The Chopsticks Brothers (筷子兄弟)
[
Google translated bio] are Xiao Yang and Wang Taili,
Chinese indie musician/filmmakers making internet short films which generally function as extended music videos for their original songs.
Old Boys (42 min, english sub) October 2010
[
Youku copy] - over 52 million views
Short video on YouTube, english subtitles
[more inside]
posted by ctmf
on Mar 10, 2013 -
0 comments
Generation Gap: "The parents of China’s post-1980 generation [the bā líng hòu (八零後)] (themselves born between 1950 and 1965) grew up in a rural, Maoist world utterly different from that of their children. In their adolescence, there was one phone per village, the universities were closed and jobs were assigned from above. If you imagine the disorientation and confusion of many parents in the West when it comes to the internet and its role in their children’s lives, and then add to that dating, university life and career choices, you come close to the generational dilemma. Parents who spent their own early twenties labouring on remote farms have to deal with children who measure their world in malls, iPhones and casual dates."
[more inside]
posted by zarq
on Mar 7, 2013 -
16 comments
Historically, the
city states of the Malay Peninsula often paid tribute to regional kingdoms such as those
of China and
Siam. Closer relations with China were
established in the early 15th century during the
reign of Parameswara, founder of Melaka,
when Admiral Zheng He (Cheng Ho)
sailed through the Straits of Malacca. Impressed
by the tribute, the
Yongle Emperor of China
is said to have presented Princess Hang Li Po
* as a gift to Mansur Shah,
then Sultan of
Malacca (+/-1459 AD). Tradition
claims the courtiers and servants
who accompanied the princess
settled in Bukit Cina, intermarried
with the locals
and grew into a community known
as the Peranakan.
Colloquially known as Baba-Nyonya, the Peranakan or Straits Chinese, they retained
many of their
ethnic and religious customs, but
assimilated the
language and clothing of
the Malays. They
developed a unique
culture and
distinct foods.
Nyonya cuisine is
one of the most highly rated in the South East Asian
region, considered some of the
most difficult to master but
very easy to
love and
enjoy.
posted by infini
on Dec 24, 2012 -
25 comments
The
Global Language Online Support System (or GLOSS), produced by the Defense Language Institute in sunny Monterey, CA, offers over
six thousand free lessons in 38 languages from Albanian to Uzbek, with particular emphasis on Chinese, Persian, Russian, Korean, and various types of Arabic. The lessons include both reading and listening components and are refreshingly based on real local materials (news articles, radio segments, etc.) rather than generic templates.
[more inside]
posted by theodolite
on Oct 11, 2012 -
23 comments
English that looks like Chinese. "At first glance, Square Word Calligraphy appears to be nothing more unusual than Chinese characters, but in fact it is a new way of rendering English words in the format of a square so they resemble Chinese characters. Chinese viewers expect to be able to read Square Word Calligraphy but cannot. Western viewers, however are surprised to find they can read it. Delight erupts when meaning is unexpectedly revealed." (Britta Erickson,
The Art of Xu Bing.)
[more inside]
posted by jef
on Aug 27, 2012 -
66 comments
On Tiger Moms: "What the controversy surrounding Chua demonstrates, however inadvertently, is that parenting techniques are always grounded in basic assumptions about the way things are and what matters to us. And they are always guided by some answer to the most fundamental of ethical questions—how to live?"
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posted by the man of twists and turns
on May 7, 2012 -
52 comments
As you can see, the [Chinese] typewriter is extremely complicated and cumbersome. The main tray — which is like a typesetter's font of lead type — has about two thousand of the most frequent characters. Two thousand characters are not nearly enough for literary and scholarly purposes, so there are also a number of supplementary trays from which less frequent characters may be retrieved when necessary. What is even more intimidating about a Chinese typewriter is that the characters as seen by the typist are backwards and upside down! [more inside]
posted by Trurl
on Feb 27, 2012 -
43 comments
Here's a dance performed by Yang Liping and her niece Cai Qi at a Chinese New Year gala recently. It's called "Spring" and will likely mark the end of a celebrated career. Yang Liping (杨丽萍） is perhaps most famous for her gorgeous arm movements in the
Peacock Dance (雀之灵), and here's one more dance performed entirely in silhouette called "
Moon". (
MLYT)
posted by of strange foe
on Jan 22, 2012 -
7 comments
Have trouble figuring out who your third cousin twice removed is versus your second cousin thrice removed? Imagine if your family was
Chinese. The rules for Chinese family relation names are complex and incredibly specific, though there are patterns that can help out (e.g. tang2 vs biao3). A
research paper provides some cultural context.
[more inside]
posted by kmz
on Sep 12, 2011 -
21 comments
Evan Osnos joins a tour group from China as they traverse Europe. In the front row of the bus, Li stood facing the group with a microphone in hand, a posture he would retain for most of our waking hours in the days ahead. In the life of a Chinese tourist, guides play an especially prominent role—translator, raconteur, and field marshal—and Li projected a calm, seasoned air. He often referred to himself in the third person—Guide Li—and he prided himself on efficiency. “Everyone, our watches should be synchronized,” he said. “It is now 7:16 P.M.” He implored us to be five minutes early for every departure. “We flew all the way here,” he said. “Let’s make the most of it.” [more inside]
posted by WalterMitty
on Jul 28, 2011 -
71 comments
[Michelangelo Antonioni's Chung Kuo] as a documentary film was one which was draped with fascination for both filmmakers as well as an audience, rather than championing anti-whatever sentiments from either side of the world. Not having seen many movies, either features, shorts or documentaries made during the Cultural Revolution era or about that era in question (propaganda included), I think this Antonioni film has more than made its mark as a definitive documentary that anyone curious about the life of the time, would find it a gem to sit through.
posted by Trurl
on Jul 11, 2011 -
3 comments
Haw Par Villa, also known as
Tiger Balm Gardens, was quite possibly the
weirdest theme park on the planet. The first park was built in Hong Kong in the 30s, soon followed by another in Singapore. Built by brothers Aw Boon Haw and Aw Boon Par, who made their fortunes selling
Tiger Balm, the park was really a sculpture garden devoted to all aspects of
Chinese mythology. Weirdest and most surreal of all was the section of the park which depicted the the
10 levels of
Buddhist hell, featuring demons
dismembering sinners, and is best described as "if Heironymus Bosch built a putt putt course."
posted by puny human
on Jun 20, 2011 -
30 comments
"The handover to a new president and premier has generated plenty of speculation in the press, about who the leaders are and what is will all mean, but sometimes it’s useful to go back and fill in the very basics, since China has a unique and in some ways quite confusing political system." A Primer on China's Leadership Transition. [via]
posted by spiderskull
on May 16, 2011 -
5 comments
Montblanc Watches Chinese Ad is the everyday story a son of a billionaire that splits with his arty girlfriend and wins her back with ride to Switzerland in a private jet. I won't spoil the rest other than to say don't give up on the boring factory visit, the finale is worth waiting for.
posted by priorpark17
on May 5, 2011 -
102 comments
Unlike many cinematic exports,
the Disney canon of films distinguishes itself with an impressive dedication to
dubbing.
Through an in-house service called
Disney Character Voices International, not just dialogue but songs, too, are
skillfully re-recorded, echoing the voice acting, rhythm, and rhyme scheme of the original work to
an uncanny degree (while still leaving plenty of room for
lyrical reinvention).
The breadth of the effort is surprising, as well -- everything from
Arabic to
Icelandic to
Zulu gets its own dub, and their latest project,
The Princess and the Frog, debuted in
more than forty tongues.
Luckily for polyglots everywhere, the exhaustiveness of Disney's translations is thoroughly documented online in
multilanguage mixes and
one-line comparisons, linguistic kaleidoscopes that cast new light on old standards.
Highlights:
"One Jump Ahead," "Prince Ali," and
"A Whole New World" (
Aladdin) -
"Circle of Life," "Hakuna Matata," and
"Luau!" (
The Lion King) -
"Under the Sea" and
"Poor Unfortunate Souls" (
The Little Mermaid) -
"Belle" and
"Be Our Guest" (
Beauty and the Beast) -
"Just Around the Riverbend" (
Pocahontas) -
"One Song" and
"Heigh-Ho" (
Snow White) -
"Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" (
Cinderella) -
Medley (
Pinocchio) -
"When She Loved Me" (
Toy Story 2) -
Intro (
Monsters, Inc.)
posted by Rhaomi
on Nov 12, 2010 -
31 comments
