The 23rd day of the third month of the lunar calendar is the birthday of Maza (媽祖), prompting festivals in her honor around the world. In Singapore, her birthday is observed in a four-day festival in her honor. Mazu is probably one of the most-worshipped Chinese goddesses. Yet, she began life like anyone: a baby […]
A restoration is more than a new coat of paint to freshen up a relic’s appearance. This was underlined in China’s third list of 10 best cultural relic restoration projects – including the thousand-armed Avalokitesvara (Guanyin) in Dazu, Chongqing municipality – recently released by a government agency. On International Day on Monuments and Sites, the […]
Tsinoys off to Quanzhou, Fujian province to visit ancestral homes and villages should drop by Qingjing Mosque 清淨寺on Tumen Street, one of China’s oldest mosques. A mosque is a place of worship for Muslims. Also known as Masjid al-Ashab, Qingjing Mosque was built 1,010 years ago during the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) in the Arabian […]
Luningning Tan-Gatue, 86, has kept the Philippine flag flying for decades. Flag-making is her family’s business. And the period leading up to Independence Day is extremely busy for her. Granddaughter Addrianne Marie goes over the orders, which could come in the “hundreds of thousands” during the “peak season” from mid-May to June 12. Addrianne’s twin, […]
In February 466 AD, during the Southern Dynasties period (420-589), Liu Zi Xun (劉子勛), the king of Jin An (晉安王), declared a rebellion against the emperor, Song Ming Di (宋明帝). He proclaimed himself emperor at Xun Yang (尋陽) in Jiangxi (江西) province and gained support from many prefectures. With only a few prefectures and counties […]
Crisis in Marawi, martial law in Mindanao, suffering of evacuees, tragedy at Resorts World Manila, fake news from the Department of Justice. These filled the front pages of newspapers and topped the newscasts on the eve of celebrations for the nation’s 119th Independence Day. It was as if the events had conspired to thumb collective […]
Police filed criminal charges against two Chinese nationals for allegedly kidnapping Yan Hou, 28, at a casino in Parañaque City June 2. Chen Shi Quan, 42, and Hu Yong Jian, 38, were charged with kidnapping and serious illegal detention before the Department of Justice. Their Filipino bodyguards – Ric Baldecir, 39, and Noel Rodelas, 31 […]
Seven years ago, 40 Filipino adventurers led by Art Valdez sailed around the Philippines and Southeast Asia aboard three replicas of our ancient balangay boats. The team left the southern corridor of Tawi-Tawi in September 2009, crossed to Malaysia, traversed through Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, up to the territorial waters of Vietnam. The journey […]
The industrialization of Western Europe during the 15th to 18th centuries was one of the driving forces that initiated the development of science and technological innovation in the region. This era saw the emergence of brilliant mathematicians, scientists, and inventors such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo Galilei and Andreas Vesalius who pioneered in the fields […]
When our children were toddlers, my cousin in the United States and I sometimes compared notes. There was one hilarious instance when at the laundromat, someone heard my cousin tell her daughter, “Dyan ka lang. Magpapapalit lang ako ng barya.” The Filipina approached the little girl, “Good morning, anong pangalan mo?” My cousin, slightly out […]