This day, 9 April, in 1998, a naval fleet consisting of the guided-missile destroyer “Qingdao”, the training ship “Shichang” and the supply ship “Nancang” set sail from...
It’s teenagers who enjoy it the most. It’s there in so many of the snacks they eat. It is a horrifying rottenness. They love it. They are wrong to love it.
Of course, many of these snacks of rottenness contain chilli; that fresh adventure for the young person. With alcohol, even coffee, still far on the horizon, the enjoyment of chilli carries an illicit charge and bragging rights.
And, of course, these snacks are heavily freighted with umami, the protein decoy. While adults somehow remain wary of this big-FMCG alchemy, the...
In the West, specialist sellers choose to distribute themselves evenly across the city, trying to become someone’s “local”.
But, here in Asia, different sellers; direct competitors, often choose to huddle together in a street or market renowned throughout the city.
Buying tea in China, I feel like I’m the king, or at least riding the wave of a buyer’s market. I enter one of these markets, then “kick some tyres” talking to sellers, getting some idea of prices. Maybe I taste a bit, but I don’t buy; you see, I’ve promised...
When I lived in Beijing, students hoping to study abroad would travel half a day to a certain shrine, praying to receive an “offer”. They were practicing hieroglossia.
That’s because they deemed the shrine’s name; 卧佛寺 similar enough to the English word ”offer” to place their trust in, or hedge their bets on, this place for a few hours of their lives. I was intrigued that students treated it as more than just a joke, more than just an excuse for a jaunt. I was curious about this geomantic...
I’m going to stop doing it.
And not only because the law has changed.
I’m going to put this filthy habit to bed… if I can.
Like that petty criminal in that O. Henry story, I will reform.
My vice is tea-leaf chucking.
I’ve long thought of myself as better than other litterers. I would never have thrown the contents of an ashtray out of the window, nor plastic yoghurt pots.
I’ve thought of the tea leaves I chuck as “like the leaves of Autumn”; fresh from nature and eager to return to nature.
Indeed, the...
