This is the story of the brave women of the Yang Family who fought for the Northern Song Dynasty against the army of the King of Xixia. During this time, the General in charge of guarding the border, Marshal Yang Zongbao of the Yang Family, was killed when King Xixia invaded. Zongbao’s widowed One-hundred year old grandmother, She Taijun, hears this news while trying to plan his 50th birthday party and immediately goes to Emperor Renzong to demand to lead troops into battle. She convinces the Emperor to let her lead along with her grandson, Yang Wenguang and her granddaughter-in-laws who have held grudges for a long time against Renzong. In the end, the Yang Family defeats the King of Xixia and his army and save the Song Dynasty. The Song …show more content…
The first general who was killed was the fearless Yang Ye, nicknamed “The Peerless Yang”, who died after he got abandoned and captured by the enemy and left to starve. Yang Yanshao, one of Yang Ye’s eight sons, was another famous family member who died for his country. It was said that, “Even the Khitans, who saw Yang Yanzhao as their biggest enemy, respectfully compared him to Mizar, the sixth star of the Big Dipper, and reverently called him “Yang the …show more content…
Wenchang, also named the civil division, goes with the singing which has two sets of tunes depending on the mood of the scene. For example, if it was a happy or angry scene, they would use the set xipi or if it was a sad scene, they would use the second set called erhuang. Wuchang, also called the military division, play when there is a lot of physical movement like a battle or a dance scene. Face Paint and Costumes One of the most beautiful parts of the Peking Opera shows is the Makeup and costumes that each character wears. Each type of character has their own unique style and each one shows the role of the character. The roles of the “Sheng” and “Dan” have a makeup style called Junban, or the ‘beautiful makeup’. The “Jing” and “Chou” characters have a makeup style called Lianpu, or the ‘mask-like facial makeup’. Since there are different types of Jing, people can tell which one it is by the facial features and also the color of the makeup. • Uprightness and loyalty is shown with the color Red • Rough and forthright characters are shown with a lot of Black • The color Blue shows bravery and
Liang's main interests consist of movies, stories, tap-dancing, and imitating Shirley Temple. Wong-Suk buys her expensive, beautiful ribbon one day for her second hand tap shoes and Poh-Poh helps her tie them into fancy flowers. -- This is where we learn a bunch about Poh-Poh's childhood. She was born in China and so it was already too bad that she had be born a girl child. But further more she was sort of disfigured. Her forehead was sloppy and mis-shapen and immediately everyone told her mother she was the ugliest baby ever. Her mother sold her to a wealthy family; where she was a servant. The concubine would beat her and their other servants with a rod-- as if they were oxen. Poh-Poh had to learn to do things quickly and flawlessly or she would be beaten. Her fingers would bleed because she was practicing tying these intricet(abc?) patterns. She of course grew out of her 'deformity' and was quite a pretty lady.
Hung Liu is successful in creating a juxtaposing image that tells a story about the many aspects of her Chinese origins. According to the painting, not all life in China is surrounded by beauty and elegance, like many believe it to be based on the traditional historical customs. Liu makes her point using a brilliant yet subtle progression, moving from the ideal to reality. Making use of the various principles and elements of art in her work creates a careful visual composition that benefit and support the painting’s achievements as a whole. This oil painting, being approximately 13 years old now, will hold a special place in Chinese history for the rest of its existence. The ideas Hung Liu portrays in Interregnum may help reform a social movement in the country by making her viewers socially aware of the cruel conditions the Chinese are facing under Communist rule, and this is all made possible through the assimilation of the principles and
The beginning of the book starts out with Liang’s typical life, which seems normal, he has a family which consist of three children, two older sisters and him the youngest, his two sister’s reside in Changsha 1 his father has an everyday occupation working as a journalist at a local newspaper. Things start to take a turn early in life for Liang Heng, his families politics were always questioned, the mistake mad...
In Pa Chin's Family, he portrays a traditional Confucian family battling to keep their traditions and their way of life in tact, amidst the deep upheaval and civil disorder gripping China. Pa Chin clearly portrays a family of which the Venerable Master Kao rules supreme at the expense of his family. The Kao family runs into several set backs such as suicide, death, depression, unhappy marriages, family conflict, and lack of respect for elders that undoubtedly lead to the unraveling of the Kao family. One significant reason the Kao family fails to maintain its integrity and way of life is because of the clash between Confusion traditionalism and Chinese cultural modernization. One of the main driving forces in disruption in Kao family tradition would have to be the rebellious youth, Chueh-min, Chueh-hui, and Chin in particular.
Wu Xia or Wuxia – a type of Chinese story utilizing martial arts of ancient China which showcases heroism (Dictionary)
In the beginning half of the 20th century, China experienced an intellectual revolution, known as the May Fourth Movement. Among other things, May Fourth thinkers were passionate about women’s rights, and fought for equality between the sexes. Like in any school of thought, ideas about women and their roles evolved over time. In 1925, Lu Xun wrote “Regret for the Past”, a story about Shih Chuan-Sheng and Tzu-chun, a modern couple whose relationship falls apart. Ten years later, in 1935, the film “New Woman” was released. The film follows Wei Ming, a music teacher whose life begins to crumble due to the machinations of a lecherous businessman. Both Tzu-chun and Wei Ming represent a version of the “modern woman, but their similarities and differences illustrate how the idea of the modern woman changed and stayed the same over time.
But her beauty lies in her strength, for her bright smile, and strong eyes are what stay the same between Mulan and Ping, her disguised identity as a solider. She is drawn slender with fair skin, round face, rosy cheeks, pink lips, and long straight black hair with a strand in the middle of her forehead. Throughout her films (Mulan (1998), Mulan II (2001)), Mulan wore a range of outfits, from beautiful Hanfus (Chinese dresses) to her soldier's getup, though her most notable outfit is a simple Hanfu, which consisted of a creamy green-yellow dress, with blue over shirt, which has green sleeves, and a red band around her waist. She also sports kung fu styled soldier's outfit, as well as her pink matchmaker's Hanfu and her father's armor (“Mulan” 1). In the film, except to go to the matchmaker, Mulan does not to wear any makeup or anything to beautify her appearance but, even without anything to enhance her looks, Mulan is naturally beautiful
FitzGerald, Charles Patrick. "Wuhou (empress of Tang Dynasty)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/649822/Wuhou.
In the beginning paragraphs of Mrs. Spring Fragrance, Sui Sin Far introduces readers to the Chin Yeuns and their beautiful 18-year-old daughter, Mai Fwi Fan, who goes by her American name, Laura. Sui Sin Far describes the Chin Yeuns as living “in a house furnished in American style, and wore American clothes, yet they religiously observed many Chinese customs, and their ideals of life were the ideals of their Chinese forefathers” (865). Abiding by Chinese tradition, Laura’s parents have “betrothed their daughter” (865) to the son of the Chinese Government school-teacher. Laura confesses to Mrs. Spring Fragrance that she is actually in love with Kai Tzu. Mrs. Spring Fragrance is the only person who knows about the relationship between Laura and Kai Tzu. Unfortunately, for Laura, her betrothal is quickly approaching. Mrs. Spring Fragrance, trying to cheer up her young friend, quotes the famous l...
recover these lands so they were forced to make peace with the Khitans and the
The protagonist of the story is Jing-mei. She is a flat character who turns out to be dynamic. Throughout her life, she has been very stubborn about accepting her identity. An example of this is when she explains, "I was 15 and had a vigorously denied that I had any Chinese whatsoever under my skin" (857). She shows her dynamic characteristic at the end of the story when she finally does accept her heritage.
The story of Princess Huo’s daughter is a story about a man by the name of Li Yi. Li Yi was from a good family and showed brilliant promise. Even senior scholars admired him. At the age of twenty-one, he hoped for a beautiful and accomplished wife. In Chang’an Li asked a matchmaker by the name of Bao to find him a wife. Li gave her expensive gifts and she was very well inclined to him. One afternoon, some months after talking to Bao Li was sitting in the south pavilion of his lodgings when he heard continuous knocking. Bao entered and Li asked her “What brings you here so unexpectedly, madam”. Boa had found Li a perfect match for a wife, and with the good news Li was ecstatic and leaped for joy. Saying “I shall be your slave as long as I live!” Bao informed him that she was the youngest daughter of prince Huo. Her name is Jade, her mother was the prince’s favorite slave. When the prince died, his sons refused to keep the child, so they gave her a piece of wealth and made her leave. She changed her name, and the people do not know the prince was her father. She is the most beautiful...
When the emperor sent out a request to send the men in China to war, Mulan was scared. Her father was one of the many men summoned to fight....
The performances included opera-styled singing with intricate hand gestures. I used to think that the Chinese theater performances my grandparents watched on TV were too over-the-top and unnatural, but after reading about the history and meanings behind Chinese theater, I’ve developed a new perspective on the style and have come to admire the beauty of cultural differences in theatrical arts. Chinese theater’s “traditional performance” features a synthesis of poetry, singing, and dancing. In present day, “traditional performance” has undergone an improvement toward what can be termed “characterization performance,” which emphasizes the performer’s internal experience of the character played and the artistically truthful portrayal of feelings and thoughts (cite). Different cultures contribute to the varying theater styles. For example, “chinese playgoers are familiar with the stories, characters, and conventions...the objective of the Chinese performer is to meet the high expectations of the playgoers” (cite). Thus, Chinese performers are more conscious of ensuring that their gestures and body movements appear aesthetically beautiful to satisfy their audiences’ expectations. The knowledge of the diverse approaches of theater in different regions is significant for respecting a theater piece, because theater from different cultures than one’s own should be evaluated and appreciated with the viewpoint of that
Peking Opera is said to be a live “encyclopedia of Chinese Culture” (Wertz). Because of this, and many other highly regarded qualities, China has made the Peking opera it’s “national opera” (Wertz). The Beijing Opera is such an important part of Chinese culture that “Beijing Opera Month” has been declared (Wertz).