Category Archives: Celebrity
Susan Cain “The Power of Introverts”
The TED video is here. It is interesting that introversion tends to cultivate leadership and creativity. In a commercialized society like Hong Kong, extroversion is highly valued and (I think) overstated. It is very frustrating to know that my Hong Kong peers rarely do real reading. By “real reading” I mean reading that inspires contemplation and enriches one’s …
Can good rules be replicated? — thoughts from the proposal of charter cities
My thoughts are from Paul Romer’s (bio) radical idea about charter cities (TED link). He talked about building cities with good rules (institutions) which drives people to move there and businesses to grow, finally accelerating urbanization process in underdeveloped areas around the world. According to Prof. Romer, we need rules which offer more choices to people and more choices to …
Notes on the China’s Ming Dynasty
I have been reading Ray Huang’s book China: A Macro History. Huang analyzed Chinese history with a macro economic and social perspective, pointing out the long-term effects of many seemingly trivial events. It is definitely worth reading, either for foreigners to get an idea of Chinese history or for Chinese readers to refresh their memory and …
Capital flows in the changing world: notes from Dr. Min Zhu’s lecture
Dr. Min Zhu, the Deputy Managing Director of International Monetary Fund (IMF), gave an insightful speech on capital flows in the contemporary world and the respective policy implications at Hong Kong University. He began by talking about the increasing interconnectedness of the world we live in. It is fascinating to see how the world gets rearranged in …
Wang Xilin’s musical work (I): Symphony No. 5
Wang Xilin (王西麟) is a great Chinese composer. Here is a wiki link about him. I have found his work striking and thought-provoking. He’s been through a lot of tortures in his life and has made a name in foreign countries. An influential Chinese newspaper calls him “Chinese patient” (article here in Chinese). Beginning from this post, I …
1587, a Year of No Significance: The Ming Dynasty in Decline
A fascinating novel-style Chinese history book with comments, written by an established Chinese historian, Huang Renyu. A brief introduction can be found here. The book’s name is a year in China’s Ming Dynasty, which the author thinks is the beginning of the dynasty’s decline. Among the Chinese dynasties, Ming is recent (1368-1644) and short. The book gives us a good flavor …
Professor Nicolas R. Lardy: How can China sustain its economic growth?
Yesterday I attended a talk by Professor Nicolas R. Lardy at The University of Hong Kong on the topic of how China can sustain its economic growth. He offered refreshing insights into the topic, especially in the context after global financial crisis. Professor Lardy showed us a graph about the lagging consumption demand with respect to GDP growth. The phenomenon is …
Phantom of the Opera 25th Anniversary
On a night most people in Hong Kong are observing the lunar eclipse, I went to the cinema and watched the video recording of this classic musical at Royal Albert Hall. The leading roles are Sierra Boggess (Christine) and Ramin Karimloo (Phantom). Sierra’s voice is gentle and natural, fitting the character of Christine. She is very expressive as an actress, fully …
Kissin plays Liszt, Hong Kong
Last night I had the honor to listen to Evgeny Kissin playing the piano in the Hong Kong Cultural Center. HKU arranged for three rows on the stage, and I was lucky enough to sit just a couple of steps away from Kissin. The program was as follows: Études d’exécution transcendante No. 9 “Ricordanza” Sonata in B minor Harmonies poétiques et religieuses: …
Professor Wu Jinglian on the Comprehensive Plan of China’s Reforms
maryandmusic ♦ March 24, 2012 ♦ Leave a Comment
Professor Wu Jinglian (bio) is a renowned Chinese economist and one of the leading figures in China’s economic reform. He came to Hong Kong University yesterday and delivered a public lecture named “Comprehensive Plan and Top-Level Design for China’s Reforms”. The following points are what I found the most interesting in his speech: 1. The meaning of “comprehensive plan”. The term …
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