See China

Do city people eat artificial rice? How can you find your home in your city where all houses look alike? If a student acts naughty in class in the city, will the teacher see it from the computer? How do you ride a plane? Do you sit on its wings or in its belly? These are some of the 100 questions written by primary pupils from remote Chinese countryside in Yunnan province.

Wu Guanzhong (吴冠中，1919-2010)，one of the most accomplished and outspoken Chinese painters, died at the age of 90 on June 25. He is famous for combining Chinese and western painting techniques, tenaciously pursuing beauty in adversities and calling for reform of China’s artistic administrative system.

Can a joke kill a king? Retired professor Zhang Huicheng (张惠诚) recently published a book named “History of Chinese Court Coups” (中国历代宫廷政变), which recorded many seemingly ridiculous mishaps that accidentally led to the demise of a certain kingdom or dynasty.

A Chinese named Yang Heyang wrote an article on Sina.com, recalling how he became “the funniest man in the world”, a titled conferred to him by the kind citizens of Kiel, Germany.

Any urban children growing up in today’s China would be familiar with the Big Big Wolf and the Pleasant Goat (喜羊羊与灰太狼), an animation series broadcast, merchandized and publicized almost anytime, everywhere. The 7-year-old son of the protagnist is no exception.

The first really wellknown Chinese novel on migrant workers was finally written by the migrant worker himself. Zhou Shuheng (周述恒), 31-year-old migrant worker who bent himself on nightly writings after backbreaking work in the daytime from different jobs, hopes that this 450,000-word novel will help more people to respect and protect the full rights and interests of 280 million Chinese people who have silently contributed to the economic boom of 1/5 of the world in blood and sweat.

The National Library of China, the world’s largest archive of Chinese books and manuscripts, is now soliciting old pictures about the life and history of global Chinese descendents. Donars of pictures eligible to be permanently collected by NLC will be conferred with an official certificate. Please contact nlcoldphoto@yahoo.cn for details.

A book written by Lu Shi’e (陆士谔) in 1910 fortold the event of Shanghai World Expo in a very fasinating way. Lu, a Qing dynasty novelist and doctor, wrote a fictional book entitled New China (新中国) when he was 32 years old, in which the protagonist “dreamed” of Shanghai’s bustling business, subway, Pudong Bridge and above all, the opening of Shanghai World Expo exactly a hundred years later.

For over 6 months, severe drought unseen in 60 years have reigned over Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Chongqing, Qinghai, Gansu, Guangxi and Tibet. Altogether 26 million people are affected, 11 million acres of land have dried up and more than 15 million people and 9.23 million big livestocks are having difficulties in getting drinking water.

Zhang Zao (张枣,1962-2010), respected as one of the best Third Generation poets of China, passed away in the University of Tubingen of Germany from lung cancer on March 8th at the age of 48. Zhang Zao’s poems are very finely structured with both eastern and western historical connotations, sensitive emotional nuances and a deep sense of philosophical awareness.