Woven-paper paintings
By Wu Jun
Translated by Beverly

福建永春的纸织画, 因其工艺奇特精湛, 成品曾一度与黄金等价. 后其传人公布制作秘诀, 才使这门濒于失传的绝活焕发了青春. Relevance: The woven-paper painting emerged in Yongchun as early as the Tang Dynasty. At one time, it was hailed as one of the Four Chinese Families of Woven Art, enjoying the same popularity as Hangzhou-styled embroidery, Suzhou-styled embroidery and Sichuan bamboo curtain painting.

During the Qianlong Reign in the Qing Dynasty, Yongchun had 10 workshops where over 60 people were engaged in the woven-paper painting. The products were sold to all regions in Southeast Asia. The Imperial Palace Museum now still collects some precious woven-paper paintings that were made at that time.



After that, the practice of woven-paper painting went through peaks and downfalls and was on the verge of oblivion. By the end of the 1940's, there was only one workshop left. That was Huang Yongyuan's. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Huang publicized the process of woven-paper painting. He accepted 33 people as his apprentices in 1958. In this way, Yongchun's woven-paper painting could be handed down till today.

Yongchun, Fujian is famous for its woven-paper paintings.

In the 1950s, a veteran artist in Yongchun, named Huang Yongyuan, created the process of woven-paper painting public and the secret of this skill was finally unveiled. Since then, more and more people have been getting to know this ancient craft, with Lin Zhien as one of them.



Woven-paper painting is a combination of painting and weaving. When making a woven-paper painting, you should first create a piece of traditional Chinese painting. Then cut it into thin threads about 2mm wide, which will serve as the warp(经线). The weft(纬线) is made from another thread made out of white rice paper with the same width. Next you are ready to weave them onto the loom. The thinner the warp and the weft are, the more difficult it is. Huang Yongyuan's "A Hundred Birds" is made of threads that are only 1.6mm wide. It is exquisitely made and is really amazing.

"When the weaving is done, the painting still needs finishing, since some parts of the picture are screened by the white weft. The term for the finishing process is 'Kai Lian'. When the ‘Kai Lian' is finished the painting looks hazy and lifelike," said Lin Zhien.



In the past, the making of woven-paper paintings was prevented from being seen by outsiders. The process was passed down exclusively to sons and daughters-in-law. (Even daughters and sons-in-law were treated as "outsiders" as well.) In the 1940s, there was a Japanese person who bought a bulk supply of woven-paper paintings at the price of one gold ring for each. He broke apart the paintings to study their secret, but he still failed to find it out.

In 1992, Yongchun County sent a delegation to Singapore for the 125th anniversary of its Yongchun Guild. At the ceremony, President Wu Zuodong was very interested in woven-paper paintings and even asked how they were woven.



"Woven-paper paintings are made of thin threads which are woven together. The key of making the warp and the weft strong is to keep good control of the air temperature and humidity. The optimum air temperature of the workshop is 12℃-22℃. We used to adjust the temperature and the humidity with stoves, but now we use electric fans and air conditioners." said Lin Zhien.

Yongchun's artists have been innovating and developing the woven-paper painting style and process in recent years. They have preliminarily produced a group of works that are both traditional and modern by way of categorizing and also improved upon the traditional processes. These new products have been collected by the Fujian Museum and the Museum of the Chinese Military. Lin Zhien even plans to make woven-paper paintings into huge wall hangings or to inlay them into furniture, so that they will be more practicable and more favorable for aesthetic appreciation. Let's wish this exotic flower of woven-paper painting a brighter and more gorgeous future.

 

 

Alison Krauss:一定要听
By 厦门音乐广播 高翔



一定要听Alison Krauss, 非常好听,老少皆宜,不好听我赔你100块.

Alison Krauss就是电影《冷山》主题歌"You will be my aint true love"和"Scarlet tide"的演唱者.

第一次听到Alison Krauss是在1995年的夏天. 有个戴眼镜的学弟上门兜售打口碟(那会儿是打口磁带),10元一片. 那时我正对乡村音乐很感兴趣,喜欢明亮的钢弦木吉他,跳跃的班卓琴和轻松的旋律. 我看中了一碟1995年4月份的美国乡村音乐合辑,于是我带上耳机,A面第3首,我听到了刚刚推出不久的"Baby now that I've found you". 这首歌属于那种我在前十秒钟内就会喜欢上的歌曲,看了一下唱片扉页,唱歌的人叫Alison Krauss, 23岁,金色头发,有些baby fat的脸,站在话筒前,一手拿着小提琴. 第二年,Alison Krauss凭着这首歌曲获得了第38届格来美奖最佳乡村女歌手奖. 那个夏天,我反复按着Walkman上的Rew和Play键,深深陶醉在这首歌当中. 歌曲里有完美的木吉他,有悠扬的小提琴,和Alison Krauss金子一样的嗓子深情歌唱. 啊!就是这样子,我迷上了Alison Krauss的歌声.

后来还知道,Alison Krauss和她的乐队Union Station所演唱的乡村音乐还有个好听的名字叫做Blue Grass,蓝草音乐. 而且,在Alison Krauss之前,蓝草音乐这种发源于美国阿巴拉契亚山脉的乡村乐种正在被很多美国听众所遗忘,而Alison Krauss和Union Station以其特有的方式,使得蓝草音乐重新引起了听众的关注. Alison Krauss不仅是出色的歌手,还是杰出的小提琴演奏者,我们在Alison Krauss的音乐中听到的小提琴演奏,皆出自Alison Krauss之手. 马友友在录制"阿巴拉契亚之旅"的时候,曾邀请Alison Krauss共同演奏,得到她的鼎力支持.

最近我喜欢上Alison Krauss的新专辑《Lonely Runs Both Ways》里的一首歌"Living Prayer",很好听啊!!Sunshine FM近期热播!

 

 

Fanpo Building
By He Ying
Translated by Vivian Zhang
Photo by Yao Fan



The building is located at No. 36, An Hai Road, Gulangyu. Built in 1927, it is regarded as one of the significant historic buildings on the islet.

Fanpo (foreign lady) Building was built by one Filipino Chinese, Xu Jingquan in 1927.

Why is it called Fanpo Building? There is a story to go along with it. After striking a fortune in the Philippines, Xu took his mother there to ensure her a prosperous life. However, his mother, who couldn't get used to the climate and environment of the Philippines, missed her hometown Jinjiang, South Fujian so much that she insisted on going back home after only a few months' stay. Xu fell into a dilemma. Then he thought about Gulangyu and decided to purchase a piece of land and set up a building there accommodating his mother like many other overseas Chinese did.

He established a large villa for his mum with an attached building for servants. A stage was built in the front yard and opera troupes were often invited to perform for his mum, who could order her favorite operas and watch from inside the villa. The old lady truly led a happy life from then on. Today the stage and the orchestra are still there to be seen.

Xu's siblings were eager to follow their brother's example to pay their piety. They bought their mum many new clothes and jewelry, which ensured the fact that she would always be dressed in fancy clothing so that she looked like a rich woman from Southeast Asia. Thus she got a nickname "Fanpo" (foreign lady), in turn the villa got its name, Fanpo Building.

 

 

Xiamen Kaiming Movie Complex 厦门天地开明电影城 14日起隆重上映该数字电影!

地址:江头北路69号Ticket line: 5517918 The Terminal 幸福终点站 Genre 类型:Drama / Romance / Comedy 剧情/爱情/喜剧 Plot outline 剧情:An eastern immigrant(Starring Tom Hanks) finds himself stranded in the international JFK airport, and must take up temporary residence there.