eConomyBuzz TopicThe staff of a Beijing restaurant smash ashtrays – a move saying “no” to smoking.dispersion is very strong. To control dis-propose legislation suggestions related persion, a negative pressure equivalent to tobacco and to carry out smoking to a grade-12 typhoon is needed. Is it controls; at the same time, it also has possible to establish smoking areas of the duty to promote the development of this type? Beijing’s Regulation on Smok-China’s tobacco industry. Therefore, it’s ing Control in Public Places is a local inevitable for China to swing between rule that has been best implemented and the two directions of smoking control on most supported by the public compared the one hand and the economic benefits with all Beijing-issued regulations over of the tobacco industry on the other. the past several years. If the revised Despite the difficulty of enacting version becomes the final draft to be re-changes, smoking control is advanc-leased national wide, it will be a blow to ing. The revision of the Advertisement Beijing’s zeal for the ban.”Law bans practically all types of tobacco According to the WHO FCTC, there ads. In addition, it clearly specifies that is no safety standard for secondhand it’s prohibited to direct tobacco ads at smoke and specified smoking areas, teenagers. The Value Added Tax rate for which makes the suggestion for setting cigarettes has also risen to 11 percent up smoking areas untenable. from 5 percent thanks to the efforts of Moreover, whether graphic warning all parties. images should be printed on cigarette The tobacco industry is a typical packs has also become a moot point. In a health-harmful industry. Its contribu-comment article, People’s Daily sharply tion to the national tax revenue is far pointed out why: “It should not be as-from enough to make up the costs of cribed to cultural and traditional factors, fixing the problems it caused. Following but to the lure of the tobacco industry’s the national step in economic structural benefits.”adjustment, the tobacco industry’s sup-It’s a global issue that tobacco enter-ply-side reform is underway. Measures prises stand in the way of the smoking like changing cigarette packaging and control efforts. However, China has a increasing the price will help to reduce special tobacco administration system: tobacco consumption and, therefore, the State Tobacco Monopoly Adminis-its harm to society. Thus, a smoke-free tration is a governmental institution to China is on the horizon. C 48CHINA TODAYThe Chinese KnotBy GU HETHE Chinese knot is a decorative handicraft that is intricately woven with one single colored rope. Knot tying in China harks back to ancient times. Before Chinese writing appeared, people tied knots to make re-cords of their lives. The size and shape indicated the significance and nature of an event. Knots later became part of clothing. Before the zip was invented and intro-duced to China, people fastened their robes with ropes. It was the custom to hang a well-fashioned ribbon from the waist belt at the end of which dan-gled a personal seal. Emperor Wudi (4-549) of the Liang Dynasty (502-SYMBOLS OF CHINAA basic design of the Chinese knot.Early Chinese tied knots to keep records.557) wrote a love poem mentioning just such a ribbon tied in a “true love” knot. As the name indicates, this pattern of elaborate interconnections represents “the knot which cannot be untied.”Knotwork reached its pinnacle dur-ing the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911). It took various forms, ranging from buttons to pendants on embroi-dered pouches, jade articles hung from the waistband, combs and hair pins, as well as home decorations.The Chinese knot is borrowed from the Buddhist icon Eternal Knot, which is symmetrical in all directions, and has no distinction between head and tail. Interlaced and intertwined in differ-ent intricate ways, a rope can deliver a kaleidoscopic range of knotworks that resemble ancient coins, the Chi-nese character for happiness, pipa (a stringed musical instrument), or a bat (this animal is a homophone of “hap-piness” in Chinese). However com-plicated the knot might be, it is only formed of one single rope. This corre-sponds with the Buddhist verse “there could be 10,000 paths leading to the only truth.” In the Chinese language “knot” is justifiably often associated with “bond.” The character appears in such phrases as “walk in company,” “become sworn brothers,” “make friends,” and “form an alliance.” It is also found in several expressions concerning weddings and marriage. For instance, a traditional term for couples when they first marry is the “couple who have tied their hair together,” which has its origin in the ancient wedding ritual of binding strands of hair from the new husband and wife on the wedding night as a to-ken of lasting union.In ancient literature, a knot is a metaphor for despondence and melan-choly, usually of a languishing lover. Zhang Xian (990-1078) of the Song Dynasty (960-1279) wrote the famous lines still widely cited today: “Like heaven, which never ages, my love will never fade. Like a net of thousands of knots, my heart twitches and twists.” The Chinese knot has a myriad of applications in everyday life in China, as conspicuous as wall decorations and as delicate as jewelry. One promi-nent example is the emblem of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Bid Committee, which depicts a person doing Tai Chi in one continuous line, running in the same way a Chinese knot is tied. Dur-ing the 2014 APEC meeting in Beijing many variations of the Chinese knot graced the venue and the buttons and brooches on staff uniforms. The renewed popularity of the Chi-nese knot in modern times attests to the timeless charisma of this ancient art, as well as that of traditional Chi-nese culture. The inherent bond with traditional aesthetics is like a seed in the heart of every Chinese person, which may burst into life and blossom at any time. C (Selected from Monthly Digest by Zhonghua Book Company) November 2019
