Chinese Art

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Berkshire Encyclopedia of China book cover

Kuaiban (Clapper Story-telling)
	There are many forms of story-telling. Telling a story in rhythem with the help of a pair of bamboo clappers. See a sample of the art presented by Dr. Jan Walls, a scholar and diplomat from Canada.
	Related sites:
	A lecture and demon on kuaiban by famous kuaiban artist Liang Houmin. A kuaiban performance in action.
Chinese Traditional Folk Arts and Crafts
	A commercial site that introduces some of the Chinese traditional arts and crafts such as embroidery, knots and dolls.
	Related sites:
	Chinese Embroidery (article from Wikipedia) Chinese Handicrafts Online (comprehensive but in Chinese) If you would like to try your hands on creating some Chinese knots, visit this introduction to Chinese knotting, which includes, among others. A step-by-step instruction on creating an endless knot. How to Make a Flower Knot. Artifacts of Chinese Bai Ethnic Group Embroidered Hats of the Bai Brocade of the Li Clay Figures of Zhang (Some photos) Chinese Kites (a lesson plan and a factory) Tiger shoes
Chinese Papercutting
	This is an introduction to Chinese paper cutting available from Wikipedia
	Related sites:
	Chinese Papercuts, introduction and samples from a commercial site Paper-Cutting from TravelChinaGuide Papercutting pictures on Jason Yuan's Flickr profile
Music of China
	Related site:
	Samples of Chinese Music, a site featuring samples Chinese music. To display Chinese characters correctly, calibrate the character encoding of your browser to Chinese Simplified (GB2312).
A List of Traditioal Chinese Musical Instruments
	Related sites:
	Guzheng. Chinese Guzheng, a site by Lunlun Zou, provides a wealth of information about Guzheng, an ancient Chinese music instrument. Guzheng performance on YouTube. Erhu (Chinese violin). Demonstration on YouTube and Samples of traditional erhu music on National Geographic Pipa. Demonstration on YouTube. Ruan. Demonstration on YouTube. Dizi. Demonstration on YouTube. Suona. Demonstration on YouTube. A performance Sheng. Demonstration on YouTube. Drum (a TV instroduction). A performance on YouTube. A Traditional Chinese music ensamble.
Ethnic Chinese Music
	China has 56 officially recognized ethnic groups. Ethinc peoples other than the majority Han enjoy a rich history and variety of their own music tradtion.
	Related links:
	A List of Ethnic Chinese Musical Instruments Matouqin (horse-head fiddle, popular among Chinese Mongolians). Matouqin in action Hulusi (a bamboo flute popular among several Chinese minority ethnic groups such as Dai and Miao. A performance on YouTube. Bawu (a flute of some Chinese minority ethnic groups) Lusheng (favorite pipe instrument of Miao and Dong ethnic Chinese). A performance on YouTube. Tonggu (bronze drum, a favorite of Zhuang, Yi, Va and some other ethnic Chinese). Xiangjiaogu (elephant-foot drum, a drum of the Dai Chinese) Kouxian (Jew's harp of some ethnic Chinese). Demonstration on YouTube.
Jingju (Beijing Opera)
	Jing Ju (Beijing Opera) is a traditional performing art of China, consisting of art forms of music, singing, dancing, pantomime, wushu (kungfu), acrobat, painting, costume, and etc. Like Chinese paintings, its beauty lies between realism and imagination and the engagement of the audience. this site.
	Related links:
	Samples of Beijing Opera singing Roles in Beijing Opera Facial make up in Beijing Opera Watch an actress putting up her facial make up behind the scene An acrobatic performance of Monkey King in a Beijing opera performance Sanchakou (a famous Beijing Opera highlight depicting two warriors fighting in the "dark" with their dances).
Modern Chinese Drama (Hua Ju)
	Different from traditional Chinese opera, it portrays the lives of common folks in realistic rendation. Therefore, it is more dialogues and actions than singing and dancing.
	Related site:
	Definition from Britannica Encyclopedia Cao Yu, famed modern Chinese dramatist
Chinese Dance
	Each of the 56 ethnci groups of China has a unique dance tradition. Here is a brief history of Chinese dances.
	Related Site:
	A video clip of a Chinese dance Yunnan Yingxiang (Images of Yunnan), an ethnic Chinese dance ensamble led by famed dancer Yang Liping. Red-ribbon Dance Yangge Dance Tibetan Dance Lotus Dance Mongolian "Bowl on Head" Dance Korean Drum Dance Va Hair-tossing Dance Xinjiang Uyghur Dance A Dance of the Yi A Dance of the Miao Bamboo Pole Dance of the Li A Dance of the Bai
Lion Dance
	An introduction from Wikipedia.
	Related Links:
	A Lion Dance World Contest
Dragon Dance.
	Chinese have shown great belief and respect towards the dragon, and dragon dances are ways to express their reverage and good wishes so that dragons can bring them good luck.
	Related links:
	A dance show A video clip of fire dragon dance, a traditon special to Tongliang County, Sichuan Province, China
Chinese Movie Database
	It's a Chinese language movies and TV programmes database. This site has three versions, in Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, and English, covering production, cast and crew, awards and biographies, reviews, books and more.
	Comtemporary Film Teory in China (an article) Chinese Films in the 30s (Wikipedia) Chinese Screne Queens of the 50s and 60s Watch clips of Chinese films online
Chinese Teleplays
	A sketchy article from Wikipedia. Read this "Television in the People's Republic of China" article for more information.
	Related links:
	The Present Status of Screen Translation in China (an article) Watch Chinese teleplays online "A Plutonomic Analysis of the Significance, Production and Consumption of Teleplays from Contempory China" (an article in Chinese) Brief Introduction to Ethnic Chinese TV Programs (pp.18-19)
Chinese Garden
	This is an article from Wikipedia
	Chinese Garden from A Visual Sourcebook for Chinese Civilization The Chinese Garden of the Montréal Botanical Garden The New York Chinese Scholar's Garden Chinese Garden Design Philosophy Traditional Chinese Gardens (a nice YouTube clip) Photos of Chinese gardens of Yangzhou and Suzhou
Traditinoal Chinese Architecture
	This is an article from Wikipedia.
	Traditinoal Chinese Architecture Chinese Architecture (Learn about the terms ting, tai, lou, ge) Chinese modern architecture More about Chinese architecture
Chinese Calligraphy
	Chinese calligraphy is a form of art as well as a physical and mental exercise, the practice of which is believed to have a healing effect. As a matter of fact, quite a few calligraphers enjoyed longevity.
Chinese Paintings
	It is to be noted that classical Chinese paintings consist of the image itself and calligraphy in the form of a poem descibing it. It won't be complete with a seal, another form of the Chinese art. A commercial site that features a Chinese female artist whose works of art are fabulous.
The Chinese Tea Ceremony
	I know you are quite familiar with the Chinese tea. Here is a link that introduces you to the Chinese art of tea-drinking.

Chinese Arts, Music and Performing Art