(no subject)
flemmings asked whether CCTV has many English language programs. I never thought about it, but naturally CCTV has lots of cultural programming to fill its multiple English channels, and most of it is really quite decent, as long as you stay away from the politically sensitive topics. I thought that people on my fl list might find them interesting since they're really very different from the English programming available on China. If you overlook the rather uninspired English voice over, these programs have a very different perspective, and delves much more in depth, and taps into a segment of experts and knowledge which is completely unavailable to Westerners.
A couple to look into -- The story of Wu Area. In particular episode 7, music from another world, which is about the opera and musical heritage of the region. This is the ancient name for the Yantze delta, so yes, this is where woxinchangdan took place. This is also where Kunqu and Yue opera originated.
Also worth checking out is a documentary on the life of Mei Lanfang. I find that the first episodes about his childhood drags a bit, but it picks up as it moves on after his professional debut. The nice thing about this program is that it goes a little beyond the standard intro to Chinese opera, and actually goes into the structure of the opera guilds and other social aspects of the Chinese opera.
A couple to look into -- The story of Wu Area. In particular episode 7, music from another world, which is about the opera and musical heritage of the region. This is the ancient name for the Yantze delta, so yes, this is where woxinchangdan took place. This is also where Kunqu and Yue opera originated.
Also worth checking out is a documentary on the life of Mei Lanfang. I find that the first episodes about his childhood drags a bit, but it picks up as it moves on after his professional debut. The nice thing about this program is that it goes a little beyond the standard intro to Chinese opera, and actually goes into the structure of the opera guilds and other social aspects of the Chinese opera.