- April 17, 2024
Partnering with San Francisco Senior Center, New San Cai held a lively socially distanced roundtable meeting to discuss Lunar New Year celebrations, legends, customs, and traditions through the brilliance of 85-year-old Chinese artist Nansheng Liu’s expressive works. Members of the San Francisco Senior Center were invited to participate in the virtual event, where some of Liu’s art was presented to the group and they were able to muse on this visual feast in their native tongue.
The virtual event was all about telling the stories of our diverse societies and cultures through art, enriching our world views during the pandemic. Art is considered a superb medium to tell stories about human experiences, but also an instrument to improve our mind engagements and relaxation, greatly benefiting our mental health. Through Nansheng’s paintings, participants got a glimpse of authentic Lunar New Year celebrations in traditional villages in China.
Nansheng recounted the rural festivities that took place a decade ago during his visit to an ancient town – Wugang of Hunan province. His fascination for the scenes he encountered were the inspirations for his artworks, and continue to make a deep impression on his creativity today.
Despite the fact that the Lunar New Year is one of the world’s largest festivals and celebrated by a number of Asian countries and ethnic groups, its cultural essence remains unknown in the West and among younger generations. As this festival is celebrated according to the Lunar calendar rather than the Gregorian one that dominates our notion of time, the date of the festival changes from year to year. Recently, Lunar New Year celebrations have been held around February. This year, the turn of the Lunar New Year arrived on February 1, 2022, ushering in the Year of the Tiger.
In China, festivities take place over a whopping 23 days. Traditional decorations for Lunar New Year in China include poetic couplets on each side of a doorway, colorful lanterns, auspicious words and phrases, holiday cuisine, along with dragons and lions dancing in the streets, situated around the beautiful landscapes and ancient villages by the Yangtze River, which are all depicted in his paintings.
On the first day of celebration of the Lunar New Year in China, a parade of Dragon and Lion kicks off the new year, which encourages and amasses a rich and merry atmosphere. Unlike in the West, the Dragon is depicted with deer-like horns, big eyes, a long beard, bushy eyebrows and a big flat mouth, leading a fish-scaled long body. It is a sacred symbol in traditional Chinese culture, taking on a god-like role. The water dragon rules the sea and the waters from on-high – making it indispensable for a good harvest.
The lion is a behovely figure during the celebration. For thousands of years, lions have been a symbol of royalty, strength and bravery for people across Africa, Europe and Asia. They are known to fear nothing and to act without hesitation. In Buddhism, the lion is the mount for Buddha Manjushri. Later, the Chinese incorporated the symbolism of the lion to describe the noble qualities people can develop through Buddhism. Uniting the lion with the dragon through the parade invites Buddha’s teaching into the celebrations and has brought both joy and luck to the Chinese people for thousands of years.
Buddhism plays a significant role in Chinese lives. One of Nansheng’s paintings depicts a temple built over a bridge, called Bridge Temple. It provides a convenient place for people to perform prayers and worship in the temple during their daily travels over the bridge.
However, the temple was a subject of horrific violence during the Cultural Revolution five decades ago when Chairman Mao launched the brutal cultural cleansing and incited violence across China, causing countless Buddhist temples and statues to be destroyed. After the Cultural Revolution, many temples were rebuilt, as Chinese people want to go back their roots, to practicing their religions and beliefs. In recent times, some temples and Buddha statues have been restored and improved, much to the delight of the locals.
During the online event, Nansheng Liu fondly recounted the tale of his grandmother. She was a faithful and dedicated Buddhist. She was even forced to hide a Buddha statue from the authorities during the Cultural Revolution in order to save it from destruction. She was eventually able to bring the Buddha statue back into the open after the Cultural Revolution.
Nansheng Liu has been painting since he was young and he has visited and lived in many different parts of the world. He was able to follow the everyday lives of the people he met during the course of his lifetime. Through his travels, he creates colorful and inspiring paintings. Many people have coveted his work – as he restores memories, tells unknown stories, and takes snapshots of a bygone era from parts of China and the world that have been lost to our modern society. Some consider his paintings to be an important gift for humanity, to preserve our past and restore history, traditions, customs, stories and memories – and that is why this artwork is so special.
Nansheng’s superb work was greeted with great praise from the participants, with one commenting “It is like snapshots of reality – very realistic and beautifully done.” Another quipped, “Nansheng’s paintings are a treasure – it can help to heal people.”
Others were eager to see the work in its full physical form as opposed to its digital rendition, with one such participant commenting, “As soon as it is safe to open the center again, I look forward to seeing Nansheng’s beautiful paintings and creations in person to enjoy the beauty, history, culture and happiness they bring to humankind.”
In a way, the Chinese Lunar New Year is a microcosm of traditional China itself. It is complex, incredibly diverse, and rich in traditions that have been shaped and refined over thousands of years.
At its heart, the Lunar New Year is about being thankful for life’s many blessings and sharing those blessings with local families and communities.
Cancel anytime
Web Master
Using our website
You may use the The Middle Land website subject to the Terms and Conditions set out on this page. Visit this page regularly to check the latest Terms and Conditions. Access and use of this site constitutes your acceptance of the Terms and Conditions in-force at the time of use.
Intellectual property
Names, images and logos displayed on this site that identify The Middle Land are the intellectual property of New San Cai Inc. Copying any of this material is not permitted without prior written approval from the owner of the relevant intellectual property rights.
Requests for such approval should be directed to the competition committee.
Please provide details of your intended use of the relevant material and include your contact details including name, address, telephone number, fax number and email.
Linking policy
You do not have to ask permission to link directly to pages hosted on this website. However, we do not permit our pages to be loaded directly into frames on your website. Our pages must load into the user’s entire window.
The Middle Land is not responsible for the contents or reliability of any site to which it is hyperlinked and does not necessarily endorse the views expressed within them. Linking to or from this site should not be taken as endorsement of any kind. We cannot guarantee that these links will work all the time and have no control over the availability of the linked pages.
Submissions
All information, data, text, graphics or any other materials whatsoever uploaded or transmitted by you is your sole responsibility. This means that you are entirely responsible for all content you upload, post, email or otherwise transmit to the The Middle Land website.
Virus protection
We make every effort to check and test material at all stages of production. It is always recommended to run an anti-virus program on all material downloaded from the Internet. We cannot accept any responsibility for any loss, disruption or damage to your data or computer system, which may occur while using material derived from this website.
Disclaimer
The website is provided ‘as is’, without any representation or endorsement made, and without warranty of any kind whether express or implied.
Your use of any information or materials on this website is entirely at your own risk, for which we shall not be liable. It is your responsibility to ensure any products, services or information available through this website meet your specific requirements.
We do not warrant the operation of this site will be uninterrupted or error free, that defects will be corrected, or that this site or the server that makes it available are free of viruses or represent the full functionality, accuracy and reliability of the materials. In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including, without limitation, loss of profits, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damages whatsoever arising from the use, or loss of data, arising out of – or in connection with – the use of this website.
Last Updated: October 1, 2023
New San Cai Inc. (hereinafter “The Middle Land,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) owns and operates www.themiddleland.com, its affiliated websites and applications (our “Sites”), and provides related products, services, newsletters, and other offerings (together with the Sites, our “Services”) to art lovers and visitors around the world.
This Privacy Policy (the “Policy”) is intended to provide you with information on how we collect, use, and share your personal data. We process personal data from visitors of our Sites, users of our Services, readers or bloggers (collectively, “you” or “your”). Personal data is any information about you. This Policy also describes your choices regarding use, access, and correction of your personal information.
If after reading this Policy you have additional questions or would like further information, please contact us.
PERSONAL DATA WE COLLECT AND HOW WE USE IT
We collect and process personal data only for lawful reasons, such as our legitimate business interests, your consent, or to fulfill our legal or contractual obligations.
Information You Provide to Us
Most of the information Join Talents collects is provided by you voluntarily while using our Services. We do not request highly sensitive data, such as health or medical information, racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, etc. and we ask that you refrain from sending us any such information.
Here are the types of personal data that you voluntarily provide to us:
As a registered users or customers, you may ask us to review or retrieve emails sent to your business. We will access these emails to provide these services for you.
We use the personal data you provide to us for the following business purposes:
Information Obtained from Third-Party Sources
We collect and publish biographical and other information about users, which we use to promote the articles and our bloggers who use our sites. If you provide personal information about others, or if others give us your information, we will only use that information for the specific reason for which it was provided.
Information We Collect by Automated Means
Log Files
The site uses your IP address to help diagnose server problems, and to administer our website. We use your IP addresses to analyze trends and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use.
Every time you access our Site, some data is temporarily stored and processed in a log file, such as your IP addresses, the browser types, the operating systems, the recalled page, or the date and time of the recall. This data is only evaluated for statistical purposes, such as to help us diagnose problems with our servers, to administer our sites, or to improve our Services.
Do Not Track
Your browser or device may include “Do Not Track” functionality. Our information collection and disclosure practices, and the choices that we provide to customers, will continue to operate as described in this Privacy Policy, whether or not a “Do Not Track” signal is received.
HOW WE SHARE YOUR INFORMATION
We may share your personal data with third parties only in the ways that are described in this Privacy Policy. We do not sell, rent, or lease your personal data to third parties, and We does not transfer your personal data to third parties for their direct marketing purposes.
We may share your personal data with third parties as follows:
There may be other instances where we share your personal data with third parties based on your consent.
HOW WE STORE AND SECURE YOUR INFORMATION
We retain your information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you Services. If you wish to cancel your account or request that we no longer use your personal data, contact us. We will retain and use your personal data as necessary to comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.
All you and our data are stored in the server in the United States, we do not sales or transfer your personal data to the third party. All information you provide is stored on a secure server, and we generally accepted industry standards to protect the personal data we process both during transmission and once received.
YOUR RIGHTS/OPT OUT
You may correct, update, amend, delete/remove, or deactivate your account and personal data by making the change on your Blog on www.themiddleland.com or by emailing our customer service. We will respond to your request within a reasonable timeframe.
You may choose to stop receiving Join Talents newsletters or marketing emails at any time by following the unsubscribe instructions included in those communications, or you can contact us.
LINKS TO OTHER WEBSITES
The Middle Land include links to other websites whose privacy practices may differ from that of ours. If you submit personal data to any of those sites, your information is governed by their privacy statements. We encourage you to carefully read the Privacy Policy of any website you visit.
NOTE TO PARENTS OR GUARDIANS
Our Services are not intended for use by children, and we do not knowingly or intentionally solicit data from or market to children under the age of 18. We reserve the right to delete the child’s information and the child’s registration on the Sites.
PRIVACY POLICY CHANGES
We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes to our personal data processing practices. If any material changes are made, we will notify you on the Sites prior to the change becoming effective. You are encouraged to periodically review this Policy.
HOW TO CONTACT US
If you have any questions about our Privacy Policy, please contact customer service or send us mail at:
The Middle Land/New San Cai
100 Wilshire Blvd., 7th Floor
Santa Monica, CA 90401
USA
Are you sure? Do you want to logout of the account?
The Michelin brothers created the guide, which included information like maps, car mechanics listings, hotels and petrol stations across France to spur demand.
The guide began to award stars to fine dining restaurants in 1926.
At first, they offered just one star, the concept was expanded in 1931 to include one, two and three stars. One star establishments represent a “very good restaurant in its category”. Two honour “excellent cooking, worth a detour” and three reward “exceptional cuisine, worth a
Thank you for your participation,
please Log in or Sign up to Vote
123Sign in to your account
China’s Global Lending Lures Countries Into a Debt Trap