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Big Man Doctor
“This phrase (dai fu) has two meanings. When pronounced dai and fu with a neutral and soft tone, it means doctor. When pronounced da and fu, it means senior official. Both are rather archaic.”
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The past, and being blind to the future
Heard a Chinese student on the radio say, “Forget the past and you will lose an eye. Dwell on the past and you will lose both eyes.” Sounds like a good Chinese proverb, until I googled it and found: A Russian proverb says, “Dwell on the past and you will lose an eye; forget the…
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The 2nd Sino-Japanese war
Started in 1937, morphs into second world war. Actually skirmishes well before that as Chinese nationalist government under Chang Kai Shek struggled to control warlords. Japan wanted to establish control of mainland (Manchuria), particularly given colonial expansion throughout Asia, and had forces throughout China, even in Shanghai. Other East Asian countries obviously see this as…
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Chinese parenting in the UK
Although the influence of Confucian values has waned in recent years, certain values such as clearly defined gender roles, responsibilities and obligations of the individual, children’s deference to parental authority, as well as reverence and respect for fathers still exerted a considerable influence on contemporary British Chinese parenting beliefs. However in contrast to parents’ childhoods,…
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Marco Polo
Travelled aged 17yr with his father and uncle, merchants from Venice, in 1271 to see Kubla Khan in Peking. His father and uncle had already been there once, on a trip lasting 7 years, and were asked by the Khan to bring back learned men and oil from the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Arrived after…