鼓楼
The weakness in Zhang’s reasoning lies mainly in his confusion over the multiple meanings of the word mínzú 民族. As pointed out on Language Log just a few days ago in “Racist Park”, mínzú 民族 can mean “ethnic group; race; nationality; people; nation”. Coming from the English side, we must keep in mind that “nation” can be translated into Chinese as guó 国 (“country”), guójiā 国家 (“country”), guódù 国度 (“country; state”), bāng 邦 (“state”), and, yes, mínzú 民族 (“ethnic group; race; nationality; people; nation”).
It is clear that, when Biden said “China is a great nation”, he was respectfully referring to the country as a whole. Yet the sensitivity to questions of ethnicity in China, especially with regard to the shǎoshù mínzú 少数民族 (“ethnic / national minorities”), e.g., Uyghurs, Tibetans, and scores of others, caused Zhang to take umbrage over something that the Vice President never intended.
”![Just published — Unsavory Elements: Stories of Foreigners on the Loose in China, ed. Tom Carter (anthology, Earnshaw Books 2013)
…and reviews are starting to appear:
Nick Skidmore, at The Beijinger, notes the work as “something of a corrective, with a vast cast of writers introducing polyphonic flavor and depth into the expat stereotype.”
At Beijing Cream, however, Anthony Tao presents a critical review, opening with the statement that “[t]he problem with gringo lit about the gringo experience in China is it inevitably and unsubtlety [sic] reinforces the foreigner’s sense of Otherness while feeding his inflated sense of importance.”
James Griffiths at Shanghaiist, meanwhile, notes “I liked some stories a great deal, I was ambivalent about many, and I disliked one or two, all in all, a solid B+.” Griffiths recommends the work (positively) as “a great book for taking on the subway.”](http://25.media.tumblr.com/3bbfc025a605f36d2062e29f91c01ea9/tumblr_mn5lpdIoUu1qjhtb5o1_500.jpg)
Just published — Unsavory Elements: Stories of Foreigners on the Loose in China, ed. Tom Carter (anthology, Earnshaw Books 2013)
…and reviews are starting to appear:
Nick Skidmore, at The Beijinger, notes the work as “something of a corrective, with a vast cast of writers introducing polyphonic flavor and depth into the expat stereotype.”
At Beijing Cream, however, Anthony Tao presents a critical review, opening with the statement that “[t]he problem with gringo lit about the gringo experience in China is it inevitably and unsubtlety [sic] reinforces the foreigner’s sense of Otherness while feeding his inflated sense of importance.”
James Griffiths at Shanghaiist, meanwhile, notes “I liked some stories a great deal, I was ambivalent about many, and I disliked one or two, all in all, a solid B+.” Griffiths recommends the work (positively) as “a great book for taking on the subway.”
“VP Biden’s Penn Commencement Speech Inspires Viral Rant by ‘Disappointed’ Chinese Student” by Xiaoying Zhou, Tea Leaf Nation, 19 May 2013.
Image: White House Photos (via Tea Leaf Nation)
Jia Zhangke’s “A Touch of Sin” Premieres in Cannes
See China Digital Times for full coverage (17 May 2013)
Photo: Tong Lam
Please join us for a conversation about China’s 99%, in partnership with the India China Institute at the New School.
Wednesday, May 22, 6:00-8:00 p.m.
The New School
55 W 13th St., 2nd Fl. (Dorothy Hirshon Suite)
New York, NY 10011The latest issue of Dissent magazine offers a behind-the-headlines view of China, focusing on how those belonging to the country’s laobaixing (“the 99%”) have been responding to complex and challenging times. Edited by Jeffrey Wasserstrom, the collection of articles overturns received wisdom in the U.S. about dissent within China—dissent about gender, labor, youth, and nationalism. Join us for an in-depth conversation about emerging currents of dissent in China.
Featuring Jeffrey Wasserstrom, Ross Perlin, Maura Elizabeth Cunningham, Megan Shank, and Mark Frazier.
Find out more here.
4 notes (via lareviewofbooks)
Peter Hessler: Strange Stones — Conversation at ChinaFile
Watch live online on Tuesday, May 21st at 6:30 pm (EST) at ChinaFile.
“ChinaFile Presents: Peter Hessler, author of the recently published Strange Stones: Dispatches from East and West, a collection of essays and writing on China and the United States over the past decade. He will be in discussion with author Michael Meyer and Susan Jakes, Editor of ChinaFile.
Strange Stones is a far-ranging, thought-provoking collection of Hessler’s best reportage from The New Yorker over the past decade. During this time, Hessler lived in both Asia and the United States, writing as both native and knowledgeable outsider in these two very different regions. This unusual perspective distinguishes Strange Stones, which showcases Hessler’s unmatched range as a storyteller. “Wild Flavor” invites readers along on a taste test between two rat restaurants in South China. One story profiles Yao Ming, basketball star and China’s most beloved export, another David Spindler, an obsessive and passionate historian of the Great Wall. In “Dr. Don,” Hessler writes movingly about a small-town pharmacist and his relationship with the people he serves. While Hessler’s subjects and locations vary, subtle but deeply important thematic links bind these pieces — the strength of local traditions, the surprising overlap between apparently opposing cultures, the powerful lessons drawn from individuals who straddle different worlds.”
For more information, see ChinaFile or AsiaSociety.org
“Creating Inclusive Workplaces for LGBT Employees: A Resource Guide for Employers in Hong Kong” - Paul Bernard, Mary Byron (Goldman Sachs). 2010
50 page pdf file available here.
“Life in New York is the only life I’ve ever known. I was just five years old when I came to the United States from the Philippines in 2000. I lived my early years thinking I was like my peers: an American. This country’s culture was my culture. I spoke English without a trace of a Filipino accent. It wasn’t until the end of my sophomore year of high school that I found out I was undocumented, and my life began to fall apart. School felt pointless and my grades plummeted. Perhaps I could graduate, but I doubted I would be able to go to college, have a career, or any real future. I began to think about suicide.
I‘ve made strides in overcoming my depression through working as an activist and with the support of my friends, but I still worry that my dreams remain in jeopardy. I hope by sharing my story, I can inspire us not to make the struggle last so long for others as it has for me.”
Stay tuned for more…
54 notes (via migrantography & raiseourstory)
Commentary by Ye Tan amid continued protest of chemical plant construction in Kunming, China. For the full story, see “China’s Kunming Residents Stage Another Chemical Plant Protest,” Global Voices (17 May 2013)
International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) events around Asia this weekend — see full listings and video at Fridae.asia.
Video above — From the Korean Gay Men’s Human Rights Group Chingusai, a recording of over 100 ordinary citizens singing together in support of LGBT rights.
Official press release: “The recording was made to ring an alarm bell to the prejudice discrimination against sexual minorities in South Korean society and to commemorate the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO), which falls on May 17 each year. ‘You Make Me Proud,’ the song performed on the video, was created by the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Choir as a part of the Out Post Choir Project in 2012 to commemorate the IDAHO. It conveys the conviction that, just as LGBT people affirm and recover their lives and selves despite countless challenges and hardships, all people can overcome injustices in reality and become friends, which will lead to greater love.”
via Fridae.Asia
Rebuilding the Fengtongzhai Honey Cooperative — Funding Campaign
The project:
On April 20th, 2013, a devastating earthquake struck rural Sichuan Province near the city Ya’an. One of the two hardest hit counties was Baoxing County, home of the Fengtongzhai Honey Cooperative. Our project goal is to crowdfund the money for 100 beehives to rebuild and expand the honey cooperative. This project will help the community start down the path to recovery, while preserving the local ecosystem that is crucial to the giant panda.
How to Help: See the funding campaign page here for more information.
Haruki Murakami, quoted in Roland Kelts’ “Lost in Translation,” The New Yorker (9 May 2013)
“The World’s Bloodiest Civil War” — John B. Thompson reviews Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War and What Remains: Coming to Terms with Civil War in 19th Century China.
At Los Angeles Review of Books (16 May 2013)
h/t @ChinaBeat
“On April 29, 1968, a young Chinese dissident named Lin Zhao was secretly executed by firing squad. In 2013, on the 45th anniversary of her execution, her name resurfaced in the public sphere, as news broke that police had prevented people paying tribute to her at her grave.”
For the full story, see Ashley Sun, “Lin Zhao’s Ghost Still Haunting China, Online and Off” at Tea Leaf Nation (16 May 2013)
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