Archive for March, 2010

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Cir – Lesson 643

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

YANGON, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) — Over 3,000 students sat for the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) examination held in Myanmar for the 2009-10 exam year, sources with the Yangon-based British Council said on Tuesday.

As the IELTS exam marks are recognized by universities in the United States, the number of candidates increased year by year from 1,097 in 2005-06, 1,380 in 2006-07, 1,400 in 2007-08 and 2,600 in 2008-09, the sources said, adding that nowadays the number of candidates sitting for exam for pursuing further study in Australia with the majors of medical doctor and nurse stood the majority.

Among the candidates, over 1,200 were qualified for studying in Singapore, over 960 for Australia, 360 for England and 60 for America during this year, it said.

IELTS, sponsored by the Cambridge University, International Education and Development Program and British Council, charged 145U.S. dollars for the exam fees.

The IELTS exam is used to be held at the British Council in Yangon every year but now the new exam center went to the second largest city of Mandalay this month, it added.

Over the past decade, most Myanmar students sought further study abroad for advanced education and the move has become widespread among youths in the country.

Among the Myanmar students who study abroad, over 50 percent are from Yangon, 30 percent from Mandalay and 15 percent from other parts of the country, education officials said.

The students pursuing education in foreign countries range from20 to 30 years of age, taking up 50 percent of the youths in the country, followed by those between 16 and 20, under 16 and 30 above. Of them, ordinary graduates stand the majority.

(Source: xinhuanet.com)

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China Travel – Mogan Mountain

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

As the residual part of Tianmu Mountains, Mogan Mountain is situated in Deqing County, Zhejiang Province. Legend has it that this is the place where Moye and his wife Ganjiang cast their famous swords. The elevation of the highest peak Tower Hill in the mountain range is 758 meters above sea level. The scenery is very beautiful and it is reputed as the Elegant and Beautiful Resort in the Sun. Mogan Mountain is famous for its four features (coolness, grassiness, clearness and tranquility) and three peculiarities (bamboos, spring water and clouds), and it is reputed as the Cool and Refreshing World and the No. 1 Mountain to the South of the Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River. It is therefore called one of the four best summer resorts in China (the other three summer resorts are Lushan Mountain, Beidai River and Jigong Mountain). It is 60 kilometers away from the southeastern city of Hangzhou and 200 kilometers away from the northeastern city of Shanghai. Its temperature is 6-7 °C lower than those of Shanghai City and Hangzhou City.

Mogan Mountain has a development history of more than 2,000 years. Its natural landscape is particular. With thriving bamboos, towering Japanese firs and Song-Dynasty maidenhair trees, the springs and waterfalls here and there, vegetation covers about 92% of the surface of Mogan Mountain.

The climate of Mogan Mountain has plenty of rain and mist, and the fog after rain is particularly wonderful and beautiful: the part below the mountainside is wrapped in cloud and mist, the top of the Tower Hill is floating on the cloud, just like the island in the sea or the castle in the air.

The central scenic spots of Mogan Mountain include the Tower Hill, Zhonghua Hill, Jinjia Hill, Wuji Hill, Mogan Hill and Paotai Hill, etc. Visitors can appreciate not only the sunrise and the sea of clouds, but also the waterfalls and the clear springs. The human culture and the landscape of Mogan Mountain are rich and colorful, and it was once known as the Watery Region and Buddhist Kingdom during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Hundreds of villas were built within scope of the resort greenery and thriving bamboos in the last years of the Qing Dynasty and early years of the Republic of China. These villas have different styles and Mogan Mountain is therefore reputed as the Architecture Museum of the World.

(Source: chinaculture.org)

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Chinese Culture – Buddhist Art at Dunhuang(2)

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

Dunhuang Manuscripts and Documents

About 60,000 paper manuscripts, printed documents and fragments — now preserved in Beijing , Paris, London and St. Petersburg — were found in a secret sealed-up cave discovered at the end of the 19th century. A sizeable chunk of these treasures are part of the Stein Collection at the British Library, including the world’s earliest printed book, the Diamond Sutra (circa AD868). Most of the collection is available in surrogate form. The collection of Dunhuang Chinese manuscripts at the National Library of China comprises over 10,000 Chinese scrolls. The International Dunhuang Project was established in 1993 to promote the study and preservation of manuscripts and printed documents from Dunhuang and other central Asian sites via international cooperation. A joint study between the Dunhuang Academy and Japanese researchers was formed for the conservation of the wall paintings and statues.

Painted Statues and Flying Apsaras

Dunhuang has 2,415 painted statues and five wooden-structured caves. The Mogao Grottoes contain priceless paintings, sculptures, some 50,000 Buddhist scriptures, historical documents, textiles, and other relics that first stunned the world in the early 1900s.

The walls of the 492 Mogao Caves include frescoes that cover over 45,000 square meters. There are about 4,500 Flying Apsaras figures found in some 270 caves.

Feminization of the Bodhisattvas

In Indian caves, the proportions of the body, postures and facial expressions were all constructed in a realistic yet highly imaginative manner. The figures display a strong distinction in terms of gender, both in physique and disposition: The male figures have plump faces, moustaches and robust bodies while the female figures have round faces, big eyes, long eyebrows, thick lips, full breasts, slim waists, broad hips and bare feet. The sex organs of male and female figures are also clearly marked. Although Kucan figures inherited this style, they did not like to represent naked deities.

（Source: chinaculture.org）

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