2. "Paradise on Earth - Wonderful Scenes of Exquisite Beauty: Hangzhou and Suzhou"
The November talk by Debbie Wilson
Debbie Wilson is a leading expert in Silk Embroidery. But her artistry and skill do not stop there:
she is also a magnificent photographer,
with the artist's eye for the telling composition, and the technical skill to make her camera see
it the way she does. For
the November talk, Debbie showed us a selection of these beautiful photos, culled from the many
that she has taken on various
trips to China. (Debbie's commentary on the slides would stand publication
without editing, but was given,
in her usual amazing way,
without a single note.)
Fan and Vase openings in wall at House of Prosperity Tongli
The places covered were
Qingdao, Shanghai, Suzhou
(including SERI, the Silk and
Embroidery Research Institute,
Tongli and Zhouzhuang), and
Hangzhou. It would be nice to be able to show here all of her slides, but bandwidth
does not allow doing justice to the high quality of even one.
The Far Pavilion at Pan Men
So we will content ourselves with giving just a few, and sending commiserations to those members
who were unable to make
it to be present at this real banquet for the eyes.
Hangzhou West Lake Moonwatching Island
3. Spring Festival Smithfield 2008
This
year's Smithfield New Years Festival for the Year of the
Rat has been the biggest and most spectacular celebration of
Chinese culture yet.
His Excellancy Ambassador Liu Biwei & Master Dong Yang
The Year of The Rat was welcomed by guests of honour Liu
Biwei Ambassador of the Peoples Republic
of China, The Deputy Lord Mayor Cllr.
Anne Carter, Logan Raju, Mayor of Blackrock, and Cllr. Eric Byrne. The festival is
the product of hard work and commitment
by various organisations, especially The
Irish Chinese Information Centre and other
Chinese organisations dedicated to integration
and cultural exchange.
The festival offered a feast for the
eyes, body and soul with traditional massage,
foods and Chinese gifts for sale.
Shaolin monks performed the traditional
New Years Blessing each day, and the
Lion Dance each day entertained both
communities (Chinese and Irish). The lovable
huge rat model spent vast amounts of
energy on comedy and wowing the crowd
for the three days.
The more restrained Gardai intercultural department also had a
marquee stall on the square.
The Martial Arts highlight was a visual bonanza of Tai
chi and Kung Fu demonstrations by the Association of Chinese
Kung Fu Ireland and Shaolin Kung Fu Academy, exhibiting
their dazzling skills with swords and Nine Section Whip Chain,
which you can usually only see in Chinese movies. On Saturday,
Sunday, and for the closing ceremony on Monday near their new
club on Smithfield Square, Shaolin Kung Fu Academy held
the large attending crowds spellbound.
Members of the Shaolin Kung Fu Academy
After the event the Master Dong Yang expressed his
appreciation to the organisers, Dublin city counsel, Dublin Chinese
New Year community and Dr. Chan Mullen of the Irish
Chinese Information Centre, for their dedication to the Chinese
community and the festival. The Master took the opportunity
to welcome all people who love Chinese Culture and Arts to
come to Smithfield Square and make friends with kindred spirits.
4. An Post Celebrates the Year of the Rat
The Chinese calendar follows a sequence of sixty years and is based on
both lunar and solar movements. Chinese New Year starts on the first day
of the new moon at the beginning of the year. Therefore according to the
Gregorian calendar, Chinese New Year falls on a different date each year,
somewhere between 21 January and 20 February. The celebrations last
fifteen days and end with the Lantern Festival, which is held on the fifteenth
night.
The Year of the Rat stamp
was designed by
Renze Zhou
Although rats are feared and disliked in many parts of the world, in China
it is an honour to be born in the Year of the Rat. In the Chinese horoscope,
Rats are seen as leaders who are clever, ambitious and industrious.
They are also regarded as sociable, energetic and charming.
5. Chinese New Year Festival 2008
This year was a great year to celebrate the Chinese New Year
with many different events throughout the festival time.
February 1st saw the launch of the Dublin City Programme,
it kicked off with the Irish
Film Institute, Temple Bar
hosting a Chinese Film festival.
On Saturday & Sunday the
focus shifted to the Hugh
Lane Gallery, Parnell Square,
which held workshops in
Chinese arts and crafts;
these workshops were especially
focused on teaching
children about Chinese Art.
 |
Dublin Zoo also took part in the Chinese celebration with
special talks by the Zoo keepers and serving Chinese food in
their Meerkat Restaurant. |
Chinese Red Pandas
and admirers
| |
February 5th and the Dublin City Council, UCD, the Olympic
Council of Ireland and the Chinese Embassy combined for the official
launch of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Pack.
Hand Shadow(Mr Shao Jiangui)
|
Later that evening the Chinese Irish Cultural Academy
hosted a Gala Charity performance at the RDS Serpentine
Hall. Visiting Artists from Sichuan Opera, members of the Academy
and Irish special guests, provided a great night of entertainment. |
CICA Girls
|
Wednesday 6th saw Dragon boat races on the Liffey.
The UCD Confucius Institute
hosted a Chinese
Gala Performance on
Friday 8th February, at
the O’Reilly Hall. 600
guests attended.
To open this gala performance, a
group of Year 1 students
from Loreto
High School, who have
only recently started to learn Chinese, sang the wellknown
Chinese
pop song ‘Tian mimi’ (Sweet as honey).
| This was followed
by Mr Yang Hong from the Chengdu Opera Troupe and
winner of the UN Intangible Cultural Heritage Award, who performed
‘Face-changing,’one of the oldest artforms in Sichuan
opera, where the artist changes his masks so fast during the performance
that the audience is left baffled trying to figure out
how it is done. |
Ms Liu Yi & Mr Yang Hong
(The appearance of artists from the Chengdu Opera Troupe was courtesy of the
Chinese Irish Cultural Academy.)
|
Next there was a Chinese Dance (Shuixiu wu) performance by
Ms Liu Yi from the Sichuan Opera Troupe, followed by a Hand
Shadow (Shou ying) performance by Mr Shao Jiangui from the
Chengdu Opera Troupe. Then Ms Hu Jiayue, a Sichuan Province
Professional Acrobatics Competition gold medal winner,
performed Acrobatics (Baixi). This was followed by Chinese Folk Songs by singer Wu Hua, and Kungfu
tea performed by Mr King Zeyong.
|
.
The second half of the performance began with students of the UCD "BComm with Chinese"
course singing the Chinese pop song ‘Laoshu ai dami’ (The rat loves
rice). After this came a performance by the Beijing Bai Ling Shadow Puppet
Troupe. (see item 6) .
|  |
Then, from Saturday 9th through to Monday 11th the focus shifted to Smithfield
(see item 3) .
As well as these activities in Dublin there were, of course, other celebrations as well.
In particular, on Saturday 9th February the ICCG (Irish Chinese Contact Group) hosted
a special family get together in Limerick. Families from
all over Ireland had a great day, and the Sichuan Artists put on a great show
for all the children.
6. BaiLing Shadow Puppet Troupe
Shadow puppetry is one of the rare treasures of Chinese performing
arts. This lesser known art form is dying out as China experiences rapid economic
growth and cultural change. Shadow puppetry first appeared in Beijing
around 500 years ago during the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644). The Beijing
Bailing Shadow Puppet Troupe is the only remaining professional performing
troupe today.
The action, with voices and music (mostly percussion), is lively. English translations are projected
to enable viewers to follow the story line. The dramas are built around traditional and legendary
subjects.
| This form of shadow show is different to most other types
in that the shadows are coloured,
not black and white. The puppets are made from specially treated donkey skin, which is
almost transparent, and can be coloured. As can be seen from the accompanying photo of
an elbow, intricate carving is done to ensure that plenty of light gets through. |
 |
7. Information for Members by Email
The ICCS would like to set up an email data base of its members to keep them up to date on events which are happening in between issues of this newsletter. If you would like to get such information from the society would you kindly E-mail me at the address below and mark your reference ICCS E-mail data base.
This information will neither be shared with any other organisation nor passed on to any other external source.
E-mail:
iccs@oceanfree.net
Colm Coleman
This Newsletter
is published by the
Irish-Chinese Cultural
Society.
Views expressed by individual contributors do not represent any
official policy of the Irish-Chinese Cultural Society.
We would be delighted to receive articles, photos and stories for our newsletter.
The Editor welcomes all submissions, but cannot absolutely guarantee the return of any photos or documents
supplied, and reserves the right to shorten or modify any letter or material submitted.
Please send to the Editor
Colm Coleman, 3 Pacelli Ave., Sutton, Dublin 13.
E-mail: iccs@oceanfree.net
