The Silk Road is the name of different roads that long ago connected Europe, Africa and Asia. People reached these different places along these roads. Scientists believe people began to travel the Silk Road about 3,000 years ago. By the time the Chinese silk trade became important in the world, the Silk Road covered almost 6,500 kilometres. It spread from Rome to China, which is from the West to the Far East.
Traders travelling along the Silk Road carried silk, of course. They also carried and traded spices(香料), cloth, valuable stones and gold.
There is a famous old story along the old road. It is said that Roman soldiers travelled through central Asia. They started to live somewhere near the ancient Chinese village of Liqian. Some of these Romans married local Chinese women and the story of blue-eyed villages of China was started.
During its busiest period，the Silk Road allowed people from many different cultures and countries to meet each other and mix. The Silk Road allowed the sharing of valuable goods and new ideas. These included people and trading goods from the Mediterranean, Persian, Magyar, Armenian, Bactrian, Indian and Chinese areas. All these peoples travelled the Silk Road, and they shared goods, stories, languages, and cultures.
In modern times, the old Silk Road routes (路线) are still used, but now they are crossed by trains instead of camels and horses. There is even a Silk Route Museum in Jiuquan in China. It has over 35,000 objects from all along me Silk Road. In this way, China protects the history of many countries and peoples.
You must have read or heard of the sad love story between Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu. But can you imagine the two singing opera in English instead of speaking poetic Chinese？
Jia and Lin are two characters from the classic Chinese novel A Dream of Red Mansions（《红楼梦》），written by Cao Xueqin （1715﹣1763）. Named as one of China's Four Great Classics，the book has a far﹣reaching influence on later writers. Now the book has been made into an English language opera. After being performed in San Francisco，US，the performance came to Beijing，Changsha and Wuhan.
Many of the opera's creators have backgrounds in both Chinese and American cultures，including the director and playwrights（剧作家）. Their understanding of both cultures helped them change a Chinese classic into a foreign﹣language opera.
The book，which covers the rise and fall of the Jia family，has 120 chapters and hundreds of characters. But opera writer David Henry Hwang cut down the number of characters to just seven. Hwang，a Chinese﹣American，focused on the love story between Jia and Lin and tried to write a heartbreaking story that everyone would understand.
The art director Timmy Yip，from Hong Kong，tried to help foreign people understand the characters using costumes and stage settings（布景）. He compared Lin to water and gave her a light green costume. When Lin showed up，there was usually water around her on the stage.
The creators considered it to be a meaningful job to introduce a Chinese classic to Western audiences. Hwang told China Daily he was happy to "have made a contribution（贡献） to the land where my parents were born".
The great sale is coming this weekend. Come on! Choose some interesting books from our online bookstore.
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One day, Mr popper receives a box with a penguin (企鹅）inside! He names it Cook and helps him find a wife. When the Cooks have ten cute baby penguins, Mr popper starts to worry about raising them. |
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Are you interested in fine art? This book can help you understand art in an easy way. It shows different art styles. Also, you can enjoy many great artworks and learn about the life stories of forty artists. |
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Little Nutbrown Hare is very cute in the book. He shows his father how much he loves him. Then the father also shows that he loves Little Nutbrown Hare much more. |
With the summer holiday coming, it's a good idea to take up a new hobby. Come on, boys and girls, pick up your pen and get started!
CARTOON DIY GUIDE—Tips about four-frame cartoons
Four-frame cartoons(四格漫画) tell a joke or story. A cartoonist should be humorous. He or she should be able to draw and write stories.
Script
A script is the idea or story of the cartoon. You can write a script by yourself. Put the funniest part in the last frame. If it's at the beginning, readers won't look at the last three frames. If you are a beginner, you may need to find ready jokes or funny stories.
Picture
Avoid drawing two big heads talking in every frame. That's boring. Don't pay too much attention to the picture. The point of a four-frame cartoon is a funny story, not perfect pictures.
Hero
The key of the four-frame cartoon is its heroes. Garfield and Snoopy are examples. You like them, right? To draw your own cartoons, spend time creating the heroes. They can look simple (简单), but have to be finny.
Conversation
Good cartoons don't have too many conversations. People understand them just by pictures. The fewer words a cartoon has, the better. Too many words eat space. Readers have to spend time reading them. Use simple but expressive (有表现力的) words.
