From Cultural Utilization to Cultural Understanding:Two Phases of the English-Speaking World’s Reception of Traditional Chinese Plays

The article analyzes the translations,performances and the reception of traditional Chinese plays in the English-speaking world from the mid-and-late eighteenth century to the early twentieth century.We found that the reception underwent two phases featuring self-centered and multicultural respectively.In the first phase,the English-speaking world acknowledged the moral values of traditional Chinese plays but it did not accept their aesthetic values while in the second phase,aesthetic values became the focus and were received through translations,studies and performances.The two phases differed significantly.The first phase was characterized by the initial contacts and exchanges between the plays and the English culture as well as obvious cultural misunderstandings.During the second phase,moral and aesthetic values were gradually accepted.Text translations,theatrical studies and performances were flourishing while cultural misunderstandings decreased remarkably.The two stages demonstrate the general result of the Chinese culture’s historical process of“going global”.The reception of Chinese culture by other cultures often started with cultural utilization,accompanied by obvious cultural misunderstandings.With the deepening of contacts and exchanges between the two cultures,however,the host culture began to gain a better understanding of the intrinsic values of Chinese culture and therefore cultural misunderstandings decreased.Cultural misunderstandings are an inevitable historical process that the Chinese culture would experience during its“going global”.With continuing and expanded exposures,the intrinsic values of Chinese culture will continue to manifest themselves.

Give Full Play the Role of Traditional Chinese Medicine to Prevent and Treat Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome with Integrative Chinese and Western Medicine Approach

Member of Political Bureau of Central Committee of CPC, Vice Premier of State Council concurrently Minister of Health, General Command of National Protecting and Treating Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ( SARS) Headquarters Vice premier WU Yi cordially met the well-known TCM specialists, and held a symposium with them. Sixteen specialists including WANG Yong-yan, CHEN Ke-ji, LI Fu-ren, JIAO Shu-de, HE Pu-ren, LIU

Playing the Traditional Game

FEW games are as popular in China as mahjong. whose players range in age from 20 to over 80. Today mahjong, a favorite pastime for Chinese natives, is also winning hearts of the expat community in China.

Traditional Chinese Medicine Playing a More Important Role in the World's Complementary Medicine Research——Minutes of the 3rd International Congress on Complementary Medicine Research

The 3rd International Congress on Complementary Medicine Research （ICCMR 2008） was held on 29-31 March, 2008 in Sydney, Australia. More than 550 participants from over 30 countries in the diverse field of complementary medicine attended this great event.