The Changing Face of Beijing

In Changing Face of Beijing, a Look at the New China "...Critics have incessantly described these high-profile projects as bullish expressions of the nation’s budding global primacy. Yet these buildings are not simply blunt expressions of power. Like the great monuments of 16th-century Rome or 19th-century Paris, China’s new architecture exudes an aura that has as much to do with intellectual ferment as economic clout..."

See a multi-media slide show of 5 new architectural monuments in Beijing.

Composer Charles Ives on Beauty and Inspiration

"Beauty in music is too often confused with something that lets the ears lie back in an easy chair. Many sounds that we are used to do not bother us, and for that reason we are inclined to call them beautiful. Frequently, when a new or unfamiliar work is accepted as beautiful on its first hearing, its fundamental quality is one that tends to put the mind to sleep. "

"Every great inspiration is but an experiment."