Art studies get a lift from establishment

The Ministry of Culture recently organized a seminar on art studies as an academic discipline in China.

Art studies used to be considered a research field subordinate to literature. In March this year, the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council upgraded art studies to a first-level discipline that consists of five subordinate categories - theoretical research of art studies, musicology and danceology, study of drama, film and TV, fine art, and design.

Presidents of various art colleges and directors of art organizations participated in the seminar, discussing subjects like deepening art studies in a new era, training of art workers, and combining foreign and Chinese art in art education.

Forum crosses cultural borders

The second EU-China High-Level Cultural Forum was staged at Beijing's National Museum of China recently. About 40 philosophers, historians, artists and policymakers attended, including Chinese Minister of Culture Cai Wu, and the European Commission's commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth Androulla Vassiliou.

Participants discussed such concerns as modern urbanism, the environment and contemporary architecture under the theme "Inventing cities in global time and history".

The forum was co-hosted by the European Commission's Directorate General for Education and Culture and the Ministry of Culture of China. The first forum was staged in Brussels in October 2010.

Ancient methods brew new tea

Hong Kong-based tea brand Fook Ming Tong has released the crown jewel of its 2011 autumn product line - tieguanyin, from Fujian province's Anxi area. Tieguanyin is a premium oolong variety that originated in Anxi in the 19th century. Fook Ming Tong, which set up a traditional tieguanyin production center in Anxi in 2006, uses ancient processing methods.

Fook Ming Tong runs shops in Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing municipalities, and Zhejiang's provincial capital Hangzhou and Jiangsu province's Suzhou city.

Bossa nova star's sure to shine

Japanese-Brazilian bossa nova singer Lisa Ono will close her 2011 China tour with a concert at Beijing's Workers' Gymnasium on Dec 31.

During the past four months, the singer-songwriter has performed in 10 Chinese cities, including Shandong province's Qingdao, Hunan's provincial capital Changsha, and Fujian province's Xiamen, singing hits from her 30 albums.

The Sao Paulo, Brazil, native first performed in China in 2004. She gave her first concert in the capital at the Olympic Sports Center in January 2009 and returned later that year.

Singer swaps the mic for screen

Taiwan singer Alec Su says he will focus on filmmaking.

The 38-year-old star rose to fame as a vocalist at age 15 and has since frequently appeared on the silver screen.

His latest film, Lost in Panic Cruise, is a thriller released on Oct 27. He plans to partner with Chow Yun-fat to create a period drama, in which he will play an emperor. But he will not produce films, he says, because he does not have business savvy.

His 2010 film Lost in Panic Room cost only 4 million yuan ($615,000) and grossed 20 million yuan.