Li Yu (director)

Li Yu (born December 2, 1973) is a female Chinese film director and screenwriter. Li began her career in entertainment at a young age, serving as a presenter at a local TV station. After college she worked for CCTV where she directed television programs before moving onto documentaries and, eventually, feature films.

Directorial career

Her feature film debut came with 2001's Fish and Elephant, purportedly the first mainland Chinese feature to tackle the subject of lesbianism. The film was screened abroad with some difficulty, but for the most part was not given an opportunity to screen before mainland Chinese audiences.

Her next film, Dam Street, was plagued less by problems, and garnered Li the Golden Lotus from the specialty Deauville Asian Film Festival in 2006.

In 2007, Li Yu's most high profile film yet, Lost in Beijing premiered at the 2007 Berlin International Film Festival. The result was over a year of controversy with the Chinese Film Bureau over both the appropriateness of that screening and of the content of the film. Though briefly screened in a heavily edited state, the film was eventually banned outright, though it was given limited releases abroad, including in the United States.

Chinese calendar

The Chinese calendar is a lunisolar calendar which reckons years, months and days according to astronomical phenomena. It is used for traditional activities in China and overseas Chinese communities. It determines the dates of traditional Chinese holidays, and guides Chinese people in selecting the luckiest days for weddings, funerals, moving, or beginning a business.

In the Chinese calendar, the days begin and end at midnight. The months begin on the day with the dark (new) moon. The years begin with the dark moon near the midpoint between winter solstice and spring equinox. The solar terms are the important components of the Chinese calendar. There are one to three solar terms within a month.

The present Chinese calendar is the product of centuries of evolution. Many astronomical and seasonal factors were added by ancient scientists, and people can reckon the date of natural phenomena such as the moon phase and tide upon the Chinese calendar. The Chinese calendar has over 100 variants, whose characteristics reflect the calendar's evolutionary path. As with Chinese characters, different variants are used in different parts of the Chinese cultural sphere. In Korea, Vietnam, and the Ryukyu Islands, the Chinese calendar was adopted completely. In Japan, the Chinese calendar was used before the Edo period, and the later Japanese calendar used the algorithm of the Chinese calendar.

Li Yu

Li Yu may refer to:

See also

Li Yu (Southern Tang)

Li Yu (Chinese: 李煜; c. 937 – 15 August 978), before 961 known as Li Congjia (李從嘉), also known as Li Houzhu (李後主; literally "Last Ruler Li" or "Last Lord Li"), was the third ruler of the Southern Tang state during imperial China's Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. He reigned from 961 until 976, when he was captured by the invading Song Dynasty armies which annexed his kingdom. He died by poison on orders of Emperor Taizong of Song after 2 years essentially as an exiled prisoner.

Although an incompetent ruler, he was a representative lyric poet during his era, even to the extent of having been called the "first true master" of the ci form.

Early life

In the same Chinese year Li Congjia was born, his grandfather Xu Zhigao， also known as Xu Gao (Li Bian) founded the state Qi (齊), renaming it Tang (known as the Southern Tang) 2 years later. When Li Congjia was 6, his father Li Jing became the next Southern Tang emperor. With Li Jing naming his younger brother Li Jingsui his heir apparent, his sixth eldest son Li Congjia seemed unlikely to ever succeed the throne. However, many of Li Congjia's brothers died very young, and after the death of the second eldest brother Li Hongmao (李弘茂) in 951, Li Congjia all of a sudden found himself right behind Li Hongji — the eldest brother — and uncle Li Jingsui in the succession line.