Young inheritor of Shaanxi puppetry has plans to revitalize the ancient cultural tradition, and many others with it, Li Yingxue reports.

Have you ever experienced one of the earliest precursors (前身) of movies? Only relying     1     hands, the ancient Chinese art of shadow play (皮影戏) is a tradition with a history     2     dates back 2, 000 years,       3     it’s also a representative (代表) of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity     4     (recognize) by UNESCO.

Chinese shadow puppetry has its roots in the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), and     5     (know) for its good craftsmanship.

The challenge of     6     (master) this technique within such a short time seemed like mission impossible.     7     (fortunate), Nanxiang Buaichifan and Jiuyue were lucky enough     8     (learn) from the best —Dang Feihua,     9     23-year-old inheritor (继承人) of the shadow puppetry tradition. Dang is the fifth-generation inheritor of Wang’s Shadow. One of Dang’s     10     (plan) is to redecorate their shadow puppet themed hotel in Beijing at the end of the year.

4 . Qinghuaci ware is one of the most well-known cultural products in China, with items made in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, considered the best in quality.

Cai Wenjuan’s parents and grandparents made qinghuaci here. Cai’s childhood memories are connected to ceramics, which led her to find her passion in painting as a girl. Even after graduating from Jingdezhen Ceramic University in 2006, she didn’t think about inheriting the family craft and became a saleswoman at a ceramic studio in Beijing back then.

After two years of selling ceramics, Cai was captivated by the blue-and-white ware. She quit her job and returned to her hometown in late 2008, starting a two-year learning experience of painting blue-and-white porcelain items. In 2012, Cai established her own ceramics-making company and two years later, she built the ceramics-themed brand China Story.

Pushing the boundaries of the age-old practice, Cai puts blue-and-white patterns, inspired by Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) porcelain, on daily objects such as phone cases, umbrellas, pillows and so on. So far, more than 1,000 kinds of cultural products have been sold by her company. “The charm and story behind the blue-and-white china can be told through the way the young generation feels connected,” Cai says, adding that china can be stylish.

As a provincial-level inheritor of the blue-and-white china-painting, she devotes herself to passing on the craft by combining the ancient charm with modern aesthetics. On video-sharing platform Douyin, Cai has posted more than 60 clips to popularize the craft and the culture behind it. “One day, I hope there are traditional Chinese elements everywhere in daily life,” Cai says. Like Cai, more young artists are considering a career in china-related businesses in Jingdezhen, with the local government rolling out supportive measures for a variety of startups in the field.

The pingfeng screen(屏风) is a piece of traditional Chinese furniture.     1     (original), pingfeng were vertical objects that could offer protection     2     the wind. Later, they were used to divide a room, offer     3     (private), or even show off the owner’s power and wealth with their detailed designs.

At that time, screens were closely associated with imperial power. According to Rites of the Zhou Dynasty《周礼》, only the emperor could place a screen     4     (face) the front door. Confucius supposedly once criticized Guan Zhong,     5     powerful politician of the Qi State, for violating the norms of etiquette (礼仪规范), because Guan had once set a screen     6     faced his door.

At that time, nobles also used screens in their homes to divide rooms into individual spaces for different     7     (class) of people. According to the Records of the Grand Historian, when Lord Mengchang met guests at home, he     8     (have) his servants sit behind his screen and write down their conversation.     9     they were from a lower class, the servants could not be present with the nobility. Sitting behind the screen was the only way they could stay in the nobleman’s living room.

By the Han dynasty,     10     (wealth) people also used screens to decorate their homes. In short, screens played an important role in ancient Chinese people's political, cultural,and daily lives.

Tang Sancai (唐三彩) is a type of beautiful Chinese pottery (陶器). It mainly has three colors, yellow, green,     1     white. As the treasure of ancient Chinese pottery arts, it is said that Tang Sancai was first discovered in the last century,     2     a railway was being built in Luoyang, Henan Province.

Tang Sancai was made     3     adding metallic oxides (金属氧化物) and firing the object     4     (create) different colors.     5     great variety of colors appeared in the mixture of different metals. The materials in it     6     (gradual) took on different colors when heated, producing an     7     (impress) effect with an artistic attraction.

With unique shapes, Tang Sancai pieces cover almost every field of life, from     8     (model) of buildings to articles of everyday use, from horses, plants to toys. Figures on Sancai pieces are mostly women in the palace,     9     (show) the colorful life and the splendid culture of the Tang Dynasty. Tang Sancai     10     (sell) to foreign countries in the early Tang dynasty and won great favor. It has always been famous for its bright colors and pleasing shapes.

10 . Famous world film festivals and awards

Venice International Film Festival, Venice, Italy

Held yearly from 1932, it’s the world’s oldest film festival. The awards are lion trophies (奖杯) including the Golden Lion and Silver Lion. Chinese director Zhang Yimou has won the Golden Lion twice.

Festival de Cannes, Cannes, France

It’s held yearly from 1946. Held in May in the beautiful French seaside town of Cannes, it celebrates and awards artistic achievement in film. The highest prize is the Golden Palm trophy (金棕榈奖). Chinese filmmaker Chen Kaige won the prize at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival.

Oscar Awards, Hollywood, USA

The first Academy Awards ceremony was held on May 16, 1929, at the Hotel Roosevelt in Hollywood to honor the outstanding film achievements of the 1927/1928 film season.

Winners had been announced three months earlier. However, that was changed in the second ceremony of the Academy Awards in 1930. Since then and during the first decade, the results were given to newspapers for publication at 11 p.m. on the night of the awards. This method was used until the Los Angeles Times announced the winners before the ceremony began. As a result, the Academy has used a sealed envelope to tell the name of the winners since 1941.

The Golden Globe Awards, Los Angeles, USA

It was first held in January, 1944 at the 20th Century Fox Studios in Los Angeles, where the winners in five categories received scrolls. The actual Golden Globe award started in 1946, when the statuette of a “golden globe” was introduced. The list of award categories has grown and changed over the times.