1.
China
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China, officially the Peoples Republic of China, is a unitary sovereign state in East Asia and the worlds most populous country, with a population of over 1.381 billion. The state is governed by the Communist Party of China and its capital is Beijing, the countrys major urban areas include Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Hong Kong. China is a power and a major regional power within Asia. Chinas landscape is vast and diverse, ranging from forest steppes, the Himalaya, Karakoram, Pamir and Tian Shan mountain ranges separate China from much of South and Central Asia. The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the third and sixth longest in the world, respectively, Chinas coastline along the Pacific Ocean is 14,500 kilometers long and is bounded by the Bohai, Yellow, East China and South China seas. China emerged as one of the worlds earliest civilizations in the basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. For millennia, Chinas political system was based on hereditary monarchies known as dynasties, in 1912, the Republic of China replaced the last dynasty and ruled the Chinese mainland until 1949, when it was defeated by the communist Peoples Liberation Army in the Chinese Civil War. The Communist Party established the Peoples Republic of China in Beijing on 1 October 1949, both the ROC and PRC continue to claim to be the legitimate government of all China, though the latter has more recognition in the world and controls more territory. China had the largest economy in the world for much of the last two years, during which it has seen cycles of prosperity and decline. Since the introduction of reforms in 1978, China has become one of the worlds fastest-growing major economies. As of 2016, it is the worlds second-largest economy by nominal GDP, China is also the worlds largest exporter and second-largest importer of goods. China is a nuclear weapons state and has the worlds largest standing army. The PRC is a member of the United Nations, as it replaced the ROC as a permanent member of the U. N. Security Council in 1971. China is also a member of numerous formal and informal multilateral organizations, including the WTO, APEC, BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the BCIM, the English name China is first attested in Richard Edens 1555 translation of the 1516 journal of the Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa. The demonym, that is, the name for the people, Portuguese China is thought to derive from Persian Chīn, and perhaps ultimately from Sanskrit Cīna. Cīna was first used in early Hindu scripture, including the Mahābhārata, there are, however, other suggestions for the derivation of China. The official name of the state is the Peoples Republic of China. The shorter form is China Zhōngguó, from zhōng and guó and it was then applied to the area around Luoyi during the Eastern Zhou and then to Chinas Central Plain before being used as an occasional synonym for the state under the Qing
2.
Cultural Revolution
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The Cultural Revolution, formally the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement that took place in China from 1966 until 1976. The Revolution marked the return of Mao Zedong to a position of power after the Great Leap Forward, the movement paralyzed China politically and negatively affected the countrys economy and society to a significant degree. The Revolution was launched in May 1966, after Mao alleged that bourgeois elements had infiltrated the government and society at large, to eliminate his rivals within the Communist Party of China, Mao insisted that these revisionists be removed through violent class struggle. Chinas youth responded to Maos appeal by forming Red Guard groups around the country, the movement spread into the military, urban workers, and the Communist Party leadership itself. It resulted in factional struggles in all walks of life. In the top leadership, it led to a purge of senior officials, most notably Liu Shaoqi. During the same period Maos personality cult grew to immense proportions, a large segment of the population was forcibly displaced, most notably the transfer of urban youth to rural regions during the Down to the Countryside Movement. Historical relics and artifacts were destroyed, Cultural and religious sites were ransacked. Mao officially declared the Cultural Revolution to have ended in 1969, after Maos death and the arrest of the Gang of Four in 1976, reformers led by Deng Xiaoping gradually began to dismantle the Maoist policies associated with the Cultural Revolution. In 1958, after Chinas first Five-Year Plan, Mao called for grassroots socialism in order to accelerate his plans for turning China into an industrialized state. In this spirit, Mao launched the Great Leap Forward, established Peoples Communes in the countryside, many communities were assigned production of a single commodity—steel. Mao vowed to increase production to twice 1957 levels. The Great Leap was an economic failure, uneducated farmers attempted to produce steel on a massive scale, partially relying on backyard furnaces to achieve the production targets set by local cadres. The steel produced was low quality and largely useless, the Great Leap reduced harvest sizes and led to a decline in the production of most goods except substandard pig iron and steel. Furthermore, local authorities frequently exaggerated production numbers, hiding and intensifying the problem for several years, in the meantime, chaos in the collectives, bad weather, and exports of food necessary to secure hard currency resulted in the Great Chinese Famine. Food was in shortage, and production fell dramatically. The famine caused the deaths of millions of people, particularly in poorer inland regions, the Great Leaps failure reduced Maos prestige within the Party. Forced to take responsibility, in 1959, Mao resigned as the President of the Peoples Republic of China, Chinas de jure head of state
3.
Eunuch
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The term eunuch generally refers to a man who has been castrated, typically early enough in his life for this change to have major hormonal consequences. In some ancient texts, eunuch may also refer to a man who is not castrated but who is impotent, celibate, or otherwise not inclined to marry, in Latin, the words eunuchus, spado, and castratus were used to denote eunuchs. Castration was typically carried out on the soon-to-be eunuch without his consent in order that he perform a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 21st century BC. Eunuchs would usually be servants or slaves who had been castrated in order to make them reliable servants of a court where physical access to the ruler could wield great influence. Similar instances are reflected in the origins and etymology of many high offices. Because their condition usually lowered their status, they could also be easily replaced or killed without repercussion. In cultures that had both harems and eunuchs, eunuchs were sometimes used as servants or seraglio guards. Eunuch comes from the Greek word eunoukhos, first attested in a fragment of Hipponax, the acerbic poet describes a certain lover of fine food having consumed his estate dining lavishly and at leisure every day on tuna and garlic-honey cheese paté like a Lampsacene eunoukhos. For instance, Lucian suggests two methods to determine whether someone is a eunuch, physical inspection of the body, or scrutiny of his ability to perform sexually with females, the earliest surviving etymology of the word is from late antiquity. The 12th century Etymologicum Magnum essentially repeats the entry from Orion, in the late 12th century, Eustathius of Thessalonica offered an original derivation of the word from eunis + okheuein, deprived of mating. The early 17th century scholar and theologian Gerardus Vossius therefore explains that the originally designated an office. He says the word came to be applied to castrated men in general because such men were the usual holders of that office. Still, Vossius notes the alternate etymologies offered by Eustathius and others, modern etymologists have followed Orions first option. As an alpha-declension noun, eunē features the stem-vowel -a-, all words that are formed by adding onto eunē have an a-sound or long e-sound in the combined syllable, as in eunater or eunēter, eunaios or eunēthen. By analogy, a compound between eunē and ekhein would be expected to come out as eunēkhos, or in English eunech, on the other hand, the etymology offered by Eustathius would work only if eunis contributes an e-sound or o-sound to the compound. Unfortunately, there are no known compounds of eunis to use for comparison, consequently, the rules of Greek vowel contraction at any rate favor the derivation from eunoos and ekhein. And in fact, other words that have the same ending -oukhos feature a stem-vowel o in the first word of the compound, be that as it may, virtually all modern reference works cite the derivation from eunē and ekhein
4.
Kung Fu Hustle
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Kung Fu Hustle is a 2004 Hong Kong-Chinese Kung fu action comedy film, directed, co-produced and co-written by Stephen Chow, who also stars in the lead role. The other producers were Chui Po-chu and Jeffrey Lau, and the screenplay was co-written with Huo Xin, Chan Man-keung, Yuen Wah, Yuen Qiu, Danny Chan Kwok-kwan, and Bruce Leung Siu-lung co-starred in prominent roles. After the commercial success of Shaolin Soccer, its company, Star Overseas. The cartoon style of the film, accompanied by traditional Chinese music, is cited as its most striking feature. The film was released on 23 December 2004 in China and on 25 January 2005 in the United States and it received a 90% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and 78 out of 100 at Metacritic. The film grossed US$17 million in North America and US$84 million in other regions, Kung Fu Hustle was the highest-grossing film in the history of Hong Kong until it was surpassed by You Are the Apple of My Eye in 2011. The film was the all-time tenth highest-grossing foreign language film in the United States as well as the foreign language film in the country in 2005. Kung Fu Hustle won numerous awards, including six Hong Kong Film Awards, the film was re-released in 3D in October 2014 across Asia and America, marking the tenth anniversary of the film. In Shanghai during the 1930s, Sing and his friend Bone attempt to join the Deadly Axe Gang, Sing and Bone attempt to intimidate the residents of Pig Sty Alley but are chased off by its Landlady. Hearing of this, Sum orders the capture of Sing and Bone, three of the tenants, Coolie, Tailor, and Donut, reveal themselves to be martial arts masters, defeating more than fifty of the Gang. Fearing retribution, the Landlady evicts the three, but they encounter a pair of hired assassins who fight using a magical guqin that launches invisible blades, the two defeat the assassins but Tailor and Donut die from their injuries. The Landlords temporarily evacuate the other tenants for their safety, meanwhile, Sing engineers his and Bones escape from confinement, and Sum is impressed, offering them membership in the Gang if they can kill a person. Sing and Bone attempt to kill the Landlady, but their plan backfires, later, he attempts to mug an ice cream vendor, who turns out to be the mute girl, she offers him a lollipop but he knocks it away, humiliated at himself. After sending Bone away, blaming his failure on Bone, Sing is bought before Sum. Sum wants Sing to use his skills to free a legendary fighter. The Beast turns out to be a middle-aged, slovenly, and flippant man, when the Landlords arrive at the Axe Gang casino to settle the score, Sum sends the Beast to fight them. During the fight, he stabs both with hidden blades, weakening but not defeating them, Sum orders Sing to strike the Landlord to break the stalemate, but Sing has a change of heart and strikes the Beast instead. The Beast turns and pummels Sing until he is rescued by the Landlords, the Beast kills Sum for disrupting his fight, and then orders an all-out assault on Pig Sty Alley
5.
Pinyin
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Pinyin, or Hànyǔ Pīnyīn, is the official romanization system for Standard Chinese in mainland China, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan. It is often used to teach Standard Chinese, which is written using Chinese characters. The system includes four diacritics denoting tones, Pinyin without tone marks is used to spell Chinese names and words in languages written with the Latin alphabet, and also in certain computer input methods to enter Chinese characters. The pinyin system was developed in the 1950s by many linguists, including Zhou Youguang and it was published by the Chinese government in 1958 and revised several times. The International Organization for Standardization adopted pinyin as a standard in 1982. The system was adopted as the standard in Taiwan in 2009. The word Hànyǔ means the language of the Han people. In 1605, the Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci published Xizi Qiji in Beijing and this was the first book to use the Roman alphabet to write the Chinese language. Twenty years later, another Jesuit in China, Nicolas Trigault, neither book had much immediate impact on the way in which Chinese thought about their writing system, and the romanizations they described were intended more for Westerners than for the Chinese. One of the earliest Chinese thinkers to relate Western alphabets to Chinese was late Ming to early Qing Dynasty scholar-official, the first late Qing reformer to propose that China adopt a system of spelling was Song Shu. A student of the great scholars Yu Yue and Zhang Taiyan, Song had been to Japan and observed the effect of the kana syllabaries. This galvanized him into activity on a number of fronts, one of the most important being reform of the script, while Song did not himself actually create a system for spelling Sinitic languages, his discussion proved fertile and led to a proliferation of schemes for phonetic scripts. The Wade–Giles system was produced by Thomas Wade in 1859, and it was popular and used in English-language publications outside China until 1979. This Sin Wenz or New Writing was much more sophisticated than earlier alphabets. In 1940, several members attended a Border Region Sin Wenz Society convention. Mao Zedong and Zhu De, head of the army, both contributed their calligraphy for the masthead of the Sin Wenz Societys new journal. Outside the CCP, other prominent supporters included Sun Yat-sens son, Sun Fo, Cai Yuanpei, the countrys most prestigious educator, Tao Xingzhi, an educational reformer. Over thirty journals soon appeared written in Sin Wenz, plus large numbers of translations, biographies, some contemporary Chinese literature, and a spectrum of textbooks
6.
Chengdu
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Chengdu, formerly romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which has served as capital of Chinas Sichuan province. It is one of the three most populous cities in Western China, as of 2014 the administrative area houses 14,427,500 inhabitants, with an urban population of 10,152,632. At the time of the 2010 census, Chengdu was the 5th-most populous agglomeration in China, with 10,484,996 inhabitants in the area including Xinjin County. The surrounding Chengdu Plain is also known as the Country of Heaven and its prehistoric settlers included the Sanxingdui culture. It was the capital of Liu Beis Shu during the Three Kingdoms Era, after the fall of Nanjing to the Japanese in 1937, Chengdu briefly served as the capital of China. It is now one of the most important economic, financial, commercial, cultural, transportation, Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport is one of the 30 busiest airports in the world, and Chengdu Railway Station is one of the six biggest in China. Chengdu also hosts many international companies and more than 12 consulates, more than 260 Fortune 500 companies have established branches in Chengdu. In 2006, China Daily named it Chinas 4th-most-livable city, the name Chengdu is attested in sources going back to shortly after its founding. The present spelling is based on pinyin romanization, its Postal Map romanization was Chengtu and its former status as the seat of the Chengdu Prefecture prompted Marco Polos spellings Sindafu, Sin-din-fu, &c. and the Protestant missionaries romanization Ching-too Foo. Although the official name of the city has remained constant, the area has sometimes taken other names. The city logo adopted in 2011 is inspired by the Golden Sun Bird excavated from the Jinsha Ruins, archaeological discoveries at the Sanxingdui and Jinsha sites have established that the area surrounding Chengdu was inhabited over four thousand years ago. At the time of Chinas Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, in the early 4th century BC, the ninth king of Shus Kaiming dynasty relocated from nearby Pi County, giving his new capital the name Chengdu. Shu was conquered by Qin in 316 BC and the settlement refounded by the Qin general Zhang Yi, under the Han, the brocade produced at Chengdu became fashionable and was exported throughout China. A Brocade Official was established to oversee its quality and supply, after the fall of the Eastern Han, Liu Bei ruled Shu, the southwestern of the Three Kingdoms, from Chengdu. His minister Zhuge Liang called the area the Land of Abundance, under the Tang, Chengdu was considered the second most prosperous city in China after Yangzhou. Both Li Bai and Du Fu lived in the city, Li Bai praised it as lying above the empyrean. The citys present Caotang was constructed in 1078 in honor of an earlier, more humble structure of that name erected by Du Fu in 760, the Taoist Qingyang Gong was built in the 9th century. Chengdu was the capital of Wang Jians Former Shu from 907 to 925, the Later Shu was founded by Meng Zhixiang in 934, with its capital at Chengdu
7.
48th Berlin International Film Festival
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The 48th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from February 11 to 22,1998. The festival opened with the Irish film The Boxer by Jim Sheridan, francis Ford Coppolas The Rainmaker was selected as the closing night film. The Golden Bear was awarded to Brazilian-French film Central Station directed by Walter Salles, the retrospective dedicated to Siodmak Bros. titled Siodmak Bros. Berlin – London – Paris – Hollywood was shown at the festival
8.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
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Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is an internationally co-produced wuxia film. Production funding came from investors in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, directed by Ang Lee and featuring an international cast of Chinese actors, including Chow Yun-fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi and Chang Chen, the film was released in 2000. It was based on the novel, of the same name, in the wuxia book series Crane Iron Pentalogy. The martial arts and fighting action sequences were choreographed by Yuen Wo Ping, made on a US$17 million budget, with dialogue in Mandarin, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon became a surprise international success, grossing $213.5 million. It grossed US$128 million in the United States, becoming the highest-grossing foreign-language film in American history and it has won over 40 awards. The film was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, the film also won four BAFTAs and two Golden Globe Awards, one for Best Foreign Film. Along with its awards success, Crouching Tiger continues to be hailed as one of the greatest and most influential foreign language films in the United States and it has been praised for its martial arts sequences, story, direction, musical score, and cinematography. The film is set in the Qing Dynasty during the 43rd year of the reign of the Qianlong Emperor, Li Mu Bai is an accomplished Wudang swordsman and Yu Shu Lien is a female warrior and professional body guard. The death of Mu Bais closest friend and fiancée to Shu Lien complicate these characters feelings for one another and they are reconnected when Mu Bai, after choosing to relinquish the warrior lifestyle, asks Shu Lien to gift his sword Green Destiny to their friend Sir Te in Beijing. Long ago, Mu Bais master was murdered by Jade Fox, Shu Lien meets with and stays in the compound of Sir Te where she also makes the acquaintance of Jen Yu who is the daughter of a rich and powerful Governor Yu and is about to get married. One evening, a masked thief sneaks into Sir Tes estate, Mu Bai and Shu Lien trace the theft to Governor Yus compound and learn that Jade Fox has been posing as Jens governess for many years. Mu Bai makes the acquaintance of Inspector Tsai, an investigator from the provinces, and his daughter May. Fox challenges the pair and Sir Tes servant Master Bo to a showdown that night, following a protracted battle, the group is on the verge of defeat when Mu Bai arrives and outmaneuvers Fox. Before Mu Bai can kill Fox, the masked thief reappears and partners with Fox to fight, Fox resumes the fight and kills Tsai before fleeing with the thief. After seeing Jen fight Mu Bai, Fox realizes Jen had been studying the Wudang manual and has surpassed her in combative skills. At night, a bandit named Lo breaks into Jens bedroom. A flashback reveals that in the past, when Governor Yu and his family were traveling in the deserts, Lo and his bandits had raided Jens caravan. She chased after him, following him to his desert cave seemingly in a quest to get her comb back, however, the pair soon fell passionately in love
9.
Joan Chen
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Joan Chen is a Chinese American actress, film director, screenwriter, and film producer. In China she performed in the 1979 film Little Flower and came to attention for her performance in the 1987 Academy Award-winning film The Last Emperor. She is also known for her roles in Twin Peaks, Red Rose, White Rose, Saving Face, and The Home Song Stories, Chen Chong was born in Shanghai, to a family of pharmacologists. She and her brother, Chase, were raised during the Cultural Revolution. At the age of 14, Chen was discovered on the rifle range by Jiang Qing. Chen graduated from school a year in advance, and at the age of 17 entered the prestigious Shanghai International Studies University. Chen Chong performed alongside Tang Guoqiang in Zhang Zhengs Little Flower in 1979, Chen portrayed a pre-Maoist revolutionarys daughter, who, reunited with her brother, a wounded Communist soldier, later learned that his doctor was her biological mother. In addition, Chen was in the 1979 film Hearts for the Motherland, the songs, I Love You, China and High Flies the Petrel, sung by Chens character, are perennial favorites in China. In 1981, Chen starred in Awakening, directed by Teng Wenji, at age 20, Chen moved to the United States, where she studied filmmaking at California State University, Northridge. Her first Hollywood movie was Tai-Pan, filmed on location in China and she went on to star in Bernardo Bertoluccis The Last Emperor in 1987 and the David Lynch/Mark Frost television series Twin Peaks as Josie Packard. She starred alongside Rutger Hauer in 1989s The Blood of Heroes, written, in 1993 she co-starred in Oliver Stones Heaven & Earth. She portrayed two different characters in Clara Laws Temptation of a Monk, a princess of Tang dynasty. The award-winning film was adapted from a novel by Lilian Lee, in 1996, she was a member of the jury at the 46th Berlin International Film Festival. She later directed Autumn in New York, starring Richard Gere and Winona Ryder, in the middle of the 2000s, Chen made a comeback in acting and began to work intensely, alternating between English and Chinese-language roles. In 2004, she starred in Hou Yongs family saga Jasmine Women, alongside Zhang Ziyi, in 2005, she appeared in Zhang Yangs family saga Sunflower, as a mother whose husband and son have a troubled father-son relationship over 30 years. She portrayed a glamorous and unstable Chinese nightclub singer who struggles to survive in seventies Australia with her two children, the role earned her four awards including the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress and the Golden Horse Award for Best Actress. In 2008, she starred alongside Sam Chow in Shi Qi, directed by Joe Chow, as a rural mother of a 17-year-old in eastern Zhejiang province. The same year Joan Chen portrayed in Jia Zhangkes 24 City a factory worker once fancied because she resembled Chen herself in the 1979 film Little Flower, but who missed her chance at love
10.
Li Xiaolu
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Li Xiaolu, also known as Jacqueline Li, is a Chinese actress and singer. She is best known for her role in Joan Chens directing debut Xiu Xiu, The Sent Down Girl, the idol drama All the Misfortunes Caused by the Angel and the highly popular television series Struggle. Li first rose to fame with the 1998 movie Xiu Xiu, The Sent Down Girl, which won her Best Actress honor at the Golden Horse Awards, at age 17, she was the youngest actress to win the Golden Horse Awards for Best Actress. She gained further popularity with the 2001 drama, All the Misfortunes Caused by the Angel, with the fame amassed from her various dramas, especially the highly popular youth series Struggle, Li was crowned Golden Eagle Goddess in 2008. She released her album in the same year, titled Dong Fang Mei. Li is also known for her roles in Beauty World and The Happy Life of Jin Tai Lang, Li married actor Jia Nailiang in 2012. The same year, she gave birth to their daughter named Jelena. sina. com. cn LiXiaolu. org
