Month: July 2016

Lu Yang, the next artist about to get kicked out of China

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Source: OZY.com (6/29/16)
THE NEXT ARTIST WHO’S ABOUT TO GET KICKED OUT OF CHINA
BY LESLIE NGUYEN-OKWU

Lu yang by ka 5a s

Lu Yang in the flesh. Source: Ka XiaoXi

An artist’s self-portrait: stuffy, vain, easy on the eye. Right? Not for Lu Yang, a scrappy 31-year-old new-media artist based in China. In a computer rendering of herself, Lu is naked and genderless, with electrodes jabbing at her brain like a lab rat. Then comes her callous death, her convulsing body slowly sliding into the charred furnace of a gaping MRI machine.

Lu Yang is no stranger to stirring up strife with her provocative videos and unsettling animations. “Revived Zombie Frogs Underwater Ballet” is exactly what it sounds like — Lu Yang sends electric shocks to dissected frogs to make them dance as they hover in water. Her latest pieces include both a massive floating kite of her head and an animation of her charred corpse flailing about in flames. And for good measure, “Uterus Man” rides a zooming pelvis chariot and flies like Iron Man by shooting blood out of his vagina — not just weird, but explicitly taboo. Clearly, Lu Yang doesn’t do hoity-toity. Instead, she dabbles and dives into thorny themes from biology, neurology and religion, some stuff that, she says, is “too hard-core” for China. As an artist, Lu isn’t just messing around with medium and form; she’s engaging in a struggle against a kind of cultural straightjacket in China that discourages people from openly and honestly broaching these topics. Continue reading Lu Yang, the next artist about to get kicked out of China →

Truth of Mao Zedong’s Collusion with the Japanese Army (1)

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Here’s a paper by the Japanese author of the book discussed in yesterday’s post–Han Meng <han_meng@hotmail.com>

Source: Discuss Japan (5/17/16)
Mao Zedong, Founding Father of the People’s Republic of China, Conspired with the Japanese Army
By ENDO Homare, Director, Center of International Relations, Tokyo University of Social Welfare, Professor Emeritus, University of Tsukuba

ENDO Homare, Director, Center of International Relations, Tokyo University of Social Welfare, Professor Emeritus, University of Tsukuba

ENDO Homare, Director, Center of International Relations, Tokyo University of Social Welfare, Professor Emeritus, University of Tsukuba

On 1 October 1949, Mao Zedong declared the creation of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The achievement of Mao Zedong as founding father of the PRC is, indeed, great. If we focus attention on this achievement alone, Mao Zedong can be described as “a man of great stature” who deserves to be respected.

It should be noted, however, that the PRC is a state that was ultimately created through victory in the Chinese Civil War between the Kuomintang (KMT) forces led by Chiang Kai-shek and forces loyal to the Communist Party of China (CPC) and is not by any means a state created by defeating the Japanese Army in the Sino-Japanese War.

The proof of this is that Japan announced defeat on 15 August 1945, but it was 1 October 1949 that the PRC was founded. During this four-year period, the KMT and the CPC waged a fierce civil war. Accordingly, the PRC’s claim that the PRC is a state created by defeating the invading Japanese army is factually incorrect. Also, the myth that CPC forces fought valiantly with the Japanese army during the Sino-Japanese War is untrue. Continue reading Truth of Mao Zedong’s Collusion with the Japanese Army (1) →

Zheng Jun’s ‘Rock Dog’

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View the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpaVY8Zq9LQ –Kirk

Source: China Real Time, WSJ (6/30/16)
A Chinese Rock Star’s Hollywood Project: ‘Rock Dog’
By Lillian Lin

The 3-D film 'Rock Dog' follows a rock-loving Tibetan mastiff s journey to a big city to become a musician.

The 3-D film ‘Rock Dog’ follows a rock-loving Tibetan mastiff s journey to a big city to become a musician. PHOTO: HUAYI BROTHERS

Animation has long been a weak spot for China’s film industry. Now, a Chinese rock star is trying to change that, making an animated film for global audiences with Hollywood’s help.

Zheng Jun helmed “Rock Dog,” based on a popular namesake comic-book series he created and published in 2009.

The 3-D film, which follows a rock-loving Tibetan mastiff ’s journey to a big city to become a musician, was directed by Ash Brannon, who co-directed Pixar’s smash hit Toy Story 2 (1999), and animated by Reel FX, an award-winning American digital studio. Its English version is dubbed by a number of Hollywood veterans including the Oscar-winning actor J.K. Simmons. Continue reading Zheng Jun’s ‘Rock Dog’ →

Truth of Mao Zedong’s Collusion with the Japanese Army

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This report from Voice of America concerns the publication of the Chinese version of a book by a Japanese scholar who claims that Mao colluded with the Japanese army during the War of Resistance and sold them information that would harm the Nationalist Army. The report has an accompanying video interview with the author–Kirk Denton

Source: Voice of America-Chinese (7/1/16)
时事大家谈：远藤誉博士谈毛泽东勾结日军
By 雨舟

华盛顿 — 中共是否积极抗战、甚至是抗战中的“中流砥柱”？这个一直存在争议的问题现在增加了一个惊人的答案。日本一名大学教授撰写的新书《毛泽东勾结日军的真相》中文版日前在美国出版。该书指出，抗战中毛泽东为削弱国民党军队的力量，把从国共合作中获得的国民党军事情报卖给日本；毛利用抗战壮大中共力量，为日后打败国民党军队做铺垫。今天我们专访该书作者、日本东京福祉大学国际交流中心主任、筑波大学名誉教授远藤誉博士，请她分享书中内容的来龙去脉。

远藤誉博士说，我最近日程很满，忙于在日本的电视台上节目，解释中国的各种问题。另外就是忙于讲演和介绍我的新书《毛泽东勾结日军的真相》，讲演的次数比较多。 Continue reading Truth of Mao Zedong’s Collusion with the Japanese Army →