Epoch Times Singapore

22 SEPTEMBER 5 – 18, 2014

Health

Epoch Times

Beauty

Facts 13 Fun About the Cool Cucumber

By Cathy Margolin, Dipl Oriental Medicine, L.Ac. www.pacherbs.com

I

n sunny Singapore, the hot weather is always a problem. Maybe we should take a few clues from Asian and Mediterranean cultures that eat this cool food at the height of the hot weather.

Cucumber isn’t sold in pharmacies but it should be. In Chinese Medicine, cucumber is considered to have heat-dissipating, diuretic, laxative, and detoxifying effects.

The first recorded medicinal use of cucumbers was in the 7th century. Its major uses continue today and include: the treatment of excessive thirst, sore throat, laryngitis, acute conjunctivitis, and burns.

In most Chinese homes, however, whether eaten raw or cooked as a soup, cucumber is used only for keeping cool in summer, when it is in season, or in early autumn to soothe dry lips and throat.

Because cucumbers have natural cooling properties according to Chinese Medicine food theory, they shouldn’t be eaten during the cold winter months. During the winter we need foods with warming properties.

The cooling properties of cucumbers also make it a perfect natural detoxifier, so stop throwing money away on detox programs and eat some cucumbers now that it’s summertime.

Modern medical researchers found that cucumber is rich in vitamin E, which helps fighting against aging. Women like to put cucumber juice or film on the face to smooth skin and reduce wrinkles. Cucumber also contains vitamin B1, which is essential for our brain and nervous system.

Chinese Traditional Medicine (TCM) believes cucumber has the ability to soothe the nerves and aid in the treatment of insomnia. This makes perfect sense because we all sleep better when our bodies are cooler and cucumber is one of the coolest vegetables. Studies also show extracts of cucumber seeds and stems may have an effect on high blood pressure.

Wow, all this from a little vegetable you can find at every wet market or supermarket.

What else is cucumber good for?

Chinese Traditional Medicine (TCM) believes cucumber has the ability to soothe the nerves and aid in the treatment of insomnia.

Here’s a list and some fun facts: 1. Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.

2. Feeling tired in the afternoon? Put down the caffeinated soda and pick up a cucumber. Cucumbers are a good source of B Vitamins and carbohydrates that can provide that quick pick-me-up that can last for hours. They also keep the body cool during the day which helps eliminate the need for sleep aids at night.

3. Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower? Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror, it will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance.

4. Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds? Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminium to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area.

5. Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or to the pool? Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes, the phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!!

Epoch Times

6. Want to avoid a hangover or terrible headache? Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache free. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, avoiding both a hangover and headache!

7. Looking to fight off that afternoon or evening snacking binge? Cucumbers have been used for centuries and often used by European trappers, traders and explores for quick meals to thwart off starvation.

8. Have an important meeting or job interview and you realise that you don’t have enough time to polish your shoes? Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe, its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water.

9. Out of WD-40 lubricant and need to fix a squeaky hinge?

Take a cucumber slice and rub it along the problematic hinge, and voila, the squeak is gone!

10. Stressed out and don’t have time for massage, facial or visit to the spa? Cut up an entire cucumber and place

hEALTH & BEAUTY it in a boiling pot of water.

The chemicals released in the steam creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown to reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams.

11. Just finished a business lunch and realise you don’t have gum or mints? Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath, the phytochemical will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.

12. Looking for a ‘green’ way to clean your faucets, sinks or stainless steel? Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean, not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back the shine, but is won’t leave streaks and won’t harm you fingers or fingernails while you clean.

13. Using a pen and made a mistake? Take the outside of the cucumber and slowly use it to erase the pen writing.

This trick also works great on crayons and markers kids may have used to decorate the walls!!

This article was originally published on www.pacherbs.com

SEPTEMBER 5 – 18, 2014 23

Elevate Your Mood with Exercise

By Life Fitness Did you know that regular exercise has been proven to reduce stress, boost self-esteem, improve sleep and ward off anxiety and feelings of depression?

While exercising, the body releases chemicals called endorphins that reduce your perception of pain and trigger a positive feeling in the body that can make you all smiles.

Often referred to as a “runner’s high”, the euphoric feeling can energise you and provide moodboosting benefits long after a workout has ended.

Go for moderate exercise that you enjoy. To make sure you reap the most mood-boosting benefits, work out regularly instead of sporadically. If you begin working out with exercises you enjoy, you are less likely to skip your workouts. Try biking, dancing, power walking or jogging on the treadmill to start. More good news: weight training can be as effective as an aerobic exercise

in elevating your mood. Aim for two to three days a week of resistance training using machines, cables or dumbbells.

Raise your mood with health benefits. The endorphin release isn’t the only thing about exercise that will get you smiling. Exercise strengthens the heart, increases energy levels, lowers blood pressure and improves muscle tone and strength. Just glancing in the mirror and seeing results will keep a pep in your step all day.

Build healthy relationships.

People who exercise regularly say they are less stressed, nervous and tense. Sounds like a great group of people to get to know.

Joining a gym or group fitness class provides an opportunity to connect with people in a positive, active environment. Take time to build these relationships, in addition to your workout routine, for a happier, healthier life.

123RF.COM

If you begin working out with exercises you enjoy, you are less likely Source: lifefitness.com/blog. to skip your workouts. Try biking, Visit the Life Fitness blog dancing, power walking or jogging for more health and fitness on the treadmill to start.

information.

24 sepTEMBER 5 – 18, 2014

Health & Beauty

Epoch Times

What Qualities Must a Beauty Queen Have?

Miss Singapore International 2014 Redefines Beauty early age. Mr Seah Kian Peng also shared his perspective on beauty.

Mr Seah felt that beauty is a composition of one’s inner world, values and persona lities. Similar events can help young women realise their potential and be more confident.

Certainly, younger generations including the contestants have their ways of pursuing beauty. The winner Vanessa Sim had a very different childhood from her peers. She moved to Pakistan with her family when she was only 7.

During her five years in Pakistan, Vanessa developed a wide variety of interests, inSun Mingguo/Epoch Times Miss Singapore International 2014 Vanessa Sim. cluding horse-riding and hill-climbing. She used to climb the Margalla Hill which

By Ting Ting International Competition in lies to the north of Islamabad, Epoch Times Staff Japan in the coming November. the capital city of Pakistan. After The president of SWA, Ms Sarah coming back to Singapore for one Mei Woo, gave the opening speech year, she moved to Malaysia with he Final competition for the event. The Deputy Speaker her family. of 2014 Miss Singapore and Member of Parliament, Mr Since then, Vanessa became International and the Seah Kian Peng, also expressed very concerned about our world, charity dinner in cel- good wishes for the pageant and especially in the area of animal ebration of the 60th anniversary of the 60th birthday of SWA. protection and women’s rights.

Singapore Women’s Association In the following competitions, She introduced Model United was held in the Intercontinental the contestants paraded in swim- Nations activities in her school, Hotel on the August 23. Thir- wear and evening gowns. There and volunteered for the Society teen gorgeous girls from different was also a Q&A session for them for the Prevention of Cruelty to cultural backgrounds showcased to express their inner world. Animals. Now, Vanessa works their unique definitions of beauty Throughout the event, the con- for an international software during the contest. testants showcased the demean- company. She initiated diversity It was 24-year-old Vanessa Sim our of modern young women. inclusion in her company and stood out from all the beauties Speak to one thousand individ- is a strong supporter of women and was crowned the queen uals, and they’ll each have their leadership at work. both for her appearance and own unique understanding of For thousands of years, intelligence. The first runner-up beauty. One of the board members generations after generations and the second runner-up were of SWA, Ms Jean Tong has been of women have never stopped Sonia Mao, 23, and Deborah Yeo, sponsoring the event for the past in their pursuit of beauty.

24.

11 years. She thinks that beauty is Each individual has a unique Singapore Women’s Association not just about one’s appearance. perspective for ‘beauty’. There (SWA) has been hosting Miss Beauty should also come from is an ancient Chinese saying Singapore International contest one’s inner heart. She pointed out that goes, ‘the outside originates since 1981. Every year the beauty that the way to maintain beauty from the inside’, meaning that queen of the contest will represent is to contribute without asking one’s inner world will affect one’s Singapore to compete with beauty for returns. She also suggested appearance. One’s appearance queens from all other countries to the younger generation to get will eventually age, but kindness and regions. This year, Vanessa out of their comfort zone, and try and a positive mind-set can Sim will attend the 54th Miss to give back to the society at an sustain one’s appearance.

Sun Mingguo/Epoch Times

Crowning Miss Singapore International 2014 Vanessa Sim. Sun Mingguo/Epoch Times

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(L - R) First runner-up Sonia Mao; Miss Singapore International 2014 Vanessa Sim; second runner-up Deborah Yeo.

The former Miss Singapore Queen, Miss Chew Jia Min, suggested that charity is not just about volunteering. A little exercise of kindness is also very valuable. Her beauty tips for young people are to eat healthy food and maintain fitness. She also exhorted women to believe in themselves and to not be afraid to

try new things.

Besides the stage show, the contestants also visited an elderly home to bring love and happiness to the senior people. The Miss Singapore beauty pageant also carries a mission to raise funds for charitable causes, and to inspire younger generations as to what a truly beautiful life is.

Health & Beauty

Epoch Times

The event grossed a record of US$780,000 (S$974,000) in just a few hours—a testament to its ongoing success, history, and cache, or is it cash?

sepTEMBER 5 – 18, 2014 25

Oscar de la Renta

Dazzles in Annual Lake Tahoe Event Drew Altizer

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By Lina Broydo ncline Village, Nevada— Oscar is everywhere—from the current exhibit: “Oscar de la Renta: Five Decades of Style” at the George W. Bush Library and Museum in Dallas, Texas, to the recent show that took place on the shores of Lake Tahoe in Nevada.

A 670-strong elegantly attired and coiffured crowd gathered on August 2 to view the “Oscar de la Renta Resort 2015 Collection”.

The crystal blue waters of the lake served as the backdrop against which guests also sought to stand out in their gorgeous dresses and spectacular hats, while the men rose to the occasion in colourful sport jackets.

It was the 45th anniversary of the event that first took place in 1969 with the couture fashion show by legendary designer Bill Blass (1923–2002). De la Renta is graciously continuing his colleague’s well established and beloved tradition, attracting patrons from near and far, and selling-out a month before each event.

For the past three years Schumacher Estate in Incline Village situated on the picturesque shore of Lake Tahoe hosted the event in partnership with Saks Fifth Avenue and The League to Save Lake Tahoe and keep it blue.

This year’s collection did not disappoint. It featured summery

Drew Altizer

Drew Altizer

looks, flowing gowns in bright block colours from fuchsia, tangerine, and turquoise to brilliant yellow. There were also the designer’s signature richly embroidered floral numbers, tweed boucle, dramatic bows, polka dots with intricate appliqués on silk, taffeta, and chiffon. An infusion of de la Renta’s shoe line

provided additional excitement for the designer’s devoted fans.

While all the action took place on the elevated runway showcasing the willowy sashaying models, who for some reason never smile, I decided to focus some of my attention on the shoes that the chatty attendees wore. As a woman who owns more than 80

Drew Altizer Drew Altizer

pairs of shoes and more than 20 pairs of boots, you may say I have a fetish.

High heels definitely reached new heights at this gathering as the crowd’s obsession with shoes was evident—even though walking on the estate’s grass as well as on the sandy shore of Lake Tahoe, the actual location of the sit-down lunch, were challenging to say the least. Guests tried to outdo each other while nonchalantly parading killer heels. Gucci, Valentino, Prada, Tod’s, Jimmy Choo, Manolo Blahniks, Christian Louboutin, Brooks Brothers, Cavalli, and of course Oscar de la Renta, were just a few labels that stood out.

Shoes, after all, are far more forgiving since we do not need to be the size of a fashion model to be able to wear them with equal glee.

The event grossed a record of US$780,000 (S$974,000) in just a few hours—a testament to its ongoing success, history, and cache, or is it cash? The live auction raised US$220,000 (S$275,000), a sum that included

revenue from Oscar de la Renta’s original watercolour painting.

It sold in a hotly competitive bidding for US$16,000 (S$20,000) to the jubilant Ms. Komal Shah.

“Look at the numbers: Oscar’s “New York Fashion Week” in February 2015 live auction package raised the most it ever has—US$60,000 (S$75,000)!” enthused Boaz Mazor, the longtime aide-de-camp and executive at large for the fashion house. “It was one of the best shows we’ve ever produced; a real beauty,” exclaimed Mazor. “After the show, people swarmed the Saks tent to shop. A whole million of them!”

Robert Arnold-Kraft, Saks Fifth Avenue general manager was also in good spirits. “The unique setting for the fashion show and luncheon, framed by Tahoe waters, helps raise funds to keep Tahoe blue. And as far as I know, we are already booked for next summer show,” he said in his address to the crowd.

It was an idyllic summer afternoon with smiles all around and flowing champagne with the added gratification of knowing that we benefited a great cause.

Lina Broydo

Guests tried to outdo each other by wearing glamorous heels.

All photos: Oscar de la Renta 2015 resort collection fashion show on the beach of Kern Schumacher’s Incline Village home on Lake Tahoe.

26 sepTEMBER 5 –18, 2014

Epoch Times

Home

Décor

Home as a Sanctuary I’m very strong about health and wellness and taking care of oneself, and I believe that there is a power in design to create spaces that are soothing to the soul.

Karen Villanueva, interior designer

By Catherine Yang Epoch Times Staff

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hether it’s a room to entertain, work, or recharge, your home should never make you feel like you need to get out. A truly serene room is calming, but invigorating.

“I’m very strong about health and wellness and taking care of oneself, and I believe that there is a power in design to create spaces that are soothing to the soul,” says interior designer Karen Villanueva. “No matter what your job is or who you are, or how old you are, at the end of the day it’s about having a place to retreat and come home to.”

Your home is your sanctuary, and it’s not hard to have it seem like one. Step one: bring the outside in.

Drawing From Nature

“Oftentimes people won’t understand why they feel so

good outside, but it’s part of their natural environment,” Villanueva said. “It’s part of Mother Nature, and there’s so much beauty outside, smelling fresh air and feeling that crisp breeze on their skin.”

Plants can be used in a variety of ways, from fresh-cut flowers to potted plants, a vertical garden, or as a barrier for privacy by setting them outside a window.

But beyond literal greenery, nature has much to offer and can be implemented in every aspect of your design. Whether you notice at first-glance or not, natural fabrics and finishes give the home a more familiar feel.

“It’s really about things that are present in nature,” Villanueva said. “If it’s not plants, it might be a weathered wood piece. It might be a water feature.”

“Sumptuous fabrics and tactile scents are very important to me,” she said. When choosing textures, she suggests picking familiar fabrics that evoke a comforting feeling. Even if it’s an item that

doesn’t stand out, “just the look of it is very lush, so it connects to the soul, it connects to the spirit.”

“Pieces in the room that I might use connect to the people, it’s about relating to something that’s comfortable to them,” she says.

Being in the Bay Area, there are many great natural views of the water, and if you have a great view, it’s a good idea to let it in rather than overpower it, Villanueva said.

Villanueva, who started her own firm just over a year ago, points to her San Francisco Designer Showcase room at the Herbst Manor—the penthouse “spa” retreat—as an example.

The hills and bay make up the backdrop of the room, and evoke what Villanueva describes as a contemporary, serene space. “It’s really about reflecting nature.”

Villanueva herself was inspired by “that quintessential San Francisco fog,” and opted for a gray instead of white walls. “That almost ethereal colour, that soft gray in the sky … so I looked

A concept rendering of a meditation room.

Courtesy of Villanueva Design

Courtesy of Villanueva Design

Interior designer Karen Villanueva.

specifically for a beige-gray colour, and it has that softness to it, it hugs you, envelopes you.”

She says she doesn’t just draw inspiration from nature, but feels it’s important to be kind to nature as well.

“It is ‘eco-friendly.’ It’s about being good to the earth,” Villanueva said. “As a designer, it’s not just saying I love nature and want to put plants in a space.”

Continued on next page

home & décor

Epoch Times

sepTEMBER 5 – 18, 2014 27

Continued from Page 26 David Duncan

“It’s really about what’s livable to an area,” Villanueva said. “And that’s what’s fascinating because people respect their city and where they’re living, because it relates to their lifestyle, and that’s a connection to their interior space.”

“Reclaimed wood is just an important concept and I don’t think that’s a trend that will go away because that is a sustainable concept,” said Villanueva, who does projects around the Bay Area and internationally.

“I feel that based on each area, like San Francisco for example, we love the use of local vendors,” Villanueva said. “But in the Philippines, it might be that they use bamboo, or certain woods that are very natural and can only be found in Manila or certain islands in the Philippines.”

“It’s about reconnecting to the sense that Mother Nature gave these beautiful gifts to us and to be outside and to have fresh air is about really creating that sense of serenity in an interior.”

Open Up the Space

“Bringing nature in—it’s really about good lighting,” Villanueva says.

Remodelling is definitely an option to consider if the space feels small or cramped. “If there’s a house and it might not have good windows, I’d love to just open up a wall and create sliding glass doors to the outside, and create a little balcony or a little sitting area so you have that indoor-outdoor conversation.”

Even very small spaces can be opened up in a way that makes the room feel spacious and more lighted.

For example, Villanueva said, one of her previous projects included a bathroom that felt quite cramped.

This was because on one side there was a bulky cabinet, and on the other, the bathroom had a disproportionately wide bathtub, Villanueva said, which “took up about half the width of the bathroom”.

“We vertically expanded that space,” Villanueva said. The bathtub was replaced by a longer glass shower, which allowed the client to have a spa-like waterfall fixture above, and glass sliding doors that helped reflect more light. The cabinet was taken out as well and replaced with a custom vanity and a tray with containers for the necessities.

Sometimes adding a window or taking out a wall isn’t an option. “I would be sure to be very sensitive about the colour palette, with the colours and textures, and the lighting—to include pops of green so you have that feeling you’re outside,” she said.

She recommends incorporating colours like whites and greens.

“White, because that to me is the pure colour of light. White is so crisp and airy, and when I think of airy

David Duncan

The Penthouse “Spa” Retreat at the San Francisco Designer Showcase .

spaces, I again connect it to the outdoors.”

“Then with lighting, I might just add artificial light to space, like a table lamp, because when you have layers of light in a space, it is so uplifting to the senses that it makes you feel awake in the daytime, and in the night if you have lighting it is so calming and serene, and that feeling of serenity is what I connect with nature.”

Holistic Design

“It’s really about creating spaces that uplift the spirit, are refreshing to the soul, and invigorate oneself,” Villanueva said.

“As a designer I do holistic design,” she said. “I don’t just personally love it, but I believe that I can apply that sort of design aesthetic to all of my clients and to any project.”

“Holistic” design includes consideration of all the senses.

Beyond the visuals there’s aromatherapy or tactile scents, a soundtrack, or maybe a trickling water feature, layers of textures in the furniture.

“It’s the balance of the spaces and the natural elements, layer upon layer of this melding of textures, but in a way that’s very carefully edited— it’s powerful to the senses,” she said.

The Right Flow

“The feeling of serenity is really not feeling like you’re in a crowded room and that you want to get outside immediately because it’s too stuffy, but feeling like you have a lot of air around you, a lot of space to move around,” Villanueva said.

“I feel that in a space that is serene.

It’s about having enough breathing room, so you have space to walk,” she said. “If it’s your bedroom, you want to be able to create space on both sides of your bed so you can

have that equal amount of flow to get around.”

“If it’s a space for entertaining, I would make sure to not include too much furniture, for you to entertain guests coming through the room, and accessibility to actually enjoy the space and the architecture of the space, rather than just filling it up,” Villanueva said.

“You know it’s enough when there’s a piece in each area of a room that has a function that’s established already,” Villanueva said. “You don’t want to make a space feel overwhelmed in the sense of too many decorative objects, because it takes away from the beauty of the space.”

If the room has too many objects, it’s easy to understand why it feels cluttered or cramped, but having objects or furniture that don’t flow together can cause that feeling as well.

“Limit your patterns to a certain number,” Villanueva suggests. It’s not just about the number of things but the colour and texture of the objects as well. “Just have one strong element of design, like a [particular pattern].”

“Dealing with serenity is really about honing in on being able to edit and clearly revise all the design details in an [interior] space,” she said.

“I don’t think about designing spaces for photography, it’s more about connecting with oneself and uplifting the spirit,” Villanueva said.

“For me as an individual and as a designer, I feel like I have an important job to be able to influence the lives of my clients,” she said.

“I really feel that it’s about helping them to improve their lifestyle.”

home & décor

28 sepTEMBER 5 – 18, 2014

Epoch Times

Kitchen

Reno on a Small Budget

A peninsula wraps around the outside corner of the dining room wall.

Floor-to-ceiling cabinets create lots of storage.

all photo BY Leslie Goodwin Photography

By Meghan Carter Canadian Home Trends

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he project

This kitchen renovation faced some of the most common design challenges we see when working with homeowners to create an inspiring and functional nerve centre for their home.

The first challenge

Do we open up the kitchen to the dining room?

Incorporating a casual and space-conscious family eating area in a narrow kitchen.

The solution

While it is popular to open up a kitchen to a dining room, one of the challenges with an open concept kitchen is that there is no way to hide the mess and clutter that often happens in a kitchen. For this reason, the homeowner decided to maintain a separate formal dining area for entertaining.

The kitchen before renovation.

Incorporating a casual and spaceconscious family eating area in a narrow kitchen.

are not right next to each other. If they are, come up with a seating style for the casual area that is different from that of the dining room. In this case, we went with a peninsula that wraps around the outside corner of the dining room wall. It’s the perfect spot for this family of three to connect over a meal amidst their very busy schedules.

The solution

The third challenge

The second challenge

The homeowners wanted an area for casual day-to-day dining.

However, if you are going to have both a formal dining room and a casual eating area, make sure they

Building a beautiful and timeless kitchen on a small budget.

The solution

The budget for this project was very

tight, so custom cabinetry was not an option. Instead, we laid out the kitchen plan with IKEA cabinet frames but designed custom doors, floating shelves, the peninsula table base, and a wine rack to get a custom look without the price tag.

Canadian Home Trends Magazine gives you a personal tour of the most stunning homes and condos.

In each issue, you are given the tools to recreate designer spaces you’ve always dreamt of having at home, in-depth renovation and design advice, and the best places to shop. To subscribe, visit www.

CanadianHomeTrends.com

The kitchen plan used IKEA cabinet frames but added designed custom doors, floating shelves, a peninsula table base, and a wine rack to get a custom look without the price tag.

home & décor

Epoch Times

sepTEMBER 5 – 18, 2014 29

DIY:

Thinkstock

Homemade Natural Sunscreen You probably should reapply after excessive sweating or swimming, but this stuff does hold up really well. And most importantly… it really works!

By Tracy and Joc Little Boozy Homemakers

N

obody wants a sunburn. At least I don’t think they do. Let’s go on the assumption that they don’t and that nobody wants to rub toxic chemicals on his or her body either.

Now that summer is in full swing here in Nova Scotia, Canada, and my daughter is old enough to play in the yard and at the beach, I have to consider some sort of protection from the sun for the first time. Last year she was under 6 months old and wasn’t allowed to wear sunscreen, so unfortunately we missed a lot of summertime activities. I am all about the sun this year!

There are a few things to consider about avoiding overexposure to our star other than just slathering on some SPF:

fotolia

1. The sun is actually good for us. It’s how our body gets it’s vitamin D, which is important for bone and tooth health.

2. Some ingredients in commercial sunscreens

have been linked to cancer health problems themselves which is counter-productive, no? (For example, according to a WebMD article titled “Sunscreen Safety: What to Know” and reviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD, “Some dermatologists feel that the research suggesting a connection between retinyl palmitate [an ingredient found in some sunscreens] and skin cancer—in lab tests on mice— is worrisome.”

3. You can avoid over-exposure by limiting time spent in the sun during the peak hours of the day when the sun is the hottest and by covering up with light clothing, umbrellas and hats.

Save sunscreen for when you can’t avoid it like at the beach or playing at the park.

I’m no scientist, so I won’t blather on about the toxicity of ingredients or cancer. I will, however, include some links at the bottom of this post for you to look at if you want to know more information. And yes, I have used this sunscreen on myself, my husband, and my daughter at the park, the beach, and even the lake while swimming. You probably should reapply after excessive sweating or swimming, but this stuff does hold up really well.

And most importantly… it really works! No sunburns at all this summer, not even close.

Here is my recipe for homemade natural sunscreen.

Ingredients: • 3 Tbsp Shea Butter (nourishes skin and has a natural SPF of about 5)

warm temperatures but it’s OK if it melts a bit. fotolia

• 2 Tbsp Coconut Oil • 1 tsp Vitamin E Liquid (good for your skin and is a natural preservative) • 4 tsp Zinc Oxide Powder* (to give you 20-25 SPF) (make sure to use non-nano**—no less than 100 nm) • 10–20 drops Essential Oil— optional (don’t use citrus oils, they can increase sun sensitivity) Method: Gently melt the shea butter and coconut oil in a double boiler until just softened. Remove from heat and stir in the vitamin E and essential oils. When working with zinc oxide you must be careful not to breathe in the powder.

Wear a dust mask or tie a towel around your mouth and nose if it you like. Stir everything together until well mixed and pour into a glass jar with a tight fitting lid. I like to give the jar a shake every once in a while as it cools to make sure everything stays incorporated. This recipe makes a nice thick lotion that holds up pretty well in

To continue reading Tracy’s instructions on how to make your own natural sunscreen, see “Homemade Natural Sunscreen” at LittleBoozyHomemakers.com.

Tracy and Joc are sisters, wives, and mothers, and they love to make things with their own two hands. Read more of their great homemaking tips on their blog Little Boozy Homemakers. * “Zinc Oxide is a white powder with wonderful astringent properties. It physically works to provide 28 times the skin’s natural protections against harmful UVA & UVB rays and has a great soothing effect for use in many skin preparations. It is uncoated and is an inert ingredient, often used to thicken lotions and creams.” -New Directions Aromatics ** “Nano or micronised zinc oxide has been treated to reduce the size of its particles, creating an ultrafine powder. When added to sunscreens it does not leave a white film on the skin, thus making it a popular choice in many commercial sunscreens.

The problem with this is that the particles are so small they can enter the body through the skin, causing potential health problems… be sure to purchase a non nano zinc oxide that has particle sizes as large as possible.

(Anything with a particle size smaller than 100nm is considered a nano particle.)” -DIYnatural. com.

Food Travel

Longyearbyen:

The World’s Northernmost Town

By Shing Lin Yoong The Culture Map

L

ongyearbyen is the only town in Spitsbergen, a glacier-covered island belonging to the remote Svalbard archipelago which is also known as the last stop before the North Pole.

Complete darkness reigns from early November to the beginning of February when a hiatus of day and night manages to break through the Polar Night. However, this small gap of normality doesn’t last long, as from midApril eternal daylight known as the Midnight Sun persists until late August. For most, both periods are a welcomed novelty but under a prolonged duration, I’m sure the novelty would eventually dissipate as the body’s craving to align sleep according to natural daylight takes over.

With a population of just over 2000 people, the community of Longyearbyen is small yet strikingly unified. Brightly painted houses cluster together in neat rows to reprieve the solitude otherwise present in this high Arctic landscape where even trees cannot grow. My guide, Anika, who is originally from Australia, is keen to tell me that despite its minuscule

You can expect very good food in Longyearbyen, and where possible, it is locally and organically reared. population by any comparison it is a surprisingly multicultural community with over forty different nationalities. Later, I learn Anika has been living in Spitsbergen for the last seven years: she never imagined staying for so long, but she also never imagined falling in love here either.

Anika has already surpassed the average length of time a person spends living in Svalbard by one year and has no desire to leave anytime soon—in fact she told me last week that she’s bought a place here with her boyfriend! It has never been a place where generations after generations settle; the only people who lived here were polar scientists and miners, along with a handful of explorers using the area as a base

before expeditions to the North Pole. However, things changed in 1975 when Svalbard’s first and only international airport opened just outside Longyearbyen, claiming the title of the northernmost airport in the world with public scheduled flights (when you are here, you will soon discover it is the ‘northernmost everything’).

With Spitsbergen now being less isolated, tourism has slowly and steadily increased but this doesn’t mean people can head here without doing practical research, it’s important to book a place to stay beforehand as beds are likely to be fully occupied. There isn’t a vast selection of hotels, and due to its strict policy of preserving the unique wildlife and

environment, it wants to remain that way. I stayed in the Radisson Blu Hotel which is well located, has friendly staff, an excellent buffet breakfast which the Scans are famous for, and there’s also a lively pub. You’ll be happy to hear that Svalbard is a duty free zone so alcohol is a little cheaper compared to the monstrous prices of mainland Norway!

You can expect very good food in Longyearbyen, and where possible, it is locally and organically reared. This means reindeer is a very common source of protein, and cloudberries often make up the key ingredient for dessert.

An important note to add is that polar bears are highly revered and protected animals The Culture Map

Longyearbyen town centre.

Epoch Times

Longyearbyen.

of Svalbard, so if one is seen approaching humans a warning shot is given off to scare away the animal first. Shooting a polar bear is always the last resort after all other methods to deter it have failed. If this does happen, it needs to be reported to the police immediately.

Adventurers who come for expeditions in Svalbard will place tripwire around their camping area when they sleep, but the most reliable practise is to have someone on nightwatch as well as putting down tripwire.

Leaving Longyearbyen is something every visitor must do to experience the exquisite clarity of the fjords reflecting the light of the Midnight Sun, or one of the many mountainous scenes. Travel by husky dogs, a common and eco-friendly mode of transport used by visitors and locals alike, or head out on a boat to explore the incredible glacial landscape.

If there’s one image that can make humans look small and insignificant against nature, it’s the imposing vision of a glacier: a humbling reminder of the earth’s movements.

Copyright © 2014 by The Culture Map. This article was written by Shing Lin Yoong and originally published at The Culture Map.

The Culture Map

30 sepTEMBER 5 –18, 2014

FOOD & TRAVEL

Epoch Times

sepTEMBER 5 – 18, 2014 31

What’s It Like Driving Your Own Team of Husky Dogs in the Arctic of Norway?

Really the question I should have asked myself was, ‘how will the dogs handle me?’

By Shing Lin Yoong The Culture Map

W

hen I heard I’d be driving my own team of huskies in Svalbard I was excited but nervous: what if the dogs lead me into a ditch? Worse still, what if I accidentally run one of them over?

I’m a naturally clumsy person so the likelihood of one of these things happening is more than possible. But luckily, I discovered that husky dogs are very intelligent, trained to understand commands and have a great aptitude for spatial awareness. So really the question I should have asked myself was, ‘how will the dogs handle me?’

Firstly, to go dog sledding I always thought there needed to be snow, but I was wrong, you can still go dog sledding without snow but you do it on WHEELS! Because of this, I should really be calling it husky carting or something, but I’ll stick with husky sledding for the sake of tradition.

Husky dog sledding Svalbard.

After getting changed into super sexy hi vis attire the experience of greeting the huskies was one of insanely loud barking and wagging tails—they are extremely excited to see visitors and they all compete against each other by trying their utmost to get attention. It was really cute to see each dog with its own doghouse complete with a wooden plaque inscribed with its own name. Each pack of dogs are named with a theme in mind, like copper, silver, and gold for metals, and another pack were named after planets so they were called Venus, Mars and Pluto (even though technically Pluto is no longer a planet!). Giving them a theme makes remembering their names so much easier, something which can be difficult when the owners have

over 100 dogs to look after!

The first thing we had to do was gather the husky dogs to the sleds, which was actually more difficult than driving the team of huskies (also known as ‘mushing’) because they are so powerful and energetic. We did this by securing the dogs between our legs before putting on its harness, here you’re able to discover who the really intelligent dogs are because they’ll lift up their paws and almost dress themselves (I was seriously impressed by this as you can imagine!). However, most of the time the dogs were too excited and jumped up and down every time I tried to

put on their harness.

Interestingly, the most intelligent dogs are strategically placed at the front of the sled as they are the ones who essentially direct where the other dogs needs to go, and the back dogs are the strongest ones and are therefore usually the biggest in the pack.

Once the slapstick task of getting the dogs attached to the sled had been accomplished we were ready to go. I was standing at the back of the cart holding onto the handlebars and my friend

Katie was sitting in the front seat probably feeling more scared than I was because she was putting her trust in my ability to steer the dogs. An ability which I had no previous experience of doing.

To make driving easier, we were provided with three easy to follow commands, they were: Gee: meaning turn to the right Haw: meaning turn to the left Whao: meaning stop I was probably erring on the side of caution as the noise or word I used the most was ‘Whao’ which is supposed to be spoken in a really, deep stern voice. I was really impressed by how responsive the dogs were to my commands but admittedly, I didn’t want to take any chances so I was also quite liberal with using my breaks! During our safari I noticed other people using teams of husky dogs and was later told that some of the locals keep a few for private to use as a mode of transport. Living in such a unique and protected place the dogs can be preferable to cars or snowmobiles because they don’t damage the environment with the release of carbon emissions.

However, the dogs did release their own gas… yep that’s right, the dogs kept farting in our faces as they ran gleefully along Adventdalen, and it especially hit poor Katie who was sitting right behind them on the seat in front of me! But as we turned around to return back to camp, Katie and I switched places so it was time for me to endure my share of doggy pooping which was further accentuated by the speed we were travelling at. Aside from the whiffy presents that the dogs kept generously dropping, it was really spectacular sitting back on a seat shaped like a deck chair, enjoying the supremely beautiful Arctic scenery of snow-capped mountains, clear sky and the odd reindeer.

Husky dog sledding in Norway.

Spitsbergen Svalbard mountain landscape.

Copyright © 2014 by The Culture Map. This article was written by Shing Lin Yoong and originally published at The Culture Map. all photo of “The Culture Map”

32 sepTEMBER 5 – 18, 2014

food & travel

Epoch Times

Courtesy of Pan Pacific Singapore

Courtesy of Amara

Mooncakes A Gift of Tradition

Silk Road Restaurant’s White Lotus Paste with Double Yolk Mooncake.

White Lotus Seed Paste with Macadamia Nuts mooncake

by Hai Tien Lo Restaurant.

By Li Yen Epoch Times Staff

O

ne of the most important holidays for the Chinese, the Mid-Autumn Festival, falls on September 8 this year.

Traditionally on this day, family members and friends gather together to admire the moon and savour mooncakes and tea, while the kids play in the gardens carrying their lanterns.

Mooncakes are usually round, and they symbolise family reunion, harmony and good fortune.

Packaged beautifully into exquisitely-designed boxes, these novels mooncakes are prefect gifts for our loved ones and business associates.

Every year during the MidAutumn Festival, there are a wide selections of pretty and luxurious mooncakes on sale.

From traditional baked mooncakes, snowskin mooncakes filled with luscious fruits and nuts, Chinese tea infused snowskin mooncakes, artisanal mooncakes baked with the craftsman-

ship of French patisserie, to vegan and sugar free mooncakes for the health-conscious, there will definitely be a flavour that you can look forward to.

Mid-Autumn Blooms at Pan Pacific Singapore Do you fancy fruity, nutty and floral scented mooncakes? If you Courtesy of Pan Pacific Singapore

Signature Mini Mao Shan Wang Durian Snowskin from Pan Pacific Singapore’s Hai Tien Lo Restaurant.

do, the four new innovative flavours of snowskin mooncakes crafted by Chef Lai Tong Ping of Hai Tien Lo restaurant at Pan Pacific Singapore with please your palate.

These four refreshing flavours include the subtle aroma of Melon Seeds with Oolong and Chrysanthemum, the citrus sensation of Hazelnuts with Honey and Grapefruit, as well as the heavier blend of Almonds with Custard and Longan, and the Pistachio Nuts with Osmanthus and Chinese Herbs for a slightly salty choice. (S$60 for a box of 8 pieces).

Not forgetting Hai Tien Lo’s signature Mini Mao Shan Wang Durian Snowskin mooncakes, one of the most popular choices among the patrons. (S$68 for a box of 8) In addition, Hai Tien Lo offers a selection of traditional baked mooncakes varieties which include the White Lotus Seed Paste with Double Yolk or Single Yolk, the nutty treat of White Lotus Seed Paste with Macadamia Nuts and the lighter flavoured Traditional Mixed Nuts with White Lotus Paste.

(Prices range from S$58 to S$64 for a box of 4) For orders and enquiries, please call 6826 8240 or visit www. pacificmarketplace.sg.

Co

Snowskin Mao Shan Wang by Amara’s Silk Road Restaurant.

Silk Road MidAutumn Treasures at Amara Singapore’s Silk Road Restaurant, located at Amara Singapore, offers patrons an ensemble of meticulously handcrafted snowskin and traditional baked mooncakes in their bespoke mooncake gift collection.

Some of its all-time favourites include the mini snowskin Mao Shan Wang Durian, which wows diners with its generous filling of velvety durian pulp (S$66 for a box of 8), and the Yuzu Truffle—a delicious combination

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of citrusy Japanese yuzu and melt-inthe-mouth chocolate wrapped in delicate snowskin (S$59 for a box of 8).

Amara’s Silk Road Restaurant also presents four traditional mooncakes baked to golden brown perfection, in the exclusive flavours of Black Sesame Paste with Melon Seed, Plain White Lotus Paste and White Lotus Paste with Single or Double Yolk.

Be sure to be enticed by its Black Sesame Paste with Melon Seed mooncake, which is a blissful marriage of nutty melon crunch and roasted aromatic black sesame (S$61 for a box of 4).

Silk Road mooncakes are elegantly packaged in exquisite golden gift boxes with intricate floral motifs representing the Chinese traditions of reunion, love and harmony. These lovely golden boxes are perfect gifts choices for business associates as Courtesy of Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore

Phoenix Supreme (oolong tea) by Shang Palace.

food & travel

Epoch Times

sepTEMBER 5 – 18, 2014 33

Courtesy of Antoinette

well as loved ones.

For orders and enquiries, please call 6227 3848 or email silkroad@amaraholdings.com.

Poetic Mid-Autumn at Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore The Shang Palace at ShangriLa Hotel showcases oriental gift boxes with sophisticated Chinese embroidery, housing snowskin mooncakes infused with premium jasmine tea from the high mountains of Sichuan province; oolong tea painstakingly handpicked from the famous Wu Dong peak of Phoenix Mountain in Guangdong; and highly-prized 18-year-old pu-erh tea handharvested from Yunnan, China.

These poetic tea creations— the Mini Snow-Skin Snowy Flake Mooncake (Jasmine Tea), the Mini Snow-Skin Phoenix Courtesy of Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore

Shang Palace mooncake boxes.

Supreme Mooncake (Oolong Tea) and the Mini Snow-Skin Imperial Consort Mooncake (18-yearold Pu-erh Tea) are novelties for tea lovers (S$66.35 for a box of 8).

Each mooncake is filled with lotus seed paste, with a cooling tea jelly centre encased with decadent chocolate. The tea leaves give the petite mooncake a sweet fragrance and are hearty nutrition for the body and mind.

On top of that, Shang Palace offers patrons a choice of baked traditional mooncakes stuffed with white lotus paste and salty egg yolks.

For orders and enquiries, please call 6213 4448/4473 or email shangpalace.sls@shangrila.com.

French-inspired Mooncakes by Antoinette Are you a connoisseur of fine French desserts and pastries?

If yes, be intrigued and delighted by Antoinette’s artisanal mooncake collections, which are a must-try this Mid-Autumn festival.

Antoinette’s luxurious traditional baked mooncakes, mini snowskin mooncakes and Macaron Lunar creations are brought to you by award-winning Chef Pang Kok Keong.

Each box of their pretty Mini Snowskin Mooncakes contains eight petite snowskin mooncakes

Antoinette’s Mini Snow Skin Moon cakes.

encased with various oriental fillings mixed with ingredients from French patisserie. These include Pandan Kaya with Roasted Macadamia Nuts, Seaweed with Southern Almond, Osmanthus Marble with Goji Berry, Water Chestnut with Corn, Chestnut with Marrons Glaces and Dark Chocolate Lotus Paste with Crunchy Chocolate Pearls.

(S$54.50 for a box of 8) Antoinette’s snowskin mooncakes are elegantly embossed with the restaurant’s motif—a portrait of the French Queen that the restaurant is named after. These petite mooncakes are a beautiful sight to behold, and an absolute delight on the palate.

The Macaron Lunar is another innovative creation not to be missed. A marriage between classic French pastry and Chinese tradition fillings, these baked macaron shells are sandwiched with low sugar white lotus paste and a rich salted egg yolk, and are perfect selections for the French connoisseur (S$19 for 6 in a

limited edition box).

A n t o i n e t t e ’ s French-i nspired mooncakes are packed in elegantly designed vintage collectible tins.

The exquisite tins are a wonderful choice for those who prefer a classy gift.

For orders and enquiries, visit www.antoinette.com.sg or Antoinette Restaurant at 30 Penhas Road.

Vegan, Sugar-Free Mooncakes by Delcie’s Are you a committed vegan or a health-conscious individual who worries about mooncakes containing too much sugar?

If so, Delcie’s offers a guilt-free choice with its vegan, gluten free, low suger and sugar-free mooncakes, which are eggless and do Delcie’s not contain any mooncakes dairy, alcohol or animal by-products.

Their diabetes-friendly and healthy flavours for this year include the Sugar Free White Lotus paste with Black Sesame mooncake, the Sugar Free Pandan paste with

Salted Mung Bean mooncake, the Low Sugar Protein-packed Mixed Nuts mooncake, the Low Sugar Sweet Potato paste with Taro mooncake and the Gluten Free White Lotus with White Sesame mooncake.

Thanks to Delcie, vegan, diabetics and gluten allergic patrons can still indulge in a healthy mooncakes feast in the joyous gatherings with their loved ones this Mid-Autumn Festival.

Price: • Mix Healthy Mooncake Box: S$88, 4 pieces per box • Low Sugar Mooncake Box: S$78, 4 pieces per box • Sugar Free Mooncake Box: S$98, 6 pieces per box • Gluten Free Mooncake Box: S$98, 4 pieces per box For orders and enquiries, please call 9789 2309, or or email to order@delciesdesserts.com.

Courtesy of Delcie’s

Têt Trung Thu: Mid-Autumn Festival in Vietnam

Epoch Times Staff

commons.w

Like many countries in the region, Vietnam also celebrates the Mid-Autumn festival during the full moon of the eighth month in the lunar calendar.

Until now, there is still no agreement on when the festival was first celebrated in Vietnam.

Many people believe that this custom was adopted from China, when Northern Vietnam was colonised by China from 111 BC – 938 AD. In China, the Mid-Autumn Festival started to gain popularity during the Tang Dynasty (early 8th century), but the history of the festival may be traced back to the ancient Shang Dynasty (16th to 10th century BC). According to legend, the Mid-Autumn Festival became

A jelly moon cake with pandan filling.

an official holiday after Emperor Xuanzong of Tang visited the moon palace with the help of a Taoist master.

In Vietnam, according to archaeologists, images of the festival have been inscribed on ancient Vietnamese bronze drums and artifacts. From the inscrip-

ikimedia.or

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tions in Vietnamese pagodas, the festival was formally celebrated in Thang Long (the former name of Hanoi) from the Ly Dynasty (9th to 11th century), with activities such as dragon boat races, water puppet shows, and lantern parades.

Autumn was also the season of

marriage for ancient Vietnamese.

During the festival, boys and girls gathered to celebrate, and they got married after falling in love with each other.

In modern Vietnam, the MidAutumn festival is mainly a festival for children. Vietnamese children usually look forward to the festival because they will be given toys and cakes from their parents. Adults, on the other hand, usually present moon cakes as gifts to their friends and relatives.

Vietnamese moon cakes generally have the same crust as the traditional Chinese moon cakes, and their shapes vary from round to square. There are a variety of fillings for Vietnamese mooncakes. Traditionally, the mooncakes contain lotus seeds, Chinese sausage, or peanut and

sesame seeds.

Modern moon cakes may contain roasted chicken, pork, coconut, durian, or even shark fin. There are also other varieties of moon cakes such as the jelly moon cakes, where the crust is made of jelly and the fillings may be made of milk, mung bean, pandan, or coffee. commons.wikimedia.org

A jelly moon cake with coffee filling.

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34 September 5 – 18, 2014

Epoch Times

Mid-Autumn Festival

Connecting Full Moon with Family

T

By Epoch Times Staff

he Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, or Zhōngqiū Jié (中秋节), is also known as the Mooncake Festival. Each year, it is held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunar calendar, when the full moon is said to be at its brightest and closest to Earth, and therefore at its largest. This year, it falls on September 8 of the solar calendar.

Since antiquity, the Mid-Autumn Festival has always symbolised a time of family reunion and joyous celebration. A round, full and bright moon symbolises completion, and the Chinese character for round, “yuan”, also appears in the Chinese phrase for reunion or gathering, “tuan yuan”. Thus, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also a day for families to eat together and enjoy each other’s company.

Confucian text chronicling the ways of the Zhou dynasty (1046-221 BCE), “The Rites of the Zhou”.

After a bountiful autumn harvest, family members would gather together, and even those who have left their native hometown would return home for the holidays. Together, the whole family would present various fruits and delicacies to their ancestors and spirits of the moon, to thank them for another fruitful year.

During the Tang Dynasty (618-906 AD), the ceremony became more popular, and the Mid-Autumn festival was designated as an official holiday.

Today, Chinese families continue this tradition of family gathering. The adults sit outside and partake in tea, mooncakes, and pomelos, enjoying the brightness of the moon and each other’s company, while the children play with coloured lanterns.

Origins of the Festival

Mid-Autumn Festival in Chinatown

But in much more ancient times, the Mid-Autumn Festival was first and foremost a harvest festival.

“The rites of mid-autumn” had appeared in a

To get into the festive mood, one of the places to be is Singapore’s Chinatown. In the months of August to September, the streets of Chinatown are customarily festooned with giant lantern displays, and lined with stalls selling paper or cellophane lanterns, moon cakes, fresh fruit, pomelos, and other delicacies.

On the evening of September 6, Saturday is the annual Chinatown Mass Lantern Walk, starting at Kreta Ayer Square from 7pm – 10pm. The walk has always been popular with families, and is open to the public for free. Stroll with friends and family through the colourful displays of Chinatown, with performances by dragon dance troupes, cheerleaders and the percussion band along the way. The walk concludes in the heart of Chinatown, where stage performances and pyrotechnics display will be held.

Born of Legends

Like most Chinese festivals, many rich legends abound with the Mid-Autumn Festival as well.

In this special edition, we feature the tales of the Moon Lady Chang E, the condemned wood cutter Wu Gang, and others on page 36 (see The Mid-Autumn Festival: Born of Legends).

Lantern Painting Competition at the Mid Autumn Festival in Chinatown Singapore, on

Values & virtues

Epoch Times

fotolia

Where Do MidAutumn Festival Customs Come From?

By Epoch Times Staff

Poetry

A beautiful autumn moon, good food, and good company inevitably inspires the birth of good poetry amongst the literati. Throughout ancient Chinese history, countless poems and songs have been written about the moon and mid-autumn.

Remembering that the festival was one of reunion, many of these poets wrote about missing loved ones or homesickness. On the right, we highlight one of the most famous ones by Li Bai—”Drinking Alone with the Moon”.

Mooncakes

One of the biggest telltale signs that the Mid-Autumn Festival is around the corner is when one sees mooncakes everywhere— in supermarkets, bakeries, and newspaper advertisements.

But where does this quintessential festive pastry originate from, and why do we eat it on this special day?

One popular tale describes how the cakes were originally employed by the Han Chinese to overthrow the ruling Mongols of the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368 AD), by using the cakes to conceal and spread the message that they were to rebel on Mid-Autumn Day. However, in truth, the mooncake dates back to even earlier

Lanterns

As a child, one of your favourite childhood memories may have been lighting and carrying a colourful paper or cellophane lantern during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Lanterns are a notable part of the holiday, whether they are carried on hung up for decoration.

No one knows for sure the origin of this tradition, but today the lantern has come to symbolise the festival itself. They nevertheless serve as beautiful decorations and innovative toys to keep the kids entertained.

Some countries like Taiwan and China also have the custom of lighting and floating sky lanterns, on which various wishes are written. Another tradition is the writing of Chinese riddles (灯谜 dēng mí)on lanterns or on posters, for readers to guess the answers.

times than the Yuan Dynasty. The earliest version of the mooncake appeared in Southern China during the Shang Dynasty (1766 – 1122 B.C.), as a type of thin-edged cake.

During the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.) sesame seeds, melon seeds, and walnuts were added into the cakes. Because sesame seeds and walnuts were from ethnic minority areas (also called “Hu”), moon cakes were called “Hu cakes.”

This lasted until the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907 AD) when, one Mid-Autumn Festival, Emperor Xuanzong tried a Hu cake and marvelled at its taste. His concubine, Lady Yang, looked up in the evening sky and saw the full moon. She suggested naming the confection moon cake.

Over the generations, mooncakes have been made with sweet fillings of melon seeds, nuts, lotus-seed paste, red bean paste, and dates.

Often, a whole egg yolk is placed in

September 5 – 18, 2014 35

“Drinking alone with the Moon” The poem portrays humanity as lost in delusion and loneliness, yet still yearning for a connection with heaven.

Drinking alone with the Moon From a pot of wine among the flowers, I drank alone with no companion.

Raising the cup I asked the bright moon, Bring me my shadow and make us three.

The moon cannot understand my drinking, My shadow follows silently where I go.

The moon accompanies temporarily the shadow, Take the opportunity to have a joyous time.

Moonlight wandering around when I sing, The shadow floats along when I dance.

Enjoying to be friends while I am awake, The companionship ends while I am drunk.

Let’s have friendship forever, We will meet again in the vast sky.

The famous Chinese poet Li Bai (701-762 A.D.), Tang Dynasty.

the centre to balance out the sweet filling with a salty taste.

Different regions also have their unique methods of preparing these cakes.

The most commonly seen type in Singapore is the Cantonese or Kuang style mooncakes, which have a soft shell and are known for their wide variety of fillings. Also popular here are the Teochew or Su style moon cakes, which have multiple layers of thin, delicate crust.

Other styles include the Taiwan or Tai style mooncakes which use mung bean paste or sweet potatoes for the filling, and the Beijing or Ping style mooncakes which have a crispy brown shell.

Modern innovations to the moon cake include shells made of snowskin or jelly, and fillings of ice cream, chocolate, coffee, fruits such as pineapple and durian, and meat like abalone and fish-fin.

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36 september 5 – 18, 2014

Epoch Times

epoch times

The Mid-Autumn Festival: Born of Legends Chang’e rises up to Heaven as a Goddess after drinking the elixir of immortality.

Epoch Times Staff

L

ike many Chinese festivals, the MidAutumn Festival is enriched by several myths and legends. Although there are many versions to each tale, here we present the most common ones, which we hope you will enjoy this festive season.

The Lady of the Moon

The most well-known legend celebrates the beautiful yet sad story of Chang E, the Moon Lady.

Long, long ago, ten suns rose in the sky and they scorched all the crops, leaving people in extreme poverty. A hero named Hou Yi shot down nine of the suns, saving the Earth from the destructive heat.

Heavenly Empress Wangmu rewarded him with a vial of elixir that would make a person immortal and allow life in the Heavens.

Hou Yi’s wife, Chang E, was known for her beauty and kind heart. Out of his deep love for her, Hou Yi gave the elixir to Chang E for safe-keeping until they could share it when he returned from hunting.

An evil man, Peng Meng, spied this through the window.

Three days later, when Hou Yi left to hunt, Peng broke in with sword in hand, planning to force Chang E into giving him the elixir.

Chang E quickly put the vial

3 Mid-Autumn Legends to learn for this festive season The sad moon lady .

The punished wood cutter .

The selfless jade rabbit .

to her mouth and swallowed all its contents. As soon as she had swallowed the elixir, she floated off the ground. She dashed out of the window and flew toward the moon.

When Hou Yi returned home that night, he learned from the maidservants what had happened. Tearfully, he looked up into the night sky and called out the name of his beloved wife.

At that moment, the moon became especially clear and bright. Hou Yi saw a shadow of his wife who was looking down at him, also in grief.

Hou Yi set up an altar with incense in the garden. On the altar, he put the sweet cakes and fresh fruits that Chang E enjoyed most. Then, he held a memorial ceremony for his wife in the moon. It was the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar year.

The news that Chang E had

turned into a celestial being and was living in the moon spread fast. Many people arranged altars with incense in the moonlight and prayed for the kind-hearted Chang E, the Moon Lady, to look after them.

The custom of worshiping the moon then spread among the people, and was celebrated on the same day each year.

The Eternally Punished Wood Cutter

The second tale, which originated from the time of the Tang Dynasty, is of the wood cutter Wu Gang. Again, although many variations of the tale exist, the most common one is as follows: Wu Gang was a wood cutter who wanted to cultivate and become an immortal. But he could not remain diligent in his cultivation, and would give up after trying every few days.

Wu Gang’s attitude angered the Jade Emperor, who decided to punish him. The Emperor gave Wu Gang the task of chopping down a tall osmanthus tree in the Moon Palace, and told Wu Gang that he would grant him immortality if he could chop the tree down.

This time, Wu Gang was serious in his task, but every time he chopped the tree down it would grow back. From then on, Wu Gang has been endlessly cutting down the self-healing tree on the moon.

Today, the Chinese idiom,

“Wu Gang chopping the tree” (吴刚伐木) is used to describe any endless toil. The shadows of Wu Gang and his osmanthus tree can still be visualised on a full moon during a clear night.

The Selfless Jade Rabbit

Not all tales from the MidAutumn Festival are sad—the tale of the Jade Rabbit on the moon is one that celebrates those that do good.

In the legend, three sages transformed themselves into pitiful old beggars and asked a fox, a monkey, and a rabbit for some food.

The monkey gathered some fruits from trees, whereas the fox stole a lizard and a pot of milk curd. But the rabbit, who could not gather anything but grass, decided to offer himself.

He jumped into a fire and said, “Eat me, please!”

Deeply moved by the rabbit’s selflessness, the sages gave it the title of “Jade Rabbit” and sent it to the Moon Palace, to be a companion of Chang E. There it remains, pounding the elixir of life for immortals.

Like Wu Gang, the markings of the Jade Rabbit pounding at its mortar can be seen on the moon’s surface.

Wikipedia

The image of a rabbit and mortar delineated on the Moon’s surface.

values & virtues

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september 5 – 18, 2014 37

ntd tv

chinese idioms

A Broken Mirror Joined Together 破镜重圆

By Jian Zheng Epoch Times Staff

D

uring the late Southern and Northern Dynasties (A.D. 420–581), in the state of Chen, there lived a princess named Lechang who was known for her beauty and intelligence.

Attracted by his talent and knowledge, she married an official named Xu Deyan.

The young couple loved each other dearly and, for a time, lived happily together. Before long, however, soldiers from Sui invaded the state of Chen.

The happy couple had to flee the palace and go into exile.

Before they left the palace, Deyan took a bronze mirror and broke it in half. He gave one half to his princess-wife, keeping the other half for himself, and told her that it was a symbol of their union in case they were separated and lost contact with each other.

They vowed that, if they got separated, they would look for each other in the capital’s market place on the 15th day of the first

This idiom is usually used to refer to the reunion or reconciliation of a couple after they lose touch or break up. lunar month, which was the Lantern Festival. Then, each hid their half of the mirror away and left the palace.

Soon the state of Chen fell and, in the ensuing chaos, the young couple was separated.

The next year, Deyan took his half of the mirror to the market place as planned, expecting to meet his dear wife there and to join the two halves of the mirror together again. He searched through the entire market, but could find no trace of her.

Suddenly, he saw a man selling half a mirror. Recognising it as epoch times

Before being separated, Deyan and Lechang each took one half of a broken bronze mirror, vowing to meet each other again on a set date.

The mirror eventually reunited the couple and gave birth to the Chinese idiom, “a broken mirror joined together”.

the one belonging to his wife, he approached the man and asked about the princess.

The man revealed to Deyan that he was the princess’s servant sent to the marketplace with her half of the mirror since she could not come to meet her husband herself.

Sadly, after the fall of the state of Chen, she had been taken to the powerful minister Yang Sui to be his concubine.

Upon hearing this news, tears rolled down Deyan’s cheeks. He took out a brush pen and wrote a poem on the princess’s half of the mirror. “You left with the mirror, now I see the mirror but not you.

Without Chang E in the moon, its brightness is wasted.” He, then, gave it to the servant to return to the princess.

When the princess read the poem on her half of the mirror, she could not help sobbing for days, as she missed her husband so.

Learning of their true love, the minister was very sympathetic.

He also realised he could never win her love. So, he sent for Deyan to come reclaim his wife and, thus, the princess and Deyan were reunited.

This story is found in Stories in Verse (Ben Shi Shi)(1), a collection of novellas compiled by Meng Qi during the Tang Dynasty (A.D. 618–907).

It was the inspiration for the idiom “a broken mirror joined together” or 破镜重圆 (pò jìng chóng yuán). Metaphorically, it means the reunion of husband and wife after a forced separation.

The idiom is usually used to refer to the reunion or reconciliation of a couple after they lose touch or break up.

Note: 1. “Stories in Verse,” or “Ben Shi Shi (本事诗),” contains poetic versions of stories that were often known in prose form. There are seven categories: Sentiment, Affective Matters, Hidden Treasures, Sadness and Anger, Exploring the Unusual, Studying Calamities, and Jokes.

Demystifying Classical Chinese Dance — Lan Hua Zhang

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Values & virtues

38 september 5 –18, 2014

借用人将斗事 人人问入闹勿 物物谁门场忙

及须对问绝忙 时明以孰勿多 还求名存近错

后倘吾将邪勿 有不与上僻畏 急问我堂事难

借即不声绝勿 不为分必勿轻 难 偷明 扬问 略

执缓 虚揭 器帘

如勿 执有 盈声

入宽 虚转 室弯

如勿 有触 人棱 *

勿步 践从 阈容

勿立 跛端 倚正

勿揖 箕深 踞圆

勿拜 摇恭 髀敬

年 方 少

勿 饮 酒

饮 酒 醉

最 为 丑

对 衣置冠晨朝 饮贵冠必必起 食洁服正盥早

勿不有纽兼夜 拣贵定必漱眠 择华位结口迟

食上勿袜便老 适循乱与溺易 可分顿履回至

勿下致 俱辄惜 过称污紧净此 则家秽切手时

Epoch Times

謹

弟 子 規

* Dizi Gui stated that we shall “Open curtains slowly without noise, and make turns widely without hitting corners. Hold empty containers as if they were full, and enter empty rooms as if they were occupied.

lessons from dizi gui

Refusing a Gift of Gold at Midnight

By Ting Ting Epoch Times Staff In Chapter 3 of Dizi Gui, we are taught how to perform certain actions in daily life. For example, “Open curtains slowly without noise, and make turns widely without hitting corners.”

We should also “hold empty containers as if they were full, and enter empty rooms as if they were occupied. “ As cryptic as this sounds, this actually teaches an important principle – that we should still conduct ourselves properly, even when no one is around to see it or when we are not being watched by others.

This virtue is embodied by the ancient Chinese scholar Yang Zhen, who refused to accept a gift of gold even though no one else was around.

Yang Zhen ‑ The Examplar of Upright and Honesty Yang Zhen (楊震) was a celebrated scholar of the Eastern Han Dynasty in ancient China.

Yang Zhen lost his father at a young age, and grew up in poverty. But he had a passion for studying and was very diligent, accumulating a wealth of knowledge and becoming a learned scholar. In fact, there was a popular saying among the scholars at the time that ‘Yang Zhen is the Confucius of Guanxi area’.

The heaven knows, the earth knows, you and I know.

How can you say that no one else knows?

Though no one else is here, isn’t our conscience here?

Replied Yang Zhen, when told that no one would know if he accepted a gift of gold.

Yang Zhen taught for over 20 years before he eventually became a government official.

Because he was over fifty years old at the time, many people, including Yang Zhen himself, did not expect him to be accepted for an official position.

But Yang Zhen’s good reputation became known to General Deng Zhi, who invited him to become an official. Later, Yang Zhen became the prefect of Jingzhou County and Donglai County.

Yang Zhen was very fair and honest, and did not seek

personal gain. He held himself strictly to the principle of being an ‘official with clean hands’, or one who was uncorrupted.

While serving as prefect of Jingzhou, Yang met a man Wang Mi whom he found was very talented. So under his recommendation, Wang Mi was promoted to the position of magistrate of Changyi County.

Later, Yang Zhen was promoted to the position of prefect of Donglai County. On his way to Donglai, he passed

by Changyi, where he was warmly welcomed by Wang Mi. In the evening, Wang Mi paid a visit to Yang Zhen. The two men were absorbed in pleasant conversation for many hours, until they realized how late it was. As Wang Mi was about to leave, he took out some gold and said, “It is a rare opportunity to see you, my great mentor.

I have prepared a little gift to express my gratitude for your guidance.”

Yang Zhen replied, “Because I knew of your talents, I recommended you for an official position, hoping that you could be fair and incorrupt. What you did just now was against my expectations of you. The best way you can repay me is by serving the country well, instead of giving me anything.”

However, Wang Mi insisted, “It’s the middle of night, no one else will know about this except you and me. Please accept it.”

Yang Zhen immediately

zsjjjc

The charismatic and famous chancellor and poet of Tang dynasty – Zhang Jiuling had presented how importance of one’s gesture.

became very stern and said, “What are you saying? The heaven knows, the earth knows, you and I know. How can you say that no one else knows?

Though no one else is here, isn’t our conscience here?”

Upon hearing this, Wang Mi reddened with embarrassment and left hastily with his gold.

Later, Yang Zhen was transferred to Zhuo County. He was very fair and just, and his whole family lived a simple life.

His friends tried to persuade him to leave some property to his offspring, but he replied with a smile, “I am leaving my reputation of being

an uncorrupted official as inheritance to my children, isn’t that riches enough?”

It is easy to obey one’s ethical principles in front of others but hard to behave consistently when one is alone. Yang Zhen’s refusal of the gift of gold demonstrates his exemplary spirit of staying upright and honest, even when he is not watched by others – a value that is worth learning from.

“Dizi Gui” (Standards for Being a Good Student and Child) is a traditional Chinese textbook for children that teaches children morals and proper etiquette.

Epoch Times

Values & virtues

september 5 – 18, 2014 39

Courtesy of Art Renewal Center

why realism

How Modern Art Gets Marketed

Published in 35 countries and 21 languages.

ENGLISH-LANGUAGE EDITIONS UNITED STATES San Francisco 650-336-1170 sfbay@epochtimes.com

part 10

By Frederick Ross

W

hat modernists have done has been to aid and abet the destruction of the only universal language by which artists can communicate our humanity. It has been a goal of mine for many years to expose the truth of modernist art history, and it is very much on topic to bring into question any practice that purports to analyze art history in a way that deliberately suppresses a valid and correct understanding of what actually happened.

And it is of the utmost importance that the history of what actually took place not be lost for all time due to the transitory prejudice and tastes of a single era. This must be done if art history as a field of scholarship is not to be ultimately discovered to have devolved into nothing more than documents of propaganda, geared toward market enhancement for valuable collections passed down as wealth-conserving stores of value.

Successful dealers, who derived great wealth by selling such works—works created in hours instead of weeks—had little trouble lining up articulate masters of our language to build complex jargon presented everywhere as brilliant analysis.

These market-influenced treatises ensured the financial protection of these collections.

Such “art-speak,” as it has come to be known, is a form of contrivance that uses selfconsciously complex and convoluted word combinations (babble) to impress, mesmerize, and ultimately silence the human instinct so that it cannot identify honestly what has been paraded before it.

This is accomplished by brainwashing through authority, confounding the evidence of our senses that otherwise any sane person would question. The “authority” of high positions, and the “authority” of books and print, and the “authority” of certificates of accreditation attached to the names of the chief proponents of modernism have all conspired to impress and humble those whose common sense would rise up in opposition to what would have been evident nonsense if it had emanated from the mouths and pens of anyone without such a preponderance of

“authority” backing them up.

The best term for describing this phenomenon is “prestige suggestion.” Any time people or even product names hold the trappings and symbols of quality, value, or expert authority, people tend to see quality, value, or importance due to those symbols.

For example, a wealthy consumer will see a purse with the name “Prada” or “Gucci” on it and will automatically assume value and quality. Perhaps the price will be $1,800, and if it’s on sale for $1,200 she’ll believe she got a good deal and be proud to wear it on her arm and show it to friends.

Prestige suggestion causes people to assume automatically that a work must be great if it is by any of the “big names” of modern art.

Take the same bag without a label and try to sell it on a table on 42nd Street with an $80 price tag. The consumer just may think it’s overpriced and will try to get the price down perhaps to $40 if she’ll buy it at all. The Prada name and the fact that it’s being sold in Bergdorf’s or Bloomingdale’s tends to give it the prestige and assumed value that has been suggested into the mind of the consumer.

There is a difference between value due to prestige and value due to intrinsic quality. In very much the same way, canvases with little intrinsic value, which have the signature of de Kooning, Pollock, Rothko, or Mondrian, are assigned high value because people with a Ph.D. or Museum Director next to their names have told us what to think about their value, or major dealers or auction houses have assigned estimates of millions of dollars to their work and told people how paying a million dollars today could lead to a $10 million profit in the future.

Most people do not feel themselves knowledgeable to know what has value or does

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not have value when it comes to pocketbooks, Persian carpets, or wrist watches, and much the less so with works of art. So even if their instincts are to reject something, they keep silent lest they expose themselves to ridicule or being considered ignorant.

Prestige suggestion causes people to assume automatically that a work must be great if it is by any of the “big names” of modern art, so they at once start looking for greatness. If they don’t see greatness, they are made to believe that it is due to their ignorance or lack of artistic sensibilities, but never because, just maybe, there is some failing in the art work.

To acknowledge doubt is to make oneself vulnerable to ridicule and derision. It’s so much easier to go along to get along.

Students operating under that kind of intimidating pressure, you can be sure, will find greatness no matter what they are looking at. The reverse of this has been trained into them when they view academic paintings.

They have been taught that works exhibiting realistic rendering are “bad” art, and therefore any good that is seen is not due to qualities in the artistic accomplishment but is rather due to a lack of intelligence and taste in the viewer.

So many students and even teachers have written and told us how realism has been virtually or actually banned from their art departments. John Stuart Mill’s remarks on this very issue (the tendency to not debate, confront, or to completely ignore differing views) are as alive and pertinent today as they were 200 years ago.

However unwillingly a person who has a strong opinion may admit the possibility that his opinion may be false, he ought to be moved by the consideration that true it may be, if it is not

Washington, D.C. 202-341-9011 et.dc@epochtimes.com

fully, frequently, and fearlessly discussed, it will be held as a dead dogma, not a living truth.

Without a dynamic, living coterie of experts teaching traditional techniques in drawing and painting, it will never be possible for college art departments to have students who are able to enrich the debate and the academic environment for all students by producing works of art that are capable of expressing complex and subtle ideas.

To forbid these skills to be taught on campus in any real depth is as ridiculous as having a music department that refuses to teach the circle of fifths or only teaches three or four notes from which they insist all music must be composed.

If there was nothing to be ashamed of in their teaching methods and in their results, they would welcome the chance to confront the ideas that they should be well-equipped to refute. They have a solemn duty to maintain the integrity of thought made possible by what has been handed down to them by those artists, writers, and thinkers of the 19th century and before, who established a system where freedom of thought would prevail.

And where is it more important to vouchsafe these principles than at our nation’s colleges and universities that are training the next generation of leaders? Even if they don’t agree, they have a duty to expose their students to responsible opposing views.

This is Part 10 of an 11-part series presenting the speech given by Frederick Ross at the February 7, 2014, Artists Keynote Address to the Connecticut Society of Portrait Artists. Frederick Ross is chairman and founder of the Art Renewal Center (www. artrenewal.org).

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