Some Sage Advice from Bill McKibben

These are the answers to some questions that I recently posed to my friend Bill McKibben. Back in 1996, I wasted gallons of fossil fuel driving around a mountain in the Adirondacks trying to find Bill; his wife, Sue Halpern; and now grown-up daughter, Sophie. This family was one of three profiled in my honors thesis. Now Bill is a Scholar-in-Residence at my alma mater and an internationally-known leader in the fight to arrest anthropogenic climate change.

Alex: Charles Kupchan recently wrote in the New York Times, "The democratic, secular and free-market model that has become synonymous with the era of Western primacy is being challenged by state capitalism in China, Russia and the Persian Gulf sheikdoms. Political Islam is rising in step with democracy across the Middle East. And left-wing populism is taking hold from India to Brazil. Rather than following the West’s path of development and obediently accepting their place in the liberal international order, rising nations are fashioning their own versions of modernity and pushing back against the West’s ideological ambitions." Which style of government do you think has proven itself best equipped (in practice, not in theory) to address the serious threats posed by climate change? Why?

Bill: I think our only hope is people's movements rising up--so, the kind of governments where that can happen is preferred I suppose. As the Arab spring shows, it can happen almost anywhere

Alex: John Daly wrote a piece for oilprice.com where he discussed the state of fracking in China and outlined joint plans for technology transfer negotiated by Obama and Hu Jintao. What are the ethical and environmental ramifications of these developments?

Bill: A few years ago we might have said: not so bad, since burning natural gas is better than burning coal. Now we know more about fracking, and the evidence indicates not only that it does massive environmental damage close to home (the latest study indicates disposal of fracking water has been triggering earthquakes across the U.S.) but that enough unburned methane escapes into the atmosphere, negating the theoretical global warming benefits.

Alex: You have been a leader in the effort to slow the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. What do you say to those, like Joe Nocera of the New York Times, who argue that if the United States does not buy Alberta shale oil from the tar sands, it will be shipped to China, so we had best buy from a trusted ally and neighbor?

Bill: Well, it has to get to China first. They're trying to build a pipeline to the Pacific that would make that easy, but so far Canadians, especially First Nations peoples, are effectively blocking it. Even if we get very lucky, given five or ten years the Canadians will find a way to get those tar-sands out--which means in the next five or ten years we better do the work necessary to make sure that the world fears climate change enough to demand that carbon be kept in the ground. Because in global warming terms, of course, it makes no difference where it's burnt.

Alex: What are the major stumbling blocks between China and the US as they seek to forge a binding international agreement on climate?

Bill: I think the power of the fossil fuel lobby within each country that constrains actions by leaders

Alex: Have you been to China? If so, where did you go? What impressed and depressed you?

Bill: Several times. Depressed by: urban air pollution, desertification, water pollution. Impressed by: drive of the people to work, and by the rapid introduction of some new technologies (see below). (also impressed by the food)

Alex: You once wrote a book called Hope, Human and Wild. Are you aware of any really hopeful stories in China? Is there any transferable massive project or replicable local endeavor that you think sets an example for other nations?

Bill: I think the rapid adoption of solar thermal technology is a very good sign--it's the biggest source of renewable energy on earth, solar hot water in China. There are a number of cities where adoption rates approach 100%, and the total for the nation may be as high as 25%--compared with less than 1% in the U.S.  So, while China is emulating some of our bad habits (coal plants, cars) it is also creating some good habits we'd do well to copy.
 
Alex: If you could ask the average city dweller in China to do or not do one thing that would help the climate and help China develop in sustainable ways, what would it be? Please answer this question for rural residents, as well.

Bill: For urban dwellers: return China to a biking country. It's what the most avant garde cities on the planet (Copenhagen, Stockholm) are rapidly doing, and it would make life easier in every way.

For rural dwellers: well, I always thought my old friend Ren Xuping,  the rabbit king of Sichuan, was on to something.  Animal protein without grazing, on a scale easily accessible to women and children, with small capital investment and best of all helping not hurting China's huge soil erosion problem. It grew out of a Heifer project in the '80s, so I like the sense of international solidarity too.

Alex: I live in one of the largest high-speed train manufacturing areas in the world. Do you think President Obama, during a second term, would be able to make more progress on improving the transportation infrastructure of the United States? Do you think high-speed trains are the right technology to focus on?

Bill: I think trains period in the U.S.--we're not going to get super high speed trains except perhaps on a couple of corridors. But we can have fast enough trains.

Alex: Eating meat was rare for millions of Chinese country-side dwellers just a couple of decades ago. Now eating meat is a status symbol here. Feeding the world's growing population is likely to be a challenge with climate as a complicating factor. What do you think can be done to make farming and eating sustainably a priority of governments and their populations? Please answer this question in the context of the findings in this report Achieving food security in the face of climate change, referenced in this New York Times article.

Bill: I think if we're going to eat meat, we should do our best to copy culinary practices in China and elsewhere--i.e., treat it almost as a condiment, a flavoring, and hence use smaller amounts than the 'great honking slab' method of American cooks. And I'm glad to see practices like semi-vegetarianism spreading

Shanghai-Nanjing-Hangzhou, Here I Come

"Be born in Suzhou, live in Hangzhou, eat in Guangzhou, die in Liuzhou." (生在苏州, 活在杭州, 吃在广州, 死在柳州)

The meaning here lies in the fact that Suzhou was renowned for its beautiful and highly civilized and educated citizens, Hangzhou for its scenery, Guangzhou for its food, and Liuzhou (of Guangxi) for its nanmu wood coffins which supposedly halted the decay of the body.

"Heaven Above, Suzhou and Hangzhou below." (上有天堂，下有苏杭)

This phrase has a similar meaning to the English phrases "heaven on Earth" or "God's country".

 
In four hours I will leave my house for the airport. I will board a plane bound for Shanghai, which is where I went last year for the May holiday, as well. It is hard to believe that it has been a year.

A scaled model of the city with the Oriental Pearl at the bend in the river. This model is at the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center.

This time, I will also board a train, but instead of going to Suzhou, as I did in 2011, I will go first to Nanjing and then to Hangzhou.

Nanjing ("Southern Capital," as opposed to the Northern Capital of Beijing) is storied. It is most associated, sadly, with the Rape of Nanjing, a massacre perpetrated by the Japanese in the beginning of the Second World War; however, for me, the excitement lies in the fact that it lies on the Yangtze River. [Initially, I had planned to go to Wuhan now and to see Three Gorges, but a variety of factors conspired against that idea.]

I have seen the movie called "The Flowers of War" (2011), but have not yet seen "Nanking, Nanking" (2009). Both of these movies chronicle the atrocities of 1937. The first ten minutes of the latter appear below.

Hangzhou is most famous for the West Lake. It was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011, and was described as having "influenced garden design in the rest of China as well as Japan and Korea over the centuries and as reflecting "an idealized fusion between humans and nature."


As late as the latter part of the 16th and early 17th centuries, the city was an important center of Chinese Jewry, and may have been the original home of the better-known Kaifeng Jewish community.

There was formerly a Jewish synagogue in Ningbo, as well as one in Hangzhou, but no traces of them are now discoverable, and the only Jews known to exist in China are in Kaifeng.

In 1848 during the Qing dynasty, Hangzhou was described as the "stronghold" of Islam in China, the city containing several mosques with Arabic inscriptions. A Hui from Ningbo also told an Englishman that Hanzhou was the "Stronghold" of Islam in Zhejiang province, containing multiple mosques, compared to his small congregation of around 30 families in Ningbo for his Mosque.

I am also hoping to attend Mass on Saturday evening at Immaculate Conception Cathedral. The current cathedral in Hangzhou, dedicated to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, was originally built in 1661 by the Italian Jesuit Martino Martini, and is still one of the oldest churches in China. Its original Romanesque form was designed with three naves, and two rows of columns separating them. The two side altars venerated statues of St. Peter and St. Paul while the central altar was for the worship of Christ. At the time of its completion it had been lavishly decorated and was said by many to be the most beautiful church in China. Of note were also the large frescoes painted all over the church, that as the Jesuit Charles Le Gobien notes in his "Histoire de l'édit de l'empereur de la Chine", were based on standard Western imagery (the conversion of St. Paul, the conversion of the emperor Constantine, etc.), but were painted by Chinese artists in the Chinese brush style.

The world's largest tidal bore races up the Qiantang River through Hangzhou reaching up to 40 ft (12 m) in height.

Hangzhou is also the terminus of the Grand Canal, which is the world's longest canal.

Stay tuned to find out what I really do on this luxurious six day vacation. Tomorrow night, I will be at the Rock & Wood Hostel.

Poetry Night: For Joy

My dearest friends know that I deeply admire the essayist, fiction writer, and American poet Wendel Berry. Tonight was poetry night at The Culture Club and I shared his To a Siberian Woodsman. I began to choke up during my reading of the last stanza, which was not particularly professional nor did it help my Chinese listeners to understand me. I also shared Wild Geese by Mary Oliver.

One of the students brought Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star to share. Her chosen English name is Sunshine, but she came to the wine-tasting event a week ago and Jack, who is a delightful tease, called her Moonshine. He had no idea what moonshine was, but it was a perfect teaching moment.

We also talked about Shakespeare--alliteration, iambic pentameter, rhythm, rhyme, and onomatopoeia. It was fun to walk them through all of this. I had them baa like a lamb and maa like a goat. Baba is papa and mama is mama in Chinese. I had them ribbit like a frog and roar like a lion, zippppp their zippers and then we did tongue-twisters. She sells seashells by the seashore. How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

The range of levels makes these classes a real challenge. How do you know if the the new student, who is sitting there smiling, is really enjoying herself or if she is dumbstruck by how little she understands of the conversation. There are a couple of boisterous boys who have started to come. They are younger than our stated minimum age, but add a fun dynamic sometimes. How will I know if some of the adults wish they would just go away? These are the small challenges of what I do here. (I am not going to write a blog post about the big challenges.)

Dear, Dear Congress

"Mr. Horton, who has already helped a few clients fill out Form 8938, said that for most individual filers, 'even if we’re talking about a modest set of accounts, it’s going to take a full Saturday to do,'" in For Americans Abroad, Taxes Just Got More Complicated

I am writing from the center of capitalism with Chinese characteristics, but not the home of Red (Ticker) Tape. Please read this article in the New York Times and ask yourself if this is the silly hyperbole of a liberal grey lady's irresponsible staff reporter.

If you think that Sen. Max Baucus is right and there are dozens of English teachers, soldiers, sailors, and foreign service members--albeit serving their culture and country--who are enriching themselves with off-shore bank accounts, you ought to provide me, in your sweet response penned by an unpaid intern or some LA who pays less taxes than Warren Buffet's secretary, with some evidence that it is so. Everybody I know is relatively poor.

I arrived here in February 2011 and now, ehere, it is the day after traditional US Tax Day 2012, except that April 15 is a Sunday and I file in special Massachusetts, where Monday is also holy for long distance runners and Minutemen. My forms are done, I am told. My father, with power of attorney, has put his John Hancock on them. My questions are unanswered, though.

Wither can I legally invest? Where do I belong? Am I a man without a country?

These are the facts (Will they lead to an international arrest warrant?): My things are stored in Claremont, NH; my CapitolOne account forwards to my twin sister in West Roxbury, MA; my Bank of America accounts, which I would love to shuck, have my parents address in Brookline, MA; my renewed license was sent to a friend in Concord, NH. I no longer maintain a post office box in Concord, NH, because it expired and mail all gets lost en route to me in China, anyway....which may be no fault of the US Postal Service. I owed New Hampshire something like $54, because my grandparents left me some money, but my "burden of taxation is softened by a $92,900 exclusion that allows many expatriates to avoid any U.S. liability."

Even to consolidate my many addresses into one domestic or foreign address seems an insurmountable task.

I would like to divest from Bank of America. The same oracle bone that prompted me to ask my father about investing in Google before it went public ("flash in the pan" he ill-advised and we laugh about it still...especially, again, on the eternal, sketchy eve of Facebook's public offering) and Matt Tabbai's ruthless pen have convinced me that I should distance myself from the summer soldiers and sunshine patriots of the constricting BoA. BUT I CANNOT!

These are additional facts: I called Vanguard and Fidelity, where I was advised that banking rules would not even allow them to re-direct me to their website for ideas. I cannot move the chump retirement change that I earned for fourteen months of service to the State of New Hampshire. I cannot move the checking account which has hardly enough in it to buy the car that Rep. Dennis Kucinich grew up in or a flight home.

The people that my honest family of quiet Brahmins pay to meticulously prepare our taxes are at a loss for what to do. It does not automatically make me a patriot that my ancestors sailed on the Mayflower, built the breastworks around Manhattan during the War for Independence, imported china from China (see footnote), and died on the field of battle in Korea's cold hills; however, I tell you that I am such a lover of my country. While I may have marched with Granny D and made company with some from the War Tax Resisters League, clapped for James Farmer, Jr. and Henry David Thoreau, and adored Dorothy Day, I am every bit as American as you...and I pay my taxes the way that Big Ben clocks the minutes near Greenwich.

Like millions of American boys, I have had delusion, spilled upon me by adoring old ladies in their simple, well-meaning adynatons, that "Someday you will be the President [implying when hell freezes and Congress is full of honest souls]." Your inability to do anything about anything is inspiration to run--far, far away to Siberia's southern shores. Here I find myself helpless.

America may be "alone among industrialized countries in taxing on the basis of nationality, rather than residence"; however, I feel homeless and abandoned. The expatriate community is weaker than the Puerto Rican electorate and the unfortunate Washingtonian denizens, who darken your doorways. Where do I turn for relief from this red tape?

Alexander Putnam Lee

Changchun, CHINA

++++++++++++++++++++
[This material was added on April 20 as an update to this article.]

April 19, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ON-THE-BRINK BANK STILL NOT YOURS (YET)

Dow Jones posts fake release for two hours; bank gets fake website blacklisted, briefly
    Contact: bofa@yeslab.org
 
Bank of America executives, investors, and opponents alike reacted with surprise to yesterday's news—posted for two hours on Dow Jones Newswire and elsewhere—that the mammoth financial institution, realizing it was heading for a taxpayer bailout, was asking Americans to start thinking about what they'll do with the bank once they own it, and to start advertising that vision too.

The news, of course, was a hoax. 

The fake YourBofA.com website was quickly, but temporarily, blacklisted by Google as a potential "phishing scam," despite the site containing no forms, spyware, or other characteristics of a site engaging in phishing. Firefox and Google Chrome users who tried to load YourBofA.com were warned that the site may be "dangerous," while some individuals with Gmail accounts reported that emails containing the URL were bounced back or not delivered. An investigation by Raw Story concluded that "It's likely that Bank of America reported the site to Google as a phishing scam." Shortly after the article's publication—and with the help of thousands of volunteers complaining to Google—the website was taken off the blacklist. 

Today's reports of slumping profits make the fake site all the more timely. "This site is a forum for people to imagine what they could do with this bank," said Jane O'Heely of the Yes Lab, one of the site's creators. "The ideas we've gotten already show we all know as much as bankers about how a bank ought to be run—and actually, a good deal more."
"A bank doesn't have to be something that charges you fees, invests your money in things you abhor, destroys poor communities with predatory lending, and then threatens to take down the global economy if you don't agree to bail it out," said Logan Price, who helped create BreakUpBofA.com. "Thinking of alternatives to this nightmare is not rocket science."

The hoax was perpetrated by means of a fake press release; it was followed two hours later with a fake angry retort, so that no journalist would be fooled for very long. "We wanted to get people thinking about how they'd run banking differently, not to really fool anyone," noted O'Heely. "The whole fake release thing was just a way to publicize it and get people posting ideas and ads." 

"Any response by Bank of America would just help spread the word, and they seem to know that," added O'Heely. When Bank of America got Google to blacklist the website as "phishing" (which it was not), the Yes Lab mobilized 4000 volunteers to complain, which quickly worked to de-list the site and give this press release a small extra hook.
The website's centerpiece is an open call to American taxpayers to begin considering what they will do after a bailout, when they'll have a chance to become the company’s majority owners. The "bank" also asks the public to advertise their visions with a tool for generating web banners—images that could give Bank of America a very real "google problem" not unlike Chevron's. The site also includes a letter from CEO Brian Moynihan that admits to the bank's many failings—short-sighted investment decisions and the massive accumulation of le gal liabilities, causing plummeting share prices and inexorably pushing the company towards a public bailout. 

The YourBofA.com website was a collaboration between the Yes Lab, Rainforest Action Network, and New Bottom Line. A number of folks within Occupy Wall Street's Alternative Banking working group also helped with the site. Like other Yes Lab websites, this one is hosted by May First / People Link. 

The website comes at a time of rampant distrust of big banks. Even top Federal Government regulators have recently called for the end of "too big to fail." As Harvey Rosenblum, the head of the Dallas Fed’s research department, recently wrote: "Many of the biggest banks have sputtered, their balance sheets still clogged with toxic assets accumulated in the boom years... creating a residue of distrust for the government, the banking system, the Fed and capitalism itself." 

"Most Americans, and even some regulators, see what's wrong with the state of our banking system," said Price. "We have a real opportunity to safely and proactively push this company towards managed bankruptcy and create smaller, more responsive financial institutions that help American communities rather than harm them."

eerratic cumming poetry

for a virgin 3 Gorges

the river’s frigid, swollen mound of water intrigues me

bending lower i tickle its glassy surface with my swollen lips

something awakens, like springtime, and its steady roar

seems, momentarily, but not momentary, to be moved

deep within something simenon stirs and think maybe its earth

or maybe maggie and milly and molly and may, but it is earlier

than all that, still, further upstream where vernal showers birth

all that comes after 

even the peaceful sunlight falls gently

then like some wet wolf, it shakes itself, loosening the stones

which once moored it to eternity with imperceptible grace

lower still, i sense there is a placidity that bends like styrene

beneath the weight of knowing all that hangs beyond and above

somewhere in the middle, like a monument to present fleeting

it places in grey intervals some energy that cannot be bent how

possibly my own moaning and mysterious tears now sleeting

offer such friendship and adventure, such dreams in one place

A Warning To My Readers

Do not think me gentle
because I speak in praise
of gentleness, or elegant
because I honor the grace
that keeps this world. I am
a man crude as any,
gross of speech, intolerant,
stubborn, angry, full
of fits and furies. That I
may have spoken well
at times, is not natural.
A wonder is what it is.

              -Wendell Berry

Two Heavenly Days Off

I spent the whole day yesterday in my flat, partly to avoid the weather. I slept and watched a couple amazing movies--Part 6 of BBC's Wild China (final episode, sadly) and The Great Debaters. I studied a little and worked on recruiting and some work stuff.

I remember seeing James Farmer, Jr., when I was a student. He is the protagonist of The Great Debaters. This film, typically well-acted by Denzels Washington and Whitaker, made me weep. I would like to show portions of it to my class that is learning how to argue (aka critical thinking). I also cleaned house, did laundry (even the flannel bedsheets, mom and Theresa-Shannon!), and had a plumber come by to fix a problem with my plumbing (an endless saga in this apartment).

My friend and I cooked the most amazing dinner of fish, spicy duck neck and muer (wooden ear fungus) and potatoes with peppers.

Before we ate

After we ate

This morning I woke and went to Jingyuetan, Asia's largest urban forest park, which is right here in Changchun. I went with my friend C. Chen and two of her male, childhood friends. One of them is a professor of trombone and composer, who will travel to LA in a few months for some philharmonic event. We hiked and I even jogged. The weather was delightful. After the high winds of yesterday, which brought with them dust and fine sand from the Gobi Desert, the calm, warm (64 degrees Farenheit) weather of this Saturday was a welcome relief. I saw some pussy-willows on a well-drained hillside and chuckled, as I remembered George Bush Sr.'s bumbling Interior Secretary, Manuel Lujan, and his infamous blunder, "I take the position that there are certain kinds of vegetation that are common in wetlands -- you know, what do you call them? Pussy willows, or whatever the name is . . . (He probably means cattails.) That's one way you can tell, and then, if it's wet." [In 1999, when efforts to protect the endangered Mount Graham red squirrel held up construction of an Arizona observatory, Lujan confessed to reporters that he could not see what the fuss was about: "Nobody's told me the difference between a red squirrel, a black one or a brown one."] We did not see any squirrels.

The instruments hanging on the wall are called guqin. The man is playing a yangqin.

After an amazing lunch at a restaurant where the owner treated us to a yang qin concert and some 15 year-old baijiu (Chinese liquor) that tasted and looked like port, as well as a tea ceremony by his wife at an authentic tea table and some top-shelf pu'er, I headed back home for a two hour massage, where they convinced me that scraping and cupping would be good for me. What do you think?

After the massage, I met my friend Sun Lu and we learned a bit more about how to play weichi from a couple of guys at the fancy tea-house in my neighborhood. We drank tea for a while first and tried to teach ourselves, but it was happenstance that I took a look on the front-porch to satisfy my curiosity and found several clusters of older men playing the game. After watching one game, we had a nice dinner of bao zi and lamb with onions. As Lu got my weichi set from her backpack, both boxes opened and over a hundred little black and white stones spilled out on the sidewalk. We picked them all up, laughing the whole time, and now I am home lining up interviews with teacher candidates for tomorrow and beyond.

After a very lousy week, where I have been plowed under with work, 2AM phone calls, conflict, and a head cold, this was what I needed!

Types of Calligraphy

Eight Dragons- eight different cursive representations of the character 龍 (dragon), from Compilation of Cursive Characters (《草字彙》), authored by Shi Liang (石梁) of the Qing Dynasty. The artists are: 1 Sun Guoting; 2, 3 Huai Su; 4 Yan Zhenqing; 5 Zhao Mengfu; 6, 7 Zhu Zhishan; 8 anonymous.

For the last few months, I have met periodically with my Chinese teacher and another friend to learn calligraphy. One of my best friends here just sent me the following information, which was unattributed. I have added more detail, and am sharing it in full because it will interest scholars and neophytes alike, I believe. I don't have time today to do more extensive research.

If you want to learn Chinese Calligraphy, you’d better learn about the development of Chinese characters. Chinese characters, beginning with jiaguwen or Oracle Bone Script, used in Shang Dynasty (about the 16th –11th century B.C.), have a long history of around 3000 years. Generally, we think jiaguwen is the oldest Character because it is the earliest, mature and systematic Chinese writing system we have found, thus far. In its long history, Chinese writing evolved continuously. The scripts of Chinese characters are jiaguwen, jinwen, xiaozhuan, lishu, caoshu, xingshu, kaishu and so on. Kaishu and xingshu are used often, now.

I have not modified or corrected the English for the following paragraphs.

甲骨文

Jiaguwen

This kind of Chinese character is the one discovered from the remains of shang Dynasty. Because these Characters were carved or written on the tortoise shells and the bones, it was called jiaguwen. It is the oldest Chinese character, we found. The square turning is the main way of writing (or carving), and smooth turning is rare. Its lines are thin mostly.

金文

Jinwen

Jinwen is the one mainly used in shang Dynasty,and Zhou Danasty and sometimes in Han Dynasty. It was discovered on the bronze wares, so it was named jinwen. These verses cast on the ancient zhongs(bells) and dings (the ancient Chinese cooking vessels with two loop handles and three or four legs) were almost the ones to put down the contributions of the kings and their officials in those times, so this kind of script has another two names, zhongdingwen and mingwen( the script of inscriptions). The style of jinwen is the same as jiaguwen, but neater and more well-balanced, and its lines are thicker, too.

小篆

Qinshihuang

Xiaozhuan

When Chinese history came to Qin Dynasty, Qinshihuang made China a union. He launched the first reform of Chinese character. The character used by Qin kingdom was sorted out and simplified and used in the united country, and the other (six) kingdoms’ characters were banished. This reformed character was named xiaozhuan or Qinzhuan which was originated from the former characters, but its lines are the neatest and most well-balanced, and the shapes of it are even firmer. It is very important, for it is the end of the ancient Chinese characters (jiaguwen, jinwen, xiaozhuan) and the beginning of the modern Chinese characters (lishuu, caoshu, xingshu, kaish).

隶书

Lishu

Lishu was developed from xiaozhuan in Qin Dynasty, and mainly used in Han Dynasty and Wei Dynasty. Compared with xiaozhuan, the strokes of lishu are straighter and squarer, and it removes the feature of picture of Chinese character. Since then, the shades of Chinese characters have almost been stabilized. Of course, there are some differences in different scripts.

草书

Caoshu

Caoshu is from lishu in Han Dynasty, and grown up in Jin Dynasty. It is the fast writing form of lishu, called zhangcao first. Its developed type is called jincao (modern caoshu).

楷书

Kaishu

It is also known as Zhengshu Script, and evolved from seal characters. It is simpler in structure and square in shape. To be specific, it is more standardized horizontally and vertically. The integral feature of formal script is neatness and orderliness, for which reason it is widely used and favored today.

行书

Xingshu

Xingshu and kaishu are also developed from lishu in Han Dynasty and are popular in Wei Dynasty, Jin Dynasty and South-north Dynasty. They are very practical, and used widely till today.

Greed and Corruption: Not Just a Problem in China

A Breguet watch on Patriarch Kirill I, left, vanished in a
doctored photo, but its reflection on the table remained.

The story of Patriarch Kirill I and his $30,000 watch was fodder for a New York Times article.

The retention of Greg Mortenson, author of Three Cups of Tea, as a staffer and ex officio board member of the Central Asia Institute was also written about in the Times.

Finally, the story of Michael Harrington's recusal refusal was carried on NH Public Radio.

I have three different reactions to these stories. The first story, of course, is one of extremely bad taste. I don't much like the helmet or the vase or gilded doorway, either. What is notable in the story is that the Patriarch endorsed the re-election of Vladimir Putin.

The second story is sad. Mortenson, despite Jon Krakauer's continued sniping, has done a lot of good things with his life. This is a story, unlike the first, that raises deep questions about forgiveness and the role of our justice system. It also raises questions about nonprofit structure and management.

Mr. Krakauer continues to be right on the facts, but one wonders if he has a board in his own eye. An increase in the number of board members for CAI sounds like a prudent decision and Montana Attorney General Bullock seems to have handled things well.

The last story is horrifying. As a former employee of the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission, I am dismayed that Commissioner Amy Ignatius added her signature to an order that closed the door for further procedural objections to Commissioner Harrington's recusal. What is more disturbing is that Mike thought it appropriate for his signature to be on this order!

How much benefit does one need to accrue before the law is obeyed? Who developed the standard of “a sufficient appearance of partiality to merit disqualification”? Some very good further analysis of this decision can be found on REAL's website. I agree that this makes a mockery of the process and does not build the confidence of the public.

Three pieces of art

I took these photos at 798 in Beijing. These are three of the most famous sculptures at the art district and a poster for a coming exhibit of autistic artists. The last one is my favorite. It is funny on so many levels. If you look carefully, it says, In English, "Made in China" on the end of the gun barrel.

Making Idols of the Dead: Tomb Sweeping Day

One of my current projects is some research on Matteo Ricci. An open-minded, early Jesuit missionary to China, who helped convert famous agronomist, mathematician and astronomer Xu Guangqi to the Catholic faith, Ricci wore the robes of the Chinese gentry and suggested that it would be okay for Chinese Catholic converts to continue with some of their traditional spiritual practices. Initially, this idea had some papal support. In a decree signed on 23 March 1656, Pope Alexander VII accepted practices "favorable to Chinese customs", reinforcing 1615 decrees which accepted the usage of the Chinese language in liturgy, a notable exception to the contemporary Latin Catholic discipline which had generally forbidden the use of local languages. The Dominicans, Franciscans, and Augustinians disagreed, however. Subsequent Popes opined and, ultimately, around the time when George Washington was born, China's longest reigning emperor was so infuriated by the papal bull that he himself made an announcement:

Reading this proclamation, I have concluded that the Westerners are petty indeed. It is impossible to reason with them because they do not understand larger issues as we understand them in China. There is not a single Westerner versed in Chinese works, and their remarks are often incredible and ridiculous. To judge from this proclamation, their religion is no different from other small, bigoted sects of Buddhism or Taoism. I have never seen a document which contains so much nonsense. From now on, Westerners should not be allowed to preach in China, to avoid further trouble.

So what are Chinese rites? The main bones of contention were what to call God, whether Chinese Christians coming from a Confucian background could participate in the season rites, and whether Chinese Christians coming from a Taoist and Buddhist background could use tablets with the forbidden inscription "site of the soul" and to follow the Chinese rites for ancestor worship. Veneration of the dead on Veterans' Day and other holidays throughout the West, including All Saints' Day, is not alien to Catholics. Indeed, one could make an argument that the elaborate process for the induction of saints comes dangerously close to idolatry if easily misinterpreted by practitioners. Nevertheless, these foreign practices of the Chinese were not to be tolerated...and so Christian preachers, in turn, were not to be tolerated.

Today is Tomb Sweeping Day. Wikipedia reports, "The Qingming Festival is an opportunity for celebrants to remember and honor their ancestors at grave sites. Young and old pray before the ancestors, sweep the tombs and offer food, tea, wine, chopsticks, joss paper accessories, and/or libations to the ancestors. The rites have a long tradition in Asia, especially among farmers. Some people carry willow branches with them on Qingming, or put willow branches on their gates and/or front doors. They believe that willow branches help ward off the evil spirit that wanders on Qingming.

"On Qingming people go on family outings, start the spring plowing, sing, and dance. Qingming is also the time when young couples start courting. Another popular thing to do is to fly kites in the shapes of animals or characters from Chinese opera. Another common practice is to carry flowers instead of burning paper, incense or firecrackers." In the old days, people would bring a whole rooster to the site of their ancestors' graves.

I am going off to throw clay pots and play badminton. 

Starbucks, Sun Tzu, and Wei Chi

On my way back from a  three-day jaunt to Beijing (yes, I just can't stay away!), I sat across from an investor. He is going to America soon--to Seattle and LA--to see five companies. One of them is Starbucks.

Shenyang, a slightly larger city than Changchun, where I live, already has a few of these franchises. Beijing's most prominent Starbucks sits in a stunning building at the foot of Qianmen. Last week, the news was filled with stories about the ways in which Starbucks will seek to re-design its European stores in an effort to conquer the cafe culture. Now, are they about to invade China and replace tea with the little brown bean? The Wall Street Journal reports that they already have 10,000 employees here, but that number is about to grow.

Maybe they need to read SunTzu's The Art of War to get it right. I bought an English version at the Beijing Foreign Languages Bookstore and ordered a second copy on-line that has the original Chinese text and an English translation. I also bought Peter Shotwell's Go Basics: Concepts and Strategies for New Players. The Game of Go is also called wei chi in Chinese and ba duk by the Koreans. In his introduction, he writes,

Beginning about 500BC, Taoist philosopher warriors such as Sun Tzu would have been managing the imbalances of yin and yang and the flow of qi that were coursing over the playing boards, as they thought these did in their wars, businesses, and the rest of their lives. On the other hand, the Confucians and probably the early Buddhists looked at the playing of Go as a waste of time and a corrupter of aristocratic youth because of the gambling involved.

Inspired by John Elder, my mentor and thesis adviser from Middlebury, who is so good he has to play people on-line, I wanted to learn a year ago, but nobody has been able to show me. Last spring, I went to Walmart (I know, I know, but it was cheap and it's buying local, after all) to buy the stones and board. Now I am going to get serious. The book even came with a CD-ROM!

Anyway, the fellow across from whom I was sitting, was reading a book of famous Chinese philosophers works. He told me that to understand Chinese thinking, I need to read Lao Tzu, which I have; Confucius, which I have; and Sun Tzu, which I am; however, he also claimed it can all be traced back to this one fellow whose Chinese name he wrote on one of my flashcards. I can't read it so I guess I will have to wait until I can to be enlightened!

My immediate strategy is to learn ba duk from a Korean math teacher friend and then maybe shift to wei chi with a Chinese friend or two. One piece of ancient wisdom is to lose your first hundred games quickly. I am off to begin my losing streak!

Post About China Post

Dear Postmaster,

My replacement driver's license, my replacement debit card, and a US$50 gift certificate are lost in the mail. I have been waiting for two months. Bank of America has sent me two replacement cards and neither one has reached me. My friend who sent me my license which I left at her house in New Hampshire, did not get a tracking number. Continental Airlines (aka United)--the scheisters who delayed me for a day in Japan and misplaced my bags for a day--may never have issued the gift certificate. 

What should I do? Does one of your employees with the last name 李 (Li) have a desire to take a joyride in the Granite State? 

What good is a debit card when you would have to torture me to get my PIN?

My father sent me a check once and it did not get here either. It did not reissue.

Finally, I am sure, there are about a million love letters that never arrived. 

Does all of this get gobbled up in some vortex of the South China Sea?

Sincerely,

Alexander Lee

P.S. I am also waiting for a copy of The Way Things Work by David Macaulay so that I can teach a Chinese boy about lots of cool stuff. It was sent out weeks and weeks ago, but may not arrive till about April 15 so it's not late.

P.P.S. It could be the USPS. They are famous for their incompetence.

Learn from Comrade Li Zicheng, Maybe

Resurrection and Insurrection

The little-known Shun Dynasty, which lasted for about a year between the Ming and penultimate Qing Dynasty, was headed by a peasant shepherd named Li Zicheng, who declared himself emperor. The capital was Xi'an, where I went for summer vacation last year. I could wax poetic about the city wall in that amazing city, which is also near to where a much earlier emperor buried his terra-cotta army, but I am writing to talk about how Li Zicheng, not Lei Feng, seems like the ideal icon to resurrect during this time. 

First, a word about Lei Feng from the Wall Street Journal:

A sock-darning do-gooder Communist soldier who died 50 years ago isn’t ideal fodder for an Internet meme, but Lei Feng (雷锋) has been all over Chinese websites this week, as officials diligently work to promote his memory — once actively instilled in schoolchildren across the country — as a model of party loyalty and moral fortitude. This week, Xinhua journalists went to interview elementary-school students who are learning more about the “spirit of Lei Feng” in honor of the anniversary of his death, as well as family members who still recall an era when Lei Feng’s name had more power.”When I was a young worker, we’d all be called in the factory to learn from Comrade Lei Feng,” one woman in her 50s told Xinhua. Now, she says, her grandson says, “I want to learn from America’s Bill Gates.”

Feng is the subject of numerous propaganda posters and you can learn a great deal about the mythology that has sprung up around him on a website that sells those posters.

A well-written blog post by Jeremy Goldkorn offers a critique of the recent campaign to resurrect Comrade Lei Feng, though. Maybe, instead of agreeing or disagreeing with any particular perspective, I wish to offer an alternative. (Any English teacher here can tell you that "maybe" is how many students begin their declarative sentences.)


The Chinese government already issued a silver coin in 1990 with Li Zicheng on it. The portrait above has the feel of a propaganda poster. Nobody knows for sure if and how he died, but he may have ended his life as a monk at Shashan Temple in Hunan. There is a Beijing Opera about him called "Banner of the Daring Prince." He represents the ancient, traditional culture of China, but has that modern-day revolutionary spirit and may have even been a Cinncinatus.

China Politburo Civics: How it Works, Kind of

Mssrs. Who, When, Woo, She and, of course, the Lees 

The Politburo is nominally appointed by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China but the practice since the 1980s has been that the Politburo is self-perpetuating. The Politburo consists of 24 people and nine of them sit on the Standing Committee. These nine people are very powerful and control most of what happens in China.

Mr. Hu (pronounced Who)

Mr. Hu Jintao is the General Secretary and Chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission. Since the abolition of the post Chairman of the Communist Party of China in 1982, the General Secretary has been the highest ranking official of the party and heads the Secretariat, Politburo of the Party and its Standing Committee.

Since its founding, the most important position in the PRC has been that of the General Secretary (known as Chairman before 1982). The Communist party and its leader hold ultimate power and authority over state and government.

Recently, the General Secretary has held the authority of Paramount leader in China. Also, China is a single-party state that General Secretary holds the highest political position ranking in the PRC, which is the most powerful position in the Chinese government.

Mr. Wen (pronounced When)

Mr. Wen Jiabao is the Premier and the Party Secretary of the State Council of the People's Republic of China. The Premier is the highest administrative position in the Government of the People's Republic of China. The Premier is responsible for organizing and administering the Chinese civil bureaucracy. This includes overseeing the various ministries, departments, commissions and statutory agencies and announcing their candidacies to the National People's Congress for Vice-Premiers, State Councillors and ministry offices. Apparently, the Premier does not have authority over the People's Liberation Army, but the Premier is the Head of the National Defense Mobilization Committee of China which is a department of armed forces redeployment. In recent years, there has been a division of responsibilities between the Premier and the General Secretary of CPC wherein the Premier is responsible for the technical details of implementing government policy while the General Secretary gathers the political support necessary for government policy.

Mr. Wu (pronounced Woo)

Mr. Wen is the third ranked official, though. Mr. Wu Bangguo, who we seldom hear about, is the second highest official. He serves as Party Secretary and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. He serves as China's top legislator and was preceded by Li Peng.

Mr. Peng's daughter, Li Xiaolin, is a current legislator and the center of some recent controversy for a controversial proposal she made that was juxtaposed by a blogger with her wearing a US$1,990 pink pantsuit from Emilio Pucci. Her proposal? Establish a "morality file" on each citizen so as to “discipline everyone and make sure everyone has a sense of shame.” Currently, she is the only female CEO of a Hong Kong Stock Exchange-listed company, China Power International Development (SEHK: 2380). In 2009, CPID acquired 63% equity interests in Wu Ling Power making hydro 18.73% of its total installed capacity, the highest of any of the Chinese independent power producers. This protects the company from the costs of coal power in China, and makes its overall profile cleaner.

In November 2012, the 18th Politburo Standing Committe (PSC) will take office. If previous precedent is followed, seven of the current PSC members will retire having exceeded the age of 67. Only Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang are expected to retain their seats.

Mr. Xi (pronounced She)

Xi Jinping, part of a group of "princelings" or the clique called the Crown Prince Party, is expected to take the position currently held by Mr. Hu Jintao. His recent, high-profile trips abroad to numerous nations, including the United States, all but assure that he will take the reigns later this year.

Xi married Ke Lingling in the early 1980s. After about 3 years, they were divorced, due to personality clashes. Xi married the famous Chinese folk singer Peng Liyuan (彭丽媛) in 1987.

Peng Liyuan, a household name in China, was much better known to the public than Xi until his political elevation. The couple frequently live apart due to their largely separate lives. They are sometimes considered China's emerging star political couple. They have a daughter named Xi Mingze (习明泽), who enrolled as a freshman at Harvard University in the Fall of 2010 under a pseudonym.

Mr. Li (pronounced Lee)

Li Keqiang is currently Deputy Party Secretary and first-ranked Vice-Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China and is predicted to assume Mr. Wen's positions come November.

The Xi-Li administration is likely to be dominated by two factions.  Hu Jintao's Communist Youth League faction and the Crown Prince Party (or "Princelings") are seen to be the two dominant factions within the leadership.

In an article by Cheng Li of the Brookings Institution, four additional individuals have more or less secured their membership in the next PSC: Vice Premier Wang Qishan, Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang, Organization Department head Li Yuanchao, and Propaganda Department head Liu Yunshan.

Other prominent figures that are speculated to be top figures in the 5th generation include newly-appointed Chongqing Party Chief Zhang Dejiang, Shanghai Party Chief Yu Zhengsheng, Guangdong Party Chief Wang Yang, Tianjin Party Chief Zhang Gaoli, State Councilor Liu Yandong, Secretary General of the State Council Ma Kai, Chief of the General Office of Communist Party Ling Jihua, Minister of Public Security Meng Jianzhu, and Hebei Party Chief Zhang Qingli.

Many people believed that Mr. Bo Xilai would also join this elite group. Mr. Bo has experienced some political setbacks over the last several days that have garnered international attention. They may be the subject of a subsequent post.

Vanzetti is Dead!

I am feeling a little like a bad dad. It was with some trepidation that I decided last week to enter the group of people who enslave animals for their own enjoyment (i.e., become a pet owner). Now, it seems my ineptitude and lack of training as a fish father has cost the life of my littlest one. Vanzetti is dead.

Who was Vanzetti? Vanzetti was a fishmonger born in Villafalletto, Cuneo province, Piemonte region, Italy, and arrived in the United States at age twenty. His last words:

I would not wish to a dog or to a snake, to the most low and misfortunate creature of the earth–I would not wish to any of them what I have had to suffer for things that I am not guilty of. But my conviction is that I have suffered for things that I am guilty of. I am suffering because I am a radical and indeed I am a radical; I have suffered because I am an Italian and indeed I am an Italian...if you could execute me two times, and if I could be reborn two other times, I would live again to do what I have done already.

I am sorry, Vanzetti.