13 replies to this topic

[kaiselin]

CHINA HISTORY FORUM NEWSLETTER

中國 歷史 論壇 新聞

APRIL 2008 ISSUE 2

Movable type tool for the ancient printer.

LETTER FROM THE CHIEF EDITOR

總編輯語

Kaiselin

Spring is upon us. The flowers are blooming, and the tree leaves are budding. We survived another winter. Today as I write, there is still a brisk chilliness to the air, but not enough to wear a coat outside. I will be outdoors the rest of the day cleaning up the twigs and branches that fell over the winter. I will be beginning to turn over the soil in my garden, so I can plant my early spring vegetables.

I celebrate the seasons just as our ancestors have all over the world for hundreds of centuries.

Along the River During Qingming Festival, Song Dynasty artist Zhang Zeduan (1085-1145).

For the full scroll go to:

http://www.bowdoin.edu/chinesescrolls/

The Traditional holiday in China in this period is Qing Ming Jie 清明节, also known as Grave Sweeping Day. This is a day of remembering your ancestors. The family goes to visit the family tombs to sweep them off and leaves special foods and offerings for the family spirits.

Based on a solar calendar, the Qing Ming Jie is held 104 days after the winter solstice on April 4th. For me this has special significance because my mother died last year on April 2nd. Even though I am not Chinese, this holiday will always be a day to remember my mother and ancestors. I will light incense and make some of her favorite foods and spend my day thinking about her.

Burning gifts to comfort the dead

Firecrackers are lit to let the spirits know you are there to remember them, so Qing Ming is also called New Fire Day or the Swing Festival.

Another holiday that is celebrated this month is the Shangsi Festival上巳節. It is traditionally the 3rd day of the 3 month in the Chinese lunar calendar. In this year, it is April 8th.

People will gather to dance and sing. You will hear many love songs as this is the time for courting and maybe practicing an ancient custom of Field Love. There will also be contests of archery and target practice. This is also the time to wash away bad luck by taking baths.

As the spring brings new changes to the world around us, I have a few new changes to announce in our Editorial staff. First I would like to welcome Tung2sai, who has recently joined us as a new Editor.

Wen Chou also joined us as an Editor, but he is on temporary leave because of issues at home with family illness. We wish him and his family speedy recovery, and we hope to have him back on the team soon.

Damo, fcharton, and Technogypsy have joined the team as columnists, but they have opted to keep their higher ranking badges instead of the title of columnists.

Our newest team member is columnist Liu Bang, who will be bringing in her enthusiasm to keep us oldsters on our toes.

I am sorry to announce that Rong Qin Wong requested to be removed as a columnist. She found her school study load did not allow her enough spare time to do the job she wanted to do. We were all disappointed to hear her decision, but we understand how important school work is. We hope she does well in school, and she will always be welcome to join us again when school is over.

In the next few pages, you will find the latest new additions to the subforums as the CHF expands its variety and scope of subjects it is covering. We have also had an number of Award winners and many new members who have passed the exams. Congratulations to you all. Please also take the time to relax and enjoy the columns in our entertainment section and read the society pages where you can get to know our featured new and old members, as well as read about the special events ( albeit a little late ) from our jet setting reporter which I hope you enjoy.

I want to thank everyone on the Editorial staff for the time and energy they are volunteering to the editing tasks. I am having a great time working with you all.


Kaiselin
Chief Editor
CHF Newsletter
CHF Han Lin Journal

Edited by kaiselin, 08 April 2008 - 08:15 AM.

[kaiselin]

COMMUNITY NEWS FROM AROUND THE FORUM

February and March 2008

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Feb 12 2008

Han Lin Journal Subforum formed

Due to the wonderful response we had to the revived newsletter, and the excitement the Han Lin Journal generated, General_Zhaoyun created a new sup-forum especially for the Han Lin Journal.
The HLJ will be published on a quarterly basis. This will allow more time to complete and edit articles submitted.

All members are encouraged to submit articles.
Please go to this link for the information on the requirements for publication.
Do not let them keep you from submitting your article, our excellent staff are here to help you.
http://www.chinahist...showtopic=23897

We plan to publish the second issue on May 12th 2008

Deadline for that issue will be April 27th.

http://www.chinahist...showtopic=21590

☯

Feb 22, 2008

Traditional Chinese Entertainment subforum

This is to inform you the opening of a new subforum called "Traditional Chinese Entertainment" within the Chinese entertainment forum. The opening of this new subforum is to help separate the traditional Chinese entertainment threads away from the modern Chinese entertainment threads. This will help to organise the threads and improve searching of threads.
http://www.chinahist...hp?showforum=96

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Feb 23 2008

CHF Economy subforum

This is to inform you the opening of 'CHF Economy" subforum within Imperial Court. The forum will cater for the learning and discussion of CHF's economy and hopefully, we can also develop new economic thoughts for online community.
http://www.chinahist...hp?showforum=97

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Feb 26 2008

Encouraging "CHF Tourist" to become official citizen of CHF

Our official policy is to encourage any newly joined member (i.e. CHF Tourist) to become "official citizen" of CHF in the future. This means that you will need to be more active in the participation as well as undergo the streaming process to become either a scholar member or exemption plan member. In general, the more active you are in posting, your post counts (your income) will increase, which tends to indicate you are richer and your higher level of contribution to CHF's economy.
http://www.chinahist...p...c=22655&hl=

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Feb 26 2008

"CHF Member" to "CHF Beginner"

As part of the effort to 'reform' the member's grouping, I have changed the badge of those who newly signed up from "CHF Member" to "CHF Beginner". Members who have posts less than 30 will in the future belong to a large group called "CHF Beginner". The title "CHF Beginner" will generally reflect their "non-citizen status" and their 'temporary stay" in CHF, in comparison to the active scholar member groups or exemption plan members who contribute actively to CHF's economy on a regular basis, and are considered 'official citizens of CHF' (or permanent resident/visitors).

There are currently about 3,197 "CHF Beginners" (formerly member with less than 30 posts). Previously, while investigating our CHF's economy, I have noted that if they would to be counted as part of the active labour force of CHF, then the majority of CHF's population would really be very poor, since their post counts are less than 30. Many of these 'less than 30 post' members might post one or two post before leaving CHF. If chances are good, they might post more or proceed to take our exam to become scholar member (official citizen of CHF). That clearly reflect their temporary status rather than 'permanent status' in CHF. As a result, we have decided not to make them 'official citizen' of CHF.

Official citizen of CHF will in the future comprise of:

1. Staff members
2. Scholar groups such as Xiucai Scholar, Novice Scholar, Visiting Scholars, Han Lin Scholars.
3. Exemption plan members.
4. Award Winners such as Grand Historian, Artist Award etc.

Non-citizen of CHF will in the future comprise of mainly "CHF Beginner".

If we group it this way, it would reflect a more realistic of the 'economy' of CHF, of who is actively participating in the discussion and who is just temporarily passing by CHF.

☯

Feb 27 2008

CHF ARTIST AWARD

LuSu and NewXia

Have both been awarded the "CHF Artist Award" due to their outstanding contribution to artwork
(esp. CHF Journal/Newsletter) and artistic talent.

Congratulations to both of you ! ! !

I hope to see alot more of your great art work.

The award was previously done by nomination, but we (GZ and staff) have decided that it will in the future be awarded directly by staff, based on outstanding artistic talent and contribution.
http://www.chinahist...showtopic=22658

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March 2 2008

Minor changes to Exam -"Beginner Member" cancelled, Those who fail goes to "exemption plan"

http://www.chinahist...p...c=23852&hl=

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March 2 2008

3 moderators were promoted to Super moderators

Pattie ☯ Non-han Nan Ban ☯ Bao Pu

We always knew you were “super” people ! ! !

Congratulations ! ! !

http://www.chinahist...p;#entry4927340

☯

Mar 12 2008

Chinese Games and Sport forum opened!

Following the suggestion by members, I've opened a new subforum called "Chinese Games and Sports" under the general Chinese culture forum. This forum will discuss anything related to Chinese games, toys and sports such as Weiqi, Xiangqi, Mahjong, Table Tennis etc.
http://www.chinahist...hp?showforum=98

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Mar13 2008

"In the News" subforum has been opened !

This will help organise any current events discussion in Dragon Gate Inn. The new subforum is located at
http://www.chinahist...hp?showforum=99
We have instituted certain regulations to prevent the subforum degenerating into 'political bashing' ground. The forum will be regularly pruned and new topic will be subjected to mod preview.

☯

Mar 19 2008

"In the News" subforum has been closed down and removed ! ! !

Just a few days after the subforum was opened, CHF has begun to stir itself away from academic history discussion and turned more towards politics and current affairs discussion. This has forced many scholar members to leave CHF. Clearly, it is not good for CHF. It was also a reminder of the former China current affairs forum which has invited nationalist and hatemonger members to politicize the forum.

In order to stir CHF back to academic discussion and to attract scholar members back, we have decided to close the "In the News" subforum.

☯

March 21 2008

From General_Zhaoyun:

Juren (舉人) Exam

Higher Level Exam, All Xiucai Scholar Members can take this new exam

I'm pleased to inform you that the next higher level exam, the "Juren Exam", is finally ready. It took more than 1 year to develop the exam. The delay was delayed largely because many of the Han Lin Scholar members were very busy and did not have the chance to contribute to the development of exams.

But now, I'm pleased to put everything together. In fact, it took me almost 1 whole day today just to compile all questions and then test/debug it onto the exam site.

Note that this Juren Exam is for those who have already taken the Xiucai Exam.
It is an optional exam, NOT COMPULSORY. But in order to take the exam, you will need to be at least a Xiucai or Novice Scholar Member. Staff Member (Moderation team and Editorial Board) can also take the exam. There will not be any penalty if one fails the exam.

If a person has not yet taken the Xiucai Exam or are under the 'exemption plan', he/she will not be eligible for taking the Juren exam.

For instruction on taking the Juren exam, refer to http://www.chinahist...showtopic=24180

Those who pass the Juren exam will be promoted to Juren Scholar (Master Scholar)
http://www.chinahist...p...c=24181&hl=

☯

March 24 2008

"Ancient Chinese Military" forum has opened

Actually, this was the 'former Chinese Art of War" forum, however I realize that the name of "Art of War" might be not suitable since it concerns mostly about chinese strategy and tactics studies or military classics. Topics such as chinese military history, units, military ranks might be more suitable to be classified under "Ancient Chinese Military".

The "Chinese Art of War" forum has been made a subforum within Ancient Chinese Military.

Certain overlap topics on anything related to ancient Chinese military will be under "Ancient Chinese Military".

The ancient Chinese arsenal forum will remained intact, as it's a large forum.
http://www.chinahist...hp?showforum=99

☯

Edited by kaiselin, 07 April 2008 - 08:41 PM.

[kaiselin]

SOCIETY PAGE花邊新聞

page 1

SPECIAL EVENTS REPORTING FROM OUR JETSETTING REPORTER

Part I

Dear All,

It was a fair day, indeed, when Kaiselin, the Editoress in Chief of the Hanlin Journal asked me to write about on GZ’s wedding banquet in Singapore.

To be fair, she did not really ask me, she asked fcharton, my soulmate, but I know him, he writes like an old conceited Frenchman, so I decided I would handle the matter in his place.

To be fair again, I was not invited to GZ’s wedding banquet, fcharton was. But I managed to sneak in, and … here is what the fair wabbit saw.

For long, we had wondered whether General Zhaoyun would marry. He often posted in the Love and Relationship Forum, on romantic subjects (Do you sleep naked? How do you feel about armpit hair?), but he was, obviously, still looking for the right person. And this caused no small fear in the hearts of the CHF community. Without a heir apparent, would the Zhao clan become extinct? And then, what would become of us, would we be taken over by ChinaResurgent, by HistoryForDummies, or (shivers) by ModelMinority?

And then, one day, after a relatively long absence from the forum, GZ came back and told us he was getting married this autumn 2007. This put joy in our hearts.

Meanwhile, in France, fcharton was considering to visit Singapore, to meet the good guys of CHF (some of whom are girls, by the way, but fcharton is a boor). “Let’s go” I told him, but he replied : “no, wabbit, let I go, you are staying home to defend the fort against the Xiongnu”. I shrugged it off, I always hide in his luggage, and since no one has figured, yet, how to make a bomb out of a wabbit, I am allowed in cabin baggage.

So, it was decided that we would come to Singapore, just in time for GZ’s wedding. A week before, we boarded a plane, flew over the world, landed in Singapore, ate Carrot Cakes for breakfast (a funny name if you consider that they are not cakes and are not made with carrots, but then Carrot Cake does sound better than Turnip Omelette), set ourselves up in Ang Moh Kio, and spent the week doing various things, which involved a lot of eating, book shop raiding, and sugarcane drinking.

And the big day came. In the early afternoon, I was brushing my pink fur, while fcharton was trying his evening dresses. Now, the pale blue one with the lacy top… or the pink satin one which looks so “distingué”… we were very fortunate at that time to be reminded by Brother Urofpersia that crossdressing was a major offence in Singapore, punished by severe caning, heavy fines and handing over the dress to the local judge, who thought it would look great with his wig (and no, they don’t make these lacy tops anymore, dear!). So, fcharton jumped into a white shirt, dark suit and tie, hid his expensive perfume under a layer of cheap, and male-ish after shave, and got ready to go.

As I walked to the door, he said : “you can’t come, wabbit, bringing animals or food products to a dinner banquet is a major offence here, and you’re both.” I cried, and whined, and made faces, to no avail. And he left without me.

Now, gentle reader, aren’t you feeling you are being cheated by a pink wabbit, who relishes in telling you anecdotes of dubious moral values, and who is supposed to report on a ceremony which he didn’t even attend?

Read on…

Part II

… an almost rhyming poem of the preposterous Han goes…

Lost in Ang Mok Kio, the little wabbit

Cried his eyes away, over the lost banquet

But his FooDog fairy godmother, who lives in heaven

Had pity of him, and sent him a magical Durian

(yeah, talk about bad poetry! those preposterous Han are better left in oblivion, aren’t they?)

The story says that the poor wabbit was left, in the hallway of Brother Ur, ready to miss GZ Singapore wedding banquet. But be aware, gentlereader, that even wabbits have fairy godmothers, who look after them. In this case, the godmother was a Foo Dog, a very fairy Foo Dog, complete with way too fitting leather pants, a nice moustache and a leather cap, and chains, but anyway, the godmother pitied our wabbit, and sent him a magical durian, telling him:

Ride this durian to the banquet hall, my child,

And be back before midnight, or you’ll turn bald

But don’t even try to eat the durian,

Or if you do so, don’t talk to anyone

(as you can see, the fairy Foo Dog godmother was as bad at rhyming as the preposterous Han poets, there is actually a fascinating reason for that, but don’t get me started or we’ll never get on time at the wedding)

(oh, and by the way, count your blessings gentlereader, because in Chinese, those poems are even worse !)

So here I was, crying in Ur’s hall, what a durian materialised out of thin air, and the characteristic voice of my fairy Foo Dog godmother was heard, singing the above poem. I hopped on the durian (it did hurt), which began flying at top speed (for those who never saw magical durian cruising in the air, this means pretty fast) towards downtown Singapore. Soon the shopping malls on Orchard were visible, with a screech, the Durian turned left on Scotts, managed to passed unscathed through the crowd gathered in front of the Grand Hyatt, passed the hallways and dropped me on a big soft red carpet, just in time to see fcharton arriving, classy miss Mok on his side.

One good thing I must say about fcharton is that he always has the cutest girls next to him, this has always puzzled me, because he is no sight to behold. But this is the only trait he shares with James Bond.

As he reached the far side of the lobby, fcharton, his tributes in his arms, bowed in front of a table, introduced himself as fcharton, Ambassador of CHF in France, having made a long an perilous journey, through jungles, and deserts and snowcapped mountains, to present his humble respects to the General. Actually, he might not have said that: I was far away and could not hear well. From a distance, it rather sounded like “hello, I’m François, where’s the bar?” but I do know for sure he probably said that.

Having bowed three times (well maybe not three, and maybe not bowed), and presented his tributes (china, of all things!), he moved past the table, and was greeted by … GZ HIMSELF.

I was awed, I only knew him through his avatar. His real self is different. He was wearing a chic suit, shook hands with fcharton, and deferred him to one of his aides, Thomas Chen.

As I heard the name Thomas Chen, I thought “oh my God, the Sword Guru !”, but he had no sword, just a necktie, vaguely shaped as a short sword (ahem, a Jian!). I came closer, and overheard the words Wuyue Chunqiu, Ganjiang, melting… and realise that he was the real T. Chen. Now, the party was getting interesting.

I let fcharton and T. Chen in their 之乎者也 madness and hopped down the lobby, towards the banquet hall. The place was still relatively empty, sugary was in the air, and GZ’s aides were running around. Cute miss Mok had been taken care of by Elisha, in a very nice colourful cheongsam, and I bet to myself that fcharton would end up seated next to her.

Meanwhile, the discussion was rolling over the terracotta pits and Caocao commentary to the Sunzi, when another GZ aide, Lin Duanwen, showed up. Dressed in a western suit, he nevertheless greeted in a very eastern fashion, and the discussion turned to Chinese. I came closer, because listening to fcharton speak Chinese is one of my great pleasures in life (his accent, his grammar, everything in him is ridiculous…)

To be continued . . .

[kaiselin]

SOCIETY PAGE 花邊新聞

page 2

FEATURED NEW MEMBER

tealeaf

Username: Tealeaf
Real Name: Joss Wright
Looks like: this
Age: 26
Location: York, UK
Occupation: Recently completed a PhD in Computer Science (Anonymous Communication Systems)
Hobbies: Go, Capoeira (卡潑衛勒 — 巴西的武術!), CouchSurfing, Chess, Chinese Chess.
CHF-Based Interests: Language, mythology, semiotics, literature. Tea!


您好!

I stumbled across the China History Forum a few months ago whilst looking for some information related to Go (圍棋) in China. Since then, I've been enjoying myself very much digging through the vast amount of information and discussion that goes on here.

I have been interested in China for a very long time, and I can't remember when the interest really took hold. I studied computer science at Sheffield University and had always had China in my mind as an exciting and interesting culture, but apart from a half-hearted attempt to learn Cantonese through a self-study course I never followed up with it.

There was a steady diet of noodles, and semi-regular pilgrimages to the local Chinese supermarket. My housemates and I became semi-obsessed with Mysteries of Old Peking. I was attracted by Chinese art and calligraphy. I drank a lot of tea, and started to go beyond the simple "teabag with milk and sugar" into green teas. In any real sense, though, my interest in China was little more than background noise to everything else in my life.

In my final year of undergraduate study, I somehow came across the game of Go. I had been interested in chess, but never really played. Something about the nature of Go, with its simplicity of rules and complexity of play, caught my interest. I didn't find anyone else to play until after I moved to York for my PhD, but I was already hooked.

I've always been interested in the origins of things. Looking into Go, I found that almost all of the information on the Internet treated it as a Japanese game, but the game actually originated in China and I was drawn to that. In looking into the history of the game, I started to read more about China and Chinese culture.

Somehow, all the little interests came together and I started to become seriously interested in China as a whole. After starting my PhD, I found that my new University in York ran cheap language classes for students. My girlfriend at the time, now my wife, and I disagreed on which language we should study together. She wanted to study Arabic, I wanted to study Chinese. After a year of compromising on Spanish, we went our separate ways (linguistically!) and began to seriously study our "own" languages.

In taking that course, I began to feel more involved with the idea of China as a whole. I began to read about the history of China and the culture. I chatted to Chinese-speakers on the Internet (I seem to be one of the very few non-Chinese to use QQ), and I found out as much as I could about traditions and Chinese thought. I started to read the classic Chinese novels, in translation, and to take every opportunity to practise the language.

An amazing addition to all this was my wife and I joining CouchSurfing, which is a social network in which you make your home available to travellers who are visiting your town. You put up a profile with your interests, and people can request to stay with you. There is a reputation and reference system to make everything safe. Living in York, a popular tourist town, we have a constant stream of visitors. After nearly three years, and well over two-hundred guests, I've had some phenomenal chances to meet people from all over the world, including China. When I finally visit China, I will definitely be using CouchSurfing to stay with people.

So, three years after "seriously" embarking on my interest in China, I find myself with a little knowledge of the language, a little knowledge of the culture and a huge desire to know more.

The China History Forum seems an amazing place to learn, and to meet people with similar interests. I can contribute knowledge of Go (圍棋) and Chinese Chess (象棋) — I love to teach, so if anyone is interested in learning or playing either of these amazing games then just send me a message. What I hope to gain is a better knowledge of China as a whole, to practise the language and to learn more about the mythology and symbolism in Chinese culture.

I'm very pleased to be here, and I look forward to sharing knowledge with you all in the future. If you're ever coming to the UK, look up my CouchSurfing profile and drop in for some tea, a chat and a game of Go.

Edited by kaiselin, 08 April 2008 - 08:29 AM.

[kaiselin]

SOCIETY PAGE 花邊新聞

page 3

FEATURED OLD MEMBER

Chris Weimer

Though a moderator, by the grace of my dearest Mok, I am still not one who is not all that active, and so I feel extremely honored to have been asked to write about myself for this month’s newsletter as an “old” member.

I suppose I should give some background first – I’ve lived in America most of my life, though my first stamp on my passport was to Japan at the tender age of just one. I grew up in an international family, with all my siblings having been born in Europe, and with my parents fluent in several languages. As a young child even I studied on my own (for who wants to teach children languages?) different languages, eventually settling on Latin by the time I entered secondary school.

Latin – something so far removed from China – who ever would think it related? I entered college at the University of Memphis with a major in Latin and Greek and a minor in Judaic Studies. I’m currently looking at Ph.D. programs in Classics or Early Christian culture. I mean, we really could not be any farther away from the Near East, right? Rome? Greece? Egypt? Israel? What makes the two similar?

Perhaps you can say that I appreciate Chinese culture, language, religions, and history, much as any historian should appreciate all history, any anthropologist should appreciate all cultures, and any linguist should appreciate all religions. Fascination is really right around the corner, take your pick for any era, any region, worldwide. But being from the West, the West is what I learned first, and so I started my own forum on the “West” (our term now is “Middle East”).

Still, there is something more. Perhaps you might have felt it when you saw the “Rome v. Han China” threads, or something silly. Perhaps it became clear to you when the political threads focused on East v. West. Or maybe you knew it all along. For me, China was not merely just one other culture to be studied. No, it was a vibrant and rich and powerful culture, so very different from Roman culture, but still the same. Both were large imperial powers that lasted for centuries. Both still have die-hard adherents, though the original fabric has changed – Confucianism and the imperial family are not promoted in China, nor are Roman imperialism and the old religion promoted in Italy.

I could go on – Latin and 文言 are revered archaic languages with modern derived families, both exerted great control over far away lands. Barbarians!

All this, and these are merely superficial similarities! Imagine then what real similarities, across thousands of years, of all sorts of people, we can find. With the day of globalization at hand, we no longer have to fear cultural contact. We no longer have to sacrifice one side of the world to be on the other. I am here at China History Forum to help fill in the other history that Classicists are often missing. I am also here to promote that other history that many here do not know much about, if anything at all! I am here to correct misinformation about cultures. But foremost, as a historian, I just love history.

Thanks for being kind and reading my thoughts. I hope I can moderate well. See you all on the boards.

Chris Weimer
http://neonostalgia.com/forum/

[kaiselin]

SOCIETY PAGE 花邊新聞

page 4

FEBURARY CHF GRAND HISTORIAN AWARD

sylvester

CONGRADULATIONS SYLVESTER ! ! !

[kaiselin]

SOCIETY PAGE 花邊新聞

page 5

STAFF MEMBER OF THE YEAR 2007 AWARD

This award was concieved to recognize the work and dedication of the staff of the CHF

It is all too easy to enjoy the forum and forget why it runs as smoothly as it does. On the occations we do have a problem, a glitch or a question, these are the people we go to expecting the problem to be solved.

Without their constant dedication and the hours they donate to keep the forum running smoothly, the forum would not be quite as nice.

We thank you.

We had a better then normal turn out for people who voted after all. All candidates got votes, so no one went away with no votes.

It ended up being a close race between Mok and Yang Zongbao. I thought we were going to have a tie when they were running neck to neck for a couple of days. Meanwhile, for a while, I thought Yun was going to make it a three way tie as he started to gain.

You all deserve to be thanked for the work you have done.

In the end, Yang Zongbao pulled ahead and won.
http://www.chinahist...p...15&start=15



Congratulations to Administrator Yang Zongbao, first to receive the CHF Staff Award
CHF Staff of the Year Award 2007

YANG ZONGBAO

To comment on how this award came about. It was Galvatron who first introduced this idea on November 26 2007
http://www.chinahist...p...c=19924&hl=

GZ liked the idea and inistated the first poll on Dec.5 2007.

"Staff of the Year Award" launched, GZ not entitled to nomination.
http://www.chinahist...showtopic=20039

Dec 5 2007, 11:00 AM

Hi all,

As suggested by Galvatron, CHF has introduced the "Staff of the Year Award" to reward our staffs. Nomination begins today.

Kindly note that all staffs (including any 'past staffs') are entitled to nomination, except General Zhaoyun (GZ).

Being the founder and chief adminstrator of CHF, I felt that the title should go to other staff member who had volunteered to help me run CHF. So, "GZ" is not entitled to nomination.
http://www.chinahist...showtopic=20038

Then due to Yun's protest, the poll was started over again.

Imperial Capital > CHF News and Announcements: GZ will be on leave for 1 month.
http://www.chinahist...showtopic=21214

With Yuns protest and GZ being gone, it was Yang Zongbao’s duty as GZ's second in command to post the new poll. This was an awkward position for him because he was only doing what GZ had wanted, but for those that were not aware of the previous history, they may have thought erroneously that he nominated himself. This was not the case at all.

Edited by kaiselin, 08 April 2008 - 08:33 AM.

[kaiselin]

EXAM GRADUATES

XUICAI 秀才 (ENTRY SCHOLARS)

Due to technical problems we were unable to list the Xuicai Graduates this issue.

We will promise to list everyone in the June Newsletter.

Please accept our apologies.

CONGRADULATIONS ! ! !

bird on left is the lowest rank a flycatcher, the crane on the right is the top rank

page 1

Edited by kaiselin, 07 April 2008 - 08:51 PM.

[kaiselin]

EXAM GRADUATES

NEW JUREN 舉人(MASTER SCHOLARS)

Qing Feng has become CHF's 1st Juren Scholar (who passed the Juren Exam)
Shogun 144 has become the 2nd Juren Scholar
Xu Huang 3rd Juren Scholar

http://www.chinahist...p...c=24213&hl=

Congratulations to them!

We will have the rest of the Juren Grads listed in the June issue as well.

Once again please accept our apologies.

Candidates gathering around the wall where the results had been posted. This announcement was known as "releasing the roll"c. 1540, by Qiu Ying

page 2

[kaiselin]

ENTERTAINMENT 娛樂

page 1

MOVIES and TV 電影 與 電視節目

A review by DaMo

Han Wu Da Di

漢武大帝

"He establishes the unprecedented prestige of the nation.
He endows everlasting confidence upon the nation.
The name of his dynasty becomes that of the nation."

Thus says the opening sequence to the opening theme of the 2005 historical drama about the Great Martial Emperor of the Han dynasty i.e. Han Wu Da Di. Flourishing as it may sound, few can argue with its essence; the Han dynasty played a significant part in shaping the future of China, and of Eastern Asia as a whole. And among the rulers of the Han dynasty, none have shone as much as Liu Che (劉徹), whose determined resolve to bring internal stability and external power to his dynasty earned him the legacy of being the titular martial emperor. His 54-year reign, the longest in the Han dynasty and one of the longest in Chinese history, saw an intriguing confluence of colourful and illustrious historical figures with whom he dealt, as well as several internal and external macro-historical events which he brought about or with which he had to deal. His reign is also one of the best-documented periods in Chinese history, thanks to the work of Sima Qian's (司馬遷) Records of the Grand Historian (史記), which forms the greater body of source material for the drama of Emperor Wu's life. Brought to life by dedicated producers and the largest budget ever provided an historical epic series, Han Wu Da Di makes for a gripping watch as well as an educational experience from the historical perspective.

Han vs Xiongnu

In the late third century BC, while fledgeling Roman power was on the rise, Macedonian power was on the wane, and Mauryan power was at its peak, the warring states of the post-Zhou period of chaos (戰國時代) were unified into a single empire by the ruler of the Qin(秦) state, who brutally unified measures, language, currency and government. The empire collapsed into rebellion and warlordism after his death, but was pulled together by the keen peasant-bandit Liu Bang (劉邦), who founded the new imperial dynasty of Han (漢) in 206 BC as the emperor Gaozu (高祖).

Simultaneously to the north, another new empire was being forged - that of the Xiongnu (匈奴), commonly known in English as the Huns. A wily prince by the name of Modu (冒頓) escaped from the jaws of death and seized the leadership of his tribe, emphasizing discipline and unity of purpose to transform his people into a capable fighting force. He crowned himself the Shanyu (單于) of the Xiongnu, and led his forces to subdue the Donghu (東胡), Yuezhi (月氏) and other tribes from the steppes to the deserts, unifying them into a vast empire in and around what is now Mongolia.

Han and Xiongnu would collide in a 3-year war, as the nascent empires of Gaozu and Modu faced off for control of Northeastern Asia. Modu was able to both repel the Han assault and place the very life of Gaozu under threat, besieging him at Baideng (白登). In a major humiliation for the Han empire, the siege was relieved only by the bribery of the Xiongnu queen by Han courtiers, and some semblance of peace was maintained by the practice of heqin (龢親), wherein the Han court would send a gift-laden princess to be married to the Xiongnu shanyu. Internally as well, the Han empire was not without problems, as Gaozu's policy of enfeoffing his relatives as regional lords reduced central imperial authority. After Gaozu's death, his manipulative and cruel Empress Lü Zhi (呂雉皇后) ruled by proxy, eliminating her rivals, placing puppet emperors on the Han throne and further weakening the empire's dignity before the Xiongnu. It is in this context that the series opens.

Rule of Wen and Jing

Emperor Jing (景帝), born Liu Qi (劉啟), was technically the sixth emperor of the Han dynasty, but could be called the third emperor of any significance. His father, Emperor Wen (文帝), had guided the Han empire back into just rule after the reign of Empress Lü. Like his father's, his reign was remembered as a time of benevolence and righteousness, and they are together known as the Reign of Wen and Jing (文景之治). The series covers in good detail and with several episodes the later reign of Emperor Jing, as he inflamed and subdued the Rebellion of the Seven States (七國之亂), thus strengthening imperial power and laying the foundations for the rule of his son Liu Che.

The series also covers the court/harem politics that led to the political marriage of Liu Che, the entitling of his mother Wang Zhi (王娡皇后) as empress, and the fate of the first crown prince Liu Rong (劉榮), all bringing the imperial throne closer to Liu Che. It depicts the important role of Empress Dou (竇皇后), the widow of Emperor Wen, whose Taoist leanings, crafty political sense and strong character weighed heavily on the relationships between and actions of her children.

Huang Shang, Wan Sui!

Young Liu Che is depicted as a playful child whose formative years are shaped by his exposure to Confucianism ideas. His hatred for the Xiongnu grows as he reads about the humiliation of the Han empire under the heqin system, and watching his sister being sent off to be a Xiongnu concubine. As Emperor Jing's health deteriorates, Liu Che is made crown prince and then crowned emperor just before his father's death.

Liu Che's first few years as emperor are plagued by court politics, as his first attempt at reform and bringing Confucian opinion into the court is quashed by his grandmother, and as his now powerful uncle and mother grow in influence. He is in an unhappy political marriage, and has made an enemy of the princess of Huainan (淮南).

In the Xiongnu realm, the ambitious full-blooded Xiongnu prince Yizhixie (伊稚斜), encouraged by a Han eunuch defector, takes the reins of power away from his father and half-Han brother. After a series of spats between the Han and Xiongnu courts, the relations between the two break out into skirmishes, raids, ambushes and finally open war. Emperor Wu, however, is more prepared than his predecessors.

The Martial Emperor

By the middle of the series, Emperor Wu is faced with threats on many fronts: conspiracies by family members to eliminate his favoured advisors, a restive provincial lord who believes the throne is his by right, and an increasingly aggressive Xiongnu empire. His diplomatic mission to the Western Regions disappears, and his heqin tribute is burned alive. After the infamous failed ambush at Mayi (馬邑), and a series of deep raids by the Xiongnu, the emperor is at the end of his line as the capital itself comes under threat.

As the fate of the empire hangs in the balance, Emperor Wu pulls his act together and takes charge - cue actor change to Chen Baoguo (陈宝国). He stands up to his relatives, neutralizes internal threats and puts the state back on the path of reform. He finds counsel in his concerned sister Pingyang (平陽公主), and discovers the Wei/Huo (衛/霍) clan, bringing him a new empress and two fresh founts of martial talent. He continues his drive to strengthen the army, increase the mobility of his forces, and improve weapons technology.

Finally, after one Xiongnu raid too far and too many, Emperor Wu unleashes the military might of the Han empire against the Xiongnu. With huge battle scenes across steppe and desert, the war is depicted in magnificent scale. The Han army, under generals who will live on in legend, breaks the Xiongnu back and drives them across the desert. In a bold move, Emperor Wu orders the Han army to pursue them to complete destruction at Mobei (漠北). As a result, the Western corridor would be opened to westward Han expansion, and the resurfacing of the Xiongnu threat would be delayed and thereafter greatly diminished.

Temporary Insanity

A few episodes at the end of the series deal with the less-than-glorious days of Emperor Wu's life, as he grows increasingly paranoid and arrogant. His harshness leads to serious defections and a wanton punishments, while his encounter with witchcraft and manipulative advisors leads to the rebellion and suicide of his empress and his crown prince (whose Liu-Wei lineage would ironically survive and be brought back to the throne by a Huo). But before his death, a look back at the sacrifices of his people leads him to publicly repent for and accept his excesses (an imperial first), and to downsize aggressive martial projects in favour of peace and prosperity for the people of Han.

Final Decree

The series must be commended for covering the later rule of Emperor Jing, as it was an important foundation to Emperor Wu's reign. It should also be commended for covering the latter years of Emperor Wu's life without whitewashing too much. Certainly, liberties were taken with some facts - for example, merging aspects of Modu's legend into the life of Yizhixie (e.g. the whistling arrow) to spice up Emperor Wu's nemesis. Not to mention some cases of questionable costumery, like the armour of Wei Qing (衛青) as high general. Furthermore, some mini-tales were thrown in for dramatic effect, such as the emperor posing as a military officer in court with the Xiongnu. And an historian might be a little more than miffed that nothing was mentioned of Emperor Wu's conquests of Gojoseon (古朝鮮) and Nanyue (南越), both of which played an important role in the histories of those regions for several centuries after.

Still, the general historicity of the series is laudable. Even less significant events, like Emperor Wu seeking out his half-sister, or Huo Qubing (霍去病) pouring his emperor's gift of wine into the stream for his troops, were depicted. And virtually every known historical character was presented in the series, from Chao Cuo (晁錯) and Zhou Yafu (周亚夫) to Zhi Du (郅都) and Tian Fen (田蚡) to Liu An (劉安) and Zhang Qian (張騫). Chen Baoguo delivers a great performance as Emperor Wu, and fans of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms TV series will note the return of "Guan Yu" Lu Shu Ming (陆树铭) as "Flying General" Li Guang (李廣). Finally, the plot managed to keep moving and to keep the viewer engaged without being too melodramatic or fast-paced. The elaborate costumery, grand outdoor scenes and palace sets lend an authentic atmosphere to the production. Definitely recommended for both educational and recreational purposes.

Edited by kaiselin, 24 June 2008 - 01:29 PM.

[kaiselin]

ENTERTAINMENT 娛樂

page 2

MOVIES and TV

電影 與 電視節目

Submitted by Moon

http://www.youtube.c...feature=related

Plot Summary

A land between Heaven and Earth
An unlikely band of heroes
A journey of Self-Discovery
A Divine Weapon
Lethal opponents
Breath-taking Music
Great Casts...

All make up to A good Forbidden Kingdom.

The Forbidden Kingdom is much more of an action adventure with martial arts fight scenes. Based on the Chinese Classic legend of Journey to the West, the plot revolves around an American teenager who is obsessed with Hong Kong cinema and kung-fu classics, makes an extraordinary discovery in a Chinatown pawnshop: the legendary artifact stick weapon of the Chinese sage and warrior, the Monkey King.

With the lost relic in hand, the teenager unexpectedly finds himself traveling back in time to ancient China where he joins a crew of warriors from martial arts lore on a dangerous quest to free the imprisoned Monkey King.
Jet Li will play both the monkey king and the silent monk and Jackie Chan will play the monk T'sa Ho.


Genres: Action/Adventure and Science Fiction/Fantasy

Release Date: April 18th, 2008 (wide)

Distributors: Lionsgate

Cast and Credits

Starring: Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Liu Yifei, Michael Angarano, Collin Chou

Produced by: Ryan Kavanaugh, Casey Silver

Directed by Rob Minkoff (Stuart Little, Lion King), the film marks the first-ever onscreen pairing of martial arts superstars Jackie Chan (Rush Hour, Drunken Master) and Jet Li (Fearless, Once Upon a Time in China). The original screenplay by John Fusco (Young Guns, Hidalgo) is based on the traditional Chinese legend of the Monkey King. The film is produced by Casey Silver (Ladder 49, Hidalgo, the upcoming Leatherheads) of Casey Silver Productions. Renowned action choreographer Wo Ping (The Matrix, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) is creating the fight sequences, and the director of photography is Peter Pau (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon). --© Lions Gate


Footnote:

Jackie talks about their first on-screen duel with Jet Li in The Forbidden Kingdom:

Today I finally “fought” with Jet Li. Although we have known each other for so many years, we have never fought with each other, but the short fight that we filmed today went very smoothly. It was as if we were brothers from the same kung fu school; every movement, punch, and kick was smooth – we could anticipate each others' moves, timing, and rhythm. I felt like I used to feel when I fought with Sammo Hung or Yuen Biao. Whether it was eye-contact, a facial expression, or a turn, we were very much in harmony and it was really terrific!

Although I hadn’t worked with our action choreographer Yuen Woo Ping in many years, all of us worked so well together that what was supposed to be a day-long filming was accomplished in just a few hours.

People always ask who would win in a fight between Jet Li and me. Since this is my diary, I will of course say that Jet Li would win ha ha ha! I always insist that you can learn something from everyone you meet no matter if he’s an unskilled laborer or a superstar. Chinese expression: “**When three people get together, one can be my teacher.”

**Editor's note: 孔子曰:三人行,必有我师焉

Sources:

Jackiechan.com
http://movies.aol.co...gdom/29832/main
http://www.cjreport....e-released.html

[kaiselin]

ENTERTAINMENT 娛 樂

page 3

COMICS

漫畫

Lost face? We have all your saving face needs ! ! !

TRAVEL

旅遊

members travel memories and pics

I can think of a few members who have been going on vacation recently or in the near future, How about posting some of your travel picks here and do a small article for us to hear about your trips.

BOOK REVIEWS

GOOD NEW RELEASES OR OLD BOOKS

New books on the market or recommended reading

Come on ! ! ! !

Someone must be reading a good book they want to share with everyone ! ! !

[kaiselin]

❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖

ART CONTEST

The lack of enthusiasm was very disappointing
I’m sorry to say that we received no submissions

❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖

WANT ADS

征聘廣告

❖

WANTED: Articles on any subject pertaining to Chinese history and culture.

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WANTED: Cartoonist to do only 6 cartoons a year. Can be related to history or current forum

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EARN CREDIT to help pay for the cost of running the CHF Forum. All you have to do is make it a habit to click on the add banner at the top of the page once a day.

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Please consider saving really good articles for the Journal before posting them on open forum.

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Comments and opinions are encouraged please drop them off at the mailboxCHF Newsletter: Mail box for Letters to the Editor, Please post comments, ideas and complaints
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WANTED: Need articles for Han Lin Journal + Newsletters,
I really do not want to have to pester you all about this any more then you want me constantly harping that we need submissions.
All I can say if you enjoy reading the newsletter and you want the Han Lin Journal Project to continue and succeed, we need help from the members. I am serious on the need for more volunteers willing to donate their time to help edit and organize the publications. I am also very serious in that we can not do this if we do not get articles submitted. The requirements we have for submissions are not that difficult and we are here to work with you.
Please read
http://www.chinahist...showtopic=23897

Edited by kaiselin, 07 April 2008 - 09:13 PM.

[kaiselin]

CHF Newsletter + Han Lin Journal Staff

Kaiselin, Chief Editor
Moon, Cultural Editor
Fireball, Literature Editor
tung2sai, Editor

William O'Chee, Columnist
fcharton, Columnist
DaMo, Columnist
Anita Mui, Columnist
Technogypsy, Columnist
Liu Bang, Columnist

Special Thanks to the CHF Community

If you are interested in joining the CHF Newsletter Editorial Team as a member or contributor, have ideas on how to improve the Newsletter / HLJ, or have comments, please contact Kaisilin, Moon, fireball, or tung2sai.

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Edited by kaiselin, 14 May 2008 - 03:43 PM.