AUGUST 2021
www.thenanjinger.com
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Cat’s in the Cradle
O
ne of the best photography tips is simply to take the picture from an unusual angle. Get down low!
Because it’s all about viewpoints. You say tomato, etc. First though, a warmest welcome to those who have recently arrived in Nanjing, perhaps for the start of the new academic year. Trust us, this is one of the best decisions you have made. In return for your commitment, page 27 in “Our Space” offers some shopping tips, unbelievably, of the offline variety. And so to the theme for this issue.
Making the pieces fit this month, or attempting to, is Zhuang Shuran, with a personal account of how a decision to study art made her whole (eventually). See p. 16-17. Elsewhere, Triona Ryan ponders our various ways of interpreting Nanjing’s recent COVID outbreak. See p. 10-13. Finally, see how translation plays a critical role in shaping our viewpoints, particularly when employed from Chinese to English. See p. 14-15. Welcome to Nanjing. And “Perspective” 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
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Wisps of rain whipped at coarse grasses. In the distance I heard a crow’s curse. A sheep’s sad bleat drowned in a sudden gusting wind which caught And tugged at the ragged tails of clouds. Beyond this all was stillPeaceful As a mountain’s whisper. The sun had hid at his command. Clandestine mists wrapped him in mystery, Revealing, only at his will, fragments of his face, Lest my heart should break, Unable to withstand the full measure of his grace. And through all this, the only thing I saw Was solitude and awe In the mountain’s whisper. And then Time stopped. On the slick rocks I saw my steps of yesteryears Tripping quicker up the steep and rugged path, With backpack heavy, heart light. Till, on the peak I’d sit, brewing coffee on a stove. I poured one now, lukewarm, from my flask And sipped at the passing years As the mountain whispered. My one time nemesis, teacher, confidant: It’s been too long since my feet Departed city concrete, for your fields. Too long my heart has not been heard Through the beating urban bustle of the bubble. I told him of the lockdowns we had faced, The swelling tyre around my waist And the mountain listened. Cold, damp vapours clung to me, chilling me As I held closer to the cairn, Wondering how many over time, Had climbed this high, sought solace here? I saw them all, clustered in their disparate lives A trail of shadows passing by As the mighty rock remained, implacable. And the mountain whispered: I will stand when you will stumble. Time will come when I will crumble The passage of our life’s inexorable. Yet it’s ours to choose the route. We walk the line between such truths.
By M a it iu Bralligan ‘2 1
The sun sought a gap in the grey; a skylark trilled. I turned, began my descent, holding in my soul The mountain’s whisper. 9
BRITNEY, TONY & ME
Life, Death & CV19 By Triona Ryan
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“All of us, when we travel, look at the places we go, the people we see, through different eyes. How we see them is influenced by the books we’ve read, the things we’ve seen, the baggage we carry.” Anthony Bourdain
I
don’t get to read much during the year, so summer break is always a welcome oasis of word osmosis. I wake up in the morning with books on my face, glasses askew. By day, I feast on more books, journals, magazines, tv shows, film, podcasts, poetry, social media and more. By night, I sleep beneath their comforting weight, my dreams wild and unbound by the silencing of the six alarms of the work year. I read about Britney, and Anthony, Dolores and 52Hertz. I read a journal from 11 years ago chronicling the growth of my son in my body, my first born, my sweet ninja. The sunny naivety of the narrative voice therein, the miniature 4x6 inch meanness of the page and the way I had to squint to make out the lilliputian cursive script tell me the author of these words is as strange to me now as the place in which I wrote them. And changing place, necessarily changes perspective. From the moment our eyes flicker open in the morning, to the last swirling thought before sleep descends, every moment of every day is determined by mindset. Every thought, every perception, every emotion; it’s at once an empowering and intimidating thought. Especially in times of crisis, this idea of such ownership, such responsibility seems repulsive. This time last year, I wrote about the personal agony of the Nanjing Monsoon season. Yes, I am Irish. No, I can’t stand the rain. This year, older, and wiser, I planned to spend the monsoon season far away from the toilet flush torrential month of wetness, temperatures on par with planet Mercury, and humid as the inside of an armpit. As all territories outside of China and Macau remained “high-risk”, Nanjing’s foreigners and natives alike hit the trains, planes and automobiles of Middle Earth to get our dose of travel endorphins. We flew to Yangshuo. We flew to Hainan. We flew
back to Nanjing to empty and refill suitcases before flying up to….. Nowhere. Nine airport workers tested positive for CV19. All but one of my friends had passed through the airport during the high-risk period and the possibility of close contact suddenly became very real. We had worn masks all the time, hadn’t we? Washed our hands like we were Lady Macbeth? And it was only nine workers, surely it would be a blip, a hiccup, a mere cloud in the sky of our COVIDfree existence since February 2020. Or it could, as it did, go the other way completely. Halfway through the refuelling stop in Nanjing, suitcases emptied, washing machine working overtime, our health code, the green “Sukangma” that has allowed Middle-Earth dwellers to live our best lives since March 2020, turned yellow. This was rather unfortunate for several reasons, not least because we had been back a full week at this stage, and true to my best post-beach form, I had been socialising like the clappers; BBQs, Nintendo Nights and Jam sessions were in full swing as many other travelling minstrels took a mid-summer pitstop in The Southern Jing before heading off again. Great minds think alike. Tanned and relaxed, we partied and socialdistanced like it was 2017. And then, like stars emerging, the health codes turned yellow and testing centres popped up citywide like mushrooms. In 2 days, seven million Nanjing citizens completed the first round of nucleic acid tests. Cases began to emerge, first 20, then 30, then the number was in the hundreds as citizens lined up for rounds two and three of testing. Hazmat-suited angels of the epidemic swabbed our oesophaguses. My smaller ninja clung to my elbow. The lines, the masks, the cloying heat filled her with dread. We were All Going to Catch Covid and Die. Had it been this time 1 year ago, I am pretty certain I would have agreed with her.
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It’s Britney, B*tch! really needs no introduction. Spears shot to fame in 1998 for her sugary voice and lollipop-licking, school-girl video, “Baby One more Time”. Hailed as the Princess of Pop, this song launched Spears to stardom and was named the greatest debut single of all time in 2020 by Rolling Stone Magazine; “One of those pop manifestos that announces a new sound, a new era, a new century”. One of the world’s best-selling music artists, with a career spanning more than 2 decades, Spears wigged out in the 2000’s in the wake of her second divorce and the loss of custody of her children. The media gored on stories of her addictions, stories of speed and molly and crystal-meth. An incident involving a paparazzi car and an umbrella wielding, bald-headed Spears still dominates the media coverage of the artist to this day, coverage which in no small way contributed to her breakdown, subsequent “involuntary psychiatric hold” and conservatorship led by her father, Jamie Spears. This was in 2008. Now, Spears has been reclaiming the right to make her own life decisions and claims that the conservatorship is abusive. In light of recent revelations regarding her restricted rights to reproductive, legal and fiscal autonomy, no one can disagree that perhaps 13 years under the control of a megalomaniac parent may not be in her best interests. “Isolated, medicated, financially exploited and emotionally abused”, is how Spears described her 13 year conservatorship in a 20-minute-long statement in open court in July, 2021. What she described would not have been out of place in a Magdalen Laundry transcript or a turn of the century suffragette plea for sovereignty. Her father declared her as suffering from dementia. This was 2008. A man speaks for his female child’s mental health, despite her protestations to the contrary. In her 20-minute testimony, Spears claims her children were used as pawns to ensure her compliance. Silence is violence, in one form or another. Spears turns 40 this year. Her pleas for autonomy fell on deaf ears. As we go to print, Jamie Spears has stepped down as conservator amid accusations of embezzlement, but the conservatorship remains in place.
Anthony Bourdain was world renowned chef, author and documentarian who died by his own hand in June, 2018. Revered by fans of his awardwinning, foodie-travel documentaries, he catapulted to fame in 1999 for his book, “Kitchen Confidential”. Bourdain’s acerbic memoir, “laying out his more than a quarter-century of drugs, sex, and haute cuisine” (Amazon.com blurb), paved the way for his TV career, while “No Reservations and Parts Unknown” firmly established Bourdain as a charismatic storyteller, a friend magnet, a wanderlust. An outspoken supporter of the #MeToo movement, he also spoke candidly of his polymath addictions; heroin, crack cocaine and alcohol, to name but a few of the more illicit. Having overcome his addiction to opioids, Bourdain travelled the world making friends, chowing down and getting trashed. On a wander around Buenos Aires in a Parts Unknown episode (Nov. 2016), Bourdain details “spirals of depression” that plague him. He notes, as is common in the depressive experience, “how an insignificant thing, […] a small thing, […] a hamburger,” can draw the curtain of darkness, depression. He said, “I feel kind of like a freak, and I feel very isolated”. He said he never looks out the window and feels happy. He told us. More deaf ears. Concepts and theories frame our thinking on certain topics. Raw facts don’t interpret themselves. Simple descriptions of an empirical reality do not create meaning. What would Bourdain have made of Britney’s 18th century crazy-woman-in-the-attic experience these last 13 years? The #FreeBritney movement was born in 2019, the year after Bourdain’s death. But if we extrapolate from his remarks on #Me Too, “In these current circumstances, one must pick a side. I stand unhesitatingly and unwaveringly with the women”, it’s not unfair to assume that Tony would have been on board with freeing Britney. Multiple perspectives. Diversity. The perspective you take guides questions you ask and assumptions you make. Perspectives on life, perspectives on death, perspectives on living. On how we treat the women and men struggling under the weight of life, how this treatment is influenced by so much more than the problems of each individual.
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Our code stayed yellow for 9 days. Each time I checked our test results, a small pebble of fear rattled in my throat. Each negative result was a wave of relief. Each morning, the still-yellow pixels of the Sukangma made me sigh, but Typhoon Fireworks and Typhoon In Fa helpfully deluged outside, washing away any pretensions of leaving the house for any reason whatsoever. We read, we cooked, we danced to our favourite music. I thought, if this had been last year, we would have spent all summer in the rain, in the house. If this had been last summer, we might not have gotten out of it with our lives. Friends and family in Ireland sent emojis of gaping disbelief at the measures implemented by the Nanjing Municipal Government, and the speed and efficiency with which these were rolled out. 9 cases, and citywide testing, they said. Here we have 12,000 cases a day, and everything is opening again. It’s all relative. Perspective is key. One part of me, quite a considerable part, has its hands on its temples. “What about travel this Christmas?”, it asks, whilst dreams pop like soap bubbles to sad violin music in the background. Soft lockdown is ongoing. The pandemic sees us Nanjingers masked up, hand washing and wary. We cannot leave the city. But at least we are freer than Britney. We cannot begin to think of the long-term implications of this new outbreak. But we are not alone in our dread. We cannot envision a future when CV19 is “over”, done with, gone. But we still have a future to embrace. Our mindset is our own to hack. All these things I have lived and read this summer. Yes, CV19 is back. And yet, I’m strangely grateful. Grateful for having travelled early, grateful for the support of found family here in the eye of the storm, grateful for the epidemic crisis management on a micro and macro level across the city during this second wave. Most of all, I’m grateful for the perspectives gained by living another year, reading everything not nailed down this summer and for the baggage I carry.
WORD WARS OR INCENDIARY LANGUAGE? By Frank Hossack
Image courtesyThe Bodleian Library, University of Oxford
“Before examining the splinter in my eye, try removing the rafter from your own”. Matthew 7:5 As conduit to Jesus’ words, the great apostle, Matthew (although yes, he probably didn’t write the words himself), had a point. But before we can even get that far, we better all talk the same language. And we also better know the difference between a splinter and a rafter. Or the results, as can be seen in relations between China and much of the rest of the world, can be dire.
B
ut making translations of each others’worlds as accurate as they can possibly be is a problem as old as the Bible itself.
The popular, King James Version of The Good Book presents the verse as, “Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye”. Elsewhere, the New International Version prefers, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” The meaning of all these quotes is identical. But there is unquestionably a big difference between sawdust and a splinter. Translation vs. Perspective. Machines provide us with the former; cultural insights the latter. Stop to analyse for a second, just how much of our daily communication relies on cultural expressions and linguistic idioms. Take “The cat is out of the bag” as an example. Baidu translation presents this as “The cat is out of line” (这只猫出格了), when the exact meaning is “The secret is out”. Others interpret it as “The cat came out”, as in, “revealed its sexual orientation” (这只猫出柜了). See the problem? And it gets worse when we look at inter-government relations. For there can be little doubt that long-term inaccurate translation will cause all kinds of misunderstandings, affect people's perspectives and eventually, interfere with high-level decision-making. That was the takeaway from a recent article entitled "Translation Dilemma”, discussing China-US mutual strategic cognition and published in World Knowledge (世界知识) Magazine. The article pointed out that in many cases, fallacies generated in the process of translation and the inequality between Chinese and English in the field of public opinion will lead to the intensification of mutual doubt. But Americans too are aware of the problem. Two experts from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) wrote in the Wall Street Journal last year that China has a large number of English-speakers who translate foreign documents, non stop, in order to obtain first-hand information. By way of contrast, the United States has very few Chinese doing the same.
The Wall Street Journal also sat up and took notice. The publication’s opinion division last June Tweeted, “The U.S. government and private sector have failed to invest in the language skills and expertise to compete effectively with the Chinese Communist Party”. But few chose to listen. Immediately following the recent centenary of the Chinese Communist Party, media the world over picked up on a portion of Premier Xi Jinping’s speech. "Anyone who dares try to do that will have their heads bashed bloody against the Great Wall of Steel forged by over 1.4 billion Chinese people”, the BBC reported Xi as saying on 1 July. In its official English translation of Xi’s speech, Xinhua chose the phrasing, “Anyone who would attempt to do so will find themselves on a collision course with a great wall of steel forged by over 1.4 billion Chinese people”. As in, “Up against an immovable object”. Nothing to do with heads getting bloodied. Except for those who run at full tilt into said wall. Which would be a bit silly. Other major western media went on in much the same vain as the BBC. Bar the South China Morning Post, not one chose to use the Xinhua translation. But logic would dictate, that being the official version, this would be the way China wishes the world to interpret Xi’swords.That’sChinaperspective. Why the big difference? Because Chinese is a colourful language which doesn’t have enough words. Compared to over a million words to choose from in English, China needs make do with around 10,000. Few words. Many meanings. The Chinese use such colourful, exaggerated language at almost every turn. English invents new words all the time or might resort to satire, irony or sarcasm to get its point across. By necessity, the Chinese use metaphor or powerful descriptions. Consider the humble cigarette lighter. In Chinese that would be “打火机”, literally “strike fire machine”. But the character “打” has many meanings; strike, hit, beat, fight, attack. Whoah, hold on there. Like, it’s just a lighter. And other than burning a few thumbs, hasn’t had a fight with anyone. 15
By Zhuang Shuran
16
I
have been caught up in a blur of shadow and edges lately.
Everywhere I went, I saw the world as a painting on a canvas. I studied how the pavement reflected the setting sun, I studied the raindrops that splattered down from the heavens, how each brushstroke brought a fluffy white cloud to life and the sky of watercolours during sunset. September was when school started. It also was when I decided I wanted to study art. I took classes and honed my skills each day. Soon after, I started to look at everything through the lens of an artist. Instead of rushing each day by in a blur, I started to take in the details. If I didn’t learn anything, at least it was a wonderful way to pass the time. Everything seemed to stop for me while the rest of the world bustled pass. It was magic. It was quite the difference compared to the past, when I tried to block out everything around me and escape. Escape from the horrible reality that was a storm of school and work. When I told my mother about this, she waved me off. “I used to love Tetris. I played so much Tetris that anything square became a Tetris piece. Don’t worry, this phase will pass.” But I knew it wouldn’t pass, because once you notice just how detailed everything is, you cannot help but stare. I wanted to learn more. I wanted to study more. I wanted to incorporate everything I’ve learnt into my art, but most importantly, I wanted to feel proud of my art. I wanted to succeed. But I did not feel proud, or successful. In fact, I felt discouraged. When all these wonderful little details became visible, the flaws and imperfections also became obvious. I was dissatisfied at everything I did. I never felt like I was progressing fast enough or did good enough.
travelled back to seventh grade, back to that storm of books and work. No matter how hard I tried to excel in school, I did not make any progress. It seemed that everybody was doing better than I was, and I would never be able to keep up. Art should have been my escape. Should have been a pastime and an enjoyable hobby, a new skill. Instead, it turned to work. Day by day I struggled, and all the progress I had made paled in comparison to what was left to learn. Time was going by faster than ever, yet I was stuck in place. I was not moving at all, while everything else hurried past. I wondered if I was ever going to be satisfied with myself. I wondered if others would see the fruits of my labour. I wondered if I was good enough. I had tunnelled myself into a dead end. The Tetris blocks piled up, but all the blocks were wrong. Nothing fit. Everything was a jumbled mess. This stalemate seemed to last for eons. How to break it was a mystery to me. So, like always, I went to Mother. “Tetris blocks can go down, left, and right. But the most important part of Tetris is that the blocks can rotate. If nothing fits you, try changing your point of view. Perhaps an opportunity may open up.” She was talking in puzzles. “Art should not be work. You should not be trying to turn your passion and creativity into something others will enjoy. Perhaps the feeling of being accepted is sweet, but is that really success? Is that what you want your art to be? Another catalyst for ‘success’?” Suddenly it felt as if everything was right in the world again.
On sleepless nights, I would go over all the things I had observed during the day, feel an urge to jot it all down, but I put it off until the morning.
“Compare your art to what it was when you first started. Ask your past self if she thought she would ever be able to draw something like this. Do not stare at the imperfections for too long. Change your perspective. Look at it as a whole. Look back at your journey and embrace it.”
And in the morning, I would laze around in bed; until not a single ounce of motivation was left. It was as if I had
As always, she was right. The Tetris block finally fell into place. All I had to do was rotate the piece.
It was… disheartening.
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Legal notes from The Nanjinger in association with:
D’Andrea & Partners Legal Counsel
T
he newspapers report daily news of crimes of all kinds; robberies, violence, murders. When it comes to the latter, the reaction of public opinion often does not distinguish between a dreadful road incident and a coldblooded murder. As there is the event of death in both cases, it is always murder and must be punished with the same penalty. But it is not the same case. A crime, simplifying as much as possible, is any human action or omission, prohibited by criminal law, sanctioned with a penalty. The crime consists of two elements; one objective, the behaviour; and the second, psychological. Regarding the psychological element in law, a distinction is made between the different forms of misconduct; intention and carelessness. Depending on the psychological element identified, the judge applies a different sanction. The judge's task in tracing the intentions of the agent is truly complex. The defendant’s statements are rarely reliable. It almost seems that the judge is required to read the mind and speculate. Misperception can bring to awful outcomes and result in the difference between a monetary fine and a few months in jail. The judge is required to identify themself with the accused in order to perceive their point of view. Precisely for this reason, the law provides some very useful guidelines. In some cases, the distinction is very particular, such as that between possible and conscious intention. One occurs when the agent is not aiming to cause the criminal event, but believes it is seriously probable. The agent accepts that the harmful event may occur in order not to protect their own interest and any advantages. For example, a fugitive who, fleeing by car from the police, collides with a vehicle coming from the opposite direction. In this case, their intent was not to cause the death of the subject in the vehicle, but in order to get rid of the police, they accepted the possibility of killing the subject in the car coming from the opposite direction. While, in the circumstances of conscious intention, the agent envisions the occurrence of the event but believes that it will not occur, and this because, for carelessness, they underes-
timate the probability that it will occur or, for shallowness, overestimate their ability to avoid it. For example, the knife thrower in a circus knows that they could injure orkill the nice lady hung at the rotating target. Trusting in their skill and experience, they are sure they will do her no harm. But there’s more. It might be easier for us mere mortals to picture ourselves in less compelling behaviours. Theft of aworthless asset does not constitute a crime. The intention must be to profit from the deed. Therefore, there must be an appreciable, albeit negligible, offense to property, which excludes the punishment of the so-called impossible crime. Such is the case of the theft of an object with a purely playful intent. Emblematic is also the case of Ikea pencils. None of us ever pay for those pretty sharpened pencils. The crime of theft is excluded due to their symbolic value. This bears questions. How much is enough? Who sets the minimum value? On which criteria? The value must be determined not by the perception of the holder of the right. Then who can decide the value of Ikea pencils? Or my stuffed bear protecting me from nightmares? Or my first BMX bicycle? Or the pendant my grandfather passed on me? These have immeasurable value to me, while nothing more than a few renminbi for anyone else. The law uses as objective a criterion as possible, in order to avoid clashes of subjective opinions and personal points of view. The economic evaluation of the property is determined by a third observer falling within the socio-professional categories within which the victim, in turn, comes to be a part of. Therefore, goods that do not have this peculiarity, such as a rusty pin, cannot fall within the scope of application. It would not be adequate for the legal system to bend to our instincts or to our personal perceptions. The problem dates back tothe dawn oftime.These rules oflawfindtheirbasis inthe first civil societies. Fortunately, the wise legislator and the jurisprudential evolution over the centuries, have been able to produce resolutive rules, which we still face in our everydaylives.
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 18
By Matthew Stedman
Projectile Hurling
An Apology to My Neighbour
I
’m going to stop doing it.
swinging space than a bathroom or kitchen can offer. Hence the open balcony window.
And not only because the law has changed. I’m going to put this filthy habit to bed… if I can. Like that petty criminal in that O. Henry story, I will reform. My vice is tea-leaf chucking. I’ve long thought of myself as better than other litterers. I would never have thrown the contents of an ashtray out of the window, nor plastic yoghurt pots. I’ve thought of the tea leaves I chuck as “like the leaves of Autumn”; fresh from nature and eager to return to nature. Indeed, the mounds of my tea at the foot of our building rarely remained there an hour; the leaves quickly dried, soon carried away by the wind. Harmless fragments among so much other foliage. On rainy days, they were pulped to similar effect. We don’t even have a name for them, unlike fag-ends, coffee grounds or nuclear waste, because these leaves are just so innocent. Bus drivers and store owners across China are harmlessly emptying flasks of green tea as you read this sentence. And I haven’t yet mentioned how satisfying my chucking action is. Scraping leaves out of a receptacle is an inelegant, two-handed chore. But, with just the right amount of liquid, one handy hurl can clear the whole insides of a cup or pot. Instantly. If the leaves are too dry, they don’t hurl well. But bins don’t like too much water. So bins are unattractive for hurling. Kitchen sinks are terrible; tea leaves quickly clog sink pipes. Toilets are better, but such a hurl can cause a toilet’s water to bounce right back. Unattractive. Anyway, hurling needs more arm-
But there’s a reason for my sudden volte face now; it’s something that happened yesterday. In the morning rush, I neglected to check the scene below our apartment. My chuck was executed before I noticed our neighbour downstairs, finishing his morning smoke. I’d already slammed shut the balcony’s mosquito-net frame before he even looked up. I had instantly ducked down for self-preservation, too. It’s shameful how instinctively I did all this. And I could, perhaps have got away with it. But I had already seen his yellow T-shirt. There was a damp clump of baimudan [白牡丹] on the shoulder. He looked more dazed than violated. This neighbour of ours is a very good guy, a heroic grandfather, actually. I ran down to apologise. And, as I ran down the steps in my flip-flops, I was already planning this life change. I must say that he was very gracious. During last year’s lockdown months, there were increasing reports of residents using windows to chuck waste and even, in one case, dead pets. This behaviour has actually forced a change in the law, although it is difficult to see how it can be policed without inhumane technology, snitching schemes or patchy scapegoating. What chastened me in this instance was being confronted directly with the results of my selfish action. And that’s the most powerful mechanism for change. Perhaps one day I will find myself a mountain where I can chuck tea leaves to my heart’s content. Until then, I am determined to be civilised. 20
Great Nanjingers (14)
A Ruler More Obsessed by Poetry than Politics; Li Yu Li Yu (李煜) was the final ruler of the Southern Tang state whose greatest contribution was his introduction of the two-stanza form to Chinese poetry. And having his works reproduced in song by one of the most popular Asian singers ever. Born in the Nanjing region in 937 or early 938 CE, Li was appointed as crown prince in 961 in order to take over in his hometown, then the capital, Jinling, which sat smack bang in the middle of the Southern Tang. Never actually becoming emperor, Li’s time in power was spent politically appeasing the Song Dynasty, which would ultimately be his downfall. For Li had other, more important things on his mind; pleasure making. Poetry to be exact. By definition, the lines in two-stanza forms of poetry must rhyme. And as such, we have Li to thank for opening up the impenetrable world of Chinese poetry to all but the most determined of masochists.
By Frank Hossack
It was the “Ci” form of poetry which was Li’s fascination in particular. Therein, poems are constructed to fit the meter and rhyme of music long since lost. That Ci poems were set to music was to also set Li upon the throne, in a manner of speaking, but not for over a millennia. "Alone Up the Western Tower" (獨上西樓), written after Li’s capture, is one of three of his works which appear in song by Teresa Teng, on the Taiwanese singer’s 1983 album, “Light Exquisite Feelings”. The poem, reproduced below, is one of Li’s most famous, while Time magazine in 1986 named Teng one of the world's seven greatest female singers. She was known as “Asia's eternal queen of pop”. Not at all bad for a guy over 1,000 years old. Li died on 7 July, 978, after being poisoned by Song Dynasty emperor, Taizong, having written a damning and accusatory poem of him.
"Alone Up the Western Tower" (獨上西樓) 無言獨上西樓 (Alone to silence, up the western tower, I myself bestow.) 月如鉤 (Like silver curtain hook, so does the moon glow.) 寂寞梧桐 (The fallen leaves of one forsaken parasol) 深院鎖清秋 (Make deeper still the limpid autumn locked up in the court below.) 剪不斷 (Try cutting it, it is still profuse –) 理還亂 (More minding will but more confuse –) 是離愁 (Ah, parting's such enduring sorrow!) 別有一番滋味在心頭 (It leaves behind a very special taste the heart alone could know.) [Translation by Chan Hong-mo]
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Additional info, online version or Chinese contact via the QR code that follows each review.
FITNESS By Nohemí Gutierrez
Working out in Peace & Quiet; Gym Perfection!
I
f you are trying to get healthier and fitter, especially during the summer months (and more especially, after a recent event which kept most of us home), then you may be looking for a gym to join. Maybe you are interested in an option that will provide you with guided training to ensure the best results. If so, Perfection is for you.
Perfection is a brand-new gym in Xianlin, providing a personaltraining service that is designed to help you reach your best shape.
Using a full-body scale, your body is analysed to develop the best possible training with clear goals in mind. The facilities are top shop. The gym has a machine and weights section, equipped with high-quality exercise machines, treadmills and other exercise equipment. An indoor basketball half court doubles as a workout space. The entrance includes a seating area for clients to relax and a water bar, thankfully equipped with an excellent coffee machine. Then there are the workout room, locker and shower rooms, that provide just about everything you could need after a good session; shampoo, boy wash, lotion and more. Not only is the machinery and equipment top quality, but the personal trainers at Perfection are more than qualified to help you reach your fitness goal. Perfection has a great space to work out, but it is centred around personal training, though members are free to use the equipment any time they want. The gym is also in the process of growing, with plans to implement diet plans and other services that can enhance their customer experience. You can always get better. That’s the mantra at Perfection. You may be good at something; you may be healthy and fit, but you can Always. Get. Better. Perfection is located in Building 1, Lande Information Industrial Park, Lingshan Bei Lu, Xianlin. Tel: 18626426265 26
RETAIL By Frank Hossack
New in Nanjing? Suguo for Dummies to the Rescue!
coffee (Tesco again, even), biscuits and beer; herein are many items that expats in Nanjing inevitably end up craving.
Therein also the imported wine section. At this point, it is necessary to expand on the term “imported” and understand that China sells more “Bordeaux” red each year than the entire output of France. In Suguo’s case, not only are the wines genuine, but they are also among the most competitively priced. Look for the little black and white “Selected by Tesco” labels, or even better, “Tesco’s Finest”, legend that is, by and large, a lifeline for Nanjing residents, and have a nice evening! Suguo is the “shop-on-every-corner” retail chain which keeps a big chunk of the local populace fed, dressed, charged, When it comes to the bread section, with Suguo it’s generally a good idea to steer well clear. Except that is, if you make a beeline and well, pretty much, just alive in general. for the baguette basket. Certainly Suguo is not going to pick up Owned by China Resources, an absolute juggernaut of a any bakery awards, but for those who live far from better options, company with its fingers in every large-sized pie in the Middle this is a semi-dependable option that only costs ¥4.50 (ish), Kingdom, Suguo started life in 1996 in Nanjing as Jiangsu Fruit (江 苏水果; providing its abbreviated form, 苏果). The chain now has 2,000-plus stores all over the provinces of Jiangsu, Anhui, Shandong, Hubei, Hebei and Henan.
A
Such an omnipresence puts Suguo in the top ten of China’s supermarkets, and with one step inside, it’s easy to see why. Therein, some of that you may desire, a lot you would never want, and quite a few surprises. First up, how to leave Suguo! The self-checkout user interface may only be in Chinese but this is no barrier to their use, given that one only need to know which button to press to initiate the process. The system first requests a mobile phone number, used as Suguo VIP member identification, but few people realise it is Cheese is not happening at Suguo, other than the sliced processed not required. After that, pictures accompany the Chinese to take variety. On the other hand, cream cheese is, and a fairly respectable you through the rest of the process. Payment can be made by Philadelphia rip off will set you back just ¥20. On a good day, you WeChat, AliPay, less-popular apps and cards with UnionPay. may also find some imported butter, cream and grated mozzarella. Elsewhere, only the utterly naive or completely foolhardy would contemplate to buy beef in Suguo, or virtually anywhere else in Nanjing for that matter. If you absolutely must, ask the butchers behind the counter to put it through the pork mincer. This they will do, but only under duress. Coming to fresh chicken, Suguo offers much better than you might first imagine. Many of the large Suguo stores stock three kinds. Two are likely out in the open, on ice with other meats; a “cheapy” and a slightly pricier option. Yet, the premium offering is to be found elsewhere, at the specialty butcher counter to be exact, with a dedicated member of staff waiting to serve you a succulent breast or two. You will be happy you forked out more. Urban legend has it that Tesco wanted to open a supermarket in Nanjing, but dumped the idea when discovering Suguo’s near dominance of the market. Heeding the mantra, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em”, Tesco and our Nanjing beloved struck a deal whereby Tesco’s branded products are sold through the Suguo network of stores.
Items in Suguo’s frozen section vary considerably from store to store. Most will offer decent frozen mixed vegetables (usually corn, carrots and peas) while some have frozen pizzas by German brand, Dr. Oetker, that are acceptable, barely, and some interesting curry fried rice options, plus similar.
Note that the information for the article was compiled by visits to Hence, we can be the happy purchasers of products such as multiple large Suguo stores over a number of years and that not all bargain-basement, but quality, washing-up liquid, crisps, jam and branches carry the same inventory (at the same time). last but not least, wine. Leading us nicely to… Suguo is located… everywhere. Happy shopping. The esoteric imported goods section that is a treasure trove of Scan the QR code for an extended version of imported jams, salad dressings, pasta, all kinds of nuts, raisins, this article. 27
HOSTELRY By Matt Ford
Enjoying the Craft Beer Festival (and 4 Mini Pub Crawls)
W
e don’t do too badly for craft beer in Nanjing. I’m not saying there couldn’t be improvements of course, but there is plenty out there if you know where to look. There is a decent annual summer beer festival, and this year’s (9–11 July) was my first visit. It is held at Wangjing Square on Shitoucheng Lu in Gulou District. Some 50 breweries from mainland China and Hong Kong featured. A typical brewery stall offered four or five draft beers (properly chilled, mercifully) alongside cans, bottles and branded merchandise. At ¥200 to drink all day at no additional cost, there was no good reason not to get stuck into a good range of brews. Although a few stalls offered half-glasses, most did not. Hence the ludicrous sight of people (myself included) getting their glasses, having a few mouthfuls before pouring the rest away in order to try the next one. I’ll be honest and say the quality of the beer was variable. Nothing was really bad but, equally, I only found a couple that I would be happy to drink frequently and in quantity. The growth of craft beer in China has been rapid and is exciting to see, but it will likely take many more years for the average beer you stumble across to be a great one. Despite the variable weather, there was a decent attendance on Saturday afternoon, and I am sure it got much busier in the
evening. It was a pleasure to be able to speak with the brewers, and particularly useful to find out where their tap bars are. Readers will likely know that English language searches on typical maps and search engines can fail to pick up bars and restaurants. I found out about bars in cities that I thought I knew well in terms of the craft beer outlets. Incidentally, for those who know their Beijing bars, after rumours about the closure of Great Leap (Sanlitun branch), I got confirmation it is once again fully open and also selling their excellent burgers. But what of Nanjing? You don’t need to go to the beer festival to drink decent brews in our city. There are many craft beer bars out there, and sometimes when I walk around the city streets, I stumble across one that I did not even know existed. These bars vary from small takeaway beer outlets that sell inexpensive (and sometimes rather crude) brews to bars with excellent beers from high quality breweries, both foreign and domestic. Some are essentially restaurants, whilst others serve either just simple snacks or no food at all. Therefore, I thought I would this month a few details of some of my favourite craft beer bars to celebrate the annual beer festival. They are located fairly centrally. I focus here on the outlets that are not food-led. These are mostly too small (or interest is too niche) to merit a full review. The names I use should give you the location on Apple Maps, so I just give the name of the road or street they are on. I have not given the precise opening hours, because they seem variable. Most only open from 18:00 or later. In each group, the bars are not more than more than 10 minutes’ walk from one another and a metro station, so you can cover them on foot as a mini crawl using public transport, if you feel so inclined. 28
Nanjing University (SE of Yunnanlu Metro) Craft Beer (Nanxiucun) Three or four beers on draft. Plenty of cans and bottles.
Guniang Beer (Taoguxincun) No draft beer, but worth a visit due to its fine range of cans and bottles. Luoke Mr. Craft (Hankou Lu) It seems a flagship branch for this takeaway beer vendor. I found the staff and customers particularly welcoming and helpful. They do their own brews on tap, and there is plenty of seating. Guns n’ Hops (Shanghai Lu) This one is not on Apple Maps, but it is down the same little alley as Meiqian Pub, which is. It is almost opposite Skyways Bakery. There are a few taps of domestic craft and some interesting cans and bottles. It opens earlier in the afternoon than many.
East of Zhujianglu Metro Jihe Brewing (Weixiang Alley) An excellent place, busy with local beer afficionados. Many domestic and international beers on tap. Occasional beer festivals and “tap takeovers”. Quite a few staff and customers speak English. Guoweiyi (Guyilang Lu) A typical example of a takeaway bar selling inexpensive beer. The beer is not the finest, but if you’re in the area anyway, it is open all day and they have a couple of seats where you can watch passers by through the glass shopfront. Certainly a good option if you want to drink on a budget. HopstarXspace (just off Guyilang Lu) Different, and really rather good. It is in an “artsy place” and I can’t quite work out what it is! On 2F there is a coffee place and the bar. The bar section only opens in the evening. They have around 10 interesting craft beers on tap and it is a pleasant and unusual environment in which to drink. Luosaita Taproom (Hanjia Alley) On a par with Jihe. There are a dozen ever-changing beers, domestic and foreign, from high quality breweries. It used to open all day, but sadly it now opens around 18:30 or later.
exterior side of the far NE corner of Xihe Commercial Plaza (just along from Bottle Bar, which is a fine whisky bar, also worth a visit).
South of Xinjiekou Metro 2467 Bar (Yujia Alley) A tiny bar with about four seats inside, but little box seats directly outside, so ideal for a dry and balmy evening. It attracts a young crowd but has a pleasant feel to it. They have a few domestic beers on tap and some spirits. Der Rote Baron (Fengfu Lu) Also popular with the young crowd but has far more seating inside. Some spill out onto the pavement at busy times. There are around a dozen domestic beers at very reasonable prices. It opens earlier than many (16:30).
Xiang Station Bajingniang Beer (Youfu West Jie) The best takeaway beer bar I have found in Nanjing, and a good example of one I discovered purely by chance, after a visit to the nearby Black Vine (which was rather disappointing). There is plenty of seating and a wide range of domestic beer. It is mostly very good stuff. It seems to open for most of the day. Beer menu in English.
A little further from the centre… The following do not have other good beer bars that I know of near them, but they are worth a mention. Indeed, the first two are probably the best craft beer bars in the city. The third could also be excellent, but it is the one bar on this list in which I have never felt particularly welcome.
Malt and Hop (Houzai Alley) An excellent range of domestic and international craft beers. It is worth noting that immediately to its left is a large domestic craft beer bar. The beer there is not as good in my opinion, but it is well worth calling in anyway. The domestic beer bar does not feature on Apple Maps. Tap House Beer Bar (Huikang Lu) Similar to Malt and Hop, but be warned, it is possibly the most expensive beer bar in Nanjing. Some of the prices are eye-watering, and for quite small glasses.
Pile Imported Beer Shop (Hongwu Bei Lu) A good range of cans and bottles. It is mainly a shop, but there is a small room at the back where you can drink your purchases from a glass.
Shanqiu Jingniang Taproom (Suojie Jie) Relatively new bar boasting 16 taps of domestic and international craft beer and a fair range of cans and bottles. It is a good size and feels light and modern. The digital beer menu is only in Chinese.
Tap Planet (Xihe Commercial Plaza, a.k.a. Chic Hills) Once a bar that had the most craft taps in China, I am told. Then they moved around the corner to a smaller venue, offering 10 craft beers (domestic) alongside burgers. Last time I went it was boarded up, but it may be a renovation rather than a closure, so it is worth checking if you are near. The Apple Map location is for the old bar. The newer one is/was on the
Nail Bar (The Village, next to One Mall, Jiangdong Zhong Lu) This is predominantly a bottle bar, but they have a few taps as well. It is not on Apple Maps and is not immediately obvious, but is near Starbucks. The range of cans and bottles is very impressive, and it is a comfortable (if rather garishly lit) place to try a few brews. I like the large collection of chilled glasses that you can choose from. 29
It was food, wine and dance at Nanjing’s first Latin America and Caribbean Day, when business people and Nanjingers as a whole got to taste, feel and hear the delights of this captivating part of the world, as well as the chance to cement valuable future relationships. Present were consul-generals from Venezuela, Uruguay, Cuba, Argentina, Panama, Chile, Dominican Republic & Mexico in Shanghai and other consular officials, relevant municipal departments and representatives of more than 150 Chinese and foreign companies.
Latin America & Caribbean Day 9 July, 2021
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A fun-filled, 2-week Nanjing "staycation" began with The British School of Nanjing's Summer Camp welcoming almost 100 children for a wide range of activities, from crafts to cooking, drama to dance, sports to STEAM. There was plenty to keep everyone occupied and engaged for the fortnight, thanks to the team of teachers from across the school who made it a memorable experience. 4-15 July, 2021
To see photos from your event on these pages, contact The Nanjinger via info@thenanjinger.com. Conditions apply.
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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.