This is one of the Chinese movies 'must-see' films that I've seen on the internet. This is included in the list of the best Chinese films ever made. This is based on a true event that happened in China wayback, a great earthhquake that struck Tangshan (a city located in northeastern Hebei province of China). The characters portrayed in the film were just fiction, but on the last part of the movie, a survivor of the Tangshan earthquake was shown.
The cinematic effects was great. The collapsed buildings and structures, especially the rubble, will make you think that you it was filmed at the time when that event happened. It was really believable. I also like the portrayal of the lead actress, who played a mother who is forced to choose, and the consequences of her choices. She's really good in portraying her character. As if I can feel her feelings. Now, I somehow understood the sacrifices and hardships that a mother can experience.
This movie is very timely, since my country was also devastated by an earthquake last year. We should always be prepared, and we should be aware of what we're going to do, just in case an earthquake will hit our country. Anyway, whatever happens, GOD is in control. If you want to veer away from Wuxia (martial arts-hero) themed films. Then I suggest you see this movie.
Today is a holiday, so as usual, I just spent the day at home. I've watched another movie entitled, 'Xin shi er sheng xiao' 新十二生肖. It's a fantasy film about the Chinese Zodiac animals. I was interested because it was mentioned by my Chinese teacher in our class. She said that Chinese people often ask someone's zodiac sign. In that way they can somehow know the personality of a person by basing it on the year the person was born.
At the beginning of the movie there's an explanation of how the 12 animals came to be assigned.
Long time ago the humans don’t know how to count the date.They ask heaven’s help. Buddha decided to use heaven’s river as the line to have an animal’s
marathon. To pick the first twelve animals arrive the finishing point. As the human being’s guard of the year.
My animal sign is a monkey. I remember, I really like the
monkey character before. The monkey character designed by Paul Frank apparel became even famous when Barbie Hsu wore it in the hit series Meteor Garden.
My Chinese animal year of birth sign is 'hou' 猴. Like the monkey, I really like bananas. Before I would always bring a banana with me at the office, and my officemates would sometimes makes fun of me calling me, 'banana girl'. My former boss told me that I should not eat banana always because she read in a newspaper that there's a chemical or component in the banana that attracts the mosquitoes. I had dengue thrice already, so I'm a bit alarmed by what she told me. Anyway, I still eat bananas up to now, for I've read they're very nutritious. My aunt even gave me a
monkey fancy ring when I was still a teen but I lost it.
Anyway, back to the movie. The movie is about a pretty young girl called 'Bai Ma', who's in search for the 12 animals, to fight the evil leader in the devil island. Her guardian who is always at her side and who protects her like a loyal guard dog is called 'Kan Chu'. Even if the film is quite old I really enjoyed watching it. There's an animation that was shown at the beginning of the film. I'm just not that overjoyed since the monkey was not given a very good role and exposure. As we all know the dragon is said to have been the luckiest of all in the Chinese zodiac animals, so in the movie the dragon is one of the leading characters. I also like a bit of twist at the end of the movie, I never expected it to be like that. Overall the movie was good.
Most of the people I know when they find out that I like Chinese culture, music, anything that's related with it they find it strange. Sometimes, I'm the butt of joke, a fried of mine wayback often say sarcastically, (whenever we encounter oriental or 'chinky eyed' people), "Oh your friends, your people!".
Sometimes I get annoyed and pissed when they do that to me. Even if I don't show what I really feel, deep inside I'm already fuming. Is it really strange? I don't really think so! We all have our own interests and hobbies in life. Some study Spanish, French and other languages. While others are addicted to Korean and Japanese music, and tv dramas. Maybe, the only thing that's different, in my case I kinda embraced everything, and have really fallen in love with the Chinese culture, anything that's connected with it.
Also, I'm not following any fad. I remember it was the height of Korean dramas when I became an ESL instructor to Koreans. I know a thing or two about Korean culture because I have dealt with Koreans before. Still, my interest in China didn't change, it still there lying dormant. It was only now that this passion of mine has been awakened. I guess, you always come back to the one you love doing. Besides, I already have finished doing my masteral, and I'm not really that occupied now so I can really spend a lot of time doing what I love. That is studying and writing about my interest.
Someday, I dream of becoming like Dashan. I read a story before about Dashan in my Lonely Planet: China travel book. That was one of my expensive books with regards to China. I bought it during my college days. I remember in our Chinese class yesterday we learned how to say 'big'. The Chinese character for that is 大 it reads as 'da' using the pinyin system. You'll really be amazed because Dashan, Mark Henry Rowswell is his real name, speaks really good Chinese. Actually there are a lot of Caucasians who can speak Chinese very well. I won't mention them all here. My point is, I'm not the only one in love with the Chinese language and culture, and it's not strange at all.
In the music scene, I came to know Frankie P., he is an Italian-American born and raised in the U.S. He speaks and can sing Cantonese very well. Just check out his videos on YouTube. It's really encouraging to see someone who also has the same interest. I've got some encouraging words from him, to just keep on practicing. Another one is an English woman named Mary Jess, she won and bagged the grand price in a singing contest in China, entitled 'I Want to Sing to the Stars.' 民星唱翻天 (Min Xing Chang Fan Tian). "Mary-Jess began studying Chinese at the age of 13 when it was offered as an extra-curricular GCSE at St. Peters RC High School in Gloucester. At the age of 15, Mary-Jess travelled to China for the first time with the school and whilst there she sang at the opening ceremony the summer school that she was attending. Her performance was credited by a lot of local press coverage. During this trip she fell in love with China and knew that she would continue to study Mandarin Chinese." (source: mary-jess.com) So it's not only me. A lot of people around the world likes and appreciate the Chinese culture. Why? there are a hundreds of reasons and maybe, because its the cradle of the civilization, as mentioned in a local newspaper that I've read wayback. Here in my country, you can't deny the influence and the role of the Chinese in the Philippines way of life and culture.
I also don't understand why a lot of people blame the Filipino-Chinese here in the Philippines, saying they are controlling everything. Most of the successful leaders here are PBC or Philippine Born Chinese and of Chinese lineage. It's not their fault, if you knew the life of early Chinese settlers here in the Philippines, it was not easy for them. They were the first peddlers, selling 'taho', dimsum (Chinese snacks), etc. on the streets. (visit Bahay Tsinoy in Intramuros to see the life like dioramas, and to learn more about the Filipino-Chinese history). They are just simply hardworking, and the times back then if you really work hard success is not that far behind. That's one thing we should learn from them. In appreciating the Chinese culture and language, I thank GOD for creating such a wonderful thing. I hope I have proven my point, that truly, I am not the only one in love!
I came to appreciate the Chinese oil paper umbrellas or parasols when I saw it in a music video. An English woman named Mary Jess holding a beautiful oriental umbrella, and singing a beautiful song. When I researched about it I came to know that it is called oil paper umbrellas.
I recently saw an episode on CCTV News: Journeys in the Past wherein the host anchor Madam Dang Bing in Beijing talks about oil paper umbrellas.Dai Wang Shu (20th century poet) poem Rainy Lane depicts a girl wondering alone holding a paper umbrella in her hand.
Below are some of the information I've gathered about the Chinese oil paper umbrellas from the documentary that I have seen.
The visual appeal of an oil paper umbrella lies in the simplicity of
its design. This is deceptive part in making an umbrella. In fact it is a complex undertaking. Consisting of 80 processes, all of them performed by hand.The materials, the bamboo, the paper, and oil, must be carefully selected and processed to achieve the most desirable
effect.
The oil paper umbrella was already in use a thousand of years ago. The story of the paper umbrella begins in the city of Luzhuo. Traditional techiniques in producing oil-paper umbrellas are still
used there today.Luzhuo grows elastic and flexible bamboos. They’re also producers of
Tung oil. Without a good material no skilled craftsman can produce a good oil
paper umbrella.The frame of the umbrella is made from a Moso bamboo (a type of bamboo). It takes only 59 days for a Moso bamboo to grow again after being cut down.
The origins of paper umbrellas remain a mystery even today. Many
people believe they first appeared in the Tang dynasty. One thing is for sure they
were made in Southern China, wherethe damp
rainy climate created a need for such umbrellas. It was in the the Ming dynasty that the umbrellas rose to the height
of their popularity. People believed that red umbrellas bought in Luzhuo can protect good
people and turn bad luck into good.
In my China book, I read that Hangzhou also makes and produces oil-paper umbrellas. I have also found out in Hangzhou they also have an umbrella museum. Oil paper umbrellas can also be seen in Meinong a small Hakka town in SouthernTaiwan. It's really nice to know that people around the world appreciate this one of a kind craft. Each of these oil paper umbrellas are truly a labor of love.
I had the chance to watch some good Chinese 'wuxia' or martial arts, fantasy, romance and suspense movies. The first movie that I have seen was Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame. I was reminded of the 'Guan Yin', statue near the South Sea of China, when I saw the 'Buddha' statue that the first Empress of China Wu Zeitian, commissioned her workers to finish it just in time for her coronation. Anyway, I won't talk about that movie anymore since, my movie review is about 'Bai Hu' 白狐 (white fox), the English promotional title of the movie was called, 'The Fox Lover'. For a person like me who's a sucker for love stories, I was really interested to watch this film, and it has been a long time since I have watched a Chinese fantasy movie.
According to a review in IMDB (movie database) this film is about:
Pu Songling's 蒲松齡, "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio." It is a collection of nearly 500 mostly supernatural tales.The Fox Lover is about
white fox spirit Xiaochui (Gillian Chung), who is irrevocably in love
with a mortal fool Wang Yuanfeng (Chilam Cheung). In the universe
resides the largest bat demon that strikes terror amongst the people.
Inside Wang’s soul, there is a hidden power able to destroy the fiercest
demons. When Xiaochui’s loyalties are tested in the clash between
humans and demons, she is willing to sacrifice her life for love.
It was a very good movie. I also liked the costumes that was used in the movie. Very colorful costumes, for the 'fox sisters'. My favorite costume was the one worn by the lead character, named Willow, because I really like the color blue. Nice combination of blue and white. I've included a photo of all the 'fox sisters'. Here are their names.
Gold is the one holding a rabbit, and of course the color of her clothes is gold.
Dream is the one in an orange colored clothes.
Plum is the girl with a brown or earth color clothes.
Ling is the earthly daughter of Madame Fox, she was adopted, she's wearing a colored tan with a dark green inner clothing.
Lotus is the one with scarlet colored clothes.
Bamboo is the one wearing green.
Peach is the one wearing pink.
Jade andFlower have the same color of light purple clothes.
Willow is the one wearing a sky blue and white clothes.
I haven't watched the other movie version of the 'White Fox', so I can't really say if this movie was worst compared with the other movies. For example, I have seen a tv special of 'The Monkey King' movie remake, and for me, Jet Li and Jackie Chan's version still remains the best. I have yet to see Donnie Yen and Chow Yun Fat's version.
The movie was a tear-jerker! I cried in some of the movie scenes! Best of all I also like the soundrack. I will include the music video here for everyone to see. I also typed the English translation taken from the movie. If you haven't seen this film I suggest you check it out.
Some memorable quotes from the movie:
Willow: Yuanfeng, do you love me?
Yuanfeng: What does love mean?
Willow: It means embracing with you forever, or if you love one girl. You want to stay with her, and take her in your arms and never leave her.
Willow: Don't leave me.
Yuanfeng: No.
Willow: Even a knife in your back?
Yuanfeng: No. I won't leave you.
Willow: Even if you are hit by an arrow?
Yuanfeng: No.
Willow: Even with fire to burn you?
Yuanfeng: No. I won't leave you!
Yuanfeng: The thing of love is interesting.
Yuanfeng: Willow! Willow: Do you know me? Who are you? It seems I have met you before.
Yuanfeng: I was the fool named Wang Yuanfeng.
Willow: Wang Yuanfeng. Why are you crying? Oink! Oink! A piglet will never cry. Who are you?
Yuanfeng: I am Yuangfeng, who loves you the most.
Willow: Love... What is love?
Yuanfeng: It means embracing you forever. It means if you like her, you'll want to stay with her and embrace her no matter what happens. Never let go. Even a knife on the back, or hit by an arrow, burnt by the flame. Never let her go. Never...
Today was my first day of class in Ateneo. I enrolled in Basic Chinese 2. My interest in studying Chinese was put on hold for a decade. I was still in my college days when I studied Chinese in my college university, Centro Escolar University and I took it as a summer course in Languages Internationale.
It felt good to be back in school again after a year of not stepping on any school grounds. It was just last year when I finished my Master's degree course in Miriam College, and now I'm back again in Katipunan, and this time in Ateneo.
My brain was in a state of shock this morning because after we recited the pinyin, b, p, m, f, etc. We proceeded to counting numbers, and it was not just 1 to 10 but up to 100. It's a good thing I still know how to count in Chinese. After that we learned some vocabulary words with regards to food and drinks. We were also made to recite a tongue twister, 'si shi si', to brush up on our knowledge with regards to the tones. Our professor also taught us the Chinese names for the 12 animals. I must admit I'm also having a hard time with the tonal system of Mandarin. From what I know Mandarin language uses four tones, I guess I should be thankful because in Cantonese its maybe 6 or 7. My classmates also have their textbook with them. I don't have a textbook because I was not aware of what we are going to use. Some of my classmates know each other already because, they have attended the Basic Chinese 1. The textbook that they've used before, they will also use in Basic Chinese 2. We had a lot of fun in our class. I even made a blooper because instead of saying, 'Wo xihuan chi dangao'. (cake), I've said 'dongao', I'm looking forward already for our class next week. After our class I bought the book, and I inquired about my school I.D., according to the staff, Ms.Airen it is not yet finished. I saw that our book was from Beijing Language Cultural University press, wow! That school is really famous for those who want to learn Chinese, I know its impossible for me to study there. Also, the tuition fee is quite pricey. So I'm just contented with the book for now.
I was pondering while in the classroom, if I should transfer to Basic Chinese 1. I made up my mind that I'll just stay in our class because its a good challenge for me. Besides, I've already studied Chinese before. We are 12 in our class. We have 3 boys and the rest are girls. One of my guy classmate who's older than the rest of us was really funny, his answers were really funny, so we cracked up with laughter. Our laoshi's name is Ms. Maria Joanna Tecson, and her Chinese surname is Chua. She said that she also teaches in Chiang Kai Shek college in Manila. I find her nice and cute.
Confucius Institute according to Wikipedia is:
a non-profit public institutions aligned with the Government of the People's Republic of China that aim to promote Chinese language and culture, support local Chinese teaching internationally, and facilitate cultural exchanges.
Confucius Institutes are sometimes compared to language and culture promotion organizations such as Britain's British Council, France's Alliance Française and Germany's Goethe-Institut.
From what I read, the institution promotes the study of Chinese culture, history, language, music (learning how to play traditional Chinese musical instrument, Guzheng), calligraphy, painting, and martial-arts (tai-chi and qigong). The courses offered in Ateneo are limited only. Their music class is available only in their Makati campus, as well as the other courses that were mentioned.
So if you want to de-stress, learn something new or just do what you love to do. Like me, a Chinese studies enthusiast. Then I suggest you enroll in Confucius Institute in Ateneo. Let me end this post by quoting Confucius saying.
"Never be tired of learning, or teaching others." - Confucius
The cinematic effects was great. The collapsed buildings and structures, especially the rubble, will make you think that you it was filmed at the time when that event happened. It was really believable. I also like the portrayal of the lead actress, who played a mother who is forced to choose, and the consequences of her choices. She's really good in portraying her character. As if I can feel her feelings. Now, I somehow understood the sacrifices and hardships that a mother can experience. 
