Transcript Chapter Fifteen Culture and Life

Highlights of Chinese Civilization and
Local Culture
中国地方文化英语导读
00041010
School of Foreign Languages
Suzhou University
Chapter Fifteen
Culture and Life
教学大纲
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1、教学内容
主要了解苏州人的饮食、艺术、民俗节日以及老行当的文化
生活特色。
讲授内容：
(1). 吴语特征、评弹及昆曲艺术以及吴门画派的艺术特征
与代表人物
(2). 缂丝、苏绣、桃花坞木刻年画以及檀香扇等工艺美术
(3). 苏州小吃与百年老店以及碧螺春茶
(4). 冬至节、轧神仙以及寒山寺新年听钟声
(5). 换糖担、卖大饼油条、卖糖粥、捏糖人等苏州老行当
2、教学要点
重点掌握苏州评弹与昆曲的艺术特点。
思考并讨论拯救和传承方言的重要性。
A senior scholar and professor of the Chinese history and civilization at
Princeton University wrote:
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“Suzhou drew to it and fostered the arts of
China, the literary arts above all, but also
music and painting, calligraphy, the craft arts,
the decorative arts, and the minor arts that
contributed to the elegant life. Also, Suzhou
sustained learning, the mechanism for
achieving social status and official careers,
and the prestige affectation of all who could
afford it. It lavished wealth on gardens and
art collections and religious institutions; its
citizen’s dress, their mansions, their delicate
foods, their pleasure boats and pleasure
houses and theatricals and festivals were
reputed to be the finest in all China. If some
of those statements were also made about
other places . . . it only proves that Suzhou
was the first among many rivals in the multicentered urban life of China.”
I. Language and Art
1.Suzhou Dialect
 2. Pingtan
 3. Kunqu Opera
 4. Wumen Painting School
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1.Suzhou Dialect
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the style of Suzhou lies in “the softness”, like
the tone of the Wu dialect, which also sums up
the character in feminine beauty, tenderness,
subtlety and elegance.
The Wu language is one of the major divisions
of the Chinese language. It is spoken in most
of Zhejiang Province, the municipality of
Shanghai, southern Jiangsu Province, as well
as small parts of Anhui, Jiangxi and Fujian
Provinces. The traditional dominant dialect of
the Wu is the Suzhou dialect, though
considerably due to its large population.
Expert’s Voice
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China National Language Academic Society
Vice-chairman Dai Qingxia said: “a species'
vanishing only lets us lose one moving
scenery; One language's vanishing actually
lets us lose one beautiful culture for good.”
Saves the dialect, saves the local culture
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started the pilot work in Suzhou to
construct a database for the language
resources.
Suzhou becomes the national first
experiment site to have the database
construction city.
"Standard Suzhou Sound Handbook"
pronunciation compact disc has included
Suzhou local dialect’s pronunciations for
6000 Chinese characters.
Questions for group discussion:
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Why is the use of local dialects decreasing
and becoming less widespread?
The importance of rescuing the dialect.
How can we strike a better balance between
the spread of the Standard Chinese Putonghua
and Suzhou dialect?
Your suggestions to protect and to inherit the
Suzhou dialect.
2. Local Performing Art: Pingtan
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Suzhou Pingtan has become one of the
nation’s top four operas, using the local dialect
as its performance language, and impressing
the audience in the form of storytelling and
singing to the accompaniment of stringed
instruments.
Suzhou Pingtan is a generic term for Suzhou
Pinghua (story-telling) and Suzhou Tanci
(ballad-singing).
Pinghua is mostly performed by a narrator who holds a
fan and a piece of wood while telling historical, judicial,
heroic and epic stories.
Pinghua
Tanci：余红仙
Tanci is mostly performed by
two singer narrators, and
occasionally by one or three
narrators, accompanied by a
three-string zither and a pipe
lute, telling and singing
stories ranging from daily life
to love affairs
Pinghua
Suzhou Pingtan
3. Local Performing Art: Kunqu Opera
called “the King of the Chinese Operas”;
 the Kunqu Opera originated from Suzhou;
 The stage performance of the opera is
captivating and its “dancing and singing”
is extremely expressive of emotions.
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History
Originated in the Kunshan, with a history of
about 600 years.
 In Ming Dynasty, Wei Liangfu contributed to
the development of Kun Opera.
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back
Two schools
Kun Opera
The Southern Kun
The Northern Kun
back
Position
--the ancestor of all kinds of operas
It is a bridge between the former opera
and the latter.
It plays an important rule in the history of
the development of Chinese literary, drama,
music and dance.
back
The orchestra
dizi
sheng
xiao
pipa
A list of plays
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Escorting Jingniang Home(Qianli Song
Jingniang)
Fifteen Strings of Coins(Shiwu Guan)
The Peony Pavilion(The Return of the Soul)
The Hall of Everlasting Life (Changsheng Dian)
The Peach Blossom Fan (Taohua Shan)
The Peony Pavilion
(牡丹亭)
Museum of Suzhou Folk Customs
耳机.听听苏州的声音.按键.吴歌.叫卖声.童谣.民歌.评弹.昆曲
4. Wumen Painting School
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Being the source land of the Wu Culture, Suzhou plays
an important role in the national cultural history, where
great names in history appeared one after another. The
Wumen Fine Arts School, represented by the Wumen
Fours of Shen Zhou, Wen Zhengming, Tang Yin and
Qiu Ying, whose poems, calligraphies, and paintings
might be named as “the three incredibilities of the
Wumen”, is was famous in the fine arts circle.
Nowadays, in Suzhou fine arts circle, promising young
painters not only inherit the traditional styles, but also
learn from their predecessors. They then extensively
absorb their mentor’s strong points, and combine
them into their own new styles, assisting the Wumen
Fine Arts School to develop and prosper in the fine
arts circle.
明代"吴门画派"鼻祖沈周
Shen Zhou-originator of "Wu Men Painting
Group" of the Ming Dynasty
 Shen Zhou (1427-1509), a famous painter of
the mid-Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), was the
founding father of the Wumen School. Shen
styled himself after (Qi)nan, with sobriquet
Shitian and later Baishi Weng, or Yutian
Weng. People referred to Shen as Baishi
Xiansheng.
Various techniques
can be seen in Shen
Zhou's paintings. As
the leader of
theWumenSchool, he
developed the
techniques of
freehand brushwork
of landscape painting
and flower-bird
painting.
By Shen Zhou
Wen Zhengming (1470-1559)文征
明
Famous calligrapher, especially good at walking
script(行书) and regular script(小楷）
By Wen Zhengming
Wen's works can be divided into two types: bold black ink
landscape paintings, such as Mountain Rain and Old
Trees By A Cold Stream; and refined and elegant green
landscape paintings in a meticulous style, such as
Innumerable Mountains and Valleys. He lived for more
than 90 years, and many people came to him to ask for
his paintings when he was old. Some even made a living
by pirating his paintings.
Tang Yin（Tang Bohu）唐寅
Tang Yin was a native of Wu County and a
student of Shen Zhou. He was
accomplished in poetry, prose and
calligraphy, and excelled especially in
painting. He had an un-restrained
personality, experienced many hardships in
life and was poor and frustrated in his later
years.
Tang Yin’s works
Qiu Ying’s Work
玉洞仙源图
He noted for his
meticulous and precise
style painted exclusively
with traditional themes.
He was skilled in drawing
blue-and-green
landscape and sketching
characters with delicate
brushwork and rich
coloring. Qiu Ying was a
native of Taicang. His
green-color landscape
paintings, are marked by
vigorous strokes and
bright colors. His figure
paintings, meticulously
executed, are bright in
color, accurate in
portrayal, and vivid in
expression.
By Qiu Ying
II. Handicraft
1. Kesi Silk
 2. Embroidery
 3. Woodblock
 4. Fan
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1. Kesi Silk
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Kesi, or engraved silk, is an ancient silk-weaving
technique using raw silk as the warp and colored
scouring silk as the weft. It involves meticulous
craftsmanship and time-consuming labor to weave the
colored silk on a 2000-thread loom by running the
shuttle back and forth in a small area and then cutting
the threads at each end. Producing Kesi silk is rather
like embroidering and carving out patterns and figures
directly on the warp. This highly detailed and valuable
fabric is formed throughout the woven textile industry
for its intricate and artistic designs.
Bird with Peacock Feathers
2. Embroidery
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Suzhou embroidery is celebrated for its
sophisticated stitching, vivid pictures,
beautiful patterns and elegant colors.
3. Woodblock
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The block-printed Chinese New Year pictures
are a traditional form of folk art in China. These
pictures are printed from wood blocks into
which both the texts and the illustrations have
been carved by hand. The prints are used to
celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year. As a
form of folk art, Suzhou Taohuawu
Woodcutting New Year Pictures from the
Peach Blossom Castle are very popular with
their rich contents, lively plots, and art styles
of images and bright colors.
Harmony 一团和气
4. Fan
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Suzhou fan is famous for its many
exquisite designs and elegant handicraft.
The most reputable ones are silk palace
fans, folding fans, and sandalwood fans.
The elegant fans of Suzhou combine the
techniques of design, painting,
engraving, inlaying, and lacquering.
III. Cuisine
1. Popular Dish
 2. Restaurant
 3. Snack
 4. Bi Luo Chun Tea
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1. Popular Dish
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As part of Huaiyang Cuisine, Suzhou style of cooking
is closely related to the local culture and characterized
by the natural flavor, beautiful presentation, light and
palatable taste, and seasonal varieties. The selection
of ingredients has much to do with the water country.
Dishes and pastries traditionally served aboard
pleasure boats remain the principal forms. Seasonal
foods are water mallows, gorgon fruits fish, shrimp,
crabs, and other aquatic products.
Taihu Lake Boat Dish.
snack booths
2. Restaurant
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Suzhou could be a paradise for gourmets.
Fresh seasonal vegetables, fish and a
slight sweetness are the main features of
Suzhou cuisine. Quite a number of
quality restaurants of the region are
one’s choice.
3. Snack
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Snacks became popular for their flavors
in early times and gradually formed their
own particular styles. Suzhou snacks
feature in taste sweetness, fragrance,
tenderness, glutinousness, and
smoothness.
4. Bi Luo Chun Tea
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Suzhou’s Bi Luo Chun Tea is locally known as
“Fearful Incense”.
Teahouses are located in main and side streets
or along the riverside. A teahouse is a place
not only for people to drink tea, but also to
settle disputes, hold business discussions and
for old friends to get together. It is also an
unofficial information center, where one can
hear over a cup of tea all the important news
about the political situation, social affairs and
even idle gossip.
IV. Festival
1. Winter Solstice
 2. Ya Shen Xian
 3. Hanshan Temple Bell Ringing
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1. Winter Solstice
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Around December 22nd annually, people of
Suzhou have reunions of the whole family,
eat the winter solstice evening meal, and
drink Dongniang (a type of rice wine) wine.
According to historians, the local people had
started to make wine in winter way back in
the Spring-Autumn Period. According to the
old rules, people visit the elders in the winter
solstice like they do in the New Year,
because the winter solstice is the beginning
of a year.
2. Ya Shen Xian
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The most notable festival in Suzhou is
Ya Shen Xian, which falls on April 14th
in the Chinese lunar calendar. Ya Shen
Xian is also known as “immortal
seeking” temple fair, which is one of
Suzhou’s first cultural heritages have
applied for a national level heritage.
八仙卡通形象在“轧神仙”庙会上亮相
3. Hanshan Temple Bell Ringing
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As a lucky start to the year, one would
never miss counting the 108 bell chimes
of Hanshan Temple to welcome the New
Year.
V. Lifestyle
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1. Candy Barterer
2. Sesame Cake and Fried Dough Stick
3. Seller of Sweet Gruel
4. Molder of Candy Figurine
5. Indigo Print
6. Silkworm Breeding
7. Writing Brush
8. Repairing Umbrella
Old Lifestyle of Suzhou
The daily life of the people and activities
of town dwellers engaged in many
different trades in Suzhou in the different
periods of the 20th century
 As people’s lifestyle has greatly changed,
some of the trades have gradually faded
away or even completely disappeared,
but many of them are still indispensable.
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Molder of Candy Figurine
Losing Memory
Molder of Candy Figurine
Sesame Cake and Fried Dough Stick
豆腐花
Writing Brush
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Repairing Umbrella
Indigo Print
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Mending shoes
Summarization and Assignment
The responsibility university students bear in
inheriting culture
 After-class group work: experience local
culture （old lifestyle, craftwork, cuisine,
local performing arts, etc)
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