We may have some good news to share with the world…it appears that the pitter-patter of little feet might soon echo through our lives!
We’ll tell you more after an important meeting tomorrow morning… ;)
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We both write, but Jessica only writes when I bribe her. See all of her posts here.
Pronounced: guāzǐ liǎn
Means: Melon-seed Face. One of the ideal Chinese face shapes.
Albert at Laowai Chinese introduces two ideal and two undesirable Chinese face shapes: The Four Faces of Chinese People (women, really)
- 2012/03/22
Eating Bitterness: an intro to the unprecedented Chinese migrant worker phenomenon
If you're unfamiliar with the urban migrant phenomenon in China -- as in, the people who make the stuff you buy and their lives -- then China’s Urban Immigrants: A Diet of Bitterness is a fine overview with lots of links for further reading.
"Chinese metropolises are now home to an estimated 200 million rural-to-urban migrants . . . who occupy a precarious place in the urban hierarchy: while urbanites appreciate their labor, they are less enthusiastic about the migrants’ presence in their cities."
For more on this topic you can browse our Migrant Workers category, or if you like documentaries, see these reviews of two good documentaries on migrant workers:
- 2012/05/10
Chairman Mao enshrined -- literally
When one of my young, very privileged Party-family students passionately told me, "Chairman Mao is like a god to us!" I understood he meant it as a simile. And the god metaphor is common when discussing Mao and his Cultural Revolution personality cult. But as it turns out, in some incredible irony, some other Chinese mean it literally. I heard about this before, but this is the first time I've found pictures -- Mao actually enshrined in a local temple: Mao Temple in China – Chairman Mao Becomes Local God.
For more about Mao and the Mao Era, you can browse these topics:
- 2012/05/08
A deeper look into the dynamics of living with Chinese propaganda
Two insightful posts from Seeing Red in China, which is probably my current favourite China blog, about living in an aggressively and explicitly propagandized environment, and how Chinese try to deal with it. The propaganda still works, but in ways different than us foreigners probably tend to assume. Without further ado:
I tell [my daughter] that she must not be afraid to take a clear moral stand. “If you see someone is being bullied,” I said, “speak up for that person.” “Be the keeper of the good.” [But] Chinese parents would have to think twice, three times, or even lose sleep, if they are to instill these values in their children, because these qualities won’t serve them very well in the Chinese society.
We've written lots on propaganda, mostly the Chinese kind, including translations of the propaganda we've encounter in China. You can find it all in our Propaganda category.
- 2012/05/06
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WHAT????????
Not fair, to leave us hanging like that… Truly unkind, dear sister…
(Audible gasp)…I can’t wait to hear more!
I’ve heard it’s more than a ‘pitter-patter’ but I hope you find out what you want to know.
does it say something like meow?
Man, you guys just brought me to tears!
this is from your canadian sister JULIA and you’d BETTER FINISH THAT SENTENCE!! AM I TO BE AN AUNT?? DONT LEAVE ME HANGING! I CANT HANDLE THIS! HURRYYYYYYYYY !!!!!!! and you better not have this thang in taiwan… cuz frankly…. thats NOT fair!
I don’t think it would say “meow,” ’cause after all, this is Taiwan we’re talking about, right? I mean, I think they use the “meow” kind for the white soup …
And it’s the year of “wang4-wang4,” but something tells me this is not a likely addition to apartment-living da-bi-zi wai-guo-ren, either … though I could be surprised, I guess …
So will you pick a Chinese name? ;-)
Don’t worry Julia, we’d totally tell you in person if you were going to be an aunt! I hope there isn’t some kind of cosmic retribution for this in our near future.
As for who and what get eaten, I think there are still places to get cat and dog – we know people who have had it – but as far as we can tell it’s a rare treat.
Joel — How can you even think (joke, talk) about eating cat or dog — have you no respect for the memory of Spike??
Respect for Spike? We had some personal issues. I think we’re both happier with the current arrangement.
Our Canadian boss was served dog in China – it was a big honour. And we’ve read people’s travelogues where they were served cat. But I haven’t seen it yet. But this place is pampered pet dog central (we’ll have a photo gallery of that coming up eventually). Judging from the way they pamper their pets (like spoiled kids!) I imagine most people would react to dog food (dogs as food) similar to the way we would.