What happens when you mesh up American style rap with an opera written roughly 500 years ago? This song, "在梅边" ("Beside the Plum Blossom") by 王力宏 (Wang LiHong) draws inspiration from 牡丹亭 (The Peony Pavilion), a play written by Tang Xianzu during the Ming Dynasty(1368 to 1644) using the 昆曲 (Kunqu) style opera and music. … [Read more...] about 在梅边 (Beside the Plum Blossom) by 王力宏 (Wang LiHong)
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【每日歌曲】中华大家庭 (the Big Chinese Family)
China has 56 ethnic groups. They include Russians, Mongols, Uyghurs, Koreans, and many others. Here is a modern Chinese take on all of them: 中华大家庭 (the Big Chinese Family). The lyrics actually enumerate the groups individually. … [Read more...] about 【每日歌曲】中华大家庭 (the Big Chinese Family)
毛阿敏 (Mao AMin), 渴望 (”Yearning”), yearning for a better future
For the last two centuries, the Chinese psyche has been defined in large part by the humiliations and sufferings brought about by foreigners (see the Opium War, the Second Opium War, and the Nanjing Massacre). After the founding of the current Peoples Republic of China, it was the disastrous policies of the Cultural Revolution and the Great Leap Forward which furthered that … [Read more...] about 毛阿敏 (Mao AMin), 渴望 (”Yearning”), yearning for a better future
“Father’s Prairie, Mother’s River” – the feelings of one billion people on the move
Everyone knows China is going through an industrial revolution right now. In developed countries such as the U.S., this took place in the late 19th century. The ratio between the number of rural and urban residents basically swapped because industrialization freed the bulk of the population from having to work in the fields to produce food for all. This phenomenon is … [Read more...] about “Father’s Prairie, Mother’s River” – the feelings of one billion people on the move
Who Holds the Family Purse in China?
Despite great strides made over gender equality in the last 60 years, there are still a lot China can do as a nation to promote greater equality and promote the livelihoods of women - especially in the rural areas. But in the city at least, the power dynamics between men and women seems to be changing - at least on a family per family basis. Here is an entertaining video from … [Read more...] about Who Holds the Family Purse in China?