• As a belated new father a couple of years ago, I came to recognize what a sympathetic soul Charles Dickens was to the psyche of children, from this quote in "Great Expectations":

    "In the little world in which children have t...
  • Note on contemporary art (incl. Chinese art):  Art Appreciation = Pathology of the Artist.

    The 20th Century has seen the reduction of art appreciation to "getting the message".

  • 读这篇文章,感觉是甘阳英文很滥:本来中文译辞将英文原文在括号内标出,主要用于难译或者强译的术语或俚语。可是这里除了人名以外,多是该注的不注,没必要注的却偏要冗余;结果点了半天,两个大“L”的异同及其英文语义背景,只字不提。

    既然“中国的改革以及知识分子的思考,本身就是以西方为参照系的”,那我们就来瞧瞧英语世界(一部分人)对两个“L”的看法和渊源评述。

    Liberalism: http:...
  • 2008-06-27

    好言好语一则

    Tag:
    钱振镍《名山小言》卷七:
        “文章有为我兼爱之不同。为我者只取我自家明白,虽无第二人解,亦何伤哉,老
    子古简,庄生诡诞,皆是也。兼爱者必使我一人之心共喻于天下,语不尽不止,孟子洋
    明,墨子重复,是也。《论语》多弟子所记,故语意亦简,孔子诲人不倦,其语必不止
    此。或怪孔明文采不艳而过于丁宁周至,陈寿以为亮所与言尽众人凡士云云,要之皆文
    之近于兼爱者也。诗亦有之,王盂闲适,意取含蓄,乐天讽喻,不妨尽言。&r...
  • 最近再读《文心雕龙》。这是一本文笔华赡而且大耐咀嚼的书。一句“庄老告退,而山水方滋”,蕴含其中的那种多层次的思想和文学的复杂的因果关系,就值得细细品味。多被选家误读。
      
      周振甫先生的各种注评著作中,我以为《文心雕龙》是最好的。有趣的是人民文学本竟然是“大学生必读书”......日美教授在书店看到,不知回去要怎样撰文感慨中国大学生文化素养水准之高呢。
      
      说句题外话:中国的经典很有些耐读的,但...
  • 2008-05-13

    愤青请进

    Tag:
    http://www.npr.org/blogs/chengdu/2008/05/caught_in_the_earthquake_1.html

    To those who think the whole Western world is against China: please see this link for some of the early response of largely Democratic Americans to the Sichuan earthqua...
  • 最近看到两篇"体制内"人士关于西藏的文章,口气远较主流媒体(不论是官方的还是非官方的)温和,观念也较新。猜测是政府内部的智囊组织的“气象球”,to (1) float some new policy concepts to the outside world; and (2) moderate and direct popular opinions among Chinese.
    不能说我同意所有的观点(还是有意识形态色彩,不过考虑到作者的身份,那...
  • Objective but not cold; embracing but not adorational.

    http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2008/03/31/080331crbo_books_mishra

    In case you have been wondering over a few things about Dalai Lama, here are the author's observ...
  • 2008-05-05

    凉山,西藏,怒江

    Tag:

    布拖行走纪实: 四川省西南部, 凉山彝族自治州的布拖县----一些年轻志愿者的观感。
    http://www.baixi.org/bbs/viewthread.php?tid=3846&extra=page%3D1
    于是他们离开了...... for this......
    http://www.nddaily.com/sszt/dongguantonggong/

    不知道诸位看了怎么想;对我而言,两个takeaways: 第一,政府...
  • Tibet has indeed been a Shangri-La---------------but only for Lords and Lamas, and Lonely Planet crowds. See a well-written review of the prevalent "Buddhist exceptionism", or the great S.O.T. (Sainthood of Tibet), that draws largely from Wes...