Mountain, it would always spread out its round, round flower disc, and laugh merrily towards him and open its magnificent golden flower. And that's why the people who came later gave the flower a name, and called it "Sunflower".

    Sunflower always followed the sun and laughed heartily, Li Er Lang always drove the sun's carriage for him. And this story too, just like the water in the spring at Nine Springs Spring, it is always, always being passed on down.

    (Circulated in Gansu)
    Collected and arranged by Huang Ying

    Translated from Dong Sen, Xiao Li, eds., Folk Literature Office, Literature Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Selected Children's Folk Stories, Beijing Publishing House, Beijing, 1983

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  12. lesleyJune 26, 2008 at 9:27 PM

    Basics of Cooking

    Chapter 1 Culinary Raw Materials

    Section 1 Types of raw materials

    China has a vast territory, good climatic conditions and plentiful products; it can offer an abundance of culinary raw materials.

    Raw materials can be classified as animal, vegetable and mineral, according to their natural source. Animal and vegetable ingredients can be classified according to their state of processing, as fresh and live produce, and dry goods. Fresh and live produce means fruit, vegetables, meat products, offal products, egg products and dairy products as well as aquatic products. Dry goods means those fruit and vegetables which have been dehydrated and dried for storage, or animal products which have been dessicated. The characteristics and grades of important every-day cooking ingredients are set out below, together with explanations.

    1 Plant produce

    Grains: Grains are also called cereals. These are the staple food of the Chinese people. China is a country which abounds in cereal grain crops. Of the crops produced, the main ones are rice (three types: glutinous rice, long grain rice , round grain rice ), wheat , millet , gaoliang (Chinese sorghum) , and maize .

    Legumes: There are a great many types of legumes in China and they are produced in large quantities. The most important types are soybeans, ormosia/love pea, mung bean/green gram , broad bean , pea , sword bean , hyacinth bean , siyuedou, maodou. They are usually used fresh or dried as a non-staple food. When dried legumes are used as a non-staple they are usually processed into bean paste, smoked beancurd, baiye, or bean sprouts. On the other hand, some dried legumes are used as a staple food. Legumes and legume products occupy an important place amongst cooking ingredients; they can serve as primary ingredients, or as supplementary ingredients cooked together with meat or other primary ingredients. When used as the primary ingredient, they can be pot-stewed and yousu (fried crisp). Legume products, such as bean flour, soya-bean milk, fermented soya beans, soya-bean oil and soy sauce, are also culinary ingredients.

    Leafy vegetables: Leafy vegetables are those vegetables with tender fleshy leaves which are used as a culinary ingredient. There are many different types; the most commonly seen are Chinese cabbage , pakchoi, spinach , cabbage mustard , winter amaranth, rape , celery , Chinese chives , paicai, qingcai, potherb mustard , water spinach , amaranth , wood ear fungus , fennel , beetroot, coriander, Chinese toon , bean sprouts.

    Stem and root vegetables:
    Stem vegetables are those vegetables with tender stems or modified stems which are used in cooking. There are many types of stem vegetables. Those which grow above the ground are cabbage mustard, asparagus , garlic shoots . Those which grow in the soil are potatoes , sweet potatoes, water chestnuts , bamboo shoots, lotus root , lily , yuancong (onion) , garlic, ginger , turnip , carrot , asparagus, Chinese yam , taro , yam bean .
    Root vegetables are those which have large modified taproots which are used in cooking, including turnips, carrots, asparagus, Chinese yam.

    Most stem and root vegetables contain starch. There are also some which contain volatile oils with a tasty biting flavour, for example the onion, garlic, and ginger families, which can be used as flavourings in cooking. Stem and root vegetables do not contain a lot of water, which makes them suitable for storing.

    Flower vegetables: Flower vegetables are those vegetables with flowers which are used in cooking. There are not many types of flower vegetable. Those commonly seen are day lily , Chinese chives, mujin, white juhua (Jerusalem artichoke), white lotus, rose, sweet-scented osmanthus, and cauliflower. Flower vegetables are the most tender and easily digested part of the plant and are rich in nutrients.

    Fruit vegetables: Fruit vegetables are those vegetables with fruits which are used in cooking.
    Solanaceae - tomatoes , eggplants , capsicums .
    Curcurbits - wax gourd/white gourd , pumpkin/cushaw , watermelon , pumpkin/summer squash , towel gourd/dishcloth gourd , bitter gourd , cucumber , caigua , winter squash , muskmelon .

    Fresh fruit: Those often used in cooking are cherries , pineapples , pears , tangerines, pomelo , oranges, apples , bananas .

    Dried fruits: The most commonly seen culinary dried fruits are walnuts , peanuts, melon seeds, apricot kernals/almonds , pine nuts, lotus seeds, Chinese dates , chestnuts , dried longan pulp , litchis , raisins.

    Fungus: For example, koumo (a kind of dried mushroom from Zhangjiakou) , majun, Xianggu mushroom , morel/sheep tripe gill fungus , black wood ear , tremella/white wood ear , huang'er (yellow ear), yu'er (elm ear), shi'er (stone ear), monkey-head fungus .

    Seaweed: For example, kelp , laver , jellyfish skin .

    Oil-bearing plants: The vegetable fats and oils used in cooking are peanut oil, soya-bean oil, sesame oil, rapeseed oil, tea-seed oil, cotton-seed oil. They can produce heat in the human body. As well as being a conductor of heat when cooking, they are also a culinary condiment, increasing the fragrance of the food.

    Seasonings, herbs and spices: Sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, jam, and wine. Most are of plant origin. Other examples are aniseed, Chinese prickly ash, pepper, cassia bark/Chinese cinnamon, cloves, shiluozi, sharen, dried tangerine or orange peel, mustard, tea. These spices, as well as some Chinese medicinal herbs, are commonly seen plant seasonings.

    Starch products: The most commonly seen starch product in cooking is vermicelli. Vermicelli is mostly made from starch refined from beans, gaoliang, maize, potatoes, and sweet potatoes.

    Cooking starch is an important condiment in cooking. Bean starch is quite a good cooking starch; the starch content is quite high, its agglutinating strength is high, and it is bright and lustrous.

    2 Animal produce

    Meats of domestic animals: The main meats are pork, beef and lamb. Apart from these, there are also horse, ass, camel, venison and domestic rabbit, as well as wild animals such as wild pig, Mongolian gazelle, bear and tiger. These meats can be used in special banquet dishes.

    Domestic animal offals: Domestic animal offals include edible brains, tongue, heart, liver, kidneys, lungs, intestines and tripe/stomach.

    Domestic poultry: The most important are chickens, ducks and geese. Apart from these, those used in special banquet dishes include pigeons, quails, pheasants, ring-necked pheasants, wild ducks, wild geese, turtledoves and sparrows.

    Domestic poultry offals: Domestic poultry offals include brains, tongue, heart, liver, gizzard and intestines; the flavour is tasty and refreshing. They can be made into all types of banquet dishes. Of these, the liver and gizzard are the most commonly used raw materials for cooking.

    Aquatic products: There are many types of aquatic products. They include fish, shrimp, crab, turtle, soft-shelled turtle, freshwater mussel/clam and snail. There are many types of fish. Freshwater fish include carp , crucian carp , silver carp , finless eel , mandarin fish , hilsa herring/reeves shad, black carp , grass carp , catfish, whitefish, dorado/dolphinfish/loach, feiyu, bream , daoyu, and whitebait/salangid. Marine fish include yellow croaker , hairtail , squid, silvery pomfret/butterfish , anchovy, inkfish/cuttlefish.

    Eggs: Eggs are indispensable raw materials for cooking. Commonly used eggs are hen eggs, duck eggs, goose eggs, pigeon eggs and quail eggs. Hen eggs are the most often used.

    Processed raw materials: Commonly seen processed domestic animal meats and offals include ham (huotui), cured meat (larou), salted meat (xianrou), smoked meat (xunrou), meat sausage (rouguanchang), meat sausage (roulachang), liver sausage (ganlachang), xiangdu. Processed domestic poultry meats and offals include dried chicken (fengji), pressed (or dried) salted duck (banya), xianshuiya (salt water duck), salted duck gizzard (xianyazhun), chicken liver sausage (jiganlachang). Aquatic products include cured fish, salted fish, pickled fish, dried fish eggs, dried shrimp, dried shrimp eggs, mussels, as well as yulu, and shrimp paste. Egg products include salted duck eggs, preserved eggs, pickled eggs. These processed materials give increased variety to cooked meat dishes and to all types of staple food products.

    Animal fats and oils include lard, mutton fat, beef fat (including cream), chicken fat, duck fat, oyster oil.

    Land and sea delicacies: The production quantities of most of these raw materials are quite small, they are difficult to obtain, and their nutritional quality is quite high, and therefore ordinary dishes very rarely make use of them. The most common types are bird's nest, bear paw, deer tendon, monkey head fungus , tremella/white wood ear (yin'er) , shark's fin, shark's lip, fish maw, yupi (fish skin), abalone , sea cucumber/sea slug/trepang, dried scallop, calipash. Apart from monkey head and tremella, which are plant raw materials, all of these are animal raw materials most of which are dried products.

    3 Mineral products

    The number of mineral culinary raw materials is not great. The most important are salt, alkali/soda, sodium bicarbonate, alum, borax/sodium borate, lime, leavening powder.

    Salt: An important condiment. It can be divided into four types, sea salt, lake salt, well salt, rock salt; refined white salt has a salty flavour a little inferior to that of crude salt.

    Sodium carbonate: Often used to make mantou (steamed bread).

    Sodium bicarbonate: Made from processed soda and used in the same way, but it is not as alkaline.

    Alum: Has the greatest number of uses. Its aqueous solution is acidic. It makes some unleavened cooked wheaten foods soft and spongy. It is often used mixed with sodium carbonate. Alum is required for making youtiao (deep-fried twisted dough sticks), for example.

    Borax: Also an alkaline material. For example, when soaking dried abalone, if a little borax is added, it will be easier for them to soften and plump right through.

    Lime: Used a lot in the first step of processing intestines and stomach.

    Leavening powder: A saturated dehydrated mixture which includes acidic and alkaline substances, and is quite good as a leavening agent.

    Translated from Shi Yin Xiang ed., Choice Selection of Hunan Cuisine (Xiangcai Jijing), Hunan Science and Technology Publishing House, Changsha, 1982

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  13. lesleyJune 26, 2008 at 9:29 PM

    Section 2 Inspection and selection of raw materials

    1 Inspection and selection of raw materials - elementary knowledge

    When cooking, it is necessary to be good at inspecting and choosing produce. This because whether the quality of the dishes is good or bad depends, on the one hand on cooking skills, and on the other on the quality of the ingredients themselves, as well as whether the choice and the use are well-matched. When inspecting and choosing produce, one should generally note the following points.

    a Be familiar with the production season for each product. Each plant and animal product has seasonality; they all have their plentiful and scarce periods, their full, strong periods and their meagre, weak periods. Take fish for example: in the winter river fish are usually fairly inactive, plump with a lot of fat. When spring arrives, they are quite active and the flesh quality becomes lean and tough. However, hilsa herring is at its most fresh, tender and fat from Lixia (the beginning of summer) to the spawning period at Dragon Boat Festival. At the end of autumn and beginning of winter, because the feed is ample, the muscle on domestic animals will be at its plumpest. The greatest number of fresh and tender plant products will occur in spring and summer. It can be seen from this that, in the different seasons, the selection and use of cooking ingredients requires some understanding of the qualities of the produce and of their degree of plumpness and freshness.

    b Be familiar with the production region. China's territory is extensive and the range of produce is broad. Due to differences in the natural environment between regions and in the types of produce and the cultivation and management practices, the produce differs in quality from high to low. If you are familiar with the different production regions, then you can purchase superior quality produce, and, at the same time, according to the different varieties of produce, you can choose the appropriate cooking method. For example Beijing pressed duck is best suited to making roast duck. Ordinary duck, on the other hand, can be used for making braised duck, stir-fried diced duck and duck pieces.

    c Be familiar with the uses of each part of the product. Each part of each type of produce has its different special characteristics. For example the meat on a pig, sheep, cattle beast, chicken or duck all have parts which are lean and fat, tough and tender. Because of this, some are suitable for quick-frying and stir-frying (baochao) and others for baking and boiling (shaozhu), some are suitable for pot-stewing (lujiang) and others for simmering and making soup (weitang). Pork fillet is lean and tender and can be used to make shredded pork, cubed pork, and sliced pork . Pork ribs have fat and lean and are suitable for braising. Therefore it is necessary to understand and master the characteristics of the different parts of each type of product, in order to use them appropriately and to make elegant and appetising dishes.

    d Appraise the quality of each type of produce. Conduct inspection and selection of the quality of every type of produce, not only with regard to the colour, aroma and flavour of the dishes but, even more importantly, with regard to the health of the consumer. This is something that cooking specialists must be particularly careful about. Ordinarily, when selecting produce, the following nutritional and hygiene requirements should be conformed to.

    i In order to prevent a source of infection being spread to the consumer, sick or bacteria-carrying animals, poultry and aquatic products must not be chosen or used.

    ii Fish, crabs, wild herbs, nuts, and fungi containing biological toxins, as well as spices and colourings containing organic and inorganic toxins, definitely must not be used as cooking ingredients, in order to prevent food poisoning.

    iii Produce should not have decomposition phenomena such as rottenness, mould or off smells, nor should it have been damaged by insects or gnawed at by rats and mice.

    With regard to methods for discriminating the quality of produce, there is sensory examination, mechanical and chemical examination, and microbiological examination. At present, the most simple and convenient method to use is sensory inspection, that is to use all the human senses, including nose, mouth, eyes, ears and hands, to appraise the quality of the produce. Generally, sensory inspection means inspection of the external characteristics, for example shape, colour, smell, texture and so on. Cooking specialists with a lot of experience can appraise whether the produce is fresh or stale, tough or tender, and whether or not there is any deterioration, just by looking at the surface colour or giving the exterior a feel with their hand. This type of experience, which has been accumulated through uninterrupted practice, is worth taking seriously and striving hard to learn from.
    2 The standards and methods of inspection and selection for several major types of raw material

    There is a huge number of cooking raw materials. Commonly used inspection and selection methods for some important types of produce are set out below.

    1 Plant produce

    Cereals: Although there are many types of unprocessed cereal grains, they have common qualities and norms, which are:

    a Degree of freshness. Fresh grain is grain which has not been damaged by storage pests and microorganisms, in which serious physical or chemical changes have not occurred, and which can produce normal biological activity. It has the colour and lustre that it should have, has no strange odours (sour decaying mouldy foul smells) or abnormal flavours (sweet taste). These can all be appraised by the senses.

    b Moisture content. Each type of cereal grain has its standard moisture content. It is not advisable to exceed this or the storage and rising capability of the grain will be affected. Cereal grains with different moisture contents should not be stored together.

    c Foreign matter. There are two types of foreign matter in grain. One is stones, dust, chaff, grass-seeds and pieces of metal; the other is other cereal grains and diseased grains, pest-damaged grains and shrivelled grains. Good quality grain has a low level of foreign matter.

    d Grain weight and unit weight. This is the thousand seed weight and the weight per given volume of the same type of cereal grain. If the two weights are both high, this shows the grain is of good quality and the individual grains are full. If one weight is lighter than another, or both weights are light, this shows that the quality is inferior.

    Fresh legumes and legume-pods should be chosen according to their production season. Dried legumes usually take seed size, homogeneity, solid texture and glossiness as good qualities. Commonly-used bean products include doufu (bean curd), doufu gan (dried bean curd), doufu yi (bean curd coating). Although their selection standards differ, common good points are an even delicate texture, even thickness and appropriate moisture content.

    There are also many different varieties of fruit and vegetables. Amongst them, root vegetables take crispness and absence of shrivelling, shiny glossy skins and ample moisture content as good points. Leafy vegetables take firm fleshy leaves, brightness of colour and lustre, and tenderness as good qualities. Curcurbits take brightness of colour and lustre, good bulky size, absence of blemishes and the particular scent of each different variety as measures of quality.

    2 Animal produce

    a Domestic animals and poultry

    Domestic livestock and poultry meats: The selection of pork, beef and mutton takes the closeness of the meat, its degree of resilience and normality of colour and lustre and smell as good points. Pork with a thin skin and thick fat layer, and with fat which is snow-white in colour and lean which takes on a pale red colour is good. In poor quality pork, not only is the meat soft and spongy, but the colour becomes dull and the smell is abnormal.

    When choosing chickens, ducks and geese, they can be divided roughly into two types, live and dressed poultry. (Dressed means already slaughtered and plucked). When selecting live poultry, the main thing is to see whether their feathers are plentiful and glossy and whether their movements are lively. When selecting dressed poultry, use the strength and firmness of the flesh and the whiteness and freshness of its colour as standards. Apart from this, whether the meat is tough or tender more often than not depends on the age of the bird. The older the bird, the tougher the meat; from the outside, an old fowl's breastbone is hard, the scales on its feet are rough, dull and uneven, and the feathers are coarse and have become curly. An old duck or goose has a hard beak, the feathers are fluffy, and the scales on the feet are rough.

    When selecting domestic livestock and poultry meats you also need to be familiar with the special characteristics of the different sections of each meat type, in order to procure the meat by grading it, integrating the grade with its toughness or tenderness, and then, according to the different cooking requirements, to choose and use it appropriately. For example, it is best to use tender chicken for stir-fried diced chicken and chicken slices; tough chicken is more suitable for making soup. Beef shin is suitable for stewing (lu). Beef fillet on the other hand, is suitable for stir-fried (chao) and sautéd (liu) sliced and shredded beef.

    Translated from Shi Yin Xiang ed., Choice Selection of Hunan Cuisine (Xiangcai Jijing), Hunan Science and Technology Publishing House, Changsha, 1982

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  14. lesleyJune 27, 2008 at 2:52 AM

    Wang Chang Ling - Two Beyond the Frontier Poems (Poem One)

    In Qin times the bright moon in Han times the pass, 10,000 li long march people never return.
    But make Longcheng's Flying General be there, don't let the Hu Horse across Yinshan .

    This is a famous work; the Ming Dynasty poet, Li Pan Long, once appraised it as first above all Tang qijue poems . The Qing "Poetry Primer" by Shen De Qian says: People in the past appraised the poem, 'In Qin times the bright moon', without mentioning its ingeniousness. They considered the master of words had exhausted his craft to no avail, because it was not the writer's own story. It captures the Flying General's preparing the border and the border beacon fires going out, and was prompted by the re-emphasis on 'til today people speak of General Li' in Gao Chang Shi's "Lines from Yan Songs". The defending of borders and building of walls started in the Qin and Han; the bright moon represents the Qin, the pass represents the Han, and the poem sets them in mutual relation." These words of his criticise Li Pan Long for appraising the poem without mentioning its ingeniousness, but he himself also only gives the gist of the poem, and does not point out the writer's craftsmanship.

    Literary specialist Shen's summing up of the gist of the poem is basically right, but the idea behind this gist is very ordinary. Why is it that such an ordinary idea could become a masterpiece of writing above all others?

    It turns out that in this poem, there is one line which is most beautiful and most able to afford food for thought, and that is the opening line: "In Qin times the bright moon in Han times the pass". Where is the originality in this line? We need to start from the poem's title. The title of the poem is "Beyond the Frontier", and as soon as you see it you know that it is a Music Bureau poem. Music Bureau poems were to be set to music and circulated widely in song, and, to meet the requirements of setting to music and transmission in song, the poems very often included some common, habitually-used words. This poem by Wang Chang Ling is no exception. Look at the two words "bright moon" and "pass" in the opening line; they are the exact same words very commonly seen in Music Bureau poems about the frontier. Doesn't the "Music Bureau Anthology - Transverse Flute Songs" have "Pass Fortress Moon"? And the "Music Bureau Explanations" says: "Pass fortress moon, painful leaving and parting." No matter whether traveller thinking of home, or married woman thinking of those far away, more often than not, neither is able to get away from those two words "pass" and "moon". "Pass fortress three and five moons, the sojourner recalls Qin's river-plains" (Xu Ling's "Pass Moon"), "Pass fortress night moon bright, autumn's tones light up lonely wall" (Wang Bao's "Pass Moon"), "When pass fortress 10,000 li cannot be crossed, who can sit down and face the fragrant moon." (Lu Si Dao's "Enlisting Song"), "In Upper Long the bright moon far away looks down on the pass, in Longshang the traveller in the night plays his flute" (Wang Wei's "Upper Long Song"), the examples are too numerous to list. After you have realised this point, you will understand where this line's freshness and novelty lies, and that is in the insertion of the two time-prescribing words, "Qin" and "Han" between the two words "bright moon" and "pass". Beginning the writing from one thousand years ago and a distance of 10,000 li quite naturally forms a powerful and vast artistic conception. If we borrow a phrase from an earlier period of poetic criticism, it is to "evoke an elated mood of height and distance", making the reader naturally link together the frontier pass under the bright moon before their eyes with the age-old history of the Qin Dynasty's building of the pass to prepare against the Hu, and the Han Dynasty's series of wars with the Hu occurring inside and outside the pass. In this way, "ten thousand li long march the people never return" is not only for the people of those times, but the common tragedy of generation after generation of people from Qin and Han times onwards; and the hope that the frontier regions will have a "Longcheng flying general" who "won't let the Hu horse across Yinshan", is not only for the people of the Han Dynasty, but the common hope of generation after generation of people. Ordinary tragedies and ordinary hopes, when they follow the occurrence of the two time-prescribing words, "Qin" and "Han", in the first line, manifest a very out of the ordinary meaning. This line of the poem has an elated tone and a vigorous, firm momentum, sufficient to govern the whole piece.

    The beauty of poetry, and the beauty of poetic language, is very often expressed in what seem to be very ordinary words; in other words, it is expressed in the use of what seem to be very ordinary words in the most precise and critical places. And very often it is these places which are most able to reflect the poet's excellent artistic attainments.
    (Liao Zhong An)

    Translated from: Xiao Di Fei, Cheng Qian Fan, et al. ed., Tang Poetry Connoisseur's Encyclopedia, Shanghai Dictionary Publishing House, Shanghai, 1983

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  15. lesleyJune 27, 2008 at 2:54 AM

    Du Fu - Pavilion Night

    Year end moon and sun press on the short day,
    heaven's edge frost and snow clear the cold night.
    Fifth watch drum and horn sounds solemn stirring,
    Three Gorges star river reflections rock and waver.
    The open-country cries the thousand families hear of war and offensives,
    Yi songs in several places set off fishermen and woodcutters.
    Sleeping Dragon, Leaping Horse in the end yellow earth,
    human affairs, music, books, all over the place deserted lonely.

    This was written in the winter of the first year of the Da Li reign , when Du Fu had made his home at the West Pavilion in Kuizhou . At that time there was tangled fighting between the Sichuan warlords which had gone on for years without a break; and the Tufan were also continually invading and attacking the Shu region. Furthermore, Du Fu's good friends, Zheng Qian, Su Yuan Ming, Li Bai, Yan Wu and Gao Shi had all died one after the other. Conscious of time and recalling the past, he wrote this poem to express a particularly heavy heart.

    The first two lines point out the time. In the first line, year-end indicates winter; yin yang indicates the sun and moon; short days indicates the short days of winter. The single word "press on" figuratively shows that the long nights and short days make people feel that time slips by and that the sequence of the years is pressing. In the second line, heaven's edge refers to Kuizhou, and it also has the sense of being reduced to living at the end of the earth. On such a night in the dead of winter when the frost and snow had just stopped, with the snow-light as bright as day, the poet, faced with this desolate cold night-scene, cannot help but have all sorts of feelings well up in his mind.

    The two "Fifth watch " lines continue on from the second line's "cold night", to write of what is heard and seen at night. The first line's drum and horn refers to the sounding of the drum and bugle by the military in ancient times to give the time and issue orders. In the clear night air, the sound of the drum and bugle is particularly loud and sonorous; at the changing of the fifth watch just before the dawn, when the anxious cannot sleep, the sound seems even more moving and sad. This, laterally, throws into sharp relief that the Kuizhou area was not at peace, and that Li Ming's front troops were intensifying their activities. The poet uses the two words "drum and horn" as a hint, then combined with the phrases "fifth watch" and "sounds solemn and stirring", an atmosphere of prolonged military crisis and frequent warfare is naturally evoked. The second line speaks of the dustless cosmos after rain, the Star-River in the sky above looking especially limpid, the clusters of stars uneven, their light cast upon the Xia River , the star-reflections flickering unsteadily in the swift current. The scene is quite beautiful. Our forebears joined in praising it as "majestic". Its brilliance is in that, through the antithetical lines, the poet vividly and dramatically depicts his deep concern about the current political situation, and his enjoyment of the deep-night beautiful scenery of the Three Gorges. The momentum of the lines is bleak and broad, the tone is sonorous and pleasant to the ear, and the choice of words is crystal-clear and dazzling; implied deep within the "majesty" are the poet's sad and heavy feelings.

    The two "The open-country cries" lines write of what is heard before dawn. As soon as wars and offensives are heard of, it sets the thousand families to crying their hearts out; the sound of wailing carries all through the vast expanse of open ground, it is a terribly tragic scene! The Yi songs refer to the minority nationality folk songs within Sichuan. Kuizhou was an area inhabited by several nationalities. When Du Fu sojourned there, hearing the sound of the fishermen and woodcutters' "Yi songs" in the depth of the night was not uncommon. "Several places" means more than one setting off. These two lines portray the typical environment of remote Kuizhou very authentically: "Open-country cries" and "Yi songs": the one is full of a feeling of the times, and the other possesses a quality of place. To this great poet, concerned for country and people, the two types of sound make him feel doubly sad.

    In the two "Sleeping Dragon" lines, the poet's gazing into the distance to the Wuhou Temple and the Baidi Temple in Kuizhou's western outskirts, leads to boundless sighs of emotion. Sleeping Dragon refers to Zhu Ge Liang. Leaping Horse adapts the line "Gong Sun was a leaping horse and called himself emperor" in Zuo Si's "Shu Du Fu", and alludes to Gong Sun Shu's taking advantage of the chaos at the end of the Western Han to occupy Shu and call himself emperor. Du Fu sang of him repeatedly: "Gong Sun first depended on natural barriers, the leaping horse idea how did it arise?" ("Baidi Cheng") "Brave capture today where are you? In those years so very strong!" ("Shang Baidi Cheng Er Shou") A lifetime of power, and today where is it? Have they not all turned into dry bones in the yellow earth! "Human affairs, music, books", the intent of the words is to draw a parallel. All over the place is carelessly. This line is saying that nowadays, human affairs, and music and books, have all had to take on his loneliness. The two winding up lines reveal the poet's exceedingly perturbed and sorrowful mood. Shen De Qian said: "In the concluding words the virtuous and foolish come to the same end. However, immediate human affairs and music and books from far away, also simply take on his loneliness." ("Tang Shi Bie Cai"). Like Zhu Ge Liang and Gong Sun Shu and those sorts of historical people, no matter whether he were virtuous or stupid, all would be united in the end in being extinguished. In actual life, with punitive expeditions, killing and looting giving ever more cause for the mass of the people to be at death's door every day, what does my present little bit of loneliness and solitude amount to? These words look like words to cheer one up, but in fact they fully reflect the conflict and distress in the poet's feelings. "The idealistic and secluded person having no resentment to vent, brings up material from the ancient past for use in great calamities!" ("Gu Bai Hang") "The hero has more than enough causes, the old are long worn-out by the journey." ("Shang Baidi Cheng Er Shou") These lines convey exactly some of the unexpressed meaning in the poem. Lu Shi X's view that this poem has " a meaning-centre beyond words, and inexhaustibly sorrowful thoughts" is quite insightful.

    This poem has always been eulogised as the model of excellence among Du Fu's lüshi eight-line poems. The poet revolves around the subject, and from several major aspects, describes what was seen and heard and felt at night while staying at the West Pavilion. He writes from the winter night's snow clearing up to the fifth watch's drum and horn, from the Star River in the heavens to the mighty waves on the Yangtse River, from the landscape's form and beauty to the chaos of war and human affairs, from immediate reality to things of a thousand years in the past. The atmosphere is mighty and vast, as if the universe had been put into the brush tip; there is an ascending to the heavens and descending to the earth, passing between past and present in the twinkling of an eye conception. There is a lot to be said for Hu Ying Lin's acclaiming this poem as: "Atmosphere majestic above the universe, lü so finely done it can enter a hair tip", and then saying it was the seven-character lüshi's "thousand-year originator ".
    (Tao Dao Shu)

    Translated from: Xiao Di Fei, Cheng Qian Fan, et al. ed., Tang Poetry Connoisseur's Encyclopedia, Shanghai Dictionary Publishing House, Shanghai, 1983

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  16. lesleyJune 27, 2008 at 3:34 AM

    Su Shi

    Su Shi (1037-1101), style-name Zi Zhan , alternative name Dong Po lay Buddhist, native of Meishan (present-day Meishan County in Sichuan). After he had become a jinshi in his twenty-first year, he became a local official, holding such positions as zhubu and qianpan . In the Shen Zong period, because he opposed Wang An Shi's New Laws, he was sent out to be prefectural administrator of Mizhou , Xuzhou and Huzhou; persisting, he was demoted to Huangzhou . Later when the conservative faction was in power, Su Shi held the position of Hanlin Scholar , but again because his political views were incompatible with Si Ma Guang's, he was sent out to administer the Hangzhou area. When the new faction came to power once more, Su Shi was exiled far away to Huizhou and Qiongzhou . He stayed there until the year 1100 when Song Hui Zong came to the throne. Su Shi had his punishment remitted and set out to return north. He died on the journey.

    As far as creative work in letters and the arts is concerned, Su Shi can be described as an all-rounder. He is not only the most outstanding prose master of the Northern Song and together with his father, Su Xun, and his brother, Su Zhe, one of the "Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song", but is also an outstanding Song Dynasty poet. He expanded the boundaries of the poems in irregular metre (ci) and developed the 'bold and unconstrained' school . Although he did not write many prose poems (fu), they are model examples of the 'prosification' of rhyme-prose (ci and fu) from the Tang and Song onwards. Today we have "The Complete Works of Dong Po" handed down from ancient times.

    Translated from: Liu Zhen Xiang, Li Fang Chen, notes, Chen Fang Lin, ed., "Selected Rhyme-Prose and Prose Poems through the Ages", Hunan People's Publishing House, Changsha, 1984

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  17. lesleyJune 27, 2008 at 5:14 AM

    Ah! Green water blue hills,
    Ah! Spring wind poplars willows,
    ancient and beautiful motherland-oh,
    on the jacket-front of the globe, you
    weave an intoxicating splendour.
    On your vast territory -
    what charming and gentle scenes;
    under your fertile ground -
    treasure stores incomparably rich.
    The nourishment of your soil,
    invests us with the virtues of industry and simplicity;
    the milk of your rivers,
    gives us our strong, energetic flesh and blood.
    You are the cradle rearing our nation-oh,
    you are the oasis of our hearts,
    generation after generation, in your bosom we
    seek, devote ourselves, planting in spring, reaping in autumn.
    We are proud of your handsome appearance,
    and pour out our deep, deep love to you-oh
    - our country of many charms,
    - our Huaxia Divine Land!

    Translated from Wang Yong Kuan et al., Native land, China Youth Press, Beijing, 1983

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  18. lesleyJune 28, 2008 at 5:48 PM

    Table of Contents

    Recipes from Hunan Cuisine
    Cold dishes
    Pork
    Beef and mutton
    Chicken
    Duck
    Goose
    Shrimp and crab
    Fish
    Delicacies from the mountains and sea
    Hot-pots and soups
    Game
    Bean-curd
    Egg dishes
    Vegetable dishes
    Other dishes
    Desserts
    Cakes

    Basics of Cooking
    *Chapter 1 Culinary raw materials

    *Section 1 Types of raw materials
    1 Plant produce
    2 Animal produce
    3 Mineral products

    Section 2 Inspection and selection of produce
    *1 Inspection and selection of produce - elementary knowledge
    2 The standards and methods of inspection and selection for several major types
    of produce
    *1 Plant produce
    2 Animal produce
    *Domestic animals and poultry
    Aquatic products
    Egg products
    3 Dried products

    Section 3 Storage of produce and keeping of live products
    1 Aims of storing produce
    2 Methods of storing produce
    1 Temperature control
    2 Moisture control
    3 Sealing
    4 Curing, pickling and smoking
    3 The keeping of live products

    Chapter 2 Initial processing of raw materials

    Chapter 3 Use of knives

    Chapter 4 Seasonings and condiments

    Chapter 5 Cooking - rudimentary knowledge

    Chapter 6 Methods of cooking

    Translated from Shi Yin Xiang ed., Choice Selection from Hunan Cuisine (Xiangcai Jijing), Hunan Science and Technology Publishing House, Changsha, 1982

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  19. lesleyJune 28, 2008 at 5:51 PM

    Preface

    Part 3

    Today, sometimes we still see certain prose, even fiction and poetry, written under the name of fu (rhapsody), but when you look into its substance, it does not now conform to fu form in the original sense. That is to say, as a literary form, ci and fu are no longer used in today's literary creative work. Yet in the final analysis, they are an important component part of China's classical literature, and as a type of literary legacy, they still have research and heritage value.

    Firstly, the ci and fu that were produced in each historical period, always directly or indirectly, and to a greater or lesser extent, reflected the face of society of the time, and exposed and criticised some ugly things. For example, some of the Western Han ci and fu reflect the Han Empire's flourishing, rich, powerful scene, and the feudal rulers' lordly, extravagant, pleasure-seeking lives. Some of the Six Dynasties ci and fu on the other hand, show the frequency of the chaos of war during the change-over of dynasties, and the disaster and suffering it brought down on the people. There is also fu writing which takes such things as big cities, and palace and park amusements and entertainment as its themes: some vividly describe the level of production, the living situations and thoughts and feelings of the various class strata, and contain rich knowledge; and others, on the other hand, outline the history and geography, produce and cultural artifacts, landscape form and character, and local conditions and customs of a region, as good as a local chronicle in rhyme. All of these have reference value as literary sources, and help our understanding and knowledge of history.

    Secondly, none of the ci and fu of each historical period existed in isolation. Apart from drawing material from the society of the time, they all benefited from the creative work in other literary forms. With regard to this aspect, we have already explained something of it above. From another aspect, creative work in ci and fu also at the same time promoted the development of other literary forms. The far-reaching influence of Chu ci on China's creative work in poetry has long been generally acknowledged by people. Both the influence of Six Dynasties antithetical fu on Tang shi and Song ci, and the role of Tang and Song wenfu on the prose of later dynasties, should not be underrated. Therefore, when we research the literary legacy of our native land, it is necessary to link together the development of all the various literary forms to make our observations, we cannot toss ci and fu to one side, and not take them sufficiently seriously.

    Apart from this, some of the representational techniques in ci and fu writing have a certain referential use in today's prose, poetry and even fiction creation. For example, a bestriding imagination, painstaking exaggeration, enormous elaboration, laying stress on lyricism, use of antithesis, striving to find the best turn of phrase, and so on. If we want to carry forward the precious legacy of China's classical literature in our literary creation, then we cannot neglect the rich and varied field of ci and fu.

    Translated from: Liu Zhen Xiang, Li Fang Chen, notes, Chen Fang Lin, ed., "Selected Rhyme-Prose and Prose Poems through the Ages", Hunan People's Publishing House, Changsha, 1984

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  20. lesleyJune 28, 2008 at 5:58 PM

    Chapter 6 Lyric Prose

    1 What is lyric prose
    Lyric prose is classed as narrative; it uses addressing an object or the figurative description of people, events and scenes to give expression to the writer's subjective impressions. It is most often lyric prose addressing an object or lyric prose making use of a scene, but there is also lyric prose making use of a person and the implying of feeling in an event. Its materials are drawn from a wide spectrum, the expression is hidden, the meaning is profound, the writings are brief, and the writing method is free and flexible.

    When compared with ordinary narrative, the outstanding special features of lyric prose are that it has a pronounced lyrical flavour and a rich poetic-pictorial artistic conception.

    2 The special features of lyric prose
    (1) The form is dispersed but the sense is not.
    The "dispersed form" refers primarily to the wide spectrum from which materials are drawn, not limited by constraints of time and space, and also not confined to one person, one event or one object. It very often looks at something from a small point, moving from the particular to the general , to open up rich associations. These associations may be what is seen and what is heard in real life, or they may be memories and impressions in the mind. Its means of expression is also free and unrestrained; narrating events, portraying characters, describing scenery, and commentary can be changed at will according to the requirements of the content. The "not dispersed sense" means that it has a clear-cut and focused central idea, and that it needs to have a clear thread linking the material together into an organic whole.
    (2) It has a distinctive form which reveals the central idea.
    Lyric prose is not the revelation of the central idea through complete character-figures, winding story-plots, and concentrated contradiction and conflict. Rather, very often it is the writer's taking hold of a certain thing that he has felt most deeply from within his own life, and unearthing the deep significance or symbolic significance contained within it. The events touched on are merely episodes, the characters are traits of a certain aspect, and at a certain point or points, they revolve round a centre to unfold a rich imagination and to express inner feelings, in order to reveal the theme.
    (3) A pronounced lyrical colour
    This type of writing has expressing one's emotion (lyricism) as its priority; the narrative, description and discussion in the writing are all for the purpose of expressing the writer's impressions, passions and aspirations towards life. There are two ways to express one's emotion: direct lyric and indirect lyric. Direct lyric is directly expressing real feelings through language. This type of expression of feeling does not come out of thin air, but is based on events. Lyric and description are closely integrated, and lyrical writing is generally used after description, with the description leading naturally to its expression. Sometimes brief writing is used before the description to directly express emotion, broadly outlining the characteristics of the thing being described, and setting a keynote for the whole piece of writing. Then after the detailed description, quite a lot of writing is used to express one's emotions, forming an echo, causing the emotions to be expressed incisively and vividly. Indirect lyric does not draw support from lyrical writing, but it is when recalling a person, recounting an event, depicting a scene, or describing a thing, fusing into it the writer's strong subjective feelings. The writing reveals the inherent feelings, so that the reader is affected by them.
    (4) Distinctive language qualities
    To a large extent, the appeal and power of lyric prose rests on the charm of the language. Its language qualities are extremely distinctive.

    Succinctness. The sentences are brief, the words and expressions are concise and not sloppy. In logic and tone the linking is quite tight, and the succinct orderly writing contains a rich content.

    Full of feeling. Lyric prose generally does not set out to use a large amount of writing to express emotions, rather when writing description, language which contains emotional tendencies must be used, and through language infused with feeling the thing or character being described is covered with a layer of emotional colour.

    Magnificence and simplicity are integrated. The richness and simplicity of the language of lyric prose are integrated together, sometimes bright and colourful, sometimes simple and fresh, but all able to convey and express perfectly the writer's impressions of life and innermost feelings.

    Generally speaking, elegant diction, and language which is concise, harmonious, simple and yet magnificent, when it is read can be recited fluently; it is ripe with feeling and rich in strong affective power. These are the language characteristics that lyric prose ought to possess.

    Translated from Zhu Bing Yao ed., Composition Guide for Foreign Students of Chinese, Sinolingua, Beijing, 1997

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  21. lesleyJune 28, 2008 at 5:59 PM

    Chapter 7 Travels (or travel notes)

    Overview

    1 What are travels
    Travels are recording what one has seen and heard and felt when sightseeing or on a journey.

    Travels are classed as narrative. Their content is normally the depiction of landscape scenery, scenic spots and historical sites, valuable products, and local conditions and customs, or an account of the political life, economic circumstances and social practices. The materials drawn on are wide-ranging, the form is free, and they are imbued with a strong lyrical flavour.

    2 How to write travels
    i You must capture the distinguishing features
    When sightseeing in a place, there may be very many sights and sounds. If you write about them all without distinguishing what is primary and what is secondary and without any aim at all, then it will seem disorderly and unsystematic, and will not be able to make a deep impression on people. So travels should have a central idea, to show your own attitude towards objective things: whether it is to eulogise a beautiful land, or to reflect the social appearance of a certain period, or to take things to allude to people, or to expound a certain philosophy with the help of a description of natural scenery. In order to show the central idea in a concentrated way, you need to choose your materials meticulously, and not just write about wherever you go and whatever you see. You need to choose the part which has distinguishing qualities based on the requirements of the theme, then undertake a detailed description. The secondary scenery merely serves as a foil, and is explained simply, so that the primary and secondary are clearly demarcated, and the particular and general are in appropriate balance.

    ii The narrative must be sequenced
    Travels must have a definite sequence. When you are writing, you can take a fixed observation point as the starting point, and according to far and near, high and low, do a spatial sequence, letting the pen feel out the trail of the changes in the point being viewed, and conducting a description of all points of the compass from different angles. And you can also organise the arrangement of ideas according to the time sequence of the sightseeing.

    iii You need to give expression to feelings
    The description of scenery and record of things in the travels must be lively and true to life. Not only must you write of the scenery's form and appearance, colour, sound, momentum or imposing manner and change, but you must also tell the reader the beauty that the writer has experienced, to make the reader also seem to be present himself in that place. This requires you not only to capture the scenery's distinguishing features when you write about scenery, but to contain or imply feelings within the scenery, to create an artistic conception where feeling and scene intermingle.

    iv The language needs to be lively and exquisite
    Travels write about what is seen, heard and felt while touring, and it is unavoidable to have to narrate, describe, discuss, and convey emotion, so that the reader, while he is reading, both broadens his knowledge and gains a type of aesthetic enjoyment. So when writing you must both authentically and naturally reflect the appearance of nature and of social life, and through rich imagination carry out artistic polishing, using a fresh, lively tone, and vivid, lively language, as well as many kinds of rhetorical techniques. This will mean the scenery and natural changes will be depicted to the life, and the social life will be depicted as a folkways tableau in lots of different poses. Writing with poetic feeling and pictorial quality makes the writing produce a strong affective power.

    Translated from Zhu Bing Yao ed., Composition Guide for Foreign Students of Chinese, Sinolingua, Beijing, 1997

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  22. lesleyJune 28, 2008 at 8:36 PM

    Wenxian's Heaven Lake

    In Gansu's "Xishuangbanna" - Wenxian, there is a bright jewel set in the Wanbao Mountains, adding a strange spendour to the lovely Longnan mountain region. This bright jewel is Heaven Lake, acclaimed far and near.

    Heaven Lake is in the north of Wenxian, about one hundred kilometres from the county seat. It is two thousand four hundred metres above sea level, has numerous twists and turns, and a twenty-kilometre perimeter. On all sides strange peaks contend in beauty, pines and cypresses vie in luxuriance, and in the middle is an expanse of blue waves, swirling red and rippling green. Looking far into the distance, the mist-covered waters are boundless, and the water and sky merge together into one colour.

    When visitors board wooden rafts and go up the lake, touching the Elephant's Trunk Stone stretched deep into the water, skirting the edge of the Horse Watering Pool, and going on round to Grabbing the Fish Gully, at first they see just two steep cliffs of sheer rock blocking out the sky and hiding the sun. One shout, and the valleys echo the sounds of the mountains, reverberating sweetly, making people feel they are in a fairyland.

    There is a lovely legend about Heaven Lake's unusual scenery. Tradition has it that in remote antiquity the erlang god from the heavens encroached upon the area, and the native god of the place, the yangtang god, rose up to fight back. The two sides were locked in fierce battle for three days and three nights and the land was plunged into a state of chaos and darkness. The erlang god was still unable to gain the victory, whereupon he wielded his sword and cut through the range, whittling away the mountains and filling in the valleys, gathering the waters into a lake, in a vain attempt to block off the headwaters from the lower reaches and leave the common folk of the yangtang god cut off. The yangtang god gave a loud shout, stretched out his hand towards the lake dam and gave it a violent poke. His five fingers poked out five outlets (now called the Five Finger Holes), foiling the erlang god's deadly scheme. He dug another pool next to the large lake for horses to drink from, and commanded all the lakeshore birds to carry away from the lake in their bills every day all the fallen leaves and twigs to keep the lake surface spotless. This is the lake known as Heaven Lake today. To commemorate the yangtang god, people have cast a bronze statue to him and have built a shrine next to the lake.

    There are many carp in the lake. In the evening the commune members go down to Grabbing the Fish Gully and, as soon as they use their torches to light up the water, schools of fish come out to look at the firelight. The boys hold their wooden knives, hands rising knives falling, fish turning white belly up, one stroke one fish, like taking eggs from a nest, like a conjuring trick on the stage. The broad expanse of the lake is also a very good place for raising ducks. The wild grasses and pine flowers on the lake banks are food for bees, and honey-water is what the hospitable Heaven Lake people use when they entertain guests.

    Translated from Duan, Qi & Li eds., Gansu Tourist Guide (1982), China Tourism Publishing House, Beijing

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  23. lesleyJune 28, 2008 at 8:47 PM

    Shidao Tourism Area

    Shidao is situated at the south-east end of the Jiaodong Peninsula, bordering on the Yellow Sea, it has a warm temperate humid climate, winters are not bitterly cold, summers are not intensely hot, and it has the praise-name Hawaii of the East. The beautiful natural view, the numerous cultural landscapes, and the rich folk traditions and customs, make this small seaside city particularly charming. Here there are hills, the sea and the beach, here you can fish, you can swim, you can clamber. With nature's myriad landscapes and sea-style folkways culture combined in one place, it can justifiably be called a tourism paradise.

    Shidao's historical culture is age-old. From ancient times the Shidao Gulf has held an important position in sea communications, and in China's foreign trade and cultural exchange. As early as the Ming and Qing period, it had a bustling panorama of: "Space-castles floating on the mirage-like air, crushed stones mooring the fishing boats; fiercely pursuing the Japan-China market, oxen ploughing the above-the-houses fields." Shidao also has also had an important strategic position in China's modern history, Mr Sun Zhongshan (Sun Yatsen), in his "General Plan for founding the State", mentions Shidao twice in succession. Present day Shidao's coastline is 31 kilometres long, and looks onto North Korea and South Korea across the sea. Its total area is 188.5 square kilometres, it is classed as part of Rongcheng City's city-construction area, and its total population is 140,000. It has one provincial level Development Zone; it has the largest fishing port in North China , Shidao Fishing Port; the multipurpose indoor business and trade town, China North-China Fish Market, which has fishing commodities trade as its theme; the Tianhougong temple, built in the Qing Qianlong reign ; the Chishan Fahuayuan temple, which is sentimentally attached to the friendly feelings between the peoples of the three countries of China, Japan and Korea; the Zhang Bao Gao Monument, understood as the five continents and six oceans supporting the friendship of the Chinese and Korean peoples. Here, with seaweed as roofs and black stones as walls, is China's largest natural fishing village, Dayudao: everyone is a gardener, the flower-village greenhouse of every family is a chejiao river; everyone practices penmanship, the painting-village of paintings painted by every family is a muyun thatched cottage… The folk artists here are numerous, strange stone collecting, paper-cut art, and root-carving craft are of long standing and well established. The fishermen's festival worshipping the sea here is solemn and respectful, the Shidao fishing families loud drumming makes heaven and earth tremble…

    If you want to eat seafood, go to Shidao, Shidao's seafood is fresh every day. At Shidao, not only can you buy various kinds of fresh fish, shimps, crabs and shellfish, you can also go down beside the sea and chase the sea, walk in the waves , angle or go out to sea on a boat, to gather sea products, and cook your own seafood. Friend, raise your`winecup and invite each other [to drink] in a fishing family's thatched cottage, it will surely be their happiness knows no bounds !

    Translated from: Weihai Tourism Authority, "www.sdta.gov.cn/weihai/jingqu"

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  24. lesleyJune 28, 2008 at 9:48 PM

    Tian'e Lake Tourism and Holiday Area

    Location: Rongcheng City
    Distance from city-centre (km): 40.0
    Gate-ticket Entrance Fee (yuan):

    Rongcheng's Tian'e Lake (provincial level) Tourist and Holiday Area is found at the easternmost end of the Jiaodong Peninsula, within the boundaries of richly-endowed and beautiful Chengshanweizhen, to the east and south it borders on the Bohai, it has four distinct seasons, the average annual temperature is 11.8°C, and it is classed as having a mid-latitude temperate monsoonal maritime climate. It was set up at their own expense by the Chengshanweizhen Party committee and People's government in 1992, on the basis of the tourist resources uniquely their own, the extensive sea of forest, the thousands of great swans, and the long golden beaches. In 1995, it was approved by the Shandong People's Government as a provincial level tourist and holiday area, and in 1997, it was designated a national level Historic and Scenic Area, and a national level Nature Conservation Area. The Area has the world's largest swan habitat - the Chengshanwei's Tian'e Lake (Swan Lake). At the lake the water is clean and clear, the sands are pure and golden, and with its blue skies, blue-green waters, and golden beaches, the scenery is beautiful and the climate is pleasant. Each year in November to April of the following year, 10,000 great swans and several tens of thousands of wild ducks and swan geese, make light of the distance from Siberia and Inner Mongolia, and, calling to their friends and landing gently in flocks, live here over the winter. It forms the world's largest swan lake, and has been eulogised by expert scholars from inside and outside the country as the "Swan Kingdom of the Orient". The lake and the sea are separated by a large 100-metre-wide sand bank, forming a natural 10,000 metre site for open air saltwater bathing and sand bathing. From when the Tourism Development Area was set up, the Area has laid great stress on the development of the tourism resource, and has constructed a large-scale marine sports and amusements company, a large-scale entertainment town, and a large-scale racecourse, making it rapidly become a collective entity for tourism, leisure, holidays and recreation, and a modern tourist resort. Tradition has it that Tian'e Lake in the Area was formed from the accumulation of the tears of Qinshihuang's wife (qizi), and that the swans are the incarnation of Qin Qi's spirit. A very long time ago, seeking the elixir of immortality, Qinshihuang came to the Eastern Sea's Sanshen Island to get it, whereupon he deployed troops to guard the sea and build a bridge, and furthermore ordered his wife, when she heard the gong, to deliver food. One day when it was not yet noon, because a dung beetle carelessly flew into the gong making it sound, Qin Qi hurriedly sent the food down. When Qinshihuang saw that his wife had disobeyed orders, he was very angry, and had her put to death. Qin Qi was treated unjustly, her tears became a river, and accumulated as the "Lake of Tears". People thought fondly of her and told each other that Qin Qi's pure spirit had returned to the world, whereupon countless swans floated down from the skies. Within the Tourism and Holiday Area, there is a full set of facilities. Eight top grade public bars and hotels, 88 cultural recreation places, as well as relatively high grade bars, sauna centres and bowling alleys have been built successively. There is a tap-water company with a daily supply of 10,000 cubic metres, a transformer substation with a capacity of 110 kV, and a 20,000 switch, direct-dial international and national, regulator-controlled telephone installation capacity, opening the way for mobile telephone and cordless pager enterprise. Getting to the Area is more convenient still. The Area is the transportation centre for the northeast of Rongcheng City, is 28 kilometres from Weihai Airport, 26 kilometres fromWeihai's new port, 28 kilometres from Weihai Railway Station, and can be reached from both Rongcheng and Weihai. In summer, visitors can come here to avoid the heat and enjoy the cool outside, and to enjoy eating seafood, bathing in the sea, and looking at the waves, and in winter, they can see the swans and look at snow scenery. This has made this Area into an "all-weather" Tourist Area. The Area's local specialties and famous products are numerous, it has the noted fine aquatic products, sea cucumbers, abalone, kuihan clams, and scallops, and the noted fine agricultural and sideline products, peanuts, and Jiaodong apples.

    Translated from: Weihai Tourism Authority, "www.sdta.gov.cn/weihai/jingqu"

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  25. lesleyJune 29, 2008 at 6:30 PM

    Zhejiang Province (Zhe)

    Overview Zhejiang Province is located south of Lake Tai, and in the east it overlooks the East China Sea (its continental coastline is more than 2200 kilometres long). The provinces and municipalities of Shanghai, Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi and Fujian are its neighbours. It was established as Zhejiang Province in the Ming. The Qiantang river within the province used to be called the Zhejiang, and the province's name originates from this. The population is 38.27 million (1980), and there are Han, She, Hui, Manchu and Miao nationalities. The province is under the jurisdiction of eight cities and 61 counties; administrative offices have been set up in eight regions. The provincial capital is Hangzhou.

    Relief The terrain is high in the south-west and low in the north-east. Hills and mountain areas occupy approximately 70% of the area of the province, and plains and basins occupy approximately 30%.
    The plains are mainly distributed in the northern part and along the coast. The North Zhejiang Plain is the largest plain in the province, and takes in the Hang-Jia-Hu Plain to the north of the Hangzhou Gulf (classed as Yangtze River Delta), and the Ning-Shao Plain to the south of it. It is generally at less than 20 metres above sea level, and is formed from river alluvium and lake-silt deposits; the river network is dense, the soil is fertile, and it is one of the province's well-known agricultural regions. The Wenzhou - Huangyan Plain is also quite large. The middle and lower reaches of the various rivers have quite large river valley basins, generally at 50-250 metres above sea level, for example the Jin-Qu and the Xinsheng Basins which are both important grain and cash crop regions.
    Hills and mountain areas spread very extensively in the province, and there is the saying, "Seven mountains one river two allotments of land". Most of the mountain ranges run from north-west to south-east, the major ones being Yandangshan-Kuocangshan, Xianxialing-Tiantaishan, and Simingshan, Huiqishan, Tianmushan. They range from 200 to more than 1000 metres above sea level, and in the mountains, the mountain streams cut deeply, it is densely wooded, and the scenery is beautiful. In particular the strange ridges and peaks and the deep valleys and steep cliffs to the south and north of Yandangshan are a scenic spot of South Zhejiang. The south-west part of the mountain region is quite high and steep, and Huangmaojian, at 1921 metres above sea level, is the highest peak in the province. The ranges gradually become lower as they approach the coast and moreover they meet the coast at an angle or straight on, creating a winding coastline, and there are many islands and harbours. The Hangzhou Gulf is the province's largest harbour; the Qiantang River enters the sea here, the river mouth takes on a trumpet shape, the tides are remarkable, and the Qiantang River Tide is a world-famous extraordinary sight. Zhejiang is one of China's provinces with the greatest number of coastal islands; well-known ones include the Zhoushan Islands and Yuhuan Island.

    Climate Zhejiang is classed as having a subtropical humid monsoon climate; it is warm and moist, with four distinct seasons. The average annual temperature in the province is between 15 and 19°C; in January it is from 2 to 8°C and the isotherms run roughly parallel to the latitudinal parallels. In July it is from 27 to 30°C; the isotherms are almost parallel with the longitudinal meridian lines, and a high temperature centre forms in the Jinqu Basin. The lowest temperature in the province was -13.3°C (16 January 1967 at Lin'an's Changhua), and the highest temperature was 41.9°C (6 August 1966 at Lin'an's Changhua). The frost-free period is from 230-270 days. The average annual rainfall is between 850 and 1700 mm, with relatively more on the south-east coast and in the south-west mountain region, and relatively less in the regions in the northern part. The high rainfall periods are the plum rains period from early June to early July , and the typhoon period from late August to late September. At Ninghai on 4 October 1961, 253.7mm of rain fell, the highest rainfall in a day in Zhejiang. In July and August, rainfall is less than evaporation which often creates dog-days drought, and together with cold waves and typhoons, these are the calamitous types of weather which it is necessary to take precautions against.

    Rivers and lakes The rivers in the province are classed as south-east coastal river valleys, and there a quite a lot of rivers which flow directly into the sea. They can be divided into eight river systems: the Tiaoxi , the Qiantang River, the Cao'e River, the Yongjiang, the Lingjiang, the Oujiang, the Feiyun River, and the Aojiang; the relatively large rivers arise in the mountain region in the western part of the province. The rivers run parallel to the mountain ranges, or cut through ranges and cross large and small basins, and enter the sea in the east. They form a lattice-shaped hydrological system, there are many gorges and rapids, and the hydropower resource is plentiful. The Qiantang River is Zhejiang's largest river; it arises in the border region between Zhejiang, Anhui and Jiangxi. It flows into the Hangzhou Gulf, has a total length of 494 kilometres, has a catchment area of 54,349 square kilometres, and the part within the provinces makes up approximately one third of the province's total area. The Xin'an River is its largest tributary. Each section of the main stream has a different name: above Quzhou it is called the Changshan'gang, from Quzhou to Lanxi it is called the Qujiang, from Lanxi to Meicheng it is called the Lanjiang, from Meicheng to Tonglu it is called the Tongjiang, from Tonglu to Wenjiayan it is called the Fuchun River, and from Wenjiayan to Zhakou it is called the Qiantang River; in this section the river course is winding and it is also called the Zhijiang. Within the Zhejiang's boundaries, the Grand Canal is classed as the Jiangnan Canal Section, and Hangzhou's Gongchen Bridge is the southern terminus of the Grand Canal.
    The lakes are mainly distributed in the North Zhejiang Plain, most of them are vestigial sea-lakes, and the most well-known are Hangzhou's West Lake and Jiaxing's South Lake. Yinxian's Dongqian Lake, with an area of 22 square kilometres, is the province's largest lake.

    Agriculture The agriculture of the North Zhejiang Plain developed relatively early. In the second century AD, Shaoxing had already built the Jianhu Irrigated Region, and in Southern Song times, it was a rich and populous agricultural centre in the whole country. In the Tang Dynasty, the tea and silkworm industries developed likewise. Before Liberation, due to the chaos caused by war, grain, silk and tea production was never able to recover after a setback, and agriculture was stripped back . After liberation there was a widespread engagement in capital construction on farmland and the construction of water conservancy works. More than ten thousand large and small reservoirs were built, the river courses susceptible to flooding and waterlogging were harnessed, and furthermore, 80% of the cultivable land was enabled to receive irrigation.
    The reclaimed and cultivated wasteland index of the whole province is 20%, however, the multiple crop index and the level of production are relatively high, and the diversified economy of farming, forestry, animal husbandry, side-line production and fishery is quite good. Agricultural production has cereals as the mainstay, and also produces many types of famous local products. Three agricultural crops are taken per year. The area of the province's cultivable land sown in cereals stands at 90%; rice is the most important and is mainly produced in the plains and basins. The North Zhejiang Plain is known within the province as "The Granary". Apart from this, wheat-family crops and pulses are winter crops, and in the hills and mountain regions, there is a lot of maize and potatoes . The cash crops are jute , cotton, rapeseed, and sugarcane. Jute production holds an important position in the whole country, and is mainly produced along the banks of the Qiantang River and in the lower reaches of the Oujiang. Rapeseed is an important oilseed crop in the province, and is farmed in rotation with rice, cotton and hemp . Ever since the Tang and Song, Zhejiang has been a major silk producing region in China, and at the present time its silkworm cocoon production still holds a important position in the whole country. The Hang-Jia-Hu Plain accounts for more than 80% of the province's production, and on the river floodlands, along the coast, and in the mountains, mulberries have been planted, opening up new silk regions. In the province, there are more than 60 counties and cities producing tea; it is one of the major tea-producing regions in the country, with green tea the most common. Hangzhou's famous tea "West Lake Dragon Well" is renowned at home and abroad. In the mountains there are many types of forest trees; China fir, pine and mao bamboo are the major commercial forests, and mao bamboo production in particular, holds an important position in the whole country. There are also commercial forests of tea-oil tree, tung oil tree, and Chinese tallow tree, and fruit trees such as citrus and red bayberry. As for well-known local products, there are also Changhua's hickory nuts, Zhuji's Chinese torreya nuts, Tangxi's loquats, Longquan's Xianggu mushrooms, Tianmu's dried bamboo shoots, as well as the Chinese medicinal materials, fritillary bulb, large-headed atractylodes rhizome, and chrysanthemum. "Jinhua ham" is exported overseas. In the north of the plain sheep are raised. They are known as "Lake sheep", and enjoy a high reputation for their pure-white soft beautiful lambskins. Zhejiang's fisheries are well-known in the whole country. The coast abounds in large yellow croaker, little yellow croaker, hairtail and cuttlefish, and the mudflats breed shellfish, laver and kelp. The Zhoushan Islands are one of the commodity fish production bases for the whole country. There is an age-old history of fresh-water fish raising. It is mainly distributed on the North Zhejiang Plain, and Fuchun River hilsa herring is famous throughout the country.

    Industry Of Zhejiang's mineral resources, the alum and fluorspar reserves are very large, the quality is relatively good, and they are of major significance in the whole country. Pingyang's Fanshan and Rui'an are major alum producing areas. Fluorspar is also known as fluorite; it is widely distributed within the province, with relatively more in the central part in Wuyi and Yongkang Counties. Other quite important minerals are Shaoxing's Lizhu iron ore, Yuhang County's copper ore, Qingtian and Yongjia Counties' molybdenum ore, the Changxing and Jiande areas' coal, as well as limestone and many types of rare metals. The coast produces salt.
    The modern industrial development of the province roughly started at the end of the nineteenth century and beginning of the twentieth century, however, up to the eve of Liberation, there was very little heavy industry, and what light industry there was was mainly concentrated in several cities on the coast. After more than thirty years, the output value of industry has increased fourteen-fold, its distribution has also changed noticeably, and heavy industries such as coal, metallurgy, engineering, electric power, chemicals and electronic instruments have been set up. The main light industries are the cotton spinning, linen fabrics, silk fabrics, paper-making, tea manufacture, aquatic products processing, and brewing and distilling sectors. In both the interior and the marine islands, industrial enterprises have been set up. The province is popularly known as "Home of Silk", and after Liberation, a quite complete silk industry set-up was formed. It is mainly concentrated on the Hang-Jia-Hu Plain, and the design types of the traditional product, tapestry satin, have been increased from several tens to more than one thousand. The wine-making industry has an age-old history at Shaoxing, and Shaoxing huadiao is one of the famous-name wines in the whole country. Zhejiang has many different types of handicraft products; the well-known ones are Qingtian's carved stone, Dongyang's wood carvings, Leqing's Chinese littleleaf box woodcuts, Wenzhou's Ou models, Ningbo's bone inlaid work, Caishi's inlaid work, Hangzhou's brocade, Huangyan's fanhuang bamboo carving, Xiaoshan's lace, Shengxian's craft bamboo weaving, and Longquan's celadon ware.

    Communications Zhejiang's communications has the railroad as its main artery, highways connect with all the counties and cities and with two-thirds of the communes, and in concert with the water transportation network in the plain region, and coastal shipping and air transport, they make up a transportation network linking the whole province internally and externally. The railroad main trunk lines are the Hu-Hang, Zhe-Gan, the Xiao-Yong, and the Hang-Chang , which link together the major cities and mining regions. The highways have Hangzhou as their centre, forming provincial, regional and county arterial networks, and moreover, there are inter-provincial arterial roads linking up to the neighbouring provinces and municipalities. The major inland waterways are the man-made canals of the plain region, and with regard to natural waterways the use of the Qiantang River is quite notable. With regard to marine transportation, the greatest amount of contact is with Shanghai, and Ningbo and Wenzhou are the important ports within the province. Civil aviation has Hangzhou as its centre, and connects with Shanghai, Beijing, Nanchang and Guangzhou.

    Major Cities Hangzhou City: Located on the north bank of the lower reaches of the Qiantang River, and at the southern end of the Grand Canal. The Hu-Hang, Zhe-Gan and Hang-Chang railroads converge here. Hangzhou is one of China's ancient capitals; in Five Dynasties times it was the Wu-Yue State capital, and it was the Southern Song capital. Now it is the political, economic and cultural centre of the whole province, and the communications hub. It is a centre of the silk fabric industry, and has developed many kinds of relevant light textile industries and heavy industries. The traditional handicrafts, silk parasols, sandalwood fans, and scissors, are greatly appreciated by consumers. Hangzhou is a world-famous tourist city; the West Lake Scenic Area has lake and hill scenery and many scenic and historic spots, for example, Lingyin Temple, Flower Harbour Looking at Fish, Still Lake Autumn Moon, and the Jade Spring. Through post-Liberation maintenance and dredging, and expansion of the green areas, the scenery is even finer. The Tomb of Yue Fei in the Lake District and the Liuhe Pagoda on the Qiantang River bank are national key cultural protected sites.
    Ningbo City: Located at the confluence of the two large source rivers of the Yongjiang, its short name is Yong, and it is the terminus of the Xiao-Yong railroad. Since the Tang and Song it has been a well-known foreign trading port in China. It has recently been designated a Foreign Trade Port. There are textiles and foodstuffs industries. Tianyi Pavilion and Baoguo Temple are national key cultural protected sites. Scenic spots include Ayuwang Mountain and Tiantong Mountain.
    Wenzhou City: Located on the south bank of the lower reaches of the Oujiang, it is south Zhejiang's largest city and seaport, as well as being the goods collection and distribution base for the Oujiang river-valley. There are engineering, industrial ceramics, and foodstuffs industries. Handicrafts include Ou models, straw mats, and Ou embroidery. The little island in the middle of the river, Solitary Island, is densely wooded, the scenery is beautiful and grand, and it is a good place for strolling about or having a rest.
    Shaoxing City: This is an ancient city situated in the western part of the Ning-Shao Plain at the foot of Jishan; there are many historic sites. It is Comrade Zhou Enlai's ancestral home and Mr Lu Xun's hometown, and has long been held in reverence by all uninhibited pilgrim-visitors. The East Zhejiang Canal and the Xiao-Yong railroad pass through here, communications are convenient. After Liberation, a number of industrial enterprises were built. It is famous for wine production, and has the nickname "Home of Wine".
    Jinhua City: Located in the centre of the province, to the east of the centre of the Jin-Qu Basin, the Zhe-Gan railroad passes through it, and there is a branch line to the Xin'an River Reservoir; it is the province's interior communications hub. After Liberation, many kinds of industry were set up, engineering, chemicals, cement, textiles, foodstuffs. The specialty product is Jinhua ham. 14 kilometres north of the city is the famous Beishan Scenic Area, with the most popular attractions being the three caves, Shuanglong, Binghu and Chaozhen.
    Jiaxing City: Located on the central section of the Hu-Hang railroad, on the east bank of the Grand Canal, it is a major land-and-water coordinated transport centre in North Zhejiang. The textiles, paper-making and foodstuffs industries are quite advanced. Jiaxing's South Lake scenery is beautiful, it was one of the meeting places of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China, and the Jiaxing South Lake Revolutionary Memorial Hall has been built there.
    Huzhou City: Located on the south shore of Lake Tai, it is one of North Zhejiang's famous river-and-lake cities. The output value of its silk industry holds second position in the whole province. The traditional famous products are writing brushes (known as Hu brushes), and feather fans.

    Translated from: Cartographical Publishing House, China Atlas, Cartographical Publishing House, Beijing, 1981

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  26. lesleyJune 29, 2008 at 9:54 PM

    Huang Zhun (1926~ ) Woman composer. Native of Huang Yan, Zhejiang. In 1938 at Yan'an, she studied vocal music with Zheng Lu Cheng, and studied composition under Xian Xing Hai. Later on in the cultural troupe, she was a vocal soloist and composer, and went on to compose at the North-East Film Studio, the Beijing Film Studio and the Shanghai Film Studio. In 1948, she composed the music for the first short feature film in the Liberated Areas "Liuxia ta da Lao Jiang", and after that wrote in succession the music for almost forty films, "Xin er'nü yingxiong zhuan", "Qiu Weng yu xian ji", "Woman Basketball Player No 5", "Red Detachment of Women", "Canhua guniang", "Stage Sisters". The most widely circulated of her film incidental music is "Xiaomao diao yu" (gained the Musical Work Prize in the First National Children's and Young People's Art Creation Awards), "Qingchun shan guang", Niangzijun lianlian ge", "Canhua guniang xin xiang dang". In addition, she has also written the symphonic poem work with traditional instruments "Red Detachment of Women".

    Wang Qin Yan et al ed., Music Appreciation Handbook, Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House, Shanghai, 1983

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  27. lesleyJune 29, 2008 at 10:26 PM

    Guangdong Province (Yue)

    Guangdong Province is situated south of the Nanling range; its mainland part overlooks the South China Sea (its coastline is over 4300 kilometres long), and it also includes spread out widely over the sea the large and small islands, reefs and shoals of Hainan Island and the South China Sea Islands. It is China's southernmost province. The east, the north and the west border on the provinces and regions of Fujian, Jiangxi, Hu'nan and Guangxi. It was set up as Guangdong Province in the Ming, and the province's name comes from the abbreviation for the Guangnan East District. Because in ancient times it was under the jurisdiction of Nanyue, it has the short name Yue. The whole province is 220,000 square kilometres in area. It has a population of 57.80 million (1980), and there are Han, Li, Yao, Zhuang, Miao, Hui, Manchu, and She nationalities. The province comes under the jurisdiction of one autonomous prefecture, 14 cities, 92 counties, and 3 autonomous counties. Administrative offices have been set up in 7 regions, and there is also a Hainan Island administrative office. The provincial capital is Guangzhou.

    Relief The terrain of the mainland part is high in the north and low in the south; the whole province in general terms is a slope inclining downwards towards the sea. Mountains and hills stand at around two-thirds of the total area, while tablelands and plains stand at one-third.

    The North Guangdong Mountains are part of Nanling; the most important mountains are Dayuling, Qitianling, Huashishan and Yaoshan. Most of them are granite mountain-lands with poorly-defined ridges, or ranges of sandstone and quartzite, and are at between 1000 and 1500 metres above sea level. Shikengkong is at 1902 metres above sea level, and is the province's highest peak. The ranges pile up one behind the other, but there are intermontane valleys and river valley basins which act as lines of communication between north and south, for example the Zhenshui and Wushui river valleys, and the Xiaomeiguan pass. In the east of the mountain region is the Qingxidong Nature Reserve. In North Guangdong, the red sandy-shale mountain region's "red clouds topography" is typified by Renhua's Danxiushan mountain and Pingshi's Jinjiling range. At the red cliffs and green waters of these two places there are both historic sites and scenic spots, and they are tourist areas. Towards the southeast, the mountains gradually become lower. Qingyunshan, Jiulianshan, Luofushan, Lianhuashan and Hai'anshan in general terms take on a northeast-southwest oriented parallel arrangement, and are at around 1000 metres above sea level. Along the coast there are narrow coastal plains, for example the Chaozhou-Shantou Plain. In the mountains many red-earth strata basins can be found, for example, the Xingning Basin and the Meixian Basin. Luofushan is high, steep and imposing and it has fine scenery; it is a renowned scenic area of the province. At the mountain there is the Xingang Nature Reserve. From the North Guangdong mountains southwest directly to the Leizhou Peninsula is mountains and tablelands; Yunkaidashan and Yunwushan are at generally around 1000 metres above sea level, and in the mountains there are limestone basins and red rock strata basins, such as the Yangchun, Luoding and Huaiji basins. To the south are granite weathered remnant hills, and towards the coast it gradually gets lower to become sandy uncultivated land comprised mainly of quartz sand. Only the southwest end of the Leizhou Peninsula, modern-era basalt tableland which has been affected by shallow sea accumulation and erosion and is at less than 100 metres above sea level, has very little undulation. Between the above-mentioned three sets of mountains and hills is the famous Pearl River Delta; the plain is crisscrossed by waterways with hills dotted about, and is a fertile agricultural region. The Dinghushan Nature Reserve here is an international scientific research base.

    Hainan Island, separated from the Leizhou Peninsula by the Qiongzhou Strait and with an area of 32,200 square kilometres, is China's second-largest island. Tableland and plain at less than 100 metres above sea level comprises almost two-thirds of the island's total area, and is found mainly in the north of the island and along the coast. The tableland in the north is quite extensive; its strata and structure is the same as that of the Leizhou Peninsula. According to field investigations, the two places were originally joined together; then a fault occurred between them, and subsided to form the Qiongzhou Strait, approximately 20 kilometres wide and with an average depth of 60 metres, which is how they formed into their present-day shape. For this reason they are jointly known as the "Qiong-Lei platform". Mountains are found in the centre and south of Hainan Island; they are mostly low mountains and hills at between 500 and 800 metres above sea level, with high peaks exceeding 1500 metres, and the general term for them is the Wuzhi Mountains. They are divided into two northeast-southwest oriented parts, Wuzhishan mountain and Yinggeling range, by the Wanquan and Changhua rivers fault-valley. Wuzhishan is Hainan Island's famous peak; it got its name because when you look at it from the southeast, the five peaks towering aloft look somewhat like five fingers. The island has many types of tropical plants and animals, and a number of nature reserves have been set up: Datian, Bangxi, Nanwan and Jianfengling.

    To the southeast of Hainan Island, the South China Sea Islands on the South China Sea are almost all coral islands, shoals, reefs and sandbanks.

    Climate The Tropic of Cancer crosses the central part of the mainland part of the province; the entire province is classed as having a subtropical-tropical humid monsoon climate, with the Nansha Islands classed as equatorial climate. The main climatic features are high temperatures and a lot of rain. The province's average annual temperature is 19-26°C, January 8-21°C and July 27-29°C; in general terms the temperatures are higher in the south and lower in the north. The record lowest temperature is -7.3°C (12 January 1955 at Meixian) and the record highest temperature is 42°C (12 August 1953 at Shaoguan). The great majority of the province's districts never see frost or snow year round, and it is only the North Guangdong mountain districts that have ten days or so of winter. The province's average annual rainfall is mostly over 1500 mm, and on the windward slopes ie the south side of Nanling and the southeastern slopes of Hainan Island the rainfall is over 2000 mm. April to September is the rainy season; the summer rainfall makes up 40% of the total annual rainfall. On 31 July 1967 at Xisha 612.2 mm of rain fell, the highest rainfall in one day for the province. Every year from May to November the coastal districts are often subjected to typhoon incursions, and the occasional strong cold wave can harm tropical crops.

    Rivers and lakes The province has numerous rivers, with the various rivers having the same characteristics: large flows, small sediment loads, long high-water seasons, and rich hydroelectricity resources. The major rivers are the Pearl River, the Han River, the Nandu River, the Moyang River, and the Jian River. Pearl River used to be the name of the river course which enters the sea below Guangzhou, but now it is mostly used as the overall name for the West, North and East Rivers. It is Guangdong Province's largest river system. The mainstream, the West River, originates in Zhanyi County in the east of Yunnan Province, and it is only below Wuzhou in Guangxi that it becomes known as the West River. It is 2197 kilometres long in total. Near Sanshui after it turns to the south, it has quite a lot of branches. The mainstream enters the sea at Modao, while the branches go east and join the North and East Rivers. The North River is formed by the confluence of its two sources, the Zhenshui and the Wushui at Shaoguan. The mainstream is 468 kilometres long. The East River originates in south Jiangxi, and enters the sea at Longmen; it is 523 kilometres long. The Pearl River is China's fifth largest river, however its flow is second only to the Yangtze, around eight times that of the Yellow River and second in the whole country. The high-water season is from April to October, half the year in fact. East Guangdong's Han River is known as the Ting in its upper reaches. It originates in Fujian, is 325 kilometres long, and is the province's second largest river. The rivers on Hainan Island appear to radiate out from a central point, flowing westwards to enter the sea separately; the relatively large rivers all arise in the central mountains. The Nandu River at 340 kilometres long is the island's largest river. There are not many lakes in the province. Lake Tong, between Huiyang and Dongguan, is the province's largest lake.

    Agriculture After the Tang, along with large increases in inwards migration, new water conservancy projects and embankments were built on the Pearl and Han River deltas and grain production increased rapidly. By the Ming Dynasty, the area of land devoted to the silkworm and cane-sugar industries was quite large, and in the Pearl River delta and around Lianjiang the cane-sugar industry was very prosperous. Between the Ming and the Qing it became a densely-populated agricultural region. After the intrusion of the imperialists, the commoditisation of agricultural production was strengthened, silk, sugarcane, hemp and oilseeds production increased, for a long time grain production was below self-sufficiency and impoverished peasants migrated overseas. After Liberation, across the whole province progressively reservoirs and small hill dams were built and the river and sea dykes were strengthened, the initial stage of an integrated conservancy network for water diversion, storage, dykes and electricity generation was formed, and most of the rice paddies achieved ensured stable yields regardless of drought or excessive rain. In the regions of severe soil erosion, major efforts were put into water and soil conservation work such as undertaking afforestation and grassing, and sealing off breaches. The province had achieved self-sufficiency in grain by 1953.

    Guangdong has more than 50 million mu under cultivation, the vast majority of it farmed under a three crops per year cropping system. The area sown in grain crops is around 90% of the total area. Paddy rice accounts for more than 80% of total grain production; it is one of China's main paddy rice producing regions, and it is commonly found throughout the province. The Chaozhou-Shantou Plain is famous for being good at intercropping, interplanting, and meticulous farming methods. Other cereal crops include starchy tubers, maize, wheat and gaoliang. The major cash crops are sugarcane, peanuts and roundpod jute. Sugarcane production is of major significance to the whole country, with the most extensive plantings being in the Pearl River delta, the Chaozhou-Shantou plain and the Leizhou peninsula. Roundpod jute production stands at around one-fifth of total national production. It is mainly produced in Wuchuan, Huazhou, Dongguan, Huiyang, and Chao'an counties. The Pearl River delta is a nationally famous silk producing area. The province is one of China's largest fruit producing bases; there are a great variety of tropical and subtropical fruits, with the most widely-grown ones being bananas, citrus, lychees, and pineapples. They sell well at home and abroad and are known as Guangdong's four famous fruits. Guangdong is a nationally important tropical and subtropical crop growing region; Hainan Island's and the Leizhou Peninsula's tropical crop cultivation is thriving, and the area planted in rubber, oil palm, sisal hemp, coffee, cocoa, lemongrass and pepper has grown rapidly. The central and northern hill districts also abound in tea and rosin, tung oil, and tea-oil, altogether various wild economic plants numbering in the several dozens, yingde black tea is a famous example. The province's ocean fishing and freshwater and marine aquaculture are both advanced. The South China Sea is China's major tropical zone fishery, and along the coast oysters, abalone, pearls and seahorses are produced in abundance. The main form of livestock raising is pig farming; Dongchang's meihua pig and the Pearl River delta's dahuabai pig are famous fine breeds. North Guangdong and Hainan Island are the province's two major timber production bases. North Guangdong produces mainly pine, China fir and mao bamboo, while Hainan Island abounds in many varieties of valuable tropical timbers.

    Industry The province's mineral resources are rich; the north of the province and the coastal hills have rich metal ore resources, and its tungsten, tin, antimony, bismuth, molybdenum, copper, lead and zinc all hold an important position nationally. Shilu's iron mines, the South China Sea's oil, and Maoming's oil-shale are all very well-known. Hainan Island's Yinggehai saltworks are China's largest saltworks south of the Yangtze. The province's earliest modern-era industry was the foreign-capital operated ship repair and sugar-refining industries. Along with the rise of the national-capital silk filature industry an industrial development process began with foodstuffs and textiles as the major industrial sectors. After Liberation, the iron and steel, coal, electric power, petroleum, chemicals, machinery, nonferrous metals smelting, and shipbuilding industries developed rapidly. The foodstuffs industry is still the province's largest industrial sector. The sugar-refining industry is advanced, and in addition there has been appropriate development of bagasse papermaking and manmade fibres industries. The products of Guangzhou and Shantou's fruit and fish canning and bottling industries are shipped and sold within China and abroad. Hainan Island is also in the initial stages of setting up modern industries: minerals excavation, smelting, machinery, chemicals, electric power and foodstuffs. Guangdong's handicrafts industry is advanced; Foshan's and Chaozhou-Shantou's ceramics, Xinhui's palm-leaf fans, Dongguan's fireworks, Zhaoqing's straw mats and 'duanyan' inkslabs, and Shantou's drawnwork are all well-known at home and abroad.

    Communications Water transport holds an important place in Guangdong's communications and transportation. After Liberation, the dangerous shoals were blasted, the river courses were dredged, and wharves were built. Inland water shipping developed very quickly. The Pearl River is the mainstay and, via the fan-shaped river network of the West, North and East Rivers, it connects with half of the districts of the whole province. The various coastal counties rely primarily on sea transportation for commodities exchange. The province has more than 100 large and small seaports altogether, the major ports being Huangpu, Zhanjiang, Shantou, Basuo, Haikou and Sanya. The most important railroad is the Beijing-Guangzhou line, and there are also the Guangzhou-Kowloon, Litang-Zhanjiang, Guangzhou-Sanshui and Hechun-Maoming lines. On Hainan Island there are the Basuo-Changjiang and Huangliu-Anyou rail-freight lines. Road communications is also advanced, with virtually every peoples commune having road access in place. Aviation has Guangzhou at its centre and connects with Beijing, Shanghai, Nanning and Chengdu as well as Zhanjiang, Haikou, Shantou and Xingning.

    Major Cities Guangzhou City: Short name Sui, alternate name Yangcheng. Situated at the northern edge of the Pearl River delta, at the confluence of the West, North and East Rivers. It is the largest city in Hua'nan (ie Guangdong and Guangxi), and the province's political, economic, cultural and communications centre. It is a multipurpose industrial city; ivory carvings and sandalwood fans are the famous handicrafts products. Guangzhou was China's earliest foreign trading city; by the Qin and Han it was one of the foreign trading ports of South China (ie south of the Yangtze). From 1957, every year in the spring and autumn it has hosted the China Export Commodities Trade Fair. Its outport, Huangpu, is the largest seaport south of the Yangtze and the recently constructed Huangpu Newport is in operation. Oceangoing services go to all the continents. The Baiyunshan Scenic Reserve behind Guangzhou overlooks the Pearl River to the south; it is green with trees and verdant year-round, and the scenery is beautiful. There are many historic sites; the main ones are Guangxiao Temple, the site of Sanyuanlipingyingtuan, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, the former Guangzhou Peasants' Movement Institute, the Huanghuagang 72 Martyrs Park, the former All-China Federation of Trade Unions, the Guangzhou Uprising Martyrs Park, Yuexiu Park, Zhenhai Pavilion (commonly known as Wuceng Pavilion). Guangzhou is also a major entry point for China's tourism enterprise, there are direct plane, train and hovercraft services to Hong Kong.

    Shantou City: Situated on the Chaozhou-Shantou Plain, it is the gateway between east Guangdong and south-west Fujian; the well-known industries are canned foodstuffs and light-sensitive chemical materials for photography. As for scenic spots, it has the Queshi Scenic Area.

    Foshan City: Situated southwest of Guangzhou, it is one of Chinese history's Four Famous Towns. It is the province's silk fabrics industry centre. Its famous products are gambiered Guangdong gauze and Shiwan's art ceramics. It has the Zumiao temple scenic spot.

    Zhanjiang City: Situated in the northeast of the Leizhou Peninsula, it is the economic centre of west Guangdong. Zhanjiang port is a port designed and built after Liberation, and it has now become one of China's famous foreign-trading ports. The main industries are agricultural and port production services.

    Haikou City: Situated in the north of Hainan Island, at the mouth of the Nandu River. It is the Hainan Administrative Area's political, economic, cultural and communications centre. The main industrial sectors are foodstuffs and rubber. As for handicrafts, it is known for coconut shell carving.

    Shaoguan City: Situated in the north of the province, at the confluence of the two source rivers of the North River; it is the communications hub between the three provinces Guangdong, Hu'nan and Jiangxi. It is north Guangdong's economic centre and a newly arisen industrial city.

    Xianggang (Hong Kong): Situated outside the mouth of the Pearl River on the eastern side, it is a world navigation hub, and it also guards the gateway to our country's Huanan region (ie Guangdong and Guangxi). It comprises two parts: Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon (Jiulong) Peninsula. It has an area of 1011 square kilometres and a population of approximately 5 million (1979); the vast majority of the population are Chinese compatriots. In 1842 after the Opium War, the British imperialists first seized Hong Kong Island, in 1860 they seized the Tsimshatsui (Jianshazui) area at the southern end of the Kowloon Peninsula, and in 1898 they forced a leasehold in the area of the peninsula south of the Shenzhen River. The city proper is on the north of Hong Kong Island and the south of the Kowloon Peninsula; in between there is a deep-water harbour which now has navigation lines connecting with major river and seaports within China. Hong Kong's industry and commerce is advanced, and sightseeing is also thriving; a tourist city replicating the form of Northern Song capital Bianjing (Kaifeng) has been built - Songcheng.

    Aomen (Macao): Situated on a peninsula at the southern end of the Pearl River delta, it takes in the two small islands nearby, Dangzi and Jiu'ao. It is 16 square kilometres in area and has a population of 300,000 (1979). Classed as the former Xiangshan County (now Zhuhai City). In the sixteenth century, the Portuguese colonialists, on the pretext of drying off soaked cargo in the sun, forced their way onto the shore and seized it. The tourism enterprise is advanced.

    The Pearl River Delta

    Situated in the vicinity of the Pearl River mouth. Broadly speaking the Pearl River Delta has its three apexes at Qingyuan on the North River, Gaoyao on the West River and Huizhou on the East River. Its main body in general terms extends between Sanshui, Shilong and Yamen. What is generally referred to as the Pearl River Delta has an area of 11,000 square kilometres, takes in the area roughly lying inside a line between Xinhui, Gaohe, Sanshui, Zengcheng, Dongguan and Shenzhen, and is a place which is densely populated, richly endowed in products and economically advanced.

    The Pearl River Delta was originally an ancient gulf with many islands; the gulf's west, north and east were surrounded by the broken line of the mountains and hills of Gudou Mountain, Luofu Mountain, and Jilong Mountain. Due to the continual packing-in and accumulation of river-borne silt from the West, North and East Rivers in the gulf, it gradually became a delta plain, and some of the islands became the mountains scattered here and there on the plain, for example Xiqiao Mountain. Today the front edge of the delta is still pushing out into the ocean at an average rate of 10-15 metres per year. However the gulf has not been completely blocked up yet, and the Pearl River mouth still has a slightly funnel-shaped form. Taking from the Pearl River mouth to Shiziyang as the boundary, the whole Pearl River Delta can roughly be divided into the West and North River Delta in the west, and the East River Delta in the east. The West and North River Delta is quite extensive in area; the north has tablelands at 20-25 metres or 45-55 metres above sea level spread over it, while the south has mountains dotted about. Even though the East River delta is smaller in area, it is level and open; it is a typical delta plain. Outside the Pearl River mouth is one of China's coastal regions with many islands; the well-known ones are Hong Kong Island, the Wanshan Archipelago, and Lingding Island.

    The Pearl River Delta is at the southern edge of the subtropics; the special attributes of its climate and natural scenes are "frost-free in the depths of winter, flowers year-round"; the weather is warm and there is plenty of rain, so when severe cold waves pass through, the temperature seldom drops below 0°C. From May to July in the season when the rain is concentrated it is prone to floods.

    On the delta, the river system is very complicated and the river courses are numerous; there are eight major places where the Pearl River lower reaches enters the sea: Humen, Hengmen, Modaomen, Yamen and so on. The dense network of rivers, rivulets, lakes and ponds on the plain provide favourable conditions for the development of the water transport network, however tidal flows from a lower to a higher place have a major effect on farmland irrigation, and make the nearby land 'reverse saline'.

    For a long time, the working people here have made use of the relatively good natural conditions to develop agricultural production; transforming the flood-prone low-lying farmland by digging ponds and building dykes, raising fish in the ponds and growing mulberries, sugarcane and fruit-trees on the dykes, using the pond sludge as fertiliser and using the silkworm droppings and sugarcane leaves as fish-feed. Pond and dyke each feeding the other, this scientific 'mulberry dyke-fishpond, sugarcane dyke-fishpond, fruit tree dyke-fishpond' way of farming became a special characteristic of the region's agricultural production. The Pearl River Delta abounds in rice, sugar cane, silkworms, roundpod jute, and many varieties of fruit, and flowers and trees. The crop which has developed the fastest here is sugarcane, which is grown in the greatest quantity around Shunde. The delta has now become one of China's most important sugarcane growing bases. The history of silkworm production is quite old; it is one of China's three great silkworm production bases, and as many as 8-9 crops of silkworm cocoons can be raised per year. Roundpod jute production is concentrated in the East River Delta paddy region; Chinese fan palm and mat grass are major sideline industries, with Xinhui's palm-leaf fans and Dongguan's straw mats being famous local specialties. The major livestock industries are live pigs and poultry, an important sideline industry in the countryside. Coastal fishing and aquaculture are also significant.

    The main industrial sectors are those which are closely connected to agricultural and side-line production: sugar-refining, silk, foodstuffs and paper-making; it is one of the national cane-sugar production bases. After 1958, one after the other, the iron and steel, machinery, chemicals, building materials and shipbuilding industries developed, and in recent years agricultural machinery has developed especially rapidly.

    The Pearl River Delta is the hub zone of Guangdong's water transport; here the great majority of cities, towns and villages can all link up via river courses, roads, sea and rail, with inland waterways shipping the most important. Apart from this, Guangzhou's civil aviation services link to places within China and abroad.


    The South Sea Islands

    The general name for China's many small islands in the South China Sea. These islands are scattered here and there on the wide ocean to the east and south of Hainan Island; they are usually divided into four island groups, the Dongsha Islands, the Xisha Islands, the Zhongsha Islands and the Nansha Islands and there is also Huangyan Island lying south-east of the Zhongsha Islands. The South China Sea islands are rich in tropical resources and are of major significance to communications, national defence, and the exploitation of marine resources. The coastal fishermen of Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian have been coming here for long generations to catch fish for a living; they have lived here at irregular intervals and put up temples and beacons on some of the islands.

    The Dongsha Islands are the northernmost island reef in the South Sea Islands; they are situated on the sea approximately 260 kilometres south of Shantou City and comprise Dongsha Island and several hidden shoals. The eastern half of the Dongsha Island atoll rises above the water surface; it is shaped like a new moon, and the fisherfolk call it Crescent Moon Island and Moon-pond Island. The lagoon in the middle of the atoll has waterways opening to the sea at the north and south. This is where, very early on, the working people of China built housing and temples and set up beacons and weather stations.

    The Xisha Islands are situated on the sea 300-odd kilometres south-east of Hainan Island; their ancient name is 'Qizhouyang' ['Seven Islets Sea']. There are several dozen islands altogether divided into two groups, the north-east and the south-west. The north-eastern part is the Xuande group, with seven relatively large islands including Yongxing Island and Shidao island. Yongxing Island is almost 2 square kilometres in area and is the largest of the South Sea Islands. The south-western part is the Yongle group, with eight relatively large islands including Shanhu Island, Ganquan Island and Zhongjian Island.

    The Zhongsha Islands are located approximately 100 kilometres south-east of the Xisha Islands; they are comprised entirely of coral reefs hidden below the surface at an average depth of 20 metres.

    The Nansha Islands is the southernmost, most extensive of the South Sea Island clusters, with the largest number of islands and reefs. According to their differences in location, they can be divided into several groups including the Zhenghe Group and the Yiqing Group. Among these, Taiping Island, Nanwei Island, Zhongye Island and Mahuan Island are the relatively major islands. The Zhenghe group in the north is the largest atoll in the South China Sea; the water in its central lagoon is approximately 10 metres deep with relatively calm seas. It is a good fishing ground. Taiping Island in the northwest corner of the Zhenghe Group is the largest island in the Nansha Islands. Nanwei Island is situated at a latitude south of the 10° north parallel; it is very small in area and elevation, but because it has a sheltered deepwater shipping lane, its communications status is extremely important. The Zengmu Reef in the extreme south of the Nansha Islands is China's southernmost point.

    The relief of the various islands is very low; they are generally at 4-5 metres above sea level. Shidao island at 15 metres above sea level is the highest of the South Sea Islands. As for the form of the islands, normally the periphery is in an uneven ring or oval shape, and the relief takes on a slightly higher at the periphery lower in the centre shallow-dish shape. Surrounding the islands beyond the lagoons there are often reefs and shoals. Underwater near the islands and shoals and formed from the accumulated remains of coral polyps there are colourful coral reefs; set off by the dark blue water they form wonderful scenes.

    The South Sea Islands are on the ocean in the tropics and the temperatures are high but without intense heat; in February, the coolest month, the average temperature is still 22.9°C, while in August, the hottest month, the average temperature is a mere 29.5°C. The rainfall is high and its seasonal distribution is relatively even. For this reason, this is one of the regions of China with the most favourable water and heat conditions.

    The natural resources of the South Sea Islands region are extremely plentiful. The sea has many types of aquatic products and rich sea floor mineral reserves; on the various islands tropical plants grow thickly with the most common tree being the tall pisonia (Pisonia grandis); the small islands are an important place for the birds of the wide South China Sea to live on. They are rich in guano and Yongxing Island is well-known for guano-production. Agar can be extracted from the eucheuma marine algae of the Xisha Islands; it has great potential for development. The Dongsha Islands produce the world-famous Digenea simplex seaweed; a roundworm treatment suitable for small children can be extracted from this plant.

    The people of China started to use the natural resources here a long time ago; Song Dynasty annals have records of China's coastal fishermen coming here to catch fish. After Liberation, a series of scientific investigations and developments were conducted, and traces of China's people of ancient times lives on the islands were also discovered, such as water wells, ancient Northern Song coins, and Qing Dynasty porcelain.

    Today some of the relatively large islands now have settled fisherfolk living on them; new housing developments have been built and economic construction is flourishing. The Xisha Islands and the sea in their vicinity are tropical fishing grounds rich in aquatic products; each year from the first spring month to mid-autumn is the fishing season here. Every fishing season the fishing boats gather; the products include famous valuable products such as green turtle, hawksbill turtle, lobster and large sea cucumber (Thelenota ananas). Large green turtles can weigh as much as several hundred jin; both the flesh and the eggs can be eaten, and the shell can be used to make turtle glue, a precious medicinal material. The hawksbill turtle is similar to the green turtle; the colour of the shell is as beautiful as jade, and it is a good material for making picture frames and rims for spectacles. The Nansha and Dongsha islands are also places where China's fishermen set their nets. Guano is a high-quality natural fertiliser for improving red soils, and its exploitation is now being organised. On the islands tropical crops such as coconuts, bananas, papayas and pineapples are also grown, as well as many kinds of melons and fruits. Today a passenger-cargo steamer service has been opened up between the ports of Yongxinggang and Hainan Island's Qinglan'gang, and there is an irregular plane service.

    The South China Sea acts as the shipping centre between the Pacific and Indian Oceans and between the continents of Asia and Australia, and it is also China's link for contacts with the various countries of South-east Asia. It is one of the world's busiest maritime shipping regions. For the convenience of international shipping, China has put up lighthouses, beacons and other shipping markers on the island reefs of Langhuajiao and Beijiao.

    Translated from: Cartographical Publishing House, China Atlas, Cartographical Publishing House, Beijing, 1981

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