ChinaDaily[980310-8]

[Chinese News]

China Daily

98 / 03 / 10 /

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1. Beauty in structured painting
2. Weiler's work now on show
3. What's on (Page 9, Date: 03/10/98)
4. Capsules power up invalid livers
5. Herbal drugs cure patients worldwide
6. Beijing hosts furniture and woodworking fairs
7. Announcement of Publication of '98 Airshow China Supplement
8. Exhibitions to promote trade, co-op
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Beauty in structured painting
BRITISH sculptor Henry Moore's swelling and rounded semi-abstract
pieces, featuring pebbles, human breasts and rocks, represent
something more than visual shapes. In the same way, Chinese oil
painter Wang Huaiqing's angular, tough and skinny images become a
psychological symbol on his canvases.
"I like hard, solid, square-based structures." said Wang, who is
now a professional painter at the Beijing Painting Institute.
"They appeal to me deeply and best help me articulate what I want
to say, giving vent to my feelings."
Wang described his thoughts in relation to traditional Chinese
houses and furniture. The dovetailed wooden beams, purlins and
rafters of houses combined to form firm structures. Their hard,
straight lines alone, which crisscross each other, embody a beauty
which is emphasized by time-worn whitewashed walls. Chinese
furniture, the chairs of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) in
particular, also appeal to people's aesthetic senses with their
"hard beauty."
Wang's house-and-furniture series of paintings was started in 1985
when he made a tour to Shaoxing, a town in East China's Zhejiang
Province noted for its crisscrossing canals, misty landscapes and,
above all, a flourishing culture which has existed since ancient
times.
"I was very impressed by the pleasing wooden structures of the
houses," said Wang. "As a northerner, I had become used to brick
and earth residences and to vast tracts of dry land."
To what extent have cultural elements been incorporated into the
design of these southern houses since the distant past? How much
recorded Chinese wisdom do they contain? Wang asks himself these
questions.
Upon his return to Beijing, Wang painted five oil paintings
featuring the wooden structures. This marked the beginning of his
structural series. Almost 13 years have passed, and yet he is
still engaged in the same task, working to perfect his works and
make deeper explorations.
Wang's semi-abstract work is simple in composition and colouring.
Forceful and seemingly awkward strokes break up the picture. His
works consist of only two colours -- black and white.
Yet Wang's works somehow please the senses of the viewer, while
something profound seems to underlie their simple images and
colours.
"If abstract works fail to convey some cultural messages or, in
other words, there is no artistic and cultural gravity behind the
simple images, it is worse than children's graffiti," Wang said.
"This would then be a whole canvas of nothing. A realist painting,
no matter how shallow it is, at least has something to offer --
images that `look real,' beautiful colours and so on."
Wang was born in 1944 in Beijing. He entered the Preparatory
School of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1956 and graduated
in 1964. During this period, he was trained according to the
Soviet-fashion art educational system, which had a solid
foundation in realist paintings but was stifling for art students
who had fresh ideas.
Wang later entered the Central Academy of Arts and Design in
Beijing where he was trained in decorative arts and traditional
folk arts. The influence of this period could be seen in the
future works of Wang as a maturing artist.
In 1971, he was assigned to the Song and Dance Ensemble under the
General Political Department of the People's Liberation Army as a
stage designer. During his seven-year stay there, he continued
painting oils and ink and washes while fulfilling his stage design
tasks.
Wang entered the Central Academy of Arts and Design again in 1979,
this time as a graduate student, specializing in decorative arts
under the tutelage of Yuan Yunfu and Zhu Danian, famous artists in
this field.
In 1983, he joined the Beijing Painting Institute, where he has
been a professional artist ever since.
Art critic Jia Fangzhou has commented on Wang's art: "As a Chinese
oil painter, Wang is sandwiched between two great cultural
traditions -- that of the West, the root of oil paintings as an
independent art form, and that of China, the homeland of his
spirit and soul. Now he has chosen the best form of expression for
him which links the two traditions -- structure."
The structuralist beauty in vertical and horizontal wooden planks,
pillars and beams lent Wang artistic inspiration, and drove him on
in his pursuit of artistic excellence, according to Jia.
The critic said that "structure" in the West today was a subject
of scholarly and artistic concern. People approach linguistics,
literature and art from structuralist angles, emphasizing the
general structure, instead of individual factors.
"The fact that Chinese wooden structures feature predominantly in
Wang's art shows that a native Chinese artist has found a new
language and also a modern form of narration," Jia said. "It also
indicates that a contemporary painter has found his 'cultural
territory' on which his artistic life depends."
In terms of style, Wang is close to modern Western art. But in
terms of tastes, he is purely Chinese, according to the critic.
In Jia's view, Wang's paintings are free of aggressive and noisy
assertiveness, as found in the works of American master Franz
Kline. Wang's work also does not have the icy and mechanic nature
of the Industrial Civilization, as found in the art of French
painter Pierre Soulages, according to Jia.
"Instead, he compromises the sharp contrast between the white and
black with gray tones that are reminiscent of Chinese ink-and-wash
work," Jia said. "Also, he uses the textures of time-worn walls to
rouse a kind of tender and heart-warming feeling, implying
humanist connotations."
Wang was actually part of a millennia-old Chinese cultural
tradition which emphasized "structure," according to Jia.
For example, traditional Chinese architecture, unlike skyward
Western churches and palaces, spreads out on a horizontal plane
according to well-planned lay-outs. Each house, corridor, pond and
bridge is an integral part of the general structure. Traditional
Chinese paintings emphasize compositional relationships. In
calligraphy, much importance is attached to the structural
relations between brush strokes. In seal carving, the arrangement
of stroke-intensive areas and blank regions can make all the
difference between beauty and a mess.
Wang's works have been exhibited in numerous art shows in the
country and around the world since 1980. These have included the
Sixth National Art Exhibition in Beijing in 1984; the Exhibition
of Paintings by Wang Huaiqing, sponsored by the Hefner Gallery, in
New York in 1987; the 10th Ueno Royal Museum Grand Prize
Exhibition in Japan in 1992; and the International Festival
Painting Exhibition in Hembach, Germany, in 1993.
In 1988, Wang's works began to be included in the Christie's and
Sotheby's auctions, where they have won considerable acclaim.
Wang's two-year stay (1987-1988) in the United States as a
visiting scholar enabled him to look at traditional Chinese
culture and his oil paintings from a distant perspective. "This
helped me see our culture and my art more clearly than I did when
I was head over heels in it," Wang said. "My feel for art was
sharpened and my understanding for art was deepened."
Asked about his future plans, Wang said: "Maybe I will probe into
unknown waters to see if I can come up with something different.
Driving along a familiar road with easy traffic does not help my
art.
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_Date: 03/10/98_
_Author: Hua Jia_
_Copyright© by China Daily_

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Weiler's work now on show
AUSTRIAN painter Max Weiler's one-man exhibition opens today in
the China National Art Museum in Beijing.
This marks the first time that the works of Weiler have been
displayed in China. On show are 31 huge-format oils done by the
painter between 1983 and 1991, a peak in his artistic career.
As early as in the 1930s, Weiler became acquainted with Chinese
landscape painting, particularly that of the Song period (AD
960-1279), when he was an art student in Vienna.
During recent decades, Weiler strove to fuse inspirations stemming
from Chinese landscape painting with modernist European abstract
art. He has found his own style, synthesizing the merits of
various schools of art, which is universally accepted in China and
in the West.
The current exhibition is organized by the Chinese Exhibition
Agency in Beijing and by the Museum of Fine Arts in Vienna, with
the support of the Chinese Ministry of Culture and the Austrian
Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
Present at the opening ceremony of the exhibition will be Chinese
Foreign Minister Qian Qichen, Culture Minister Liu Zhongde,
Austrian Vice-Premier and Foreign Minister Wolfgang Schussel and
the Austrian Minister of Education and Cultural Affairs Elsabeth
Gehrer.
(CD News)
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_Date: 03/10/98_
_Author: _
_Copyright© by China Daily_

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What's on (Page 9, Date: 03/10/98)
CONCERTS
"Red Hot" is coming -- British-Chinese violinist Vanessa Mae's
"Red Hot" storm will blow to Beijing after touring 34 other
countries in the world.
Vanessa Mae is to play her white Zeta electric violin at the
Capital Stadium of Beijing on April 15.
The 19-year-old has pleasantly surprised the musical world with a
complete new and earth-shaking interpretation of the ancient art
of violin playing.
She began studying violin at the age of 5. After 12 years of
playing classical music, which resulted in three recordings of
works by Mozart, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Paganini and a world
tour with the Mozart Orchestra of London in 1995, Mae decided to
play something new.
In February 1995, Mae released a new album, entitled "The Violin
Player," in which she used two violins: a traditional violin and
an electric violin.
The album features an innovative Bach "Toccata in D Minor and
Fugue" and "Red Hot," a violin rock and roll piece which later
became popular in many countries and regions. The tracks create a
new style which combines classical, pops, rock and jazz.
This cocktail style album was the best-selling CD of EMI records
of that year. And in 1996, her classical album "China Girl" also
made a record by selling 500,000 copies in two weeks.
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_Date: 03/10/98_
_Author: _
_Copyright© by China Daily_

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Capsules power up invalid livers
"IT'S easy to get thousands of prescriptions, but difficult to
find the one right medicine," Professor Wu Jieping, a renowned
medical expert and vice-chairman of the National People's Congress
Standing Committee, describes Ling Dan Wang capsules.
Ling Dan Wang capsules are a breakthrough in inhibiting and
reversing liver cell fibrosis and accelerating the generation of
liver cells, and they have brought hope to liver patients, Wu
claimed at a recent seminar on liver disease treatment in Beijing.
Tong Ren Tang, a world-renowned Chinese company selling quality
and effective herbal medicines, sent a 7-member delegation last
October to Lin'an County, in East China's Zhejiang Province, where
the main research offices and production lines of Ling Dan Wang
capsules are located.
They were curious and wanted to discover the "secrets" of how Ling
Dan Wang capsules have developed and secured such a market lure.
After just a few years of production the medicine has taken the
third position in terms of sales among all Chinese-made medicines
in Tong Ren Tang in 1997.
A delegation of more than 30 Chinese diplomats working in Europe
and America paid a special visit to Ling Dan Wang headquarters in
late 1997. They were attracted by the brilliance and efficiency of
Ling Dan Wang medicines that had been proved abroad.
Inquiries and consultations regarding the medicine are so numerous
that the Hangzhou Ling Dan Wang Pharmaceutical Trade Group Company
has had to install five telephone hotlines for experts to answer
questions.
No other organ in the human body has so many complicated and vital
functions as the liver, said Professor Huang Yaping, inventor of
the Ling Dan Wang Capsules and also chairman of the company.
As our largest organ, the liver: secretes bile; metabolizes
proteins, carbohydrates and fats; stores glycogen, vitamins and
other substances; synthesizes blood-clotting agents; removes waste
and toxic matter from the blood, and destroys old red blood cells.
No other organ bears so heavy a burden, or is so easily affected
by viruses, drugs, environmental pollutants, genetic disorders,
and systematic diseases, Professor Huang said.
Statistics say about 12 per cent of Asian people are hepatitis-A
virus carriers and the rate is as high as 40 per cent in parts of
Hong Kong, Macao and Shenzhen of South China's Guangdong Province.
Among the carriers, 25 per cent are likely to develop cirrhosis,
and 5 per cent may develop liver cancer, which has the
second-highest death rate among cancers, said the professor.
Medical workers have for many years been looking for cures for
liver diseases, however they have so far achieved little. Only a
few medicines have been developed and proved successful in liver
treatment.
"The Ling Dan Wang series can significantly enhance the immune
system of the human body. It can soften the liver and control
fibrosis. It can recover the liver function, decrease ascites and
contract the enlarged spleen," said Wu Jieping.
A Canadian woman was diagnosed as having cirrhosis of the liver
and coronary heart disease in 1991. Canadian and American doctors
could not help her. In early 1994, she underwent a
liver-transplant operation and tried the most advanced medicines.
Her condition continued to worsen and she suffered from ascites,
splenomegaly, and was in a coma. She was diagnosed as incurable by
two American hospitals.
Refusing to accept defeat, she grasped the last chance - she tried
Ling Dan Wang capsules. After taking heavy doses of the capsules,
she began to recover in the middle 1994, and by November that year
she was able to sit in a wheelchair. In 1995 she was well enough
to come to China to express her sincere gratitude to Professor
Huang Yaping.
Hu Bingxun, a teacher at Zhejiang University, also benefited from
Ling Dan Wang. In 1995, at the age of 52, he was diagnosed as
suffering from liver cirrhosis. Hospitalized for more than one
year, his situation deteriorated to a critical state in early
1997.
Later he tried Ling Dan Wang capsules. After three weeks of
continual dosing, his illness was alleviated. One month later, he
was able to walk by himself, and last August, he came back to the
classroom and resumed his lecturing.
Su Tangsheng, working with JS International Trading Corp in
California, United States, and Chen Chunnan from Kim Agarwood Co
Ltd of Singapore, are also beneficiaries of Ling Dan Wang
medicine.
They are not the only people to have benefited from the medicine.
Professor Huang Yaping himself has received more than 2,000 liver
cirrhosis patients, and treated them with Ling Dan Wang capsules.
Of them, 76 per cent showed clear signs of recovery, and the
overall rate of effectiveness reached 95.3 per cent.
The Ling Dan Wang series of medicines has not only achieved good
clinical results but has also gained pharmacological acceptance.
Researchers at the Zhejiang Medical University found that the
medicine had fairly obvious ameliorative effects on mice afflicted
with cirrhosis. They also found that the medicines helped the body
combat cancer and build up resistance to disease.
Professor Huang devoted more than 30 years to developing new
medicines to combat liver diseases and in 1989 the Ling Dan Wang
capsules obtained a patent from China's State Patent Bureau.
The capsules also won a gold medal in the second China New
Technology and Patented Product Competition in 1993 and a special
medal in the third competition in 1994.
In September 1996, invited by the Food and Drug Administration of
the US Department of Health and Human Services, and the Canadian
Ministry of Health, Professor Huang Yaping visited North America.
He made a key-note speech at a Washington seminar on traditional
Chinese medicine to introduce Ling Dan Wang liver-nourishing
capsules.
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_Date: 03/10/98_
_Author: Li Zhong_
_Copyright© by China Daily_

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Herbal drugs cure patients worldwide
HUANG Yaping, chairman of the Hangzhou Ling Dan Wang
Pharmaceutical Trade Group Company, has an ambitious plan to
promote Ling Dan Wang herbal medicines so that more people in
China and abroad can benefit from its products.
In only five years, the company has extended its influence
throughout China. Now it has branches, representative offices or
retail outlets in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Nanjing,
Shijiazhuang, Wuhan, Kaifeng and other cities.
Ling Dan Wang products have been sold to North America, Europe,
Southeast Asia, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and other
countries and regions in the world.
To meet growing market demand, the company has set up a modern
factory near the scenic Qingshan Lake, in Lin'an County, Zhejiang
Province. The production line covers an area of more than 13,000
square metres and has an output of 400 million capsules a year.
In 1997, approved by the Canadian Government, Ling Dan Wang
(Canada) International Enterprises Ltd was set up, which is
expected to greatly increase the sales volume of Ling Dan Wang
herbal medicines in North America. In addition, the company has
established a Chinese medicine research institute in Toronto.
This year, the company is keen to set up another venture in the
United States. Discussion with the US Food and Drug Administration
is under way, Huang said.
The creation of a top-calibre team of medical researchers, armed
with the most advanced technological machines, is another focus of
the company in its future development, he said.
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_Date: 03/10/98_
_Author: Zhong Zhong_
_Copyright© by China Daily_

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Beijing hosts furniture and woodworking fairs
THE 7th International Exhibition on Woodworking Machinery (W M
Fair China '98) and Furniture China '98, the most established and
largest woodworking and furniture manufacturing exhibitions in
China, will be held at the China International Exhibition Centre,
Beijing, from today (March 10) to March 14 to showcase the latest
equipment and technology as well as high quality furniture
materials.
The two shows have drawn up to 400 exhibitors from 25 countries
and regions including pavilions from France, Germany, Italy,
Japan, Spain, the United States and China's Taiwan Province.
Exhibitors also come from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada,
China and its Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Denmark,
Finland, Luxembourg, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Norway, Singapore,
Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
Among the exhibitors, many are world-renowned manufacturers,
traders and associations, such as the American Hardwood Export
Council, Angelo Cremona, Biesse, Casco Nobel, Colombo & Cremona,
Dyno, G. Siempelkamp, Golden Fields, Haefele, Hettich, Homag
Group, Jowat, Kvaerner, Northwest Hardwood, Raute, Schenck, SCM,
Univic, Vigoria, Vollmer Werke and Wilhem Altendorf.
Exhibits at W M Fair China '98 and Furniture China '98 will cover
the following categories: artificial board manufacturing
machinery, secondary processing equipment, woodworking and
auxiliary woodworking machines, furniture manufacturing machines,
furniture-making materials, furniture accessories, lumber and
veneer, tools and chemicals. The exhibition area totals 25,400
square metres.
The two exhibitions will be complemented by a series of technical
seminars. The organizer of the USA pavilion, Wood Machinery
Manufacturers of America, will host "USA Day" on March 10. Two
technical seminars - Trends in Flat Laminating by Black Bros Co
and New Technology for Thermo-laminating by Mercury Vacuum Presses
will be presented on "USA Day," demonstrating the latest
developments in American woodworking technology.
Other technical seminars include: Taiwan Style Furniture
Production Line, Modern Adhesives for Processing Thermoplastic
Foils on Membrane Presses, Laminated Parquet Updates, Meeting the
Challenges of the 21st Century.
In addition, a Conference on China's Furniture Market will be held
on the third day of the exhibition (March 12, 1998). The
conference will be chaired by Wang Yibing, secretary-general of
the Ministry of Internal Trade, CCPIT Commercial Sub-Council. The
purpose of the conference is to broaden foreign machinery and
furniture materials suppliers understanding of the China market.
Top management personnel from prominent Chinese furniture
factories will be invited to report on the latest market trends
and opportunities in China.
The "Chinese Finished Furniture Show" will be held concurrently
with M W China '98 and Furniture China '98. High quality
furniture, furniture machinery, furniture accessories and
hardware, interior decorations and lighting fixtures will be
displayed. The "Chinese Finished Furniture Show" offering
professionals and users in the furniture industry a unique
opportunity for technological exchange and business co-operation.
Due to rapid economic development, China is enjoying a boom in the
building industry. An estimated 200 million square metres of
housing space will be built every year during the Ninth Five-Year
Plan (1996-2000), which will necessitate a rapid growth of the
woodworking and furniture industries. Currently, there are over
30,000 large furniture manufacturers in China with annual
production worth 60 billion yuan (approximately US$7.2 billion).
W M Fair China '98 and Furniture China '98 is organized by Adsale
Exhibition Services Ltd and the China International Forestry
Corporation of the Ministry of Forestry, and co-organized by the
European Committee of Woodworking Machinery Manufacturers. The
exhibition is supported by the Ministry of Forestry and the China
Council for the Promotion of International Trade and sponsored by
the China Council of Light Industry, China National Furniture
Association and the CCPIT Commercial Sub-Council of the Ministry
of Internal Trade.
Admission to the above exhbitions will be free. Trade visitors
please bring along work identity or business cards for
registration.
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_Date: 03/10/98_
_Author: _
_Copyright© by China Daily_

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Announcement of Publication of '98 Airshow China Supplement
THE 2nd Airshow China will be held in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province,
November 17-23, 1998. China Daily Supplement Department plans to
launch a special supplement to hail this grand gathering of major
players in the world aviation industry.
The rapid development of its aviation industry has made China one
of the world's major purchasers of airplanes, air control systems
and airport equipment. The great business opportunities in China
have aroused special attention from the global aviation industry.
The Airshow China Supplement will publish articles based on
interviews by China Daily reporters to introduce the country's
aviation industry development plans and strategies, trade
opportunities and State policies on foreign investment in the
industry.
Domestic and foreign manufacturers of airplanes, air control
systems, airport equipment and other aviation goods suppliers are
invited to advertise in the supplement and participate in its
sponsorship.
For more information, please contact Ms Tang Ying
Tel: 86-10-64915935, 64924488-2302, 2318
Fax: 86-10-64918377
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_Date: 03/10/98_
_Author: _
_Copyright© by China Daily_

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Exhibitions to promote trade, co-op
CIEC Exhibition Co (HK) Ltd will co-operate with Messe Frankfurt
of Germany in launching three major international exhibitions in
Beijing.
The aim is to promote trade and economic co-operation between
Chinese and foreign companies.
The 2nd China International Heating Supplies, Air Conditioning,
Sanitary Equipment and Urban Construction Equipment and Technology
Exhibition, also known as ISH China '98, will be held at the China
International Exhibition Centre (CIEC) in Beijing during September
16-19. More than 400 companies from 20 countries and regions are
expected to participate.
Also during September 16-19, the CIEC will host WindoWall '98. The
show aims to provide a chance for Chinese business people and
their foreign counterparts to investigate market potential and
opportunities of economic co-operation in manufacturing windows,
wall products, doors and roofs.
Automechanika China '99, an international exhibition for car
repair and testing equipment suppliers and traders, will be held
in Beijing during April 20-23, 1999. Again, more than 400
companies from 20 countries and regions are expected to take part.
(CD News)
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_Date: 03/10/98_
_Author: _
_Copyright© by China Daily_

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