#sinophile

[pazodetrasalba]

Portus Fragrans

Dear Caroline:

You'll no doubt be acquainted that such is the (latin) translation of the city you loved and lived in for a couple of years. I don't know if today's Hong Kong is, indeed, a fragrant harbor, but you do seem to be sprinkling it with incense in this blog post of yours.

I would not like to belittle your adopted town's merits, and can believe that they adopted earlier and better measures when dealing with COVIT-19 than anybody else. One of the difficulties of learning from other cultures is that we cannot avoid cherrypicking, and this is an issue because in our real, dirty and grimy world, it is very seldom that you can transplant purely good stuff from a different culture into your own. Everything in culture is deeply entangled, and makes sense within the structure (I feel Henrich would be pretty supportive with me in this), and it comes with its own unavoidable negativities. Traditionally, Confucian cultures are very hierarchical, disciplined, meritocratic, appreciators of learning. While these traits can be seen as 'positive', they are incompatible with a very American (and partially also Western) deep individualism, disrespect of traditions, norms and rigid social orders and relations. This means we suck when it comes to taking quick and effective, top-down measures, but in the long run is more conducive to growth, prosperity, freedom and individual well-being.

You know which other Rationalists fell in love with the East? Well, many Enlightenment thinkers, actually, including Voltaire. For them, the Qing Dynasty was an example of the sort of secular, meritocratic, enlightened Despotism they were wishing at home, with themselves, of course, occupying the comfy places of mandarins instead of all those church bishops, archbishops and cardinals. It is not a theme that has completely melted away - one can still find books that extoll the rise of the Asian Tiger economies as based on Confucian values, and who look with longing eyes to the red sun raising over China. Later entries from your blog seem to show that you awoke not many months after this blog post from your Oriental dream, though.

Quote:

 China is the wisest and best governed country in the world

Voltaire

[anasianamerican]

With "Asian culture" (I mean let's face it, East Asian cultures-predominantly Japanese, Korean, and Chinese) being fetishized and stripped down to the bone, the only things that fully identify it are kpop stars and red dragons and kimonos and "Asian aesthetics." This shit IS NOT WHAT ASIA LOOKS LIKE. It's not even what is important or actually worth anything in Asian culture. For those who "love Asian people," and continuously gorge your non-Asian self with our bright colors and pop culture, claiming "I wish I was Asian," do you really want that? Do you really want to be the only Asian kid in the classroom? Having your achievements invalidated? Having barely any representation in media of any form? To be told by your peers that all Chinese people eat dogs and all East Asians look like "(insert stereotype)." Do you really want to be Asian and want the full experience? Because I don't think you're prepared for the ugly anti-blackness and colorism in our culture, I don't think you're ready for all the hurt and pressure and shame you feel for not achieving what the model minority myth said you were. I don't think you're prepared AT ALL to be Asian in a European dominated country.

[whathannalearnedtoday]

Sinophile  (sino- meaning "Chinese" [originating through Persian and Sanskrit from Late Latin Sinæ] and -philos meaning "loving" [from Greek ϕίλος]) - a person who demonstrates a strong interest and love for Chinese culture or its people.

[meenandmemes-blog]

White guys who think they are experts on Chinese culture.

[sinophilia]

Chinese New Year's Eve 2014 - Breaking in the Year of the Horse This is the view from the hilltop lookout over Pu’er City, Yunnan (yes the panoramic view is marred by multiple high tension electricity pylons and cables which miraculously disappear in promotional images for the city) as midnight approaches to bring in the Lunar New Year on January 31st, 2014 - The Year of the Horse. This is not a huge city by Chinese standards (a population in the surrounding district approaching 2.5 million), so I would consider this display quite impressive. Furthermore, the view into the distance is obscured by a heavy pall of smoke already in situ from the preceding hours leading up to midnight. I can never get tired of the enormity of this. What you see is a healthy mix of tradition, male one-upmanship (“My box of fireworks is bigger than yours….oh….you have two boxes!”), a higher (probably non-disposable but increasingly disposable) income and a terrifying disregard for life, limb, property and the environment (but even I will disregard the latter in the heat of the moment). Love it or hate it, the sheer spectacle and abuse to one’s senses of a nation igniting fireworks, both on the stroke of midnight and for the proceeding two weeks until Lantern Festival (this year on February 14th), is a sight, smell, sound, taste and emotion second to none (in my humble opinion). This is not an orchestrated "Fourth of July" display or New Year's Eve extravaganza, this is just every man and his dog letting off steam and sulphur fumes from their front doorstep, the roadside curb, the middle of the road, parks, carparks and rooftops either pooled with their neighbors or privately, as a deterrent to bad spirits in the upcoming twelve months. This is my seventh New Year’s period spent in China. I arrived on New Year’s Eve 2008, flying into Beijing with the city below a carpet of (mainly red I recall) sky bursts. Subsequently, I have “survived” celebrations several times now in Beijing, in Chongqing, Sichuan, and this is my third in Pu’er, Yunnan. Rich or poor (and these pyrotechnics are not cheap by Chinese standards), first-tier city or rural village, every man and his (only) son will light at least one fuse (and likely many more) during the Spring Festival period. With all considerations for pollution, waste and hazard to person and property aside, Chinese New Year is moving, exciting and illuminating. Imagine Fourth of July, New Year’s celebrations on Sydney Harbour, an Olympic opening ceremony and the sound and light show at any major techno party ever held combined and occurring simultaneously within sight and earshot, both on the ground and high above your head, and you are still not even close….. Happy New Year to you all…… Gong Xi Fa Cai! by itchydogimages on Flickr. Pu'er, Yunnan, China See more images from China on my Flickr site HERE.....

[gwenndael]

[Je pense à la dernière actualité de 2013 qui m'a fait rire] APRES UN ACCIDENT D'HELICOPTERE, DEUX CHINOIS SE SONT PLANTES EN DORDOGNE. ON A DONC FAIT APPEL A DES BRIGADES CYNOPHILES POUR RECHERCHER LES CORPS. LA GENDARMERIE NATIONALE SAIT FAIRE PREUVE DE TACT.

[kangshale]

Made Singapore noodles, Xinjiang roasted lamb skewers and tea. NBD Julia Child called me for the recipe. 自己做的 #星州炒米 ，#新疆羊肉串 ， #茶。#Uyghur #Singapore #Xinjiang #Sinophile

[sinophilia]

The Long Wall..... The western wall of Zhongnanhai government compound along Fuyou Avenue looking north from the corner of West Chang'an Avenue. If you visit Beijing and the major tourist walking routes, you will pass this complex and its flagpoled entrance with immaculately presented armed guards and police presence (uniformed and otherwise) and wonder what it is and what lies behind the walls. I would love the opportunity to have a look inside but rest assured the likelihood of this happening is less than zero. Zhongnanhai is often used as a metonym for the Chinese leadership at large (in the same sense that the term White House frequently refers to the President of the United States and his associates). The state leaders, including Xi Jinping and Hu Jintao, and other top CPC and PRC leadership figures carry out many of their day-to-day administrative activities inside the compound, such as meetings with foreign dignitaries. China Central Television frequently shows footage of meetings inside the compound, but limits its coverage largely to views of the interior of buildings. The complex is blessed with a remarkable history, practically unseen by the contempory public eye..... The name of the Zhongnanhai complex, located west of the Forbidden City, means "central and southern seas/lakes", referring to two lakes (the "Central Sea" and "Southern Sea") located within the compound; it is sometimes translated as "Sea Palaces". These two lakes are part of a series of irrigation projects carried out during the construction of the nearby Forbidden City. Also part of the same system is the "Northern Sea", or "Beihai", now a public park. After the Qing Dynasty established its capital in Beijing, the government reduced the size of this royal park to within a small walled area around the three lakes. Several successive emperors built pavilions and houses along the lake shores, where they would carry out government duties in the summer. During the reign of the Empress Dowager Cixi, the Empress Dowager and the Emperor would often live in the Zhongnanhai compound, travelling to the Forbidden City only for ceremonial duties. During the Boxer Rebellion of 1900, the Russian army occupied Zhongnanhai. Almost all artifacts and decorations in the compound were looted. Later, the Eight-Nation Alliance commander also lived in Zhongnanhai. When Puyi was crowned Emperor, his father as the Prince Regent lived for a short time in the compound. Zhongnanhai attained political significance during the Republic of China era, when the Beiyang Government under Yuan Shikai placed its headquarters in the Zhongnanhai compound from 1911. This decision was made because the regime wished to house its government very close to the historical centre of power, the Forbidden City, but could not use the Forbidden City itself because the abdicated Emperor Puyi still lived there. Zhongnanhai served as a government centre again from the early days of the People's Republic of China, founded in 1949, which built many of the structures in the compound. The compound housed the Communist Party of China Central Committee, as well as the State Council. Early leaders, such as Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, and Deng Xiaoping lived in the compound. Since Zhongnanhai became the central government compound, it has been mostly inaccessible to the general public in the same way the Forbidden City was during the imperial era. The exception to this was during the years of relative freedom following the end of the Cultural Revolution, when the compound was open to members of the public, who could obtain tickets to visit the compound from relevant government authorities. Following the political turmoil that culminated in the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, security was greatly increased. Access has now been closed to the general public, with numerous plain clothed military personnel patrolling the area on foot. Cars, moreover, are now prohibited from stopping on stretches of adjacent roadway for any reason. The most important entrance to the compound is the southern one at Xinhuamen (Xinhua Gate, or "Gate of New China"), surrounded by two slogans: "long live the great Communist Party of China" and "long live the invincible Mao Zedong Thought." The view behind the entrance is shielded by a traditional screen wall with the slogan "Serve the People", written in the handwriting of Mao Zedong. The Xinhuamen entrance lies on the north side of West Chang'an Avenue.

(SOURCE) by itchydogimages on Flickr. Beijing, China See more images from China on my Flickr site HERE.....