标签归档 上海花千坊会所

　　International Online Shaanxi News (Reporter Liu Honghua): On the afternoon of July 5th, an expert seminar on the movie Changan was held in Beijing. The conference focused on the characterization, artistic exploration, and the significance of promoting the "Belt and Road" and promoting international cooperation in film and television. The participating experts spoke highly of the film’s theme conception, artistic characteristics, actors’ performances, as well as multicultural expression, multi-time narrative and multi-country creative cooperation.

An expert seminar on the movie Chang ‘an Chang ‘an was held in Beijing.

　　A strategically located building serves as a pulse for international cooperation in China film industry.

Huang Yichuan, member of the 14th Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and researcher of China Film Art Research Center, presided over the seminar.

　　As the first China-Iranian cooperative film under the background of the initiative of jointly building the Belt and Road, the film Chang ‘an Chang ‘an not only has profound story content and exquisite artistic expression, but also has far-reaching practical significance and historical connotation.

Abu Talifu, Political Counselor of Kazakh Embassy in China, made a speech.

　　Abu Talifu, Political Counselor of Kazakhstan Embassy in China, said that in recent years, the relationship between Kazakhstan and China has become closer and closer, and cooperation has deepened. The film Chang ‘an Chang ‘an is a love story between the people of Kazakhstan and China, which will further promote the exchanges between the two peoples and the cooperation between the two countries.

　　Iranian Zadeh, Cultural Counselor of the Iranian Embassy in China, said that in terms of culture, both countries are ancient civilizations. Iranian filmmakers have participated in the screenwriting, producer, editing and composition of the film Chang ‘an Chang ‘an, hoping that the film will be released in Iran, which I believe will promote the better relations between Iran and China.

Zhang Ling, editor-in-chief of the Film Channel Program Center, spoke.

　　Zhang Ling, editor-in-chief of the program center of the film channel, pointed out that as a film with the theme of "One Belt, One Road", "Chang ‘an Chang ‘an" is not superficial, but a small incision of self-salvation of a Kazakh woman, trying to deeply explore the hidden humanity behind the transnational marriage, and at the same time show the inside story of Chang ‘an in ancient and modern times and the culture and folk customs of different countries. The filming process of the film is also a promotion of the spirit of Silk Road.

Zhang Hong, member of the former party group and secretary of the Secretariat of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, secretary of the former party group of the China Film Association and vice chairman of the Association, spoke.

　　Zhang Hong, a member of the former party group of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and secretary of the Secretariat, and the former party group secretary of the China Film Association and vice chairman of the Association, believes that the film Chang ‘an Chang ‘an fully reflects the concept of "five links" and fills the gap in the film with the theme of "Belt and Road"; At the same time, as a sincere work of cooperation among filmmakers from many countries, it is of international significance for the exchange and mutual learning of civilizations. In terms of artistic creation, the film’s characters are full in three dimensions, the story is true and credible, and the expression of love, affection and nostalgia is subtle and touching; In addition, music is also eye-catching, which plays a key role in setting off the film atmosphere and expressing the theme.

Qin Zhengui, Director of Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Film Script Planning and Planning Center, spoke.

　　Qin Zhengui, director of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Screenplay Planning and Planning Center, said that the film "Chang ‘an Chang ‘an" really achieved the co-production of many countries and was the success of multi-party cooperation. The narrative rhythm of the film is smooth, and the actors perform brilliantly. At the same time, the traditional narrative and modern civilization are skillfully combined. It is expected that the film will meet audiences in Kazakhstan, Iran and other countries faster and achieve good results in the market.

Xia Meng, member of the 13th Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, vice president of China Documentary Society and national first-class screenwriter, made a speech.

　　Xia Meng, member of the 13th Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, vice president of the China Documentary Society and a national first-class screenwriter, said that women-themed films have attracted worldwide attention. The performance of the actors in the movie Chang ‘an Chang ‘an is commendable. For example, Alima makes Ayana’s characters full of introverted tension through the expression, body language and inner feelings. Only when people’s hearts are connected can business cooperation be smooth. The film Chang ‘an Chang ‘an brings inspiration to filmmakers, and from a broader perspective, we can find movie themes in the lives of people in various countries.

Ekbel Mi Jiti, member of the 11th and 12th Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and executive vice president of China Film Literature Society, made a speech.

　　Aikebaier Mi Jiti, member of the 11th and 12th Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and executive vice president of the China Film Literature Society, said that the key to popular support is cultural exchange. As a film jointly produced by many countries, the film Chang ‘an Chang ‘an fits the spiritual core of the "One Belt, One Road" initiative.

Hou Guangming, member of the 13th Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and former Party Secretary of Beijing Film Academy, spoke.

　　Hou Guangming, member of the 13th Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and former Party Secretary of the Beijing Film Academy, believes that the film Chang ‘an Chang ‘an is a realistic work with a unique theme. By showing the entanglement of marriage and family and self-redemption, it reflects the difficulty of transnational love and has rich connotations, which makes the film more realistic, durable and representative. The bold attempt of the film Chang ‘an Chang ‘an in multi-cultural presentation and multi-country joint shooting highlights the great potential of the film "going out" and hopes that the film Chang ‘an Chang ‘an will achieve good benefits in building a "Belt and Road" country.

Rao Shuguang, President of China Film Criticism Society, made a speech.

　　Rao Shuguang, president of the China Film Criticism Society, said that the core of the film is human art. The plot logic of the film Chang ‘an Chang ‘an is clear, the narrative is smooth and the completion is high, and the pursuit of artistic differentiation and Chinese aesthetic spirit is seen. It is worth noting that the film also gives full play to the elements of Shaanxi opera, and at the same time, from the perspective of tourism, it naturally shows the two "Chang ‘an" in ancient and modern times, so that the audience can’t help but want to visit Xi ‘an. China’s films seek the greatest common denominator of different cultures in international cooperation, and the film Chang ‘an Chang ‘an has brought a lot of enlightenment.

Ban Yongji, former deputy director and first-class inspector of the Seventh Research Department of the Central Party History and Literature Research Institute, spoke.

　　Ban Yongji, former deputy director and first-class inspector of the Seventh Research Department of the Central Party History and Literature Research Institute, said that the film Chang ‘an Chang ‘an is based on the story of Chinese traditional culture, refining the symbolic concept of cultural communication, expanding the connotation of Chinese culture in the times, and taking into account the cultural aesthetic demands of people from different countries. By telling the story of people from all countries knowing each other and loving each other, it shows the significance of building the "Belt and Road Initiative" to benefit the world.

Tang Ke, Deputy Director of Film Channel Program Center, made a speech.

　　Tang Ke, deputy director of the program center of the film channel, said that the film "Chang ‘an Chang ‘an" is a work that conforms to the initiative of building the "Belt and Road" and promotes exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations; It is a work with multiple time-space narrative structures, which deepens the theme, enriches the connotation and can arouse the audience’s thinking. It is an online performance of actors, and the characterization is very successful, reaching a high artistic level.

Zhang Wei, Vice President of China Film Criticism Society, spoke.

　　Zhang Wei, vice president of China Film Criticism Society, believes that the film Chang ‘an Chang ‘an shows the comparative reflection between contemporary life and ancient classics, the political demands and artistic themes go hand in hand, the triple narrative and the triple time and space care for each other, and the static performance and dynamic performance complement each other.

Zhao Weifang, Director of Film and Television Institute of China Academy of Art and Vice President of China Film Criticism Society, made a speech.

　　Zhao Weifang, director of the Film and Television Institute of the Chinese Academy of Art and vice president of the China Film Criticism Society, said that the film Chang ‘an Chang ‘an is the embodiment of the creative transformation and innovative development of excellent traditional culture, and at the same time, the design of Iranian female films is seen in the film. In addition, the performance of actors such as Alima is also the highlight of the film.

　　Zuo Heng, Director of Film Culture Research Department of China Film Art Research Center, made a speech.

　　Zuo Heng, director of the film culture research department of China Film Art Research Center, said frankly that Chang ‘an Chang ‘an put the grand narrative into the tiny relationship between two people, which brought enlightenment to the road of co-production in many countries. And this road needs more delicate movie stories and needs the careful care of filmmakers from many countries.

Chen Ruijun, a member of the Chinese Writers Association, spoke.

　　Chen Ruijun, a member of the Chinese Writers’ Association, said that the film Chang ‘an Chang ‘an has a profound meaning and a moving story. It is not confined by the grand theme, but skillfully uses the ups and downs of personal destiny to connect the communication between countries building the "Belt and Road" in series, which is refreshing. I believe that the film will get good response in various countries.

　　Multi-country cooperation to create China — Moving story of Central Asia

Speech by Lin Siwei, Deputy Director of China Film Archive and Deputy Director of China Film Art Research Center.

　　As the organizer of the seminar, Lin Siwei, deputy director of China Film Archive and deputy director of China Film Art Research Center, said in his speech that the film "Chang ‘an Chang ‘an" is a vivid practice of close cooperation among filmmakers from many countries, actively responding to the initiative of building the "Belt and Road" and telling the story of the "Belt and Road" with movies. The film shows the modern symbols and historical and cultural elements of Xi ‘an, the starting point of the ancient Silk Road, realizes the presentation of multinational cultures and embodies the human values of innovation, cooperation and integration. China Film Archive will give full play to its own resources and provide support for the promotion, distribution and screening of the film Chang ‘an Chang ‘an and participation in international film festivals.

Speech by Liu Chi, Vice President of CCTV International Online

　　In his speech, Liu Chi, vice president of International Online of China Central Radio and Television General Station, said that film, as an important link in the construction of international communication capacity and cultural soft power, is one of the important forms of cultural products for a country to spread abroad. In recent years, International Online has actively planned and promoted high-quality film projects under international cooperation, and the film Chang ‘an Chang ‘an is one of the achievements of innovative exploration. The film takes the Chinese-European tourist train as the story link, integrates the traditional cultural elements such as the Legend of the White Snake in the Qin Opera, and takes pictures in the cultural places such as the Mausoleum Museum of the First Qin Emperor and the City Wall of Xi ‘an, which makes the film Chang ‘an Chang ‘an full of the silk road spirit, rich cultural atmosphere and strong future expectations.

Shi Jia, a member of the Shaanxi Provincial Political Consultative Conference and producer of the film Chang ‘an Chang ‘an, introduced the film.

　　Shi Jia, a member of the Shaanxi Provincial Political Consultative Conference and producer of the film Chang ‘an Chang ‘an, said that the two Chang ‘an in the film name, one representing the capital of the Tang Dynasty, an open and inclusive international metropolis, and the other representing Xi ‘an, which is building a national central city, complement each other. In addition, the story of the heroine in the film begins with the first special train from Almaty, Kazakhstan to Xi ‘an. On July 2-4, the Supreme Leader of president paid a state visit to the Republic of Kazakhstan. In a joint statement, the two countries pointed out that they are willing to jointly support the China-Central Asia humanistic tourism train, including exploring the first Xi ‘an-Almaty humanistic tourism train. The perfect coincidence of movie dream and development reality highlights the time value of the movie Chang ‘an Chang ‘an.

Zhong Zhang, director of the film Chang ‘an Chang ‘an, introduced the creative process.

　　Zhong Zhang, director of the film Chang ‘an Chang ‘an, said that the film Chang ‘an Chang ‘an spans 30 years in time and space, and tells the story of the future time and space on the international tourist train in Central Europe in 2031. The film connects the future, the present and the past in series through the memories of women who have suffered from the marriage crisis, and shows her psychological course of self-healing from the perspective of a foreign woman, realizing reconciliation and connection between different countries, nationalities and people. The film is an exploration of international art forms, looking for people’s spiritual commonalities among different countries and nations.

　　Alima, starring in the movie Chang ‘an Chang ‘an, speaks.

　　Alima, the star of the movie Chang ‘an Chang ‘an, said in her speech: "I played Ayana, a character who realized self-reconciliation and redemption after experiencing the pain of transnational marriage. With the joint efforts of all the main creators, the film has received extensive attention, hoping to build a ‘ Belt and Road ’ Stories contribute their own strength. "

He Fei, Iranian producer of the film Chang ‘an Chang ‘an, spoke.

　　He Fei, an Iranian producer of the film Chang ‘an Chang ‘an, said in his speech: "The filmmakers of Iran and China have overcome many difficulties and completed real cooperation, which makes the film Chang ‘an Chang ‘an meaningful. I look forward to more cooperation between Iran and China in the film industry in the future. "

Hu Die, producer of the film Chang ‘an Chang ‘an and general manager of Shaanxi Butterfly Effect Entertainment Media Co., Ltd., made a concluding speech.

　　Hu Die, the producer of the film Chang ‘an Chang ‘an and the general manager of Shaanxi Butterfly Effect Entertainment Media Co., Ltd., said in his concluding speech that the film Chang ‘an Chang ‘an bears multiple meanings and echoes and interprets the spirit of the times contained in the initiative to jointly build the Belt and Road Initiative, hoping to convey the concept of openness and tolerance in the form of art and inspire people’s respect and appreciation for diversity.

　　The film Chang ‘an Chang ‘an is created by China, Iranian and Kazakh filmmakers, and plays China — A film of transnational love in Central Asia. This film-watching expert seminar is not only a review and summary of the works, but also a discussion and prospect of the direction of literary and artistic creation in the new era, international cooperation and innovation, and China’s story expression, which will provide rich enlightenment for the internationalization of China films, empower China films and convey the voice of China.

　　It is reported that the film "Chang ‘an Chang ‘an" expert viewing seminar was hosted by China Film Art Research Center and China Radio and Television General Station International Online, and was undertaken by China Film Newspaper and International Online Shaanxi Channel.

January 22, 2024, Academician Huang Hefeng, together with researchers from Zhejiang University and Fudan University, published the latest clinical research results in Nature Medicine, entitled Prospective Prenatal Cell-Free DNA Screening for Genetic Conditions of Heterogeneous Etiology. Using a new generation of non-invasive prenatal screening technology developed by our team, the clinical effectiveness of prenatal screening for fetal chromosomal diseases, microdeletion microreplication syndrome and monogenic diseases was verified in a prospective multicenter cohort study.

In this study, an innovative comprehensive non-invasive prenatal screening technology-synergistic allele-targeted enrichment sequencing was used to comprehensively screen different types of fetal genetic variation by detecting free DNA in maternal plasma. Studies have shown that this comprehensive non-invasive prenatal screening can accurately identify the fetal pathogenic variation at chromosome and monogenic level in high-risk pregnancy, which may improve the prenatal risk assessment of heterogeneous causes of genetic diseases, realize more accurate prenatal and perinatal medical management, and fill the gap in prenatal screening for new dominant monogenic diseases.

Research publication link:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-023-02774-x#citeas

Academician Qiao Jie, Executive Vice President of Peking University/Director of Medical Department, Academician Yang Zhenglin, Dean of Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital, Dean of Chongqing Women and Children Hospital (Chongqing Maternal and Child Health Hospital), and Qi Hongbo, Chairman-designate of Perinatal Branch of Chinese Medical Association, commented on this achievement.

Academician Qiao Jie pointed out in his comments, "The biggest innovation of this clinical study by Academician Huang Hefeng is to include monogenic diseases in the scope of non-invasive prenatal screening. This progress not only significantly improves the detection rate of fetal genetic diseases, but also provides safer, timely and accurate information for pregnant women and doctors in the decision-making and management of pregnancy, marking an important breakthrough in the field of genetic diseases and birth defects prevention and control."

Academician Yang Zhenglin pointed out in his comments that "the dominant monogenic disease caused by new mutation is the weak link in the current prenatal screening, and it is an inevitable trend for NIPT to include it in the comprehensive screening of fetal cfDNA. The research of Academician Huang Hefeng’s team not only proposed a novel and efficient technical path, but also demonstrated the clinical effectiveness of related technologies, providing important theoretical and practical basis for further improving prenatal diagnosis and prevention and treatment of hereditary birth defects. "

Dean Qi Hongbo pointed out in his comments, "This three-in-one comprehensive screening method has significantly improved the detection rate and demonstrated high accuracy, which proves its great potential in clinical application. If this method can be popularized in clinic, it will effectively fill the gap in prenatal screening for dominant monogenic diseases, which is of great practical significance for improving China’s prenatal screening system and prevention and control of birth defects. "

What is prenatal non-invasive screening?

Noninvasive prenatal screening (NIPS): It is a kind of prenatal screening technology. The screening targets are mainly trisomy 21, trisomy 18 and trisomy 13, which are common fetal chromosomal diseases. After 2013, it quickly integrated into the prenatal screening system and became the most effective and widely used prenatal screening method.

At present, non-invasive prenatal screening (NIPS) detects aneuploidy or microdeletion/microdeletion syndrome by analyzing fetal free DNA(cfDNA) in maternal peripheral blood. Because most of the maternal plasma cfDNA comes from the mother, it is difficult to detect fetal specific variation in high maternal background, and many hereditary diseases can not be detected at present.

What is comprehensive non-invasive prenatal screening technology?

Comprehensive non-invasive prenatal screening (cfDNA comprehensive screening) technology covers three main human genetic variations, namely chromosome aneuploidy, chromosome microdeletion and single gene variation, which expands the detection range of non-invasive prenatal screening and improves the detection accuracy, and is of great significance in the field of prenatal screening.

What did the study find?

The team established a new targeted enrichment method-COATE-SEQ (Figure 1), which realized multi-dimensional analysis of maternal and fetal free DNA, solved many technical defects of the first generation NIPT, and realized non-invasive prenatal detection of fetal chromosome aneuploidy, chromosome microdeletion syndrome and monogenic genetic disease at the same time for the first time.

Figure 1 New generation NIPS technical process

This study evaluated the clinical effectiveness and increased detection efficiency of this new generation NIPS technology through a multicenter prospective clinical study lasting nearly 2 years.

During the period from April 24th, 2021 to September 10th, 2022, 1191 pregnant women (age ≥20 years, single pregnancy ≥12 weeks, abnormal fetal structure (including NT≥3mm), high risk of NIPT or maternal serological screening, or high risk of genetic diseases due to previous pregnancy history) from three maternity hospitals in different provinces of China were included in the study, and all the participants underwent a comprehensive prenatal cfDNA screening. Finally, the screening results of 1,090 pregnant women who met the criteria for ovulation were analyzed. Pathogenic genetic variation was detected in 135 cases (12.4%) of pregnancy through comprehensive cfDNA screening, which was confirmed by diagnostic tests, including 89 aneuploidies, 9 microdeletions and 37 single gene variations (Figure 2). Compared with the current standard screening for chromosomal abnormalities (NIPT), the detection rate of diagnostic genetic variation in comprehensive cfDNA screening increased by 60.7%, the sensitivity was 98.5% (95% CI, 94.3%-99.7%), and the specificity was 99.3% (95% CI, 98.4%-99.7%).

Figure 2 Detection rate of genetic variation in pregnancy with abnormal fetal structure

Among 876 cases of pregnancy with abnormal fetal structure, 98 cases (11.2%) detected diagnostic gene variation. Among them, 42 cases were autosomal aneuploidy (42.9%), 13 cases were sex aneuploidy (13.3%), 6 cases were microdeletion (6.1%) and 37 cases were single gene (37.8%). B in 876 cases of pregnancy with abnormal fetal structure, the detection rate of diagnostic genetic variation was the highest in lymphatic or hydrops abnormalities (36.9%), followed by skeletal abnormalities (24.7%) and multiple system abnormalities (23.3%). The highest detection rate of chromosomal abnormalities was lymphatic or hydrops abnormalities (32.6%), followed by multiple system abnormalities (19.2%), thickening of the transparent layer behind the neck (8.8%), heart defects (5.7%) and craniofacial abnormalities (5.7%). The highest detection rate of single gene abnormality is skeletal abnormality (23.5%), followed by lymphatic or hydrops abnormality (4.3%), multi-system abnormality (4.1%), FGR(2.9%) and brain developmental abnormality (2.2%).

What is the significance of this research?

Incorporating chromosome aneuploidy, chromosome microdeletion syndrome and monogenic genetic diseases into fetal cfDNA screening is beneficial to prenatal diagnosis, can be used as an auxiliary tool for early identification in the first trimester of pregnancy, supplement the current imaging-based methods, and is also beneficial to prenatal screening and perinatal management. When pregnant women with abnormal fetus choose to continue pregnancy and refuse invasive surgery, this screening becomes particularly important. Comprehensive NIPS screening can provide more accurate prenatal screening for a wide range of hereditary diseases and provide valuable help for risk assessment and timely management of pregnancy.

Correspondents of this study are Zhejiang University/Director of Key Laboratory of Reproductive Genetics/Academician Huang Hefeng and Researcher Zhang Jinglan of Fudan University, Zhang Dan of Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital affiliated to Zhejiang University Medical College, Xu Chenming of Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital affiliated to Fudan University and Wang Hua of Hunan Children’s Hospital. The co-first authors are Luo Qiong, the Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital affiliated to Zhejiang University Medical College, Wu Yiting and Chen Songchang, the Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital affiliated to Fudan University, and Xi Hui, the Maternal and Child Health Hospital of Hunan Province. Chen Yuan, Jiang Ying, Chen Panpan, Liu Yifeng and Dong Min Yue also participated in the study.

It is the eternal pursuit of the development of non-invasive prenatal screening and the long-term research and development goal of the medical community to screen more kinds of important fetal genetic diseases simultaneously with a tube of maternal peripheral blood more accurately and efficiently.

Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital affiliated to Zhejiang University School of Medicine is the leading unit of Zhejiang Prenatal Diagnosis Center, Zhejiang Fetal Medical Diagnosis and Treatment Center, Zhejiang Prenatal Diagnosis (Screening) Quality Control Center, Zhejiang Obstetric Medical Quality Control Center, Zhejiang Critical Pregnant Women Treatment Center, Zhejiang Remote Fetal Heart Monitoring and Interpretation Center, Zhejiang Labor Analgesia Technical Guidance Center, Zhejiang Maternal and Child Nursing Specialist Nurse Training Base and other institutions.

Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital affiliated to Zhejiang University School of Medicine is a national key clinical specialty, a key (supporting) discipline in Zhejiang Province, and the leader unit of Zhejiang perinatal health care cooperation group. The annual delivery volume exceeds 20,000 person-times, among which the high-risk pregnancy exceeds 80%, the proportion of serious, difficult and critical cases exceeds 35%, and the success rate of maternal rescue basically reaches 100%. It has formed sub-specialties such as maternal medicine, fetal medicine and general obstetrics, and opened more than 20 specialty clinics such as fetal medicine clinic, prenatal diagnosis consultation clinic and gestational diabetes clinic. It has a very high rescue success rate for difficult and critical patients such as pregnancy complicated with refractory heart failure, pre-eclampsia critical state, acute fatty liver of pregnancy, amniotic fluid embolism, adult respiratory distress syndrome, severe prenatal hemorrhage and severe postpartum hemorrhage. In the basic and clinical research of pregnancy-induced hypertension, the diagnosis and treatment of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy, the treatment of intrauterine growth retardation, the prognosis evaluation of intrauterine brain diseases and intrauterine kidney diseases, intrauterine fetal surgery such as fetal mirror, delivery room surgery, gestational diabetes mellitus, various fetal intrauterine monitoring, painless delivery and other fields, fruitful results have been achieved; He has accumulated rich clinical experience and management ability in premature delivery, premature rupture of membranes, twins, cervical incompetence, early-onset preeclampsia and early-onset intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy. It is an early large-scale unit in China to carry out prenatal diagnosis and fetal monitoring, and has established a prenatal screening system-prenatal diagnosis system-prenatal diagnosis management system.To make a multi-level cross-study on complicated and difficult fetal birth defects.

Source | Zhejiang University Women’s Hospital

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　　Today is the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, a traditional "off-year" in China.

　　"Twenty-three, candied melons stick", with the coming of the Lunar New Year, the pace of the Lunar New Year is getting closer and closer.

　　General Secretary of the Supreme Leader stressed: "The Spring Festival is a beautiful moment to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new, which will always bring people new expectations." The Spring Festival is not an isolated festival, but a festival group that integrates folk customs such as getting rid of old cloth and making new ones, and worshipping gods and ancestors. From the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, there are different traditional Spring Festival customs almost every day.

　　The old customs bear profound historical and cultural connotations and reflect people’s deep feelings and sense of identity with Chinese excellent traditional culture. Many traditional customs originated from the actual needs of ancient society. With the changes of society, they gradually surpassed the practicality and became the symbol of our nation’s common memory and cultural heritage, which is a vivid portrayal of the enduring and handed down from generation to generation of Chinese civilization. In addition, the annual custom activities in different places have their own characteristics, which bring together the cultural essence of all parts of the country and also show the inclusive characteristics of traditional culture.

　　Off-year is also called "Lunar New Year Festival" in ancient times, which means before and after beginning of spring, at the turn of Lunar New Year Festival. Off-year is usually regarded as the beginning of a busy year, which means that people begin to prepare new year’s goods, sweep dust, offer sacrifices to stoves, etc., and prepare for a clean and good year.

　　The written record about the off-year was first seen in the Eastern Han Dynasty. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cui Mao’s "Four People’s Month Order" contained: "La will be updated tomorrow, which means that it is a young age, and it is respected by the wine, and it is a teacher." In fact, the origin of off-year can be traced back to the Xia Dynasty, which originated in honor of a great god respected by the people. Later, in the pre-Qin period, a god was set up in the kitchen, and drinks, fruits and food were used as sacrifices.

　　It is worth mentioning that the holiday date of off-year is different in the north and the south, with the 23rd off-year of the twelfth lunar month in the north and the 24th off-year of the twelfth lunar month in the south. The different dates of off-year between the north and the south are related to the tradition of "three officials, three people, four boats and five people" in ancient China [i], that is, the official family celebrated off-year on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month and the people celebrated off-year on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month. Because the north is close to the capital and is greatly influenced by bureaucracy, the off-year is changed to the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, while the south still maintains the original tradition of celebrating off-year on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month. Therefore, the off-year in the north is one day earlier than in the south.

　　Offering sacrifices to stoves is the most important activity on off-year day, so off-year is also called "Festival of offering sacrifices to stoves" and "Kitchen God Festival". Sacrificial stoves have been in China for thousands of years. The belief in Kitchen God is a reflection of Chinese people’s dream of "having enough food and clothing". According to legend, the Kitchen God is an official who is arranged by the Jade Emperor to manage various kitchen fires on earth. On the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, he reports to the Jade Emperor about the good and evil of this family in a year, and then rewards and punishments are implemented according to the Jade Emperor’s will. People are afraid that the kitchen god will talk nonsense after going to heaven, so they offer sacrifices to the kitchen stove on the off-year day and send sweet offerings such as candy and rice cakes. I hope he will be sweeter and say some nice words to make people’s lives easier in the coming year [ii]. Therefore, there is also the custom of eating stove candy on this day of off-year, which is very sticky, so it is also called "gum candy", commonly known as "Guandong candy" in Beijing, and "sugar ingot" in Shanghai and Jiangsu.

　　Besides offering sacrifices to stoves, there are other customs in off-year life. For example, in the off-year in the north, families get together to eat jiaozi, which means to see the Kitchen God off and to "see off the windward side of jiaozi". In the south, families get together to eat rice cakes, which means that people’s work and life are improved year by year. Of course, there are customs such as cutting window grilles and bathing.

　　As the prelude to the Spring Festival, off-year has always maintained its unique charm and significance, which contains profound cultural significance. These colorful folk activities express people’s good wishes to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. At the same time, the differences in dates and customs between the north and the south also reveal the inclusiveness and diversity of China culture.

　　

　　Poster: Wang Jinhong and Wang Yiting (internship)

　　Copywriter: Wang Ruoxin and Huang Sijin (internship)

　　

　　[i] traditional customs [J]. Health and wellness of traditional Chinese medicine, 2016, (Z1): 11-20.

　　[ii] Wang Jijin. Prosperous China Year — — Endless old customs [J]. Jiangxi Education, 2023 (04): 6-9.