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Ancient Chinese opera attracts Taiwan youth to explore cultural roots
Rtv news
14 Jun 2024, 18:48
Photo: Collected
Through Kunqu Opera, Cheng Ting-yi has explored a larger landscape of Chinese culture by moving from Taiwan to the Chinese mainland to seek the roots of the ancient art, fostering a sense of pride in his identity as Chinese.
Cheng, now a doctoral student at Beijing Normal University, said there is a craze for 'China chic' among younger consumers including those in Taiwan who prefer products or entertainment with Chinese cultural elements, reading Chinese classics and wearing traditional attire.
'The motivating force behind the trend must be that China is rising on the world's stage. We have confidence in our nation. That's why we want to explore the nation's past to learn about the splendid history and glorious culture,' he added.
Source: CD
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Ancient Chinese opera attracts Taiwan youth to explore cultural roots
Through Kunqu Opera, Cheng Ting-yi has explored a larger landscape of Chinese culture by moving from Taiwan to the Chinese mainland to seek the roots of the ancient art, fostering a sense of pride in his identity as Chinese.
Cheng, now a doctoral student at Beijing Normal University, said there is a craze for 'China chic' among younger consumers including those in Taiwan who prefer products or entertainment with Chinese cultural elements, reading Chinese classics and wearing traditional attire.
'The motivating force behind the trend must be that China is rising on the world's stage. We have confidence in our nation. That's why we want to explore the nation's past to learn about the splendid history and glorious culture,' he added.
Source: CD
Ways to celebrate a meaningful Father's Day
As the world prepares to celebrate Father's Day, it's a timely reminder to honour the significant role that fathers play in our lives. While the holiday has traditionally been seen as a time for children to show appreciation for their fathers, it's also an opportunity for adults to express gratitude for the men who have made a positive impact in their lives.
Despite its importance, Father’s Day often receives less attention than Mother's Day. However, by celebrating fathers and father figures, we recognize the valuable contributions they make to our families and society.
Here are some ways to celebrate Father's Day and strengthen family bonds:
Cook something special and create some memories: Cooking is a great way to celebrate Father's Day, as it allows you to bond with your dad over a delicious meal. Not only is cooking a valuable life skill, but it also provides an opportunity to create lasting memories with your father. By spending the day cooking your favorite meal together, you’ll not only learn a new skill, but also enjoy quality time with your dad. So why not get cooking and make some unforgettable memories.
Finish a puzzle together: Put together a lasting memory while spending time with your dad. Puzzles are the perfect gift for dads that love a good mind game. Not only are they fun, but your dad could even frame the finished product when you’re done. Buy him a puzzle featuring his favorite sports team or superhero, or order one custom-made with a picture of you and him together.
Gift him something homemade: Make your dad a card or craft to say, 'I love you.' Gift him something that fits his personality or hobbies and speaks from your heart. Opt for writing a card filled with jokes if your dad is a fan of it.
A thoughtful token: Show your father how much you care with a personalized gift that speaks to your appreciation for his love and support. Consider a heartfelt photo album or a beautifully engraved accessory that celebrates your special bond. In recent times, there are many discounted packages for celebrating fathers that you can take advantage of. If budget is a concern, opt for simpler yet meaningful gifts like a customized mug or notepad with heartfelt words of gratitude. Whatever the gift, put thought into it, and your father will treasure it forever.
Get outside and make memories: Plan a fun outdoor activity with your father, such as a trip to a nearby garden or recreational center. This will not only create new memories but also strengthen your bond and provide a refreshing break from the usual routine. Whether it’s a walk in the park, or a visit to a local attraction, quality time spent outdoors can be a great way to celebrate Father’s Day and make the most of your time together.
Take a family vacation: Get the whole family together for an epic adventure. Is there someplace your dad’s always wanted to go? Something he’s always wanted to do? Treat him to it for Father’s Day. Go and visit another state or country, or have a staycation in a neighboring town with lots to do.
Take a class together: Learn something new with your dad on Father’s Day. If your dad is one to pick up hobbies left and right, appease his curious mind by enrolling him in a one-day class. Maybe you learn to make pasta, mold clay, or paint together. Simply choose an activity or skill your dad would love. Give your dad a gift that keeps on giving with a Masterclass or Skillshare subscription. This way, he can learn at his own pace about whatever he wants, whenever he wants.
Share in his interests: Spend quality time with your father doing things he loves, such as watching his favorite sports team or working on a project together. This will show your appreciation for his interests and hobbies, and strengthen your bond.
Watch a movie with him: Set up a movie night with all dad's favorite flicks. This Father's Day, surprise your dad with a cozy night watching all his top movies and eating his favorite snacks. Turn your living room into an at-home theater, go to the movie theaters, or create a theater in your backyard.
Heritage excursion: Visit a historical sites together. This can create a shared sense of heritage and spark meaningful conversations.
The most important thing is to show your father that you care and appreciate him. Celebrating Father’s Day provides a great opportunity to strengthen family bonds and create deep-rooted memories.
New study says how to eat to live longer
A person can reduce the risk of an early death for any reason by nearly 20%, just by eating more foods from their choice of four healthy eating patterns, according to a new study.
People who more carefully followed any of the healthy eating patterns — which all share a focus on consuming more whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes — were also less likely to die from cancer, cardiovascular illness, and respiratory and neurodegenerative disease.
The results of the study, published Monday in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, show 'there is more than one way to eat well and derive the attendant health benefits,' said Dr David Katz, a lifestyle medicine specialist who was not involved in the study.
People often get bored with one way of eating, study coauthor Dr Frank Hu said, 'so this is good news. It means that we have a lot of flexibility in terms of creating our own healthy dietary patterns that can be tailored to individual food preferences, health conditions and cultures.'
'For example, if you are eating healthy, Mediterranean, and after a few months you want to try something different, you can switch to a DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet or you can switch to a semi-vegetarian diet,' said Hu, a professor of nutrition and epidemiology and chair of the department of nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. 'Or you can follow US dietary guidelines and create your own healthy eating plate.'
A long-term study
The study followed the eating habits of 75,000 women participating in the Nurses' Health Study and more than 44,000 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study over 36 years. None of the men and women had cardiovascular disease at the start of the study, and few were smokers. All filled out eating questionnaires every four years.
'This is one of the largest and longest-running cohort studies to examine recommended dietary patterns and the long-term risk of premature deaths and deaths from major diseases,' Hu said.
Hu and his team scored participants on how closely they followed four healthy eating styles that are in sync with current US dietary guidelines.
One is the Mediterranean diet, which stresses eating fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, legumes, fish and a high amount of olive oil, Hu said. 'This dietary pattern emphasizes healthy fats, especially monounsaturated fat, in addition to plant-based foods and moderate alcohol,' he said.
The next is called the healthful plant-based diet, which also focuses on eating more plant products but gives negative points for all animal products and any alcohol.
'It even discourages relatively healthy options, like fish or some dairy products,' Hu said, adding that the eating plan frowns on unhealthy plant-based foods such as potato products.
'So you can imagine that vegetarians are probably on the higher end of this diet score,' he said, 'and people who eat a lot of animal products or highly processed carbohydrate foods would be at the lower end of this score.'
The Healthy Eating Index tracks whether people follow basic US nutritional guidelines, which stress healthy, plant-based foods, frown on red and processed meat, and discourage eating added sugar, unhealthy fats and alcohol, Hu said.
The Alternate Healthy Eating Index was developed at Harvard, Hu said and uses the 'best available evidence' to include foods and nutrients most strongly associated with a lower risk of chronic disease.
'We explicitly included nuts, seeds, whole grains and lower consumption of red and processed meats and sugar-sweetened beverages,' he added. 'A moderate consumption of alcohol is allowed.'
Findings by disease
After each person's eating pattern was scored, the participants were divided into five groups, or quintiles, from highest to lowest adherence to one or more of the eating patterns.
'The highest quintile of diet quality as compared to the lowest was associated with a roughly 20% reduction in all-cause mortality,' said Katz, president and founder of the nonprofit True Health Initiative, a global coalition of experts dedicated to evidence-based lifestyle medicine.
The study also found reductions in the risk of death from certain chronic diseases if people improved their diet over time, Hu said.
Participants who improved the health of their diet by 25% could reduce their risk of dying from cardiovascular disease by a range of 6% to 13% and dying from cancer by 7% to 18%, he said. There was up to a 7% reduction in the risk of death by neurodegenerative diseases, such as dementia.
'Respiratory disease mortality reduction was actually much greater, reducing risk by 35% to 46%,' Hu said.
The study relied on participants' self-reports of food preferences and therefore only showed an association, not a direct cause and effect, between eating habits and health outcomes. Still, the fact that the study asked about diets every four years over such a long time frame added weight to the findings, Hu said.
What is the takeaway of this large, long-term study?
'It's never too late to adopt healthy eating patterns, and the benefits of eating a healthy diet can be substantial in terms of reducing total premature deaths and different causes of premature death,' Hu said.
'People also have a lot of flexibility in terms of creating their own healthy dietary pattern. But the common principles — eating more-plant based foods and fewer servings of red meat, processed meats, added sugar and sodium — should be there, no matter what kind of diet that you want to create.'
Source: CNN
All about Russell's Viper
Russell's viper (Daboia russelii) is a venomous snake found in Asia. The species is named for Patrick Russell, a Scottish herpetologist who first described many of India's snakes. In Bengali, this snake is called Chandrobora since it carries lenticular or more precisely lunar marks all over its body. Apart from being a member of the big four snakes in India, Russell's viper is also responsible for causing the most snakebite incidents and deaths among all venomous snakes.
Appearance
These snakes are deep yellow, tan, or brown in color, with three series of dark brown spots that run the length of the body. Each of these spots has a black ring around it, the outer border of which is intensified with a rim of white or yellow. The head has a pair of distinct dark patches, one on each temple, together with a pinkish, salmon, or brownish V or X marking that forms an apex towards the snout. Behind the eye is a dark streak, outlined in white, pink, or buff. The venter is white, whitish, yellowish, or pinkish, often with an irregular scattering of dark spots.
Distribution
Geography Continents: Asia
Sub-Continents: East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia
Countries: India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Pakistan, Cambodia, China, Taiwan,
WWF Biomes: Tropical dry forest, Tropical moist forests
Russell's vipers are found in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Pakistan, Cambodia, Tibet, China (Guangxi, Guangdong), Taiwan, and Indonesia (Endeh, Flores, east Java, Komodo, and Lomblen Islands). These snakes are not restricted to any particular habitat but do tend to avoid dense forests. They are mostly found in open, grassy, or bushy areas, but may also be found in second-growth forests (scrub jungles), on forested plantations, and on farmland. Russell's vipers are most common in plains, coastal lowlands, and hills of suitable habitat. Humid environments, such as marshes, swamps, and rainforests, are avoided. They are also often found in highly urbanized areas and settlements in the countryside because of the abundance of rodents.
Habits and Lifestyle
Russell's vipers are solitary terrestrial creatures. They are primarily nocturnal foragers. However, during cool weather, they become more active during the day. These snakes like to bask in the sun during the day. The rest time is spent hiding in the caves, in cracks in the soil, or under the leaf litter. Adults move slowly and sluggishly unless they are threatened; after that, they can become very aggressive. Juveniles are generally more nervous in nature. When threatened, Russell's vipers form a series of S-loops, raise the first third of the body, and produce a hiss that is supposedly louder than that of any other snake. When striking from this position, they can exert so much force that even a large individual can lift most of their body off the ground in the process. These snakes are strong and may react violently to being picked up. The bite may be a snap, or they may hang on for many seconds.
Group name: den, nest, pit, bed, knot
Lifestyle: Terrestrial, Precocial, Ovoviviparous, Predator
Seasonal behavior: Not a migrant
Venom
Venom of this species is delivered by means of solenoglyphous dentition. The quantity of venom produced by individual specimens is considerable. Venom yields for adult specimens have been reported as 130-250 mg, 150-250 mg, and 21-268 mg. For 13 juveniles with an average total length of 79 cm (31 in), the venom yield ranged from 8 to 79 mg (mean 45 mg). For most humans, a lethal dose is about 40-70 mg, well within the amount that can be delivered in one bite. In general, the toxicity depends on a combination of five different venom fractions, each of which is less toxic when tested separately. Venom toxicity and bite symptoms in humans vary within different populations and over time.
Diet and Nutrition
Russell's vipers are carnivores. They feed primarily on rodents but will also eat small reptiles, land crabs, scorpions, and other arthropods. Juveniles hunt lizards. As they grow and become adults, they begin to specialize in rodents.
Mating Habits
Russell's vipers are ovoviviparous which means that females give birth to live young. Mating usually occurs early in the year, although pregnant females may be found at any time. The gestation period lasts more than 6 months. Snakelets are produced from May to November, but mostly in June and July. Litters consist of 20-40 young, although fewer offspring may also occur. At birth, snakelets are 215-260 mm (8.5-10.2 in) in total length. They are independent at birth and reach reproductive maturity at around 2-3 years of age.
Population threats
The main threats to Russell's vipers include illegal collection and trade for food and skins. They are also often killed because of fear.
Population number
Presently, Russell's viper is not included in the IUCN Red List and its conservation status has not been evaluated.
Ecological niche
Russell's vipers are often found in settlements in the countryside attracted by rodents, thus playing a useful role in controlling their populations.
Bites of Russell's Viper
Dry bites or bites where only a very small amount of venom is injected may cause slight bleeding, pain, and swelling at the bite injury. If a moderate amount of venom was injected, you are more likely to have severe pain, swelling of the whole limb, and general ill feelings, such as nausea, vomiting, and weakness.
Precautions to Avoid Bites
Protective gear: Wearing rubber boots and gloves while out in snake habitats could prove useful.
Flashlight: Rechargeable torches could help you see better during night time.
Avoid dark corners: Snakes seek out shady or dark places where they can rest and cool down.
Know your snake prone area: Find out more about your local snake species and about the habitats they prefer.
Do not disturb a snake: Snakes do not bother anyone if left alone.
Do not imitate TV shows: Handling snakes takes immense practice and skill, which is not always portrayed on television.
Do's and don'ts after bites
Do's:
Apply a bandage on the bite site covering the bite and the area around it as early as possible. The bandage should not be tight. Avoid unnecessary and sharp movements.
Place a splint while bandaging, to avoid joint movements. Walking or running is not advisable. In case of a bite on the hand, bandage the arm and put in a sling from the shoulder.
Don'ts
Panicking during such times would make matters worse. Do not make any cut, scratch or incision, leave the bite alone. Do not suck the wound, it is a myth and medically not advisable. Do not apply an ice pack to the bitten area. Do not use a tight bandage or tourniquet. Alcohol, herbal medicine or aspirin are not medically-proven antidotes.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Sub-Phylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Sub-Order: Serpentes
Family: Viperidae
Genus: Daboia
Species: Daboia russelii
Population size: Unknown
Life span: 15 years
Length: 120-166 cm/inch
Source: Animalia Bio
Traditional Chinese garment makes stylish comeback
Mamianqun becomes trendy among younger generations as modern iterations reflect self-expression, Wang Xin reports.
The mamianqun, translated as the "horse-face skirt", is a type of traditional clothing that is making a comeback as the latest fashion trend, gaining increasing popularity among younger Chinese generations, according to those in the know.
The curators of an ongoing exhibition, Splendid Mamianqun, at the Shanghai Textiles Museum, made the above observation, due to the emerging trend of young people's growing sense of cultural pride.
Mamianqun is a type of hanfu that features a high, flat front and pleated sides. It originated in the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and maintained its popularity during the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911).
Launched on May 18, the two-month exhibition showcases dozens of mamianqun, including over 40 pieces from the ancient dynasties and 12 modified skirts with innovative designs. The exhibition has attracted a large number of visitors, many of which came dressed in mamianqun — both males and females, says Jia Yiliang, curator of the Shanghai Textiles Museum and a curator of the exhibition.
"There is an old saying — 'You are what you wear'. Mamianqun embodies the aesthetic, philosophy and wisdom of ancient Chinese dressmakers, reflecting the status, thoughts and experiences of the people wearing them," Jia says.
"Mamianqun, as a type of clothing, is also a language of self-expression and is close to our daily lives. You can either admire them from a professional perspective for the craftsmanship, technique and philosophy, or simply from a personal view and preference."
Despite the long history of mamianqun, it was not until recent years that this traditional garment drew extensive focus, gaining international attention on the ancient Chinese skirt.
Ma Wenjuan, one of the curators of the exhibition and deputy director of the Journal Center at Donghua University, was among the first to introduce in details the skirt to more people in 2022.
Source: CD
