Entertainment> Celebrities

Chen Kun steps into shoes of 'king of rocketry'

(China Daily)
2011-03-23 09:35

Chen Kun steps into shoes of 'king of rocketry'

Mainland actor Chen Kun will play the late Qian Xuesen, also known as Tsien Hsue-shen, a prominent scientist called the country's "father of space technology" and "king of rocketry".

Chen has challenged himself in the role of many historical figures in recent years, such as Chiang Ching-kuo, son of Chiang Kai-shek, and Zhou Enlai, the first premier of the People's Republic of China.

Zhang Yuqi will play Qian's wife Jiang Ying, a renowned opera singer and music educator.

Filming began on March 18 and the script is based on Qian's position paper on the country's defense and aviation industry that the central government set up, later becoming the leading organization for China's missile and aviation programs. Under the guidance of Qian, China completed developing jet and rocket technology. He also played a significant role in developing the country's first artificial earth satellite.

Qian died at 98 in 2009.

Qing lacquer vase to steal show at Sotheby's sales

A falangcai (lacquer enamel) bottle vase, showing the magnificent craftwork of the Qing Dynasty's (1644-1911) palace workshops, will highlight Sotheby's upcoming Spring sales in Hong Kong in April. The vase, featuring two golden pheasants, was once appreciated by Emperor Qianlong (1711-1799) and is expected to sell for more than HK$180 million.

The vase comes from the Meiyintang Collection, arguably one of the greatest private collections of imperial Chinese porcelain, which consigns nearly 80 ceramics pieces for Sotheby's spring sales. Deputy chairman of Sotheby's Asia Nicolas Chow says the collection was acquired over 50 years.

"Discerning and disciplined, the collector sought only the most significant objects from each reign and worked closely with the foremost experts in the field," he says.

Last October, a yellow-ground famille-rose double-gourd vase from the Qing Dynasty fetched HK$252.6 million ($32.4 million) at Sotheby's Hong Kong's autumn auctions. The record was crushed a month later, when another Qing porcelain vase went for $69.3 million in a London sale.

Auction proceeds to fund environmental protection

An oil painting by prominent artist Zeng Fanzhi will go under the hammer at an evening sale in May, with all proceeds going to the nonprofit environmental organization The Nature Conservancy.

Zeng will pick a piece with an estimated value of HK$10 million ($1.28 million) out of his 30 iconic works, which will be shown at the BEING exhibition presented by Christie's and the Shanghai-based Rockbund Art Museum. The work will then go under the hammer at Christie's Asian Contemporary Art &Chinese 20th Century Art sale in Hong Kong on May 28.

Rockbund's board chairman Thomas Ou said the exhibition not only allows people from different countries and regions to appreciate extraordinary artistic creations but will also lead the public to think about environmental protection.

Awards show celebrates three decades of artistry

Audi Arts and Design Award, an event to celebrate the artistic achievements over the past 30 years in China, honored five artists on Thursday night in Beijing.

Painter Xu Bing won the top honor of "Achievements in 30 Years". Tan Dun, an Oscar-winning musician, took the prize for his scores of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and was honored for "Contribution of the Year".

Other winners included director Ning Hao, designer Liu Zhizhi and Liu Jiakun.

Maggie Cheung was among the award presenters.

The auto manufacturer has been a keen supporter of China's art scene. It joined forces with Travel Channel to release a show called Arts of China last year, in which nearly 50 top artists in China, including Xu Bing, Cui Jian and Jia Zhangke, were interviewed.