Observe, please, the gentleman on the right side of the above picture. Although he stands in the Forbidden City, the nexus of Chinese imperial majesty, there is no mistaking the expression on his face. It is one of disappointment. Despite the towering blood-red ramparts, the diverse historical treasures, and the profusion of goofy-looking foreigners to stare at, he feels let down.
How can this be? And he's not the only one looking less than enthralled. His cohort on the left of the picture wears an air of defeat, and the young lady by the brim of his jaunty cap may as well be sitting on a bus.
How has this World Heritage site failed to inspire them? Every effort has been made to accommodate the ahistorical tourist: modern toilets, sugary snacks, knick-knack shops, even a Starbucks, since closed by overwhelming consensus. To understand the blasé reaction to such undeniably exotic splendor, please observe the picture below:
Wow, the market sure crashed hard. And insiders claim tea prices still haven't bottomed. Huh? You thought we were talking about stocks? No, Pu'er tea. It's been some ride since 2003, with all the earmarks of a runaway bull market: greed, hype, rubes, cons, fortunes won and lost. The charge is over, the bull lies slain, but Pu'er is still a viable commodity, one that could repay long-term investors much more handsomely than conventional financial products. How's a thousand times your money over twenty years sound?
As recently as ten years ago, top Pu'er tea was the last of the Chinese bargain treasures. Just as a 1920s Shanghai-colonialist could have picked up a Song tapestry for a day's opium money, a 1998 English teacher could have bought a sublime cake of fifteen-year-old Sheng Pu'er for under 100 RMB. Even after the recent crash, today the same product would cost between 1500 and 3000 RMB. The only reason for its bargain basement history is simple lack of appreciation; how much would a '45 Mouton fetch in a Cuzco chicha bar?
Of course, Pu'er is the one tea that gets better with age, and so has always had its fans, first in Tibet and Mongolia, where it comprised half the trade of the ancient Tea-Horse Road. But it was the hill people of southern Yunnan who first contrived the intricate method whereby a simple tea leaf is turned to maocha, then steamed and pressed into cakes which can last forever, theoretically. Unlike wine, which requires a leavening agent, Pu-er undergoes fermentation naturally, transmogrified by micro-bacteria and fungi. Lest that sound icky, keep in mind those selfsame micro-organisms invest the tea with its unmatched taste and health properties.
The much hyped new CD from LA band Guns 'N Roses is now out - and available on download only at present. The only reason we're featuring this news is because the soon-to-be-released CD cover is cool, and some of our staff profess to dig their mega-hair air-guitar tune of the past, the long winded angst ballad "November Rain". Other than that, if crashing guitar chords, incessantly banging drums and the lead singers nascient whine are your thing, then cool, but however the as yet unrevealed secret behind the title is that we've found, upon playing it backwards, the entire record does appear to be Axl Rose singing verses from Chairman Mao's "Little Red Book". This is the transcript, handily translated into English, although Axl Rose sings it in (not particuarly good) Mandarin, together with literal translations of the original English song titles into pinyin. Track by track:
This post goes out to all of you hypnotized by the big picture, missing all the trees while you contemplate the forest. Whether Rising Dragon or Crouching Tiger, China is a construction, a mythical creature equal parts forecast and hindsight. Chinese people and their communities, on the other hand, are right here, right now.
Let us lay the scene: a tranquil little red-brick gated neighborhood whose like are found China-wide. However this one sits surrounded by Beijing mega-tower construction, a ten-minute flat-bed tricycle ride from the CCTV tower. In late fall, a gray gloom descends on the capital, seldom relieved until the vernal equinox. A rogue sunny afternoon, unaccompanied by Mongolian winds, turns the neighborhood into a brief oasis. Hordes of tower captives pack the community during their lunch-time reprieve, and for an hour or so it's as though winter's another three months away.
Story time, children, courtesy of Lu Xun. Ever feel like people are out to get you, that the dictum "eat or be eaten" is taken far too seriously? Well, Lu Xun did. The short story "Madman's Diary" reveals a China feasting on human flesh, symbolically and literally. Confucian values ate the Chinese from the inside, while catastrophes such as the Taiping Rebellion resulted in actual cannibalism, out of starvation but at times for revenge.
So if the diary seems only the paranoia of a madman, it is that eerily accurate paranoia of a Gogol or an Osbourne. Published in 1918, "Madman's Diary" made enough social impact to establish Lu Xun as an intellectual leader in the New Culture Movement. It was the first novel published in baihua, vernacular Mandarin, and gave Chinese revolutionaries an image for their anti-traditional ethos. But for all its historical weight, the story remains accessible and relevant. It's a breeze to read, like a Vonnegut story, yet Lu Xun fans still argue over the meaning of the last line.
This is the best instant Chinese lesson you're going to get (today) - ten quick Chinese phrases at the bleeding edge of Mando-Internet culture. Using these words and phrases correctly will show you're not up on your Mandarin; you're down with the Chinese.
Imagine the bar street beggar who distinguishes himself from his "Hallo moneymoney?" peers by asking you with the sincerity of a Humphrey Bogart, "Brother, can you spare a yuan?" How about the Shenyang shlub who defies KTV expectations by belting out "Sweet Child o' Mine"? Those are the kind of brownie points we promise those of you who commit this slang to memory and use it with care.
Don't be scared of the characters - cut and paste as needed. Oh yeah, we threw in the tone numbers for you, too.
On December 23rd, 1915, the dawn of the winter solstice, Yuan Shikai arrived at the Temple of Heaven in an armored car. Carried into the building on an imperial sedan chair, he donned the sacred robes of an emperor performing a sacrifice, and prayed that Heaven show mercy to his people.
Had Yuan been a legitimate Emperor, the ceremony might have met with approval. However, Yuan was the President of the new and besieged Chinese Republic. As such, the ritual proved Yuan's imperial aspirations, and his betrayal of the hopes that so many Chinese had fought and died for. Yuan's subsequent move to have himself enthroned catalyzed the breakdown of an already tenuous government, and ushered in the dark Era of Warlords. His story embodies China's agonizing transition from ancient to modern precepts of authority.
Mark Twain told us that clothes make the man, and that naked people have little or no influence on society. Nearly naked people, on the other hand, are often cause for celebration, as they were at China Fashion Week in Beijing. Brevity is the soul of lingerie, as confirmed at the Lingerie Trend Show, a highlight of Fashion Week. The models will be wrapping up today.
Qin Qiang, winner of the 7th Mao Dun Literary Prize
Qin Qiang is music as plaintive and poignant as a life spent trying to eek a living from Shaanxi's loess plateau. It's also the title of one of this year's Mao Dun literary award winners. Jia Pingwa penned Qin Qiang as a sprawling tribute to the lives of Shaanxi peasants during China's reform period.
The Thrilla in Manila. The Rumble in the Jungle. And coming this Friday...We Are Together. While lacking the poetic oomph of Don King's greatest productions, the name is the only uninspired aspect of this Friday's fight night, to take place in Chengdu's Sichuan Gymnasium. The venue is certainly no Caesar's Palace. There will be no mafia heavies, no Ben Affleck, and most importantly, no net profit. All proceeds will go to aiding Sichuan's earthquake victims.
So that explains the name of the event, English for Sichuan's rallying cry Women zai yiqi. But does it explain why Don King is promoting boxing in China? Although 76 now, Don King is still as high-profile and feisty as his coif, and will easily be the most colorful character in Chengdu come November 7th. To understand what he's doing there, it might help to know that he got his pugilistic start by convincing Muhammad Ali to box in a charity match for a Cleveland hospital. To get, one must first give, as fellow legendary promoters Zhuangzi and Plato would tell you.
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