Memories of Hunger

From 1959 to 1961， now commonly known in China as the“three years of natural disasters，” the country endured a sweeping national food shortage and famine as a result of the “Great Leap Forward” movement， which aimed to quickly transform China into a powerful industrial state – a policy of sacrificing agriculture to develop industry. During the difficult period， many died in the catastrophic famine， but the actual death toll remained a mystery， attracting media concern. This year， a local officials speech reignited hot public discussion on accurate casualty figures for the three years. And which was more to blame for the famine， policy or natural disaster？

Just before the end of the year， revered Chinese director Feng Xiaogangs epic film Back to 1942 was released， which looks back at a devastating famine caused by drought in central Chinas Henan Province in 1942. The films heartbreaking scenes of refugees fleeing barren fields once again kindled memories of national hunger.

China： Worlds Second Largest Movie Market

Box office revenue reached 13.2 billion yuan on the Chinese mainland by the end of October 2012， surpassing numbers from all of last year， and domestic films accounted for 41.4 percent of the market share. With more big numbers from the pre-New Year holiday season， the 2012 Chinese box office is expected to top 18 billion yuan， pushing the nation past Japan as the worlds second largest film market.

In November 2012， Ernst & Young， one of the worlds leading accounting firms， released a report predicting that China would surpass the U.S. as the worlds biggest movie market by 2020. North Americas box office numbers already seem within reach at US$10 billion to US$11 billion， with the Chinese box office growing at an annual rate of more than 20 percent on average.

70th Anniversary of “Talks at the Yanan Forum on Literature and Art”

In May 1942， the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China （CPC） held a forum on literature and art in Yanan. During the forum， Mao Zedong delivered the keynote speech. On October 19， 1943， the full text of Maos “Talks at the Yanan Forum on Literature and Art” was officially published in Liberation Daily. As an integral part of the Rectification Movement in Yanan， the Forum on Literature and Art clearly stressed that literature and art should “serve the broad masses， particularly workers， peasants and soldiers.” This criterion exerted far-reaching influence on Chinese literature and art in the following decades.

This year， to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the celebrated address， the Chinese Writers Association invited 100 writers and artists to hand-write paragraphs from the long speech. The campaign， however， triggered hot online debates as soon as it was reported by the media. In the face of the sudden avalanche of opposition from the web， some participating writers expressed regret， while others firmly held that there was nothing wrong with such a commemoration.

The Voice of China

Summer 2012 brought the unexpected success of The Voice of China – the Chinese version of The Voice， a hit television show originating in the Netherlands and franchised in many Western countries. Featuring four judge-mentors who select proteges through blind auditions， the reality show was a miracle for Chinese TV ratings， registering 2.4 billion viewers online alone. The show also pioneered a new business model for the sluggish show business sector on the Chinese mainland.

60 Years Since Higher Education Adjustment

From June to September 1952， China made structural adjustments to its higher education system， aiming to transform the modern institutions of higher learning established in the early 20th century to the Soviet model. After restructuring， many universities and colleges were divided into independent institutes of technology specializing in newly established disciplines such as metallurgy， geology， aviation， mining， and water conservation. The total number of universities decreased from 211 before 1952 to 183 after 1953. Sociology， politics， and many other soft sciences and humanities were abandoned， and private education disappeared.

The adjustment of higher education， designed to divide 20th-century Chinese education into two contrasting tracks， not only struck a blow to arts and humanities， but also derailed Chinas training modes. Its influence on the development of higher education in China is still evident today.

Nobel Prize in Literature： Mo Yan

On October 11， 2012， the Swedish Academy announced that the Nobel Prize in Literature 2012 went to Chinese writer Mo Yan. It was the first time a Chinese national won the award. In the award citation， the Nobel Committee described Mos work as“hallucinatory realism” merging “folk tales， history and the contemporary.” On December 7， Mo delivered an acceptance speech during the traditional Nobel lecture at the Swedish Academy. In the speech， titled “Storyteller” in remembrance of his mother， the writer illustrated his earliest， most painful， clearest， and most remorseful memories. Reactions to Mos award and his speech varied widely both at home and abroad， but few can deny that his work is an iconic representation of an era.

Wanda Acquires AMC

After prolonged negotiations lasting two years， on May 21， Chinas Dalian-based Wanda Group acquired AMC Entertainment Holdings， the second largest U.S. theater chain， in a US$2.6 billion deal. The merger covered the purchase of 100 percent of the AMCs shares as well as its debts. Wanda also promised that funds injected into the operation of AMC would not exceed US$500 million.

Wanda Group began its large-scale investment in the cultural sector in 2005， and has become the national leader in cultural investment， with a total figure exceeding 10 billion yuan. In recent years， however， AMC Entertainment Holdings continuously operated in the red， incurring heavy debt. After the acquisition， Wanda Group will become the worlds largest cinema operator， including both AMC cinemas， the worlds 2nd biggest cinema brand， and the Wanda cinema chain， Asias largest.

A Bite of China

When the full-length food-themed documentary A Bite of China hit Chinese TVs last May， the enticing Chinese cuisine across diverse dining disciplines featuring distinctive taste aesthetics romanticized the charm of the Oriental food culture to the point of tempting the palates of even the most discerning diners. While focusing on different subjects related to food， the documentary also depicted lifes hardships and disappearing tradition. An image of changing China hidden in culinary memories unfolds before viewers. For a long time， Chinese documentaries werent taken very seriously， usually considered long-form ads. A Bite of China， however， proved on par with international standards by using the language of human nature from objective angles. It has been praised as Chinas best documentary in 20 years and a benchmark for original Chinese documentaries.

War of Words

On January 15， 2012， a popular blogger， Mai Tian， posted an article disputing the originality of some of the works of Han Han. The next day， Han Han， a best-selling young author and champion amateur race-car driver， wrote a blog to refute the accusation， attracting countless netizens to watch and debate. Soon， Fang Shimin （pen name Fang Zhouzi）， a controversial figure known for his campaign against academic fraud， jumped in the battle， claiming that Hans work could be “ghostwritten” and “packaged” by others. With manuscripts， correspondences， and other related materials in hand， Han filed a lawsuit， accusing Fang of libel. Hans harsh comments on Chinese social problems earned him nearly 10 million followers on his microblog， and the load count on his blog approximates 600 million. In April 2010， he was named one of the“100 most influential people in the world” by Time magazine.

The event sparked intense online debate from backers of both sides， as well as opinions from many cultural celebrities and intellectuals either in defense of Han Han or against him. The war of words between the “antifraud crusader” and the “cultural idol of the post-80s” eventually wound down when spectators patience and interest finally dwindled.

People.cn IPO

On April 27， 2012， shares of People.cn began selling on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The online portal of Peoples Daily， it became the first news portal listed to join Chinas A-share market and the first media company to achieve such listing in the market. On its first day of trading， the company attracted market capital totaling nearly 9.6 billion yuan， or US$1.5 billion， higher than the value of the New York Times Co.， at $932 million that day.

In the perspective of some investors， journalists professional value will see direct “rewards” in the capital market. Compared with existing communication-related shareholding companies and news portals， People.cn employs top-notch professional journalists and maintains a strong capacity to produce content， both factors considered crucial for a competitive corporation.