Originally a form of local theatre, Peking Opera spread all over the country and then became the national opera of China. About 200 years ago, the Qing Emperor Qianlong toured in southern China and developed an interest in the local operas. On his 80th birthday, he let local opera troupes come to Beijing to perform for him. Some remained in Beijing after the celebration. The ones from Anhui and Hubei were combined with the palace opera — Kunqu Opera, which formed the Peking Opera. Peking Opera combines stylized acting with singing, dancing, musical dialogues, martial arts, colorful facial make-up and fantastic costumes.

Male roles are “Sheng”, and clowns are “Chou”. Each role, according to their sex, age and disposition, is characterized by different designs of facial make-up, say, Jing representing a rough, frank character and Hua Face representing a cruel or dangerous character. So the audience can easily tell what kind of character an actor is performing. Facial make-up, costumes and head-dresses are wonderful works of traditional art.

In the past, both Dan and Sheng roles were played by male actors, but now they also can be played by female. It is necessary to see Peking Opera while you are in China, just as seeing an opera while in Italy. There are also some other types of opera staged in China, such as Kunqu Opera, Pingju Opera and Hebei Bangzi as well as other operas from different places.

Chinese opera performers mainly have two methods of makeup: masks and facial painting. The frequent on-stage change of masks, without the audience noticing, is a special technique, known as changing faces. Opera facial painting falls into four main categories — personality makeup (facial designs, painted faces or Lian Pu), decorative makeup (decorated faces), mood makeup (changing facial designs), and pictographic makeup (animal-like facial designs).

Lian Pu

Personality makeup, or Lian Pu, refers to facial designs for Jing and Chou roles. It originated from daily life experience, describing such changes of expression as white for fear, red for shyness, dark for suntan, and sallow for illness. Most facial designs attach great importance to the eyes and eyebrows. Lian Pu has formed a complete system, such as the facial designs of Peking Opera.

Red, yellow, white, black, purple, green and silver are the main colors used for facial designs to represent different characters. For instance, red stands for loyal, courageous and upright people; white for sinister and cunning officials; and golden and silvery colors for gods and ghosts.

The facial designs for the Jing roles are made by painting, powdering and coloring in the basic forms of Zheng Lian (keeping the basic face pattern整脸), San Kuai Wa Lian (three-section face三块瓦脸) and Sui Lian (fragmentary face碎脸). These types are widely used to represent generals, officials, heroes, gods and ghosts.

The Chou actors can be recognized by the patch of white in various shapes (cube-, date pit- or bat-shaped) painted around the eyes and nose. Sometimes these patches are outlined in black, hence the term Xiao Hua Lian (partly painted face). The Chou roles fall into the following two categories: Wen Chou (civil) and Wu Chou (martial).

The loss of handwriting in our high-tech world saddens me. People of all ages openly admit their handwriting as keyboards replace pen and paper. Increasingly, schoolchildren deal with assignments on computer and struggle to write, having had little practice. I am of the generation that learnt to write with a dip pen in kindergarten and a fountain pen in high school; by the time I reached university, like everyone else. I used a functional ballpoint. Handwriting has filled every aspect of my life since I was first taught to shape letters on the lined pages of my exercise books.

From the age of 12, I kept a handwritten journal, recording my thoughts and feelings regarding both the significant and mundane aspects of my life. Through this daily practice I connected with myself, explored experiences and found a way to interpret and make sense of my relationships. Although I rarely reread my written material, the process of writing has remained with me as a means of processing my feelings and filtering(过滤) my experiences.

Yet today, handwritten letters are as rare as a red panda. Few of us write any longer, even to those to whom we are close. We communicate difficulty when we e-mail or text, both methods characterised by speed and informality. The deep thinking which accompanied a handwritten letter, is almost entirely absent. We may be communicating more frequently and with more people, but the depth and quality of our communication has reduced.

Sadly, modern technology tends to be temporary. Few of us keep old e-mails or even print them out, so a sense of history and memory is lost. Archivists(档案管理者) report that more information has been lost in the past decade than in the previous 150 years. It is too easy to press the delete button.

In many other areas of records, material is now in the digital format. Yet saving material in a digital formal only is extremely unstable. How it will survive the future remains a problem.

In this digital world of text, e-mails and instant messaging, the perceived value of writing is no longer obvious and the case for retaining the practice of writing needs to be made. Should we save the bumble pen and paper when laptops and mobilies are functional, universal and unstoppable? Should children continue to be taught to write with a pen and paper?

With its passing, a good mode of self-expression is being lost. I invite readers to engage with handwriting and become aware of this special skill that has created civilization for centuries.

The annual Yuyuan Garden lantern show in Shanghai is an important event in the city’s Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations for 28 years. It is one of the country’s oldest lantern fairs, where locals go to experience the festive atmosphere and wish each other well during the Spring Festival.

This year, the beloved Yuyuan Garden lantern show took place outside of China for the very first time, with 60 large-sized bright structures and more than 2,000 lanterns lighting the Jardin d’Acclimatation — the oldest amusement park in Paris, as a way to celebrate the 2024 Year of the Dragon with an interesting combination of Eastern and Western culture.

From dragon-shaped lanterns to motifs (图腾) inspired by the legendary world of Shanhai Jing (a book dating back to 2,000 years ago, regarded as a major source of Chinese mythology), the Yuyuan Garden lantern show in Paris built a world of lights and imagination for visitors, showing the charm of traditional Chinese culture.

Highlighting various cultural and spiritual symbols, the lantern displays include mythical creatures such as Kunpeng and Yinglong, representing ambition and strength.

Beyond the lanterns, the celebration in Paris also consisted of market events. Visitors could also admire traditional Chinese costumes and accessories, and enjoy traditional Chinese cuisine.

With a mixture of dancing, acrobatics (杂技) and martial arts performances, the lantern show was an impressive experience in the world of Chinese folklore and lanterns, which was open until February 25, 2024.

More than just a lantern show, it also served as an opening activity to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic (外交的) relations between China and France in 1964, which is also the China-France Year of Culture and Tourism.