Feeling stressed? Take a gong bath!
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There is no denying that music alters moods. But what about the sound of gongs? A former New York oncologist began using sound therapies to help his cancer patients overcome pain and became a gong bath devotee.
Gongs emit one of the most sonorous sounds of any musical instrument. Their transformational and therapeutic sound is the basis of gong baths, where participants are “bathed” is the gongs’ sound waves, cleansing the subconscious mind to bring about healing. And no, there is no water involved.
Sound therapy has been known to improve symptoms associated with stress, migraines, depression and lack of concentration and focus. Gong baths are quickly gaining a following in Hong Kong. Following a day’s work in that bustling city, Hong Kongers are now turning to gong baths for achieving a state of relaxation.
Gong baths use the vibrations of sound and frequency emitted from gongs to help reduce anxiety, stress and release repressed emotions. The theory is that the sound emanating from the gong will infiltrate your outer consciousness and penetrate your core, disconnecting you from the superficial world and all the cacophony associated with it. Unlike therapy, which requires talking about your problems, a gong bath offers the opposite experience. It uses no words, and requires no effort on the participants. It is particularly helpful for those who find forming and articulating words difficult. Your body surrenders to sound, helping to clear any “blockage” and may help you find the words you’re looking for.
Landscape Arboretum’s Chinese Garden Phase 2 update
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With the start of more spring-like weather, Phase 2 of the Chinese Garden at the Arboretum is moving forward, following the successful installation of the Phase 1 Chinese Garden Pathway and viewing area, and Asian-inspired plantings in fall, 2016. In early May, construction of the Moon Gate that will grace the entry into the Chinese Garden and Walk commenced.
A special design feature is the Chinese calligraphy that will accompany the Moon Gate. The calligraphy, created by Hong Zhang, international artist and master calligrapher, and faculty member at the University of Minnesota. Zhang serves on the community advisory committee for the Chinese Garden & Walk. The inscription for the moon gate translates to “Garden of Harmonious Beauty.”
Other Phase 2 elements planned for the Chinese Garden include teak benches for family memorials and tributes, in Asian-inspired designs. (Memorial benches are also offered at other display and specialty gardens.)
A dedication ceremony for the newest Phase 2 features of the Chinese Garden is planned for September.
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"The Time Has Come for a Reset in U.S.-China Relations: What Will That Look Like?"
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By Greg Hugh
It was obvious that this topic was of interest to many who attended the 16th Annual Bob and Kim Griffin Building U.S.-China Bridges lecture held recently at McNamara Alumni Center at the University of Minnesota. The speaker was James McGregor, author and Greater China chair for APCO Worldwide, an international PR firm.
Prior to the lecture, Joan Brezinski, executive director of the China Center and Confucius Institute, introduced Robert Kudrie, Orville & Jane Freeman chair in International Trade & Investment Policy, Humphrey School of Public Affairs. In his introductory remarks, Kudrie noted that trade is the central cause of pain for the U.S. and more than 6 million jobs have been lost from 2000-2010 while output still managed to increase. As he introduced McGregor, Kudrie stated that the lecture would be about the future and not the past, and what the options are for now.
Add a commentChinese Americans continue to contribute
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May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, a month that celebrates and pays tribute to the contributions generations of Asian Pacific Americans have made to American history, sciences and culture.
Like most commemorative months, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month originated in 1978 when Congress passed a law directing the president to issue a proclamation designating the week beginning on May 4, 1979, as Asian Pacific American Heritage Week. On March 28, 1979, President Jimmy Carter issued Presidential Proclamation 4650, which highlighted the significant role Asian Pacific Americans have contributed to American society.
Flower power at the Asian Art Museum
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The Minneapolis Institute of Art held its annual “Art in Bloom” last month. Next month, San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum will present “Flower Power” to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love in San Francisco. The exhibit will feature pan-Asian artworks that reveal the “powerful language of flowers across times and cultures.” The exhibit begins June 23 and runs through Oct. 1.
Any mention of the phenomenal Summer of Love of 1967 and what immediately pops into mind? Images from the counter-culture San Francisco scene: hippies with long hair blowing in the wind, dancing in Golden Gate Park and/or tripping out on the streets of the Haight-Ashbury district. Some might even have flowers in their hair! So it is fitting that 50 years later, “Flower Power” is celebrated in the form of an art exhibition that “invites audiences to explore the lasting appeal and surprising stories of six flowers as distinctive as their blooms,” as stated in the Asian Art Museum’s press release.
Forget the leggings!
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The elegant qipao has a distinctive man- darin collar and slitted skirt that reaches mid- thigh. The traditional Chinese women’s national dress is an imagery of China made popular by Hollywood in the 1920s and 1930s.
The qipao, also known as the cheongsam, originated in Manchurian China during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Qipao was originally a long, wide, loose- tting garment. Legend has it that a sherwoman made it more practical and less cumbersome by making it slimmer, but with slits at the sides to en- able her to tuck the front of the customized “qipao” in. At the same time, legend said the young emperor woke from a dream that said a sherwoman in a qipao would become his consort. He sent his men out to nd the sherwoman and the sherwoman became the emperor’s wife.
Since then, Manchu women copied the sherwoman’s qipao style. With the fall of the Qing Dynasty and great social change, tailors found a way to revamp the qipao. The waist was nipped, dress shortened, sleeves also were shortened and the entire qipao was slimmed down to hip the curves. One of the socialites of the time, the in uential Soong
Ching-ling, wore the gure-hugging gown and made it the fashion de rigeur for women all over China – the symbol of modernity.
The qipao was phased out with the dawn of the Cultural Revolution, which dictated the uniformity of the unisex Mao suit. After the Cultural Revolution, western in uence increased and the qipao was only worn at formal occasions.
In recent years, it has made a comeback in mainstream fashion. In 2007, the Shang- hai Cheongsam Salon was created to pro- mote the elegance of the national dress. The 2013 Beijing Fashion Week had a number of pieces inspired by the qipao. And fashion houses such as Dior, Gucci, Lauren, Versace and Vuitton had been incorporating ele- ments of the qipao on their runways. Could a qipao revival be close behind? ♦
How a group of Minnesotans brought a classic Chinese novel to life as an opera
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By Michael Anthony | 09/16/16 This article by Michael Anthony was originally published in MINNPOST and is being reprinted with their permission
Photo by Cory Weaver - San Francisco Opera's production of "Dream of the Red Chamber."
“Who would have thought that this little group from Minnesota would have generated a major world premiere? It’s unbelievable.”
Kevin Smith, president of the Minnesota Orchestra, was speaking to 119 guests at a banquet last Friday, Sept. 9, in the suburban town of Millbrae just south of San Francisco. The banquet, during which an army of waiters delivered a seemingly limitless round of Chinese delicacies – deep-fried milk, sea cucumber, bird’s nest soup, Peking duck – was a prelude to the main event the next evening, the premiere of “The Dream of the Red Chamber,” an operatic treatment by the San Francisco Opera of one of the landmarks of Chinese literature with music by Bright Sheng and libretto by playwright David Henry Hwang.
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CHINAINSIGHT (CI) is published monthly ((except July/August and November/December are combined) by China Insight, Inc., an independent, privately owned company started in 2001 and headquartered in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota.
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