My China Kanfa.....China on My Mind

There it sits, not far from the Forbidden City itself.  Originally built but for a boy.  And of course expanded over time, from Emperor to Emperor, until the walls literally came tumbling down.   And there it lies, to this day, as a symbol of China's humiliation, and weakness.  The waft of "Victim Syndrome" fills the air. But very few Chinese were killed here, if any.  There were no bombs, no radiation.  But there was a mob, alright. The overweening narrative I've oft heard when  young, from other young folk, is that the ruthless laowai simply burned the whole thing down. Of course when youngerer, what is simpler then and uncluttered is all so easy to understand and explain.  The older one becomes, the more one understands there are always two sides to the story, for any situation, the more good old fashioned "nuance" fills the air, like a mist that never goes away. So it is with "Yuan Mingyuan". 圆明园  Or is it "Yuanming Yuan"?...

Well, I can officially confirm the most selfish person on the planet is my mother in law. While she and my father in law both have "permanent" American Green Cards, they still need to come back to America within a year, once they leave the country, to maintain them. However, it seems they just don't like life here. We gave them a HUD apartment. We gave them TV. We gave them Chinese markets and all the newspapers they could read. We even gave them Chinese restaurants. America is infinitely more comfortable for a Chinese than China for a Westerner. True, we have our Starbucks, and McDonald's and our Americanized steak houses.  But is this really our culture?  In China I cannot watch CNN, or read the NY Times.  Even with VPN it is a chore.  I can freely read ESPN.  Certainly cannot listen to YouTube.  I've got the club.  True.  But...I can't even drive in China.  And for any Westerner that does drive, that tells me the traffic i...

I know a 30 something Sichuan girl.  Known her a long time actually.  And maybe someday I'll tell that story.  She owns an ice cream franchise.  Has about 6 trucks spread around the city of Guangzhou.  Makes more than I do.  Wildly successful.  And can't find a boyfriend. She's gorgeous.  Very confident, and outgoing. One day she finally gets her break.  Meets a guy.  Same age.  Dinner....bar.  During the evening she tells him more about herself.  See above. Following day she gets a WeChat from a mutual friend of theirs.  Maybe it was posted as  a moment.  But the moment was as follows: "I can't date(marry) a woman who has her own business." She's still alone.  Sending out WeChat moments from clubs and meals with friends.  Surrounded by her independent minded, single, middle aged Chinese girlfriends. When I ask her why the guy chose this method of communication, she simply shrugged an...

(Hi Everyone, I'm finally back and thanks for not entirely deserting me!  I've decided due to my busy afterwork schedule to try a new blogging format for the time being.  My posts will be shorter, but hopefully also more frequent, at least in the short term. I hope to go back to my longer length posts soon as I can.) I've been back a week.  My jetlag is gone.  Work is ok I guess, and my trip was great.  From a professional point of view it went very well.  But I learned some things. First thing I learned it this:  Almost every Chinese girl out there I meet wants to have an "emotional affair".  Far viewer are ready for anything physical.   Many talk the talk....they don't walk the walk.  But I'm a passing ship in the night.....so that's ok. Perhaps my biggest takeaway from my recent 17 days in China was really more of a reinforced point of view: The vast majority of Chinese couples have a passionless marriage.  Both side...

Well, I'm having quite the spell.  I didn't realize I'd gone two whole weeks without a post until yesterday.  And you know what?  I didn't feel bad in the least. But I do apologize.  Last week we were on a family trip, and this weekend I'm off yet again to China  until the end of October.   I will try like hell to get another post off before the weekend but don't count on it. As for this post, this is my second go around.  My old trusty laptop just died on me a page into my new post, forcing me to retreat beyond the cocoon of my safety blanket onto a desktop(!) of all things. At least the post I will try and write today won't need the typical 4-5 days of preparation before posting! This is a post I've been wanting to put out for the last few days or so.  What is my issue? China Wife complains I don't make enough money.  And I hate it.  I resent her for it. I admit I've spoiled China Wife.  In the past I made enough ...

On November 3, 1903, the territory of Panama declared independence from Columbia.   The Columbian gunboat Bogota responded by lobbing shells into Panama City.   Only a few shells were fired, mind you.   And a donkey was killed.   However there was one fatal human casualty.   A Chinese shopkeeper was killed in his sleep. And with that I begin the tale of the slow domination of China over Latin America.   If one simply thinks about it, calmly for a moment, one will see the logic of it all.   Ever since the natural abilities and entrepreneurial spirit of the Chinese has been unleashed since the 1990’s, the Chinese have been able to find their natural calling; business. Still lots of folks see the slowly creeping economic influence of China in black and white terms.   Yet another zero sum game between America and China.    Yet Latin America is simply another soft target for China.   If one understands where the Chinese already...

So who was worse for China, comrades? Cixi or Jiang Qing? Pick your poison? Ok. Cixi was willing at the end of the day to kill her own nephew if that meant getting her way, even in the afterlife.   I’ve been fair with Cixi.   As much as anyone not writing more than a simplistic blog could be.   Cixi was one of the very few females with the opportunity to flash her natural capabilities for the good of China.   I honestly believe she never wanted to be the Dragon Lady behind the curtain.   But her Emperor died young.   Than her son.    And only then did she truly accept her fate.   Her decision making killed millions.    It humiliated China further.   She indeed drained the treasury.    She ordered her tomb destroyed and rebuilt, wasting millions more.   To keep everyone off balance she suddenly flirted with The West. Bu in her old age, her final few breaths, her true colors at last reveal...