Patrick Sommier, a French theater director, is dovoted to passing on the true meaning of Chinese operas to the French public.

On the occasion of the     1     (celebrate) for the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France in 2004, Sommier     2     (invite) to cooperate on a joint project to spread Peking Opera in France. Sommier says that when he arrived in China, like many other     3     (European), he showed great interest in Chinese operas. The beauty of Peking Opera     4    (immediate) caught his heart, he says.

Recalling his first cooperation with the Chinese team, Sommier says he was impressed by the actors’ makeups, costumes,     5     the characters of incredible strength. He was also touched by the Chinese professors’ effort     6     (pass) their acting skills to their students by acting with them. One professor explained, “In China, opera is     7     art requiring lifelong devotion and the effect of the performance largely     8     (depend) on the actors’ inner strength and acting skills.”

Sommier began exploring into different performance forms and suggested introducing Chinese operas     9     the French audience. The team then gave some     10     (origin) performances, some without makeups or costumes and some with students performing classics in a traditional way.

Xi’an, capital city of Shaanxi, served as the capital of 13 dynasties in Chinese history, which in total     1    (last) about 1,100 years. Consequently, the ancient history of Shaanxi is to some degree the ancient history of China. Shaanxi History Museum considers     2     a duty to be a showcase of Chinese ancient civilization.

People call Shaanxi History Museum “Bright Pearl in Ancient Capital and Precious Treasure of China”, for it is an art palace     3    (full) showing Shaanxi history and culture as well as Chinese ancient civilization. Its architectural buildings and exhibits have made it famous as a first-class museum in China     4     it was opened to the public in 1991. It covers     5     total area of 65, 000 square meters.

The basic halls in the museum are divided into three exhibition halls     6     2,000 cultural remains to display the history of ancient times in chronological (编年的) order. The first exhibition hall     7    (locate) on the ground floor while the other two are on the second floor.

While     8    (design) the buildings in Shaanxi History Museum, the great designer used     9    (tradition) palace construction of Tang Dynasty for reference. Adopting symmetry axis (轴对称) layout with main and supporting buildings in order, the complex     10    (architecture) show the unique presence of Tang Dynasty.

Chinese culture is full of wonders. The reason why human culture can be exchanged and spread is       1     the civilization itself has deep value.

On October 12, 2022,     2     Italian astronaut released photos of China from space with sentences from Lantingji Xu, a famous article     3     (write) by Wang Xizhi, a calligrapher from the Eastern Jin Dynasty in China. The post received a lot of praise for the beauty of classical Chinese literature. But this is not the first time that it       4     (be) a focus of attention outside China.

In the 19th century, missionary Angelo Zottoli included the article in his Cursus Litteraturae Sinicae and considered it an       5     (essence) piece.

The prophet(先知) Muhammad is known for a saying     6     (wide) circulated in many parts of the Middle East: “Seek knowledge even if you have to go as far as China.” This expresses the desire of the Arab people     7     ( seek) knowledge from China.

British writer Oscar Wilde, in an article, shared his insights about Chuang Tzu(庄子369B.C.－286B.C.), “ He is one of the Darwinians     8     Darwin(达尔文1809－1882): He traces man from the germ, and sees his unity with nature.”

Some Turkish sinologists(汉学家) say that The Art of War contains Chinese wisdom; some Kazakhstan sinologists say they have a special     9     (fond) for Confucian wisdom; some Russian sinologists say they love translating Chinese poetry. From the moment they began to “re-examine” Chinese philosophy, everything was just a matter of       10     (reveal) the mysterious veil(面纱).

A few days ago, the Palace Museum and the Shanghai Kunqu Opera Troupe signed a cooperation agreement on promotion of the Kunqu Opera. The cooperation has created     1     effective way to promote traditional culture

The Palace Museum is one of the     2     (large) museums of ancient Chinese culture and art in China. It used to be the Forbidden City,     3     the emperors of China’s Ming and Qing dynasties lived and conducted state     4    (affair), and was turned into a museum later.

The Kunqu Opera is one of the oldest types of opera in China.     5     (feature) mild and emotional melodies, poetic lines and graceful gestures, it can best represent the traditional Chinese arts. The Kunqu Opera     6    (be) under state protection since the PRC was founded.

The cooperation     7     the Palace Museum and the Shanghai Kunqu Opera Troupe is a good attempt to preserve this opera, which is     8    (real) worth encouraging.

According to the Shanghai Kunqu Opera Troupe, this cooperative project is “a dream coming true after three years. We aim to bring to life the opera relics     9    (house) in the Palace Museum.”

Some traditional plays recorded and kept in the Palace Museum will be selected and put on show. In addition, the Troupe will also recover a series of plays and perform     10    (they).

Running for more than 20,000 kilometers, the Great Wall is a historical landmark of unparalleled glory, but climbing     1     is hard work. Not everyone has the strength or     2     (determine)to climb its tall steps and steep slopes (斜坡), while only a handful may have the special skills to     3     (physical) participate in the restoration of this UNESCO World Heritage Site.

However, a recently     4    (launch) WeChat miniprogram is allowing every history enthusiast to be a hero in a virtual world,     5     one not just climbs the Great Wall, but also protects it. Great Wall E-tour, co-produced by the China Foundation for Cultural Heritage Conservation and internet giant Tencent, among others,     6     (go) online on June 11 to mark the annual     7     (nation) Cultural and Natural Heritage Day. Offering an almost simulated (模拟的) experience of climbing the Wall and helping in preservation work, the program has created a lot of enthusiastic     8     (response) in recent weeks and won a large fan base.

Thanks     9    cutting-edge digital technology, the virtual model is “detailed to millimeters”. Around 50,000 high-definition pictures have been used     10    (offer) users the remarkable experience.