February 21, 2025 | Vol. 54, Issue 4

The only bilingual Chinese-English Newspaper in New England

Leisure

Kayli Sayatovic, a server at Lan Feast.

Newest Asian Restaurant, Grocery Hub? Brookline

Buttoned-down suburb of Boston sees an explosion of Chinese, Japanese and Korean food, shopping spots For Asian international students like Nikki Song, Newbury Street used to be her go-to spot to hang out. “It was our only option,” said Song, a Chinese international student studying at Northeastern. But then she discovered an unlikely alternative: Brookline, a town once mainly viewed as a quiet and stodgy suburb with dining options that mostly included family restaurants, a couple of Irish bars and […]

How I Led Natick’s 1st Lunar New Year Festival

During my Sophomore year in high school, I sat down with my beloved Chinese Culture Club adviser to begin planning one of the most significant events our school club has ever held: a townwide Lunar New Year celebration. I am now a junior at Natick High School, and have been president of the Chinese Culture Club since my sophomore year. In the town of Natick, an unremarkable little suburb a fifth the size of Boston, town-wide holiday recognition only really […]

Activism Through Art: Interview With Carlos Hernandez Chavez

You could say that artist Carlos Hernandez Chavez has taken a bit of the Mexican Muralist Movement of the 1900s to modern-day New England. But his path to painting on walls and buildings here after growing up in Mexico was a winding one. In the mid-1960s, Chavez devoted his education to the arts while still in Mexico. He studied at the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas-UNAM at the Academia de San Carlos in Mexico and INBA’s Escuela de Pintura y […]

A Year in Film Review

Looking back on 2024, Sampan’s arts writer, Harmony Witte, compiled the following list of influential and important films of the year with connections to immigration in some way, or with foreign cast members. Some have immigration-focused stories, others have immigrant directors or actors or other cast members. Witte’s list includes hard-hitting documentaries, a martial arts adventure, both tense and funny crime stories, a surreal art romp and even a big-budget mystery thriller.“This selection of films,” writes Witte, “is of the […]

Chinese Horoscopes

By Han Teen See To see the full version of these horoscopes, please go to https://jmine.com.sg/chinese_horoscope2025.htmReprinted with permission. Rat Those born under the Rat sign will continue to strive. You will enjoy a lot of good food and company. You can expect significant career advancements, including promotions and pay raises, supported by strong backing from management and stakeholders. However, you should remain vigilant against unexpected challenges and maintain a professional demeanour to avoid misunderstandings and potential conflicts. Financially, you will […]

Kiyoko Murata’s ‘A Woman of Pleasure’Finds Agency in an Untenable Situation

There’s a reason why some stories should not be told by people outside their world. In the case of Arthur Golden’s 1997 novel “Memoirs of a Geisha,” adapted into a hit 2005 eponymously titled film, the Orientalism whitewashing was in full flower. Golden’s novel, set in the late 1920’s, roughly 25 years later than the events of Kiyoko Murata’s “A Woman of Pleasure,” told basically the same story. A daughter is sold into prostitution to cover her family’s debts. Both […]

Jon M. Chu’s ‘Wicked’ Is a Blockbuster Queer Romance Film for Our Times

“Wicked” is a blockbuster-bound love story for the ages in the grand style of Old Hollywood. This queer-coded romance tells the classic story of two enemies to lovers whose chemistry and complicated love for each other is so well known in the intimate world of female friendship. Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) was born with green skin in the land of Oz and must fight to find her place in society. Glinda (Ariana Grande-Butera) is also looking to find herself and establish […]

A Conversation With Daughters of Shandong Author Eve J. Chung

Historical fiction writers need to serve two masters. The first is a strict adherence to facts, location, and real-life characters. The other is effective world-building through relatable characters. Eve J. Chung’s new novel Daughters of Shandong is a confident, gripping, heart pounding epic that perfectly balances those priorities. Chuang, a women’s civil rights lawyer said “Chinese people have a saying ‘Zhong nan qing nu,’ …’Value men, belittle women.’ Sexism was, and still is, so ingrained in our culture that many […]

Kung Fu Panda 4 Continues the Furry Franchise

There is a new installment of the Kung Fu Panda comedy/adventure animated film series and its continuing to blow audiences away with its marvelous story, superb voice acting, and stellar music! Kung Fu Panda 4 continues the tale of Po (voiced by Jack Black, The Holiday, School of Rock) who improbably becomes the “Dragon Warrior” –a master of kung fu. Po is a giant panda and in this film is chosen to be the spiritual warrior of the Valley of […]

Chromic Duo Played an Emotional, Innovative Show at Crystal Ballroom

Chromic Duo made up of Lucy Yao and Dorothy Chan, performed at the Crystal Ballroom on Friday March 22nd, as a part of the Celebrity Series of Boston’s Stave Sessions and this was not the oft pictured typical classical piano concert! They played on toy pianos, a toy xylophone, a synthesizer, as well as on a stand up piano to breathe fresh air into works, such as Ryuichi Sakamoto’s “Path of the Wind” from My Neighbor Totoro and wrapped up […]

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