The
Ancients 古人
Contents
THE
6 Contributors 7 Nanjing Nomads 8 Editorial
www.thenanjinger.com
DECEMBER 2019
Volume#10/Issue#3
#91
9 Poem; Life’s Little Luxuries 11 From Central Heating to Hotpot China’s Luxurious Warmth
14 Luxury in China 1980s Style
16 Is Luxury Toothpaste the Holy Grail of Chinese Brands? 18 For Art’s Sake
Watercolour Works for Wintery Weekends
19 The Philosopher
Episode 3A; Neo Confucianism; Old Paths, New Directions
20 Strainer
Apocolypse Tea; Should I Drive After Drinking This?
21 Ideas Worth Spreading Iconic Talks Return in 2020
22 The Trip
Yinchuan; Pearl of the Silk Road
24 Our Space 34 The Gavel
How Louis Vuitton Sued a Pub and Won
35 Metro Map
4
Introducing some of our contributors, editors & designers Our Editor-in-chief and Music Critic, Frank Hossack, has been a radio host and producer for the past 35 years, the past 26 of which working in media in China, in the process winning four New York Festivals awards for his work, in the categories Best Top 40 Format, Best Editing, Best Director and Best Culture & The Arts. 贺福是我们杂志的编辑和音乐评论员，在过去的35 年里一直从事电台主持和电台制片的工作。在中国 有近26年的媒体工作经验。工作期间他曾经四次 获得过纽约传媒艺术节大奖，分别是世界前40强 节目奖，最佳编辑奖，最佳导演奖以及最佳文化 艺术奖。 Josefa Meng studied Advertising in Nanjing Normal University, Zhongbei College. She specialises in advertisement planning and design, is keen to get in touch with new things, is willing to accept challenge and hopes to bring the world to a better understanding of China. 毕业于南京师范大学中北学院，广告学学士学位。 她主要做文案编辑和广告设计，对新鲜事物充满好 奇，乐于挑战，希望能让世界更了解中国。 Roy Ingram has over 25 years experience working as an artist and Creative Director. His early career was with agencies in London but for the past eight years he has lived and worked in Nanjing. Roy先生有着超过25年的创意总监和艺术家的工作 经历。他早期的职业生涯是在伦敦的一家机构里开 始的，但是在八年前他决定来到南京生活工作。 Matthew Stedman has spent years living and working in China. He has sold Chinese tea in the UK, and loves discussing the miraculous leaf with new (and suspicious) audiences. He however never feels happier than when researching the product here in beautiful South China. Matthew Stedman在中国生活工作了多年。多年在 中英两国从事茶叶贸易的他，喜欢和新读者讨论神 奇的东方树叶(虽然有时他的读者保持怀疑态度)。 没什么比在美丽的江南走访品尝各种茶叶更让他开 心的事了。 Legal columnist Carlo D’Andrea came to China in 2005 and now heads up a boutique law firm which is a point of reference as a well-established entity in the international legal profession serving Chinese and foreign companies wishing to globalise themselves. He has been admitted to the Italian Bar Association and is Chairman of the EUCCC Shanghai Board. 法律专栏作家Carlo D’Andrea于2005年来到中 国，如今正领导着一家精品律师事务所，作为国际 律师界的标杆和翘楚，向中国和外国公司提供服务 以助其实现全球化。他不仅是意大利的执业律师， 同时还是中国欧盟商会上海分会的主席。
THE
www.thenanjinger.com
DECEMBER 2019
Sponsor 办单位
SinoConnexion 贺福传媒
Publisher 编辑出版
The Nanjinger《南京人》杂志社
Operating Organization 运营机构 Nanjing Hefu Cultural Media Co., Ltd. 南京贺福文化传媒有限公司
Contributors 特约撰稿人 Chesna Goel Nikita Heyward Triona Ryan Maitiu Brallaghan Shawn Li
Columnists 专栏作家 Francesca Leiper Carlo D’Andrea Edmund Culham Matthew Stedman
Editor-in-chief 主编 Frank Hossack 贺福
Copy Editor/Marketing Assistant 文案编辑以及营销助理 Josefa Meng 孟婷彧
Graphic Design and Layout 平面设计与布局 SinoConnexion 贺福传媒 Web: thenanjinger.com
Concept & Design 构想与设计 封面构想与设计 Roy Ingram
Client Liason Coordinator 客户联络协调员 Nancy Guo 郭蓓
Legal Consultant 法律顾问 Ma Haipeng 马海鹏
General Enquires & Advertising: +86 13851522275 Email: info@thenanjinger.com
Volume 10 / Issue 3 / December 2019 “Luxury”
Copyright 2019, SinoConnexion Ltd. Published in the United Kingdom ISSN 2051-9974
6
NANJING NOMADS
Your Travels in the Digital Realm
#nanjingermagazine to see your photos on this page!
angiew0303 (25 Nov., 2019) Instagram Post. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/B5QLFUnlgtJ franzini_sara (21 Nov., 2019) Instagram Post. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/B5Fxd3MDaeQ
evaren1020 (23 Nov., 2019) Instagram Post. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/B5LIx2gBtRO
xiannzz 22 Nov., 2019) Instagram Post. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/B5H20EvFu8E
wushunoah (21 Nov., 2019) Instagram Post. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/B5FREnOI0w5
annabyurk (9 Nov., 2019) Instagram Post. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/B4nc-yYAkrS
7
All Would Envy
T
he Nanjinger begins each year with a holiday. And why not? With much of the foreign population departed to faraway lands, we forgo an issue each July and January. Like many, we will be simply concentrating on keeping warm. Which brings us to this issue. This month, Josefa Meng finds out about the provision of warmth in China though the ages, together with a staggering archeological discovery in Nanjing which revealed that conducive to a sumptuous life (p11-13).
Elsewhere, while today’s statements of splendor comprise the holidays we take, the phones we use and coffee we drink; in 1980s China, extravagance was defined as the size of our cassette collection, as Shawn Li reveals (p14-15). Finally, we turn our attention to the fight between the high-end western brands and their Chinese counterparts for dominance of the local marketplace. Chesna Goel portends that the former’s days of glory may we’ll be numbered, thanks to a toothpaste (P16-17). Welcome to “Luxury” from The Nanjinger.
Ed.
S
can the QR Code to visit The Nanjinger on WeChat, from where you can download a free PDF of this issue, find a full list of distribution points for hard copies or arrange a subscription to have The Nanjinger delivered to your home or office! This magazine is part of a family of English publications that together reach a large proportion of the foreign population living in Nanjing, along with a good dash of locals, comprising: The Nanjinger City Guide www.thenanjinger.com Facebook, WeChat, Twitter, Instagram and Weibo
All of the above are owned and operated by HeFu Media, the Chinese subsidiary of SinoConnexion Ltd. www.thenanjinger.com 2
little life’s luxuries Long after we had sat to watch our demise In an all Dolby Surround Sound three dimensional show, Long after that irreversible momentSomeone somewhere had sat down and cried.
By Maitiu Brallaghan ’19
Long after the scented bubble baths had burst And the last of the smart screens lost their glow,
Not for an upgrade skipped Or city break trip missed, But for life’s true little luxuries Fresh water; Food ; Friendship; Knowledge that a family would be safe; Protection from the dark And faith: Faith that our civilised humanity Would not, could not allow it all to happen. And yet, without so much as a communal whimper It had.
21
From Central Heating to Hotpot;
China’s Luxurious Warmth! By Josefa Meng
The Qinhuai Line is the geographical dividing line between north and south China. On both sides of this border, there are obvious differences in natural conditions, geographical features, agricultural production and people’s living customs.
And their heating systems.
d
ependent on geographical location, when the cold season hits, people in the north bask in their warmth and wear short-sleeves to walk around at home, while people in the south wrap themselves in downcotton jackets and tremble on their sofa corner.
The root of the problem lies in the heating system. In the course of historical development, with the Qinhuai Line (秦岭淮河线; Qinling Mountains-Huaihe River Line) as the boundary, it was decreed that there be no central heating systems installed in the south.
The result is that we in the Yangtze River Basin find it hardest to fall asleep at night, and regularly awake with our breath as the first thing we see. For some, this “ice cave” is their only companion through life’s winter. Compared to the dry cold of North China, our cold is mainly caused by humidity and wind. With winter being comparatively long and rain all year round, humidity has a huge impact on the human body’s feelings of cold. According to meteorology, for every 10 percemt increase in humidity, the temperature felt by the human body decreases by 1 degree Celsius. 11
Why doesn’t South China Deserve Central Heating? With the progress of China’s industrialisation, centralised heating systems were introduced in the 1950s. According to geographical and climatic needs, Changchun, Jilin, Ha’erbin, Beijing and other places, studied the heating systems employed by the former Soviet Union, to then deploy cast-iron radiators over large areas of the cities. However, due to the shortage of energy in China at the time, heating pipes were only laid north of the Qinhuai Line, while there was no central heating equipment provided to the south. At that time, areas deserving of heating were delineated, again according to the experience of the former Soviet Union; if the number of days with an average temperature equal to or below 5 degrees Celcius is equal to 90 days or more, then the area shall have central heating systems installed.
Bad news for us; the number of such cold days in the Yangtze River Basin generally numbers around 50. And unlike the “physical attack” in the dry north, the wet cold of the south is described as a “magical attack”; thick clothes do not help. Neither is it realistic nor practical to install central heating facilities in today’s southern China. Tantamount to urban reconstruction, a thermal power plant is not enough; it would be necessary to build a network of boiler rooms across the city, together with the associated interconnected piping to virtually every single building. In addition, as alert readers will have noticed, the thickness of walls in the south is nothing compared to the north. Once a concrete shell gets cold, it stays cold.
How Did the Ancient Chinese Manage to Stay Warm? People in the south have therefore come up with many ways to keep warm. Today of course, there is air conditioning and under floor heating, but how did the ancient Chinese manage, given the horrible cold conditions outside that are a far cry from any kind of luxury? Well, they took a few tips from those who built the Weiyang Palace in Chang’an (today’s Xi’an) in 200 BCE. The largest palace ever built, almost seven times the size of Beijing’s Forbidden City and 11 times that of the Vatican City, its builders came up with a special wall insulation for the residence of the queen therein.
The Jiaofang Hall (椒房殿) takes its name from this inventive form of insulation. Painted with a mush made from the flowers of the pepper tree, the walls were rendered pink, while protecting the wooden structure underneath and providing that muchneeded insulation. In addition, in order to ensure the warmth of the winter palace, the ancient palace architects also put in a hollow “wall” during construction, commonly known as the “fire wall”, located under the eaves of the hall. Hot charcoal could then be placed via a small passage into the fire wall; its heat sufficient to warm 12
the entire palace along the fire wall. Not surprisingly, there was an additional fire wall installed under the emperor’s bed. Closer to home, and in a more down-to-earth fashion befitting the common people, it more recently emerged that Nanjing people had been eating a kind of hotpot, in order to stay warm, as long ago as 2,000 BCE. The finding was confirmed via a remarkable archeological discovery that was made in Nanjing’s Gaochun District in 1989. In May of that year, local farmers found more than they expected when digging irrigation ditches in the area known as Chaoduntou (朝墩头). The resulting excavation by the Nanjing Museum and Gaochun County Cultural Protection Institute turned up 455 cultural relics, together with eight ash pits and 17 tombs, that date back some 4,000 years. Among the discoveries was a four-legged clay cauldron, divided such that the heat source could be placed in its lower half, while food was cooked above, hotpot style. Yet, the ancients were far from satisfied with their primitive contraption. An advanced version of the aforementioned, the so-called “Fengeding” (分格鼎; split pot) was unearthed in the Tomb of the Western Han Dynasty in Xuyi of Jiangsu Province (now famed as China’s crawfish capital) more recently. The Fengeding is now regarded as the originator of the “Nine-Square Palace” (九宫格), being divided into nine separate cooking sections by means of a noughts-and-crosses metal grid. This winter, therefore, when you walk into your nice, warm office and your glasses immediately fog up, spare a thought for those ancient locals from these parts, for there can be little doubt that old Nanjingers also knew a thing or two about luxury.
n i y xur
Lu
, a n i Ch e
yl t S s 0 8 9 1
By Shawn Li
I
n the eyes of many people today, today’s refrigerators, colour TVs, washing machines, and cars are nothing more than ordinary; few remember that which appeared in recent years was unimaginable 30 years ago. Back in the 1980s, the daily necessities of today that we take for granted were then rare and luxurious goods.
The Brick-like “Dageda” Mobile Phone In the mid 1980s, Guangdong Province opened the nation’s first mobile communication network, ushering in the era of mobile phones in China. There were a mere 700 early adopters, most of them using the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X with its brick-like appearance. 14
Weighing in at more than 1 kg, and with a price tag of ¥20,000 and a talk time of 30 minutes, the brick was given the prestigious name, “Dageda” (大哥大). With limited supply, some buyers would turn to the black market, where it would cost up to ¥35,000. In that era, there was a popular saying; “If you have a Dageda, you have nothing to be afraid of when travelling all over the world”. In many ways, the Dageda marked the start of conspicuous consumption, becoming a symbolic tool for successful people to show off their wealth, not only a sign of riches, but also of status and class.
12-Inch Black & White Television Screens; What Luxury! At the end of the 1970s, owning a TV at home was a big deal, one which could make the neighbours envious for years. Children and the elderly would come from afar just to see it. Despite the screen being black and white, and only 12 inches in size, people often gathered together in a courtyard to watch TV. No wonder; the price of an average set was several hundred renminbi, while the average monthly income was less than ¥100. Just as in other countries, this was a time of luxury when people were actually willing to sit down with their families to watch TV.
Luxury on Two Wheels China used to be synonymous with the bicycle, but contrary to popular belief, that everyone had one was far from the actual case. In our era of shared bikes today, many would hardly believe that in the 1980s, a bicycle was one of three major
items desired as a wedding gift. Those who received a bike would be envied by all their neighbours. Owning a bicycle in the 1980s was not easy. While its cost was one barrier to ownership, so was the requirement for a bicycle license. Therefore, those who could contemplate buying a bicycle at that time not only had a certain economic foundation, they also had connections with people in the bicycle business.
The Cassette Recorders that Made Music a Luxury Another measure of luxury in the 1980s was the size of your cassette collection. Referred to as one of the “four major home appliances”, along with TVs, refrigerators, and washing machines, the cassette recorder meant that young people could finally decide what they want to hear and that which they record. Adolescents also soon cottoned on to the scam of “learning foreign languages” as a way to get their parents to spend several hundred renminbi on a cassette recorder. In actual fact, there was no exam foreign language listening test at the time. With pre-recorded music cassettes relatively expensive, so too did bootlegging become all the rage, if often only on a friend-tofriend basis. In an era without the photocopier, the lyrics of the music from the cassette inlays could
only be copied by hand. As a result, the first thing many boys did when they went to their friends’ house was to seek out the drawer with the tape collection; it was an absolute luxury to have a collection of more than 100 cassettes.
Volkswagen Santana; the Rolls Royce of 1980s China With an equivalent price today of ¥1.8 million, average people of the 80s could hardly afford to look at a Volkswagen Santana. When the iconic car first entered the Chinese market, it initially sold for ¥80,000, but the rich tend to follow suit and this pushed the price to ¥180,000. At that time, the highest working-class monthly salary was a mere ¥34. Today, these objects from the 1980s; phonographs, cassette recorders, CD players, VCD players, records, tapes and even MP3 players, have become a pile of electronic waste. Nowadays, with the internet as main driver for our global village, for young people, things like ripping tapes are simply ancient legends. For the older generations, memories such as these are the very definition of the luxury of their youth.
15
is lu x u r y
to o t h p s t e a the Holy Grail of Chinese Brands?
J
By Chesna Goel
ust what is a luxurious item or service? For people in poverty, having enough food for the day or having an extra pair of clothes is a luxury. What does luxury look like for the 21st century Chinese cosmospolitan? Is it famous brands or an embracing of their culture?
All of the luxury brands that are now emerging are one day going to be selling to the next generation; my younger generation to be precise. So what of their view on luxury? For the purposes of this article, I interviewed some people about the luxury in their lives. As to favourite brands, the general answer was Gucci, Nike and Adidas. Overall, it was western brands, especially for clothing. Pragmatically, Jessica Liu (14) said, “I don’t know… it’s just a habit. Since many of them are made in China, it’s just easy to find them. They are easily available”. 16
C
onversely, foreigners took the opposite view. Yewon Kim (15) has been living in China for 1 year and 8 months and has used many Chinese brands such as Xiaomi (tissues) and generally goes for Chinese and Korean brands, even for clothes. Sunny Cho (14) has been living in China for nearly 8 years and also likes Xiaomi for tissues and day to day stuff. However, for clothes and jewelry she mostly uses western brands, “because in the big malls of China those are what you find”. No wonder that in a 2014 survey, when 200 middle and upper-class Chinese consumers were asked about their top five luxury brands, more than 95 percent did not mention even one Chinese brand. The most commonly mentioned were French or Italian; Chanel, Dior, Prada, Gucci, etc. China's most established brand is Moutai (alcohol) and it was mentioned by less than 1 percent of the respondents, i.e. less than two people. Elsewhere, Hongqi is China’s oldest automobile manufacturer; their luxury H7 model was chosen to transport Francois Hollande, the French president. Who wouldn’t want a car that a president used? I know I want one but still, somehow Audi sells more luxury cars in 2 days than Honqi does in an entire year. Yet, it is true that many Chinese consumers do value their culture when making product choices, a trend that some Chinese brands are now noticing. In 2012 L’Oréal made Yue Sai (a Chinese brand) the only luxury brand that played on the Chinese aspect of beauty by using traditional Chinese medicine and promising beauty through the use of medicinal ingredients. The resulting and tremendous increase in sales made the idea catch on. Yunnan Baiyao, originally a TCM pain reliever, got in on the act by producing a luxury toothpaste. Their focus on the cultural element also brought about a huge growth in sales. It would therefore appear that it be Chinese people's thoughts and perceptions that make western brands more stylish or trendy, given they lack the cultural understanding thereof. With such superficiality, the cultural dynamic places the future of luxury very much in the hands of the Chinese brands.
FOR ARTS SAKE with Francesca Leiper
Watercolour Works for Wintery Weekends
A
s the thermals come out and the season of sleeping bag jackets sets in, it calls for indoor activities. A small but highly accessible exhibition at the Nanjing Museum should fit the bill nicely. “Lofty Sublimity” (don’t judge by the name) shows the work of eight Chinese painters, whose distinctive styles reflect the radical changes of the 20th century in which they lived. For lack of English signage, this month’s outing of “For Art’s Sake” may enrich a visit on a cold wintry day. On your left as you walk in are the paintings of Qi Baishi, the master of prawns, cabbages and all things ordinary. Such simple subject matter is certainly the result of his upbringing in the country, while its neutrality allowed him to bypass the political scrutiny to which some other artists were subject. Qi is a universal crowd pleaser who expertly captures the vibrancy of his subjects in but a few confident strokes. From nature up close to nature from afar, next up is Huang Binghong, whose style is described as “black, dense, thick and heavy”. Looking up at the paintings, it is just that. The volume and texture of his mountains are achieved through layers of dry and wet brushwork. Clouds and streams are left white, offering muchneeded breathing space and channels through which to navigate each landscape.
most skilled masters of traditional techniques, his work became increasingly abstract in old age as his eyesight began to fail. What may have been lost in sight, however, was retained in muscle memory. His petrol blue and green landscapes, one of which is on display, remain among his most evocative works. Behind is a room of Pan Tianshou’s enormous paintings, so big so that one cannot help but imagine the artist clambering across great sheets of paper as he worked. Two menacing vultures perched upon a jagged rock are described by little more than blotches of ink, but have a forceful sense of character. Then there is Lin Fengmian, who spent his early career in Europe and later returned to China to found what is now the China Academy of Art. Every painting on display is square, a composition that he believed was more in keeping with modern taste. His elite background, however, did not bode well on his career and swathes of his works were destroyed, some of which he tried to recreate in later life. Second to last is Fu Baoshi, who formally taught art at the Central University in Nanjing. With a background in art history, he was well versed in traditional painting techniques, but that didn’t stop him from innovating. His ability to capture rain in its many states is evident in the hanging scrolls on display.
To the right, the works of Xu Beihong are fleshy, assured and unmistakably influenced by his training in western painting. One long hanging scroll on the back wall is almost creepy in its ultra realistic rendering of faces. It depicts a scene from the World Peace Conference in Prague, which Xu attended in 1949.
Finally to Li Keran, whose painted scenes of southern China have a strong appeal even today. His use of wet brushwork lends a certain softness, while his unconventional use of intense colour, such as the bright red landscape set his work apart from his peers.
Like Xu, Zhang Daqian’s time abroad had a profound impact on his artistic career. Perhaps one of the
Lofty Sublimity runs until 28 February at the Nanjing Museum. Tickets are priced ¥50; students ¥30. 21
THEPHILOSOPHER {EPISODE_3A} with Edmund Culham
NeoO lConfucianism d Paths, New Directions After a period of unpopularity, a resurgence of Confucian thought began in the late Tang dynasty. Later, scholars such as Zhu Xi and Wang Yangming, determined to reintroduce or rediscover the true value of Confucian teachings in the Song and Ming dynasties, with their revisions being termed (though this is a Western application) Neo-Confucianism. Therein, returning to the true “source” of Confucianist texts was necessary to seeking the Dao, which was seen as having been infiltrated with Buddhist and Daoist thought. Common to NeoConfucian theories is the idea that all individuals have an innate ethical knowledge, but dispute arose from how this self-knowledge was best accessed and developed.
A rustling in the bushes over by the lake, two figures approach walking some distance apart up the path to the pavilion. Kongzi doesn’t rise but meets each with a knowing nod, suggestive of old friends. They take their seats at opposite ends of the low table. Now, three great philosophers slide slender fingers down lengths of their wispy beards, while you try your best to look scholarly. Zhu (1130-1200) rises and exclaims, “The path to true knowledge is all around us”, explaining that what we must do is identify the “principle” (li) in things external to us. He fixes your teacup with an indomitable stare, his eyes cold. Pausing dramatically, or perhaps because he has lost his train of thought, he then in an instant darts to his left, a long arm flailing and plucks a cockroach from the table leg. The poor critter struggles in vain as Zhu holds it between finger and thumb. With his free hand he takes a pebble from his gown, dropping it with a “plink” on the cold stone floor. “All things around us have ‘qi’ (vital force)”, then holding the cockroach over the table, “See how it struggles to break free, this affects me more than the pebble there, it has the greater qi”. Speaking to the room, Zhu puts forth, “We (humans) of course have the most qi of all, but this can be dangerous”. From looking around the room you would struggle to justify Zhu’s claim, throughout Kongzi watches on unmoved, while to your left Wang seems to have fallen asleep.
Although not one of the initial revisionists, Zhu’s condensing of the “Five Classics” into a canon of four works became the primary source of Confucian rejuvenation, such that it was taken as the basis for civil service exams in China. Zhu’s philosophy rested on the idea that everything in existence could be divided into two groups, known as li and qi. Here li, translatable as “principle” refers to the structure of the universe, such that everything in existence is embodied by li. Qi, Zhu thought of as the “vital force” held by objects or things in reality. Although a cockroach and a pebble have different proportions of qi, both are embodied by li. Here a rationalist tendency is evident in Zhu’s thought, in that qi was considered a potentially disruptive force. For Zhu,most people were born with turbulent qi, which makes ethical action unclear. Conversely, li was thought to be a force for good. Necessary to reach a state of self-control so as to act correctly, was a realisation and knowledge of the “principle” of things in the world.
To be concluded in the February issue of The Nanjinger 19
茶
茶
By Matthew Stedman
茶
Apocalypse Tea
Should I Drive After Drinking This?
“
After drinking my local tea, you won’t be able to walk in a straight line.” That’s how I was introduced to this tea. It was a generous, proud young friend that set the challenge. By “local”, she meant Guizhou. I was surprised; Guizhou is not known as a tea place. The province is infinitely more famous for its hard liquor, tobacco and coal. On paper, it sounds like a dirty, hard-living kind of place. But it also enjoys its share of beautiful scenic attractions and ethnic communities. The capital, Guiyang, has been branded “the Hong Kong of West China”. I’ve not been. It remains an aspiration. But, thanks to this friend, I have two types of Guizhou tea; one green, one red. She described her challenge to me with barely a smile, certainly not a laugh. It confused me. How can tea prevent people walking straight? Does she propose to infuse it in the famous Moutai (茅台) liquor? Was I expected to smoke the leaves? My guess was that she was describing some form of caffeine rush rodeo. And there I fancied my chances. That’s the kind of bucking bronco the writer of Strainer feels qualified to ride. The first of these teas (the red) comes from Zunyi ( 遵义) city, halfway between the capital and the Sichuan border. Yunnan lies just to the west. The stunning Shizhangdong waterfalls are nearby. And there’s Hailongtun Fortress, which China Daily last year breathlessly compared with Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle. It’s beautiful; I know because I’ve seen a video.
And I declare this a fine red tea, more complex and savoury than my beloved Yunnanese Dian Hong (滇红), actually more like a Fujianese Jin Jun Mei (金骏眉). But the “intoxicating” tea she described to me is the green, also from Zunyi County. Called Meitan Cuiya (湄潭翠芽), it is actually old enough (or some ancestor of it, anyway) to have been praised in Lu Yu’s Tea Monograph. Meitan town has a teapot-shaped museum claiming (justifiably) to be the world’s largest tea monument. There’s also a claim (perhaps less justifiable) to be the birthplace of green tea itself. The “Mei” (湄) character is the Mekong river, which flows beneath the tea field. The leaves’ appearance makes an impression. Chunky and shiny. Only Sichuan’s Bamboo Leaf Tea (竹叶青茶) so closely resembles green candy. The aroma from the dry leaves is fruity, with a strong hint of that flavour-enhancing ingredient in latiao (拉条) snacks or tianmian sauce (甜面酱). Is that natural to the leaves? Anyway, it makes no impression on the infusion, which first reminds of wheat tea (大麦茶). It’s a toasty taste, the opposite of fruity. The pretty leaves stand up obediently in the water and, boy, do they grow! A tiny serving eventually fills a glass; it’s as if they had previously been salted. But you don’t care about the flavour, do you? All you want to know is whether I fell off the road. Sadly, I feel completely unaffected, even after chasing green with red. But I do feel satisfied to have tried two unique, enjoyable new teas. And I’ve now more incentive to search out other Guizhou varieties, such as Duyun Mao Jian (都匀毛尖). 21
Pl
anning is underway in earnest for the idea-fest that is TEDxYouth@NIS on 21 March, 2020.The event burst onto the calendar ever so subtly back on 2016, with the very first talks from the community, by the community and for the community. With less than 100 intrepid adventurers in the audience, themes of love, life and death were offered up for consideration over a 3-hour feast for the mind. Admittedly, many novice attendees confessed that knowing the caterers for the event were major motivators in their decision to attend, but something else has been drawing people back for more, year after year, and they are bringing their friends along for the ride. The tiny jewels of unmasked eloquence that speakers bravely reveal on stage last longer than the epicurean delights of the half time show; and the digestion of the “Ideas Worth Spreading” takes longer than it does to hoover down some beef sliders and tacos. Since 2016, TEDxYouth@NIS has grown apace of the human race, exponentially. In the subsequent events; “Blossom” and “IlluminaTED”, the purvey of speakers ran the gamut from A.I. to Hip-hop, social media to emotional intelligence, empathy to alcoholism; this lot shy away from nothing. The multidisciplinary nature of the event means there is something for everybody. Shareena Mundodi not only relished the opportunity to share her call to action in her talk, Shake My Hand, an impassioned plea for a return to homespun values, but also the chance to make an impact on others from all walks of life and all nationalities. Crafting a talk for any audience is a challenge, but the particularities of the TEDxYouth@NIS audience who hail from the four corners of the planet, as well as native
By Triona Ryan
Ideas Worth Speading; Iconic Talks Return in 2020
Nanjingers, makes for diversity and circumspection squared, from the brave Idea-smiths who take to the stage. As Mundodi so poignantly observes, in a world where “social media allows us to cherry pick the moments we share and the vulnerability we allow ourselves [to feel],” such as platform strips away the selfie-filtered sheen and plants real life, vulnerable advocates for a better future for ALL right in front of the entire global audience. All TEDxYouth@NIS talks are recorded for posterity and can be found online. Former speakers laud the event as an authentic platform from which to explore new ideas to an audience that genuinely cares. The community nature of the event only serves to highlight the tremendous vulnerability of each and every speaker who takes to the stage to share a piece of their soul and a call to action. On why to give a talk of this kind, Angela C said, “Before deciding to do my talk, I was hesitant and very anxious, but I accidentally stumbled across a quote by Susan Sontag while writing my speech. [She] said that ‘intelligence is really a kind of taste: taste in ideas. The truth is always something that is told, not something that is known’. That is why we desperately need [these] initiatives. If no one ever speaks the truth, it will always just lie there in a pile of waste”. Angela, like all of her TEDxYouth@NIS sibling speakers, are out there, refining taste, sorting the waste and shaking us out of the first world bubble of complacency so easy to float away inside upon the winds of materialism and privilege. “Empathy is not taught, it is inspired, and awakened.” (Angela C., 2018)
Make TEDxYouth@NIS 2020 a date in the diary, one to inspire and awaken the empathy in you. 21
The
Trip
Yinchuan; Pearl of the Silk Road
By Nikita Hayward
P
erhaps the most striking thing about Yinchuan is the sense of negative space; the lack of things which are a common sight in other provincial capitals (such as Nanjing). The centre of town does not feature a McDonald’s, the supermarkets are small and stock far less international goods or big brands. Most noticeable to westerners will be the lack of confectionary, such as chocolate. 22
B
ut here’s the kicker. There’s also a definite sense of loss, of faded splendour. Nowhere is this felt more clearly than at the site of the Western Xia tombs (西夏 王陵) where a once splendid kingdom was destroyed by the might of one Genghis Khan. Vast honeycomblike structures stand like lone centenaries in the desert landscape, set against the dramatic backdrop of the Helan (贺兰) mountains, which separate Ningxia from neighboring Inner Mongolia. For such a historically significant site, there’s not much information in English, but using the “translate” function on WeChat or another app gives visitors a rough idea of what they’re seeing. Despite the fact that Golden Week is one of the most popular times of year for travel, I saw few other foreigners in Yinchuan, and in general most locals will presume that you are either American or Russian. Unlike some of the bigger cities, Yinchuan is a place where it really pays to be able to speak conversational Chinese, or at least have access to a couple of good instant translation apps. In many ways Yinchuan is the stereotypical “other”, the opposite of China’s well-developed and comparatively cosmopolitan east coast. The architecture in places resembles the Middle East much more than the traditional Han style buildings, and there are several striking mosques as well as the usual collection of pagodas and temples. Evocative of the city’s past as a Silk Road trading depot, cheap dried fruit and nuts can be purchased in small, family-run shops.
T
he cost of food and public transport alone should be a major draw for tourists to visit, a bowl of noodles (with the most common variety being Lanzhou
mian/ 兰州面) will set you back less than ¥10, whilst a bus across the city to visit the sites of the old town (xingqing; 兴庆) costs only ¥1-2 per journey!
S
pending a couple of days in Yinchuan is one of the best ways to authentically experience the culture of the Hui minority (回民族). Fresh flatbreads are baked on street corners, shops stock modest clothing, and most restaurants have elegantly arranged mutton as their specialty. Other unique products from the province include wolfberry (枸杞) snacks and medicinal “eight treasures” (八宝茶) tea. Ningxia in general is much more accessible than most people think, with the flight time from Nanjing to Yinchuan being just two and a half hours, the same duration as a flight to Shenzhen. There’s a convenient airport bus which takes passengers into the center of the old town, although Yinchuan doesn’t have a metro. Another noticeable difference when compared to travelling in other regions in China is the lack of visible travel agents; most day trips and tours here are arranged through contacts, although several travel blogs also recommend different WeChat accounts for this purpose. This definitely adds to the experience though, as hiring a local guide on the ground offers the chance to find hidden gems, and take useful shortcuts through the traffic!
F
or everything unfamiliar about Yinchuan there are also the things that it has in common with other Chinese cities. Socialising in the evenings takes place in the square by the drum tower (鼓楼), along with the normal “square dancing” (广场跳舞). Yet Yinchuan offers something that a lot of other Chinese cities don’t: room to breathe. 23
Additional info, map, online version or WeChat contact via the QR code that follows each review
RETAIL By Frank Hossack
The Milk Bar that’s a Hit with Chinese and Foreigners Alike
Q
uite a few alert readers are likely already frequenting this boudoir of delights that has seen branches pop up all over Nanjing in the last couple of years, often nearby the gates of universities inside metro stations, beside larger residential compounds or along streets renowned for their decent footfall.
For many a carbohydrate-starved foreigner in Nanjing, the bread shelves shall likely first catch their glance. China’s love affair with sweet bread has jaded; her new closest companion is now milk bread. For this correspondent, the latter is only marginally less revolting. Therefore, steer clear of anything baked that looks a bit anemic and go with the wholewheat variety; a pack of 6 excellent slices goes for ¥6.5.
This is INM. But first the back story. Zhejiang Yiming Food Co., Ltd. dates back to 1992 Wenzhou. Establishing their own ecological ranch in Taishun, the firm
Then there is the egg milk and the flavoured fermented milk. Not everyone’s cup of tea, but it is heartwarming to see niche products in politically-correct days advancing into the mainstream in China. Not good enough? Can I instead tempt with “Mango Hanjuku Cheesecake; selected French mango puree and mascarpone cheese”? Thought so!
brought in pure Holstein and Jersey heffers from Australia, and built a comprehensive animal husbandry management system. They claim such efforts promote the improvement of the quality of raw milk and increase farmers’ enthusiasm to develop production. The efforts led to opening of (Yiming alleges) China’s first milk bar in 2002. Today there are in excess of 1,500. Read on for details as to Nanjing. Hence to the edible end of things.
How about some other options... “Elegant yogurt with double the protein and live probiotics”? Last but not least, INM offers breakfast/lunch selections such as sandwiches and the Tapanyaki Panini pictured left. With over 200 stores in Nanjing, such rapid expansion has been made possible by an “oven ready” franchise model. Entrepreneurial readers of The Nanjing need only go to Yiming’s website (scan the QR code below), check that they satisfy requirements as to the firm’s commitment to sustainability (re. the aforementioned farmers) and fill in the online franchise application form. Your own shop could be open in months, if not weeks. INM has locations all over Nanjing. Download the APP (inm-鲜活美一天)to find the nearest one to you. 24
The National Day of Argentine Tango was celebrated at Libraire Avant-Garde with more than 50 guests in attendance. After speeches and a violin performance, guests came together on the dance floor and with music from Mr H Dj, everybody tasted a bit of delicious Argentine Tango.
Rosa d e Ta n g o 11 December, 2019
25
Nanjing International Club members had the opportunity to participate in an Explorer Walk to Amity Printing. At the time of the visit had been printed 200,169,457 copies of the Bible. The informative and interesting visit revealed to members that Amity prints in over 100 languages and ships to more than 110 countries and territories.
Wh e r e Yo u Lead 18 November, 2019
If you would like to see photos from your event on these pages, contact us via thenanjinger@sinoconnexion.com. Conditions apply.
26
Jumeirah Nanjing unveiled its “Dine in the Kitchen� private event experience on Level 66, as a year-end appreciation for VIP guests. In cooperation with Yunjin Research Institute, the hotel also committed to donate 3 percent of revenue from Dine in the Kitchen in 2020 to support intangible cultural heritage such as Nanjing Cloud Brocade.
Abracadabra! 2 December, 2019
27
EtonHouse Nanjing took the opportunity to celebrate Thanksgiving by saying thank you to those who work to ensure the smooth and safe running of the school. Students presented various gifts and loved learning about those who help to make the school work; support staff were visibly touched by the love and public recognition they received.
Give Thanks 29 November, 2019
28
InterNations celebrated it’s 11th yearly event at the newlyopened Kempinski Hotel Nanjing. The night included live music, rum tastings and photo booth to boot. Attendees hailed from over 40 countries. Photos courtesy A. Kevin Photography.
Behind the Mask 16 November, 2019
29 29
The holiday season officially started for The British School of Nanjing’s community, with the annual Christmas fair, this year held at Fraser Suites. Families and friends enjoyed the festive atmosphere, in which there were discovered some new artisans, while the fair kept kids entertained, even when waiting to meet Santa in his Grotto.
Santa Baby 30 November, 2019
30
The Nanjing Foreign Affairs Service Association held its first Annual General Meeting, making a break from the traditionally-dull nature of such procedings to give the floor over to newly-joined member organisations that presented their wares to those gathered, in that which was an excellent B2B opportunity for all.
Wo r k i t 29 November, 2019
31
Nanjing International School became the sixth school in the world to join the Global Citizen Diploma program that recognises the amazing things students do on top of their academics. Middle school students opened up their lives, giving a glimpse of the person seen in hallways and classrooms every day.
I H av e a Dream 21 September, 2019
32
The very first Santa Hot-Spring Hash took place in the serene and rustic town of Tangshan. With the backdrop of distant rocky hills, a wild bunch of thirsty and rowdy hashers celebrated Christmas with mulled wine and beer, disrobed with little fuss and soon found themselves submerged in the soothing natural warm water that flowed from underground. A plentiful buffet dinner followed.
The Hot Tu b S o n g 8 December, 2019
33
THE Legal notes from The Nanjinger in association with:
D’Andrea & Partners Law Firm
How Louis Vuitton Sued a Pub and Won
A
s one of the world’s most influential fashion companies, Louis Vuitton has a number of world-famous trademarks specialising in the manufacture and sale of leather goods, clothing, jewelry and many more. For more than 150 years, the firm has combined the letters “L” and “V” in its name, and has registered the trademark in more than 100 countries and regions. In China, its trademark was applied for registration on 18 February, 1985, and is registered in the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, with the registration number 241081. However, in Huicheng District of Guangzhou there was found to be a bar/pub named “Shili Yangfang”, using the “LV” logo for its name, interior/exterior decoration, advertisements, operating facilities and articles, as well as promotional videos/images. The owner of the bar had also promoted his business via its official Wechat account, Weibo and other social media, using such terminology as “CLUB LV - Top Nightclub Brand in Europe”. Louis Vuitton moved to file a lawsuit with the Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court, requesting court orders that the defendant, surnamed Hu, as the owner of this Bar, cease the trademark infringement and make a public apology published in newspapers, while compensating the plaintiff for its economic losses and reasonable costs incurred. Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court deemed that, according to the Trademark Law and relevant judicial interpretations, reproduction, imitation or translation of a famous trademark, or major part thereof, which has been registered by others, on any different or dissimilar commodities (services) as a trademark, which may mislead the public, cause the relevant public to believe in a considerable degree of relevance between the alleged trademark and the famous one, impair the distinctiveness of the famous trademark, and damage the interests of the registrant of the famous trademark, shall be deemed to infringe the exclusive right to use the registered trademark.
According to Article 48 of the Trademark Law, the use of trademarks refers to the affixation of trademarks to commodities, commodity packaging or containers, as well as commodity exchange documents, or the use of trademarks in advertisements, exhibitions or other commercial activities, in order to identify the source of the goods. In this case, Hu used the English letters “LV” on signage, decorations, advertisements, an Wechat official account, the bar name, operating facilities and articles with respect to his bar. It was obvious that the alleged logo, LV, was used for identifying the service source. Therefore, its usage met the definition as provided in the aforementioned law. It was found that after comparison, the alleged trademark “LV” and the registered trademark of Louis Vuitton in the overlapping combination form of LV were composed of the English capital letters “L” and “V”, but that a slight difference existed in the layout of the English letters. Such was insufficient to cause the relevant public to believe that the alleged trademark and the registered trademark of Louis Vuitton in an overlapping combination were not similar. Therefore, the two marks were deemed similar and Hu’s use of the mark constituted trademark infringement. As a result, the Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court ruled that the defendant Hu should immediately cease infringing the exclusive right to use the plaintiff’s registered trademark “LV”, Patent No. 241081, and compensate the plaintiff for its economic losses and reasonable costs; ¥530,000 in total. Copyrights, patent rights and trademarks are some of the main aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). The infringement of IPR is a unique kind of theft, allowing infringers to gain benefits without creativity. Such acts not only disturb the order of the market economy, but damage the interests of right holders while going against the spirit of innovation in both enterprises and society at large.
DISCLAIMER This article is intended solely for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Although the information in this article was obtained from reliable official sources, no guarantee is made with regard to its accuracy and completeness. For more information please visit dandreapartners.com or WeChat: dandreapartners
21
THE
Download this map to your smartphone via The Nanjinger’s official WeChat account
The Nanjinger’s Metro Map is the only map of the city’s metro system to include first and last times for every station, perfect for planning a late night out or an adventure to somewhere new with an early start.
35
