Definition: Cross Talk is a comic dialogue, characterized by two actors, humorously talking back and forth; the contents of this performance always include jokes and funny dialogues to amuse the audience.

History: This form originated in Beijing. The original cross talk was not like today’s performances; it was more like a vocal mimicry. This show became popular and has evolved gradually the Qing Dynasty. Now monologue comic talk has replaced vocal mimicry and also developed into the modern form of cross talk.

Cloisonné in the world
China is not the only one country to produce cloisonné. This beautiful artwork can be found all in many countries.

In Japan, since the mid-19th century, artists produced cloisonné in large quantities of very high technical quality. And Russian cloisonné from the Tsarist era is also highly prized by collectors, especially from the House of Fabergé or Khlebnikov. The French and other nations also have produced small quantities. And in China mainland, Canton enamel sometimes may cause confusion with Chinese cloisonné. Canton enamel, a similar type of enamel work, is painted on freehand and does not utilize partitions to hold the colors separate.

Types
There are three types of cloisonné with their different appearances: concave, convex and flat. And the finishing method determines this final appearance.

No completely filled on the clisons is the typical appearance of the concave cloisonné. Capillary action causes the enamel surface to curve up against the cloisonné wire when the enamel is molten, producing a concave appearance.

Convex cloisonné is produced by overfilling each cloison, at the last firing. This gives each color area the appearance of slightly rounded mounds.

And the most common one is the flat cloisonné. After all the cloisons are filled the enamel is ground down to a smooth surface with lapidary equipment, using the same techniques as are used for polishing cabochon stones.

The top of the cloisonné wire is polished so it is flush with the enamel and has a bright luster. Some cloisonné enamel is electroplated with a thin film of gold, which will not tarnish as silver does.

Materials
Copper: the most one to make the body of cloisonné is copper. The characters of this metal, cheap, light, easily hammered and stretched provide many advantages to cast. Sometimes bronze and silver are used as well.

The shining wires are often made by silver or gold. It is bent into shapes that define the colored areas. The bends are all done at right angles, so that wire does not curve up.

The main dyestuff is enamel. This bright handicraft is usually fired with a thin layer of clear enamel. The main color is blue, red, yellow, green and black.

Introduction
The typical traditional handicraft cloisonné is also called copper padding thread weaving enamel. The elaborate art and the luxuriant appearance can attract customers at the first time. And it is also a collection with high value.

History
The cloisonné is a kind of Chinese antiques, so its history can be dated back to Yuan Dynasty.

In the capital (it is Beijing now) of Yuan Dynasty (1271 ~1368A.D), the cloisonné artwork rose. And in the following dynasty, Ming Dynasty (1450~1457A.D), this art developed and grew into a comparatively mature situation. Owing to blue enamel was primarily used; it was termed “jingtaiBlue”. The luxuriant appearance implied that it was only can be found in imperial family during the ancient time. But, after the people’s republic of china established, this art skill developed rapidly for the widely spread in the folk. Today, cloisonné gets a firmly reputation among the world.

About Chinese lanterns
Chinese lanterns have grown more popular in the western world but actually have a deep rooted history in Chinese culture, with records suggesting that they were being used as torches at New Year as early as 250BC.

When lanterns became more popular they were used on mass; villagers would gather on the streets and hold the lanterns up into the air in an attempt to see their deceased loved ones fly into the afterlife.

The Chinese lantern can be seen in various shapes and sizes and more recently can be found in the form of heart or flower shapes in a range of different colours. Traditionally, the colour red on a lantern signified heightened energy or a new marriage; a happy event that could also include a new birth or addition to the family. The height the lantern was placed indicated the social status of the family, similarly the size of the lantern would signify how wealthy a household was.

The Palace lantern is very ornate and used to decorate many impressive public and private buildings in China. It is usually large in size and embedded with painted silk or glass panes around its body, The lantern is a Six-side-lantern, each side has its superbly Chinese Arcadian construction, like the Imperial Palace, The Great Wall Etc.

The ordinary lantern transformed into the Chinese palace lantern. This was a far more ornate and highly decorated version of the orthodox lantern. The main aim of these lanterns was to serve as a center piece in an interior setting.

The use of Chinese palace lanterns was popular in the homes of Chinese people. It was however most popularly used in public and private buildings. Today however the use of the Chinese palace lantern has spread to all corners of the world. Anyone looking to give an oriental touch to their home or office setting can make use of Chinese palace lanterns.

In order to make the dough smooth and easy to shape while also allowing it to last for years without spoiling, the dough itself is created from a mixture of wheat flour, honey, lard, powdered sugar and other ingredients.

In order to color the right colors, special care has to be taken in the preparation of the dough. Dough has a special luster that adds beauty to the finished product.

In order to ensure a vivid dough sculpture, many different instruments are used for creating detail in the dough, ranging from fingers to toothpicks to sharp pointed metal objects.