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Category: Column

  • Finding the Best Light, Pictures of Young Performers from China

    By John Tsou, photographer


    I have been taking pictures of performances of local Chinese art and music groups for years. On July 27, 2012, I found myself at Lexington Town Hall Auditorium, taking pictures of talented students performers from China. They were the Chinese Culture Land – Talented Juvenile Troupe, that toured Canada and US in July. Boston was their first stop in the US. The troupe performed spectacular Chinese folk dances and songs, martial arts, and acrobatics among others for local residents.
    Kong Ying performs Peking opera. The young performers were congratulated by Lexington town manager Carl Valente, and applauded loudly by the audience in the packed auditorium. Mr. Valente also mentioned the upcoming 300 year celebration of Lexington's township. More details can be found at: www.lexington300.org. The key of taking good pictures of performers is finding the best angle and shooting at the right moment when the light is on the performer in focus. Please check out some pictures I took on that evening below. [gallery]

  • One Hundred Days and Many Beautiful Ladies

    By A Proud Father

    In Chinese custom, one hundred days after the baby’s birth, relatives and friends will send gifts such as clothes, pants, necklace, bracelets for wrists and ankles, tiger shoes, hats for the baby. This is an important day for the baby because one hundred days after birth celebration represents the wish that the baby will live 100 years.
    2012_Olivia_E7
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  • Grandma Low’s Picks of 4-Words of Wisdom – An Introduction

    By Julia Hsu Low, Watertown, Massachusetts

    One summer day in July 2011, while waiting at a traffic light on Memorial Drive along the Charles River towards Boston Mass., I noticed the car in front of me with a New Hampshire license plate bearing the state motto: Live Free or Die.

    Family, friends and contributors to the book gathered in front of the gate in Boston Chinatown.
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  • Life of an Academic with a 40-Year Teaching Career at Harvard University

    By Yu-Chi Larry Ho, Gordon McKay Professor of Systems Engineering, Emeritus, Harvard University

    (From 1961 to 2001, Porf. Ho taught at School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University. One of his proudest achievements is the total of 50 students who received Ph.D. degrees from Harvard as a result of his one-on-one style teaching. This article is from Prof. Ho’s blog on sciencenet.cn written in 2007.)

    Mr. and Mrs. Ho (middle) in a reunion with students and their families.
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  • A Californian’s Journey Into Tibet

    By Chad Pen Lowe, bostonese.com columnist

    “You need the 入藏函(Letter to Enter Tibet)”, the tour bureau representative told me, after examining my USA passport. I couldn’t believe it. I was on my way to Tibet and was stopping by in Zhengzhou, a city in central China. “Could you double-check?”, I asked earnestly, hoping it was a mis-information on her part. “Before the train enters Tibet, there will be a checkpoint. Everybody who does not have a National ID card(身份证)or Letter to Enter Tibet will be turned back and sent onto the next train that comes back.”


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  • Selected Poems by Tom Gee

    By Tom Gee,Translated by Nancy Lamb Fray

    羊 城 秋 思    一 九 八 五

         穆 穆 黄 花 墓,巍 巍 镇 海 楼。 云 涛 生 碧 树,船 舰 断 江 流。

         城 廓 变 今 古,人 民 有 乐 忧 , 一 轮 珠 海 月,几 度 汉 时 秋。

    Thoughts of Guangzhou in Autumn 1985

    Yellow Flower Cemetery is so peaceful; Zhen Hai tower is so majestic.
    Emerald trees emerge through billowing clouds; numerous vessels float on the river, almost blocking the flowing water.
    The city has changed a lot throughout history; the people remain, some happy, some sad.
    A bright moon shines above Pearl River and the sea.
    I wonder how many autumn seasons have passed since the Han Dynasty.

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  • Big Head and Small Feet, Yuanyuan’s 40-Day Pictures

    By A Proud Father

    I took most of these pictures of my daughter Yuanyuan on June 4. She was just 40-day-old, and woke up for longer duration now. The three pictures of her foot were shot in the hospital when she was just days old.

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  • Lotus Flowers As You Have Never Seen Before

    By Mingwei Li, photographer


    Lotus flower has a special place in Chinese culture. An old Chinese saying states "it may have come from muddy water, but the lotus flower is so beautiful and pure." It's also one of the holiest symbols in Buddhism. I took these pictures in a small pond north of Boston in July 2011. I used Canon 5D II and 70-200mm and 100mm macro lens for these shots.
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  • Photo Journal – Harvard China Education Symposium Second Annual Meeting

    By Bo Yang, May 12, 2012


    I was asked to be photographer for Harvard China Education Symposium(CES) second annual meeting at Harvard University School of Education. The conference started in the evening of May 11, and ended at around 6 PM on May 12. I took hundreds of pictures and was really impressed by the passion and enthusiasm of all the attendees of this year's CES annual meeting. I'm a member of the Boston Chinese Photography Association (BCPA). Pictures below were ordered by the time they were shot, earliest on top.
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  • Homemade Chow Mei Fun – Lots of Fun!

    By Lin Kong, Master of Nutrition Science, Dietetic Intern (from linjoyfulbite.wordpress.com )

    Chow Mei Fun means “stir fried rice noodle”, one of my favorite Asian cuisine dish. It is widely liked in southern China and many other countries in South Asia. Depending on the cooking method, it can be high in fat and salt. The Chow Mei Fun recipe I developed at home use very moderate amount of salt and oil, but still carry multiple layers of flavor by using fresh ingredients and spices. It came out so yummy that I couldn’t help to eat an entire bowel after finishing it at 10pm! =D

    The materials we need for Chow Mei Fun (5 servings) and the way to prepare them are as follows.

    • Rice noodle: I bought it from a local supermarket. Immerse 2 pieces of dry rice noodle in warm water for more than half hours, drain the water.
    • Shiitake mushroom: this bag of dry shiitake has been in my cabinet for a while since I got it from Chinatown. Take about 20 mushrooms to immerse in warm water for a hour. Press out the water and slice.
    • Fresh ginger and garlic: a handful of each and finely mince them.
    • Chicken: slice 6 oz fresh chicken breast and mix in 1 Tbsp of corn starch and some black pepper.
    • Frozen Shrimp: about 10
    • Scallion: chop into half-inch pieces
    • Spices: black pepper, cumin, basil leaves

    Dry rice noodle from local super market, Shiitake mushroom from Chinatown grocery shop, and minced garlic and ginger

    When mix cornstarch into chicken, give it a nice massage to make chicken tender. Corn starch wraps the chicken pieces and preserve the juice during pan frying.

    After all materials are ready, set up two pans on heat-one for noodle and one for chicken and mushroom.

    Set the noodle pan on medium heat, use 2 Tbsp of olive oil and 1 cup of water. Put in the noodle and stir occationally. Dilute 1 Tbsp of soy sauce by half cup of water, then stir it into the noodles to give the nicely brown color. After about 10 nimutes when water is completely evaporated, add in frozen shrimp and keep stiring until all the shrimp turn red.

    1. Set chicken and mushroom pan on high heat, use 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Put in minced garlic and ginger first, when oil starts to sizzling, add in mushroom and chicken. Stir continously until chicken become white. Add 1 tsp of seasalt and whatever spices you like (I used cumin and basil).
    2. Combine two pans into one, add in scallion right before serving. Mix well and serve in plates.

    Enjoy! So Yummy =D

    For more balanced nutrition I would add a vegetable side dish to complete the meal. Since rice noodle is made of rice flour and rice, the entire recipe is gluten-free-this is a happy coincidence haha.
    Shiitake mushroom is not only absolutely DELICIOUS but also beneficial for health! Look at what I found in cancer.org: (http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/DietandNutrition/shiitake-mushroom)

    “Shiitake mushrooms are promoted to fight the development and progression of cancer and AIDS by boosting the body’s immune system. These mushrooms are also said to help prevent heart disease by lowering cholesterol levels and to help treat infections such as hepatitis by producing interferon, a group of natural proteins that stops viruses from multiplying.”

    I just love and be proud of the old wisdom of Chinese culture! =D