Culture

Musing at the way modern hands are preoccupied with the mindless scrolling of mobile phones, art historian Chiang Hsun remembers his mother who knew the weight of things with one touch of her hands. Those same hands made countless beautiful sweaters and embroidery for her family — it was her labour of love.

To keep alive the art of traditional Chinese opera, Singapore opera troupes and theatre groups are working together to integrate their respective art forms on stage, to attract new young audiences and open up fresh perspectives. Zaobao correspondent Wang Yiming has in-depth conversations with practitioners, directors and audiences, to get a full picture.

CEO of the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre Low Sze Wee traces the history of Singapore’s ink art collecting trends, and the bonds of friendship forged between Chinese and Singaporean artists.

Unless one is of a certain age today, one would probably not have etched wax paper or made printings from them. Hua Language Centre director Chew Wee Kai recalls the days of painstakingly preparing sheets of wax paper full of the memories of youth.

While on an intangible cultural heritage expedition in Changzhou with a group of global experts, cultural historian Cheng Pei-kai tucks into Changzhou’s local delights. Trying more than 20 snacks all at once, he was full but could not resist having a taste of thin egg noodles that was a perfect marriage of Suzhou and Shanxi noodles. This is the last article of a four-part series on Changzhou food and drink.

During an interview about her life in the mountains, Taiwanese author and former minister of culture Lung Ying-tai said that even a metropolis like Singapore which does not have a mountain within its borders is linked to “mountains” in the sense that all of us need a spiritual mountain, a shelter from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. She feels that literature and reading can help us cultivate this mental reserve. Zaobao correspondent Wang Yiming tells us more.

While on an intangible cultural heritage expedition in Changzhou with a group of global experts, cultural historian Cheng Pei-kai tries Changzhou’s famed sesame cake. This large local snack is a little like the common shaobing, but also very different in terms of its richness of flavour. This is the third article of a four-part series on Changzhou food and drink.

Even those familiar with Nanyang artists may be hard-pressed to name other women artists aside from Georgette Chen. Actually, Sun Yee was a renowned artist in her own right, and in Singapore where she eventually settled down, she spent close to three decades heading an art academy. Low Sze Wee, CEO of the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre, tells us more.

As cultural historian Cheng Pei-kai continues on his Changzhou intangible cultural heritage extravaganza, he retraces the steps of ancient literati like Song dynasty poet Su and Qing dynasty scholar Lü Gong who spent days of idyll in artistic pursuits. There was even an artist-monk who could write poetry with tea foam. This is the second article of a four-part series on Changzhou food and drink.