Monthly Archives: October, 2011
The Alchemist: let your heart lead you to your dream
It is a tiny book written by Paulo Coelho that has been popular ever since it came out in 1988. It tells a story of a boy following his dream to the Egypt Pyramids to find his treasure. On his way, he has learnt how to follow his heart and have it lead him to his …
China’s railway system faces financing difficulties
A recent WSJ report says that many of China’s railway projects face insufficiency of funds. Major projects in Guangdong, Guizhou, Fujian, to name a few, are forced to a halt. Senior engineer Wang Mengshu at China Railway Tunnel Group said that the lack in funding was caused by two factors: a tighter fiscal policy to tame the …
孩子眼中的世界
這個學期開始，我教兩個外國小朋友普通話。哥哥叫Thomas,今年8歲。妹妹Caitlyn才6歲。兩個小傢伙年紀雖小，觀察中文的方式卻時常讓我感到新奇。 Thomas的作業中，有一題是選詞造句。他選了“榕樹”，“青蔥”和“翠綠”三個詞，寫道：“這棵大榕樹非常青蔥翠綠。”老師在上面打了大大的紅叉，劃掉了“翠綠”。Thomas卻問：“那麼‘青蔥’和‘翠綠’有什麽區別呢？”“哦，青蔥是茂盛的樣子，包含了綠色的意思。而翠綠只是講顏色而已。所以你用了‘青蔥’也就不必再強調顏色了。”我答道。可他似乎覺得我的答案不夠有說服力，最終還是沒有改過來。 以中文為母語的我，竟不知道怎樣才能告訴他，我們用“青蔥”形容樹木而用“翠綠”形容山野的原因。我的腦中，“青蔥”似乎是樹木定義的一部份，而“翠綠”則是一提到山野我腦中就浮現的顏色。語言之中，有太多“規律”不能解釋的東西。我想，如果他讀過優美的風景散文，走過壯麗的華夏河山，大概會對這些詞語有更加清晰的認識吧。 和孩子們在一起，我常常思考成長的方式和意義。 上次教Caitlyn數學的時候，有一題是計數。她用完了十只手指，歪著頭很吃力地思考要怎樣繼續。我不禁笑了出來。對我這個成年人而言，數字已經深入到生活的各個領域，加減乘除根本就不需要經過思考。我很難想像，十五年前的自己也和她一樣，趴在桌子上試著用手指以及腳趾計算出作業題中一共畫了幾個蘋果。 歲月在不經意間慢慢流逝。我們由初生到成熟，由成熟到衰老，就像路旁的大榕樹由新芽初探到落葉歸根，經歷了生命的各種形式，才算是完滿充實。 從圖書館出來的時候，看到日光在樓梯上投下七彩的影子。我終於也在香港見過了彩虹。
Barefoot College: education for the poor
The founder of the organization, Bunker Roy, gave an impressive TED talk. The organization (website) was set up to tackle grave problems like drinking water quality, female education, health and sanitation, electricity and power, and social awareness and the conservation of ecological systems in rural India. Its successful experiences have been promoted to other developing areas in Africa …
“Red songs” in China
The unique Chinese term “red songs” refers to the songs composed to praise the Communist Party for their efforts in fighting in the war and raising living standards in China. Here is a brief history of the “red songs”. Red songs encompass many styles and local elements. Some red songs are composed to memorize the Red …
A Conversation with Professor Michael Spence
The conversation yesterday was titled “Sustainable Growth in Asia: Challenges as the Advanced Economies Slow in a Resource-Constrained World”. Professor Spence was a Nobel Laureate in 2001 for his work that assessed how markets try to close informational gaps. Professor Spence identified four aspects for countries around the world to succeed in the future: 1. …
行走香港
一直觉得，一个城市的气质是可以感知的客观存在。我心中香港的气质，是多元而复杂的。有商业的浮躁，也有平民的友善。夜晚沙宣道的点点星光，常常让我觉得格外温馨。 我最爱的香港，是世俗却又诗意的香港，是平民百姓喧闹忙碌的生活中折射出的活力与温馨。行走在西环的街道上，一家家的海鲜铺子，卖的是种类各异的干货，也有燕窝之类的补品。年过半百的婆婆和铺子里的年轻人讨价还价，这样温馨的场景让我想起我的家。其实过日子，在哪个城市不是一样呢。 在港大忙碌的日子里，也曾和好友从上环出发，走到中环。沿着电车的轨道，直直地一条路走下去，就到了中心商业区。我们想从那里走去湾仔，却又不认识路了。很多时候，迷路并不是因为想去的地方和当下的距离很远，而是因为路太多找不到方向，在香港尤其如此。 上周和几个法国朋友行走中环，一路邂逅各种小店，其中有一家卖的是Delay No More的小玩意，让我们爱不释手。穿梭在这样的小街之中，有种时空变化的感觉。街角的法式咖啡屋和路边的港式茶餐厅相映成趣，精致的画廊和喧闹的市集遥遥相望，一切存在都是那么自然。回去的时候，突然下起雨来。避雨的间隙，居然发现石板路上Andy Warhol式的画作，金黄的颜色在深灰的路面上格外亮眼。 忙碌之中，仍要保持一双善于发现美丽的眼睛。在行走的时候，也不忘记欣赏路旁的风景。
The more equal, the happier we are?
There is a new research ( see report by The Economist here) investigating the relationship between inequality and happiness. I attach the graph below from the website: It seems counter intuitive as people in rather inequal countries do not always end up gloomier, at least on aggregate level. Economic research papers about happiness and income/equality are rarely …
American economists Sargent and Sims share the Nobel Prize
The news is here. They are awarded the prize for their work on evaluating the effect of policy changes on the economy. Here is a piece of interview with Dr. Sargent. He talked about how macroeconomists use mathematics and statistics methods to construct models and put forward suggestions for policy makers. He also talked about why …
China needs to build its cultural soft power
maryandmusic ♦ October 29, 2011 ♦ 2 Comments
I recently read an Economist article about China’s cultural soft power. The topic is intriguing. The phrase “soft power” was coined by Joseph Nye of Harvard University in 1990 in his book Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power. Interestingly, this concept reminds me of the central theme of Confucian philosophy: Ren (kindness). Kindness is just the opposite to violence and …
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