Apr 16 2008
Bath culture is deeply rooted in China, mere soap and shampoo isn’t enough. It’s 泡澡堂子soak and linger for us. The seedy reputation is perhaps gained during the last 10 years or so, when Chinese is trying to over done everything, as if to recuperate their lost few decades under Mao. The new bathhouses spring up everywhere, grand [...]
Apr 16 2008
A fascinating research study from the California Institute of Technology has shown that there is a direct correlation between the price of a wine and the degree of pleasure it induces in the brain, using fMRI: the more expensive the wine, the higher the levels of neural activity in the medial orbitofrontal cortex, the area [...]
Apr 16 2008
I don’t remember what I was looking for on the Internal - where and what else? - but found Uncle Zanzeng, Harry (1923 Shanghai - ). It was his picture that caught my eye, an elegant elder with silver hair and long silver beard to his chest, 孔子翻身? Don’t know why I didn’t ask Jiujiu first, [...]
Apr 16 2008
Popo’s grandfather 玉山老人 (1837 Jiande, Anhui -1921 Tianjin) had three concubines 侧室, the last one was a young maid on the staff. She was expelled abruptly for something that considered a grave offense to an official family, not long after giving birth to Xuehui (1882 Tianjin -1971 Tianjin). Yiliang wrote in his popular memoir that the girl had no family nor got married, lived her life out in solidarity [...]
Apr 16 2008
Long before the one child policy, Chinese families were well stocked with kids born from the wife and sired by the concubines. More generations living under one roof symbolized the prosperity and longevity. The patriarch could be the father upto the great great grandfather. They number coded the off spring - paihang 排行 seniority among sibling, on [...]
Apr 16 2008
Lϋ Xiaojin 吕孝谨 (1914 - 1950) was my Yeye’s half brother, born to Zhao. In her memoir, Lucy wrote he wasn’t able to conceive, but in fact, he sired a son (died young) and a daughter Lϋ Youlin 吕友林 (1944 - ). Youlin’s retired from the coal mine general store 小卖部 , and still lives in Lujiang, keeps sporadic phone [...]
Apr 16 2008
Barbara Bush kidded that what’s she going to do when her husband lose his job [at White House], playing down their wealth, “taking a job?” she asked. I thought of this when Nancy Pelosi joked if she didn’t get the Speaker’s gig, she’ll be a baby sitter for her new born grandson. Bush’s comment was fine, since she wasn’t running [...]