Fallen arches
By Bill Brown
Photos by Zheng Xian

约一个世纪前, 外国人用相机记录下老厦门将军祠的风貌. 而今, 在几位民俗学者的引导下, 厦门大学的洋教授潘威廉又回到这里, 细细寻觅照片中的旧迹.

Collections of late 19th and early 20th century photos of Xiamen invariably include photos of old Amoy's magnificent stone memorial arches, which were built over 300 years ago in memory of two great Chinese generals. But they were partially destroyed by the Japanese during the war, and after Liberation razed so completely for new construction that I had no idea where they had been located until this morning.



The grand memorial arches once stood at the intersection of Tacuoshe Rd. (塔厝社) and Jiangjunci Rd., (将军祠路), a small winding road near Xiamen Guesthouse. The arches are long gone, but this site still has remnants of artwork unlike anything I have ever seen in China.
Just inside the main gate at 50-58 Jiangjunci Rd. are two small doorways to the left. The small courtyard just inside the rear doorway has old columns that are a century or more old, but the real treasure is the artwork below the eaves and above the windows. My companions claimed they reflected Western influence, but I doubted it-until we saw the even more unusual artwork in the small courtyard on the other side of the building (just inside the doorway by the broken-down green truck).



I was astonished to see a bas-relief of a bushy bearded foreigner in high hat riding a Chinese tiger (symbolic, perhaps, of foreigners running roughshod over China?). To either side of this foreign daredevil were flying deer, replete with antlers and wings (evidently Santa Claus was not the first to get about by reindeer).

Another carving was of a rider on what Prof. Chau Tam Luan (周博士), a visiting Vietnamese Overseas Chinese, said was definitely a Chinese elephant. I joked that the elephant's eyes looked Western, but the professor explained that the ears, not the eyes, made it Chinese. However, whether the rider was Chinese or foreign no one could say since the face was disfigured so badly-and the few remaining historical treasures will also vanish if we do not take protective measures.



As my friends from Xiamen Daily and I compared Mr. Bai Hua's (白桦) old black and white postcards with the present site, I felt saddened at how much of Xiamen's history has been lost, either deliberately or through neglect. The two stone lions by the neighboring bike repair shop are so weathered that they are almost unrecognizable.

I know that we can't save everything from the past. If we did there'd be no room for the present (especially in China, which has so much past). But it's a pity that the only arches left in Xiamen today are McDonald's golden arches. I hope that Xiamen will take measures to protect the few remaining historical sites left in our city-and to put up bronze plaques explaining their historical significance.

Over the years, officials in neighboring Quanzhou have told me, "Xiamen, unlike Quanzhou, has no history-only 6 or 7 hundred years." But while Xiamen's history is relatively short (for China, at least!), it is rich, and we should treasure our past, so that our future generations may learn from it and build upon it.

Vocabulary:
arch 牌坊
bas-relief 浅浮雕
antler 鹿角
disfigure 损毁面貌

 

 

阻挡不住的魅力 招架不住的热情
--厦门音乐广播11周年生日晚会
By 厦门音乐广播 高翔



11月28日正式更名的厦门音乐广播(原厦广音乐台), 原定11月28日晚上7点在SM城市广场举行"住进公园、走进社区"厦门音乐广播 ·云溪居住公园激情快车首场演出暨厦门音乐广播 11周年生日晚会, 可是谁也没有料到厦门音乐广播的魅力之巨大, 远远超出了所有主持人的想像, 以至于这场准备了将近一个月的晚会吸引了5万以上的观众, 热情澎湃的观众淹没了SM城市广场的东门停车场, 使得演出无法如期举行.

虽然主办方事先已经做好了充分的安全保障工作, 依然无法抵挡现场观众的巨大热情. 为了保障观众的安全, 主办方无奈临时决定暂停现场的演出, 转移至新落成的厦门音乐广播直播间进行, 厦门音乐广播所有主持人在舞台上向所有从四面八方热情赶到的观众集体挥泪鞠躬致谢, 之后迅速移师直播间, 把原来所排演的歌曲, 通过平时做节目的麦克风, 一一在直播间中向热情难挡的听众传送, 平日里只有一位或两位主持人做节目的小小直播间里, 一下子汇聚了音乐台全体的主持人, 这样的场景自厦广音乐台1993年11月28日清晨6点开播以来, 还是第一次. 而热情的听众朋友们也通过短信和热线电话的方式祝福厦门音乐广播的11周岁生日, 主持人们的歌声和话语通过电波回荡在闽南的夜空和海面上, 他们的心在此刻和听众朋友们幸福地连在了一起.

面对如此的厚爱和难以抵挡的热情, 厦门音乐广播所有的主持人深深感到自己肩头所负的重任. 我们有理由相信, 在这崭新一页翻开的时候, 厦门音乐广播将更加努力为所有关注着她的人们奉献更加丰富精彩的文化盛宴.

 

 

"A well-disciplined orchestra"
By Vivian Zhang
Photo by Yoo Fan



"The inner level of the members of Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra is very high and I had a pleasant experience working with them." Belgian conductor Eric Lederhandler stated at the interview by Common Talk.

Eric Lederhandler showed the Xiamen audience the wonderful world of Ravel's works on November 26 at the Music Island Philharmonic Hall. The program included Ravel's Piano Concerto in G Major, Piano Concerto for the left hand and Choreographic "La Valse". The orchestra's performance won the heart of the audience and rounds of applause.

"I have cooperated with other Chinese orchestras like the National Symphony Orchestra, Beijing Symphony Orchestra and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. The one in Xiamen is quite different though because the members are so young and surprisingly, so well disciplined." Eric Lederhandler said.

"During the short 3-day rehearsal, they kept highly concentrated on the works and were willing to play over and over till perfection. Even the very flexible work of Ravel like the Choreographic "La Valse", they handled with skill and ease and played as a single entity."

"Given a short time, Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra will grow into a top level orchestra in China. I am sure of that." Lederhandler concluded, "I haven't had the chance to get to know Zheng Xiaoying yet, but apparently she must be a very good trainer who has hoisted the orchestra to the present standard."

It is his third visit to China this year. In March and May, Eric Lederhandler went to Beijing and Shanghai respectively conducting concerts there.

 

 

天下无贼
导演 冯小刚
主演 刘德华 刘若英 葛优 李冰冰
剧情简介:
影片表现的是一个有情有义、浪子回头的故事, 是人性中善与恶的一次又一次的正面交锋, 是沉睡心灵深处的良知被唤醒, 并以血的代价寻找心灵家园的一次长途跋涉, 是一趟重建人类尊严的艰苦旅行.
影片里到处是贼, 而淳朴敦厚的农民傻根却愿意相信"天下无贼". 这是一个多么易碎的好梦, 一个多么容易破灭的理想. 而正是这种痴人说梦的境界, 最终改变了两个盗贼--王薄和王丽的命运, 重新作出了他们的人生抉择. 你可以不相信"天下无贼", 但你不能够怀疑善良和真诚的力量.
Xiamen Kaiming Movie Complex 厦门天地开明电影城
地址:江头北路69号Ticket line: 5517918