an idea
Posted by wangbo in tilting at windmills on October 26, 2008
It’s been a weekend devoid of inspiration. I haven’t done much, and nothing in the news is grabbing my attention. One of those weekends where the brain has automatically gone into some kind of safe mode, keeping the vital functions running while closing down the extras. I probably needed such a weekend. Anyway, nothing, beyond that dry, cool wind, crystalline air and hard, blue sky, has grabbed my attention. And then, on a blog I rarely visit, I find a post, on a topic that bores me to tears at the best of times, that sets synapses firing. More specifically, the second half of the post, which begins like this:
One suggestion came up a few times during the ongoing financial discussions I have heard: setting up a truly global currency.
Yeah! And call it the Atlas! And if some complain that would be too Eurocentric, remember that the Mother of All Global Sports Events is the Olympic Games, in which even North Korea willingly and enthusiastically participates. Reading through the rest of that post I discover some people far more knowledgeable about matters economic and financial have been discussing the idea, which is good, because it makes a damn sight more sense to me than using the US dollar (or any other country’s currency, for that matter) as some kind of global standard. I mean, under the current system, the majority of the world’s people are left with no choice but to trust the American people to elect a halfway competent government, and look where that’s got us. A global system would allow the whole world to put forward the best and the brightest they have to offer, and as no one country would be able to dominate, there would be an automatic check to prevent any one country going all stupid and ruining it for the rest of us.
Just some silly Sunday evening thots, don’t take any of this seriously.
good idea
Posted by wangbo in Environment, news on October 26, 2008
新京报/The Beijing News’ Zhang Tailing reports on an activity in which participants are not allowed to drink any water as they climb a mountain. Why? To make them pay more attention to Beijing’s precious- and very scarce- water resources. Over 160 people in this “extreme experience group” set out from the Summer Palace, went to the main dam of the Miyun Reservoir, then followed the Yunlong Stream up to the top of Yunmengshan, and were not allowed to drink water over the course of the trip…. well, at the end of the article a worker is quoted as saying that in fact, if they were feeling too weak to continue, they could have a drink, so it seems having a drink was more strongly discouraged than forbidden. Anyway, seems like a good idea to me.
older than oracle bones?
Posted by wangbo in Chinese study, news on October 24, 2008
Here’s an interesting report on 京报网: it turns out that bones unearthed four years ago in Shandong bear the inscriptions of a very early form of writing:
中国发现早于甲骨文的早期文字
China discovers early characters that precede oracle bone inscriptions
中国考古专家最新考证表明，4年前在中国东部山东省昌乐县集中出土的100多块兽甲骨上所刻的600多个符号，结构和布局有一定的规律可循，应为距今约4500年的中国早期文字。
Chinese archaeologists’ latest discoveries show that the composition and design of the more than 600 symbols inscribed on over 100 animal bones and shells unearthed mostly in Changle County, east China’s Shandong Province four years ago, follow a regular pattern, and are probably early Chinese characters from 4500 years before present.
2004年，昌乐县一民间收藏爱好者肖广德在昌乐县袁家庄古遗址上采集陶器标本时发现，当地农民在施工挖掘时，丢弃了许多亚化石状远古兽骨，经过清理，可见上面有许多刻划痕迹明显的图案符号。
In 2004, Changle County amateur collector Xiao Guangde, while he was collecting pottery specimens in the ancient ruins of Changle County’s Yuanjiazhuang, discovered local farmers, as they were digging on a construction project, had discarded many ancient animal bones in a sub-fossilised state. After cleaning, the traces of many designs and symbols engraved on the bones could be clearly seen.
专家们研究认为，这批骨刻文字主要出土在昌乐古遗址，又被昌乐爱好者收藏，暂定名为“昌乐骨刻文”。虽然目前尚不能破译，但其发现对研究中国古文字的演变过程，复原当时的社会形态，提供了宝贵的佐证。
Researching experts consider that these characters inscribed on bone unearthed mainly from ancient ruins in Changle, collected by a Changle amateur, could be temporarily named “Changle bone inscription characters”. Although at present they have not yet been deciphered, this discovery will brought valuable assistance to the research into the development process of ancient Chinese characters and the reconstruction of the pattern of society of the time.
Now, I’m sorry, that has got to be the worst translation I have ever done. I’m sure you all noticed there were many phrases I was really struggling with. Help clarifying all that would be much appreciated.
随便胡写秋天一个早上
Posted by wangbo in Chinese study, random on October 23, 2008
So I was playing around on Kaixin001 and wound up writing this silly little story. It’s been proofread by lzh, so if you have any disputes regarding the grammar, direct your accusations at her (but good luck. With a couple of phrases I said, but no, this is what I want to be saying. She said, No. You’re not allowed. End of story. And that tone of voice….). Any criticisms of style, character development, anything like that… well, it’s just me being silly and playing around, so forget it. Anyway, here it is, in homage to this morning’s autumnity:
早上六点多一点，太阳大爷慢慢地起床，红头发老爷们也慢慢地起来。太阳大爷和红头发老爷们互相说一声“早上好”。寒冷干燥的西北风吹过来，把灰色的云都赶 走了。外面那些越来越虚弱的树哆嗦着把红叶抖落下来。快八点的时候，红头发老爷们出门了，他上了自行车，向西北风那位冷酷的家伙说“千万不要欺负我”，向 太阳大爷说，“帮我暖和一下“，然后骑车上课去。过天桥往北瞭，红头发老爷们看到了北山卫兵严严肃肃地站着。在他的背后那大丑怪物冬季大哥正准备从北边冻 冰的荒地往南来袭击可怜的市民。爬上了一教的五层，红头发老爷们往西看跟西山卫兵打招呼。西山卫兵比他在北边的兄弟还踏实一点，稍微温柔一点。西山、北山 两位卫兵拥抱着城市，太阳大爷把阳光撒向城市的每个地方，三位都对市民说“西风那家伙又来了，冬季那老混蛋也快过来了，请市民小心点，好好准备“。
Oh, and while I’m at it, I’ll admit: I have only one friend on Kaixin001, and that is my wife. I’ll quite happily send off invitations to those wanting one, but if you’re already on Kaixin001, add me please….
lake-cleaning fish
Posted by wangbo in Environment, news on October 23, 2008
Gotta be quick with this one, lunch breaks have a habit of slipping by far too fast: 新京报/The Beijing News reports that that a whole lot of filter-feeding fish are going to be released into the Yuanmingyuan (Old Summer Palace) to clean the lake water:
6万滤食鱼入圆明园“净水”
60 thousand filter-feeding fish to enter Yuanmingyuan to “clean the water”
海淀38万尾滤食鱼净化水环境
380 thousand filter-feeding fish to purify Haidian’s water environment
[Wait, nciku says 滤食 means ‘suspension feeder’, which makes no sense to me. Wikipedia to the rescue!: ‘suspension feeder’ is apparently another term for ‘filter feeder’]
昨日10时，首批滤食性鱼种被投放至圆明园福海。为了确保水环境健康，昨天，海淀区农林委将38万尾白鲢、鳙鱼、草鱼、兴国红鲤鱼等滤食性鱼类分别投入圆明园福海和上庄水库，净化区内湖泊的水质。
At 10 am yesterday the first batch of filter-feeding fish was released into Yuanmingyuan’s Fuhai. In order to guarantee the health of the water environment, yesterday, Haidian District’s Agriculture and Forestry Committee released 380 thousand filter-feeding fish of such types as silver carp, Aristichthys mobilis, grass carp and Xingguo red carp into Yuanmingyuan’s Fuhai and Shangzhuang Reservoir to purify the water quality of the district’s lakes.
[yeah, I could use some help with a couple of those fish names. Don’t have time to find proper English names for them all]
海淀区农林委负责人表示，目前投放的滤食性鱼类，如白鲢、鳙鱼（胖头鱼），每条约重250克，它们通过滤食水体中的浮游生物、杂草和有机碎屑，降低水体中氮、磷等富营养化物质的含量，增加水体透明度，改善水质状况。此次投放数量符合规定，不会威胁原有水生生物。
The person responsible at the Haidian District Agricultural and Forestry Committee said that the filter-feeding fish currently being released, such as silver carp and Aristichthys mobilis (variegated carp), weigh 250 grams each. They feed by passing plankton, weed, and organic matter through a filter, reducing the amount of matter such as nitrogen and phosphorous that cause eutrophication, increasing water clarity, improving water quality. This release accords with regulations and will not threaten native aquatic life.
圆明园管理处表示，投放福海的6万尾滤食鱼类，不仅能改善水质，还增加了一处赏鱼新景点。由于圆明园内全是中水，水质较差，为避免水华的大面积爆发，去年底起，圆明园就申请在水域内投放食藻虫，控制水藻生长。
The Yuanmingyuan Management Office said that the 60 thousand filter-feeding fish released into Fuhai won’t just improve water quality, but will also add to the new fish-viewing scenic spot. Because all the water in Yuanmingyuan is processed, water quality is not very good, and to avoid an algal bloom covering a large area, starting from the end of last year Yuanmingyuan applied to release algivorous insects to control the growth of algae.
It all sounds good to me. Trouble is I don’t have time to either translate this properly or do anything more than hit ‘publish’.
戎人
Posted by wangbo in Chinese study, random, tilting at windmills on October 22, 2008
It’s a very short piece, but it comes with a cool photo, on 京报网, about an archaeological dig in Gansu uncovering a very rare tomb and artefacts of a very high research value. Only trouble is I’m not coming across any easy answers as to who these “戎人” (róngrén) were. Of course, I’m familiar with the character 戎 in a Yanqing context and have come across it elsewhere, but still…. Oh, wait, Wikipedia to the rescue: 戎 refers to the people living west of Zhou in modern Shaanxi, Ningxia and Gansu. 戎 also refers to an ancient dialect of that area, too. Yeah, and that kinda seems to clarify-ish the article, but what about that link above to a Yanqing context? I mean, this article refers to Wen Ding (文丁), king of the Shang Dynasty, sending his vassal to attack the 戎 at Yanjing, but being defeated. Yanjing would be modern Beijing, would it not? And surely that would make the 戎 in question the 山戎 of Yanqing infamy? Well, perhaps Baidu Baike provides a little dose of sanity with its 西戎 article:
西戎的称谓最早来自于周代，周人自称“华夏”，便把华夏周围四方的人，分别称为东夷、南蛮、西戎、北狄，以区别华夏，在周人兴起时，西戎仍是在陇济及泾洛一带游牧的鬼戎，其实也是许多部落的总名，并且在不同时期有不同的名称。
Or to sum up, Xirong (西戎) first appears in the Zhou Dynasty. Zhou called itself ‘Huaxia’ and divided the barbarians around it according to the four points of the compass: Dong (eastern) Yi, Nan (southern) Man, Xi (western) Rong and Bei (northern) Di. Yes, the Dong, Nan, Xi and Bei do all mean East, South, West and North. Now, the locations and activities of the Rong as Zhou was rising I don’t really get, but it seems to place them in the northwest, more or less where wikipedia says they were, and they seem to have been rather nomadic. But it’s that last clause that seems most appropriate: The name may well have been used by several different tribes in several different times and places.
In other words, I still have no idea whose tombs this article says were being dug up. But, hey, the picture’s cool:
Oh dear, is the picture actually in this post, or do you have to follow the link? Ah, whatever. Anyways, they’ve uncovered gold, silver, bronze and tin decorations which I believe are for chariots, and they’ve decided that they’ve uncovered a very rare tomb of a Rong leader or aristocrat, and that this is of a high value for research.
ruminations
To be read with the theme song of the 《小兵张嘎》in mind:
一九九九年，呀
王博进了中国
先去看湘江
后去爬太行山
Yeah, I’m not much of a poet, even less a songwriter. Oh wait, got those two backwards…. Uh, anyway, so in other words, today is my ninth Chinaversary. October 21, 1999, I arrived in Changsha, and the adventure started.
Ah well, that’s all. Nothing more to say. Not much ruminating at all, then, sorry.
willing to change?
Posted by wangbo in Environment, life in Beijing, news on October 20, 2008
Here’s an interesting piece, which claims, among other things, that 69% of Chinese consumers are willing to change their lifestyles to help climate change… or should that be to help climate not change, or to help the climate change as little as possible… Anyway, 新京报/The Beijing News’ Liao Ailing reports:
69%国人愿为气候“改变生活”
69% of Chinese would like to “change their lives” for climate
北京消协和气候组织公布气候变化消费调查
Beijing Consumers’ Association and The Climate Group announce climate change consumer survey
北京市消协和气候组织昨天联合发布了“气候变化”消费者调查报告。结果显示，“节能”成为消费者选择商品时的关键，69%的中国消费者愿意通过改变生活习惯来帮助减缓气候变化。
The Beijing municipal Consumer’s Association and The Climate Group yesterday jointly announced the report on their “Climate Change” consumer survey. The results show that “power saving” has become a key point when consumers are choosing a product, and 69% of Chinese consumers would like to change their lifestyles in order to help slow climate change.
此次调查旨在了解气候变化和消费者权益之间的联系、气候变化对人们消费行为的影响，以及消费者是否愿意为节能产品买单等内容。该调查在中国、英国和美国同步进行，其中在中国调查了北京、上海和其他14个大城市的1000位消费者。
This survey aimed to understand such things as the connection between climate change and consumer rights and interests, the influence of climate change on people’s consumption behaviour, and whether or not consumers would be willing to pay for power-saving appliances. The survey was carried out in China, the UK and the USA, and surveyed 1000 consumers in Beijing, Shanghai and 14 other large cities in China.
调查显示，“气候变化”位列经济、社会动乱和自然灾害之后，成为消费者心目中第4位关心的全球性问题。在选择商品时，“节能”成为消费者偏好的关键。
The survey showed that after the economy, social unrest and natural disasters, “climate change” had become the fourth biggest global problem in consumers’ minds. In choosing products, “power saving” has become a particular focus for consumers.
Yep, it’s a short piece, and followed by an even shorter piece of related news that doesn’t grab my attention right now (blame four straight writing classes for that) about 87 pieces of technology to help Beijing to conserve power and reduce emissions. Alright, it’s short and after that I guess I have to translate it. It’s by TBN’s Wu Di, this time:
87项技术助北京节能减排
87 items of technology to help Beijing conserve power and reduce emissions
昨天，在国际节能环保展信息发布会上，市发改委首次发布《北京市2008年节能节水减排技术推广计划》。该计划包 括17大类共87项节能节水减排技术，包括绿色照明、太阳能利用、节水等多项和居民生活密切相关的技术。根据该计划，北京市室内室外照明、景观照明、道路 交通照明、广场公共场所照明等都将推广绿色照明技术。有10项绿色照明技术将被应用于这些方面。
At yesterday’s news conference at the international Energy-Saving and Environmental Protection Exhibition, the municipal development and reform commission announced the “2008 Beijing Municipal Plan to Popularise Energy Conservation, Water Conservation and Emissions Reduction Technology”. This plan includes 17 major types of technology closely related to residents lives, totalling 87 energy conservation, water conservation and emissions reduction technologies covering areas such as green lighting, exploitation of solar energy and water conservation. According to this plan, green lighting will be popularised in Beijing’s indoor and outdoor lighting, scenic spot lighting, street lighting, and square and public space lighting. 10 green lighting technologies will be used in these areas.
And I’m thinking: 69% is a pretty healthy majority (forcing myself to be optimistic), but it’s still till low (back to my realistic self), but at least, as in public transport, there’s at least some semblance of a pretty decent push forwards from the municipal government.
And I also have to wonder what the figures from those parts of the survey done in the US and UK were…
书市
Posted by wangbo in life in Beijing on October 19, 2008
We just got back from the book fair at Ditan Park. For so many years now I’ve been aware that the fair happens once each year, but have never quite gotten off my arse and gone to check it out. Glad I finally did, but it was just a little underwhelming. It was a bit too much like they’d gathered all the city’s bookstores into Ditan Park, thrown in half the city’s DVD stores, and Panjiayuan for good measure. Oh well, there were plenty of books and they were cheap, and that’s the point.
I guess I was expecting to see something a bit special, rather than the ordinary, everyday contents of ordinary, everyday bookstores. I guess had we made some kind of effort to check out the lectures or whatever they were….. But it was books I wanted, not people blethering about books. There’s a difference.
And it was crowded. But nowhere near as crowded as when I went to the Spring Festival Temple Fair there several years back. That Temple Fair has been the archetype of ‘crowd’ in my mind ever since. But it was crowded enough that a pleasant, sunny, dry autumn day became hot and sticky and uncomfortable. And of course, all the hassles and frustrations and irritants that crowds bring…. Still, it wasn’t too bad.
Although, if I’d been selling books there, more than a few people would’ve found their jianbing or roast kumara travelling down their throat at a much higher speed than they’d originally planned.
And a trip to the toilets revealed that either the food stalls were not as hygienic as one would wish or many men were so excited to be at the book fair they’d lost all ability to aim. Somehow the porcelain squatters had managed to collect only a tiny fraction of what they were designed to catch. Now, I’ve seen, and used, some bad toilets in my time, but one look in there would’ve instantly turned the worst case of dysentery to severe constipation. It sure as shit made me glad we’d eaten before we entered the park.
But ranting aside, it wasn’t a fruitless trip. In fact, we came away with a few books and a couple of gifts. I got a book called 《茶艺百科》, because considering how much tea I drink and how much I like tea, it’s long since time I expanded and deepened my knowledge of that particular herb. It’s a fairly slim volume and doesn’t seem to be quite so wide-ranging or in-depth as the title suggests, but I think it’ll suit my purposes for now. lzh picked up three small recipe books, so hopefully that translates into an expanded range of tasty food for dinner. And we got a few sheets of stickers and a pile of children’s books. No, not for us, we won’t be in need of such things for a while.
lzh’s cousin has an intelligent wee two-year old boy who is in desperate need of stimulation, so most of the books are for him, but a classmate of hers will be popping a sprog this winter, so the stickers and I think one or two books are for her. But it was good to see a huge, huge supply of reading material and related items for kids at the book fair. There was stuff for most ages, although the younger the child you’re buying for, the more you’ll have to search. We even managed to get a bilingual character/pinyin/English edition of Little Red Riding Hood, and I’m sure we could’ve found more similar stuff had we had the energy and patience. I was a little disappointed with the range of books available, though. Volume was good, range was a little narrow. I mean, most of the children’s books were educational in some way or another, and there didn’t seem to be much of a more purely entertainment value. That’s ok, at the age levels we were buying for education and entertainment are one and the same, but it made me wonder about the older kids. But perhaps I just wasn’t looking closely enough. I mean, Harry Potter was easy to find and I’m sure there was more around.
I guess my only regret in the book buying is not getting a set of those old pocket-sized comics. I found one set that had 《小兵张嘎》, which would’ve been pretty cool to read, but the guy wanted 20 kuai and I didn’t want these comics that badly, and considering how close I live to Panjiayuan I’m sure I’ll get plenty more chances to buy such things.
Anyways, the irritation of having to wade through crowds, nasty toilets, and an apparently narrower range of books than I was hoping for aside, it was alright, really. And chances are I would’ve discovered a much wider range of books had I had the energy and patience to look more closely. We came home with a decent stack of good books, and spent very little money in the process, and so in my book the day’s trip counts as a success.