Tag Archives: Danwei.com

Miss Universal Values

The band was playing Cocaine as the small entourage entered but it was highly doubtful any of them would ever touch the stuff: these were international representatives of China, “athletes” in a land of contradictions, competing for fresh spoils. After years of … Continue reading →

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City Sun, the “undercover” paper

As commercial papers look for ways to hook readers’ interest, the City Sun (城市信报) appears to have found a reliable strategy: sending its reporters undercover. “UNDERCOVER” shouts the headline to the March 29 edition of the paper (shown above), which features a first-hand look … Continue reading →

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A brief history of Chinese porn

The origins of Chinese erotica and pornography can be traced way back into antiquity. Though remnants have been found dating from as early as the 1st century, production of erotic artwork appears to have properly flourished around the 10th century and reached … Continue reading →

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People’s Pornography – An interview with Katrien Jacobs

China has a long tradition of erotic art but pornographic films and pictures are currently illegal. Despite frequent anti-porn clampdowns, pornography remains available both online and in the form of DVDs. A paper titled A Peep at Pornography Web in China compiled by scholars … Continue reading →

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Qaddafi’s imminent fall – some views from China

The news coming out of Libya this morning has been reported without much commentary by Xinhua News Agency and most newspapers and websites in China. That has not stopped editors from using the news to sell papers; see for example … Continue reading →

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We survived a day in China

Notes about social criticism and black humor on the Chinese Internet, by Victor H. Mair, Professor of Chinese Language and Literature at the University of Pennsylvania.  We survived! Here is a translation of the cartoon at left that has been … Continue reading →

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The dizi

The dizi (笛子) is one of China’s oldest instruments. Similar- though not identical to- the Western flute, the dizi probably originated around 8,000 years ago and remains ubiquitous in contemporary China. Early dizi were made from bone but bamboo became … Continue reading →

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The pipa: How a barbarian lute became a national symbol

‘Playing the pipa behind the back’ is a special kind of Chinese gongfu that expresses flying in heaven at Dunhuang. [See image of pipa player from Mogao caves at Dunhuang] The road to industrialization with Chinese characteristics was taken by Mao Zedong after … Continue reading →

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Paper Boy: A contemporary composition for the guzheng

This track is Paper Boy, composed and performed on the guzheng by Wu Fei:  You can buy Paper Boy as a single on Amazon and iTunes (for 99 cents). • See also The guzheng on Danwei.

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The guzheng

The guzheng is a 21-stringed zither that has been played in China – in one form or another – for about two thousand years. Aside from having 21 strings (compared to the guqin‘s 7 strings), the guzheng’s other major difference from … Continue reading →

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