Big in Japan : Cheburashka (updated)

Here are two of the posters displayed on two different JR railway stations that actually drew my attention to the new popularity of the Russian cartoon character Cheburashka from my previous post.

Big in Kyoto : Jidai Matsuri Festival - Festival of the Historical Ages

Yesterday, in between classes I went to see a yearly event in Kyoto, each October 22nd, on the streets of Kyoto there is a costume procession, a parade which main topic are the different historical ages concerning Kyoto.
The festival is called Jidai Matsuri 時代祭り,Festival of the Historical Ages.
The arrangement of historical periods was from a nearest to the farthest - i.e. from Meiji Period to Heian period.

Actually it was quite fun. The costumes were quite nice. There was a sort of easy-going-ness in the performers (selected among Kyoto citizens, not professional performers)...It was kind of nice bar two things that made me think about other not immediately connected things : Japan's military past and almost absolutely 'trash' present. First one (militarism) was rather strongly felt, especially when a group of very young boys marched with rifles), and with the fact that except few occasions the marchers were predominately men, 60% some kind of warrior type. The second aspect that gave me a not so pleasant feeling was how the young people of the procession (actually come to think about it, the representatives of the modern age) had these blank stares and lack of personality about them, not mentioning the coloured haircuts and strange shoes...
But overall I'm quite impressed by this seemingly grassroots citizen activity that has a very traditional and 'rustic' (in the best way possible) feeling about it.

I did not mistake when I chose to come to Kyoto. It is a marvelous city.
I just wish people had more character...and communicated more.

Otherwise, did I mention, unlike any other important and famous Japanese city, in Kyoto there are no high rise buildings,no neon signs and lights, no airport...

It's like an island within the island.

I like it.

I just wish I was not that lonely and had someone to share it with...

P.S. The pictures used here were not taken by me. I still don't own a digital camera... I borrowed some not so bad photos from a classmate of mine in order to tell you about the event with some images from that same day...He went to a different portion of the parade, but I asked him to borrow me these images...

By the way, I had to leave the procession as I was very late for class, so I missed out the Heian period. Hopefully next year October I will be here and see it again?! Who knows, my plans are really very vague now...

NOT so Big in Japan - being a vegetarian

Biggest problem I'm facing. Being a vegetarian it is really hard to get a cooked meal that is suitable.
The past weeks I'm very much going on sandwiches (bread and cheese ones predominately) and it kind of feels not so well. I already had some mishaps with food...It is very frustrating actually. For a country that came to eat meat only some 80 years ago it is sort of amazing how much less vegetarian Japanese cuisine is...Of course there is a lot of fish, but fish is also life, so I don't know (yet) how Japanese being Buddhists managed to circumvent the killing of fish 'sin' which is major in their diet...
Half of my master thesis talks about how killing and eating fish has bad karmic influences, it is kind of ironic I am now in this country that kills and eats a lot of fish.
I am not judging. With the situation of Japan, it being an island, topography, geography, etc. it is perhaps natural that they have not become complete vegetarians.

What I wanted to say (share)is that being a vegetarian in Japan is really not easy.
I don't have time and energy to cook and I'm still to find alternatives to eating predominately sandwiches...
Hm, let's see how it evolves...
There must be a solution...

Big in Japan - Cheburashka

Chiburashka and Crocodile Gena are Big in Japan!
No. I'm not kidding!

See this Japanese poster :
http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/images/B001FWIT6O/ref=dp_image_0?ie=UTF8&n=561958&s=dvd

Read this : Cheburashka arrives in the land of the rising sun
http://russiatoday.com/Art_and_Fun/2009-10-18/cheburashka-japan.html

Five years ago at the Tokyo International Anime fair, Russia’s SoyuzMultFilm signed a contract with Japan’s SP International for the rights to distribute Russian cartoons abroad. They bought the rights for Cheburashka until 2023. The Japanese company plans to make from 46 to 52 episodes starring the Soviet cartoon character
With the permission of Eduard Uspensky, the creator of Cheburashka and his best friend Crocodile Gena, Japanese director Kudo Susumu has stretched four Soviet puppet cartoons to 26 episodes, each three minutes long.
On October 7, TV channel Tokyo aired the pilot version of the first episode titled “The First Friend”. The episode is about how Cheburashka and Gena meet. The show was an immediate hit among Russian web surfers.
The plot of the new series will be based on numerous books by Eduard Uspensky, including those released in the past few years. Among them are: “Crocodile Gena’s Business”; “Cheburashka Abducted”; “Crocodile Gena’s Holiday”; “Crocodile Gena – The Police Lieutenant”; and even “Crocodile Gena Joins The Army”.

-----
For those of you who are very familiar with the Soviet Union cartoon characters Crocodile Gena and Chiburashka since childhood is unnecessary to explain who they are, we have actually grown up with the songs, cartoons and books about them. To this day I fondly remember and still like them. I even reread the book recently and it is one of the very few songs I remember the words to and occasionally feel like singing.

---The origins

According to the story by Uspensky (the book author), Cheburashka is a funny little creature unknown to science, and lived in a tropical forest. One day, however, he accidentally ends up in a crate of oranges, falls asleep, and wakes up in front of a puzzled shop owner. The salesman calls him Cheburashka as, after his long sleep, the animal was tumbling down all the time (in the book the salesman’s word for tumbling is “cheburakhnutsa”).

Cheburashka also became known in some countries outside the former Soviet Union (and of the Soviet Bloc). He became very popular in Japan after an animated film series about him was shown in 15 cinemas all over Japan and was watched by approx. 700,000 Japanese between summer 2001 and spring 2002. In 2008, the Cheburashka films were inducted into the Ghibli Museum Library with Japanese theatrical release on the same date as Hayao Miyazaki's Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea.

The amazing thing is, it would appear that Cheburashka and Crocodile Gena are very Big in Japan. On the subway station of JR line which I almost daily use I noticed sign boards with the very familiar to me imaginary Russian characters.
I don't know what exactly the posters say, but from the look of it it looks like a message urging people not to talk loudly, not to use cell phones etc while commuting...It impressed me very much, as you can imagine. I didn't expect a Soviet children book character to appear and be famous in Japan!
But so it seems.
Haven't seen the Japanese cartoon, just noticed the boards at the railway stations...
I dug a bit in Google to find out what that might be about so I found out a bit of the above background that would explain the existence of those posters...
I love being reminded of their existance even in Japan :)

Here and here are links to the Japanese version of the song of Crocodile Gena. Enjoy!

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News Feed : about a dwarf theme park in Kunming, China

Actually, although I left China, most probably and I would like to think 'for good' (meaning both for the better and forever that is)it doesn't mean I have seized my China watching, in fact I read the news every day and although now it is not first hand observation I still try to keep one eye on it.
Two days back I came across an article about a dwarf amusement park near Kunming (Yunnan province, South China) and it doesn't surprise me at all. Chinese are kings of kitsch, ugliness, cheap fun and shallow entertainment. In this particular case it is abuse of a bodily deformity from which someone figured out they can get some cash from. The rest of the world has long passed through the 'freak show' faze, in China it is now...and noone seems to exactly mind very much...

link : In China, it's a small world after all

I heard a few years ago about dwarf tossing in Northern China, but this news about the dwarf theme park is even more creepy...

Words of wisdom and other words of idiocy

A lot can be said of all the misunderstanding that appears to exist between the West and China. But there is something that is actually NOT a misunderstanding and it is not just a question of cultural (or whatever) differences of opinion, and that is having your own vison, searching for dignity and the right of freedom and choice. There are no such things in China and most people (the people who should be questioning, i.e. 'intelectuals') don't even question it. Does it mean that they don't need those or does it mean that have been so successfully brainwashed?!

Yesterday I came across a quote that impressed me.

"Human groupings have one main purpose: to assert everyone's right to be different, to be special, to think, feel, and live in his or her own way. People join together in order to win or defend this right. But this is where a terrible, fateful error is born: the belief that these groupings in the name of a race, a God, a party or a State are the very purpose of life and not simply a means to an end. No! The only true and lasting meaning of the struggle for life lies in the individual, in his modest peculiarities and in his right to those peculiarities."

- Vasily Grossman

At the same time, same day, I came (again) an old quote that is probably the most idiotic of all the stupid things China Foreign Ministry this (and other) spokespeople have uttered:

"Many people have a false impression that the Chinese government fears the Internet. In fact it is just the opposite."

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang

It is a different point of view all right!
They CANNOT convince me, ever!, that this is a matter of having a different opinion. Human society has been evolving and it is NOT a question of East or West, Chinese need to catch up and learn. It is not a question of government or Party, it is a question of the people themselves. If they can figure out and offer another way to humanity that promotes dignity, happiness, values, moral principles and freedom, then great, we'll gladly learn and welcome it,but if they keep on doing what they are doing, and keepon going the way they are, then, no thank you, we don't want you to be a superpower!

And yes, for this exact reason, people are not letting you alone, and scrutinise and watch you and criticize you. And that's how it should be.

Big in Japan - Hand Washing Day

Hand washing is big in Japan, in fact, really big.
Recently due to worries connected with the threat of H1N1 (the so-called, wrongly, 'swine flu') nowadays everywhere (for instance at the entrance of the university canteens of Kyoto Univ., at the entrances of Department stores, etc.,in the offices and public places, there are bottles filled with alcohol for sterilization of the hands, so last Thursday's International Hand Washing day is sort of an anti-climax here.
In Japan everyday is hand washing, mask wearing day :)

See related article: Japan takes hand washing to new level

Hm, let's hope H1N1 doesn't get out of hand and my classes get cancelled...

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Additionally, since it concerns hygiene, in this post I SHOULD mention Japanese public toilets.
After living in China for 8 years, in the most squalid of all the foreign students dorms possible, and sharing a torn-down, often dirty and very disgusting toilet, and unavoidably daily using university buildings toilets (which where appalling also) and seeing (and per times using) Chinese public toilets that border on the horrific, now using a Japanese public toilet is the opposite experience. Only rarely the toilet looks like a public one (train station toilets are in fact not very clean, but not unbearably so, so they are exception to this description) and unbelievable though it may seem to someone used to the awful university toilets in my university in Beijing, here Kyoto university public toilets are impeccable. A stark and very meaningful difference between the 'first rate' university I studied in Beijing and here.
On some level I will never recover from the scenes of filth and horrible smell of China.
The contrast is very stark.
I'm sure you have all heard of toilet seats that warm, and toilets that have all kinds of functions. Automatic flushing,automatic function with a sound that imitates flowing water, etc. There is toilet paper and soap available. All this is true. And mind you, true for public toilets at that.

Infernal Landscapes

I just came across a blog post at a New York Times photography dedicated blog that reports that Lu Guang, a Chinese freelance photographer, has won the W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography for his project, “Pollution in China.”
Here is a link to the New York Times LENS blog that features some of his pictures and another link to some other of his pictures for which he was awarded in 2006 a World Press Photo Award in the Contemporary Issues category...
Photographically speaking his pictures are very strong, and some of the images are very powerful, but somehow there is a little bit of staging in some of them and too much prying into personal tragedy which I don't like. Nevertheless it is not bad that a Chinese photographer is photographic also the other dark side of the Chinese Rise. There should be a balance in the picture of Modern China. Apart from the expensive gargantuan parades and opening ceremonies, not all is well. This week there is another case that came to light (I lost count but lately it must be the fifth one at least)of lead poisoning found in children.
Yes yes, China has achieved really a lot, but at what and whose cost exactly?!

Big in Japan - Katakana

Well, after learning Hiragana, it is time for the Katakana, the other basic Japanese language syllabary. It has the same sounds as the Hiragana,but in modern Japanese it is used for foreign words, foreign names, etc. In Japanese there are many foreign words (which sound like a very bad English ) for instance 'uniform', 'tennis', 'hotel, 'taxi', 'omelet','toilet', hm practically every modern thing...The Japanese have actually stopped using some Japanese words that have originally existed and have replaced them with foreign words...For instance today in our textbook such borrowed word for 'lion' caught my attention...While there has been perfectly established word for lion with kanji too in use for many centuries, why would Japanese want to use such a weird sounding new borrowed word?
All those borrowed words sound extremely weird and it will be a challenge to memorize since they are in fact a very bad misrepresentation (in their greater part if not all) of English words.
So actually this trade in the modern development of the Japanese language shows some very interesting sides of the wish to copy, imitate or in the best case and intention study the West.

Read more »

Big in Japan - Hiragana

Although I attempted learning Japanese some 3 years ago(during which time I learned only a bit) it is now that I am trying for the first time earnestly, very systematically and with motivation to learn this language.
For fact, my first Japanese textbook and grammar I bought in 1992, which was more than 15 years ago. It shows that my intentions go way back...

Although,frankly speaking I'm feeling very low in spirit and feel rather depressed (for very personal reasons I feel very sad and lost), starting having a schedule in which learning Japanese is the main objective is sort of a positive thing. It will give me some focus and will engage my time and thoughts, and since it's an intensive course it will be a challenge...
Today, was my second time in this intensive course (last Friday was the first and yesterday, Monday was a national holiday,so we didn't have classes) and apart from learning Japanese I had two hours in a course dedicated to Japanese society and culture. This class is taught in English, and I'm very hopeful not so much as to what I'll learn as information but the way this course is presented is good. Today in the recess I had a chat with the teacher, Ms. K (she speaks just excellent English, the best I've heard a Japanese speak, very impressive) and just from a few minutes of talking with her I understood that it is COMPLETELY different how she views my wish and obvious motivation. It is very different from the lack of enthusiasm, with the complete lack of curiosity and appreciation I have met with in China throughout the whole 8 years...But I will talk about Prof. K. and her classes in other posts I'm sure.
By the way Intend to audit another class of hers which is on Classical Japanese Literature. Well, what can I say, it's a dream come true for me. After 15 years!

So back to my Japanese language classes. We have classes each day from Monday through Friday, and each day we will have a different instructor. This obviously has it's great advantage since the style of each tutor is quite different. The big thing we are currently learning is the first of the two Japanese phonetic systems/'alphabets' (linguistically more correct to say syllabary'), the Hiragana. (The other is the Katakana and we are yet to learn that.) Hm those two are of course in addition to the Kanji, i.e. the Chinese characters. My advantage in that will be that I already know the meanings of the kanji. It remains for me to learn how to read them in Japanese. It will be very confusing, not only because I will mix them with the Chinese reading, but also because the Japanese have two readings!!! Crazy people!
So, back to Hiragana, the 'big thing' from my days now. The above pic. is actually not the complete list of all Hiragana, but what remains are variations to those. As it is,the Hiragana origin is calligraphy of kanji (Chinese characters) see Where do the kana come from.

A very funny (and very weird thing indeed) was told to us by our Friday tutor Ms.H.
She said that as a little girl she used to write Hiragana mirror-wise, and actually that this is a very common occurrence among young Japanese children when they start studying how to write...Its a very strange phenomenon that is associated with dyslexia.The interesting bit is that our Friday tutor claims that mirror-writing is a very common thing among Japanese children.Very very strange and interesting...

OK, I have to go back to learning the rest of the Hiragana. I'm somewhere in the middle yet...Have to know all 50 by tomorrow.

China (Tibet) and India Border Issue : a potentially explosive crisis point

A month and so ago I came across a couple or so articles discussing the border dispute between China and India.
For instance Unmasking China By Bharat Verma in Indian Defence Review in July and Why India is Clueless about China by Brahma Chellaney (publ. September 07, 2009).

The China (Tibet)-India border issue is very complicated and indeed worrying, and in July for instance I eye witnessed a freight train loaded with tanks passing through Tibet (my first thought was, well that's going to the border). China's military presence in Tibet is not only aimed at "harmonizing" the Tibetans after last years anti-Han rule riots, but also is a potentially very explosive sovereignty issue with many complex implications.
The tensions in Tibet are escalating and the Tibet issue might prove to be one of the most important ones on the world diplomatic stage. An issue in which not only China-India and Tibet are sides to.
Just now I came across an article in Newsweek which discusses the border issue and some of it's implications.
Why India Fears China (Newsweek)

There simply isn't such thing as a military "peaceful rise"...

UPDATE:

OK, just two days after the above post...
China angry over India PM visit to disputed region (AFP)

Hm, as my friend M. who jokingly commented on my too many political postings lately quoted:
"Long live the international situation"!*

...for those of you who understand Chinese, a news video clip with China TV channel report on the matter in true "1984" style...I'm a "big fan" of the spokesmen (and woman!) of the Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry...It would have been very amusing to watch the bile, aggressiveness and inferiority/superiority complex that they emanate, if it wasn't giving me the chills...


*This was one of the ridiculous slogans during the communist era in the Eastern Block...
We often joke using it when we talk about politics and international affairs...

Big in Japan - the Railways

Apart from being very punctual a very good thing about trains here is how quiet people are inside (compared to Chinese which are always noisy). In China commuting is always noisy. Chinese always speak loudly, there is always some talking (usually very loud)on the PA system, there are TV screens installed in all the public transport. It's unimaginable to try to read for instance.
In contrast, Japanese try to keep quiet their conversation, the talking on cell phones is prohibited (you have to turn off the sound and if you are close to priority seats you have to switch your cell altogether). It was a nightmare to have to listen to some one's endless and usually loud talk on their mobile phone.
I used to (before going to live in China) enjoy reading while commuting. In this way I have read quite a few books. After going to China I had to give up this, since for many reasons it became impossible. Mainly because of the noise. In China I took up the habit of always listen to music while walking or travelling. Partly to block off the annoying noise.
Now I am looking forward to my everyday commuting for classes, as it will give me a good chance to retake my old custom of reading.

Another good thing is that don't get people staring at me. Or pointing. That is a relief after being singled out immediately. I prefer this lack of attention which gives me privacy to the completely annoying rude staring.

At train and subway stations there are stacks with leaflets with various sort of information. I kind of like that.While they in fact are a sort of an advertisement for the corresponding railways company, some of those are a great way to get informed about upcoming cultural events, exhibitions and tourist attraction (main goal of the leaflets seems to be to tell you how to get to the places taking the corresponding rail company)...I already have a stack of those from Kyoto station with routes how to go to monasteries and temples. Autumn is a very tourist time for going to those...Or so I've heard. I still haven't been to any yet sine I arrived a week ago.

Another good thing here is how distances are often given by walking minutes. Since I'm very much into mountain hiking and usually enjoy very much walking, I really appreciate that in Japan giving directions often is calculating time in walking distances. I like that too.
In Beijing I merely forgot what it is to enjoy a stroll in the city. Just walking from A to B.
How did I survive in this horrible city for 8 years really beats me.

A thing that will get time getting used to is the fact that in Japan (similar to Britain) traffic is on the left side. It feels very unnatural tome still and I often get confused about directions because of this...

Another good thing that commuting will give me a chance to do is an opportunity to observe people. A few days ago late afternoon I was taking the local JR (Japan Railways)line for a couple of stops. It seemed that students have just ended classes and were commuting back home from school as there were many students waiting at the station and getting on the train. Two (I presume middle school or high school) girls sat on the seats opposite mine (some boy students sat next to my seat). The two girls were heavily made up (I presume just after class they have done so in the toilet) with fake eyelashes, eyeliner, etc. Still wearing their school uniforms. As they sat down in the train they started taking off some of their school uniform (jackets and ties)and change into cardigans or readjust it. It looked like thisis sort of a ritual, i.e. something they doeach time after school. In a silly way they also wanted the boys to watch them. One of the girls folded her skirt in the waist several times as to make it several time shorter. It looked ridiculous to me, but obviously that's what schoolgirls do.

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The draft for this post was written while commuting in the morning on Friday 9th of October, taking the Keihan railway from Ohbaku station (which is near to where I live now in Uji)and Demachiyanagi(which is the station nearest to Kyoto University's main campus where my classes are).Commuting today took me around 45 minutes,at one point I had to change trains at the transfer Chushojima station in between...

Beijing’s World Media Summit - what exactly is it?

Yesterday after I saw few world news agencies news reports (for instance) about a currently held in Beijing so-called 'World Media Summit' I felt amused...
If that's not part of China's grand strategy using 'soft power' to enhance its aspirations for influencing“global public opinion” then what is it?!
(And the timing of this summit, just days after the gargantuan military parade. What a joke! )

Today I saw David Bandurski's article at China Media Project and he seems to be also thinking pretty much the same as me...

He rightly points out: "This “summit” may be dressed up as a platform for professional, “non-government” exchange — but it is really a naked ploy by the CCP to enhance China’s global influence over media agendas. "

And that's that. Hm shouldn't other people start getting the message already?!
Shouldn't all this be worrying them?!

Global media groups knuckle under to curry Beijing’s favor (China Media Project)

UPDATE from 13th:

How Much Will Global News Outlets Bet on China?(TIME)
Key paragraph is the last one :"At a time when media are still reeling from the economic downturn and the Internet-led destruction of traditional advertising and subscription models, China has money to spend and offers new markets for foreign media. The risks are high. Not only could Western media players miss out on a big deal in China, they could sell their soul to win one. "

Internet Human Rights Declaration

On October 8th 15 Chinese intellectuals/netizens published an 'Internet Human Rights Declaration'.
While the text itself may not be saying 'anything new' it's an act of courage that is to be commended. Especially notable for me is the declarators proffessed believe in citizen responsibility -indeed it is of upmost importance.

Here are links to the declaration's original text in Chinese and its English translation.

US President Obama wins the Nobel Peace Prize : too much too soon?

Good morning. Well, this is not how I expected to wake up this morning. President Barack Obama has just been surprisingly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009.

These by the way are also the first public words of US President Barack Obama on his winning the Nobel Peace Prize. It is yet to be seen does the president truly deserves the honour.
It can be said that this award is a sort of an encouragement/early vote of confidence (i.e. he was awarded it before actually proving he deserves it...), not particularly towards Obama himself, but towards the "going back to the basic principles" of the USA. Judging from President Obama's speech and his final ending words "That's why the world has always looked to America. And that's why I believe America will continue to lead.", he seems to realise this very clearly.

Well. An interesting turn of events. Well now, we can say that when Obama meets the Dalai Lama say after two months...why not for instance while accepting the award in Oslo on Dec.10?. In this way he can easily say he is meeting him in the capacity of fellow Nobel Peace Prize winner, not as head of state...In this way he will be meeting the Dalai Lama ,but while smartly avoiding to meet him in the White House...

The complete text of the citation awarding the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize to President Barack Obama as delivered by the Norwegian Nobel Committee (via AP)

relevant news feeds:
Obama wins shock Nobel Peace Prize (AFP)
Gasps as Obama awarded Nobel Peace Prize (AP)
Obama's Nobel win should spur climate commitment: UN climate chief Yvo de Boer said(AFP)

Typhoon Melor passes by

My latest post about 'me in Japan' ended with my observation about the different climate and weather here...And mentioned raining...

Hm, little did I know that just a day later a typhoon is going to 'land' in Japan...Luckily it turned out that the impact on Kyoto and Kansai area (where Kyoto belongs to) and the power of the typhoon were not as bad as feared. It turned out that actually there was a typhoon warning (of which I didn't have the slightest idea) and my yesterday opening ceremony and placement test were hence rescheduled for today...However I didn't know that, and actually went to the campus surprised to find it out. Indeed in the evening (Wednesday to Thursday) the weather seemed quite bad with heavy rain and strong wind,but not as bad as to get me thinking of typhoons (not that I know what a typhoon looks like), and in the morning although it was still heavily raining the weather didn't look extraordinary bad to me so I went to campus...
Well, luckily the typhoon by-passed here and was weaker than expected...
Good thing that.
It got me thinking though, hm what does this island with its freakish earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons, etc. has in store for me?! And how should I know what to do?

Is Tony Blair lobbying for China now?

Just finished reading a co-opted article in the Wall Street Journal titled China's New Cultural Revolution by non other but the former British PM Tony Blair. I couldn't just not comment on this!

In it (among other things) is the following incredibly stupid paragraph:
...
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.
...

This particular paragraph (especially in the context of the rest of the misinforming article) shows such utter 'well-informed ignorance' and lack of knowledge and understanding of China that makes one gasp with wonder. Who the hell made Tony Blair an expert on Chinese society and culture?!

Recently on CNN I watched an interview with this British buffoon taken while he was wrapping up his recent China visit...Is this guy now on Chinese payroll or is he simply an ignorant imbecile?!

Oh, now I see. It turns out the Wall Street Journal since August 2007 is owned by dubious global media mogul Rupert Murdoch...who at this moment happens to be in Beijing for a 'World Media Summit' organized by CCP mouthpiece Xinhua...

What Lies between Chinese Writers and the Nobel Prize

As someone whose specialty is Chinese Literature, I have actually stopped even wondering, why Modern and Contemporary Chinese literature is so incredibly mediocre and bad in quality...My major is Classical Chinese Literature and I still believe that it indeed is one of the greatest world literatures. But that is in an obvious stark and shocking contrast to the Contemporary and Modern Chinese one. I have often tried to come up with an explanation for this phenomenon (i.e. why contemporary and modern Chinese literature is so mediocre and talentless) and this pondering actually gave me a broader perspective to come up with a bigger and more broadly encompassing theory about the "fall of the great Han culture" (I am deliberately not using the term 'Chinese' )...Actually exactly the realisation of the above has made me start to deeply rethink many of the cliches about China. Made me think deeply about the phenomenons, about the development (or rather more correctly said in the case of Han Chinese culture in view of it's state now, the entropy) of the so-called Chinese civilisation...I believe that literature is a great way to observe and explain the development Han Chinese culture. Literature contains a huge amount of social, political, historical, cultural information. It is a great source and gate for understanding China.

I remember few years ago a conversation with a teacher giving us a two semester lecture about modern Chinese literature. In a class break I approached him and directly asked him :"How is it possible that Chinese writers didn't write anything worthwhile during the Mao era? I understand that they were not able to publish anything and had to do so secretly, but I'm wondering how is it possible for someone to don't try to write despite that in secret...?I mean, the situation in the Soviet Union was very similar towards writers and intellectuals,but after the Perestroika there are many manuscripts which were kept hidden by writer's relatives and families and finally saw publication. Some very good works, even masterpieces. " He looked at me (with the kind of look that says " You don't understand Chinese culture") and gave me an explanation that chilled me to the bone: " They didn't write because their families would give them up." But I don't think that Mao is the reason for this complete collapse of the Chinese literary tradition. Th reasons date much further back and (in my view) stem from Chinese culture itself (hence my use of the word 'entropy). Good literary writing is a very creative process, it's a process of sharp observation and understanding, most of all it is an expression of the human condition that can touch and reach the reader in a very special way. A good writer is not someone who sees things so differently, and tels you something you don't 'know' at all, but someone who sees and sees them more sharply, more deeply and most importantly who can point directly to things that you otherwise instinctively always felt, but somehow failed to fully mentally grasp or articulate, a good writer is someone who can put his 'observations' in a language that can 'speak' to you.

Maybe one of the reasons and an explanation why Chinese writers' writing is so mediocre is their their readers' mediocrity?

A blog post by Chinese blog Fool's Mountain What Lies between Chinese Writers and the Nobel Prize got me to go back to this years-old subject of reflection of mine...

First Days in Japan - Daily things : Made in China VS Made in Japan

These few days I've been scouting the nearby supermarkets, shops, etc. Main reason to buy some necessary daily things(washing powder, cleaning detergents, etc.), but also see what my options are as concerns daily necessities, i.e.food mainly.'Nearby' actually is not very correct to say, since the nearest decent supermarket is at least 25 minutes walk from the dorm, and another one is two stops away with the railway, plus the 10 or so minutes walk...Problem is, I HATE carrying bags, but it will be unavoidable, I'm afraid.I will definitely have to rearrange my eating habits a great deal. The variety of cheese I could find in the big supermarkets is much worse than say Carrefour in Beijing.And cheese being my main important food, then this news isn't very good. Amazingly, Camembert cheese is a common cheese here, as opposed to say cheddar.Bread predominately is with sugar, but that's not news, in China it was the same.Surprisingly, there is almost a complete lack of choice of imported things. If there are they are impossibly expensive.This also opposed to Beijing Carrefour chain shop at Zhongguancun which for instance I appreciate it now) was very well stocked in imported goods).I still have yet to find where am I going to buy my coffee!Good thing I brought 3 packs of coffee with me. There is coffee, but doesn't seem to be even remotely good...Again, I sigh about having Lavazza in the nearby to my university in Beijing Carrefour store.I remember clearly seeing Lavazza sold in Japan, but that was in Yokohama and Tokyo. It may turn out Kyoto and Uji might just not have it...

Since Friday, when I arrived, I've been eating salads, sandwiches and bread. Salad is usually my main meal anyway, but I'm not used to eating so much bread(since going to China that is, 8 years ago)...My tonight's dinner was (newly just found) whole grain bread (without sugar!)with really nice (also just discovered)cream cheese and fresh tomatoes. For desert - more of the delicious cream cheese with big California raisins. C'est pas mal du tout! (French for : Not bad at all!)

Although I have the facilities, I haven't yet cooked a meal. Bought the main things already, such as cooking oil, pasta, rice...It appears that if I want a warm meal I have to cook it myself.I must say that I was mentally prepared that vegetarian options are very scarce in Japan from my 2 years ago one and a half months visit to Japan.While scouting the supermarkets it inadvertently caught my attention that things are predominantly either made in China, or they originate from Japan.It almost appears as the former are predominant. But it must be admitted that the quality of some of the Chinese made things is at least not bad. Better than the average in China itself.

Another curiosity is that some things I would expect to be easiest to find (such as washing basin) are in fact hard to find!(In comparison,in China washing basins would be readily available in every supermarket... )Yesterday I finally found one, but it took me some searching. In China I had my own washing machine, but here in the dorm it is shared and I have certain doubts how clean it is.It appears I will have to wash most of my clothes by hand unfortunately.
Another shopping connected problem is that everything is in Japanese (even foreign brand names with few exceptions) are written with a Japanese alphabet.And it appears that nobody speaks any English.A fact that makes one wonder since all Asians study English from childhood.
Today I was trying to find some things. It takes a lot of guessing work to get the right thing.I was starving at one point and I bought something that looked like a doughnut (i.e. presumably sweet and no particular danger for vegetarians). Big mistake. I took a bite and discovered it is actually filled with something that is definitely not vegetarian. Took a look at the ingredients at the back of the package (mislead by the look of the snack I didn't do it while picking it up at first)...Can't read Japanese yet, but could distinguish the two Chinese characters for pig and meat, enough for me to just spit out the bite I took and throw the thing away immediately.That will teach me a lesson AGAIN to remember that APPEARANCES almost always ARE MISLEADING!

Weather wise, Japan weather is definitely different from Beijing weather. 3 out of five days it has been raining! That opposed to 6 months of no drop at all in Beijing last Autumn/Winter this is quite a change of climate!

news feed: Guiding The Public Opinion/Headcleaner

As always China Media Project has an interesting material discussing on media in China. This time what I find most interesting in the recent article Shenzhen’s new media rules: is anyone paying attention? is the observation how Chinese English language propaganda has effectively managed to mislead certain western media. Without knowing, the western media might just be helping the Chinese into 'guiding the public opinion'? It is indeed very alarming! Following the recent tendencies (for instance this year the purposedly huge amount of English language propaganda articles about Tibet) it is not hard to imagine that the recent and planned huge investments in foreign language (English) Chinese propaganda is probably going to pay off. This kind of 'soft power' tactics of the Chinese, unbelievable though it seems might just as well probably going to work like a charm.
We have to just sit and watch. Or do we?!

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Also, see another recent good and interesting analysis on Chinese media by CMP - More hard words on China’s “war for public opinion” .

"Working for Human Rights is an Act of Compassion" - HHDL

news feed: Dalai Lama gets human rights award in Washington

(AP)Oct. 6th
WASHINGTON – Lawmakers honored the Dalai Lama with a human rights award Tuesday even as President Barack Obama faced harsh criticism for delaying a meeting with the exiled Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader.
The Dalai Lama and Obama will not meet until after Obama visits Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing in November. China reviles the Dalai Lama and pressures foreign governments not to meet with him. The Obama administration, which needs Chinese support for crucial foreign policy, economic and environmental goals, wants to establish friendly ties between Hu and Obama during next month's visit.

link to the full text of the article:
Dalai Lama receives rights award at Capitol
a link to a video about it with an excerpt from HHDL's speech (by AP)

Dalai Lama set aside by Obama, honored at U.S Capitol (Reuters)
....
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi presented the award to the Dalai Lama and warned: "Unless we speak out for human rights in China and Tibet, we lose moral authority to speak out for human rights anywhere else in the world."
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Republican Senator John McCain, who lost last year's presidential election to Obama, also spoke at the ceremony, saying: "The Dalai Lama has spent his life in the passionate, tireless and non-violent defense of his people's right to self-determination and dignity."
...
Obama to meet Dalai Lama after China trip (AFP)

Read more »

A New Beginning : in the country of the rising Sun

Yesterday, 02 October, local time around 8:30 I arrived in Japan at Kansai Osaka Airport.

After terribly exhausting couple of days, after almost no sleep and rest I begin something completely new in my life.

On the 1st of October I left my hometown boarding an incredibly early flight at 6:20, for which I had to get up 3:45 and practically (since I was packing until 1 AM) didn't even manage to get much sleep. I changed flights at Frankfurt airport, but since there was 7 hours waiting for the transfer flight, I felt more and more exhausted with time. The flight from Frankfurt to Osaka took over 11 hours. I hardly slept a few minutes. Just watched movies.

Meanwhile, before leaving for Japan, on Tuesday there was a cocktail party at the Japanese embassy in my hometown. I was invited to make a short 'thank you' speech. During the cocktail several people approached me and we talked. I chatted quite a long time with the ambassador, a tall, lean and aristocratic man with reported Imperial lineage...It was interesting.

At the reception I also met the students which were going to travel with the same flight to Osaka on a Japanese government scholarship for one year. So during the Frankfurt airport stay and formalities yesterday and today morning we shared company. Today after I arrived at the dormitory at Uji I met some of the new arrivals of foreign students which also will live in my dorm at Ohbaku...We did the formalities for residence together. Actually after spending time with so many new people I felt somewhat lonely and tired listening and talking with people with whom I have very very little in common, but more importantly seemingly very little to want to share with and little I can learn from.
It has been such a long time since anyone has managed to impress and move me emotionally.
Almost immediately after arriving at the dorm we were asked to start doing formalities, and go with one dorm suppervisor (walk for 10 min, take the train for one stop, walk some more) to go to the City Hall. It was raining, and at times even pouring. Feeling extremely tired with no time to even refresh myself it was very exhausting.
Yesterday afternoon/evening, after spending more than 3 hours at Uji City Hall where we applied for foreigner certificate, health insurance, etc. I came back to the dorm finally with the chance to take a shower and start arranging the room.
My new room (in which I can stay for the remaining 6 months)is much smaller than my Beijing dorm room, but it is much better, cleaner and has a balcony. It has a bed, a desk, a small bookshelf, a small fridge, a wardrobe, a kitchen corner with stove, cupboard and sink. MOST importantly I have my own bathroom with shower and toilet! And that is a very important improvement in my living conditions.

Last evening while being busy with taking out things from the huge and heavy parcels I sent to myself from Beijing and trying to (at least start) with finding place for them, someone called my dorm room (it was an elderly Japanese man who is the night shift dorm supervisor). He could speak very little English, but I understood he contacted me to give me the things left for me by a Chinese student I knew by email who has lived at the dorm. I went down (my room is on the 3rd floor of the 5 storey building of the dorm).Meanwhile I discovered the Internet connection in the room doesn't work so I told him, he said he will see to it and after maybe an hour he came to my room bringing a new modem set. He was very kind because it was obvious he wanted me to be able to use Internet immediately so as to contact my parents at home and tell them I arrived safely. (My gsm mobile phone doesn't work here).With half-Japanese and broken English he made me feel his kindness.

The dormitory is too far from the railway. There are hardly any stores and shops around. It is a residential area which so far doesn't promise much. Apparently I'll be preparing my food at the dorm. The eat out options are minimal, if not zero.The good thing is that I will have the conditions to be able to do so. There is a small fridge, stove, a sink and suitable cupboards in the room. Luckily I send a lot of things from Beijing such as I will need daily. Yesterday night I started unpacking and arranging things. Today and tomorrow I will go on doing this, so as my new room gets the feeling of a home.
By the way the parcels I send from Beijing before I left China meanwhile have arrived and where put in my room waiting for me. A Chinese student (the one mentioned above,which was introduced to me by the kind Japanese professor who is my advisor at Kyoto univ.), who has just left the dorm has kindly left me some things, such as a TV set, etc.

The remaining couple of days I intend to go on with arranging the things from my luggage and parcels from China and trying to make the room tidy and homey.
On Monday I'll be going to the main campus of Kyoto University - Yoshida campus, for doing the registration procedures. My classes begin on Friday, 9th Oct.
So the week ahead is going to be for settling in, registration, formalities, etc.
It feels strange, after the 8 years spend in China to begin a new life here.
It feels exciting (and a bit scary) to have many unknown things waiting to happen.

I wish I can somehow take off the burden that I'm carrying from China, but this is more easily said than done...I still feel very sad and lonely.

If not anything else Kyoto is a much better city than Beijing. Much more beautiful, much more cleaner and more pleasant.
And there are the Buddhist temples and Zen gardens that can give me energy and strength.
There is a new language to learn. Actually being in Japan in a sense is a dream come true. Even though it's an old dream. Even though I feel somewhat lost and confused at this point of my life.

It's a new beginning. At a new place.