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UPDATED: January 20, 2009 NO. 4 JAN. 22, 2009
Cultural Figures of China in 2008
In December 2008, the Beijing-based People's Daily, together with its website people.com.cn, launched a campaign to select Chinese citizens who had remarkable achievements in the cultural field in 2008. Based on the opinions of nearly 40,000 netizens and a jury, eight people were selected
By ZAN JIFANG
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Jia Pingwa

In November 2008, Jia Pingwa, 57, won the Seventh Mao Dun Literature Prize for his 12th saga novel Qin Qiang (a kind of folk opera popular in northwest China), making him a laureate of the most honorable novel prize in China. Through its exquisite depiction of stories of town people who live in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, the novel reflects the changes in the countryside against the social transformation of China. It is believed by most critics to be an epic work about the status quo of China's rural area. His other representative works include Bai Ye (White Night) and Fei Du (The Abandoned Capital).

The results of a survey on public reading released by the Chinese Institute of Publishing Science in July 2008 showed that Jia was among the top 10 most popular book writers in China, together with such big names as Lu Xun (1881-1936), Ba Jin (1904-2005), Lao She (1899-1966) and Louis Cha (1924-).

Chen Kaige

At the end of 2008, the Chen Kaige blockbuster Forever Enthralled, a movie depicting the legendary Peking Opera actor Mei Lanfang, was a smash hit in China, winning both public praise and box office success. The movie is seen to be another peak in Chen's career after his earlier movie, Golden Palm winner Farewell My Concubine (1993). At the same time, Chen, 57, another leading representative of China's fifth-generation film directors, published his bestselling book Mei Fei Se Wu, sharing his spiritual world and stories behind the screen with readers.

His film career once suffered a setback after his movie The Promise, which received a number of negative reviews, showed in 2005. Chen was under much pressure at that time and chose to endure the hardship in order to realize his film ideas. With the success of Forever Enthralled, Chen returned stronger than ever.

Mei Baojiu

Son of Mei Lanfang, a Chinese Peking Opera legend, and heir to the Mei school, Mei Baojiu is a Peking Opera master in his own right. In 2008, the 75-year-old Mei Baojiu frequently appeared in the spotlight, helping promote the movie Forever Enthralled, a biographical film about Mei Lanfang, and answering audience questions about the film, Peking Opera and his father. His efforts not only embody the filial obligation a son has for his father, but also show his deep love for art and the sense of responsibility an artist feels for the popularization and development of Peking Opera, one of the cultural treasures of China.

As a supporter of the decision of the Chinese Ministry of Education to add classic Peking Opera repertoire to the music textbooks of primary and middle schools, Mei has also attached great importance to the training of gifted Peking Opera performers.

Zhang Jigang

The year 2008 was a busy but fruitful one for Zhang Jigang, a well-known choreographer and art director. As assistant chief director, Zhang gave the order on August 8 to begin the countdown to the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games from the chief podium. As executive chief director, he gave the command from the same location to begin the opening ceremony of the 2008 Paralympic Games on September 6. Burning Dance Moves, a dance performance directed by Zhang, debuted in early December 2008 and received wide acclaim. At the end of December 2008, the large-scale Peking Opera Red Cliff directed by Zhang was shown for 10 days in a row at the National Center for Performing Arts in Beijing.

Zhang burst onto the dance scene in 2005 when he choreographed the famous dance The Thousand-Handed Goddess of Mercy.

Feng Jicai

It is more and more difficult to classify the status of Feng Jicai, as painter or writer do not precisely define what he does. For more than 10 years, Feng dedicated himself to rescuing and preserving the intangible cultural heritage of China. He has almost been to every corner of China, trying to raise public awareness of the value of folk culture.

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