Ready or Not, Here We Squat

So far I’ve only skirted around the topic that is the elephant in the room when talking about adjusting to…

The #4

There’s a rhythm to the #4 buses. The bus line terminates at the traffic circle of Renmin Street and Cangshan…

Day 3: Today was the world-famous Pingxi Lantern Festival. It wasn’t until nightfall, but getting there involved leaving our place…

Sinologist Arthur Waley called the Legalists “Realists”—not to be confused with 19th century European art—because they were pragmatic. Like the…

The bulk of Qin lay to the west of the Zhou king’s former capitol, near present-day Xian. Remember, way back…

I do a double-take out the window as the shuttle zooms by a warehouse. “The place to produce and sell…

“I am the son and heir of nothing in particular.” — “How Soon Is Now,” The Smiths With the reign…

“In Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo…

Each year in early April, the Chinese remember the dead on the festival known as Qingming. On this day, families…

They didn’t walk into a bar together, but it’s sobering to think that these two monumental pillars of human thought…

“Ancient scholars studied for their own improvement. Modern scholars study to impress others.” — Confucius With the benefit of hindsight,…

It went great for the Zhou for a couple hundred years—for the legacy of the Duke of Zhou and his…

“I must be slipping. It’s been too long since I have dreamt of the Duke of Zhou.” — Confucius When…