After four days of wonderful performances, the 7th China Quanzhou International Puppet Festival     1     (come) to an end on December 12 in 2023 in Quanzhou, south China’s Fujian Province. The festival,     2     was held in the hometown of Chinese string (线) puppetry (木偶制作艺术), showed the high-level skills of Quanzhou’s puppetry artists, leaving audiences     3     (amaze).

In China, string puppetry is     4     important form of traditional theater that originated in Quanzhou during the Han Dynasty.     5     (actual), having been passed down over thousands of years, more than 700 traditional plays about folk beliefs and customs have been protected.

Each puppet is equipped with 8 to 16 strings, while more complex performances may require up to 36 strings. The strings     6     (divide) into several groups according to human movements, and all the actions are controlled by the hands of the puppetry artists.

To master string puppetry, skilled     7     (way) to perform puppets are not enough. Puppeteers also need to have rich life experiences     8     (understand) the emotional world of the characters to help bring the puppets to life.

On May 20, 2006, Quanzhou string puppetry was added     9     the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list (非物质文化遗产名录).

As the hometown of string puppetry, Quanzhou was also the first city in China to hold an international puppet festival and succeeded in     10     (host) six sessions in 1986, 1990, 2000, 2015, 2017 and 2019.

3 . Zhang Zening, a hanfu supporter and lover in Nanjing, East China’s Jiangsu Province, started a surprising journey eight years ago to restore (使复原) this traditional Chinese clothing. Inspired by ancient murals (壁画), Zhang, 41, studied the artistry of hanfu in various museums, changing paintings into touchable and wearable pieces.

Upon graduating from college, Zhang first worked in material research, burying herself in the laboratory, conducting chemical experiments for the study of raw materials. At the time, she was one of the earliest lovers of hanfu in China, frequently organizing various hanfu activities in her spare time. Now as the owner of a hanfu studio, Zhang has worked with women’s re-employment organizations, looking for full-time stay-at-home women with sewing (缝纫) skills. This matched with her need for the production of hanfu.

Around 2015, Zhang began to focus independently on the process of hanfu restoration. In that year, she visited Dunhuang, Northwest China’s Gansu Province where she was attracted by the beautiful murals there, wondering how she could possibly change them into beautiful costumes.

In the past years, she has traveled to more than 10 cities across China, constantly studying murals and conducting research to restore hanfu from different dynasties. She managed to restore more than 50 sets. She referred to different materials including various murals, other cultural relics and literature to make sure that the restoration is as correct as possible. Thanks to her work, many young people wear restored hanfu when they visit museums, and Zhang is excited to see more of them doing so.

I’m delighted to share with you some great news now.

Thanks for your listening.

Comfortably numb, Sichuan peppers can do the surprising thing to you.

From its English name, obviously the pepper is essential to the deliciously complex cuisine of Sichuan. The pepper, together with dried chillies,     1     (form) the flavour known as mala, a term     2     (comprise) of the characters for “numbing” and “spicy”.

Anyone who has had the eye-watering, nose-running pleasure of eating Feitengyu—sliced fish in a sea of     3     (boil) , peppery chilli oil—knows this sensation.

In the West, kungpao dishes,     4     Sichuan speciality, tend to be oversweetened; the real version sings, the thrilling pepper set off by the rich flavor of black vinegar.

Less     5     (tradition) , dry-fried and then crushed with salt, Sichuan pepper can be a nice topping for popcorn.

Toasted and mixed with cumin (孜然) and fennel (茴香) seeds, dried chillies, anise (八角) , sugar and salt,     6     makes a spice rub that enriches stir-fried potatoes.

A few peppercorns go a long way. Just as inexperienced barbecue     7     (cook) often light so much wood that they burn their meat black, pepper novices (新手) risk making diners’ heads tremble for hours.

Yet even when     8     (use) in moderation, they remain a divisive ingredient. Critics wonder     9     someone would want to numb their mouths while eating.

There is no answer, really no disputing tastes,     10     the old saying goes.