2016年CRI Monkey Year Brings Business Opportunity

 

According to traditional belief, each year is characterized by one of 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac.

This Lunar New Year, which starts on February 8, has been bringing him more business than usual as it will be the Year of the Monkey.

Beijing craftsman¹ Zhao Yongqi specializes in making Peking Opera monkey masks.

He says the Year of Monkey is unique.

"In the animal kingdom, the monkey is a very mischievous² creature, so every Year of the Monkey is quite chaotic³, restless, just like the monkey's personality, quite restless."

Originally from a poor mountain village in nearby Hebei province, Zhao migrated to Beijing for work in the 1980s where he began training under an uncle who specialized⁴ in Peking Opera makeup⁵. And later, he discovered his passion for painting monkey masks.

The artform can be traced back to 12th century in, the Song Dynasty, but it was hit by the Cultural Revolution, and when Zhao Yongqi was starting to learn the makeup skill, few artists remained.

Zhao said he didn't think he would be able to make a business out of it at first.

But before long, he had changed his mind.

"We Chinese have a saying, that good business is no match for artistic⁶ skills. If you can learn an artistic skill then you can support a family, a big family. That's why I learned this skill. Gradually I started learning, little by little. From the beginning I studied a bit and then gradually perfected my skills, then developed my business."

It's widely believed among the Chinese that buying objects in the form of the zodiac animal will bring luck.

Zhao's monkey masks, depending on the design, sell from 60 yuan to several hundred.

Wu Changzhen, a gift shop owner who has bought several monkey masks from Zhao, said they are in high demand.

"As it's about to be the Year of the Monkey, a lot of monkey art is already selling well, and selling out. The supply is not meeting demand. Because for China, the monkey is a symbol of real intelligence, people really like it."

Wang Zhubing, a local art collector, said Zhao is a rare artist.

"It's very rare that people will devote all of their attention to develop this art and let it shine. I think it's because he has this spirit to really show off this traditional Chinese art and he works very hard to achieve this. He belongs to a minority of people."

For the upcoming Year of the Monkey, Zhao said he's also opening up a gallery later this month in Tianjin municipality to commemorate⁸ the primate⁹.

For CRI, this is Luo Bin⁷.

1 craftsman   

n.技工，精于一门工艺的匠人

参考例句：

• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。
• The craftsman is working up the mass of clay into a toy figure.艺人把一团泥捏成玩具形状。

2 mischievous   

adj.调皮的，恶作剧的，有害的，伤人的

参考例句：

• He is a mischievous but lovable boy.他是一个淘气但可爱的小孩。
• A mischievous cur must be tied short.恶狗必须拴得短。

3 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

4 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

5 makeup   

n.组织；性格；化装品

参考例句：

• Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
• Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗？

6 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

7 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

8 commemorate   

vt.纪念，庆祝

参考例句：

• This building was built to commemorate the Fire of London.这栋大楼是为纪念“伦敦大火”而兴建的。
• We commemorate the founding of our nation with a public holiday.我们放假一日以庆祝国庆。

9 primate   

n.灵长类（目）动物，首席主教；adj.首要的

参考例句：

• 14 percent of primate species are highly endangered.14%的灵长类物种处于高度濒危状态。
• The woolly spider monkey is the largest primate in the Americas.绒毛蛛猴是美洲最大的灵长类动物。