Danwei.org did a post on the “transsexual blogfest” almost two years ago. Why, then, does it still feel like transsexuals are all the rage here in China?
Last week I caught Korean transsexual superstar Harisu in China on TV doing some kind of Chinese gameshow. They just kept showering her with comments the whole time, going on and on about how pretty, sexy, and feminine she is. I wanted to hear her voice. I was curious what it …
Matthew Stinson has recently finished a “photoblogging tour of monotheism in Tianjin” (with heavy emphasis on architecture). Take a look:
There’s one entry on Tianjin’s mosques…
…one entry on Tianjin’s Xikai Catholic Church…
…and one entry on Tianjin’s (endangered) synagogue.
Matthew provides plenty more photos, observations, and insight into Tianjin in each entry. Just follow the links above.
I intend to blog more on religion in China, but I’ve been putting it off. It’s extremely complex, and …
When I visited Yunnan in February 2003, I was, of course, interested in seeing something of the lives of the minority people that live there. I didn’t want to participate in exploitation, but I wanted to satisfy my own curiosity and learn something about their ways of life.
A unique opportunity presented itself when I had dinner with my Japanese friend at a local restaurant in Jinghong (景洪). It was one of those minority-themed restaurants you might expect …
I like maps. When I was younger, I especially liked looking at maps of imagined fantasy worlds. I drew quite a few myself (although I was never quite nerdy enough to actually use them to play D&D or anything like that).
In high school, fantasy writer Piers Anthony‘s map of Xanth caught my attention because the geography was clearly (mostly) Florida’s, and yet so much was not the same. I think it’s a similar charm which results in my …
Yesterday’s lookalike post was so much fun I decided to do a similar one today. I stumbled upon these while searching for images for The Myth for yesterday’s post.
Good stuff, although the Yao Ming one isn’t as good as the others (especially the first two). The male statues seem to be terracotta warriors. I’ve seen some of these guys in Xi’an. I even beat one in a thumb wrestling match once.…
最近华师大举行了留学生联欢晚会。有6个节目左右，包括我的。我的节目是朗诵古诗再加我的想法。我说的内容差不多这样：
大家好！我今天想说的跟国庆节没有多大的关系，而跟我们刚过过的中秋节有关系。
2000年我刚到中国的时候我在杭州教书。那个时候我不太了解中秋节。一位中国老师是这样给我解释的：“中国的中秋节和美国的感恩节很相似。主要是一家人团聚。”但它们各有自己的特点。中秋节的特色食品是月饼。
那个中秋节，有人送我月饼。我很开心，觉得中国人真好。我马上就吃掉了，觉得味道不错。然后又有人送我月饼。之后收到了很多月饼。到了晚上，我有了一大堆月饼！其他的外教也一样。怎么办？我们怕吃不掉那么多但也不想浪费。我们决定了举行一场吃月饼比赛。
吃月饼比赛的规则是这样：每个人吃自己的月饼。只有十分钟，谁吃最多谁就赢。但还有一个条件：不许喝水！你想一想。月饼那么甜，而且密度又那么大。这可真不容易！
有三个人参加比赛。第一名只吃了三个月饼。我是第二名，吃了两个半。第三名两个都吃不掉。
我讲这个小故事因为我觉得中国人喜欢听外国人对传统中国文化的看法。那么接下来我想朗诵一首古诗然后说说自己的想法。
嫦娥
明 边贡
月宫秋冷桂团团，
岁岁花开只自攀。
共在人间说天上，
不知天上忆人间。在中国不少的人会问我：“美国生活一定很好吧？你为什么会到中国来呢？”其实美国的生活是比较安逸，但对我来说我更流连在中国的经历。这个国家充满着活力，时时刻刻都有新的事物产生。有那么多人憧憬着美国的生活，但其实现在的中国才正是最吸引我的地方，是当今世界的焦点。
在这佳节时刻，我想通过这首诗来表达我对家人的思念，更想表达我以上的想法。谢谢大家！
…
The Myth
So last night I saw Jackie Chan’s new movie The Myth at the theater. I wanted to see it despite not even really knowing anything about it, which only seems silly to me in retrospect. I’ll admit I was fooled by the movie posters. The movie wanted very much to be another “Chinese epic” in the tradition of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero. That much is obvious simply in the movie posters. Chump that I am, …
John has lived in China for
11.8
years. He is a linguist focused on SLA and tech.
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