The Pipa

March 27, 2010

I’m taking a break from serious topics like politics and economics to write about the Chinese pipa, a four stringed lute (or Chinese guitar) with a pear-shaped body. Historical records show that the pipa first appeared during the Qin Dynasty (222 – 206 BCE), and it become one of the most popular stringed instruments in China and has survived more than two-thousand years.

pipa

Traditional Chinese music has been traced back 7,000 to 8,000 years. For centuries this music was heard primarily by the royalty and high government officials. By the Tang Dynasty, records show that this music had spread to the common people.

Traditional Chinese musical instruments can be divided into four categories: stringed instruments, percussion instruments, plucked instruments, and wind instruments.

If you enjoyed this, discover the The Erhu

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of The Concubine Saga. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. This is the love story Sir Robert Hart did not want the world to discover.

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Leave a Comment » | Chinese arts and music, Chinese Culture, Chinese history, tourism | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

You’ve Come a Long Way, Babe

March 27, 2010

Women in China have walked long distances on healthy feet since 1949 when Mao said, “Women hold up half the sky.”

Today, it seems Chinese women do more than hold up half the sky—they control it. I’m talking about Chen Lu Yu, a popular Chinese television talk show host who reaches an audience estimated at more than 140 million in China.

Chen Lu Yu

Chen has been called the “China’s Oprah”. Chinese media officials have censored the topics Lu Yu covers, but, according to Lu Yu, the show has yet to hear from the Chinese censors. She has talked about HIV, lesbians, transsexuals, marriage problems—you name it, and her Chinese audience loves her.

The show is called “A Date with Luyu” and it first aired on January 5, 2002. Chen has also appeared on America’s Oprah.

Discover Powerful Chinese Women

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of My Splendid Concubine [3rd edition]. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. This is the love story Sir Robert Hart did not want the world to discover.

His latest novel is the multiple-award winning Running with the Enemy.

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China’s Holistic Historical Timeline

3 Comments | China, Chinese Culture, Chinese women, media | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

Zhouzhuang — China’s Venice

March 26, 2010

We arrived early when the parking lot and the streets were about empty.  That’s the best time to get there.

Zhouzhuang, originally built in 1086, is surrounded by water. Boats are needed even for short trips.

The town is well known for its preservation of numerous buildings from the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Zhouzhuang, the Venice of Asia,  is on the United Nations Reserve List for the World Cultural Heritage and the Dubai International Best Practice to Improve the Living Environment.

As you can see, it gets crowded. Most of these tourists were Chinese citizens from the growing middle class.

This is where I was a photo thief. I wanted to take a picture of these captured birds but the owners wouldn’t let me.  He pointed at a sign that said I’d have to pay.

I walked a distance and used my meager telephoto lens to take this shot of the birds tied to the owner’s boat.

If you enjoyed this photo essay, see the Li River Cruise

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too.

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Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

Discovery’s First Step

March 26, 2010

If you haven’t traveled in China, your opinions about that country are probably wrong. I’ve traveled there often, and I’m married to a woman who was born and lived in China during Mao’s Cultural Revolution.

That’s why I found it interesting to read “The Non-Existence Of A Chinese World View” at Two Fish’s Blog, where Lin YuTang was quoted.

While writing “My Splendid Concubine” about Robert Hart in China, I read “My Country and My People“. Hart is mentioned on page eleven of the 1938 edition. Pearl S. Buck (who wrote the introduction) felt that someone who knows the Chinese should write a book about the people and culture. She urged Lin YuTang to be that author. Even though YuTang’s book was published before the Communist Revolution, this book is still relevant in all things Chinese.

Lin YuTang

YuTang’s style is a mixture of history, philosophy, psychology, sociology with wit and wisdom.

I smiled when he pointed out contradictions about the Chinese way of thinking and helped me discover what motivates many Chinese to act the way they do — even the Chinese in a government often blamed for what they do because they are Communists when in fact, they act that way because they are Chinese.

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of My Splendid Concubine [3rd edition]. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. This is the lusty love story Sir Robert Hart did not want the world to discover.

IMAGE with Blurbs and Awards to use on Twitter

Where to Buy

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Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

PayPal Drooling for China

March 24, 2010

“Ebay failed in China because it relies on one leader who did not understand the market at all: Meg Whitman. Meg Whitman is Ebay Mao Zedong. No one dare tell her the truth. She exports her cultural revolution and it dont work in China. She is clearly a smart lady but is a no-nothing about China, taken advantage of at all turns.”  Source: Playin’ With It

This struggle for the Chinese consumer reminds me of the infant who bangs on his plate sending food flying everywhere while he screams for something else.

PayPal in China

That brings me to PayPal. eBay/PayPal are one and the same. When PayPal first went after Chinese consumers they lost to Alipay, the online payment service operated by China-based e-commerce firm Alibaba Group.  Most Chinese will pay with cash before they use a credit card and this may be where PayPal tripped up the first time.

PayPal is back. This time forming an aliance with Union Pay, with Chinese consumers holding 2.1 billion debit cards. This partnership will make it easier for Chinese consumers to make transactions outside China and pay cash.  Did PayPal learn their lesson the first time? Source: Internet Retailer

See Doing Business in China http://wp.me/pN4pY-2Y

 

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Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

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