Archive for May 19th, 2009

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Beijing Olympic – Pilipino Yap claims surpring win at Asian Archery Championships

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009

Earl Benjamin Yap from Philippines upset Kim Dong-kyu of Korea 116-114 in the final to win the men’s compound gold at the Asian Archery Championships here on Monday.

“It was a very unexpected victory for me,” said Yap, who edged past top-ranked Reza Zamaninejad of Iran 113-112 before beating the second-seeded Korean in the final. “I have practiced only 11 days before this tournament.”

Yap, the fifth finisher at the ranking round, runs an archery shop and also teaches archery in his home country.

“I have won three gold medals in Asian Grand Prix, but this one is bigger, because all top archers (from Asia) have come to play,” Yap added. “It is also the first time that I win against a Korean player.”

Kim took home the silver while Zamaninejad beat defending champion Cai Shuo of China 122-121 for the bronze.

“We are very satisfied with the result,” said China coach Wang Jizhong. “Cai did a very good job in this tournament.”

“Asian archers have improved very rapidly in this event in the last two years, our goal for Cai was to enter top four,” Wang added. “Actually Cai had over-bar performance today.”

Earlier on Monday, Lee Sung-jin of Korea grabbed the goldmedal for the women’s recurve.

(Source: en.beijing2008.cn)

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China Travel – Tomb of Xu Guangqi

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009

The Tomb of Xu Guangqi is located in Xu Guangqi Park on Nandan Road, Xuhui District, Shanghai.

Born in Shanghai, Xu Guangqi (1562-1633) was a famous scientist at the end of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). In 1600, Xu came across Matteo Ricci (1552-1610), who came from Italy. In 1603, two years after meeting Ricci, Xu was baptized a Christian. Under Ricci’s tutelage, Xu learned about science and translated the first six volumes of the Principles of Geometry, followed by the Principles of Surveying, and the Principles of Hook and Thigh. Xu also wrote a book on agriculture and politics, recommended advanced military defense techniques and advocated weather tracking as a means to improve the country’s agriculture and trade. Xu was a paramount figure in the fields of science and culture of China.

Xu was buried at Fahuating and Zhaojiabin in Shanghai. As the home of his descendents, the place was named Xujiahui, meaning Xu’s residence . The tomb yard was restored in 1957 with a marble statue of Xu installed in front of the tomb and a stele corridor in the east with 12 paintings, writings and inscriptions made by Xu.

(Source: chinaculture.org)

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Chinese Culture – Chinese Mythology

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009

China is an old nation, and its ancient mythology is very rich and colorful. Pre-Qin books such as Shanhaijing (The Classic of Mountains and Seas), Zhuanzhuan (The Zuo Commentaries), Guoyu (The Discourses of the States) and Chuci (Poetry of the Chu Kingdom), etc., recorded many famous ancient fables.

Among them, Shanhaijing, a major source of Chinese mythology, brings together a treasure trove of rare data and colorful fiction about the mythical figures, rituals, medicine, natural history and ethnic peoples of the ancient world. It narrates episodes of 204 mythical figures, notably the gods Foremost, Fond Care, and Yellow, and goddesses like the fearsome Queen Mother of the West and the doomed Girl Lovely, the nurturing solar and lunar goddesses, and many others. This eclectic collection also contains crucial information on early medicine (with cures for impotence and infertility), on omens to avert catastrophe, rites of sacrifice, and familiar and unidentified plants and animals. It offers a guided tour of the known world in antiquity, moving outwards from the famous mountains of central China to the lands “beyond the seas.”

Shanhaijing is regarded as one of the most important collections of Chinese mythologies. From this collection and other ones, scholars and critics have written about the special features of Chinese mythology.

China’s mythical stories, either those created by the primitive people or those written by later scholars, are full of human feelings. Gods, ghosts, foxes and spirits are commonly described as living things with human qualities and human feelings. Chinese inventors of myths describe gods the way they describe man, or treat them as if they were human, and endow them with human nature.

Chinese ethnic minorities also have their own fables full of national flavor. Mythology holds an important position in the history of literature. It is one of the early types of literature that had influence on various Chinese literatures. Quite a lot of fables provide direct materials for writers and artists. The rich imagination and visualization of mythology are the origin of artistic makeup and romantic creation methods of the later generation writers.

（Source: chinaculture.org）

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