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The demise of old art forms following the appearance of new technology is now an all familiar story. However when a Hong Kong company made a novel experiment to produce the classical Teochew opera play “Fire at the Riverside Pavilion”《火燒臨江樓》in cinematic form in 1958, the magic of the silver screen instantly ignited the imagination of audiences in Swatow, Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok.

“Yeo Bhue Eng"《杨梅英》is a film about the life of a former Teochew opera adolescent actress who performed by the same name (real name Ang Hui Eng 洪惠英). Sold to an opera troupe at the age of 7, she became famous by 15 and was married to a man she loved five years later. However when she was 37, her husband became a victim of the Cultural Revolution and she was left to bring up their five children alone.

Teochew opera is said to have over 1200 traditional plays that fall into two broad categories - those adapted from the 12th century nanxi 南戲 from Southeast China as well as chuanqi 傳奇, and others derived popular local lores including romance tales and ghost stories... The most dramatic episodes however were the ones played out behind the scenes that were summed up by this Qing Qianlong era (1736 to 1796) saying:

For the Teochews, the Chinese New Year is the grandest and most important festive period. All across the Teochew region, people mark the occasion with activities strongly rooted in local tradition. Through the camera lens of avid photographer Ling Shyue Miin, we bring you a series of extraordinary images capturing how villages in Teochew welcome the Year of the Monkey.

在潮州传统的节日中，春节是最热闹、最受潮州人重视的节日。作为农历一年中的第一个大节，潮州地区有着许多别具特色的民俗文化活动。2016猴年春节，资深摄影师凌学敏走访了许多潮州村庄，用相机记录下了乡村里热闹的春节。

Amidst the cheers of the ongoing Chinese New Year celebrations, Malaysian budget airline AirAsia has announced the launch of a four-times weekly direct flight from Kuala Lumpur to Swatow. Operations of the route will commence from March 25, 2016 and is expected to boost family visitations between Teochews in Malaysia and China.  

The Chaoshan Jieyang International Airport, which serves the Teochew region, is currently connected internationally to Singapore (Jetstar), Bangkok, Hong Kong and Taipei (China Southern Airlines), and domestically to a host of major cities in mainland China, including Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing.

Not a exactly new New Year Song, but trendy and uplifting for all Gaginang. 祝福大家新年快樂，萬事如意

The New Year is the time to make resolutions. For many of us as overseas Teochews, picking up or improving our spoken Teochew is surely on top of our list.

The Teochew Store has identified three must-have mobile apps that can help us achieve this goal, and this week we review the 潮語作田人 (TeoAPP) produced by the Teochew Culture Club (潮汕文化協進會) in Hong Kong.

A story centred on the understanding, communications, contradictons and love between the father and son of an ordinary Teochew family. 
公益微电影《父仔》，主要讲述一个普通家庭中父亲与­儿子之间的理解、沟通、矛盾、亲情等一系列问题。影片对白以潮语和普通话为主。

Falling in love with Teochew music already...

I was born in Teochew (Chaozhou city). My paternal grandfather and grandmother died early. Ever since my first awareness of things around me, my parents never stopped emphasising in my education at home to “always be filial”...

我出生在潮州，爷爷奶奶早逝，从自己初晓世事起，在家里接受教育过程中，父母不断地嘱咐自己“要行孝”，因为“百善孝为先”。

This is a story written specially in traditional Teochew text and read in Teochew by Ben Choi from Hong Kong.

An authentic Teochew dish that is rice in collagen – jellied pork skin. It is inexpensive and highly suited for the dry autumn-winter spell.

一道富含胶原质的潮州菜 — 潮州肉皮冻。经济实惠，最适合在干燥的秋冬季节食用。

An article by Elizabeth Koh, a gaginang from Singapore: 

From as far back as I can recall, before I could speak or understand the dialect, my childhood was one filled with the sounds and syntax of Teochew. My lullaby was a pentatonic Teochew tune sang by my maternal grandmother...

Tea Language《茶语》, a song of a Teochew working abroad reminiscing about family conversations at home. 

The Teochew Store潮舖一岁啦！

为了庆祝我们的第一周年与答谢各位读者的支持，我们希望邀请您和大家分享您对主题 “My Teochew Family 潮州一家人”的故事.

您的故事可以关于您的家人，在您生活里扮演重要角色的潮籍人士，或者是一个让您领悟的“家”的意义的社群。您可以通过以下两种方式参加...

As the mid-Autumn festival approaches, The Teochew Store has invited Tan Pia Hua 陈冰桦, a food lover and blogger from Teochew, to share her original recipe to make your own special taste Teochew-style mooncake.