Wenyi Qingnian (文艺青年): China's Hipsters

Are they as grating and annoying as their Western counterparts?  Let's do a fully international Hipster Olympics face-off to find out. I want video.  I am, though, rather amused by the article's snarky observation that the hipsters "like to engage in pointless and deliberately self-defeating behavior, all, it sometimes seems, for nothing more than the 'lulz.'"

Publishing the New Nobel Literature Prize Winner

This year's Nobel for lit goes to Chinese writer Mo Yan, and the English translation of his novel Sandalwood Death will be published by .... *drum roll* ... the University of Oklahoma Press!  That's quite a coup for the academic publishing house.

Friday Fun Video: "Rolling in the Deep" Chinese Style

Happy Year of the Dragon!

Happy Chinese New Year, my lovelies.  Bring on the firecrackers and red paper envelopes!  UPDATE: Check out some lovely photos from celebrations all over Asia.

Nerd Analysis: Dateless and Desperate in Asia

Well, this can't be good. Then again, what did you think would happen with the rampant selective "gendercide" of baby girls?

More Thoughts on the Amy Chua School of Parenting

Read one Chinese-American's take on the Amy Chua kerfuffle (my own takes are here and here).  Here's a notable bit of it too:

While I think some of what says makes some sense, I just can't go along to the extremes that she does.  Having high expectations, and trying to instill discipline and good work habits (homework first, then TV/play) strikes me as generally desirable.  No playdates, no roles in school plays, no choice in extracurriculars . . . .  I'd rather let my kids experiment a bit to see what they like, and then encourage them to work hard at what they choose.  True, this means my kids are not likely to become Olympic athletes/musical prodigies, but I'm not sure I'd want to be parenting on that assumption anyway. 

EDIT: I should add one potentially pernicious thing about Chua's article (and forthcoming book) is the idea that there's any one monolithic "Chinese"/Asian approach to parenting.  No doubt there are some basic elements that maybe common, like the emphasis on education.  But it would be a shame if non-Asians were to come away from this article thinking that this is the *only* way to raise kids in a Chinese way.

LOL: The Tiger Mom Internet Meme

Inevitable ... but hilarious all the same after the entire Amy Chua kerfuffle.  (Via Neatorama.)  Here's an example:

Go look after the fold for something that hits closer to home!

Satire Alert: Why Zombie Mothers Are Superior

I haven't really gotten into the whole "Hey, let's have a big Internet kerfuffle about Chinese moms!" because I frankly don't care.  I'd rather point you to a silly blog called High Expectations Asian Father and now to Dan Drezner's riff, "Why Zombie Mothers Are Superior."

Quote of the Day: A Bon Mot From Chinese Blogger Han Han

China's most popular blogger, frustrated with censorship and government interference, has this to say about Beijing:

"The government wants China to become a great cultural nation, but our leaders are so uncultured ... If things continue like this, China will only be known for tea and pandas."

Read the whole thing.

Every Joke Is A Tiny Revolution: Chinese Gov't Shuts Down Comedian Guo Degang

Orwell's famous observation about humor is more relevant than ever if you read this report about Chinese comedian Guo Degang, whose subversive humor has now been quashed by Hu Jintao's government.  Surely you did not need another reminder that China, regardless of whatever that useful idiot Tom Friedman says, is not free and your ability to express yourself is subject to the arbitrary whims of the rulers.

General Tso's Long March: the History of Chinese Food in America

Well, you do know, of course, that fortune cookies are an Asian-American invention.  You won't find them in Asia, really, though some restaurants are starting to have them because Western patrons expect them.  Food culture is a funny thing!  And it can be delicious.  (I'll save my rant about "fake" Asian food for another post!)


Oh, and I dedicate this post to Count Chokula, my long-time partner in crime in all things culinary.

Quirky Asia Files: Rent a Boyfriend in China

Heh!

Kitchen Notes: Happy Lunar New Year/Spring Festival/Year of the Tiger. Now Eat Until You Explode!

It's Pan-Asian holiday madness. I could not care less about food-related superstitions, but the food itself is fabulous. I'd be happy with just mountains and mountains of dumplings. EAT UP, PEOPLE!

(And, even more importantly for impecunious nerds, bring on the ang pao! Look, some enterprising person has even come up with a way to make heart-shaped ang pao, all too fitting for the double-whammy holiday this year!)

2 Random Thoughts on 3 Famous Chinese Guys

~Mickey Kaus wonders about Anita Dunn, Mao, and Sun Tzu. Hilarious! (Insta-Prof piles on by snarking, "Do all Chinese look alike to Anita Dunn?")

~Congressman Jeff Flake (R-Arizona) has a shout-out to Confucius. By the way, happy 2560th birthday to Confucius.

Nerd News: The Battle Over Chinese Scripts -- Simplified Versus Traditional

The battle royale continues. For the record, I think the simplified forms are LAME. They'll create an entire bunch of jumped-up neophyte semiliterates who don't know how to read traditional Chinese, the script of history and culture. If you're going to bother learning Mandarin at all, then you should learn it the real way.

PS: Don't you find it rather thought-provoking that tiny Taiwan is doing a better job of preserving traditional Chinese culture? Writing sytems aside, you can thank your stars that all those treasures of art reside in the National Palace Museum in Taipei; they would surely have been destroyed in the orgy of government-sponsored stupidity known as the Cultural Revolution.

Tony Blair on 60 Years of CCP Rule in China

Oh, such a polished bit of mostly fluff from former UK PM Blair, himself in many ways a polished bit of mostly fluff. Get an eyeful of this:

Our obligation is to treat China as a partner as we determine together the way the world will work in the future. If we treat China as our equal, China can be our economic, political and cultural ally.

O RLY? I frankly don't see that we are OBLIGATED to do any such thing, as though nations that actually care about human rights and freedom can deal as full equals with nations who blatantly don't. And I wonder what Mr. Blair is smoking these days if he really thinks China can actually be "our economic, political and cultural ally." We can't even get Beijing to support sanctions of even worse nations like Iran. Beijing isn't constrained by the same namby-pamby self-imposed chains of multicultural guilt that the free West has. No, Beijing's busy looking out for itself and its own interests, and it couldn't give a flying dumpling what anybody else thinks.

Ally? Frenemy's more like it.

Or, even better, THIS:

But increasingly, there is an interest in and reverence for China's ancient civilization as well as its post-1949 transformation. Confucius, the marvels of the Tang dynasty, calligraphy, the beauty of traditional Chinese painting and literature—all of this infuses the speeches, commentary and discourse of contemporary Chinese life. Chinese films, art, fashion and pop music are thriving. There is a new Cultural Revolution taking place in 21st century China, and it is a lot healthier than the old.

Sure, everyone's all over the moon with calligraphy and Confucius and Chinese history, blah blah blah. But that's OLD history we're talking about. More recent history like -- um, let me see, can I think of an example? Think, MM, think! Ooh yes -- THE TIANANMEN SQUARE MASSACRE are still off-limits. I'm sure Fang Zheng can educate you on the matter.

Mr. Blair's piece sounds too much like every other superficial, easily awed "analysis" by pie-eyed Westerners who happily believe whatever shiny propaganda Beijing's spinning for them. Add a dash of "yellow fever," eh?

You want to think about 60 years of the CCP lording it over China? Read this.

China: 3 Different Thoughts For the Day

No time to elaborate (too much nerd work -- AAACCKKK!), but these 3 very different pieces on China are rather interesting:

• "China's False Monoculture" -- the myth of Chinese homogeneity; China's not nearly as uniform as people think. In fact, only about half the population speaks Mandarin, and China has dozens of (officially recognized) minority people groups and plenty of strange "autonomous regions." Recent riots by Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang and last year's unrest in Tibet should be reminders of ethnic/tribal/social/religious/cultural chasms, exacerbated by China's use of force to absorb minority groups.
  
• "When China Rules the World" -- Hey, we welcome our new insect overlords. Or not.
• "China's 100 Years of Ineptitude" -- or why China's not going to rule the world, or even Asia. (Do you really think that the true Asian democracies will meekly roll over and accept the hegemony of China?)
  

Confucius Say, "Go John Galt"?

A PhD student in philosophy has an interesting application! These days I've been reading more Ayn Rand and Jane Austen than Confucius, but maybe I should crack open the Analects:

The Master said, “When a prince’s personal conduct is correct, his government is effective without the issuing of orders. If his personal conduct is not correct, he may issue orders, but they will not be followed.” -- Analects book 13

Going Galt, are we, Confucius?

Or it could be as simple as: hey, why should we pay taxes if Geithner and other DC fat cats didn't? It's called leading by example, folks.