Love In The Digital Age: The Turmoil – And Love – In Sheng Tianhong’s Paintings

“Old Injury, New Love” by Sheng Tianhong
Our friends at Beijing Today will sporadically swing by to introduce art and culture in the city. This week, a man who paints of and with love. Sheng Tianhong’s heart is wholly devoted to painting. Born in Zhejiang Province in 1973 and a graduate from the Chinese Central Academy of Fine Arts, he moved to Dusseldorf, Germany at the age of 24 to travel and develop his career.

Dispatches From Xinjiang: Uyghur Hip-Hop As Folk Music

Six City and Uyghur rap
Adil Mijit is not the only Uyghur comedian to incorporate a discussion of hip-hop into his performances. In the recent state-sponsored film Shewket’s Summer, directed by Pan Yu with assistance from Beijing Film Academy students, Abdukerim Abliz joins the Uyghur hip-hop crew Six City as a reticent folk musician. The film, which is both a “coming-of-age” and “parent-trap” melodrama, highlights the way conflicts resolved at the level of the family have larger implications for society.

C4, Ep.89: Christmas Is A Time For Holidays

C4, Ep89
Today on C4: Making sense of the holiday schedule. Alternatively: this is what sick people at work look like. Probably the worst episode yet!

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The Animated Feature Everyone Wants To See

Big Fish & Chinese Flowering Crabapple featured image
It’s not every day that a Chinese animated film manages to secure more than 1 million yuan in funding. It’s even rarer that that money comes from the crowd. But 3,596 backers saw promise in Big Fish & Chinese Flowering Crabapple, a new film by Liang Xuan. Enough promise that they donated 1.58 million yuan over 45 days on Demohour. It now holds the title of China’s most successful crowd-funded project to date.

Dispatches From Xinjiang: Sufi Poetry And The Uyghur Justin Bieber

Sufi Poetry and the Uyghur Justin Beiber 2
The Uyghur-language songs of teen heartthrob Ablajan Awut Ayup run on a loop through the heads of many Uyghur tweens and young urbanites. Taking cues from Justin Bieber, the ever-popular dance moves of the late-Michael Jackson, and the pretty-gangster affect of Korean pop stars, Ablajan is a self-styled chart-climber; he is a self-made song-and-dance man. Whether you love him or hate him, the fact remains that he has cornered the Uyghur children’s music market by tying clever songwriting with catchy beats.