From Lamma Island 自南丫岛

My New Website 我的新網頁

2009-05-15T12:30:00.007+08:00

Please visit my new website at

http://web.me.com/wang_hong/Site/Home.html.

I'll gradually migrate to the new site and stop writing on this one. It's best viewed through Safari to avoid slow loading.

我有了一個新的網頁，去看看吧。將來我就那裡發表文章和照片了。最好用Safari來看，以達到最快的速度。

生日 Birthday

2009-04-08T13:48:00.008+08:00

生日这天早晨醒来，窗外鸟鸣阵阵，树荫青青，阳光要再晚一点才能照进来。

“生日快乐”，他低声跟我说，大概是看到我醒了。
“嗯，又老了一岁”，我微笑了一下，心里很安静。
“不对，是又老了一天”。虽然我不怕老，但这样的安慰还是象微风轻拂，令人愉快。

是啊，日子要一天一天地细细地过，而不是一年一年粗粗地过，那样也许能从每一天里多留下一些记忆，也不至有天忽然发出“不知明镜里,何处得秋霜”的惊叹。如果真有来世，我们的生命真地会以另一种方式继续存在，那么此生的财富中有可能跟我们一起穿越时空的，恐怕就只有这些记忆了。

The chirping of birds greeted me in the morning when I woke up on my birthday. Outside the window was the water-color green of the spring jungle. Rays of sunshine would soon brighten the room.

"Happy Birthday", he might have noticed that I was awake now.
"Yes, one year older." I smiled, feeling peaceful.

"No, one day older." Although I haven’t yet experienced any fear for getting old, such soothing words still breezed through very pleasantly and gently.

True, it is nicer to live the time we have exquisitely not hastily, and count them by days not years. This may help us catch more beautiful moments from each day that would have otherwise slipped away unnoticed, and form richer and more colorful layers in the depth of our memories. If there were really another life after this one, or, life continued beyond death in a different form of existence, the only wealth from this world that could accompany us, on our way through spaces and times, might be only these memories.

闲散的一天 A Lazy Day

2009-03-20T20:23:00.007+08:00

拖了一年的项目昨天终于做完了，高兴，给自己放假，在岛上懒一天。

昨天潮潮的，今天春天忽然来了，鸟活泼地叫，蝴蝶好象一夜间从花丛草丛里全涌出来。从书房的窗户向外望，有一只懒猫，春眠不觉晓似的。好久没去大坪村和我们的晨径，就往那个方向走，惊诧的看到一处花园鲜花盛开，粉蝶飞舞。花园后面是菜园，有人拉开竹门请我进去，一问才知他叫Michael，巴基斯坦人，在香港二十多年了。Michael给我从地里掐了好多新鲜的生菜和菠菜尖儿，还有小蕃茄，中午我有了一顿美味的蔬菜色拉。从Michael的菜园出来走了几步，前面蓦然矗立着一大棵紫荆树，粉红色的花朵象瀑布一样飞泻而下，好看极了。

回到自己的小院，院门处闻到香气，是绿叶间小簇小簇的白花。回到家把窗全打开，春天的海风吹进来，窗纱轻摆，我的心里是静静的喜悦。从忙碌的日子里走出来，不紧不慢的享受自己的岛自己的家，品味周围一切平日里和我匆匆擦肩而过的美丽，便再也不想回到那忙碌中去了。

The deal was finally closed last night after dragging on and on for a year. This morning I decided to have a lazy day on the island.

Spring is suddenly here after a very humid night. Birds are chirping cheerfully and hundreds of butterflies burst out from the bushes without any warning. Outside our study window was a sleepy cat, still not willing to open his eyes in the warm sunlight.

It’s been a while since I last went up to Tai Ping Village and the morning trail, so I set out toward that direction. At the end of Taiping was a stunningly beautiful garden, with all kinds of colorful flowers, over which white butterflies were fluttering. There were vegetables too. Somebody opened the bamboo fence and invited me in. This was Michael, originally from Pakistan, but has been in Hong Kong for over 20 years. Michael pinched lots of leaves from the lettuce and spinach rows and gave them to me with some small tomatoes. A fresh salad for lunch. A short walk away from Michael’s garden, I was stopped by a big Bauhinia tree, thousands of pink flowers flowing down like a waterfall.

When I was back at the gate to our courtyard, I was touched by some pleasant aroma. It was from the little white flowers currently in full blossom among the green leaves. I got into the house, opened all the windows and let in the spring breeze from the ocean. The light curtains started to flutter, and a quiet happiness filled my heart.

It was so nice to have such a lazy time to enjoy home, to enjoy the island and to be touched by the beauty which I hastily pass by day in and day out. I never wish to return to those hectic days again.

《莲花》"Lotus"

2009-03-17T17:37:00.007+08:00

安妮宝贝的《莲花》，是春节回北京时好友送的。以前听说过这个作者的名字，心想一个给自己起了这么个笔名的人能写出什么好作品，但好友是有品位的人，拜她推荐就翻开了《莲花》，不料昨夜一口气读完，窗外的鸟已经开始叫了。

安妮的文字清洁冷静，带着很强的力量，讲述的是离普通生活很远的几个人的故事，让我们从世界的边缘看人生的真实与虚幻，却又可以时时被提醒着自己人生的梦想、足迹、痛苦和温暖。也许我们每一个人在某个时刻都希望成为一个远离世界远离人群远离喧嚣的安静自由的流浪者，即便我们活在不完美的布满种种约束的却又不忍或不敢抛弃的现实中。

书中的两个主人公在13岁的时候一起在雨后的森林深处看到上万只黄色的蝴蝶，在迁徙的途中，沐光而舞，寂寥无人却华丽神秘。两个人从这一天后走了不同的道路：女孩儿向着这蝴蝶的方向走了进去，去寻找真实生命的证明，我特别感动于她说的一句话：“我的一生从未做到过在俗世的幸福面前可以理所当然”；男孩儿退了回来，象每个人一样努力，做了成功的男人，可内心却与这个世界充满疏远和隔膜，无限寂寥，生活该往哪里去呢？

像莲花一样吧，摆脱淤泥与黑暗，向着光明，在这光明中去看真实的自己，去找这个自己想走的路。其他的也许都不重要。

"Lotus", a novel written by Annie Baby, was among a big pile of books given to me by a good friend when I was in Beijing during the Chinese New Year. I had heard of this writer but didn’t give her any serious look, hindered by her garish pen name. The book took me by surprise. I opened it late last night and didn’t close it until the last line was done. Birds started then the first chirps before the dawn broke.

Annie’s language is clean, calm and powerful, telling stories of people who seem to dwell at the remotest corner of the world but forcefully remind me of the desires, dreams, pains and tenderness in my own life and of my own illusions and reality. Perhaps every one of us has, at some moment, wished to be a drifter, free and peaceful, away from this world’s chaos, noise and constraints, even though in the end, most of us are reluctant or too afraid to entirely desert the imperfect lives that we are used to.

At the age of 13, the two protagonists of "Lotus" descended into the depth of a forest and were encountered by an unbelievable scene – thousand of yellow butterflies dancing in columns of sunlight, lonely but magnificent. From this day, the two departed onto different routes. The girl followed straight the direction of the butterflies to look for a true proof of life; while the boy turned back to make a success in the world but felt always estranged from it. Where should one go to find ones destiny?

Be like a lotus, out from sludge and darkness, toward the light above. In this light I may see my true self and in this light I may find a way that truly belongs to me. The rest, possibly, are not at all that important.

有事做，有盼望 Something to do, and Something to Look Forward to

2009-02-13T13:20:00.004+08:00

在皇后大道中有一个经营报摊的女孩儿，我认识她是因为曾请她帮我留一些大陆出版的报纸。每天清晨我经过她的报摊，问候她的时候，她总是快乐而充满朝气。今天早晨我们互致问候的时候，她祝我这一天有事做，有盼望。

多么简单的一个祝愿，却好像揭示了快乐的秘密。如果我生活中的每一天都从喜欢做的事里有一点点成果，对未来的日子怀着一些希望，那我一定是快乐而无悔的了。

There is a girl who runs several news stands on Queen’s Road Central. I got to know her when I asked her to keep some mainland published newspapers for me. Every morning I pass her stand and greet her and every morning she looks happy and energetic. This morning when we exchanged greetings again, she wished me “to have something to do and have something to look forward to.”

Have something to do and have some to look forward to. What a simple wish that reveals the secret of happiness. If I use everyday in my life to accomplish and to hope, I’ll be happy and have no regret.

你已为我拔涉千里 For Me, You Have Trekked Through Thousands of Miles

2009-02-16T12:17:00.005+08:00

偶然读到席慕容说到了八十岁她也还会写情诗，我呢，恐怕到了八十岁也还会阅读并感动于好的情诗。仿佛与爱情有个一生的约定，也好像做一个长长的梦，充满灿烂、温婉、忧郁、缠绵、喜悦或痛苦的故事，走到今世尽头，都不愿醒。爱如同美，坚强而接近永恒，虽然作为爱的载体，人是那么软弱，不永久。

人情易变，于是自古就有“人生若只如初见”的感叹和“执字之手与子偕老”的盼望。其实与一个人的初见，那瞬间的感觉，如燃烧的烟花最明亮的时刻，如何能不断的延续和重复呢？如果在记忆中这一刻永远是美好的，不被后来发生的事玷污，已是人生之幸了。人的相伴总会经历风雨程程啊，彼此了解得更深了，虽然与初见的感觉很不同，但还是愿意相守，不更是人生之幸么？

在我的印象里父母的关系与他们那个年龄许多夫妻一样稀松，可是有一天跟他们一起吃饭的时候，不知为了什么事妈妈笑了，这时爸爸说了一句：“笑得和年轻时一样”。我听了差点掉下泪来，也许真的有些什么是从初见到永远都不会变的，即便那明亮震撼的感觉已经那么遥远。在我白发苍苍的时候，身边会不会有一个人说这样的话呢？

喜欢席慕容有关初见的诗句：“我真喜欢那样的梦，明明知道你已为我拔涉千里，却又觉得芳草鲜美，落英缤纷，好象你我才初初相遇。”初相遇的感觉谁都想念，缤纷如梦，但也要知道并感激“你已为我拔涉千里”。

感谢你，为我跋涉千里。

静听风吟 Whispers of the Wind

2008-12-18T20:04:00.005+08:00

好友寄来一张北京三里屯使馆区的照片，让我看看曾经熟悉和钟爱的秋色。是啊，当我想念北京的秋天时，这想念每每化作眼前漫漫的银杏树叶和耳边的低低风吟，还有当年流行的一首歌的歌词“我是一只小小鸟，想要飞，却怎么也飞不高”。连自己那时的样子，也跃然眼前，秋天起风的日子里，常常是一条红格呢裙子，黑色高领羊毛衫，头上包着一块红丝巾, 穿过种满银杏树的巷子，去打大学毕业后的第一份工，这么多年过去了，我好像还是一只想飞的鸟，那召唤来自飞翔的感觉，不为到哪儿，只为飞。无目的带来自由，所过之处留下想念，这想念有时如同微风掠过，而我就在世界的某个角落，也许是一个月明星稀的秋夜，静听风吟。

To show me Beijing’s autumn colors, a former colleague sent over a photo he took of ginkgo trees in Sanlitun diplomatic compounds with which I used to be very familiar. Yes, when I miss the autumn in Beijing, it is the boundless expansion of these golden fan-shape ginkgo leaves I see and the soft whispers of the wind I hear, and I recall lyrics of a popular song in those years: “I am a small bird, eager to fly but can never reach high…”. Often appearing vividly was also an image of myself, in a black turtle-neck pullover and a red woolen skirt, head wrapped in a red silk scarf, walking along the ginkgo tree lined streets on a windy autumn day, toward my first job after university…Years have passed, and I still feel like a bird, eager to fly. The allure is the flying itself, not to any destination but to fly. Absence of a goal creates freedom, while every episode along the way lingers in the memories. On some days these memories brush through like a breeze, perhaps on an autumn night, under bright full moon and few stars, and all I have to do is to quietly listen to its whispers.

很近的满月 Closer to the Moon

2009-01-12T23:34:00.002+08:00

据说两天前我们能看到比平时大1/6的满月,是月亮离地球最近的一天，每12年一次。今天清晨的月亮依然很圆很大，静静地悬在榕树湾上空，水也漫上来，天微微亮了，很美的一个图画。

It’s said that two days ago the moon was the closest to the earth in years, therefore it looked bigger. Early this morning, there was still a full moon, over Yung Shue Wan. The water was high, and daylight started to set in. A very peaceful picture.

大城北京 Beijing, A Grand City

2009-02-12T17:22:00.008+08:00

这次春节回北京，没有看到故乡变化的唏嘘感叹，也没有刻意寻找童年和少年的影子，平静释然得仿佛只是一个游客。离开的时候，心里却怀着兴奋和喜悦，因为这10天的天朝古都之旅让我看到一座大城正在复兴。大城之大，在于它展现的气魄和胸襟，它蕴含的历史和文化，它的志气追求，它的兼收并蓄，它的人民的宽容、幽默和大度。我看到了所有这些正带着强劲的生命力萌发，即使还有许许多多的不顺眼不如意，但这生命力让我心潮澎湃，让我第一次对一座城市怀上了希冀，盼着自己的有生之年能够见证北京真的经历一场文明复兴，成为世界东方一座充满魅力的大城。

在北京拍的一些照片，在“透过我的镜头”栏的相册“北京2009年初”中。

This Chinese New Year when I was back in Beijing, I did not get sentimental about changes in my hometown or try to revive memories from the past. I was calm and at ease like a wayfarer, who accidentally travelled to the city. Yet at the time of departure, I couldn’t help but feeling happy and excited about, from what I’d observed, the rejuvenation of a grand city. Its history and culture, its aspiration and boldness, its magnanimou and humorous people, its exhibition of great diversity – all combined to give the city an extrordinary vitality and irresistable glow of beauty. It has a long way to come, and for sure, a long way to go. There are still many disturbing corners, but the sparkle of such vitality and beauty has indeed touched me. Beijing will experience a profound renainance of civilization and become the city of the orient, grand and full of charm. This was an expectation I started to cherish when the train took me slowly out of the platform, and then out of the city.

Some pictures during the trip to Beijing in early 2009 can be found in “Through My Lens”.

往事并不如烟 Past Is Never A Wisp of Smoke

2007-07-09T16:38:00.001+08:00

七月七日是卢沟桥事变爆发纪念日。七十年前的这一天，北京南郊日军借口失踪士兵要求进入宛平县城遭拒后炮轰宛平。从此，抗日战争在中国战场全面展开。（历史细节可参看http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marco_Polo_Bridge_Incident）枪炮声粉碎了芦沟晓月的安详与宁静. 此后长达八年之久,“月圆之夜人不归，花香之地无和平。”

最近读已故华裔作家张纯如的《南京大屠杀》（Rape of Nanking），这场二战中鲜为人知的大屠杀发生在卢沟桥事变五个多月后，远东军事法庭的死亡未武装军民人数是二十六万。日方承认屠杀的发生，但不确认数字。（日本官方立场参看 http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/q_a/faq16.html#q2) 书中揭露的日军暴行实在超出正常人可以想象的范围，我无法描述看到历史图片时的震惊与悲愤。记起二十几年前我还在读中学时认识了第一个南京人，只比我大几岁，提起日本，只有恨。而到了一两年前，一位北京的密友托我在香港买一架数码相机，特别嘱咐，“不要日本货，好也不要”。我说除了日本货没什么选择了，回答是“看看韩国的吧。”

中国人的反日情节前一阵因种种事件常常成为话题。跟西方的朋友讨论的时候，几乎每次都被问同一个问题：“你只拿日本的态度跟德国比，大跃进和文革中死了多少人，怎么没人要求正式道歉啊？”我说这是应该分别讨论的话题，一个人为的灾难不能成为其他不相关暴行的借口。然而这些现代史上的大灾难，无论发生在哪里，都将人性中的软弱、黑暗、残忍和个体生命之间的彼此践踏暴露到极致。给予一定的环境，即便是平日善良、平和的普通人也会被英雄主义、宗教热情、私欲和权利的追求所充满，或是迫于极端恐惧，犯下连他自己也想象不到的恶行。可怕的是，每一个人心中都有这样的种子。

也许这是我们更应记取的。往事并不如烟。

July 7th was the 70th anniversary of the Marco Polo Bridge (Lugou Bridge) Incident. On this day seventy years ago, the Japanese Army deployed outside Wanping Town in southern suburb of Beijing requested to enter the town to search for a missing Japanese soldier. When the request was denied, the army started bombarding the town while the infantry with tanks marched across the Bridge. Sino-Japanese War since exploded in full scale. (Refer to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marco_Polo_Bridge_Incident for details) The war lasted 8 years.

About five months after the incident, Nanking Massacre took place. Iris Chang, in her book Rape of Nanking, referred to the massacre as the unknown holocaust of WWII. International Military Tribunal of the Far East estimated that more than 260,000 noncombatants were systematically raped, tortured and murdered in Nanking. The Japanese government acknowledges the occurrence of the massacre but not the number of lives lost. (Find the Japan's official position at http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/q_a/faq16.html#q2). The violence, brutality and total disregard for human life exceeds any imagination that can be fostered by a normal human being. The shock, grief and indignation I experienced when I saw the historical pictures were beyond words.

I remember about 20 years ago being a high-school student, I got to know for the first time somebody from Nanking. Just a few years older, he exhibited such hatred when he heard the term “Japan”. Then one or two years ago a friend asked me to buy a digital carema from hong kong but specifically reminded me not to buy Japanese brand even they were better in quality. I asked "what's left except these Japanese brands". The answer was “please try the Korean ones”.

Due to several recent incidents in the Sino-Japanese relation, the anti-Japanese sentiment in China has occasionally become a topic in discussion. I was often challenged by the question, mostly raised by Western friends, “You Chinese only compare the attitude of government of Japan with that of Germany. How come nobody has ever asked for apology and compensation for lives lost during the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution?” I would say these are separate topics and one man-made disaster should not become the excuse for an un-related atrocity. In retrospect, when I look at all these catastrophes in contemporary world history, regardless of where they took place among which ethnic groups, they all exposed to an extreme extent the weakness, darkness and brutality as part of human nature and the cruelty one individual life exhibits to another. Given certain environment, an average kind and mild person can commit a crime even beyond his own imagination, overwelmed by fear or inspired by heroism, religious passion, or pursuit of self-interest and power. What is horrifying is the seed of this part of human nature exists in each of us.

Perhaps this is what we can learn from the history. Past is never a wisp of smoke.

石头、剪子、布 Rock, Paper, Scissors

2007-07-13T00:14:00.001+08:00

中午偷闲到太子大厦的一家书店转转，在满架有关美国总统竞选的书中看到美国前副总统戈尔写的新书 The Assault on Reason。撇开书中对美国政治的分析和对现政府的抨击不谈，有个类比觉得有意思。他说恐惧、理性和信仰的关系就像儿时玩的游戏石头、剪子、布，恐惧破坏理性思维，理性挑战信仰的真实，而信仰征服恐惧心理。

说起石头、剪子、布，还很有几分亲切感，小时候最常用这个来决定某项优先权。无论你出石头、剪子还是布，都有可能赢，结果取决于对方出什么。玩儿着玩儿着，发现还有心理战术，可以根据上一局双方的出招猜测这一局对方最有可能出什么。后来发现外地小孩儿也玩，然后发现外国人也玩儿。后来在商学院教授解释博奕论的时候，我又想起了这个童年的游戏。

我觉得这个游戏深具中国文化特色，甚至猜测它起源于中国，也确实听说在十九世纪的欧洲作品中提到它时候称之为“一种亚洲的游戏”。中国文化对各种力量之间彼此作用角逐最终达到平衡和谐的独特理解在这个游戏中颇得体现。传统的中国文化似乎不太看重逻辑思维，所以也就不受A比B强，B比C强，所以A一定比C强这种逻辑的限制，灵活而通融。传统的中国人深谙一物降一物的道理，所以再强也懂得收敛。在中国经济飞速发展财富骤增的今天，在有些人开始忘乎所以忘了天高地厚在巴黎的名牌店里挺着大肚子颐指气使的今天，希望我们还能记起儿时玩过的这个石头、剪子、布的游戏。

Rock, Paper, Scissors

I snatched a moment during lunch break at a bookshop and browsed through a new book written by Al Gore titled The Assault on Reason. One analogy he made reminded me of a childhood game. He said, the relation among fear, reason and faith is similar to that of rock, scissors and paper. Fear displaces reason, reason challenges faith, and faith overcomes fear.

The game “rock, paper, scissors” touched the reminiscences of my younger days, when we used the game for all kinds of random selections. Rock, paper and scissors all had a chance to win, depending on what gesture the opponent decided to make. Having played more, I found the result was not always random because after a few rounds the opponent’s pattern of behaviour could be exploited. Later I found kids from other cities also played the same game, so did kids from other countries. Years later, it reappeared in my mind when I was sitting in the lecture on Game Theory at my business school.

Although played world-wide, this game exhibits a strong flavour of Chinese culture. I even suspect that it originated in China. Did I hear that it was labelled “an Asian game” in the works of European authors from the 19th century? The unique interpretation of rivalry and interaction among various forces and the hope for these forces to enter into a final state of balance and harmony form an important aspect of Chinese culture, quite vividly expressed in this game. It appears that traditional Chinese culture does not emphasis logic thinking, and is beneficially not restrained by the logic such as: A is stronger than B, B is stronger than C, and therefore A must be stronger than C. A traditional Chinese man understands too well that anybody has a natural enemy and can be vanquished; however strong, he always behaves modest and mild. At a time when China is experiencing brisk economic growth and fast accumulation of wealth, and at a time when some people get swollen-headed, forget the height of the heaven and the depth of the earth, I hope we can still remember this game everybody has played in his childhood. Rock defeats scissors, scissors defeat paper, but paper defeats rock.

紫禁城里的星巴克 Starbucks in the Forbidden City

2007-07-24T17:08:00.001+08:00

一个多星期前，在紫禁城里开了7年的星巴克关了，迫于大众舆论的压力。据说网上几十万人慷慨激昂、各抒己见，很多人认为故宫里开星巴克，是美国的消费文化直挑中国传统文化的底线, 不可容忍。就是星巴克最后连招牌也摘了，静悄悄的卖它的咖啡，也难逃此劫。一个外国平民大众的连锁咖啡馆落户曾经壁垒森严的古老皇家圣地，许多人看着不顺眼，似乎可以理解。毕竟星巴克与故宫是两个太鲜明的符号，很容易挑动一个正在重拾自信的民族的敏感神经，唤起它的集体记忆。

2000年星巴克受邀入驻故宫，虽也有非议之声，但远不及今日受关注的程度。或许人们已经开始从无休止的物欲中抬起了头，从一味崇洋从摆脱出来，开始审视生活中对传统与文化的需要。若果真如此，倒值得庆幸。怕的是对中国文化遗产未知一二，对如今金钱至上诚信全无的社会行为缺乏反思，只求一个脸面。若是抓住一个并不张扬的星巴克不放，却对同在皇城的喧嚣得多的另一家咖啡店和午门内出售低劣商品的众多摊贩视若无睹，只因他们是自家人，那就有了幼稚的民族主义膨胀之嫌，缺乏泱泱大国的气度了。

About a week ago, Starbucks closed its shop in the Forbidden City in Beijing, submitting to the pressure from hundreds of thousands of Chinese blasting the Internet with protests. People fiercely voiced their intolence of a Starbucks in the Forbidden City. Most argued that such a humiliation to the Chinese cultural heritage lodged by American consumerism should not be allowed. Even in the end Starbucks took down its logo to quietly run its coffee business, it was still not left alone. It is understandable that many people feel uncomfortable about a foreign grassroot coffee chain taking a place in the ultimate royal palace that had been forbidden to all but the royal blood. Afterall, Starbuck and the Forbidden City are each too prominent a symbol, well representing the cultures that have produced them. Easily can they touch the sensitive nerves and trigger the collective memory of a nation that has suffered great humiliations from various foreign attackers in its modern history and of a nation that is regaining a pride and confidence with the brisk pace of economic development and wealth accumulation.

Interestingly, the very Starbucks shop was opened in the Forbidden City in 2000 upon inviation from the Palace Museum located inside. It had been in operation since. Although protests were heard from the start, the scale was far weaker than this time. Encouraging it is, if it sends a signal that more Chinese people are coming out of a restless materialistic pursuit, from a total devotion to getting rich, and from blindly embracing all that's foreign. Still encouraging, if people are starting to realize the important role their cultural heritage takes in their lives. However, when one sees that nobody had a word against another coffee shop inside the City, far more noisy and aggressive, or about the vendors selling subquality, tasteless souveniors along the City's major corridor, just because these are run by our own countrymen, one is inclined to believe that the protest again Starbucks is simply another act of "face-saving", an exhibition of naïve natioanlism that is not founded on a deep understanding of our own culture or on a sincere reflection of the recent social behaviours that had gone too far from such a cultural root.

雨季尼泊尔 Nepal in the Monsoon

2007-08-14T10:43:00.001+08:00

从尼泊尔回来了, 带着对那雨季中的山山水水的梦幻般的记忆, 回到实实在在的生活, 发现两样都是好的，发现自己原来愿意是一个有线的风筝，一张有港湾的帆，旅行的兴奋和归家的快乐感觉都要。

七月是尼泊尔的雨季高峰。每天清晨必从雨声中醒来，然后等着云慢慢升起，雨也变成了飘在风里的细丝，便可开始一天的活动了。大部分时间是雾蒙蒙的，看不到雪峰连绵的壮观景象。在山间小径前行，只有自己和旅伴，间或有一个衣着破旧却色彩鲜艳的农妇出现在雾中，感觉极其不真实，却又极其美丽。是的，即便在云雾笼罩的雨季，尼泊尔的色彩也令人难忘, 是妇人裙裾间的绛红，是阳光偶尔透过云缝射在山野中的翠绿。

尼泊尔人有少见的平和、友善，许多时候安静得仿佛是自然的一部分，深藏着某种与生俱来的笃定。这是否与他们的信有关？这信绝不仅是去寺庙烧香朝拜，去摸一下街角的铃铛，或是往额中眉间点一点红。这信不在行动中，却好象在不思考、不忧虑和不行动中。一个坐在石阶上的老人，如一尊雕塑，脸上看不出什么表情，好象世界和时间都与他无关。可是他忽然在你身后说一句短短的话，你奇怪地觉得他刚刚告诉了你一个秘密，一个有关一切人事变迁和斗转星移的秘密。

雨季中的尼泊尔是世外桃源。我们说好了再来，或者在明年春天, 来看喜玛拉亚的晴天, 看雪峰间的日出日落，想象中那一定会是终生难忘的。

(尼泊尔的两组照片在“透过我的镜头”中)

Back from Nepal, back to daily life with a dreamlike memory of the waters and hills in the monsoon Himalaya. Like the open sea and a harbour to a sail, the excitement of a journey and the calmness of a home are both invaluable to me.

The end of July was the peak of Nepal's monsoon season. Every morning we woke up to hear the rain drops knocking at the windows. As the clouds rose slowly with the temperature, the heavy shower gradually subsided to a mist. The snow-capped Himalayan peaks would still hide in the clouds, for days and weeks. Despite the weather, day trips to the top of nearby hills were very pleasant. On the winding trekking trails, the complete quietness and greenness enshrouded us. Nothing was heard but the footsteps of my travel companion and me. Occasionally in a distance, a local woman would appear in a worn but very colourful Nepali dress. This looked extremely unreal yet extremely beautiful. The colours of Nepal are unforgettable, in a grey backdrop of the foggy monsoon season. It was the dark red skirt a woman walked around in, or the bright green the hills exhibited under a thread of sunshine momentarily breaking through the clouds .

The Nepalis displayed a friendliness and calmness rarely seen in other peoples. Their presence was so peaceful that you took them as a natural part of their surroundings. There seemed to be a deep steadfastness that they were born with. Can I read this as a demonstration of their faith? Such a faith does not stop at stupas, street-corner bells or the redness Nepalis put on their foreheads. It does not manifest itself in actions, but in non action. An old man sat on a stone like a sculpture, motionless and expressionless, as if he was an outsider to the world and the time. However, when he murmured something as you walked past him, you had the strange feeling that he had just revealed a secret, a secret that carried an Answer to The Question.

Nepal in the monsoon is Shangri-la. We will come back to it, perhaps next spring, to see the fine days in Himalaya and to watch the sun rise over the snow peaks. That scene, I imagine, will stay with me as long as I live.

(Two sets of pictures from Nepal are in the section “Through My Lens”)

礼仪之邦的虚名 Chinese Told to Behave

2007-08-23T17:58:00.001+08:00

记得刚刚上学的时候老师向我们描述中国是一个什么样的地方, 被重复最多因而也给我印象最深的是"中国是地大物博的文明古国和礼仪之邦"。在认字足够多后，爸爸送了我一套两册的少儿读物《上下五千年》，讲述从黄河流域起源的这个民族的历史变迁和文化传统，更加深了我对这种描述的认同、理解和随之而来的自豪。而对礼仪的具体概念，则是在日常生活的待人接物中，甚至象吃饭的规矩这种小事中形成的。

孰料今天的中国国民需要政府颁布准则和公约来鼓励最基本的文明行为和礼仪，真是举世罕见，令人啼笑皆非。随着中国人因其不文明的举止而有望替代美国人成为世界上最不受欢迎的游客，恐怕政府明知这样的准则会遗笑大方，也不可不为了。准则真是涉及了如何穿衣、说话、吃饭、上厕所，最讲脸面的国人难道不觉得这个丢尽了脸面吗？(内容在http://www.cnta.gov.cn/zhuanti/tssz-mb/zn.asp)也许是怕即便这样，有些人还是不能检讨自己的行为，国家旅游局又煞费苦心地编出了中国公民旅游常见不文明行为(http://www.cnta.gov.cn/zhuanti/tssz-mb/bx.asp), 叹为观止。我看这文件还是永远不要落到外邦人手里为妙，他们已经在质问"中国五千年的文明在哪里"。

看来礼仪之邦已然徒有虚名。走在故乡北京的街头，我感到深深的失落和悲伤，好象失去了一个自己内心珍藏多年的宝贝。一个归宿荡然无存了。礼仪的缺失其实只是表面。我相信只有一个从容、大度、有着笃定生活目的和价值体系的民族才会表现出自己与他人和环境交流时的高尚礼仪，而这都是我们现在所缺失的。传统中国的行为准则基础"仁、义、礼、智、信" 显然已经不是今日中国的行为基础。新加坡前总理李光耀先生曾建议将流行的"中国的崛起"的提法改为"中国的复兴"，我想传统文化的复兴应该是中国复兴的核心。何日我们能看到吾国与吾民再次屹立于世界的东方，让全世界不仅看到我们的今天，并从今天看到我们五千年的文明历史？

When I first attended school, teachers tried to describe China to us. The most frequently heard and therefore most remembered description was "China: a nation of vast land and resources, of a long, splendid civilization, and of ceremony and propriety." As I learned enough characters to read, I got a book from my father titled Up & Down the Five Thousand Years. It was a narration of a people originated from the Yellow-River basin, who had witnessed the rise and fall of numerous dynasties and cultivated hundreds of schools of thoughts and philosophies that had combined laid the foundation of a deep cultural heritage. As a young descendant of such a people, I started to grow a strong pride inside. Speaking of propriety, the concept had become specific daily behavioral and moral rules governing everything down to the table manners.

Who would have thought that today, Chinese citizens, descendants the world's longest civilization, have given the government no choice but to publish guidelines to encourage civilized behaviors, even the act would obviously become a joke to the rest of the world. Due to their crude behaviors, Chinese are replacing Americans to become the most unwelcomed tourists internationally. The guidelines touch upon everything including how to dress, talk, eat and use a toilet. (Full text in Chinese at http://www.cnta.gov.cn/zhuanti/tssz-mb/zn.asp). Renowned for saving face by all means, my compatriots, don't you agree that this was a smash right on the face?! Perhaps for the fear that people would not naturally establish any connection between their own behaviorst and these guidelines, the government went on to publish a list of the most common uncivilized behaviors among the Chinese citizens. (Full text in Chinese at http://www.cnta.gov.cn/zhuanti/tssz-mb/zn.asp) I hope this list will never fall into any foreign hands. They are already asking where the five-thousand-year civilization is.

Apparently, little is left but the undeserved reputation. Walking along the small lanes in Beijing - my hometown, I was struck by a deep sadness and disappointment, as if I had lost a treasure long cherished in my heart. A final home to return to had vanished. Absence of decent behaviors is only an expression. Under it is the loss of a calm and magnanimous attitude from a steadfast life goal and strong sense of security. These are what have been taken away from the hearts of the Chinese people over the past century. When commenting on the popular notion of "the Rise of China", Singapore's former prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, asked:"Why not call it a renaissance, a return to a golden age when poetry, painting, clothes, music and drama flourished?" I do wish someday came the true renaissance of Chinese civilization and today's rise of an economic power lacking cultural and moral underpinning proved to be a painful but necessary prelude.

宁静的清晨 Peaceful Morning

2007-09-10T11:20:00.001+08:00

周日的早晨, 南丫还未完全从沉睡中醒来. Sunday Morning. Lamma is still half asleep.

大芬油画村 Dafen Oil Painting Village

2007-10-02T21:47:00.001+08:00

深圳没什么可看的,连独特的购物去处也少见,却有一个特别的地方, 大芬油画村。这是龙岗区一个0.4平方公里左右的社区，据说有5000多个艺术家和画匠栖居于此，开有700来家画廊，主要出售原创油画和复制名画。接近村口时已看到楼上的标语：“艺术与市场在这里对接，才华与财富在这里对换。”

进到社区里，看了摆在店里的作品，大失所望。真是只见市场不见艺术，只见金钱不见才华。满街的店铺满眼的画，却不觉的它们与文化艺术有任何关系，到是与家居装修建材城一类靠得更近。仔细一点，可以看得出大部分作品还是出自训练了多年的手。想想这些曾经怀着热情、憧憬拿起画笔的人，历尽寒窗之苦，练就了一种丰富美好的表达方式，却没有表达的自由，久而久之心里连表达的内容与愿望也消失了。若是他们知道有一天会来到陌生城市的一个小阁楼里，毫无创造性的复制他人作品，或为了迎合市场的低俗品位堆砌些刺眼的青山绿水，他们最初还会选择拿起画笔么？可悲的是，我几乎可以肯定，来到大芬村，丢弃艺术，背叛才华，并不会带来与这种牺牲对等的财富，如果真的存在这样的对等。

我们站在大芬的一间被耀眼日光灯照得象快餐店一样雪亮的所谓画廊前，看到多少梦想在这里破碎。

There is a special place in Shenzhen called Dafen Oil Painting Village. It is a community of 0.4 square kilometres in Longgang District, boasting more than 5,000 artists and close to 700 galleries. This is a base of mass oil painting production in China, exhibiting original work as well as reproduction of master pieces. Approaching the entrance of the community, one can spot a slogan high up on a building: “Here art merges with market; talent brings wealth.”

A stroll through lanes lined with shops of painting only brought great disappointment. Prevalent here was the vulgar of the market that has engulfed artistic talents. Works of paintings piled up like building boards in construction material warehouses, resembling nothing cultural or artistic, although observed more closely, some of these works did tell of the skilful and trained hands that created them. Obviously, many artists who dwell and work in Dafen have gone through rigorous training from very young and acquired the skills that would open rich and beautiful ways of expression. Sadly, the freedom of expression does not naturally come with it, and with the lapse of time, passion of expression also disappears. If they had known that one day they would belocked up in a little corner of a strange city, copying other people's work or producing tasteless chunks of loud colours to meet the market demand, would they have picked up a painting brush in the first place? What's more tragic, I believe strongly, the heavy sacrifice of giving up their artistic yearnings and betraying their own talents will not bring the justifying wealth, if there is such a thing of "justifying wealth" at all.

Standing outside a so-called art gallery lit up like a fast-food restaurant, we had to lament a complete surrender of the purity of art to ruthless commercial pursuit. Dafen Village is, indeed, a village of broken dreams.

生如夏花 Life Like Summer Flowers

2007-10-03T15:54:00.001+08:00

今年国庆维多利亚港又放烟花。这是我从来看不腻、永远看不腻的。那黑暗夜空中骤然释放的极短暂却极热烈的美，是我在现实中能看到的与梦幻最接近的东西。当辉煌燃尽，浓烈的色彩化为点点星火慢慢消逝，而天空又恢复了夜色中的沉默，我想起我最喜欢的诗人泰戈尔在《飞鸟集》中的两句：“让生如夏花之绚烂，死若秋叶之静美”。

让生如夏花之绚烂，死若秋叶之静美，这正是我想活出的生命。

On the National Day there was firework display in the Victoria Harbour again. I can never get tired of fireworks. The transient but extremely powerful explosion of beauty in the dark evening sky is something in reality that is most close to a dream. When the splendid flame came to an end, the intense colours subsided into twinkling stars before they finally disappeared. Now the sky resumed the colour of the night and the sound of silence. At the moment, I remembered something Tagore wrote in his Stray Birds: “Let life be beautiful like summer flowers, and death like autumn leaves.”

Let life be beautiful like summer flowers, and death like autumn leaves. This is the way of life and death I will live and die.

水上的大鸟 Big Birds over Water

2007-10-04T12:12:00.001+08:00

从南丫到中环的渡轮上, 瞥见大鸟般的鱼舟, 觉得很美, 很安宁。 Big fishing birds on the water, seen on a morning ferry from Lamma Island to Central.

Lions for Lambs

2007-11-17T13:34:00.001+08:00

Enticed by the participation of Meryl Streep and Robert Redford in it, we went to see Lions for Lambs and were disappointed.

It is a failed attempt of Hollywood to reflect on America's War against Terror. The film starts to give the audience a delusion that it leads somewhere but ends without getting anywhere. Full of long and boring conversations, it says really nothing new but leaves the impression of being preachy, pompous and superficial. One scene was the two wounded American soldiers (formerly political science students who decided to do something meaningful and joined the army to go to Afghanistan) gathered strength to stand up on their feet to be shot dead by Taliban on a snowy plateau. This may have been designed to bring a climax to the movie with the heroism of soldiers in contrast to their commanders' hypocrisy and ruthlessness implied by its title, but it only strikes me as being a joke. Lions for Lambs is neither entertaining nor inspiring. At best, it does weakly presents a trace of a shattered society, which had been permanently feeling well, high, chosen, proud of their WAY OF LIFE, now struck to the heart when they try to force this way of life out of their own border.

I hate to see Redford and Streep's involvement in a low quality production like this, although they performed at their level. Tom Cruise, with his typical fake smile, fits well into his role as a Republican presidential hopeful. Anyways, I don't recommend this movie.

胡志明市街头 On the Streets of Ho Chi Minh City

2008-01-16T16:36:00.001+08:00

出差去越南胡志明市一天,偷空上街看看。趁出差看一个城市总不免走马观花, 但有点时间走出会议室总是好的。这里与我想象中西贡完全不同, 也没有我喜欢的电影《情人》的故事发生地的影子。除了一些零星的建筑外, 看不到法国殖民地的过去。共产党留下的印迹要强的多。几个快速印象：人们非常友善，温和并且特别年轻，好象50%的人口都在十几岁似的；街上的小摩托车象中国的自行车一样多, 过街的时候我的越南同伴说 “闭上眼睛，过”；接头小贩众多，但从不强卖；整个城市杂乱无章，可是人们却能轻松地找到次序。

上载了一些照片在“透过我的镜头中”。

I stole one hour to stroll along the streets of Ho Chi Minh City during my very brief visit to the city. One can never explore any place on a short business trip, but still, some impression outside conference rooms was nice. It was not the "Saigon" I had in my mind or the backdrop of a favorite movie "Lover". I didn't see much sign of a French colonial past except for some sparing apperance of colonial buildings. The communists have left far stronger marks. A few things I saw: people were very friendly, mild and young (as if 50% of the population are teenagers); scooters were like bycicles in China and to cross any street, as my Vietnamese contact put it - "Just close your eyes and go"; and there were many street vendors but I was never met with a hard sell. The city was chaotic but people found their order in a relaxed way.

To share some snapshots, I uploaded a new album in "Through My Lenses" on this blog.

游德散记(1) - 马克思的诞生地 Travel Notes from Germany (1) - Birth Place of Karl Marx

2008-01-24T10:03:00.001+08:00

距德国与卢森堡边境不远德国一侧的莫索尔河畔有一座小城,名特利亚。据说这是德国最古老的城市, 建于公元前16年。许多人到这里来瞻仰古老历史的遗迹，而大多数中国人知道特利亚，却是由于另一个原因：这里是伟大革命导师马克思的诞生地。

城中有一所马克思纪念馆，但是除夕闭馆。我很失望，失去了一个发现新的视角去了解我生活中这位特殊人物的机会。有趣的是, 中文与英文和德文并列用在开馆时间和其它通知中，纪念馆附近也有不止一家中餐馆，很明显前来参观的中国人很多。

来这里的中国人一定是与我同龄或年纪更长的。年轻一代少有人知道马克思主义或共产主义是什么,除非马克思的头像印到了人民币钞票上。我发现西方世界对共产主义有刻骨仇恨，常听到“共产党人都应该被枪毙”。他们臆断中国人应该对共产主义有至少同等深刻的仇恨，如果不是更深,我们毕竟在共产主义专政下“悲惨”地生活了几十年。事实远非如此。在大多数人眼中，一个共产党员其实只是他们当中普普通通的一员，而共产主义则是一个为铲除社会的不平而进行的失败的努力,是一个基于对人类本性的错误认识而构筑的永远不会实现的乌托邦,是被一些罪恶少数为撅取权利而利用的意识形态。我认为,罪恶的是这些人,而不是一个谋求改善社会消除阶级的哲学。看一看十九世纪中叶欧洲的社会状况便可相信共产主义思想的诞生绝非偶然。

当我还是一个小女孩儿的时候，马克思是代表绝对真理的神。当然，连伟大领袖毛主席都以他为智慧的源泉。今天，他只是众多哲学家中的一个, 我可以对他的主张进行讨论、质疑甚至批判。在他的墓碑上刻着这样的话: “哲学家总是以各种方式诠释世界, 而关键点却在于如何改变它。马克思确实改变了世界，无论是令其更好,还是更糟。

（德国之行的一些照片在“透过我的镜头”中。）

On the banks of the Moselle River in Germany near its border with Luxemburg sits a small city called Tier. Founded in 16BC, it claims to be the oldest German city. Many people come to see the remains of the ancient past, but most Chinese know about it for a different reason: Tier is the birth place of their grand revolutionary master - Karl Marx.

There is a Marx Museum in town, but on 31st of December, it was closed. I felt quite disappointed losing an opportunity to spot things and dcouments that might have given me a new perspective in understanding such a special figure in my life. Interestingly, Chinese is used side by side with German and English on the museum’s opening hours and other notices. There are Chinese restaurants around too. Obviously many Chinese come.

Chinese visitors must be of my age or older. Younger generations have no idea what Marxism or Communism really is unless a portrait of Marx is put on a RMB note. From remarks like "every communist should be shot dead", I’ve noticed deep hatred against communism in the western world. Under the cummunist reign for decades, Chinese are expected to exhibit at least the same level of hatred if not more due to the “misery” they have gone through. That is simply not the case. In the eyes of most people, a communist was just an ordinary person among themselves; And communism is a failed attempt to correct social inequality, a Utopia that will never come true due to the fundemental flaw in its understanding of human nature, and an ideology that was misused by a small evil group to grab power. To me, what is evil are such people, not a philosoghy in pursuit of a better, more equal, classless society. Given the social circumstances in the mid 19th centuray Europe, I would say the birth of communism was not at all random.

As a little girl, I looked at Marx as if he were a God whose words were to be taken as absolute truth. Of course, he was even Chairman Mao’s fount of ideological wisdom. Now he is just one of the philosophers who sought to find an explanation and a solution to social problems and whose ideas I can challenge, debate, or denounce. On his tomb stone carved the following:

The philosophers have only
interpreted the world in
various ways - the point
however is to change it

In deed, he changed the world. For better, or for worse.

(Some pictures from my recent trip to Germany can be found in Through My Lenses on this blog.)

游德散记(2) - 莱茵河畔,历史在现时 Travel Notes from Germany (2) –Along the Rhine: Visible History

2008-02-15T15:28:00.001+08:00

The Rhine 的中文名字是”莱茵河”, 这是我所知道的一条河流所能拥有的最美的名字。圣诞期间，我们在莱茵中段驱车徐行, 这段是以两岸众多的城堡和葡萄园著称的浪漫之旅。中国人会很容易陶醉于欧洲的风景，就是在一个萧刹的冬日,在灰蒙蒙的天地间，莱茵河仍然充满诗意和魅力。

然而给我最深的是那么多古迹得以保存并仍是人们日常生活的一部分。人们还生活在草木结构的几百年的老房子里, 教堂的钟仍象中世纪时一样鸣响, 村庄仍象它们最初形成时那样组成了社会生活的最小社群。有人说, 中国文化已经有长足发展的时候，德国人还住在山洞里。不错，可是何处可见这长足发展了的文化呢? 辉煌过去的少数可见印迹早被隔离而大多成为只有付了门票才能参观的“景点儿”，早不在我们每一天的生活里。

我试图理解为什么中国人看起来不太珍惜没有实用价值的老东西，但没有确切的答案。我观察到中国历史的朝代权利更迭常来自于农民起义，总有打碎旧天地创造新世界的意味。另一个观察是在欧洲, 基都教在过去两千年来始终是政治和社会中的一个主要力量, 深深影响了欧洲社群的发展,自然也会一贯的保护许许多多教会自己建设的东西，无论谁是执政者，况且政教合一的情形普遍存在。中国历史没有任何一种宗教曾经成为与国家政权并行或交织的力量。仅一点浅薄的想法。

The Rhine is translated into Chinese as “Lai Yin (莱茵)”. Melodious and picturesque, it is the most beautiful name for a river I’ve ever known. At Christmas time, we made a day out along the middle Rhine, known as the romantic part with many castles and vineyards. European landscape can easily be pleasing to Chinese eyes. Even in a bleak winter day, under grey skies and through grey lands raised on its sides, the Rhine was still poetic and very much inviting.

The most striking to me though is how much historical sites have been preserved and remained in a society’s current life. People still live in wood-clay structured houses of hundreds of years; church bells toll as they did in medieaval times; and villages maintained the way when it was formed as small, basic human communities. It may not be too wrong to say when sophisticated culture had been developed in China, Germans were still dwelling in caves, but where do we see this sophistication of culture in China today? Visible traces of the splendard past are so rare that any of them must be strictly isolated and in most cases become “attractions” accessible only after you pay an entrance fee. They are not part of our life any more.

I’ve been trying to understand why Chinese appear not to appreciate “old things” when they don’t see practical value in them. I have no definite answer. One observation of Chinese history is that the change of power often involoved violent uprise of farmers and destruction of the “old heaven and earth”. Another observation is, Chritianity has been a major power in European politics and society in the past 2000 years. This power consistanly and deeply impacted the development o fcommunities and therefore it has always been there to protect what it has built no matter who were in control of the states. In China, religion has never been a power parallel to or intertwined with the state. Just some thoughts

我爱北京 I Love Beijing

2008-03-03T09:45:00.003+08:00

让我们荡起双桨
小船儿推开波浪
水中倒映着美丽的白塔
四周环绕着绿树红墙

小船儿轻轻，漂荡在水中
迎面吹来了凉爽的风

这个冬日新春即将来临的一个黄昏，我们走在北海公园的湖畔，夕阳在光滑的柳枝间徐徐降落,无比静谧的一刻，从心中的某个角落飞出了儿时的这首歌，觉着自己好像就是这条小船，漂过了五湖四海，今天漂回到曾经熟悉的红墙碧瓦之间，眼睛热热的潮湿了。几个曲艺艺人从身边经过，对着我打起了快板儿，清脆的声音跳跃着划过正在降临的夜色，我们开心地朗声而笑。

回了张自忠路铁一号的老房子,灰楼长廊下那棵国槐竟还在。我依稀看到一个穿着鲜红色灯芯绒外衣扎着编辫儿的小姑娘在树间的皮筋儿上跳跃，白色的槐花在夏天最后的日子里正发出浓郁的香气...这画面这气味仿若一梦, 却又熟悉得如同昨天。离家多远,走了多久,一瞬间与童年相遇，竟如此温暖。明白了一件事:故乡是永远故乡,即便它面目全非,它却是过去的现实活在我今天和明天的生命中,永不改变。

我爱我的故乡北京。

“Let us swing the oars
See little boats push the waves
In the water is the reflection of the White Pagoda
Around are green trees and red wall

Softly drifting, little boats
Into our face blowing a cool breeze
……”

When the winter was receding and the spring was faintly felt in the air, we came to Beijing. At one serene moment while we were walking in Beihai Park, this childhood song emerged from a secret corner of my heart. Behind the willow branches, the sun was setting. I felt like one of these little boats, drifting across waters and now back into the red wall and emerald tiles once so familiar to me. A few folklore performers passed by and started to recite a joke to us to the rhythm of their bamboo clappers. The crisp sound pierced through the dusk, and we all laughed with joy.

We made it back to my old home decades ago at “Iron No. 1” of Zhangzizhong Road, once the government of a warlord who seized power of Beijing for some time. By the long covered corridor outside my window, the Chinese scholartrees were still standing. Dreamily, I came into a late summer afternoon and saw a little girl in a red corduroy jacket, hair in braids, jumping between two rubber-band strings tied to these scholartrees. The white flowers hung in full blossom, sending forth wafts of strong fragrance… The scene and the scent were as clear and close as yesterday. This sudden encounter with my childhood face to face, even in a twinkling, filled me with tenderness and warmath. Hometown is always there, even it takes on an unrecognisable new appearance. The past is a reality, not just a memory. It will live on in my life today, tomorrow, and never change.

I love my hometown Beijing.

舞蹈 Dance

2008-03-14T12:16:00.001+08:00

我是一个不太容易在公众场合达到忘我境界的人，不太善于跳出自我享受人群中的乐趣，多处于观察者的状态。这也许是为什么我在众人中常常显得温和而安静。

记忆中有两次中了邪。一次刚上小学，上语文课的时候走神儿心里哼起了歌，不知不觉从心里哼到了教室里, 直到老师喊我的名字才醒了。再一次大学刚刚毕业到外交部工作去军训。一天大家全排队去了食堂，只有我一人落在后面。心里忽然回荡起Yesterday Once More的词曲, 竟震天动地地高歌起来，听到空旷的营房里自己的歌声越发心潮澎湃。此时外交部带队的田老师蓦然出现，我嘎燃而止，脸上起了火。

无论什么性格的人，大概都需要自由抒发内在自我的出口。世上百试不爽始终能迅速带我进入忘我境界的事不多，有一个便是舞蹈。音乐一起，周围一切都隐去，我成了一个崭新空间里的人，从心灵到身体全在音乐里得到了完整自由的释放。无论是“高山流水”的古典柔美，“西班牙斗牛”的热烈狂野，“命运”的起伏挣扎，还是印度“拍球”的活泼顽皮，全都好象开了闸的水，奔涌而出。我相信它们都是我内在性格的一部分，在舞蹈中得以彰显。

忘我其实何等美妙！离开了舞台，在舞蹈中淋漓尽致的时候少了，生命之舞却仍在继续。或许是岁月赋予了更多的成熟和悟性，我好象正在感受到一种力量或是一种召唤，象乐曲般带我进入自由挥洒的空间，随心的节奏而舞，过至情至性的生活。这是人生的舞蹈，相信它比舞台上的更加真实而美丽。

北京奥运 The Beijing Olympics

2008-03-29T21:47:00.001+08:00

There has been rising calls from the West for boycotting the Beijing Olympics due to Chinese government’s clashdown of the Riot in Lhasa. The French president Sarkozy even threatened to keep the option open not to show up in the opening ceremony. The base for such discussions, is, as always, China’s violation of human rights in Tibet.

I thought the time for waging ideological war was over, I am apparently wrong. I forgot that people who grew up with required reading of George Orwell’s Animal Farm and later did not read anything else would never get out of such brain-wash or open their eyes to see the completely changed world. The sad situation is that they seem to enjoy all the freedom to think and to speak and proudly believe so but volunterily and automatically take side based on ideology instead of facts and reasoning. Seek truth from facts. This should be the conciense of all journalists, but let me ask how many Western journalists have reported on the riot in Tibet out of such conciense? The double-standard and self-censorship Western media exhibted in reporting this event is astounishing. Please read the Economist correspondant’s report, who was the only foreign journalist that witnessed the event. Read about the Tibetan mobs’ violent burning, looting and attacking people purely because of their ethnic orginin. Which government in the world would sit there and watch this happen? Talking about human rights, how many have compared the life expectancy and child mortality rate in Tibet in 1959 and 2006? Isn’t the right to live the very basic human right?

Indeed, China was a communist nation that had experienced many man-made catastophes. It’s also an oriental nation, with different set of values and way of life from the West. People are inclined to hate something they don’t know or understand. They comdemn instead of trying to learn. But didn’t China and the Chinese government lift the most people out of poverty within the shortest time in history? Isn’t China now shouldering a large part of the world’s growth need and try to handle its challenges domestic and abroad responsibly? For that, China deserves some respect, and Chinese people deserve some pride. I’m sure such pride will be shown in the Beijing Olympics when the world meet in Beijing. It’s a chance for the Chinese to get closer to the world through its openess and hospitality, and vice versa.

When I was in Beijing a month ago, I could feel people’s enthusiam for the Olympics in their everyday life. Can you imagine that in the glove box of every taxi driver on the road of the city is an English phrase book? People of Beijing are waiting for the world, with open hearts. Any reckless threatening of boycotting is not justified. Honestly, I’m not so keen on seeing Sarkozy’s twisted face in the opening ceremony. Of course that’s just some irrational, personal anger of a Chinese, who has the impression that no matter what happens, China is always on the wrong side in the eye of the West.