“To compete with the modern games, old-fashioned ones need to be revamped andupdated to keep them relevant, which in turn will protect this traditional culture,” said Xiaat Peking University.
He argued that many games had been unchanged for centuries and now fail to meetthe needs of young people.
“Games today have counters and cards designed exquisitely in rich colors and styles,”
said media worker Chen Wen. “We had classes to teach us go and chess at elementaryschool but few of us play them now because they are boring and old-fashioned. They’re justfor grandfathers.”
As well as incorporating elements of modern culture, such as the latest movies ortelevision shows, manufactures of the new card- and board-based role-playing games alsoinclude CDs and DVDs to heighten the experience.
Shan Xiali, 48, head of the Shanghai Chess Academy, said Chinese chess and go haveno shortage of elderly and teenaged fans, but very few in the 20 to 30 age bracket.
“Chinese chess has a large number of adult enthusiasts, while children tend to flock togo. A monthly go contest in Shanghai attracts more than 3,000 applicants aged 5 to 16,”
she said. Shan attributed the unpopularity of traditional games among young people to thesheer diverse range of recreations available today, compared to the limited options of pastgenerations.
Today, a novel game that involves a large group of people and more communication iswhat people want after eight hours of soundless work in front of a computer, she said.
Shan is now working on ways to revamp its games to make them more attractive tothe modern players.
And although many young people admitted to China Daily that they do not playtraditional Chinese games, most insisted they will not let the old pastimes vanish entirely.
“When I have a child, I will send him or her to learn Chinese chess,” said Li Hanyi,22, a bank clerk in Suzhou, Jiangsu province. “That way, my child will get a quintessenceunderstanding of Chinese culture and a calm mentality.”
FIRST PERSON | ZHENG DAOJIN
‘Role-playing games offer laughter and life lessons’
Editor’s note: Zheng Daojin, 28, is a reporter at a news agency in Beijing.
I first began playing one of the new role-playing games in 2009. I thought itwas a good way to have more social interaction, rather than just a game.
When I go on business trips with people from other news agencies, we playcard games to break the ice quickly. Usually we play in large groups of about 20from early evening to the early hours.
I find it effective and interesting to observe other players. They tend to revealthemselves more easily and naturally than at other times, whether they be opinionleaders or followers, blunt or calculated, aggressive or gentle.
As a reporter, I’m constantly using my skills in observation and judgment.
The games help me train those abilities.
Also, through the direct interaction and cooperation needed for the games, Inow know more about the different personalities of my peers, so that I can dealwith them in the appropriate ways to better improve mutual friendships. Thishelps every player.
Compared to traditional games, the significance of the new games lies incooperation. No matter whether it is Chinese chess or go, which can be played by twopeople, or mahjong, which can be played by four, the players all work on their own.
However, the new games require the joint efforts and wisdom of several people.
We not only get happiness from being in a large group but also the awarenessof the importance of cooperation in society and the need for team spirit.
In the future, traditional and new games will coexist, although the latter willenjoy a slight advantage as it can incorporate the latest fashions and movies. Thenew games will never replace the traditional, which foster unique thinking andhave cultural value.
On one hand, the one-to-one form of old-fashion games is a weakness. But italso endows the games with distinctive competitive charms.
In a Chinese family, it is customary for grandfathers or fathers to teachtheir children Chinese chess. This is what we will always pass from generation togeneration.
Zheng Daojin was talking to Zhou Wenting.
October 12,2010
Couples become easy prey in tube baby boom
Rising demand for IVF treatment fuels spread of unlicensed clinics.
Cao Li and Duan Yan in Beijing report.
As a cold, monotone voice echoed along the whitewashed corridors, women sat orstood against the walls in silence, their faces carved with frustration. They were allwaiting for their name to be called, for their chance to make a dream come true.
The line to see fertility specialists at Peking University No 3 Hospital in Beijingstretched out of the main entrance, with dozens forced to wait outside in the swirlingautumn wind. Staff members said it is a common sight.
With sterility now affecting 40 million people in China, couples are increasinglyturning to in vitro fertilization (IVF) in order to have children.
However, medical experts say that the commercialization of the practice in recentyears has led to a spread of unlicensed clinics offering illegal services to parents andsurrogacy agencies.
IVF, which involves mixing the eggs and the sperm in a laboratory before implantingthem in a woman’s womb, has steadily developed in China since its introduction twodecades ago, with patient numbers soaring.
Records from the prestigious Peking University No 3 Hospital, where China’s first “testtube baby” was born in 1988, show doctors there treated 3,500 patients in 2008 and 5,000in 2009. That figure is expected to top 7,000 by the end of 2010, said Qiao Jie, director ofits reproductive medical center.
Patient numbers are also swelling by about 50 percent every year at the Shanghai No 1Maternity and Children’s Hospital, according to reproductive health director Teng Xiaoming.
“My husband has problems,” said a 23-year-old woman who gave her name as Li Lei.