Why was Bastille important to the citizens of Paris? The building of the Bastille had been started in 1370 under Charles V. By the seventeenth century, it had stopped to be important for defense. Cardinal Richelieu turned it into a prison. It was not an ordinary prison to punish common crimes. Its huge doors closed only on enemies of the King. The Bastille’s workings were secret. Prisoners were taken to it in closed vehicles. Soldiers on guard duty had to stand with their faces to the wall. No talking was allowed. Worst of all, a prisoner never knew if he would be there a day, a week, a year, or forever. Only the King’s letter could set him free.

Over the years, the number of arrests by King’s letter had become fewer. By the time of its fall, most of the prisoners were writers who had written against the corruptions (贪污腐败) of the government. Voltaire, the famous French writer, spent a year there in 1717-1718, and another 12 days in 1726.

For those who believed in free speech and free thinking, the Bastille stood for everything evil. The day it was captured, only seven prisoners were found inside. Still, the Bastille was hated by the people. It was a symbol of the King’s complete power.

Cantonese opera(粤剧) is one of the major Chinese opera categories. It is a traditional Chinese art form that originated in southern China’s Cantonese culture, and involves music, singing, martial arts, acrobatics and acting. Today it is not only very popular in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hong Kong and Macao, but also performed all around the world.

Cantonese opera was originally called Nanxi(Southern opera) in the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, and this beautiful art form has pleased audiences for hundreds of years. By absorbing the folk melodies and tunes of Guangdong, and mixing many different opera styles that were popular at the time, Cantonese opera developed during the 16th century. With the unique combination of these different influences, Nanxi was developed into Cantonese opera.

Cantonese opera is a wonderful mix of storytelling, music and fighting. The performances are often based on well-known traditional stories or events from Chinese history. The colourful sets serve as the background for these performances and actors appear on stage with similarly colourful face paint. Fights are a common and important part of many shows with actors performing difficult and exciting martial arts movements.

In the beginning, Cantonese opera costumes reflected the clothing style of the Ming Dynasty. Later, as Peking opera became increasingly popular, it was strongly influenced by Peking opera costumes. Costumes were made of cloth and later some accessories(配饰)were added. Different roles require different costumes. For example, an actor playing the Xiaosheng, a very gentle role, wears a costume with long sleeves; while the Xiaowu, an acting role, demands a costume with short sleeves so as to act easily.

Many well-known operas are still performed today, such as The Purple Hairpin and Rejunenation of the Red Plum Flower, which originated in the Yuan Dynasty. Other Cantonese operas are adapted from western movies or novels. Generally, Cantonese opera performers have to master four skills: singing, acting movement, delivery of speeches, and martial gymnastic skills.

Because of its long tradition and its importance in the development of Chinese arts and culture, Cantonese opera was included on the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage list in 2009.

Some of the World’s Most Famous Libraries

Libraries are storehouses of information and resources, organized systematically, and maintained by an individual, a group, or an institution, for public use. They were initially known as archives, as they also maintained a record of unpublished books. Some of the famous libraries are listed below:

Russian State Library—44. 4 million items

The Russian State Library houses 17 million books as well as 13 million journals, 150, 000 maps, and thousands of musical records and scores. The Russian State Library is located in the capital city of the country, Moscow and is freely accessible to the public of the country. It was founded on July lst, 1862.

Library and Archives, Canada—54 million items

The Library and Archives of Canada is maintained directly by the federal government of the country. The current collection includes nearly 20 million books, 24 million photographs, private and government archives, aboriginal magazines, non-fiction and fiction films, Canadian periodicals, and more. The Library and Archives of Canada was formed in 2004 by the amalgamation (融合) of the functions performed by the National Library of Canada and the National Archives of Canada and reports directly to the Parliament of the country.

New York Public Library—55 million items

The system of libraries in New York, the New York Public Library, is world-famous for its extensive collection of 55 million items including books, periodicals, musical records and other publications and albums. It was established in 1895. The main branch of the library is located on Fifth Avenue in New York at the intersection with 42nd Streel. In 1965, it was designed as a National Historic Landmark. Today, the New York Public Library has 4 research libraries, branch libraries in Bronx, State Island and Manhattan and several smaller libraries affiliated (附属的) to it.

British Library—150 million items

The British Library can proudly boast of its collection of 150 million books, manuscripts, magazines, music recordings and scores, patents, databases and much more. The library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is located in the capital of England, between the Euston and St. Pacras railway stations in London.