2015 was an eventful year, especially for China’s cultural industry. China Daily recently made a list of the top 10 cultural events that occurred in China this year.01 01 Poet and poetry translator make headlines Farmer poet: Yu Xiuhua Tagged as the “poetess with cerebral palsy (a condition characterized by a group of permanent movement problems)” and “China’s Emily Dickinson” in media reports, Chinese farmer Yu Xiuhua became a big name this year for her poetry collection “Crossing Big China to Sleep With You.” Poetry translator: Feng Tang The Chinese version of Rabindranath Tagore’s “Stray Birds” translated by renowned Chinese writer Feng Tang was stripped off the shelves following criticism over its “inaccurate interpretations” in December. The line that received most criticism is often translated as, “The world puts off its mask of vastness to its lover.” Feng translated the line as, “The world unzipped his pants in front of his lover.” 02 Booming book market Chinese sci-fi novelist Liu Cixin wins Hugo Award Liu Cixin, a Chinese sci-fi novelist, made headlines in Chinese media after winning the highly prestigious Hugo Award for his sci-fi novel “The Three-Body Problem” in August. Liu is the first Asian author to win the award, sometimes considered the Oscar of science fiction writing. “The Three-Body Problem” also made the shortlist of another top science-fiction award, the Nebula. Coloring books for adults a hit Coloring books for adults as a way to release stress have swept China this year. The books that started the trend were the “Secret Garden” series by Scottish illustrator Johanna Basford. The book tops Amazon China’s 2015 best-seller list. 03 New ‘golden era’ for Chinese film China’s box office sales hit 40 billion yuan (US$6.3 billion), posting a growth of more than 48 percent from the same period last year. Domestic films pulled in 23.7 billion yuan, accounting for more than 59 percent of total box office earnings. 04 Hit dramas adapted from Internet fame This year has witnessed a batch of hot domestic TV dramas adapted from online novels, such as “The Legend of Miyue,” “Nirvana in Fire,” “Journey of Flower,” “The Lost Tomb” and others. Traditional TV dramas, web dramas and online videos are colliding and fusing in this new era. “Nirvana in Fire” crossed cultural barriers successfully and became a hit abroad. The drama has been aired in South Korea and was recommended by the convention board of this year’s Discop Africa to countries on the continent. It will also be dubbed into English soon. 05 China’s Tusi sites listed as world heritage China’s chieftain heritage sites, mainly concentrated in the mountainous areas of Hunan, Hubei and Guizhou in Southeast China, were added to the World Heritage List in July. Chieftains, also known as Tusi, were tribal leaders recognized as imperial officials by the government of the Yuan (1271-1368), Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1912) dynasties. 06 Mummified monk statue in dispute A 1,000-year-old Bud-dha statue with a mummified monk inside, now in the possession of Dutch private collector Oscar van Overeem, triggered a series of disputes during the past eight months between the collector and villagers of Yangchun in southeastern China’s Fujian Province who claim that the statue was the one of Patriarch Zhanggong that was stolen in 1995 from the Puzhao Temple in their village. The collector promised to return the statue to China earlier this year, but later put up conditions for the return, demanding that it be returned to a grand temple instead of a small temple in a village. It is said that the Dutch collector wished to return the statue to South Putuo Temple in Fujian Province, but the temple didn’t accept it. According to the Global Times website, the villagers hired a group of lawyers and filed a lawsuit with the Intermediate People’s Court in Sanming City of Fujian Province addressing the Dutch collector’s infringements relating to the villagers’ property rights, personal rights, as well as spiritual rights. If necessary, they will undertake legal action in the Netherlands. 07 The Palace Museum in Beijing turns 90 Established Oct. 10, 1925, the Palace Museum in Beijing, also known as the Forbidden City, has come to symbolize Chinese culture all round the world. The Palace Museum has come a long way in the last 90 years to become one of the “must-sees” for any visitor to China. To celebrate its 90th birthday, four new areas, including part of the Cining Palace built mainly for emperors’ mothers and concubines, the Baoyun Building, a warehouse built in 1914 to store thousands of treasures, and wings of the Meridian Gate and East Prosperity Gate have been opened to the public for the first time. 08 BBC documentary stirs Sino-UK education debate Since the BBC documentary series, “Are Our Kids Tough Enough? Chinese School,” made its debut in August, it soon became one of the top topics on social networks in both China and Britain, with many education specialists commenting and retweeting. In the documentary, five Chinese teachers took over a British classroom of 50 teenagers aged 13 and 14 in Bohunt School in Hampshire for one month and taught them in a typical Chinese way: no talking, no questions, wearing a special uniform and experiencing the harsh classroom discipline with extended school hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The pride and reputation of the education systems of China and England rested on a four-hour exam that tested the students in science, math and Mandarin Chinese. The final results showed a clean sweep for the Chinese method of teaching in all three categories. Is the Chinese way of education the real winner? The debate rages on. 09 Haihunhou tomb — 2015’s biggest archaeological find Since the provincial institute of archaeology in Jiangxi released their finds Nov. 4, the imperial tombs of the Marquis of Haihun State of the Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 24) have caught the public eye. The tomb, the best-preserved imperial tomb of the Western Han Dynasty ever discovered in China, has the most complete structure, the clearest layout as well as the most complete ritual system by far. Archaeologists believe the tomb belongs to Liu He, grandson of Emperor Wu. He was given the title Haihunhou after he was deposed after only 27 days as emperor. 10 Major literary figures that have passed away Wang Guozhen (Poet, 1956-2015) Celebrated poet Wang Guozhen died of liver cancer at the age of 59 April 26, one month before his latest anthology of poems was to be published. Born in 1956 and a graduate of Jinan University in Guangzhou where he majored in literature, Wang kicked off his poetry career in 1985. His books sold so well in 1990 that people in the publishing business called it “The year of Wang Guozhen.” The following decade witnessed an astonishing output of over 50 books. Caoying (Translator, 1923-2015) Chinese translator Sheng Junfeng, known by his pen name Caoying, died in a Shanghai hospital Oct. 24. Born in 1923 in East China’s Zhejiang Province, Caoying translated many Russian literary works into Chinese. He began to translate the complete works of Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy in 1960. In addition to Tolstoy, he also translated other Russian authors such as Mikhail Sholokhov. Luo Erchun (Painter, 1930-2015) Chinese oil painting artist Luo Erchun, acclaimed as “a master of colors in contemporary Chinese oil painting” and known as the “Oriental Van Gogh,” died in a fire at his home in Beijing on Oct. 29. Born in 1930 in Xiangxiang County of Hunan Province, Luo won fame for painting the scenery of his hometown in Hunan. He had been a professor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts since 1964. In 1992, after he was entitled to stay in France, he often traveled between Europe and China. Luo excelled at expressing strong emotions through the harmony and contrast of colors in his paintings. (China Daily) | 