Some Past Antecedents of ESWN Culture
The EastSouthWestNorth Culture blog has its origins in the EastSouthWestNorth blog. Here is a list of past posts on EastSouthWestNorth that can be construed as antecedents, ancestors or predecssors.
(December 26) The China Photographs of Yin Ling Taiwan-born model Yin Ling and Russian photographer Hiraokanovsky Kuratachenko use humor, sarcasm, impersonation, symbolic manipulation and a keen sense of marketing to make poiltical statements. This is a selection of their China-themed photographs.
(December 14) What Is On My Bookshelf Some examples of the books that are on my bookshelf. Whatever else, it does show the interesting lives and times of my parents.
(October 16, 2005) Triad Movies in Hong Kong The age-old issue: Do triad movies corrupt youngsters? Here is an empirical case in Hong Kong. I assert that if the triad movies could be a bit more realistic rather than idealistic, they might have bring more sense into youngsters. I quote a case study of mine for illustration.
(October 4, 2005) The Story of Eileen Chang's Naked Earth An old and battered copy of this novel on my bookshelf is now a collector's item because it showed how censorship operated in Taiwan once upon a time.
(September 8, 2005) The Tenth Anniversary of the Death of Eileen Chang A worldwide exclusive as the death certificate of Eileen Chang is shown here for the first time.
(September 1, 2005) The Birthday of Eileen Chang There is a small plaque at 195 Changde Road in Shanghai that contained some problems as mentioned in Ming Pao Weekly. It turned out that I had the definitive evidence on the matter.
(August 11, 2005) Lung Ying-tai on Eileen Chang This is an excerpt from Lung Ying-tai's speech to HKU students on graduation day. The speech is in Chinese, and untranslatable without a lot of effort; even if I did the translation, it would never capture the essence. Once upon a time, Eileen haunted those campus halls. Today, how many HKU students are familiar with her work? If you don't know it, you should buy the books and read them. (Disclosure: I receive 10% royalty on all sales)
(June 6, 2005) The Great Wall of Hong Kong What is so great about the wall across the street from the Stormy Weather restaurant in Lan Kwai Fong, Hong Kong? Many pieces of imaginary literary histories exist ...
(May 12, 2005) La Chanson de Roland A medieval French epic poem, Chinese writer Eileen Chang and me.
(March 29, 2005) Serve The People - Chapter 6 A translation of Chapter 6 of this banned Chinese novella. There is plenty of sex in here, but this is NOT pornography. The author would insist that this is about passion and anger. If Man is a political animal as well as an animal of passion, then why wouldn't politics and passion intersect in Man at some point?
(March 25, 2005) Des Chinoises The ending and the beginning of Julia Kristeva's book about Chinese women.
(March 10, 2005) Serve The People A description of the banned story by Yan Lianke that appeared in the Hua Cheng magazine in China. Shorter summary: Lovers achieve sexual ecstasy while smashing Chairman Mao statue.
(February 23, 2005) High School English in Australia Here is an example of an English reading assignment given to high school students in Sydney Australia. Here is a book, you read it and you have some reactions. But they don't want to know that. Instead you are told: "Literary texts are multiplistic; the single written entity is in fact a series of multiple writings that exist as a contestation rather than a simplistic and smoothly integrated whole." What? Is this English?
(February 15, 2005) The Letters of Eileen Chang - Part 1 Going through the file cabinets in my Hong Kong apartment, I found some letters from Eileen Chang to my parents. How do they illuminate on her literary accomplishments?
(February 11, 2005) Balance of Translations An excerpt from an old book off the bookshelf leads to a discussion of the balance of trade between Chinese-to-English versus English-to-Chinese translations in the publishing world and the blogosphere. Simply put, the balance of translation output depends on the balance of public interest, and right now China is much more interested in America than vice versa.
(October 27, 2004) Dream of the Red Chamber and the Reverse Opium War Meandering thoughts from the 2000 Nobel Prize to The Dream Of The Red Chamber to the Opium Wars to Finnegans Wake. Such are the trademark strangeness of this blog, but it beats writing about the proposed referendum for direct elections in Hong Kong.
(May 26, 2004) Serving The People This links to a photo of the back of the a tourist bus at the Star Ferry Terminal in Hong Kong. The figures look like they came right from the Cultural Revolution and so does the top slogan in Chinese "Serving the people." But there is a second smaller line underneath the slogan: "... Is Not Just A Slogan!" How post-modernist! And only Hong Kong people can afford to be so rude to the CCP!
(February 17, 2004) Ms. Chang's Office Where did Eileen Chang write her movie scripts while in Hong Kong?
(February 10, 2004) Sing-Song Girls of Shanghai Is it possible to translate the Wu dialect? Don't bother! I'd rather stick with the original anytime.
(February 8, 2004) Besieged Fortress-Part III Is there anyone like Qian Zhongshu in this generation?
(February 6, 2004) Besieged Fortress-Part II If not this novel, then what is the basis for Qian Zhongshu's reputation?
(February 6, 2004) Besieged Fortress-Part I How does Qian Zhongshu's novel connect with globalisation?
