- The Beverly Arts
Updated: Jan 2
Author: Joey Zhou
Photo: AI Generated
In less than 12 hours, the 365 days of 2023 will disappear like fireworks in the night sky!
Although there has been a serious bloody conflict between Palestine and Israel in 2023, it will still be nothing compared to the war between Russia and Ukraine. Although mankind has gone through 2023 AD, it is still in a naive and barbaric state when it comes to resolving territorial disputes.
Most people of insight are sincerely afraid of artificial intelligence (AI), especially the emergence of the upgraded version of ChatGpt in 2023, which seems to aggravate the further crisis of carbon-based life. It seems that carbon-based life is already in crisis!
When I was trying to use ChatGpt to write poems and novels, I suddenly discovered the biggest shortcoming of using AI's ChatGpt: “It is difficult to restore the real experience experienced by individuals and the insurmountable concept of time and space." Yes! Time is the criterion for testing all truth, and it is also the concept that all carbon-based life, including silicon-based life, that cannot copy and change.
Some say there is no time at all in the universe but only motion. When I was writing this "Message to 2024", I felt a large number of dark matter and dark particles pass through my body and pass before my eyes.
Since humans created the concept of time from the sundial 6,000 years ago, that sun will always be the father of the earth. At this point, when we look back on the past year, we can't help but feel filled with emotion. The various challenges and changes in 2023 we experienced will undoubtedly make us full of expectations and thoughts about the future.
First, we must face the severe international situation. The continuation of the bloody conflict between Palestine and Israel and the Russia-Ukraine war has made mankind once again realize the preciousness of peace and development. The importance of resolving territorial disputes has become increasingly prominent, requiring all countries to work together to find ways to coexist peacefully.
Secondly, the development of artificial intelligence (AI) also makes us think deeply. The advent of the upgraded version of ChatGpt has brought new possibilities and challenges. We must face up to the reality of the coexistence of carbon-based life and silicon-based life, and how to protect human value and dignity on the road to scientific and technological progress.
Finally, the relationship between time and nature also requires us to think deeply. As the father of the earth, the sun is closely related to our lives. The passage of time is our understanding of the past and future, as well as our experience and growth in life. The year 2024 will be full of challenges and opportunities. Let us work together to write our future.
The Beverly Arts News is sponsored by The Beverly Arts Foundation
Master Chef Tony (Xiaojun) Hu
Master Chef Tony (Xiaojun) Hu, the founder of the Lao Sze Chuan restaurants, and winner of a Los Angeles Beverly Arts (LABA) Icon Award, was recently interviewed by Chicago's WGN Weekend Morning News about the Dongzhi Festival, the Winter Solstice Festival in China. He talked about the food and traditions that date back over 2,000 years ago, and demonstrated the preparation of tangyuan, a rice flour ball filled with sweetened black sesame seeds and other ingredients such as pumpkin seeds or peanuts. They are usually served in a warm broth or syrup made of sweet pandan leaves, ginger, and sugar. Today, they are served at weddings, family reunions, Chinese New Year, the Lantern Festival, and other events when families get together and share meals, particularly for those in the regions of Southern China. In Northern China, dumplings are more often served that are stuffed with lamb or other meats, and served warm with other ingredients including ginger and garlic. The festival is celebrated by Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, and other cultures around the world and is a time that families come together to share a traditional meal, very much like our Thanksgiving here in the U.S.
Dongzhi is a Chinese word that can mean either “winter’s extreme” or “winter’s arrival.” The festival was first celebrated in China during the Zhou Dynasty (1045 BC–256 BC), and was later declared an official celebration during the Han Dynasty (206 BC–220 BC). The Dongzhi Festival is a one-day celebration that occurs every year on the winter solstice, between December 21 and 23, and symbolizes union, togetherness, and completeness. The festival is rooted in the ancient philosophy of yin and yang, representing harmony and balance in the universe. On the darkest days of winter solstice, negative yin energy is at its peak, and then after the solstice, the positive yang energy begins to increase as spring approaches and the daylight hours lengthen. In the past, it was celebrated like the beginning of a new year, with Chinese New Year in February being the more significant and elaborate celebration.
Lao Sze Chuan in Chicago, Illinois
About Master Chef Tony Hu and Lao Sze Chuan
Master Chef Tony (Xiaojun) Hu is a celebrity chef, restaurateur, culinary teacher, mentor, and community leader who lives in the Chicago area. Hailing from China’s Sichuan province, Chef Tony graduated from The Culinary Institute of Sichuan, China’s premier culinary institute in 1989. He immigrated to the U.S. in 1993, as a special technician chef, and established himself in Chicago as a trailblazer for authentic Sichuan cuisine, at a time when the area was dominated by Cantonese cuisine. The very first Lao Sze Chuan opened in 1998 in Chicago’s Chinatown and has since become one of the most beloved Chinese restaurants with many locations. Lao Sze Chuan is not only recognized locally as the Best Chinese Restaurant in Chicago by multiple publications but has also received numerous national accolades including “The Best Chinese Restaurant”; “The Most Authentic Chinese Food”; one of the “Top Ten Chinese Restaurants in the U.S.”; “Best Chinese Restaurant for Celebrating Chinese New Year,” and many others.
The Beverly Arts News is sponsored by The Beverly Arts Foundation
Artist Gengmin Li
Artist Gengmin Li is a fine art painter who lives in Shenzhen, China and graduated from Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts in 2000. He is currently a member of the China National Calligraphy and Painting Association; member of the Guangdong Young Artists Association; member of the Shenzhen Artists Association; Vice President of the Shenzhen Branch of the Jieshiyang Artists Association; and a member of the Shenzhen Yantian District Artists Association. In 2018, he graduated from the advanced European traditional oil painting creation class.
Gengmin Li
Gengmin Li
Li enjoys studying different cultures and likes to incorporate local and foreign cultures into his work. As a source of his artistic inspiration, he likes to combine his ideas with creativity and transform them onto the canvas. He has received many awards for his artwork and has exhibited internationally in Taiwan, Russia, and the United States.
Gengmin Li
Gengmin Li
The oil paintings that he created from 2001 to 2019 have been highly sought after and collected by international collectors in Hong Kong, Taiwan, the United States, France, Germany, Singapore and other countries. In 2012, he held a solo exhibition at the Shenzhen Yantian District Cultural Center, and in 2014, he was invited to the French Louvre Art Salon Exchange Exhibition. In 2015, he was invited to hold a solo exhibition at the Sichuan Old Professor Art Museum. He was invited to exhibit at the German Art and Culture Exchange Exhibition in 2018, and was also invited to participate in the Oil Painting Exhibition of Chongqing Young Artists. Mr. Li is founder of Shenzhen Bolong Art Gallery in China.
Video - Artist Gengmin Li
The Beverly Arts News is sponsored by The Beverly Arts Foundation