Learn Mandarin online - Tianjin Natural History Museum

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Library>Museum>Nature

Tianjin Natural History Museum

http://www.tjnhm.org/

The Tianjin Natural History Museum, located at the west end of the Machang Road, was set up in 1914 by a French missionary and opened in 1927, with the previous name as Beijiang Museum. It got the present name in 1957.

The museum is specialized in collections of paleontology and paleo-anthropology fossils. Specimens total 380,000, and the key collections show the paleontology group in the late period of Chinese Cenozoic Era, including fossils of ancient mammals excavated from the Yushe Basin of Shanxi Province,
the Qingyang Basin of Gansu Province, the Yang Yuanni Basin of Hebei Province and the Inner Mongolia -- the abundance of paleontology groups of the four places are rare worldwide, which are important references for researches on the evolvement of amniotes.

The museum features four basic displays of Animal, Paleontology, Plants and Paleo-anthropology fossils, containing ancient reptiles and mammals, animal ecology, insects and aquatic organisms.

The museum often organizes small-scale roadshows such as the Exhibition of Butterflies, the Exhibition of Prepotency, the Exhibition of Fostering Flowers, the Exhibition of Protecting Rare Birds and Beneficial Birds, the Exhibition of Environmental Protection, the Exhibition of Strange Animals and
so on in different districts, counties, municipalities and provinces.

In collaboration with related scientific research institutes, the museum has compiled books such asthe Brochure of Hemiptera Insects in China,Tibetan Insects,Major Agricultural Pests in China,Forest Insects in Yunnan, and so on.

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Study Chinese - Liuzhou City Museum

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Library>Museum>History

Liuzhou City Museum

www.lzbwg.com

The Liuzhou City Museum, located at Liuzhou City of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and founded at the end of 1958, is a local historical museum of China. The Museum has successively excavated a few ancient tombs and the former cultural sites of Liujiang Man fossil andBailiandongCave, and
discovered the former site of ancients and animal group fossils in the caves ofSouth China.

The Museum has collected more than 5,000 relics (not including the fossil samples), particularly the folk custom relics of the minority groups of Zhuang,Yao, Miao and Dong. There are over 20 Class One collections, of which a set of bells from the Warring States Period (475-221BC),
theChunyu(ancient bronze musical instrument), bronze mirror and bronze drum from the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD) are rare ones. The basic exhibition of the Museum is the Exhibition of Relics Collected by the Museum, divided into three parts -- the primitive society, the slave society and the feudal
society -- to display mainly the ceramics, bronze and ironware, painting and calligraphy, jade, gold and silver jewels, handicraft carvings, the ancient and extinct animals and plants and palaeoanthropological fossils.

The Museum has held a few exhibitions on special topics such as the Exhibition of Historical Relics of Ming Dynasty in Liuzhou and the Exhibition of Folk Custom Relics of Minority Groups of Zhuang, Miao, Yao and Dong, as well as an auxiliary exhibition of the Memorial Hall of Liu Zongyuan.

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Chinese Character

China, the Homeland of Tea

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Library>Culture ABC>Food & Drinks>Tea Culture

China, the Homeland of Tea

Of the three major beverages of the world -- tea, coffee and cocoa -- tea is consumed by the largest number of people.

Tea, the most popular beverage for the Chinese, is one of China's specialties and traditional exports. According to historical data, China began to grow tea about two thousand years ago during the period of the Warring States (475-221BC).

It is universally acknowledged that China is the original tea-growing area, as well as the first country to grow, produce and drink tea.

In the Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) Dynasties a popular custom was tea appraising. Over the long history of drinking tea, a special and simple Chinese tea culture came into being. Drinking tea was not only for quenching thirst or for enjoyment, but also for the promotion of friendship and
mutual understanding. Folk customs of drinking tea reflected the ancient Chinese people's great interest in tea culture.

People often used tea as a betrothal gift; for it could not be "transplanted." After accepting tea as a betrothal gift, a girl could not capriciously change her decision to marry her fiancé.

Entertainment of guests to tea is the most fundamental social behavior in the Chinese people's contacts with each other. When a guest comes, the Chinese will offer him or her a cup of tea to express friendship.

China is the home country of tea. Before the Tang Dynasty (618-907), Chinese tea was exported by land and sea, first to Japan and Korea, then to India and Central Asia and, in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) Dynasties, to the Arabian Peninsula. In the early period of the 17th century,
Chinese tea was exported to Europe, where the upper class adopted the fashion of drinking tea. Chinese tea, like Chinese silk and china, is an outstanding contribution to the world's material and spiritual civilization.

China is the homeland of tea. It is believed that China has tea-shrubs as early as five to six thousand years ago, and human cultivation of tea plants dates back two thousand years. Tea from China, along with her silk and porcelain, began to be known over the world more than a thousand years ago
and has since always been an important Chinese export. At present more than forty countries in the world grow tea, with Asian countries producing 90% of the world's total output. All tea trees in other countries have their origin directly or indirectly in China. The word for tealeaves or tea as a
drink in many countries is derivatives from the Chinese character "cha." The Russians call it "cha'i", which sounds like "chaye" (tea leaves) as it is pronounced in northern China, and the English word "tea" sounds similar to the pronunciation of its counterpart in Xiamen (Amoy). The Japanese
character for tea is written exactly the same as it is in Chinese, though pronounced with a slight difference. The habit of tea drinking spread to Japan in the 6th century, but it was not introduced to Europe and America till the 17th and 18th centuries. Now the number of tea drinkers in the world
is legion and is still on the increase.

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Chinese Studies - Three Famous Laosheng of Peking Opera

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Library>Culture ABC>Opera>People

Three Famous Laosheng of Peking Opera

In the early period of Peking Opera, the main roles on stage wereDan(female roles). It was after the emergence of three successful actors thatLaosheng(male roles) rose as the main role on the opera stage.

The roles on the Chinese opera stage fall into four categories --Sheng, Dan, Jing and Chou.These roles have the natural features of age and sex, as well as social status.Danis the general term in Peking Operafor female roles.

Sheng, a male role, usually a leading one, dates back to Southern Drama of the Song and Yuan dynasties (960-1368). According to the age and social status of the characters,Shengfalls into three sub-groups --Laosheng, Xiaosheng and Wusheng.Laoshengrefers to middle-aged or elderly men.

The three outstandingLaoshengactors in the early period of Peking Opera are Cheng Changgeng (1811-1880), Yu Sansheng (1802-1866) and Zhang Erqiang (1814-1864).

Cheng Changgeng, the leader of Hui Opera and founding father of Peking Opera, learned drama since childhood. His greatest contribution was that he integrated Anhui and Han opera tunes, as well asKunqu, which laid the foundation for theLaoshengrole in Peking Opera.

Yu Sansheng's performance is based on Han opera tunes, with which he amalgamated Anhui tunes,KunquandBangzi, and greatly enriched Peking Opera.

Zhang Erkui at first was just aPiaoyou(orFan). He became a professional actor at the age of 24, and later formed his own style -- the Kui School.

It was after the three thatLaosheng(male roles) rose as the main role on Peking Operastage.

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Learning Chinese - Greatest Canyon

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Greatest Canyon

The greatest canyon in the world is China's Brahmaputra Canyon, 504.6 kilometers long and 6,009 meters deep at its deepest spot. Its average depth is 2,268 meters.

The river with the highest elevation in the world - the Brahmaputra River, has its origin in the Jiemayangzong Glacier in the northern slope of the Himalayas. Its rapid currents roll on in waves towards the east; at the time when it passes Mt. Namjagbarwa in the eastern end of the Himalayas, it
has a horseshoe-like bend along the peak. Thick and primitive forests cover the two banks of the river valley and a magnificent green canyon is brought before our eyes. That is the Great Brahmaputra Canyon.

The Brahmaputra Canyon slept soundly for millions of years. No one knows it is a global most. In the early of 1994, Chinese scientists found by accident that the Brahmaputra Canyon, which cuts through the Himalayas, has an average depth of 5,000 meters with the maximum depth of 5,382 meters; from
Pai to Baxika, the total length of the canyon is 496.3 kilometers.

Therefore, the great canyon is no doubt the deepest canyon on the globe. The discovery of this great canyon was acknowledged as "an important discovery on earth in the end of the 20th century"; but its unexpected discovery is a sure result of the long-term and backbreaking labors of generations of
Chinese scientists. The mighty scenes of the great canyon give the whole world a pleasant surprise.

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Chinese Pinyin - Common Alcimandra

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Library>China ABC>Fauna Flora>Introduction and Regulations>Class I Plants>Angiosperm

Common Alcimandra

It belongs to the Magnoliaceae Family, with a Latin name ofAlcimandra cathcartii.

The evergreen arbor can attain the height up to 30 meters with a chest diameter of 60 centimeters. The leaves, obovoid or oval, are keratinous. The flowers are pure white and aromatic, with 5.5 to 6 centimeters in length and 2 to 2.5 centimeters in width, without any stipule traces.

Common Alcimandra is distributed in broad-leaved evergreen forests of the mountainous regions 1,200-2,400 meters above sea level. As one of the heliophilous species, it mainly grows on the southeast slopes of the higher part of mountainous regions or on ridges. The saplings need full exposure in
sunshine for better growth. It grows better in acidic soil, which contains full organic elements. It blossoms in May, and fructifies in September and October.

It is sparsely distributed over the southeast part of Yunnan Province and Muotuo in Tibet. It is a mono-genus plant of the Magnolia Family, so it is of a certain value to the study of the plantage. With a straight trunk, it is a kind of fine timber tree. Its flowers are both aesthetic and
aromatic, so it is a rare and valuable species for forestation and greening projects both in urban and rural areas.

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Learning Chinese - Xia Dynasty

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Library>China ABC>History>Introduction>Dynasties

Xia Dynasty

Bronze Jue (a wine vessel) (22.5 cm high)

As the first slave dynasty in Chinese history, the Xia Dynasty (21st-16th century BC) began with the reign of Qi, the son of the Great Yu, and ended with the fall of Jie. With its capital located in Anyi (north of Xia County in mid-west Shanxi Province), the Xia was ruled by the descents of the
Xiahou tribe. Altogether, there were 16 kings in 13 generations.

Ding (a container to store food) with cloud patterns

Formed on an alliance of a dozen closely related tribes led by the Xiahou tribe, the Xia Dynasty carried out a system of hereditary monarchy and nobility. Noble organizations at different levels kept their original consanguinity and were strictly restricted to different surnames. The king of the
Xia practiced enfeoffment on lords. With the patriarchy clan at the core of the social system, the nobles were divided into different levels according to positions in the family hierarchy and close or distant relationships between clans.

Square tomahawk with cross patterns

The Xia established its own army and penal codeYu Xing(penal code of Yu). The Xia also created a calendar, which is said to be China's first calendar, using the Big Dipper to determine months.Xia Xiao Zheng, kept inDa Dai Li Ji(Book of Rites by Da Dai), is an important existing document of the Xia
calendar. It recorded the movements of the sun, moon and stars in line with the 12 lunar months of the year and also the seasons of stockbreeding and farming accordingly.Xia Xia Zheng,tocertain extent, reflects the development of animal husbandry and agriculture in Xia, leaving an invaluable
record of the earliest scientific knowledge in ancient China.

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Free Chinese Lesson - Interesting Saying on Place Names

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Library>China ABC>Geography>Climate & Territory

Interesting Saying on Place Names

Why Hong Kong is called Fragrant Port

Why Hong Kong is called Fragrant Port There are several different sayings about it. First one, there was a female pirate whose name was Fragrant Aunt. The island was her base and so it was called Fragrant Port later. Second one, there was a waterfall near the place Young Fragrant Port. Many
sailors always drank water from the waterfall since it was sweet. So the place was called Fragrant Port.

Long long ago, there was a small village called Fragrant Port Village near Shipai Gulf and now it is still called Small Fragrant Port or Fragrant Port Exclosure. Today's Fragrant Island and Kowloon used to be under the administration of Dongguan County of Guangdong Province. Then Xin'an County
(renamed as Bao'an County later and Shenzhen City nowadays) was separated from Dongguan County, and Fragrant Port Island belonged to Baoan County. After the Opium War in 1840, the Qing government ceded the island to Britain.

At that time Dongguan County of Guangdong Province was abundant with a kind of flavor that was coagulated by liquid from a kind of fragrant tree. Some flavor is like rosin, others like sandalwood. This flavor can be made into many fragrant products. People can put them on a little furnace and fire
it with boiled water. Then the fragrance spreads out.

The kind of fragrance is called Guan Fragrance since it is produced in Dongguan. At that time many fragrant products were shipped to a lot of provinces and cities such as Jiangsu Province, Hangzhou and Beijing. So the district is called Fragrant Port and the village is called Fragrant Port Village
later.

The finest fragrance of this kind is so expensive that the price value is the same as gold. The most precious one is Dongguan Daughter Fragrance.

It is said that once upon a time the Qing Imperial Palace was in need of this fragrance. But the output of it was quite limited. The court sent special placemen to collect it. They forced people in Dongguan to hand in the flavor. The fragrance farmers fled away after they burnt fragrant trees
since they couldn't bear the arbitrariness. After that Guan Fragrance declined and became just a history. But the name of Fragrant Port is called by people till now.

Original Meanings of Some City Names

Harbin

In the language of Manchu ethnic minority, it means fishing net bleachery. It was a fishing village and became a city in 1932 after it was connected to outside by railway.

Hohhot

In the Mongolian language, it means green city.

Xilinhot

In the Mongolian language, it means high city.

Baotou

In the Mongolian language, it means place full of deer.

Hailar

In the Mongolian language, it means fluent water.

Ulanhot

1 2 3 4

1 2 3 4

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Chinese Class - Yulong Brake

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Library>China ABC>Fauna Flora>Introduction and Regulations>Class I Plants>Pteridophyta

Yulong Brake

It belongs to the Dryopteridaceae Family, with the Latin name ofSorolepidium glaciale.

The perennial herb can attain the height up to 10 to 30 centimeters. The short rhizome grows upright or slanting. There are imbricate squamae borne on the surface of petioles and rachises. The brown squamae have serrulate eyelashes on edges and turn pale when aged. It bears linear leaf blade,
lance-shaped, with a short stipe. The sori are round in shape without cover and located in a single row respectively on both sides of the principal vein.

It mainly grows in cold deserts on mountains and is usually found growing sparsely in gaps between broken stones on edges of glaciers or near snow lines. In warm season (July to August), it can grow rapidly in a short time after defrosting of the earth surface.

It's sparsely distributed in mountainous areas adjacent to Tibet Autonomous Region, Yunnan and Sichuan provinces. It's a special species of China and of significant value for scientific research.

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Speak Chinese - Guizhou Golden Monkey

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Library>China ABC>Fauna Flora>Introduction and Regulations>Class I Animals>Mammalia

Guizhou Golden Monkey

Also known as Ash Snub-nosed Monkey, White-shouldered and Snub-nosed Monkey, and Cattle-tailed Monkey, it belongs to the Cercopithecidae family of Primates order, with the Latin scientific name Rhinopithecus brelichi and English name Guizhou Golden Monkey.

Its body shape is similar to Sichuan Golden Monkey, with nostril up, mouth-nasal part slightly downward sunken, not so swollen as Sichuan Golden Monkey, and cheek grayish white or light blue. The front hair base of vertex is golden yellow, gradually turning into hoar at the rear, with black tips.
The ears are white at edges, and the back is taupe. Between two shoulders there is a white speckle. Its hair reaches as long as 16 centimeters. From the outer side of shoulder to the back of hand, the color gradually changes from light grayish brown to black, and the change of hair color of the
lower limbs is the same as the upper limbs.

Inhabiting in upland broadleaf forests at an elevation of 1,700 meters or above, it mainly lives on trees in groups, in a way of seasonal grouping and large group formation. They feed on various vegetable leaves, sprouts, flowers, fruits and barks.

Narrowly distributed in Fanjing Mountain of Guizhou Province, it is a species endemic to China, with a small quantity of only a few hundred. Now Fanjing Mountain Natural Protection Area has been established for the protection of its inhabiting environments.

Guizhou Golden Monkeyhas been listed in Appendix I ofConvention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

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Chinese Character - Letter from Jia Qu

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Your questions answered

Letter from Jia Qu

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am a pianist study in the Netherlands. I have visited your website and I

think the projects and exhibitions for culture exchange between Europe and

China are very interesting. So if there is anything I could do for those

exchanges, it would be my honor to help as a Chinese and musician!

Yours sincerely

Jia Qu

Dear Jia Qu

Thanks for your attention to our website. We would very appreciate your help if you could tell us what contents in our website are of most interest and significance to the culture exchange.

Best wishes

Chinaculture.org

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Chinese Studies - Beijing to host antique show during Olympics

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|Home|News Center|Cultural Olympics|City of Beijing|Sports Tradition|China Impression|

Beijing to host antique show during Olympics

( 2008-07-10 )

Beijing will see an antique show to illustrate Sun Zi's Art of War during the Olympic Games, on which four famous ancient Chinese swords will make their first collective presence, announced the organizer.

The Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution will open the Sun Zi's Art of War and Military Relic Exhibition, the first of its kind in the world, from July 22 to September 20, said She Zhihong, the museum deputy curator on Tuesday.

He disclosed that four swords once owned by a king and a prince of the Spring and Autumn Period will be brought to the show.

"The exhibition has won support from many provincial museums in China, which leased us their collections to make a collective effort to recast Chinese warlords' practices of the Art of War, the world's earliest extant military book," She said.

Among the four swords, the most famous and legendary one is the Sword of Goujian, which was named after its master, king of the State of Yue during the Spring and Autumn Period (770 B.C.- 476 B.C.), when he led his troops in conquering the State of Wu, said the curator.

Two of the other three swords are also believed to have been used by the king, but they have different names -- the Sword of the King of Yue and the Sword of the King of Yue in the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period. The third one is believed to have been used by a prince in the
Kingdom of Wu in the same period.

Among the 180 exhibits are also state treasures including 30-odd bamboo strips on which is written the original Art of War, a garrison map from the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), weaponry from the tomb of Marquis Yi of the State of Zeng, Han Dynasty bamboo strips, utensils used on the Han
Dynasty battlefield and Tang Dynasty Terra Cotta warriors, the curator added.

He said that the exhibition's annotation will be in both Chinese and English. The museum also invited five leading Chinese experts on Sun Zi's Art of War to interpret obscure prose of the work in simple words.

The war strategy work, which is believed to have been written in the 6th century B.C. by war strategist Sun Zi, is the most widely applied military philosophical work in the world.

"By presenting the exhibition during the Games, the museum hopes to create an opportunity for foreign visitors to better understand China and the Sun Zi's Art of War," said the curator.

Editor:Wang Nan

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Chinese Class - Fujian Province

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Library>China ABC>Geography>Introduction

Fujian Province

Geography

Fujian Province on the southeastern coast faces Taiwan Province across the Taiwan Straits. It is situated 115'50"-120'47" east longitude and 23'30"-28'19" north latitude with an area of more than 120,000 square kilometers. Mountains and hills make up the vast majority of Fujian's territory, while
only narrow strips of the east seaside are plains. Fujian has a zigzag coastline of 2,120 kilometers dotted with 1,202 offshore islands, with a fishing area of 136,000 square kilometers. Most of its rivers empty into the sea separately.

Climate

Fujian has a sub-tropical climate, warm and humid, with no distinctive difference between seasons. It has a mean annual temperature of 17oC-21oC, and a mean annual precipitation of 1,200-2,200 mm. Typhoons occur frequently from May to November.

Administrative Division and Population

It is divided into 9 prefecture-level cities, 14 county-level cities and 46 counties, with a population of 34.71 million by 2000.

Food

Min Cuisine (Fujian Cuisine) is one of the Eight Great Cuisines in China, emphasizing seafood, river fish, and shrimp. The most characteristic aspect of Fujian Cuisine is that its dishes are served in soup.

Culture

Pear Orchard Opera, Puppet Show, etc.

Special Local Products

The main traditional specialties are the Oolong Tea, orange of Zhangzhou, longan of Jinjiang, lacquer ware of Fuzhou, porcelain of Dehua, stone carving of Shoushan and woodcarving of Quanzhou.

Brief Introduction

Fujian Province (Min for short) is located on the southeast coast of China, with Fuzhou as the provincial capital. Fujian is also the home of many overseas Chinese.

Fujian has well-developed agriculture, forestry and fishery. Its mild, humid, subtropical and marine climate is especially conducive to crop production. Sugarcane, peanuts, tea, tobacco, rubber, jute and bluish dogbane are Fujian's major cash crops. Orange, longan, lichi, pineapple, loquat and
banana are the six famous fruits of Fujian. Its industries of building materials, forest, light industry, electronics, chemical, machinery, and papermaking occupy important places in the country.

Fujian is blessed with a rich history, famous historical sites and beautiful natural landscapes, making it a unique tourist attraction. Its numerous tourist attractions include mountains, rivers and well-known cities. Quanzhou, one of China's famous historic and cultural ancient cities, is a human
and scenic spot approved by the UNESCO; Xiamen, known as the "Garden on the Sea", is a picturesque special economic zone; Wuyi Mountain, inscribed on the World Heritage List, is famous for its peaks and Wuyi tea; the Kaiyuan Temple in Quanzhou, the Yongquan Temple in Fuzhou, the Guanghua Temple in
Putian and the Nanshan Temple in Zhangzhou are the four famous grand ancient temples in Fujian. In addition, there are historical relics left behind by Zhu Xi and Zheng Chenggong.

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HSK - Controversy Escalates on Yuanmingyuan Rebuilding

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Info>View







Controversy Escalates on Yuanmingyuan Rebuilding




Controversies escalated as the Yuanmingyuan project rebuilding was launched. The project, advocated by Xu Wenrong, is to include investment of 200,000,000 RMB to rebuild Yuanmingyuan in Hengdian, Zhejiang Province, and is expected to finish in 5 years and open to the public in 2013.












Covering an area of 6165 acre, the “New Yuanmingyuan” consists of three gardens, Yuanmingyuan, Changchunyuan, and Wanchunyuan. The project will be reconstructed in accordance with the historic Yuanmingyuan that was burned down by Anglo-French Forces 146 years ago. As reported, the land area is
even larger than the Imperial Palace, and the water area is identical with the Summer Palace.












The project is being executed by an economic league from Hengdian. It will use 600,000,000 RMB for architectural design and decoration, and another 14000,000,000 of investment will be used for collection and replication of cultural relics in the New Yuanmingyuan.

There are mainly two viewpoints on the rebuilding. In the objectors’ opinions, Yuanmingyuan is a reminder of the shameful memory of the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911); it should be maintained as ruins. On the other side, some people think that rebuilding it would be a sign of China’s
prosperity, and the new Yuanmingyuan could contrast with the old one. It is also important for adolescents who are gradually forgetting this shameful history.





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Learn Mandarin online - Lao She

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Library>Culture ABC>Drama>People







Lao She



Lao She(1899-1966) was born of Manchu descent inBeijing. His father, who was a guard soldier, died in a street battle during the Boxer uprising. Fatherless since early childhood, Lao She worked his way through Peking Teacher's College. After graduation he supported himself and his mother through a
series of teaching and administrative post. He served as a principal of an elementary school at the age of 17, and later he was a district supervisor. Lao She spent the years from 1924 to 1929 in London, where he taught Chinese at the School of Oriental and African Studies. By reading among others
the novels of Charles Dickens, Lao She improved his English, and decided to start his fist novel.

In 1931 Lao She returned to China and continued to write and teach in various universities. Partly modeled on Fielding's Tom Jones, Lao She turned to humor. He reversed his early individualist theme and stressed the futility of the individual's struggle against society as a whole. In Rickshaw Boy
Lao She traced the degrading and ruin of a industrious Peking rickshaw puller, who finally dies on a snowy night.

The outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) radically altered Lao She's views. Between the years 1937 and 1945 he wrote a number of plays, worked as a propagandist, and headed the All-China Anti-Japanese Writers Federation.

Between the years 1946 and 1949 Lao She lived in the United States on a cultural grant at the invitation of the Department of State. When the People's Republic was established in 1949, Lao She returned to China.

He was a member of the Cultural and Educational Committee in the Government Administration Council, a deputy to theNational People's Congress, a member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, vice-chairman of the All-Cina Federation of Literature and
Art and vice-chairman of the Union of Chinese Writers as well as chairman of the Beijing Federation of Literature and Art. He was named a "People's Artist" and a "Great Master of Language".

Lao She died in 1966, in the times of the Cultural Revolution. His last novel was The Drum Singers (1952), which was published only in English. Since the fall of Jiang Qing, guiding hand of the Cultural Revolution, in 1971, Lao She's works has been republished.

Among Lao She's most frequently performed plays isTeahouse, which was written in 1957. The events are set in the Beijing teahouse of Wang Lifa during three different periods: 1898 under the empire, the 1910s under the warlords and around 1945 after World War Two. Towards the end, Wang and his
friends confess the failure of their lives. The teahouse is requisitioned as a club and Wang is offered a job as doorman -- however, he has already hanged himself -- The Beijing People's Art Theatre performed the play in 1980 in West Germany and France.











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