I missed out on this film several times; but fortunately, I didn’t this time… I always enjoy the films which make me surprised, like this one starring and directed by Jiang Wen.

The story took place during the end of World War II in a small northern village. One night, a villager was given two bags in which a Japanese soldier and his Chinese interpreter were put by a “invisible man�, from then on the destinies of people who lived in the village were doomed...

I can imagine the audience who watched in the cinema roared with laughter in the first half hour and was in silence in the last part.

It seems to me that the film is more artistic than commercial, and the music made me feel the same way even though I used to like it but never expected the works of liu xing is used in this kind of film. As for the cast, Jiang wen still had sharp eyes on searching for the actors, compared with his “In the heat of the sun�----from the Japanese soldier(maybe his performance is better than Jiang wen’s) to the old man who is paralyzed, the 刽�手，and even in the last scene the guy who pass the knife to …(jiang wen’s cute brother, jiang wu, played the younger brother in “shower--xi zao� and was also in Shadow Magic),anyway, the film has an excellent cast except David Wu, the famous DJ in Channel V(maybe he gets along well with these filmmakers ,from Chen Kai Ge to Jiang Wen…)

"Devils On the Doorstep" is different when compared to typical Chinese war films. It shows not everyone would be the hero under the special circumstance. The film is still not put on show in China because it’s said that need to be “modified�, I’m too slow to understand it though…

Anyway no matter what you want, a thoughtful movie or a funny one to kill your time, perhaps it’s a good choice.

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Spicy duck neck is the most popular food in Beijing now. Many new shops in a famous restaurant street called 簋街,(people call it 鬼街ghost street, because most restaurants are open for almost 24 hours). By the way, when I took the following photos, 我看起�也是鬼鬼祟祟的,particularly in the rain …

This kind of snack comes from Wuhan and was made famous by a movie “life show�, adapted from a popular novel with the same name. The woman in it is very charming. (风情万�，“风情�已�被滥用了…).She has a shop selling this.

I think spicy duck is not the best choice in the spicy duck series, I prefer duck head and tongue. You might enjoy some others, anyway, one of them+ beer + your favorite novel or dvd=wonderful dinner.

It seems that there’s a story behind every famous food, is it a tradition (or just boring advertisement, who cares about story)? Do you know why this duck series is so delicious? Because a very beautiful woman dropped her 香囊(something like perfume) where the soldiers cooked the duck. This woman was 虞姬, her man is a famous loser but a hero. I think you’ve seen their story in Chen Kaige’s “Farewell, My Concubine�, the woman was played by Cheng Dieyi(Leslie cheung).

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收音机里说北京人这几天脾气�好，因为这破天儿。我也是，�完了这个心里立马儿平衡了，然�开始谈笑风生，越看�志们越顺眼。

为了北京市民的“生气都一�儿生�的��力，晚上去�麻辣�锅庆�，果然��生悲――��黑店(也好，�了我对麻辣�锅的念想儿)。逃离之�，信步�进了胡�，在这个骤雨���旧闷热的晚上。

困了，下次å†?写，å??正它就在那里

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I was really annoyed to get the text message from my colleague tonight. She kept asking me when I left office, what I did in the net center exactly and some other stupid questions…I pretended to be patient and replied her one by one, but didn’t tell her anything actually.

This young lady made a good impression on me in my first day to work. She’s warm-hearted to show me round the office with her sweet smile and beautiful voice. I’m appreciate what she did even if when I sensed that something was wrong with her after she said the man this, the woman that…

I think perhaps there’s such a person in each office. She/he likes to criticize the thing has nothing to do her/him and “interfere the internal affairs�. I have to get used to it. By the way, the event I’m participating in is made up two groups, one belongs to Forum one (her part) and another belongs to Exhibition (my part). So in a sense, we’re competitor.

And my competitor bought me a drink often, sometimes I took it and sometimes not. Should I look it as sugar-coating bomb 糖衣炮弹(famous phrase in selected works of Maozedong--他们是�曾被拿枪的敌人��过的，他们在这些敌人���愧英雄的称�；但是��起人们用糖衣裹�的炮弹的攻击，他们在糖弹���打败仗。我们必须预防这�情况)?.If it is, what I’m supposed to do? The best choice is to put the sugar in the coffee and then throw back the bomb to the enemy?

Anyway, I’m trying to escape away from the office politics, it’s not fun in most of time. And the lady I mentioned above is still a good comrade, thanks for her help and drinks.

(多优秀的作å“?啊～～～，å?•å??一个“明â€?å­—)

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At least at this moment, I'm not going to write about you, or I will miss you much and cannot sleep...

And I won't see you in my dream, or it would be painful after waking up in the next morning ...

Is there any place to memory the inventor of you?

to be continued...

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It’s not easy to talk about myself. I didn’t use to enjoy things like “introduce yourself� at the beginning of the school-life and college life. Although maybe it’s a good start sometimes…

So, my name is Song Li and I live in Beijing where I was born and grew up. I’m an age that would better be kept a secret (I gave the same answer to a new colleague. —“How old are you, they said you’re younger than me�, I thought I would answer —“I don’t think so�, but I didn’t. —“Your secret?�—“No, my rule.� I knew I was a little stupid at that time…)

Yes, I believe you’ve realised it’s not simple to take my point. I often write much more in the brackets. Ok, go on… I graduated from the Academy of Arts and Design, Tsinghua university in 2001 and my major was fine arts. I don’t love art like some artists who cannot live without it. I think it’s just something for pleasure such as reading, watching a dvd and breathing some fresh air after a good sleep or tiring work. I don’t even like it as much as other hobbies occasionally, because it’s not enjoyable when I have to earn money by it (Only complaining, I hope).

I chose the Chinese traditional pattern of trees and birds as the background (If my mum were here now, she would say: oh, not trees again…).I’m always attracted by the figure of trees. As for the birds, I’m still moved by the waving wings since saw the scene in the French documentary “Winged Migration�. By the way, I’m not a famous artist, so I won’t say “Only if I were a bird.�

Anyway, this is a personal website about what I paint, what I think and what I XXX. It’s just from an ordinary Chinese person.

Thanks to my friend for giving me this website as a present, I would like to put some good stuff on it to you as a present.

Hope so.

Soong Li

2004/7/12

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I'm going to write something for her,this is the first time to use Chinese and English at the same time(different version though).But it will be later, I'm too tired to think of something to please your eyes(Although the pics are enough...:-P).

This painting is one of snowball's favorites.

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I took some pics about the doors in Hu tong. A woman asked me why I took,"I think its pretty","pretty what?!"

Everyone get used to ignore the thing that has been get used to,its normal.

The doors are neighbours.

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Actually, I don’t want to make any posts now, I want to eat water-melon…

If you have read the post I made days ago, you must remember what I talked about exchange of culture. But I wouldn’t like to look it as business only, I think I should do something which is really called it. Maybe this is why I have to wrote an English composition every night(painful though) after a tired day.

I will try, even though I would rather paint something I like than talk something I like…

P.S. I took that picture by accident when I forgot I didn't turn off the cam yet.Have you ever heard of a famous Japanese film called ROSHOMON?It's good, but not as good as the original novel, which was written by my favorite author Kon jyaku monogatari芥�龙之介,as long as you compare the end of theirs.The author is a talented guy, killed himself when he was 35 though ,like another my favorite singer Danny Chan陈百强,in the same age.

Sorry,I'm alway pointless,the Roshomon was based on the novel which is called "in the bamboos竹林中",kind of mystery you can't describe it clearly,this is what I felt at first glance of that pic.

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A masterpiece always makes people feel uncertain, a kind of mysterious emotion. Yes, if you read it closer and more carefully, you will sense what we call 诡谲(strange and profound). Sometimes, this is one of the standards of judging the quality of a work...

Chen hong shou 陈洪绶has this quality. I first heard his name is because of his woodcut "Qu Zi Xing Yin Tu (Qu yuan walked while chanting in a low voice)《屈�行�图》". Qu yuan 屈原 is a famous patriot in China’s history (some scholars think that he was a gay, for his beautiful poems presented to his king…oh, forget it, it’s not important) and most Chinese people think his death was the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival, because kind people threw zongzi粽� stop the fish eating him after he drowning himself for his helpless country and useless king. By the way, the longest lyric of ancient times, called Li Sao离骚, was written by Qu yuan

Lots of painters have described Qu yuan through the ages and Chen hong shou was one of them. It seems nobody’s work can compare with his, even though he created it when he was only 19. He just used the direction, strength and especially the spacing of the lines to make this unhappy patriot even more vivid. So it proved that he had two kinds of talents at least, one is painting, another is empathy and I think the latter is the real gift.

By convention, let’s talk about this artist from beginning. Chen hong shou was a painter of Ming dynasty, whose style name 字was Zhanghou章侯, Laolian�莲 and Huichi悔迟 by sobriquets �(In dynastic times naming was far more complex, and occasionally traces of the older system are still used. The style name I mentioned above was taken at marriage or coming of age. And sobriquets were usually assumed by the person later in life, although sometimes conferred by friends. One can think of it as a rather formal nickname. For example, my sobriquets are beauty, intelligence and so on). Chen hong shou painted in human figures, landscapes, flower-and-bird (I love them all, it’s not easy for me). He created a style that is uniquely his own, particularly in his images of people, trees and hills. I do really enjoy them(Chinese conventional artist didn’t use to look at nature with fresh eyes but were simply concocting pictures out of their head→I love Chinese tradition!).. As to art, searching for a different language is the key to success. It’s not that difficult to find something different if you’re different naturally (Its also a quality), anyway, don’t pretend to be special or you’ll be a joke. It’s a common phenomenon in artistic creation though…

Chen hong shou would rather be an officer to devote himself to his country than being a painter. He once was a Buddhist monk after the Qing invasion and used to be drunk then flirted the girls on the street during that period of time. He preferred painting prostitutes to ladies of rich family (a little like Lautrec?) and he even jumped the river to avoid from painting for snobbish officers. And he foresaw his own death then convened his family numbers to send him off by praying of Buddha…

If you’re really interested in Chinese painting, so don’t ignore him (Many people did so though). In my view, good stuff has nothing to do with era. In respect of art, I would rather appreciate the art itself than the background or something behind it.

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Seems Wuguanzhong's been a controversial painter since Cultural Revolution, about his view, his art and the value of his work. Perhaps he is the only alive billionaire painter in his age.

To be honest, I don’t like his artwork much. He was the old professor in my university, but was not mentioned often. Some people would rather talk about the argument between him and another old famous professor. The teacher who taught our fresco history once asked us: “Do you know the argument between Zhang and Wu?� “NO!� “Ok, I will tell you, but close the door first�.

Actually, the cause of this fight is the traditional Chinese ink painting, Wu wrote an article called “Brush and Chinese ink is ZERO笔墨等于零�(its just a part of the painting, as for itself, the road of its possibility has been to the end); On the contrary, Zhang thought brush and Chinese ink is fundamental in Chinese painting(he’s good at it), no matter whatever it’s traditional or modern. Thus, he fought back by “defend the bottom line of Chinese painting守�中国画的底线� with his all strength. By the way, if you love Chinese animation, you must have heard “uproar in the heaven (monkey king)�,there’s another well-known Chinese animation called “ne zha nao hai哪�闹海�,Zhang is the designer of it.

My major is not Chinese painting, never painted by Chinese ink only before, so “no comment�.

However, I agree with another of Wu's views. He’s emphasized the sense of form, beauty of a piece of work ITSELF, not for describing something, not for any values…

I went to the opening of Wu’s wash painting BIG(the leaders from central authorities of PARTY even came ) exhibition last Friday (in the name of work). I met a very famed artist but won’t say anything to him(I had chance in this internal event, I don’t like a artist who enjoyed to promote himself so much, like a movie star, maybe I’m a little traditional).I was happy to say hi to the retired dean of my department, but I had no chance to talk to him when I was in the university.

Anyway, put some photos I took that day, others were downloaded in google. I don’t want to explain them one by one, I think everyone here can recognize it.

P.S. interesting website ha!

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I enjoy such weather always,and I even imagine it sometimes.

There's a famous scholar and critic in Qing dynasty called JinShengTan who counted 33 "happiest moments"in a temple with his friends in the rainning days.The coming of storm was one of it. Maybe the last happiest moment of his is when his head was cut off by a executioner's sword ,as he said"it most hurts to have the head cut off,I got it accidentally,shoundn't I be happy?"Many scholars in Chinese history are a little weird,is that the quality of intellectual?

The pic is taken by me just now.Clouds are always beautiful, reminding me an mathematical word "self-similarity"which often is used in painting art.Probably it's an point to avoid people being kind of people who seems knowing something but not understanding something.

Chinese always says:"Dont compare with others,or you will be dead because of anger"(人比人,气死人),I just got the pics from my friend,we took the same sky at the same time,but his works is better than mine.

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热烈庆ç¥?马é?™å’Œå¸…è?”æˆ?为“今日之星â€?，排å??ä¸?分先å?Žã€‚

昨天获é¢?此殊è?£çš„是楼下的帅哥，我找ä¸?到615，然å?Žä»–说“是这儿ï¼?â€?，我说“ä¸?是ï¼?â€?“找ä¸?到了å?§ï¼Ÿï¼?â€?“嗯...â€?有的人ä¸?会给你带æ?¥é™Œç”Ÿæ„Ÿï¼Œåƒ?è€?朋å?‹ä¼¼çš„，你ä¸?会心跳加快，但å?´å¾ˆèˆ’æœ?，就åƒ?å??缆车时与对é?¢çš„人会心一笑；就åƒ?当拥挤的人群让你出ä¸?了地é“?å?£æ—¶ï¼Œæœ‰äººä¼šæ‹‰ä¼¸æ‰‹ä½ ä¸€æŠŠï¼›å°±åƒ?与一起躲雨的陌生人分手时，彼此会说一声“路上å°?心â€?，然å?Žä¸€èµ·ï¼Œå?„奔东西...

一刻，一瞬间...:)

我大学时�常熬夜赶作业，�当�觉�关窗时，清新的空气扑�而�，�人心脾，所以我常常想，一天的忙碌其实�过为了这一刻�...现在也是这样，�是�天到了，�关窗了

还有，刚刚的新闻�播里没有我，我�时候还拿过特写呢，唉，时�我予

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