Hero is as hero does

2011-03-01 16:15:59

While today's young Chinese may struggle to point to their heroes, the idea of heroism is very much alive.

A truth that's stranger than fiction

2011-02-23 10:04:29

A surprise blockbuster has put Chinese cinema's enfant terrible under the public microscope. Jiang Wen tells Raymond Zhou what makes him tick in a rare, wide-ranging interview.

Something's funny about the bunny

2011-02-18 16:41:41

While depictions of these long-eared animals are everywhere as Year of the Rabbit begins, what the creature represents as a totem is as fuzzy as its fur.

Highs and lows of a storied past

2011-02-09 13:26:53

First built in AD 497, Shaolin Temple is located on the north side of Shaoshi, the central peak of Mount Songshan, one of the four Sacred Mountains of China, in Henan province. The first abbot was Batuo, also called Fotuo, an Indian dhyana master who came to China in AD 464 to disseminate Buddhist teachings.

My motherland, right or wrong?

2011-02-09 13:26:53

Piano prodigy Lang Lang rides high on a cross-Pacific career where both music lovers and officials flock to his performances.Lang Lang's choice of music for a state dinner in the US was both lauded and chided, although it has evolved to be another folk song about love of country.

Love lives on

2011-02-09 13:26:53

Li Shuo plays Teresa Teng in the new musical Love U, Teresa.Many of the songs are re-orchestrated in other styles, including rock. Teng Chang-fu, Teresa's brother, is comfortable with that.

The man who was Mao's hero

2010-12-17 09:03:36

The Bruce Lee legend never fades but it might surprise some to learn that among his legion of fans was Chairman Mao, who called him a hero.

The play's the thing

2010-11-24 11:21:59

While movie blockbusters grab our attention the core of the nation's performing arts is live theater.

The right to interpret

2010-07-23 09:11:56

A new television adaptation of a literary classic is sending many into a spiral of discomfort. But Raymond Zhou defends it as a worthwhile attempt at a faithful recreation

Ja(y)ded time ahead

2010-07-01 09:30:15

After reigning over the Mandopop scene for a decade there are signs that Jay Chou is coming to the end of his powers, Raymond Zhou analyzes

The gold-digging game

2010-06-25 09:24:18

China's first successful dating show is under attack for showcasing materialistic starlets and wannabes rather than true love.

X-Ray Column: Nothing's same now, Comrade

2010-06-04 09:45:49

Pity the poor word 'tongzhi', once the great equalizer it now has the connotation of official pomposity or a wink-wink reference to gay-friendly community.