Reviews
Book
I Speak Chinese
The Beijing-based China International Publishing Group (CIPG) has recently teamed up with Yale University in the United States to offer Chinese language learners worldwide a language instruction book series entitled I Speak Chinese.
The first edition, to hit the market in the coming months, will be for English-speaking readers, followed by textbooks in other languages, according to CIPG president Cai Mingzhao who signed the project with Richard Levin, president of Yale University.
In two years, a series of products including textbooks and electronic publications will be created and an interactive online program will also be developed to meet varied needs of Chinese language learners all over the world, Cai says.
Zhu Linyong
Of health and fitness
The Chinese Health Qigong Association and the Foreign Languages Press have jointly published a series of books about traditional Chinese qigong exercises.
The first four books deal respectively with wuqinxi, liuzijue, baduanjin and yijinjing exercises.
Qigong exercises use aerobic and breathing methods invented by ancient Chinese to maintain health and fitness.
The qigong exercises featured in these books have been revamped by experts in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and traditional sports in accordance with the theories of kinetics and physiology.
They are safer and easier than the traditional qigong exercises, which are more complicated and challenging, experts from the qigong association said.
These movements have been proven to improve health and fitness, prevent disease, prolong life and improve the intellect. Each book goes with a DVD, so readers can learn the exercises quickly and precisely.
ZLY
Art
Jade goddess
A huge jade carving entitled Ma-tzu was unveiled at the Third International Exposition for Cultural and Creative Industries last month in Shenzhen.
A Golden Award winner in the Arts and Crafts category of the annual expo - a piece of jade art that was 2 meters high, 30 meters long and weighed some 5 tons - was a five-year effort by about 100 sculptors headed by Wang Yinhua, a folk artist from East China's Zhejiang Province.
It is reportedly the largest jade carving in the world to portray the stories of Ma-tzu (also known as Mazu, or the Goddess of Sea), a mythical patron of seafarers in coastal areas of China and Southeast Asia.
Later this year, the jade carving will be exhibited in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. Wang had carved the 30-metre-long jade piece in 2000 to visually convey stories and historical facts about the ancient Silk Road.
ZLY
(China Daily 06/12/2007 page20)
