ntdlifemg ny 201304

Reviving Lost Legends

NTDTV: legacy and cultural innovation A group of eye-catching cultural art performers appeared in New York in recent years, bringing new colour to the life of people in the economic downturned city. From western painting , photography, violin, piano, vocal music, dancing to the mysterious, classical Chinese martial arts and the forgotten Han Chinese clothing , are all include in their “Cultural and creative promotion” They aim to inherited traditional Chinese culture and to revive the spirits and skills of the exquisite western classical arts.

By Wei Jane Chir Translated by Andrew Chen

The group is led by the New Tang Dynasty Television in New York, with the aid of the New Tang Dynasty Asia Pacific Television in Taiwan and many o t h e r b r a n c h e s i n E u r o p e , Australia, and Canada. They have also held international competitions annually for five years, conquering all barriers and difficulties. Plunging into the origin of their innovation in cultural and creative promotion,

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we see that it blossomed from a ¿UP URRW RI SURIRXQG WUDGLWLRQDO culture;; that is what draws the eye of professionals from around the world. As the day went by, more and more intellectuals joined in. It is perhaps more accurate to portray what they d o a s “ r e n a i s s a n c e ” t h a n “ p r o m o t i o n ” W i t h o u t t h e support of any political parties or consortium, but with their faith and knowledge alone, tens

of thousands of volunteers in this group dedicate themselves to this work.

What is the next wave in art?

W h e n t h e G u g g e n h e i m Museum of Modern Arts in Soho, New York was closed and rented to be the flagship store of the Italian brand Prada, it became a hot topic widely discussed. There are others who

Third, "the world of the NTDTV International Chinese Culinary Competition in Times Square reproduction the Datang Long An Shengjing.

(Photography / New Era Weekly)

suspect that the rumor of fake arts in Guggenheim was in fact commercial operation. Many art galleries were beginning to migrate to newly developed areas like Chelsea, and Soho transformed from an art district into a favourite area of fashion lovers and consumers;; before l o n g , C h e l s e a f o l l o w e d t h e same footsteps. Perhaps this is the path that a city naturally undergoes, however, many who

ZRUN LQ WKH ¿HOG RI DUWV PD\ VWLOO wonder: “what is art to people today? How many still paint?” though people had addressed this question a hundred years ago before the invention of cameras.

W i t h t h e r e v o l u t i o n o f Internet media, information and images can be summoned at easy;; fashion design transport its influence through images,

m u l t i p l y i n g t h e s e a s o n a l stimulation thousands of times before the Internet was created.

In contrast, pure painting art works have decreased and art galleries have disappeared one by one;; the thick gallery manual were reduced to only one-­third of its original pages while some were lost completely. More and more artists turn to multimedia creation;; art and fashion seems t o h a v e c o m b i n e d . T h e s e

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Lucia Aliberti bring together with The winners of 5th Annual Vocal Competition at Carnegies Hall's Stern Auditorium this October 30th 2011 for the Future Stars Recital.

p h e n o m e n a  p r o b a b l y  h a d  never  occurred  in  the  western  art  history;Íž  perhaps  it  had,  in  the  Weimar  Bauhaus  period  in  German,  but  it  was  only  regional.   Â

Inheriting the old and creating new cultural opportunities

experience  to  ballet-­lovers.  In  the  past,  people  only  know  about  ballet,  but  few  recognizes  &KLQHVH GDQFH VRPH GR QRW e v e n  r e a l i z e  i t s  e x i s t e n c e .  T h r o u g h  t h e  c o m p e t i t i o n ,  and  the  clear  explanation  of  the  judges,  more  and  more  professionals  understand  what  RUWKRGR[ &KLQHVH GDQFH LV

In  2008,  the  New  Tang  Dynasty  Television  presented  a  series  of  nine  international  competitions  that  aim  to  restore  ¿QH WUDGLWLRQDO FXOWXUH &KLQHVH WUDGLWLRQDO GDQFHV +DQ &KLQHVH FORWKLQJ WUDGLWLRQDO &KLQHVH P D U W L D O D U W V D Q G & K L Q H V H culinary  competitions  were  included  as  well  as  western  classical  oil  painting,  violin,  piano,  and  vocal  competition.  The  rules  were  strictly  followed  without  exception.  The  event  seems  to  be  against  the  trend  in  this  metropolis  of  innovation,  yet,  it  is  actually  a  new  fountain  of  modern  culture.

The  mysterious  oriental  PDUWLDO DUWV LQĂ&#x20AC;XHQFHG E\ %UXFH Lee,  are  drawing  more  and  more  western  practitioners.  Starting  from  2011,  western  people  can  participant  in  the  International  7UDGLWLRQDO &KLQHVH 0DUWLDO $UWV &RPSHWLWLRQ DV ORQJ DV WKH\ present  as  one  the  authentic  schools  listed  in  the  faction.  There  have  always  been  many  s c h o o l s  a r e  m a r t i a l  a r t s  i n  &KLQD KRZ FDQ RQH GLVWLQJXLVK the  authentic  and  traditional?  ,W ZDV FOHDU LQ 0U /L <RXIXÂśV statement  in  section  247  of  New  (UD 0DJD]LQH

T h e  a n n u a l  c l a s s i c a l  &KLQHVH GDQFH FRPSHWLWLRQ held  by  NTDTV  brings  a  fresh Â

T r a d i t i o n i s a collaboration between heritage and creativity

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&KLQHVH IRRG KDV EHFRPH one  of  the  representatives  of  takeaways  that  do  not  give  attention  to  the  ingredients.  +RZHYHU WUDGLWLRQDO &KLQHVH cuisine  has  always  put  stress  on  the  contents  and  procedures;Íž  the  monotonous  formulaic  use  of  seasoning  of  fatal  to  the  essence  RI WUDGLWLRQDO &KLQHVH FRRNLQJ In  the  past,  different  regions  LQ &KLQD GHYHORSHG XQLTXH cuisines  base  on  the  resources  provided  and  the  local  tradition;Íž  nowadays,  these  styles  have  lost  their  boundaries.   When  the  competitions  were  first  held,  many  famous  chefs  from  Taiwan  participated,  yet,  few  RI WKHP HQWHUHG WKH ÂżQDOV /RWV of  people  do  not  understand,  for  Taiwan  is  well-­known  for  its  delicacies  and  all  styles  of  &KLQHVH FXLVLQHV FDQ EH IRXQG there,  why  were  there  so  few  winners?  It  is  because  the  skills  UHTXLUHG DUH QRW GHFRUDWLRQV which  would  lose  one  points  instead  of  earning  more;Íž  what  is  asked  of  the  chefs  are  not  combination  or  improvement  b u t  t h e  m o s t  o r i g i n a l  a n d Â

authentic Sichuan, Shandong, G u a n g d o n g , H u a i y a n g a n d Northeast cuisines.

What should be called to attention about this competition is that in order to revive the essence of Chinese cuisine, an outdoor kitchen was designed especially for the contest. These recreation of Tang Dynasty o u t d o o r k i t c h e n c a r r i a g e s a r e u s e d a t T i m e s S q u a r e , transferred the plaza back to ancient ChangAn, China. They had been a high expectation of the participants for the past two years and ripple in New Yorker.

T h e d e d u c t i o n o f E a s t e r n cultural industry from within is limitless;; even South Korea noodles are soiled with light, attached to two years of active sponsorship. This is the charm of a rich cultural heritage which can bring prosperity many other industries related.

E a c h a n d e v e r y o n e o f t h e c o m p e t i t i o n h a d f a c e d t h e t h r e a t a n d o b s t r u c t i o n from the Chinese Communist.

Fortunately, many chefs still fought against the pressure and participated in the competition.

One senior Cantonese chef said in a interview: “The NTDTV holding this competition can truly help elevate the status of Chinese cuisine. I have tried for over forty years to do so, using magazines, organizations and so on, but was never as effective as this Culinary Competition.”

Mr. Ton graduated from the Britannia Royal Naval College and had always loved Chinese cooking. Forty years ago, he m i g r a t e d f r o m T a i w a n t o Pennsylvania, USA and opened a restaurant, found the Flavour a n d F o r t u n e M a g a z i n e t o promote Chinese delicacies and arts. He had been on TV demonstrating for the western audiences and was said to be the original producer of the Iron Chef series.

can be brought to existence easily. Many Western brands like Chanel, Louis Vuitton all have a history of a century,

The apparel of antiquity leads to new fashions Cultural and heritage are inseparable;; great cultural and

Classical Chinese dance has its own set of training methods in basic skills and has strict training in both physical expression and specific postures.

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Products were extended to the Tang Dynasty Series Contest Left: Tang grass disk Middle: small sedan chair right: Tang grass umbrell (design by Wei Jane Chir ) and is still stars of modern day trends. Their design did not pop out of thin air, but rely on innovation and creativity.

The great British designer who we recently lost, Alexander McQueen had not only inherited the skills, but was also familiar with the culture of many other nations. He also reflection on his birth place and blend his ideas into his designs. Although he fell after his suicide, his impact on modern fashion and trends was beyond imagination.

H a n C h i n e s e C l o t h i n g Competition urges Chinese to retrieve their moral and sense of beauty;; the joyous colors, rich lines of design are all something new to the New York clothing industry. Ann Roth, who had won the Academy

Award for costume design said after she saw the photos of previous competitions: "This is a amazing!" She wanted the designers in her studio to study each of those Chinese clothing design.

N o m a t t e r h o w t h e t i m e s c h a n g e , p e o p l e s t i l l enjoy profound, classic, and orthodox art works. Each of the competitions held by the NTDTV has its own complete system and origin. It is a tremendous art and culture reconstruction.

Painting, and contemporary art Painting is the last topic to discuss. The International C h i n e s e R e a l i s t i c P o r t r a i t Competition held by NTDTV

is aimed to promote classical western arts. It is held in hope o f a w a k e n i n g t h e s p i r i t o f traditional school of art which m a y s e e m l i k e a t i d e t h a t struggled against the trend.

Starting from the Impressionist Monet’s paintings, capturing the light and shadow and exploring the art of painting from the point of physical studies, the path for arts appeared to have broadened. However, this path simplified the skills and talents required for creating great painting. Joseph Beuys had said: "Everyone is an artist." Perhaps everyone can be an artist, but not everyone can become a great painter.

A n a r t i s t n o t o n l y h a s t o a c c u r a t e l y p i c t u r e s q u e images but also deliver deeper

The kitchen skills contest of Tang outdoor kitchen cart, Times Square, playing a think Changan, causing a wave for all to see. (kitchen cart design by Wei Jane Chir , 3D production by Xu Genjie )

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September 13, 2009, the second session of the NTDTV Global Han Couture Design Competition Winners invited to New York Fashion Week catwalk of Han Chinese clothing, stunning fashion. (Photography / Edward)

meanings and ideas. This is the elementary requirement of the International Chinese Realistic Portrait Competition, and it is truly challenging. Connection o f t h e s t o r y a n d d i f f e r e n t characters, the selection of models and the background environment are all tasks that c a n n o t b e s o l v e d e a s i l y b y modern technology. It is very different painting while looking at a photograph and looking at real-­life models: photos are plane, and losing the three-­ dimensional presences, photos can only be used as an adjuvant.

In the past, this type of painting was very costly. Starting from 2008, NTDTV have held the p a i n t i n g c o m p e t i t i o n s a n d encourage western traditional schools of their styles, and participants are increasing every year;; this year, the third annual competition had attracted more than 140 applicants and had received excellent results.

L o o k i n g f r o m t h e perspective of different schools, t h i s p r o m o t i o n i s a c t u a l l y reawakening of “painting.” If we take a tour to the Art Students of League New York, located on 57th Street, New York which has a history of 130 years, we can see that for seven days a week, models are there for those who are devoted to realistic arts to practice real-­life painting.

Courses are packed in popular teacher's class, and some even

have to wait months to squeeze in. Images can be downloaded from the Internet, but only paintings are real first-­hand information.

V e r y s e c t s o r d o c t r i n e have their own rise and fall. It has been over a century since the birth of Impressionism, and it gone through disputes with many other schools;; it is not impossible to return to

traditional Realism. New York had always been the stage of western art culture and the NTDTV realizes this;; it is also the reason to hold the nine competitions here. While China a n d T a i w a n a r e p r o m o t i n g culture and soft power, millions in this group have been working hard in this metropolis for five years, summoning the elites IURP DOO ¿HOGV DURXQG WKH ZRUOG to step to an era together.

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