Playing Inside
In the Mind's Eye
Young painters explore at 3i Art Center
Michelangelo, Claude Monet and Pablo Picasso all displayed a passion and talent for art before the age of 10 – a testament to how important the formative years are for young artists. “It’s so important for kids to have a good foundation in art and imagination – it will help them their entire life,” says Ivy Yang, founder of 3i Art Center.
The art center, which has branches in Chaoyang and Haidian, offers classes designed to foster inspiration, innovation and imagination – the three i’s behind the name – in young kids, and lessons often appeal to kids’ love of unusual, fun materials.
Let's Get Cookin'
Young Cooks Fire Up the Woks
Want to whet your children’s appetite? Are your young ones budding chefs? Do you want to be off kitchen duty for good? Let young cooks touch, feel, smell and discover more about the food they’re eating at the kids’ cooking classes at The Hutong, located in Jiudaowan Zhongxiang hutong near Beixinqiao subway stop.
Hocus Pocus
Easy steps to creepy costumes
Chicken
There’s nothing wrong with being a little, er, chicken, during Halloween. Smaller kids will love dressing up as this adorable clucker.
How to do it: Cut a red glove about an inch from the fingers, stuff it with tissues and stitch it to the crown of an oversized hooded top. Stuff the hood with a cushion and tack-stitch yellow feather boas all over the top (stitches can later be removed). You’ll need about five boas for a costume that will fit a 5-year-old. Put on a pair of tights and then carefully slip on the top, stuffing it with cushions or towels to fatten it up. Stuff the ends of a pair of yellow gloves with tissues and then slip the gloves onto your feet. Cluck!
Crafting a Pattern
The fine technique of Chinese embroidery
When it comes to silk, the Chinese know their stuff. Legend has it that in 2800 BC, Leizu – wife of Emperor Huangdi – observed silkworms at work and saw that the shiny, silvery threads could be used to make clothing.
The Chinese have since developed the silk-making process into a fine art, including elaborate methods of embroidery. As early as 2000 BC, the bureaucrats of the Zhou dynasty had their clothes embroidered with symbols to show their official positions. Embroidery techniques were further developed during the Song dynasty (960-1279 AD) and perfected during the Qing dynasty (1616-1911 AD), when different styles began to arise, such as Beijing embroidery (which specializes in clothing for royalty) and the four famous regions – Sichuan, Jiangsu, Hunan and Guangdong – which are now regarded as “the Four Styles of Chinese Embroidery.”
It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got Swing
Jump back to an era with an old-time jive
The shuffling of feet, the swaying of skirts, svelte arm movements and nimble steps all moving in harmony to the rhythms of a big brass band – nothing quite epitomizes “shaking a leg” like swing dancing. Whether it’s at a school dance or a family evening party, all are guaranteed a good time. Men, women and teenagers can all work up a sweat twirling to the fast-paced music.
Words of Art
Grasping the essence of Chinese calligraphy
In the epic Zhang Yimou movie Hero, the great warrior Broken Sword proclaims that his swordsmanship is rooted in calligraphy. He practices writing in the sand to enhance the penetrating power of his strokes.
Calligraphy is said to reveal the identity and feelings of the writer – each individual has a particular choice of style and medium, way of handling the brush and distinctive handwriting. In the past, the Chinese used calligraphy to evaluate a person and their talents; good calligraphy in examinations could place a person in a favorable government position. “When you write, you express your feelings through the brush,” says native Beijinger Paul Wang. “It reflects people’s characteristics and different things in their consciousness.”
Wang has been a practitioner of the art since childhood after his parents enrolled him in a calligraphy and painting school, and now he teaches calligraphy at the Chinese Cultural Club. “I kept on practicing, and I came to love it; it’s part of my life,” he says. “Chinese calligraphy is a direct window to understanding Chinese culture and relaxation.” Wang’s class focuses on the meaning and evolution of specific characters, the history of significant calligraphy periods and Chinese traditional culture. During each of his eight lessons, he teaches a different style of script, allowing students to create individual calligraphy work.
Rock, Paper, Scissors
The Art Of Chinese Paper Cutting
Chinese paper-cutting is a tradition that can be traced back to the Tang dynasty (618-907 AD), when people would cut silk cloth into intricate shapes and hang them on trees or doors to celebrate the coming of the spring, as well as to help exorcise demons. Today, people still embrace this tradition by hanging paper-cuts on windows or walls during the Spring Festival, expressing hope for a prosperous year.
There are two major kinds of Chinese paper-cut: one type is created using scissors and the other with knives. The former doesn’t require many specific tools or materials and allows improvisation during the cutting process; the latter, however, involves special tools and paper, as well as a pre-designed template that can be extremely complicated and detailed. This is the kind that paper-cut artist Ren Zhenshan specializes in.
Energize the Body, Calm the Mind
A yoga session fit for youngsters
Beijing’s cold winters tend to keep most people indoors, but this doesn’t mean youngsters need to give up exercising! A simple session of yoga can do wonders for your kids: strengthen muscles, improve circulation and teach ways to enhance concentration. The following poses are suitable for kids from ages 4-10.
Tree
Stand straight with the feet together. Lift your right knee and place your right foot on your left upper thigh. Keep your knee pointed outwards. Put your palms together; breathe gently and deeply to stay in balance. Exhale as you lower your right foot and stand again with your big toes touching. Repeat the pose with the other leg. If challenging to balance with your foot on your thigh, lower your foot to your calf or ankle.
All Hands On Deck
Learn how to play a Chinese card game without knowing Chinese!
Without paper, there would be no cards, and since China is credited with the invention of paper, it should be of no surprise that the first appearance of card-playing took place in China in 969 AD. Shortly after the invention of paper, Emperor Muzong was said to have played “domino cards” with one of his concubines, but the deck they used consisted of 33 cards and was composed of four suits: coins, strings of coins, myriads of strings, and tens of myriads.
Over the centuries, playing cards caught on in other countries and eventually reached France, where the 52-card deck consisting of four suits – diamonds, hearts, spades and clubs – appeared during the 15th century. Nowadays, this is the standard deck used in a multitude of games in practically every country around the world.
Playful Bytes
A primer on Chinese computer games
Despite the many reports of Internet addiction and carpal tunnel syndrome resulting from too much control pad crunching, computer games can be - dare we say - educational, especially if you're trying to bone up on your Chinese. We shopped around and picked out some homegrown Chinese video games for different age groups: some cultural, some historical, and some just plain fun. Most require at least some level of Chinese literacy (or at least a Chinese-English dictionary on hand), but these alluring games may be just the impetus you've been looking for to start working on those Chinese characters. Vivian Chow
