People assume that you need loads of cash to set up a proper history museum filled with an extensive collection of artifacts and antiques. Wilven Infante, a 49-year-old school teacher at the Pedro Guevara Elementary School on San Fernando Street in the San Nicolas district in Manila, is one person who disproves that assumption. Pedro […]
In 1752, the Spanish monarch issued a royal decree mandating the Governor General Pedro Manuel de Arandia y Santisteban to construct warehouses within the cannon firing range of Manila. It was more than just a place to store goods – it was a place where Chinese traders could stay and sell their goods. The site […]
I’ve always thought of myself as creative. My constantly restless hands have this urge to do some kind of aesthetically productive work. That search for an artistic endeavor led to my discovering Chinese painting. Most Chinese painting exhibited in museums and Chinese homes are typically scrolls of landscape in black and white, or with minimal […]
Each year, smoking-related diseases cause the most number of deaths in the Philippines. What is worse is that smokers actually hurt the non-smokers around them by letting them inhale its toxic fumes. A study by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute shows that 47 percent of Filipino males and 16 percent of females are smokers: […]
Few ancient Chinese rulers are worthy of the title of poet or man of letters. Yet Emperor Wu Du of Wei, Cao Cao by name, who was an outstanding statesman and strategist, was a distinguished poet as well. Su Shi, a famous man of letters in the Song Dynasty (960-1279), admired him so much that […]
Hokkien, on the tongues of Tsinoys, has grown and evolved, taking on a life of its own. Sometimes words simply fail us. With some creativity, Tsinoys have strung together words to form colorful phrases that simply hit the bull’s eye. Here are some expressions unique to Hokkien as favored by Tsinoys. 糊里糊塗 ho di ho […]
In 527 AD, the royal court of Northern Wei (北魏 386-534) appointed Cui Kai (崔楷) as the prefectural governor of Yin Zhou (殷州, in today’s Hebei province). Yin Zhou was newly established at the time. Food and weaponry were scarce. Cui Kai requested these items from the court but was not sent provisions. So some people […]
Last I checked, we still have a free press. Foreign media, especially, cannot be expected to keep quiet about and not report bad news. So, Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo should stop blaming the press and Vice President Leni Robredo for the difficulties in attracting tourists to our country. She should blame instead bad things happening […]
The China-ASEAN Tourism Cooperation Year was launched in Manila on March 16, with Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang leading over 1,000 guests at the Philippine International Convention Center. Premier Li Keqiang, in a message read by Wang, cited ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)’s “pivotal role in regional cooperation” and noted that ASEAN and China […]
The richest Filipinos listed in Forbes Magazine are not the Philippines’ top individual taxpayers. The nation’s top taxpayers are those who paid the most on their reported personal incomes, says the Bureau of Internal Revenue. The tycoons pay more income taxes overall than other taxpayers, but much of that is final withholding taxes on interest, […]