1 . In traditional stick puppet shows in Shanxi, puppeteers hold up and manipulate (操控) the puppets using three rods (杆). The puppets are dressed in traditional costumes and frolic (嬉戏) on stage. They are able to change their facial expressions and perform complicated movements.

Such art can’t be created without the painstaking effort of puppet makers like Wang Maowei, 40, who is from Xiaoyi, Shanxi.

“When I chose puppet-making as a teenager, I gradually fell in love with it and decided to dedicate myself to the craft,” Wang said. In 2008, Xiaoyi’s stick puppet plays were added to the national intangible cultural heritage list.

It takes 40 to 50 days to make a stick puppet. The average height of a puppet is 75 centimeters to 1 meter, and they have different costumes to fit various plays and plots. “To make puppets, you need to have sensitivity and a basic foundation in the fine arts,” Wang said.

Traditional Xiaoyi puppet plays use the style of local operas, which are appealing to the elderly. Years ago, Wang realized that plays must cater to the market. He decided to start with the appearance of the puppets.

Stick puppets are traditionally carved from wood and are both time-consuming to make and heavy to hold. Wang found that a special kind of kraft paper is a perfect substitute (替代品). It means craftspeople can put things inside the puppets’ heads to allow them to be operated — the nose, eyes and mouth of a puppet can all move via the use of rods.

Journey to the West, a classic Chinese novel, has been frequently adapted in puppet shows. In the tale, the Monkey King can use his eyes to distinguish monsters from ordinary human beings. To recreate this power in his show, Wang makes the Monkey King puppet shoot laser beams (激光) from his eyes and spit (喷) fire from his mouth.

“It requires time and energy to create a delicate piece of work... These puppets are like my own children and I always take good care of them,” Wang said.

2 . Having spent more than a decade on the dance floor, ROME — Niccolo Filippi, a 23-year-old Italian dance performer, recently decided to explore Chinese culture and its traditional dance forms and believes that this experience will not only boost his career, but also broaden his horizons beyond the world of dance.

His interest in diversifying his skills grew after he stumbled upon a short video of traditional Chinese-styled dance on YouTube. “I saw it as an art that combines tradition and modernity, which was mostly the reason why I liked it,” says Filippi.

Ever since, he has been closely following Chinese dance performers and watching numerous videos to learn more about the traditional style that he admires. “I prefer the traditional style because of its light movements. It also reflects my personality with elegance,” he adds.

Filippi’s chance came when he was invited to perform for a Chinese New Year celebration in the central Italian city of Florence. He has since fully committed himself to the art form, learning several pieces and putting his newfound passion into practice.

“The biggest difference that I found (compared to other disciplines) is the change of mood and emotional expressions among dances,” says Filippi, adding that he needed to shift from the dynamic moves of hip-hop to the graceful and fluid movements of Chinese dance. Despite various obstacles, Filippi’s efforts have not gone unnoticed. Two of his friends shared videos of his performances on social media, and the response was overwhelming. One video garnered 500,000 views, while the other received 200,000 views.

Filippi believes that learning about different cultures is priceless, and he sees it as a means of personal growth. “I like to think of a person as a book,” he says. “Embracing different traditions and cultures, such as Chinese culture and many others, is like adding new chapters to my book, making it more diverse and wonderful.”

Stone lion is carved out of stone,     1     is the common ornament (装饰物) in Chinese traditional architecture, such as temples, bridges, gardens and so on. Lion indicates     2     (safe) and luck in China.

It is said that the lion     3     (introduce) into China in Han Dynasty from the Western Region. In Chinese culture, lion is     4     mythical (神话的) figure rather than real animal. After its introduction, lion gradually became the mascot outside the gate, for Chinese people think that lion can drive away the evil spirits. Another saying of why people take stone lion     5     the gate keeper is related to the pronunciation of stone lion (Shishi) in Chinese. Stone sounds like ‘Shi’ in Chinese with the meaning of solid, and the second ‘Shi’     6     (refer) to lion sounds similar to ‘Si’ which means ‘to think about’.

Stone lions have the obvious local     7     (feature). The lions from the South are     8     (vivid) with many sculptures than the lions from the northern China. The stone lion is carved     9     (base) on a kind of architectural ornament frequently used as the base for decent building.

    10     (general), the location of the stone lion is settled with female in the right side and male the left according to Chinese traditional Yin and Yang philosophy.

The Goddess of the Luo River comes alive in a video, which was shared by Henan TV Station on social media platform Sina Weibo. The ancient tale of romance is given     1     new setting and still provides attractive viewing for a modern audience. The tale is presented in    2       seems like slow motion. Not     3       (surprise), it became popular and has been viewed more than 20 million times.

The story of the Goddess of the Luo River has been the     4       (inspire) for countless contemporary artists, who have described the goddess of unmatched beauty through     5       (variety) art forms, like movies and dance dramas.

But the reason why the video,     6       runs for around two minutes and is titled Rhapsody on the Luo River Goddess, created such an impression and has generated such a wave of publicity, is that it     7     (shoot) underwater. He Haohao plays the role of goddess. She masters not only her art but the technique of holding her breath as her lungs struggle to carry out    8     (they) function. All this is done    9     the most peaceful facial expression.

It's not the first time that Henan TV Station has gained attention with its appealing videos    10     (highlight) traditional Chinese culture. On Feb 13th, a dance piece, titled A Tang Dynasty Banquet, which is less than six minutes long, was staged during a gala aired on Henan TV Station to mark Spring Festival.