Love Song
Beautiful love song. The MV's story depicting puppy love, secret admiration, sudden realisation and regret, distracts us from singer Fish Leong's own love story. Nobody wants to live with regrets,…[...]
The Paths We Choose
What If This Road What if this road, that has held no surprises these many years, decided not to go home after all; what if it could turn left or…[...]
Was Lu Xun a Communist?
Saw this book at the library yesterday. Who has the right to speak for dead writers and poets? Lu Xun, the most misunderstood Chinese writer. https://flic.kr/p/2pLHTW5 https://flic.kr/p/2pLBAXq https://www.chanjoonyee.com/2024/04/23/speaking-for-the-dead-lu-xun/[...]
Is Chauvinism An Inalienable Part of Chinese Culture?
An honest look at Chinese culture from the book "从甲午到辛亥" by Lei Yi 雷颐 中国传统“天下”观的核心是“华夏中心论”,即天下是以中国为中心的,其他都是边缘,而且由“边缘”渐成“野蛮”。 《尚书·禹贡》把天下分为五个同心而具有阶级性的地区,分别是甸服、侯服、绥服、要服、荒服。夷夏对举始于西周,有四夷、八蛮、七闽、九貉、五戎、六狄之说,严夷夏之辨则是在春秋时期。约至春秋时期,“夏”和与其相对的 “狄” “夷” “蛮” “戎” “胡” 等(后简称“狄夷”或“夷”)概念的使用开始突破地域范围,主要用于区别尊卑上下、文明野蛮、 道德与非道德。“华夏”代表正宗、中心、高贵、文明、伦理道德;“夷”则代表偏庶、边缘、卑下、野蛮、没有伦理道德,尚未脱离兽性。 这种居高临下、俯视其他文明与文化的华夏中心论在处理、 对待与他国的关系中,制度化为以中国为宗主、他国为藩属的 “宗藩体制”,或曰“朝贡体制”,以此规范“华夷秩序”。在这 “华夷秩序”中,中国的“皇帝”是承受天命的“天子”,“天子”是最高的道德“天道”在人间的化身、代表,代“天”来执政“天下”。所以,“天下”其他国家只能是中国的“藩邦” “藩属” “属国”。[...]
The Beast And The Beauty – Mulan and Warrior Wolf
Why was Disney's Mulan such a big box office flop in spite of its alignment with PRC narrative? https://flic.kr/p/2rTUVMj The film Mulan had a reported production budget of $200 million…[...]
The Weaponisation of Information
"This (the race to report on social media) has certainly revolutionised the weaponisation of information. In the 1980s, for example, the Soviet KGB ran Operation Denver, a complex attempt to…[...]
Weaponising Medical Supplies
Many people didn't realise that wars were fought during COVID. From the book, The Weaponisation of Everything by Mark Galeotti: "Beijing, by contrast, seemed unsure whether to be good cop…[...]
Weaponising Criminals
The Weaponisation of Everything by Mark Galeotti https://flic.kr/p/2rTtNAW "The Russians are especially willing and able to use gangsters as agents, but they are not alone, especially if we broaden the…[...]
Refuse to Behave – Picasso
https://flic.kr/p/2rSYDvu Pablo Picasso: Eccentric Genius, Tumultuous Relationships and a Legacy of Misogyny Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) stands as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, a co-founder of…[...]
The Economics of War
From the book The Weaponisation of Everything by Mark Galeotti Why do poor countries contribute peacekeeping forces? "Pakistan, India, Nepal, Rwanda, Bangladesh and, at the top of the league, Ethiopia.…[...]