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Post by Admin on Sept 27, 2014 1:24:27 GMT
Wow. Taklamakan dessert sounds really harsh like its name. So how do you solve the itchy problem?
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Post by chefying on Sept 27, 2014 4:53:06 GMT
Wow. Taklamakan dessert sounds really harsh like its name. So how do you solve the itchy problem? I had some ointment with me that helped ease the itch somewhat. After a day, the itch was gone - thank goodness!
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Post by chefying on Sept 27, 2014 5:23:45 GMT
At the eastern end of Taklamakan is the town of Turpan. Turpan is along what that is called the HeXi Corridor, from which one exits China and head towards Taklamakan desert. It is called a "corridor" because it is a sort of valley - it would be the logical route to use because the traveller would not need to climb up mountains. Turpan is located at a very low point in Xinjiang, and so it is very hot and dry in the summer months. My nostrils burned when I inhaled. A part of the novel, Journey to The West, featured the Flaming Mountains which is in Xinjiang. I suppose Monkey from the Journey to the West could be said to display characteristics of a "xia." The Flaming Mountains is in Turpan. The flaming Mountains is hot. This hot.... And the best thing to do to beat the mid-day heat is...
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Post by Admin on Sept 28, 2014 1:28:20 GMT
Turpan ....Jiu Mozhi in Demigods and Semidevils was from Turpan
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Post by chefying on Sept 28, 2014 16:08:36 GMT
Turpan ....Jiu Mozhi in Demigods and Semidevils was from Turpan Is that so? I really need to brush up on my Demi Gods and Semi Demons.
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Post by chefying on Sept 28, 2014 16:20:22 GMT
In a thread on the Huang Fei Hong Memorial Hall in Foshan, Guangdong Province, I mentioned Huang Fei Hong had his gymnasium in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province. According to this map in the Memorial Hall, Huang Fei Hong had had his gymnasium in three different places. As I understand it, something happened and he had to move his gymnasium two times. It was fire, I think. According the map from the Huang Fei Hong Memorial Hall, this would be the site of the first gymnasium opened by Huang Feihong. It is now a hotel.
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Post by chefying on Sept 30, 2014 14:10:09 GMT
The second site of the Huang Feihong's gymnasium is now a textile wholesale centre. I know I did not get it wrong, the name of the road is correct - unless they changed the road names, of course. I believe Huang Feihong lived at the rear quarters of the gymnasium, as is the practice in those days - workshop/office in the front, private quarters at the back.
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Post by chefying on Sept 30, 2014 14:45:31 GMT
It is conceivable that the front door of the gymnasium and/or the medicine shop Bao Zhi Lin look like this - with wooden bars across them. And it is conceivable that the gymnasium would look something like this - I took these picture in Guangzhou in July 2012. Inside, the bags hanging from the ceiling are actually lion heads (a la the ceremonial lion dance) wrapped in plastic bags to keep out the dust. Off topic - Lion Dance - there are certain lions that are used for specific purposes. I was told that a certain trio of lions represent the three sworn brothers, Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. The Zhang Fei lion has black bristles, black horn and green nose. This one is played most aggressively, and may lead to fights between lions of other schools. The Guan Yu lion is predominantly red, and is played more solemnly. This lion is often used for dancing at the opening of temples and other grand affairs. The Liu Bei lion is predominantly white, and is usually used for funerals. It is rarely used during, say, Chinese New Year. For funerals, the drum is very much muted, and the lion is supposed to be very sad, and is on its knees - not easy on the artist manipulating the lion's head. This is a clip shows the funeral lion at minute 4.25. I do not see the lion going around on its knees though. In this clip of a funeral in Singapore, the lion came in on its knees. This clip is from the funeral of Liu JiaLiang. There were quite a few funeral lions at minute 4.15 - but they were not on their knees. I had thought better of Liu JiaLiang's disciples. I seem to recall in Jet Li's film "Once Upon A Time In China Part 4" there was a scene where Jet Li was the manipulator of the Lion's head at a funeral - and he was on his knees.
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Post by Admin on Sept 30, 2014 14:50:38 GMT
Wow!!Valuable info Chef. Yes, I remember that scene when Jet Li used the white lion head during the mourning period.
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Post by chefying on Oct 1, 2014 3:21:34 GMT
^ Thanks Admin, I thought it would be an interesting titbit.
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Post by chefying on Oct 1, 2014 16:24:57 GMT
Meanwhile, the million dollar question - where was Bao Zhi Lin. According to the map I had, this was the place where Bao Zhi Lin stood between 1886-1924. The map was not too precise whether Bao Zhi Lin was facing this street, or if the back of Bao Zhi Lin was along this street. If the latter is correct, then the above photo would be that of the house that backed against Bao Zhi Lin - in which case, Bao Zhi Lin would be more like this place below:- This place faces where Huang Feihong's gymnasium #2 used to be. I suppose it would be more logical to have Bao Zhi Lin facing the gymnasium - but it might be distracting as well. Sad to say, there are no plaques anywhere to commemorate these sites where Huang Feihong was supposed to have lived and/or worked.
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Post by chefying on Oct 1, 2014 16:37:39 GMT
This shop is in the part of Guangzhou called XiGuan 西关 . In many Shaw movies, you would find that there were martial arts gymnasiums set up here, and the people in this district would be fighting with people from other districts in Guangzhou. I distinctively remember in the Shaw movie 洪熙官 the film started with the titular character walking down a street in this area looking for Fang ShiYu 方世玉 . This shop in the same area sells 100 year chickens - I would presume their recipe dates back a 100 years (the shop proclaims that it is 181 years old), which would be when Huang FeiHong lived in this sector. I would presume Huang FeiHong had eaten this chicken too. I am sure this place is not a front for aged prostitutes ( For those who are not in the know, 鸡 chicken is homophonous with 妓 prostitutes).
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Post by chefying on Oct 9, 2014 17:22:22 GMT
On the basis that the Romance of the Three Kingdoms - San Guo Yan Yi 三国演义 qualifies as wuxia, there are some photos of sites related to the Three Kingdoms. I made this trip in April 2011 with much help from this book The editor did a lot of research, but the presentation was terrible. The few maps that were in the book were blur, there was no map with sites of events in each city/province ... more than once I felt like shooting the editor. Yes, it looks a bit dog-eared by now. Let me start with a picture of the Yellow Crane Tower 黄鹤楼. It is located in Wuhan 武汉, which is pretty close to the "entrance" to the Yangtze Three Gorges 长江三峡 and thence Liu Bie's 刘备 Kingdom of Shu 蜀. The Yellow Crane Tower overlooks the Yangtze, and was said to be built by Sun Quan 孙权 of the Wu 吴 Kingdom in 223AD. It had always been a militarily strategic building. General Yue Fei 岳飞 was once stationed here, and when he was here, he penned a poem... 满江红·登黄鹤楼
遥望中原,荒烟外,许多城郭。 想当年,花遮柳护,凤楼龙阁。 万岁山前珠翠绕,蓬壶殿里笙歌作。 到而今,铁蹄满郊畿,风尘恶。 兵安在,膏锋锷。民安在,填沟壑。 叹江山如故,千村寥落。 何日请缨提锐旅,一鞭直渡清河洛。 却归来,再续汉阳游,骑黄鹤。Sorry, I am too lazy to translate. But generally, it describes his longing for his lush and beautiful home and laments the war and battles. Can't say it does a lot of good for the morale of his troops.
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Post by chefying on Oct 12, 2014 7:39:09 GMT
Huang He Lou 黄鹤楼 - Yellow Crane Tower, overlooks the Yangtze River.... In this picture, the Yangtze River flows from left to right. Of course, in Sun Quan's days - or even Yue Fei's days, I would guess that the river was wider. I think the silting through the years would have caused the river to narrow down a bit. The look of the Yellow Crane Tower had changed through the years. During the Tang Dynasty, it looked more like this:-
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Post by chefying on Oct 12, 2014 10:37:13 GMT
Red Cliff 赤壁 .... some might have watched the two-part movie. Chapter 49 of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms depicted the battle of the Red Cliff, whereby Sun Quan and Liu Bei joined forces to defeat Wei 魏 , thus consolidating the stalemate of Three Kingdoms. The cliff itself was gray, but the earth surrounding that area was definitely red, due to the high ferrous content in the soil. For those who are interested, the town of Red Cliff (Chi Bi) is about 35 km away from Wuhan 武汉, so do arrange your transport carefully there and back. This overlooks the battle site - but of course, a few hundred years ago, the river was wider. By now, the river had narrowed due to silting. When taking the photo, I took pains to include a vessel in the river to give a sense of scale.
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