I find Economist online, my favorite news magazine is now totally open and free. There's no longer subscriber-only content. But my Nike shoes nevertheless stays about the same price. While we marvel the free contents online, let's not forget they are not actually costless. It's advertising from the likes of Nike and the price I pay for it keep the web world, including this blog service from google, free.
My brother, who was recently visiting the U.S. told me everything here is so cheap. Well, maybe not his eat-out bills. And he was so mad at the Bank of China for balancing out his dollar credit prematurely. That is of cause due to the continuing slide of dollar against most major currencies including RMB. For Americans, the concern is mostly focused on $135 a barrel crude and $4 a gallon gasoline. These things are more related than you probably think, and U.S. and China are trying to sort it out. (You can also be sure that China will be firm on the Darfur issue. Subsidy and not paying for the market price keep the gas price in China at $2.5 a gallon.)
Aside from the often mentioned demand shock from emerging markets like China, at least part of the reason of the expensive oil is the depreciating dollar. It reflects the diminishing purchasing power of the currency. The exchange rate, as they like to say, is fundamentally a "money phenomenon". The fed has issued billions of new dollars just to cover the sub-ordinate market crisis. Over the last eight years, the American economic theme was about spending - tax cuts, financing the war, etc. Here, China is also complicit. In that economic arrangement, China's huge trade surplus against the U.S. partly made the spending and the housing market bubble possible. That may be the reason why the U.S. has never serious take any economic action against China - sanction or tax slap - despite the repeated threat. Under normal circumstances, a country is willing to run continuous surplus this lend money to the other country because it expects the future growth of the foreign country will be higher than its own. However, the expectation never comes to fruition, it turns out to be the housing bubble. Or, should be say it is pushed out to the more distant future? Under the current U.S.-China exchange rate system, the fed is the real central bank, both in the U.S. and China. China running continuous surplus is no different than farmers in Wyoming provide New Yorkers with beef and lend them the sales money for them to play in the stock market.
So, will China or should China continue to appreciate its currency? It's a complicated question to answer. Chinese dollar reserver is at the record high, but exports has already signs of slowing down. And China has huge appetite for growth due to its structural problems. Americans multinationals are not doing too bad amid China growth either. For an extreme example, Chinese banks are said to be among the worst managed banks in the world, so why can Banks of America reap billions of profits from its minority stakes in Chinese banks, big enough to cover its sub-prime loss? The answer can only be growth. If China allows RMB to further appreciate much, the growth will further slow down, and the American debt Chinese own will certainly worth less. (Chinese system is equivalent to letting the government manage all foreign exchanges for you.) The only decent choices for China would then be, like the Japanese used to do, to use the new purchasing power to purchase American assets and American technology, both of which American government is wary of. On the other hand, if China stick mostly to the current peg, it runs the risk of importing inflation, especially form hot money. The advantage of an authoritarian government is that China has the apparatus to control capital flow and limit credits, to a degree. The reverse ratio has been increase several times recently.
So, there's a lot to tango with. My brother will continue to ponder how much he'll lose when he has to convert dollar back to Yuan. And I tell him not to worry too much. At least, it's a better problem to deal with than the $4 gas price. Oh, and don't expect China will hike the gas price dramatically either.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Let's talk some Economics
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
范跑跑和性解放
[Story of Runner Fan renewed public rumination about moral and morality in China. Moral principals are not to force somebody on, but acceptable public morality is fundamental to a healthy society, and ... changing over time. Sex revolution wouldn't truly be possible without the possibility of birth-control, which makes sexual liberalization comparatively innocuous to the social structure. Technology advancement is the ultimate force to set man truly free. ]
性解放是如何形成的？
近来范跑跑(story in Telegraph)的话题再次热门。对于范本人实在犯不着多废笔墨评价，我脑子里一闪而过的，是性解放如何成为可能的？
中国人对于道德特别敏感，因为历史上道德和私权利的分配的关系，一些私权利被道德的规范压抑而难以喘气。所以卫道士一词虽然由西方反天主教而出，在中国则更为流行。孔子的仁字（二个以上的人）说的比道德(moral)清楚, 仁义道德是社会性的。然而从相对关系来说，道德其实又可以分为公的道德和私的道德。反对卫道士真正反对的，是私的道德。比如尊老爱幼，属于公的道德，是社会健康的基础，即需要提倡的。再如沉迷酒色在家看A片，属于私的道德，现已没人把这台当回事。
现在我们就可以来看性解放如何成为可能的问题。性之人欲追求是本能的，但真正的性解放其实是在避孕成为可能以后，不管是东方西方都是如此。避孕之成为可能让性和生育有效分开，也就解开了因此而带来的家庭社会问题。性道德从相对公的领域退到相对私的领域。并不是说性解放之后就没有家庭社会问题了，而是避孕手段从统计上让它不会对社会机制造成大规模的破坏。再往绝了说，暴食(glutton)在以前基督教义属于七宗罪之一，现在没人提了，为什么？答案很显然，物产之丰富让个人暴食行为无法对社会产生大的影响。交通的进步也让“父母在，不远行”失去了意义。等等。是技术进步和发达为人类摆脱“道德”约束而走向"自由”提供了条件。如果有一天，小孩生出来就不脆弱，老人也于壮年退化不多，甚至"尊老爱幼"也会退到私的道德里。不过我很怀疑追求自由的范跑跑能不能想到这一层。
以前因为其他原因有写过几个字，是说道德不是用来约束别人的，是用来约束自己的。但那个说的是道德标准的可执行性，enforceability, 的问题。也就是反卫道者们整天叫嚷的不要用道德杀人的问题。这并不是说没有公认的道德，就要反道德。鄙视有利社会健康。而讲道德则必须讲宽恕，于西方宗教于儒教皆如事。
附：道德一致性和自我约束
Related Content of This Rocking Post
关于道德，西方人喜欢说道德一致性，moral consistency。也不新鲜。孔老人家就说过，己所不欲，勿施于人。圣经里也有Let He Who Is Without Sin Cast The First Stone。
说到底，道德不是用来约束别人的。道德是用来约束自己的。我觉得我比你有道德所以我要骂你教训你的用于别人的道德观，很快会碰到一个问题，谁来管管别人道德的人的道德，谁成为最终的仲裁者。所以西方人的解决办法是上帝，上帝会惩罚你的。中国人以前是皇帝裁决。但皇帝也可能是昏君，没有最终权，上面还有天。造反的大都打着替天行道的旗号。越过道德范畴有法。圣贤书里有很多道德，但都是用来规范自己的。用来规范讽刺嘲笑别人的。。。没有。道德不是用来规范自己而是用来规范别人必然带来混乱。
中国民间有种很有趣的约定俗成。一个人再不怎么样，但如果不相干的你没事跑他面前宣道加开骂，很可能受当面一拳，也没什么人同情。即使进了局子也没见得就能“正义得张”。条子会说，你骂人家在先。这和西方不同，西方动口和动手的界限更明确些。就是说，社会没有给个人道德仲裁的权力。我们民间对道德一致性的理解还是深刻的。
写几个字
“你会不会突然觉得一个地方,或许一个人对你而言失去意义了”?
很久很久以前 你对偶说
直到最近 偶才明白这句话的意思
也发现 这是一句放之四海而皆准的句子
从小到大 不习惯太直白表达自己
只是 想告诉你 有个地方偶也从不曾忘记
那些 夜半归来 匆匆冲个凉后写就的记忆
那些白天 夜晚留下的温暖
泡面 电影 偷来的新曲...
很多人都爬过山 见过海
每个人的感受也都是不同
你感觉到 偶体会出
留在心中不落痕迹也好
从开始到今后一直记得也好
曾经共鸣的那一刻 山知道 海知道
你和偶知道 就好
世界可以很荒诞 敏感善良却难得
《呼啸山庄》说 你我就是同一块面料上撕下来的两块布
又或者 偶们压根就是同路
Monday, June 9, 2008
Eats, Drawings, and Denominations
I had General Tao's Chicken(左宗棠鸡) for lunch. And I got my hands on, finally, some Sticky Rice Bun(粽子)- which is said to be related with Qu Yuan - yesterday.
It reminds me how many Chinese dishes are said to be related - innovated by or made famous - with famous names. We have Dongpo Pork and West Lake Sweet and Sour Fish(西湖醋鱼), of which recipes are said to be invented by the Song poet Su Dongpo according to The Gay Genius. Of more recent genre, you can always point to Chairman Mao's Red-Braised Pork(毛式红烧肉). Infamous persons made their names to the food table too; Chinese cruller，also known as the more original name You Char Kway in Singapore, is originated from Infamy. Even Spinach and Toufu Soup has this legendary story of QianLong Emperor.
Is that because Chinese people like to practice romanticism on dishes, or they are naturally good in marketing? Whatever the reason, you better make your name onto the food table if you want to ensure yourself a place in the Chinese history!
Now I'm sitting here trying hard to figure out a similarly storied "western" dish from my daily manu - New York Steak, Alfredo Meatball, Fried Mahi-Mahi, etc. - I can't think of any, yet. They are blend, but straight forward. If you have any idea, please let me know.
[update: Chicken Without Sexual Life is now off the menu. Beijing suggests English translation of Chinese dishes for Olympics]
In other news, some Chinese "scholars", mostly media people really, are calling for putting ancient heroes on the money. Times, in its usual clueless-ness, is reporting it as if the change is imminent, and totally misses the political flavor in the proposal. Truthfully speaking, I have no definite stance on the issue. And I doubt anybody has real idea how some of those ancient figures really look like aside from imaginative depictions. My issue with those put forth the proposal is that they call themselves "scholars". Since when are media personalities qualified as scholars? I know the term intellectual is now cheap, but is it that cheap? Well, here are some fascinating photos of bank notes in Chinese history. Related Content of This Rocking Post
Saturday, June 7, 2008
考觉悟
想考高分吗？想考高分就必须明白这个道理。
记得某年的高考作文题，说一个年轻人背了7个背囊，里面分别是——美貌、金钱、荣誉、机敏、才学、健康和诚信。年轻人背着这7个背囊过河，到了河中央，风浪迭起，船工跟年轻人说必须丢掉一个才能顺利过去，这可怜的年轻人犹豫再三就把“诚信”丢掉了...考题是根据这个故事写一篇文章。后来偶看了很多刊登出来的高考满分作文，都是觉悟一流，大谈“诚信”如何重要，丢掉诚信就丢掉了人生，丢掉了做人的根本。
偶就没有看到一篇文章说世界上没有十全十美的事情，即使这个年轻人在过人生的第一条河流的时候，丢掉了诚信，他将来也有可能浪子回头金不换。偶尔丢一次诚信怎么了?谁一生中还没说过一次违心的话做过一件违心的事啊！再说你怎么知道这“违心”背后的目的不是正确的终点？没准儿有的同学边考试边想：现在偶就在做着一件失去诚信的违心事儿，明明不想这样写作文，可为了上大学这个正确的目的，只好牺牲掉诚信啦。不过偶知道一定没人敢去抬这个杠，考生们也许不知道怎么写出高分作文来，但一定知道以偶这种思路，就算笔下生花也得不到高分。因为偶滴觉悟太低。
一篇好文章，首先是脑子里有idea，然后用language表述出来就好了。高考作文的出题者偏偏不鼓励思考的活跃而去要求觉悟的高低。比如一位喜欢思考的同学会想：不如把美貌丢掉算了，反正现在还可以整容嘛！又或者利用自己的机敏才学一个也不丢滴过河，如果在途中船工要求自己一再放弃自己拥有的东西怎么办？自己人生中的取舍真的需要他人的评判？能这样写吗？不能，谁让你权衡利弊左右兼顾了？真正的高觉悟是“不加思索”。
最重要的觉悟问题没有异议之后，再加上课堂之上老师教会的写作“技能”，基本上一篇新八股就诞生了。排比句、名人名言、甭管真的假的感人肺腑的事例，结合自身谈点体会，说些言不由衷的话，稀里糊涂先把自己感动了。比如说，当作文主题是“助人为乐”的时候，就来个不禁要问“难道自私自利是应该提倡的吗？”而当作文主题是“与人为善”的时候，就可以把“不禁要问”稍加修改，改成“难道人与人之间不应该多一些温暖吗？”这种套路也算是屡试不爽啦。
有时就想，写文章的真正意义是什么？它应该是作者表达对事物理解的一种能力。是一个人通过文字和对周围世界的观察感悟力来表达自身的感受。而一个没有这种能力的人却完全可以通过“较高的觉悟”和“精湛的技术”来获取高分，这真真是一种悲哀。
Holiday, History, and What do we learn
The day, also called Duan Wu, is to commemorate the great romantic poet, Qu Yuan, who drowned himself when his State was conquered by the Qin the Emperor I. In an attempt of cultural revival, the Chinese government has made the day a national holiday. It's rather a curious choice for me, since I remember when I was little, not much celebration was on other than eating wrapped rice bun, comparing to other traditional holidays. I saw more dragon boat race in America than in China. So, maybe that's another export-reimport thing.
Talking about cultural revival, don't be surprise if you see two Chinese argue passionately over which dynasty was the best, the strongest. Was that Tang when the empire had reach as far as the central Asia? Was that Song when a rich civil society was at its peak? Or was that Ming when governing cabinet was nearly as modern as the current British installment? You won't find short of people who wish to be teleported back to ancient China as well. It can all get a bit silly sometime, but people are reading up history, often not content in relying on the official version taught in the school. It helps anchoring the value system and finding the roots in this ever globalized world.
Among those revivals, various ideas of political Confucianism are also proposed. But to my disappointment, most of them don't know what they are talking about, and they don't go beyond what was understood hundreds years ago.
Let's get this straight first, what best describe the current Chinese political system? IMO, it should be authoritarian meritocracy. At the core, it is not much different from the system that was practices in Confucius China hundreds years ago. As an interesting side-note, the concept of middle-class society (小康社会）was an ancient Confucius concept also: tend to their own parents, son their own son, work hard for selves (各亲其亲，各子其子，货力为己). It was in contrast to the Great Unity (大同） concept: tend to not only own parents, son not only own son(不独亲其亲，不独子其子).
However, Confucianism and democracy - if not American style - isn't mutually exclusive. A related interesting article from Guardian states that the Chinese authority survives by buying off the middle-class. It sees through the typical Western "communist" lens, rather than seeing the power structure as a morphing authoritarian meritocracy. It should also be noted that "buying off the middle-class" is exactly how Western style democracy works.
Some of the challenges that faced Song administrators also face todays Chinese power-that-be. For example, how to guarantee smooth power transition? How to govern efficiently locally and how best deal with the central government's relationship with the local's.
Of particular interest to me, is the role of information in structure design. In the recent earthquakes, we have seen how easily rumors arise, how difficult it is to verify and root it out. Correct information is also central to the governing of an authoritarian meritocracy. In Song dynasty, officials fortunes rose and fell along with difficult-to-verify reprimands (谏), especially for those in the remote areas. Modern communication makes the top-down management more efficient, but it still has severe limitations. So, local monitoring, or democracy if you want to put it, is most useful and urgent on the local level. And it should enhance the governing tremendously. Then there are rule of law, transparency, accountability, and balancing of power, and all that, if it ever comes to fruition.
[update: A diversified China with strong local content is also on full display with the new argument over the origin of Dragon-Boat Festival. Su Zhou, city of the ancient Wu decent, recently claims that the festival is originated from commemorating Wu Zixue, a famous general in the ancient state of Wu.]
As the man who is to be honored on this holiday said: The road is long and winding, We'll seek up and down(路漫漫其修远兮，吾将上下而求索).
——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
ps: Some funny comment on the internet about Qu Quan's poem, LiSao(离骚）.
- I bow to Qu Yuan. It's so long, I can never memorize this before I die.
我这辈子死之前肯定背不出来
- by a student - How many xi(兮）is it there in the poem? Inserting many xi(兮）must be a way to get more publishing fee by ancient people - by a random writer.
屈原多写几个兮多挣几个稿费
认识一个人
认识一个人很久，他就要来
也许就在一艘飞驰的龙舟之上端坐，大声吟唱：
路漫漫其修远兮，吾将上下而求索
也许会选择黄昏，一路踏歌
踽踽而来
依旧忧愤幽思 风逸缠绵
我在门上做了记号
你知道，那是艾草
雄黄酒早已备好，而怀念
刚刚包就，捆扎之前
多放了一粒红枣
遥远的秭归
遥远的汨罗江
遥远的绝望和悲愤
人群中，一个人以流放的方式
开始一首比《离骚》还长的诗
认识一个人很久，他就要来
这是一个不会更改的约定
我 就坐在自己的内心等
也许不会久留
随性而来
随性而去
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
清静凛冽的女子
找不到作者出处，里面有几句还蛮喜欢。
---------------------------
要作 这样一个女子。
面若桃花。心深似海。冷暖自知。真诚善良。
触觉敏锐。情感丰富。坚韧独立。缱绻决绝。
坚持读书。写字。观影。听歌。旅行。上网。
有时唱歌。打扫。烹饪。打扮。约会。狂欢。
也许总是缺乏安全感不知所措。也许某时落拓不羁到有点放肆。
也许时常自虐不爱惜自己。也许一直有严重的恋物癖。
也许习惯了琐碎的小自恋。也许经常深陷疯狂的恋情。
爱的时候不顾一切全情投入致死纠缠不依不饶。甜美而乖戾。
不爱的时候决绝离开不拖不欠冷静清醒。残酷而寂静。
就要成为这样一个女子。
绮丽无以为继。性情真实自然。
灵气浑然天成。气质与众不同。
纯粹剔透而不索然无味。敏感丰富而不复杂世故。
Super Over
It's not easy being Hillary. It's difficult to assess the actual policy content by stomp speeches. They are all promises and slogans, and Bush is pounded like a ragdoll left and right. But best speaker goes to Obama. Do you hear he even mentions "this is time...we begin to heal our planet"? Wow. Super over.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Do we need religion?
He stopped me when I was walking past CVS, a bible sticking out in his hand. That was last Sunday.
With my usual defense to the religious patronizers - I believe everyone has had his share of encounter with those Later Day Saints, I offered that I was a Buddhist. It usually did the trick, with politeness. But he didn't budge. Drawing out a picture of Jesus Christ - does anyone actually know how Jesus actually look like by the way, other than the pictures conjured up by medieval painters? - he said to me:"this man will take care of your pains and send you to heaven if you repent your sins and switch faith to him." I was about to engage him with some discussion about merits and dogmata in Christian faith - I was in good and easy mood. Then he followed:"Where are you from?" Ah-ha, was that why I didn't tell him to get the fuck out of my face?
I walked away, without telling him I probably knew more about Bible then he did.
Do we need religion? It's a complicated question. I'll offer the experience of a late Chinese intellectual as an example. Lin Yu-Tang, one of the best known Chinese bilingual author, was brought up as a Catholic, as many of the kids from wealthy families were at that time. He was devoted, and he attended St Johns in Shanghai, a catholic university. At St Johns though, he rebelled against the religion as he furthered his education. He remained an atheist throughout his years in Germany and the U.S. When he got real old, he reverted back into Catholic. In his words, it was not that Christianity was the religion to be, rather, it gave him peace of mind.
My view would be similar to Dr Lin's. An intellectual man can certainly live without religion. He can still has faith, in truth and in the right thing to do; and there are plenty of spirituality around without converting to specific religion. But it would be harder for him to keep all the balance. Religion, in a way, is a cop-out.
It certainly doesn't help the faith when religion constantly try to reinvent itself, having Vatican telling you what new deadly sin you should feel guilty about. Greed may not be a sin after all in Catholics' struggle to stay relevant - if you listen to them.
找到一本睡前书
有趣的制造
这应该是男人们喜欢的一本书。但是怎么办？一看到目录：“牛仔裤口红指甲油巧克力干酪酸辣酱”就喜欢的不得了。
毋庸置疑，怀疑的事偶常做，但最缺的就是科学探索精神。完全是好奇心使然，让偶翻开这本关于科学制造的书。这些对科学定义的简单描述和动手时刻的种种细节让偶这科盲从另一种角度了解周围熟悉的事物。。比如偶知道了指甲油从头到尾整个的制造过程都要防止严重的爆炸（原谅偶的无知，在此之前从未想象）。口红在制作过程中如果表面不够光滑就需要工人用抹刀二次加工（有点晕哦）。
也许对热爱科学的人来说书里描写的未必精准（其实偶觉得已经够准了），不过用来吸引偶这样的人已经足够了。
所以偶把它安排到睡前看，有点好玩，有点感兴趣，然后在无数科学术语和定义的描述中呼呼入睡:-)
Sunday, June 1, 2008
The edge of Heaven
This is probably the best film I've seen in at least 3 months.
-"Do you do French?" he asked her.
-"French, Italian, Greek, I'll do it international for you," she replies.
And a few days after:
-"I'm looking for a woman to live with. I would pay as much as you earn here. In return, you only sleep with me. Agreed?"
- "Have you fallen for me, old man?"
With that, the story begins.
But I mislead you. The film isn't mostly about them, a brash German old man and a prostitute from Turkey. The story evolves around three single parent families. Ali the old man accidentally kills Yeter, which led his son, Nejat travels back to Istanbul to find her daughter in order to help her. Ayten, the daughter, is in Turkish resistance group. She befriends and beds Lotte (yes, it's girl-girl), with her predatory charm, when crossing the border to Germany in her failed attempt of seeking asylum. Lotte tries all she could, even defying her mom's admonishment, to help Ayten after she is send back to Turkey and prison, only to be killed by freakish violence. Susanne, Lotte's mom, after reading Lotte's dairy decides to take on her daughter's mission of freeing Ayten... It takes tremendous story-telling skill to weave all this convoluted lines together with controlled pace.
And if you think I am telling too much spoilers, worry not. The film is so compelling that it urges you to watch on even if you already know the plot. In fact, the writer and director is confident enough that he pronounces the outcomes of characters' fate with captions before each segment.
I didn't intentional mislead you though. One of the merit of the film is that it depicts life, not just sells cheap emotions and exhorts values with coincidences. Although it's about tragedy and how people deal with it, it has plenty of light-hearted moments. It doesn't try to weight you down. It doesn't make the film less power. The scene where Susanne cries for the loss of her daughter in a hotel room just shatters your heart. Each character is lively, having faults of their own, which makes the virtues in their action more convincing.
The generational relationship is at the center of the issues covered. It also touches on the political reality of Turkey and Germany in the dawn of Turkey's admittance into the European Union. But most importantly, this film is about forgiveness and the power of love comes with it: Susanne's forgiveness towards Ayten, Nejat's forgiveness towards his father. With Nejat's telling of Koran story of Abraham and Issac, you realize forgiveness is the passage to the edge of heaven.
- "Only God is entitled to solitude."
- "Bravo."
中文版
文字背后
记得有一阵特别无聊。签名上写：包。
一会有人来问：你饿了？第二个说：对，偶也喜欢包容看待一切。
第三个上来就说：新败？发上来看看…
面对这简单的字，再熟悉的人也还要去猜测；
更何况那些不熟悉的人和那些不熟悉的字
往往 对方用不熟悉的文法表达 偶用不熟悉的逻辑猜测
甚至有些自己曾经写下的字，
事后再怎么回忆都想不太起当初的心情
唯有按照自己思考时惯用的逻辑
就好像是照着今天走过的路线
去猜想雨伞最有可能忘在哪个角落那样
找回自己当初最有可能的原因
于是 那个谜一般的文字的生命 得以延续
有时就想：幸亏有文字这样的东西存在，
让自己可以保存记忆。让偶们可以交流。甚至可以代表语言所不能触及的情感。
所以 当文字也无法说清之时 偶不知道除了困惑还有什么
这时 对文字的理解有强烈的欲望
嗯 就是用所谓的想像和洞悉吧
去更深的猜测背后的文字之手
只是 网络之上你还能要求更多吗？
偶喜欢的PP
偶喜欢的文字
偶喜欢的人的文字和背后的心意
当一个人在意着一个字的程度和深度时
可有办法让偶们寻着来时的路
找到上一次砰然心动的路口吗？
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