The Mask Issue

2021 ISSUE 5

Upstaged

We look at the uncertain fate of hundreds of small-scale regional opera types around China; speak with HIV/AIDS patients living in the shadows; go speed-dating with Shanghai’s elites; and dance with the Tujia ethnic group...at a funeral; and more.

Saddle Up, feature story from our newest issue "Upstaged."

Children of the Corn, a story about a Chinese artist from our new issue "Upstaged."

From this issue

CHINESE CHARACTERS

On the Character: 演

A character that helps you fake it ’til you make it

SOCIAL CHINESE

Tough Love: Chinese to Deal With Your Parents’ Nagging

Phrases and vocabulary to survive your parents’ nagging during the vacation

FILM

The Mountains Sing: Yang Xiao on Documenting Guangxi’s Fading Folk Music

A new film by Guangxi-born director Yang Xiao bends an ear to the region’s dying tradition of ethnic folk ballads

LIFE

Saddle Up: Riding with China’s New “Cowboys”

Modern “cowboys” embrace the steppes of northern Hebei province as a rural escape

TRAVEL

Dancing for the Dead: Stumbling Across a Tujia Funeral

A chance encounter with the Tujia ethnic group’s funeral practices in south-central China

TRADITIONAL CULTURE

The Changing Face of Yingge Dance

How the whole village works together to keep Puning’s traditional “hero dance” alive

FICTION

June 23, 2016 | Short Story

In this short story, writer Gu Xiang finds humanity and humor in the idiosyncrasies of elderly Chinese

GALLERY

Children of the Corn: How Pan Dehai’s “Fatties” Distort the Past and Present

Painter Pan Dehai talks with TWOC about the ’85 New Wave movement and the reception of his cute but satiric political works

HEALTH

China’s Silent Epidemic: HIV/AIDS Patients’ Struggle to Live Life Out of the Shadows

Over 30 years after China’s first diagnosed HIV/AIDS case, patients still battle stigma and ignorance

TRADITIONAL CULTURE

Why Young Performers are Giving Up On Years of Traditional Opera Training

A former Kunqu opera performer describes working in a disappearing art

TRADITIONAL CULTURE

The Uncertain Future of Grassroots Chinese Opera

How will China save its vanishing local operas?

FOOD

Chestnut Chicken: The Perfect Autumn Dish

Spice up the autumn and prepare for winter with our recipe for this warm and nourishing dish

BOOKS

Seeing Ghosts | Book Review

How the memoirs of a Chinese American author, haunted by her parents, can help us relate to our own families

BOOKS

The Raw and Unabashed Poetry of Yu Xiuhua | Book Review

Yu Xiuhua’s “Moonlight Rests on My Left Palm” is a celebration of the power of straight-talking

FILM

Fan Jian’s “After the Rain” | Film Review

Fan explores the enduring trauma for parents who lost children in the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake, and their attempts to rebuild their families

SOCIETY

Swipe High: Inside Shanghai’s Elite Speed-Dating World

A dating platform matches high earners who have everything—except love

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