嗳: [ ài, āi, ǎi ] 
[ 国标码:E0C8 部首:口 笔画:13 笔顺:2513443451354 ]
1. (interj. of disapproval)
(Source: dict.cn)
Archive for June 22nd, 2008
Children Chinese – Qin Dynasty (1)
Sunday, June 22nd, 2008Many dynasties in Ancient China lasted for hundreds of years. But the Qin Dynasty lasted for only 15 years. Yet, First Emperor Qin accomplished an amazing amount of change.
Qin was the first man to control all of China. He did not want to be called a king. he called himself First Emperor Qin. He died of natural causes. But in the short time that he ruled China, he readied China to be pulled together as one country. But at what cost?
First Emperor Qin was a legalist. Legalists believe that people are basically bad. They believe that it is necessary to control and regulate every minute of people’s lives so they have the discipline needed to work hard in the fields and in battle. Qin ran his dynasty with absolute control and swift harsh punishment. It was illegal to whine about Qin’s government. If you simply suggested that things might be improved, you could be put to death without a trial.
Bureaucracy: To control his people, First Emperor Qin developed a system of bureaucracy. He divided his empire into 36 provinces. Each province was divided into districts. He put two government officials in charge of each province. It was their job to put strong people in charge of each district.
Workers were well trained and paid. They reported to supervisors. People at each level supervised those below them.
(Source: ancienthistory.mrdonn.org)
Beijing Olympic – ‘Fuwa’ takes first starring role in community film
Sunday, June 22nd, 2008A group of amateur filmmakers will release a movie on April 27 to celebrate the Olympic Games.
The film is named after the Beijing Olympic mascot known as “Fuwa” and will debut at a low-income housing community in the capital city.
The 65-minute movie about five children and their adventures with Fuwa was funded, directed and shot by people living in the Tiantongyuan Community, in northwest Beijing’s Changping District. Tiantongyuan, one of the largest affordable housing projects in the capital, has more than 300,000 residents.
Jiang Yuan, the director, said all 340 free tickets for the premiere, the only public screening, had been booked by Tiantongyuan residents.
Jiang, who graduated from the Beijing Film Academy, freelances in the film industry. The film crew of Tiantongyuan residents started work on the movie early last year.
“We never imagined we would get such community support,” he said.
Early last year, Jiang, who also runs the community website, held an online chat about how to mark the Olympics.
“Our first plan was to make some short digital videos about the lives of Tiantongyuan residents and upload them to our website,” he said.
But then he saw a posting about a girl who “encouraged her parents and friends to draw pictures of Fuwa,” he said. “I posted my first movie script about the girl on the community website.”
“Hundreds of Tiantongyuan residents sent me more stories about Fuwa and the Olympics,” he said. Some of these tales made their way into the final script.
Casting for the movie was a little more complicated. “We planned to get local kids to act in the movie but some community residents complained this was unfair,” he said.
In the end, all five actors and actresses, aged seven to nine, were chosen from among 674 candidates at an open casting call, he said.
The film had one thing in common with many Hollywood blockbusters: the costs rose along the way. The original budget was 20,000 yuan ($2,857), but the final tally was more than 100,000 yuan, Jiang said.
“We are happy anyway, since it’s not a commercial movie,” he said. “Fortunately, the community property managing office has promised to make 10,000 DVDs, so more Tiantongyuan residents can see the movie,” he said.
(Source: en.beijing2008.cn)
