Long before Chinese director Zhang Yimou gained international fame for his eye-catching, impressive opening ceremony to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, he had a reputation for making epic movies full of soul, grit, dramatic storytelling.
I raise this now because To Live, which was made in 1994, has moments to keep in mind.
As in: What you have might not always be yours. Winners can become losers. Losers can become winners.
Overall, though, appreciation – in my mind – is tops.
The above clip highlights that clearly – with the adult son of a wealthy mansion owner losing everything while gambling. That launched an epic look at China’s history through his eyes and experience.
So my family and I helped the Seattle-area economy by purchasing this Chinese dragon while we were shopping at Uwajimaya, the Asian supermarket in Seattle.
We didn’t expect to buy it.
Isn’t that always the case when you tell yourself you’re just going to get food or gas?
This Chinese lion dance team performs during the Lunar New Year celebration in Seattle's Chinatown in 1921. The group also helped raise money for famine relief in China. Photo source: PEMCO Webster & Stevens Collection (courtesy of the Museum of History and Industry and spotted in an outdoor, public display by The Wing Luke Asian Museum)
As you’ve noticed, I’ve been on a run with Chinese dragons and lions lately – what with the Year of the Tiger that started Sunday.
I know it’s a day after the Lunar New Year began – and people still are celebrating. I thought I’d continue with one more post about lion heads used during Lunar New Year festivities.
Why?
Well, to quote singer (and pop philosopher) Kenny Rogers: “You’ve got to know when to hold them, know when to fold them.”
I’m holding on to this idea for just a bit longer.
I’m also doing this because I recall a person telling me years ago that the past is prologue.
So after my son and I watched the opening performance of the Lunar New Year festival in Seattle, we met up with my wife.
The three of us headed over to Hing Loon, a Cantonese Chinese restaurant which is one of our favorites in Seattle.
During last year’s Lunar New Year celebration, my parents were visiting us – and the five of us made our way to the scrumptious restaurant where the waitresses remember you and are friendly.
On Saturday, we ducked inside because our bellies were giving us signs that it was time to fill up – and our choice for the day were noodles.
Then, moments after we sat down – just as what happened when my parents joined us last year – we spotted Seattle martial arts master Mak Fai and his crew of lion dancers make their way to the popular restaurant.
With my son at my side, I turned on my digital camera, switched to video mode and captured Saturday’s Lunar New Year celebration in Seattle’s Chinatown International District.
It was terrific – bringing back memories and giving my son a chance to see what I saw in San Francisco and Oakland Chinatowns when I was a kid.
My grandparents lived in those Chinatowns and my parents would take my sister and me to celebrate and watch the colorful, loud street performances.
I’ve always enjoyed the video work of journalist Dan Chung, who is based in China for the Guardian.
In the Vimeo clip above, he captures the color, sound and activity of last year’s Lunar New Year celebration in Beijing – which he calls the world’s biggest “uncoordinated” fireworks display.
Lunar New Year arrives on Feb. 14 – so get ready to usher in the Year of the Tiger with food, family, friends and fun.
Flowers rest on Google's sign in Beijing. Photo source: hunxue-er's photostream on flickr
I thought I’d give the Google-China news hours to pass from Thursday’s developments before I typed my thoughts.
My initial ones: The dramatic twists continue, the rhetoric fascinates and with everything in life, it’s best to remember that what you think might be the core of the debate, the center of the action could just be a diversion to the main attraction.
Or it really could be the center.
We also know that much face has been lost in this brouhaha. By the way, senior Chinese leaders don’t like to lose face – that’s why closed-door meetings with them are preferred.
Given that Google brought its charges – that Gmail accounts were hacked and intellectual property was stolen – so publicly how will Google and the Chinese government save face?
I’ll get to some lighter things for this blog soon.
But I’m glad I read The New York Times article by John Markoff and Ashlee Vance about hackers and safety concerns of software companies because it reminded me of information swirling in the Google in (or possibly out of) China drama.
That is: Exactly what was the target of the hackers from China who broke into Google?
I don’t know whether all the online copy moving about Google’s possible exit from China is good - meaning that there’s plenty to read – or somewhere else on the charts – meaning that there’s plenty to read.
But a quick visit to the People’s Daily revealed an article about Google investigating whether its own employees in China had participated in what executives have described as sophisticated attacks on the Internet giant, including hacked Gmail accounts of activists critical of senior leaders in Beijing.
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