Tag: Teaching

Drunken Tai Chi笑太极(1984)

Today, we are going to talk about a 1984 movie named Drunken Tai Chi (笑太极xiào tàijí),which is Yen’s first starring role after his discovery by Yuen Wo-ping. It is perhaps the last traditional martial arts movie made in Hong Kong, both a period piece and a comedy. Yen plays Chin Do, an orphan taken in by a puppeteer/drunken Tai Chi master and his savvy wife after the deaths of his father and brother. Before their deaths, the father favors his younger son over the elder while the big brother willingly sacrifices for Chin Do. Actually, the son of a wealthy villager throws his weight around and challenges Chin Do; Chin Do and his brother turn the tables on him by setting off the firecrackers he’d intended to use against them. The poor sap goes crazy as a result, and his powerful father hires an assassin, Killer Bird, to take revenge. Meantime Chin Do befriends the child of the assassin, even foiling a kidnapping attempt. It’s only a matter of time before Chin Do discovers that his father and brother have been viciously murdered. He’s puzzled when he too is hunted down by the assassin. The drunken Tai Chi master and his wife refine Chin Do’s martial arts skills, and part of the narrative follows his exact training. Finally, Killer Bird makes his way to the cottage where Chin Do’s surrogate family resides, and the ultimate showdown occurs. In the end, Chin Do returns to care for the orphaned child of the assassin. 

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The Shaolin Temple

Produced by Sir Run Run Shaw
Directed by Chang Cheh
Starring David Chiang
Ti Lung
Fu Sheng
Wang Lung Wei
Kuo Chui
Music by Chen Yung Yu
Distributed by Shaw Brothers Studio
Running time 116 min.

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Tibetans

Like Mongolia, Tibet was the center of a vast empire. Beginning in the seventh century, Tibetan armies moved north, east, and west from the area around the Yalu River in the region near present-day Lhasa. Within a few decades, they had conquered much of central Asia, including the important routes through Xinjiang used by China to trade with Western neighbors. In the eighth century the Tibetan Empire was the most feared political power in Asia. For a short period in 755, Tibetans even captured Chang'an, then the capital of China, chasing the Chinese emperor and his court from the city. Internal disputes eventually divided the Tibetan Empire, and the court's authority gave way to local leaders. However, there are lasting legacies of this imperial period. One is language. In modern China there are three dialect groups, all closely related to one another and descended from the language of the empire's armies. The first is Central Tibetan, spoken around Lhasa, in an area now called the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR). The second is Khams, spoken east of the TAR in Sichuan, Yunnan, and in some parts of Qinghai. The third dialect group is Amdo, spoken north of the TAR, in Qinghai, Sichuan, and Gansu provinces. Tibetan languages are also spoken in Nepal, Bhutan, and India. All of these linguistic varieties use the same written language, which is based on an alphabet invented in Tibet during the reign of Srong bstan Sgam po (627-650).

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The Naxi

There are fewer than 300,000 Naxi people, most living in Yunnan province in China's southwest. Unlike the Mongols, Tibetans, and Manchus, the Naxi were never a political force of international importance. From the eleventh to thirteenth centuries, they were a regionally dominant people. However, when the Mongol armies arrived in 1253, the Naxi were quick to submit to their authority. From that time onward, they ruled southwest China on behalf of whatever imperial dynasty was in power in Beijing, from the Yuan dynasty, through the Ming and Qing dynasties.

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Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon卧虎藏龙

Today let's take a brief introduction of a famous Chinese movie named "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a Chinese-language film in the wuxia martial arts style, released in 2000. A China-Hong Kong-Taiwan-United States co-production, the film was directed by Ang Lee and featured an international cast of ethnic Chinese actors, including Chow Yun-fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi and Chang Chen. The movie was based on the fourth novel in a pentalogy, known in China as the Crane-Iron Pentalogy, by wuxia novelist Wang Dulu. The martial arts and action sequences were choreographed by Yuen Wo Ping, well known for his work in The Matrix and other films.

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The famous Chinese Confucius Proverbs

Since it comes to Chinese proverbs (中国谚语Zhōngguó yànyǔ), Confucius quotes(孔子语录Kǒngzǐ yǔlù) tend to be the most entertaining and enlightening. To learn great proverbs better, record them and play the recording once in a while(now and then or here and there). By this you may rise to make much better use of them, or the sensible wisdom or life knowledge, The following is a collection of proverbs attributed to Confucius and Confucius disciples.

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Master Meng Ke

Master Meng was an adherent of the Confucian tradition transmitted by Zisi 子思 (Kong Ji 孔伋), a grand-son of Confucius(Kongzi 孔子), and lived in the mid-4th century BCE (the dates range from 385-304 to 372-289), during the Warring States period 战国 (5th cent.-221 BCE). Mengzi, courtesy name Ziyu 子舆 or Ziju 子居, hailed from the small state of Zou 邹 (modern Zouxian 邹县, Shandong). His father died when he was still a child. Mengzi's mother (called "Meng Mu" 孟母) is traditionally venerated as an example of excellent virtue. She moved their home three times to live in a better neighbourhood, and it was herself who taught the young Meng Ke the first lessons of virtual behaviour. Mengzi traveled from court to court and served the rulers of the states of Qi 齐 and Wei 魏, and those of the smaller states of Teng 滕, Xue 薛, and Song 宋. In Wei 魏 (at that time called Liang 梁) he served King Hui 梁惠王 (r. 379-335). Unfortunately most lords appreciated the teachings of thelegalist or military advisers, who suggested strengthening the state by a powerful central government, while Mengzi's teachings of a benevolent and human government seemed too theoretical for them. He was at least able to gain the confidence of the kings Hui of Liang and Xuan of Qi 齐宣王 (r. 342-324) for some time.

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Cheese and Aubergines

I moved to China 4 months ago today. It has been, without a shadow of a doubt, one of themost invigorating and sensational roller coaster rides of my life, and i still have two months togo.
I'm 22 years old, and came to China for the same stereotypical reasons most people my agedo. They get the travel bug, they want to 'see the world' and 'expand their minds'. I was nodifferent. I wanted to be one of those cool guys I saw when I was younger, arriving home after astint of travelling, stubble on their face, wisdom in their eyes and an aura of accomplishmentsurrounding them. Add to this my yearning curiosity about China and Hey Presto, here I am -currently teaching Oral English down in Guangdong, I earn 2000 RMB a month and live with asquadron of other foreign teachers from all over the world, aged between 19 and 33.
China has not been the expected. I was unaware, before I came, of the level of ongoingdevelopment within the country. High rise building, flat screen televisions, well equipped classrooms, comfortable (to some extent) living conditions. I found myself pleasantly surprised. I wasprepared for the beastly and the basic. Mud huts, camp fires and the occasional swarm ofmammoths or something. Life in Dongguan, Houjie town is practically cloud 9 in comparison tomy minds eye before I left sunny old England behind in January. The living conditions werebearable. I could cope with cockroaches, with having to fetch my own water, with a rock solidmattress and a squat toilet. The one thing I couldn't live with, was the staring.
You receive a phenomenal amount of attention as a westerner almost everywhere in China, somuch so that to the reclusive and quiet personality, it can be a little overwhelming. Blue eyes,blonde hair, big noses and hairy arms are some of the things my kids find particularly hypnotic.I felt like a continual outsider when I fist arrived. People didn't make a lot of effort to makethemselves understood, I was overly and repeatedly warned about theft, my apartment was apig sty and I felt, essentially, alone. A feeling aided in no small part by the intensive, unrelentingand perpetual staring, kindly provided by every single person in a 20 meter radius.
But time makes all things easier. Eventually, like everyone else, I came to abide the stares,even indulge in them at times. I saw the funny side of the language barrier, tasted the chickensfeet and sang at KTV. I submitted to the flow of Chinese culture and haven't looked back since,but it wasn't until today I realized how intrinsically similar it is to my own.
When the Chinese take a photograph they will not say 'Cheese!' like we do back home. Insteadthey say, with total conviction and sincerity on their smiling faces, the wonderful word – 'Aubergine!"
Amused at first, it dawned on me that I had no reason to be judgmental. Where I am from theysay cheese! Cheese? ?Cheese?? Why on earth say anything at all, why not just count to 3 andbe done with it? Why, as human beings, do we feel the need to yell a non-specific food whensomeone takes a photo of us? Do me a favor and google it, send your response tosamharman1989@hotmail.com.
I always thought 'You have to be crazy to live in China for 6 months'. Today I asked myselfwhy? Perhaps it's because of the tenable sanity of my co-workers, but I don't think that's thereason. China is home to one of the oldest and most profound cultures in the world, and has avery, VERY large number of inhabitants. They can't all be mad.
China is globally known as a country of contrasts. Of vividness and resounding humanity. It is inthis country that I have witnessed some of the most heart wrenchingly beautiful and disturbinglybizarre scenes that the human race can offer, and as extreme as these moments have been,the core of them, their motivation is as clear to me as crystal. Love, hunger, hatred, jealousy,compassion, curiosity, lust, pride, bravery…..I could write for weeks and not finish this list. Weall share a modus operandi for life, no matter where we're from or where we go, we are pushedand pulled by the current of our emotions, by our fragile and fickle hearts.
The definition of insanity is to repeat the same action a number of times and expect differentresults. Isn't that what we all do everyday when we wake up? When we get out of bed andpledge ourselves to our daily routines? Aren't we all, to some degree, a little bit crazy? It's myconclusion that you have to be, not just to live in China, but to live in this world. This worldwhere we shout random foods at a camera when we see a flash.
At least we're all shouting words from the same category, so, in the end, how different can wereally be? We may all be a bit crazy, but at least we're crazy together! So, instead of graspingonto your own culture, take a break. Let go and allow the culture of another country to embraceyou, and you may be surprised at the amount of similarities you find, just like I was thisafternoon in sunny, southern China.
(The author is an oral English teacher in Guangdong. )

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