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Danwei Picks
Touring China with the guqinPosted by Joel Martinsen, June 2, 2008 4:23 PM
Danwei Picks is a daily digest of the "From the Web" links found on the Danwei homepage. A feed for the links as they are posted throughout the day is available at Feedsky (in China) or Feedburner (outside China). ![]() John Thompson on the guqin in Laoshan Music that Marco Polo listened to: John Thompson, an internationally-acclaimed performer of the seven-stringed zither (guqin), and the Estonian early music group Fa Schola were in China last month. Thompson is well known for his historically-informed performances. The music performed reconstruct melodies 'that Marco Polo might have heard during his travels.'
The Chinese government has instructed domestic media outlets to rein in coverage of the schools that collapsed during last month's devastating earthquake in Sichuan province, journalists familiar with the directive have told the Financial Times.
A case of apparent looting of disaster relief materials on the highway was solved by Internet users, a policeman and a newspaper reporter.
From Sunday on, all Chinese retailers, including supermarkets, department stores and grocery stores, would no longer provide free plastic shopping bags. China will try to reduce the use of plastic bags in a bid to reduce energy consumption and polluting emissions.
I do this for two reasons. First, it happens to be true, and I'm not going to pretend otherwise. Secondly, I want to demystify China and make it more approachable for everyone. For too long, individuals who have studied China and have devoted the considerable amount of time it takes to learn the language have tended to make the country seem so mysterious, so complicated and so difficult, that it becomes an impediment for any person or company that wants to do business here. |
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+ People: Chen Daming, director (2004.06): Chen's own life story could be rich material for a feature film. After being rusticated from the Henan Opera School, he was forced to move away from Kaifeng to look for work. The Film Academy is the most prestigious film school in China, counting the directors Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige among its alumni, and competition for place to study there is fierce. Chen Daming came to Beijing for an audition, and was accepted after three auditions. + Mo Luo: Turning enemies into people (2009.06): Mo Luo, an essayist and poet, writes about dehumanizing the enemy. + Skirting the law in China's private enterprise reform (2006.05): An essay by Wu Xiaobo (吴晓波), 'Reform Begins with Transgression' (改革从违法开始), about how early Chinese private enterprise dealt with a vague legal framework.
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Comments on Touring China with the guqin
the white guy SINGS too!
2009 update: I will be performing again in Beijing on July 18th - see
John Thompson website