What springs to mind when you think of kung fu, also known as wushu? Maybe the image of Shaolin monks striking fierce poses with a serious look in his eyes, or popular children’s movies like Kung Fu Panda.
Recently, Laurence J. Brahm, a documentary filmmaker from the United States, explored this question in Searching of Kung Fu. In the movie, Brahm travelled to cities in China and the US in search of the origin and value of kung fu.
Around a decade ago, Brahm was unable to use one of his legs for about two years and had to walk with crutches and a cane.
“Martial arts can help us connect our body, connect our neural system, connect our blood flow.
| A．Brahm's appreciation of kung fu is obvious. |
| B．Still others find additional values in the practice. |
| C．Chinese kung fu is a mirror of Chinese culture. |
| D．But do they really reveal the meaning of kung fu? |
| E．Besides, it can also connect us into our environment to increase our awareness. |
| F．But by practicing martial arts slowly, he was able to recover step by step. |
| G．So, the meaning of kung fu in Chinese is the art of stopping fighting, the art of nonviolence. |
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【推荐1】Can knots be a form of art?
History of Chinese knots
People may have originally made them to record information and convey messages before people started to write. One-hundred-thousand-year-old tools that were probably used to tie and untie knots have been discovered, and there is a reference to knots in ancient literature.
Ancient and modern use of artistic knots
Even today, Chinese knots are rich in symbolic meaning.
Along with being symbolic gifts or messages, knots are still used if they wear traditional Chinese clothing or as good luck charms (护身符). They are a means of fastening traditional instead of clothes buttons. Now, silk is most widely used to make these clothing knots. They are used as jewelry such as even rings, earrings and necklaces. They are sold as handicraft novelty items too.
| A．It truly is in China |
| B．Knots are symbols of China |
| C．Modern usage of artistic knots |
| D．Knots can be seen in ancient China |
| E．The color red signifies good fortune |
| F．They therefore hold emotional value when given as gifts |
| G．But it isn’t known when they first started to be used symbolically |
There were many kinds of fans in ancient China, though only the Zheshan (folding fan) and Tuanshan (round fan) have grown to receive true appreciation from art collectors.
The folding fan is also known as the “head-gathering” style of fan because its ends meet together when folded. Such fans were first manufactured in the Song Dynasty (960—1279) and became popular in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
The birth of the round fan was much earlier than those of the folding variety. Its shape, like a full moon, signifies the hopeful meaning of a union and happiness. The round fan has many elegant names, like “Wan Shan”, “Luo Shan”, “Bing Mian” “Bian Mian” and “Zhang Mian.”
Such fans were very popular in the Han Dynasty (202 BC—AD 204). The best ones had a surface covered by white silk from East China’s Shandong Province while the handles were made out of bamboo from Central China’s Hunan Province. Fans sometimes were decorated on both sides with paintings, poems or calligraphy. Those that held a famous artist’s paintings or calligraphy were highly prized possessions. The famous calligrapher Wang Xizhi of the Jin Dynasty (265—420) once met an old woman selling folding fans in the street. He wrote five characters on each fan. This made the woman angry because she thought all her fans had been ruined. But when people discovered the artist’s words on the otherwise ordinary fans, they sold like hot cakes—and at high prices. Fans are not only tools for cooling oneself, but also artworks symbols for status and taste. Scholars would wave their fans to show off their grace as they composed poetry or sat deep in thought. When not in use, fans were sometimes hid inside sleeves or hung from the waist. For aristocratic young women, fans made from silk or other precious cloth—especially flat round ones—were a kind of prop to show off grace and beauty. Whenever they met a strange man, they would use their fans to hide their faces. So women’s fans also have another name: “Zhang mian,” which means, “Hiding face.”
Fans gradually came to have attachments, such as fan bags, fan pendants and fan boxes. Fans also spread to other countries in the world, especially to Europe, becoming “emissaries” for Chinese culture.
No one knows exactly how fans in China were invented. The invention or rather the discovery of the fanning function could have been as accidental as follows: a primitive man was angry with lots of flies and mosquitoes, picks up a big leaf off a plant next to him to drive the pests away. To his delight, his effort resulted in cooling air movements.
Before long, fans acquired ceremonial significance. More than 3,000 years ago, fans were made with bird’s feathers and were an outstanding characteristic in imperial pomp. They lent limitless gracefulness and charm to court dancers, who achieved the appearance of heavenly phoenixes.
Along with the progress made in agriculture in the Han and Tang Dynasties, a rich supply of clothing material resulted. Silk and satin fans appeared and it became a fashion among scholars and artists to show their genius by writing and painting on fan surfaces. Fans soon acquired considerable social significance and became a part of the standard summer costume among the elite and the learned.
Tradition has it that folded fans were introduced to China from Japan and Korea about 1,000 years ago. They were usually made with fine paper mounted on bamboo. The scholars found it interesting to paint their poetic and artistic expressions on the surface.
A great variety of fans have been produced in China; sandalwood, ivory, even gold, silver and jade have been used as material.
Of particular interest is the sandalwood fan. Its most outstanding characteristic is the pleasant, fragrant smell that comes from the wood. Even in modern air-conditioned environment, it will certainly increase the elegance and femininity of the lady holding it gracefully in her hand. It gives out light fragrance which is as charming and refreshing as any expensive perfume.
1. What does the round fan stand for?2. What materials can fans be made out of according to the text?
3. What can fans be used for besides cooling their owners?
4. Do you like the sandalwood fan? Why?
【推荐3】Laughter is a universal way to express joy. But as it turns out, your laughter reveals a lot more than the fact that you are happy. It enables listeners, even those that cannot observe you, immediately to realize if you are having a good time with a close friend or laughing politely with a complete stranger.
At least that is the conclusion reached by a team of scientists led by Greg Bryant, an associate professor of Communication Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. The researchers began by requesting participants from across the globe to send them audio clips(音频片段) of people laughing. The 48 tapes they received ranged from recent recordings of laughter between two college friends to ones from conversations that occurred a decade ago. The clips also had all possible combinations — interactions between friends, strangers, all-male groups, all-female groups, as well as a mix of both genders(性别).
The team then played the short recording, each lasting less than a second, to 966 people spread across 24 different cultures around the world. The listeners ranged from people living in remote areas to those living in some of the world’s most modern cities. To the team’s astonishment, despite the cultural and regional differences, the listeners were able to identify the difference in laughter between friends and strangers, 61% of the time.
The scientists, who published their findings in the Scientific Journal, say that the accuracy was even higher when it came to recordings of only women laughing. The researchers think that this is probably because women are more transparent in expressing their feelings than men.
Bryant says that the results of this cross-cultural examination show that people all over the world perceive laughter in similar ways. As Neuroscientist Carolyn McGettigan at the Royal Holloway University of London puts it, “A laugh among friends is a special sound, no matter where you live!”
1. What can we learn about Greg Bryant’s research?| A．It was based on tapes from 966 people. |
| B．Its findings were beyond the team’s expectations. |
| C．It proved that laughter is a universal way to express joy. |
| D．Most of his findings were published in the Scientific Journal. |
| A．Women are sensitive to interesting things. |
| B．Women are less likely to hide their feelings. |
| C．Women prefer to express their joys by laughing. |
| D．Women are good at communicating with others. |
| A．Understand. | B．Receive. |
| C．Explain. | D．Spread. |
