The walls can talk
By Lauren Sutton
Photos by Daisy

篆、隶、行、草、楷,或藏锋不露,或妍美俊健,或飘逸灵动……中国书法的独特魅力,深深地吸引着在厦门学习的美国姑娘劳伦.在中山公园对面“南雅画廊”的“五人五体书法联展”上,厦门书法家协会秘书长李世平向这位中国书法的洋fans诠释着书法家们的作品.
The exhibition currently showing in the Nanya Art Gallery contains examples of each of the five main styles of Chinese calligraphy, reflecting the diversity of form within the harmony of calligraphic art. Each room contains works in a different style of calligraphy, each style contributed by a different artist.
Among the artists represented is Li Shiping, Secretary of the Xiamen Calligraphy Association. He speaks passionately about the art that he has dedicated his life to, and about the exhibition.
The Nanya Art Gallery has been open for six years and is one of the biggest and best known galleries in Xiamen. The gallery is known for promoting local artists, and its large area and high ceiling provide a quiet and open space in which art lovers can appreciate paintings, photography and calligraphy.
Mr. Li and the four other calligraphers whose art is featured in the exhibition have studied the works of great calligraphers in Chinese history and try to imitate their styles.
Mr. Li says that many calligraphers now want to bring in modern, impressionistic styles. He and the calligraphers who work with him hope to show the history of China in their art. He recalls a time in Chinese history when many areas of life required the use of a brush for writing. With today’s rapidly advancing technology it is not the necessity as it once was, but this has brought the curious benefit that calligraphy is now seen in China as purely an art form, with no practical aspect at all.

Millennia of refinement
The art of calligraphy has been an integral component of Chinese culture throughout the centuries. It has served as a witness to China’s history and has made profound impressions on the artists, scholars, travelers and art lovers of every age.
The literal meaning of calligraphy is “the art of writing”. The art form emerged over 4,000 years ago, during the Shang Dynasty. Since that time, calligraphy has evolved along with Chinese culture.
Calligraphy was first recognized as an art form during the Qin Dynasty, when the Chinese scripts were unified and standardized into what is now known as the small seal script. Calligraphy as art gained momentum during the Han Dynasty and reached a peak in the Tang. Some of the greatest works of calligraphy were created during the Song. The Jin Dynasty, when the country was divided, is also known for its great calligraphers such as Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi. The Ming Dynasty is regarded as a low point in the history of the art.
The five scripts commonly used in calligraphy are: zhuan shu seal script; li shu, official script; kai shu, regular script; xing shu, walking style; and cao shu, running style. These forms were not created independently. Each played a role in the development of the art form as a whole.
Many calligraphers seek tranquility and try through their art to provide a refuge for audiences from the ever-changing world. This is why Mr. Li says many calligraphers prefer a quiet, secluded lifestyle. The art of calligraphy requires so much patience, discipline and passion that often calligraphers are not even aware of the passage of time, he says.

 

Vocabulary
calligraphy 书法[shu(1),fa(3)]
momentum 势头[shi(4),tou(2)]
tranquility 宁静[ning(2),jing(4)]
secluded 隐居的[yin(3),ju(1),de(0)]

 

Entertainment Gossip
娱乐“星”闻

Zhou Tao fights blog stories
周涛抨击博克传闻

A month after the story of her two marriages was disclosed by a self-styled "intimate friend in college" on a blog, former CCTV host Zhou Tao has announced on Sina.com that she was greatly disturbed by the untrue blog story and a follow-up fabricated news story. She also stressed her right to take legal action against the false stories.

Princess Raccoon screening in US
“狸御殿”在美开拍

Princess Raccoon is screening in New York on April 23 as part of The Village Voice's Best of 2005 series. It will be shown in San Francisco on April 26, 28, and 30 as part of the San Francisco International Film Festival.

Baby daughter for Angelina Jolie﹖
安吉莉娜小千金将出世

It is reported that Angelina Jolie went to Namibia for the birth of her child so her adopted kids will have a brother or sister who is a citizen of an African nation. Angelina Jolie traveled to Africa many times in her role as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF. Her youngest adopted baby Zahara was born in Ethiopia.

Sofia mocks media on romance with Tom Cruise
拉丁名模否认与汤姆克鲁斯绯闻

Columbian actress Sofia Vergara has laughed off reports her relationship with Tom Cruise has already turned serious. Though the "Soul Plane" beauty has admitted that she's struck up a friendship with Tom, she claims it's not as full-on as reports suggest.

Culture week

April 19-25 lunar calendar: 22/3-29/3
April 20: Grain Rain 谷雨
每年的谷雨从4月20日(或21日)开始,到5月5日(或6日)结束.谷雨期间,太阳辐射逐渐增强；谷雨是反映降水的节气,这一时期的雨水,对谷类作物的播种和生长极为有利,古人说“雨生百谷”,就是对谷雨的注解.
April 20 (or 21st) to May 5(or 6th), Grain Rain is a time to check and predict the year's rainfall. As the temperature rises and there are more hours of sunlight, the growth of crops is strongly affected by the weather at this time.

April 22: World Earth Day 世界地球日
April 26: World Intellectual Property
Day 世界知识产权日
ntertainment Gossip

Lifestyle

Sicilian temptation
Special foods can inspire you to learn more about the special culture behind them. The more you learn about those cultures, the more you want to visit the country to see where it all comes from. That’s the amazing role of food—a bridge connecting people and life, a magic ambassador joining culture and friendship.
If you are a lover of fine food, you might have noticed the dozens of Italian style restaurants sprouting up in Xiamen over the past two months. Pasta houses, bistros, pizzerias... With the recent additions to the old favorites like Pizza Hut and Tutto Bene, it’s estimated that there are now over 40 Italian restaurants, and the numbers keep rising. At weekends and holidays, it’s not uncommon to see crowds of people clutching numbers and queuing outside Pizza Hut.

Real Italian flavors
Seeing the craze for this round Italian pie, Russo Gaetamno (presently called Simon by his Chinese friends) made a thorough survey of the Italian restaurants in Xiamen. Before he decided to start his own business, Simon was a retired engineer. He had been in Xiamen for more than two years, when he decided to open his own restaurant serving genuine homemade Italian flavors. “To be honest, many Italian restaurants here claimed to be cooking in a pure Italian style, but when I tried their dishes I found that there had been a little ‘enhancement’.”
Simon was invited to Xiamen to work as an engineer for a famous international glassmaker in Haicang. He loves the city because it bears so much similarity to his hometown of Palermo, the capital city of Sicily. Sicily, the “Golden Basin”, is the biggest island in the Mediterranean, ripe with olive oil, oranges and lemons.
“Pizza is one of our everyday favorite foods, just like rice and noodles here. Authentic food often reminds expatriates of the feeling of being at home. I myself would like to stay in this wonderful city for as long as I can, and I hope more foreign friends will come to love it too.” The 72-year-old grins with his gray hair shining in the sun. “To comfort our homesick stomachs —and of course, to give people a chance to try or taste some real Italian dishes — I decided to open ‘My Pizza’ a few months ago.”
At 25 Lianhua Rd, the four-storey My Pizza serves two sorts of pizza, Italian style and Chinese style. According to Simon, genuine Italian pizza normally has a thin crust rather than the soft thick crust which seems to be more popular among Chinese consumers. There are also a range of Italian side dishes to accompany the main courses, such as Bolognese Sauce, which is a mixture of tomatoes and minced beef; and Mozzarella Caprese, a plate of sliced tomato and top-class Italian cheese.

Every dish has a story
Even more tempting in My Pizza are some Sicilian specialties to be found nowhere else in Xiamen. Simon stongly recommends Caponata Di Melenzane, cold braised eggplant served with olives but with a wonderful fish and meat flavor.
There is an interesting story behind the dish. Capone is a very expensive fish in the Mediterranean, and Melenza is Italian for “meat”. The original ingredients of Caponata Di Melenzane were fish, meat and vegetables, but rich Italian nobles used to leave the vegetables and give them to the poor. The leftovers retained the flavors of the meat and the fish, and as time went by this developed into a dish in its own right, containing mainly eggplant with a spiced sauce to give it flavor.
Other Sicilian specialties include Arancine, a rice ball which is eaten with the hands; and Pasta Con Broccoli, spaghetti served with broccoli and sauce.

Cheese lover's paradise
Even if you are a very picky cheese lover, you will find the most natural and specialist cheeses used in My Pizza, such Mozzarella and Emmental. Moreover, all dishes are cooked with olive oil and red wine vinegar.
“Italian and Chinese people are both very hospitable and family-oriented. I have made a lot of Chinese friends here and I sincerely hope My Pizza will become a cozy place for people of different nationalities and cultures to enjoy life and delicious Italian food.” Simon also plans an open-air music bar on the big balcony on the fourth floor. His foreign friends are already looking forward to evenings of imported beer and fine music. ?
如果你喜欢遍尝美食, 一定会注意到,在过去短短的几个月内,厦门新开了不少意大利风味餐厅、意大利面馆、比萨屋.什么样的比萨才原汁原味?在厦门居住了两年的退休意大利工程师Russo Gaetano在他新开的My Pizza用地道的家乡西西里岛美食吸引着越来越多的中外朋友.

火腿芝士意面 Carbonara sauce noodles	米团 Rice ball
米老鼠比萨 Micky mouse pizza	西红柿芝士沙拉 Mozzarella Caprese

 

Vocabulary
temptation诱惑
inspire 激发
Mediterranean地中海
stew炖