Mei Lanfang the Opera Singer

Mei Lanfang 梅兰芳, the opera singer of China who liveg from 1894 to 1961, was the most famous Peking Opera singer of modern history. In all his stage career, he demonstrated skillful portrayal of female characters with his smooth, poised style known in the circle as the 'Mei School'.

He spreaded the Peking Opera to many foreign countries and participated in cultural exchanges in Japan, the US, Europe and other regions of the world. He often performed to appreciative audience and recieved his techniques won him international acclaim.

I was fortunate enough to have collected this set of stamps depicting the many roles Mei Lanfang played in Peking Opera when I was a school boy at the age of 12 (at a cost of 5 dollars). Although 5 dollars was a small sum nowadays, but during those days it was my lunch and transport money. Luckily I bumped into a relative (my elder sister's father-in-law) who came to my rescue. He sponsored my meal and bus fare home. I was lucky.

When I visited the Mei Lanfang Museum in China a few years ago, I was told that this set of stamps was very valuable. They could not believe it when I told them the price I paid for the stamps. But again that was in 1966, the year England won the World Cup. Who would have known then the stamps would become so rare and costly. Again this must be due to 'suppy and demand', a unchanged rule that stands the test of time.

Mei Lanfang Museum in Jiangsu

Early Stamps of China

Some valuable stamps from China. Have you seen them?

The Vietnam Civil War with China supporting the North

Two North & South Vietnam before unification

Chairman Mao as a school teacher during early years

Many more stamps will be posted in future.

The Royal Family

The Royal Family of England.

You don't have to go to England to see the Royal Family. Even if you visit the Buckingham Palace, chances are that you won't be able to meet up with them. However, with these little stamps, you will at least get to see them at the comfort of your home, of course with a computer and Internet.


The Queen Mother



The Queen (During Coronation)



The Royal Couple



Princess Ann & Husband

The Royal Wedding of Prince Charles & Princess Diana

See this is what you'll get if you collect stamps. I am sure this little stamps have appreciated in value over time.

A trip to South Korea

Just got back last night from a 7-day tour to South Korea with my wife and some friends met during the tour. I could not imagine that it could still be snowing 3 days ago while we were at Korea. This was amazing as I did not see so much snow in my whole life (not even in England during my stay as a student in the 70s). The kids were seen throwing snow balls at each other. They were thrilled.

Here are just some photos to show the beautiful snow scenes captured in my camera.


Snow-covered Building

Plenty of snow 

A memorable time in S Korea

filled with beautiful snow
scenes, fun rides, flowers and many more .......





Our trip to Jeju island was also filled with fun and excitement, and lots of nice scenery.

Dragon Head Cliff

Volcanic Rocks

Many rock formations were produced as a result of
volcanic eruption.







Wonder why there is a tunnel in this rock? Ans at end of page

Not to forget the exciting rides, wild life in Everland and the magnificent palace.

 A pair of white tigers (left)


 The Royal Palace (right)

A typical Korean meal
with Kimchi
A soccer stadium for hosting
the world cup in Korea (right)

Sea of yellow flowers

Red Tulips

The flowers on left are grown for oil processing.


Tulips grow very well in
this part of the world (right).



South Korea is worth visiting, the country is full of excitement, the culture, the people and the places sure will make your trip unforgettable and memorable. I do enjoy it and I am sure you will also.

Answer to why a tunnel is inside a huge Volcanic Rock

 

Did England win any World Cup?

Well, the answer is YES. They won it in 1966.

How come you know? Were you there watching them lifting up the trophy? What about the year 1966? Are you sure?

Okay, I did not watch the match at that time as I was too young to appreciate any good thing. Anyway I will tell you why I know. Well, I have a set of stamps issued by England in 1966 that commemorated this historical event. I don't think they can lie about such things.

World Cup Winner 1966

As a matter of fact, I was in my Primary 6 in 1966 and did not watch any football back then. But one good thing I do is I collect stamps. See, when you collect stamps, you collect history, all the commemorative events that happened in this world, all the things that concerned us and everything that matters to us. They are all shown in these little things called stamps. You may think that stamps are only used to post letters, to send anything you want to anybody you know at any address you can think of. But stamps mean more than that. They capture history and historical events, famous people, interesting places,and etc. It can be useful source of revenue for a country. With the onslaught of the Internet and cable technology, why do nations of the world still issue stamps? Answers are obvious.

Its almost half a century since England first won the World Cup. Its amazing, isn't it? Consider the glamour of the EPL and the great soccer stars they have and the millions of pounds of transfer fees. They even want to set up a football school here in Singapore (latest news: Chelsea FC intends to set up a football school in Singapore). If this comes true, don't be surprise to see a Chelsea Football University establish here in Singapore. So when you apply for jobs,  you can include in your resume, 1st class Honours in Football Skills, a master degree in Goal Keeping or a PhD in Football Management.

P.S. How did a Singaporean like myself get to possess such a valuable set of stamps that captured this historical event in the history of English Football? Well, that will be another story telling altogether for the future. So stay tuned if you are interested. Meantime I will take a short holiday break and will be back in a weeks time (need to go away to unwind myself).

A different type of paintings

Paintings on ceramic plates became popular in the late 19th century. A group of painters gathered in Jingdezhen to interact and discuss among themselves on issues relating to this branch of art form. Some of them became very popular and their artwork fetched good money from the public.

In the late 80s or early 90s, some of their works can still be found in antique shops in Singapore. China exported quite a lot of this artwork and antiques as the nation desperately needed foreign revenue to spearhead its economic development and to improve the standard of living of its people. Paintings bought during that period were generally genuine. As more and more people like these paintings and people become more and more affluent, fakes begin to appear in the market. Now, if you bump into one such painting and the promoter tells you that it is painted by a certain famous artist, you better avoid him as this is definitely a fake. Genuine paintings don't come by cheaply.

Some of these paintings in my collection are shown here.



A tiger painter

Snow scene painter

 

Painting of the 60s

Vases from Jingdezhen

Collectors all over the world know that antiques from Jingdezhen, especially vases made during the early Ming and Qing dynasties, are very pricey and these items frequently command a high price in major auctions in New York, London and now in Beijing.

Some of these vases can still be found in the early days in antique shops here in Singapore. Unfortunately, they have all disappeared overnight, thanks to the treasure hunters from Taiwan, Hong Kong and maybe China who have the knowhow and expertise to be able to spot treasures among trash. One collector from Taiwan even remarked that after a sumptuous meal of hot spicy curry fish head, she was still able to find one genuine Qian Long Vase lying un-noticed on the shelf of an antique shop. Eventually she got it for a song (as the owner thought that it was a fake). The vase could have ended up in an auction house and the lady was most probably laughing all the way to the bank thanking the naive Singaporean for such an unbelievable discovery. What was even more interesting was that the owner of the shop was very happy to dispose off a fake in his shop.

 Now even the vases from the later part of the Qing dynasty have become sought after items frequently featured in auction houses and bidding prices of millions of dollars are not uncommon. Collectors who set their eyes on these vases (while others are busily hunting vases from the early Qing era) have reaped a huge profit.

Some of the Jigngdezhen ware in my collection, although they are not that valuable, they are still nice things to possess and enjoy in one's lifetime. Surely they have enriched my life. Surely these are the things that will free you from stresses from overwork in this life.


Painted by renown artist

A blue vase

One of eight immortals