sharing stories, sharing culture 发现中国，共享世界
2013 ISSUE 1 BI-MONTHLY 2013年 第1期 总第38期／双月刊
go home, china
you’re drunk Baijiu to Beer: The evolution of booze in the Middle Kingdom
Let’s Open A Bar Think you’ve got what it takes to open a Beijing Boozery?
Rise of the underbrew China’s growing fascination with craft beer
The Last Cup The alcoholic’s struggle in modern China
¥ 19.00 usd 7.00
Issue 1 /2013
1
fashion Photo Stories
Language Chinese Cooking Basics Ethnic
Cuisine NEW WEBSITE Modern History ART PLA Workouts Internet Speak Books
BLOGS
Chinese Slang Karaoke SPORTS
Chinese Snacks
Recipes FILM & TV Lifestyle Differences
TCM REMEDIES Street Smart Toilet Themed Restaurants
MOVIES
Travel Tips Character Stories HOW-TO’S Ancient History
Feng Shui
MEMES Food
www.
theworldofchinese .com
It’s brand new. Give it a spin. We think you’ll like what you find.
Issue 1 /2013
1
1/2013 5,000 Years of Booze and the Hangover That Comes With It
W
ith Spring Festival coming up, we at The World of Chinese, like many over the New Year, hit the bottle pretty hard. Ginger dug through history books and will have a look at drinking and prohibition in ancient China, complete with drunken despots, merry ministers and plastered poets. It’s hard to imagine, especially on the subway on a Friday night, that China once had a tenuous relationship with alcohol: tenuous to the point that having a bit of lees laced wine would end with your head being slightly less attached. From the earliest bronze-ware bathtubs of wine to modern bottles of baijiu, the history of jiu is a colorful meandering into the ancient stories of decency and decadence. Terry Hsieh had an altogether more difficult undertaking with his look into the darker side of drink: alcoholism—a grave personal crisis that doesn’t really get the attention it deserves in China. This sort of story is always a little risky, especially considering the word “anonymous” appears in the name of the program, but Terry was more than up to the challenge. He came back with stories of families broken and lives ruined by addiction to alcohol. In China, where drinking is a culture unto itself, the afflicted face their own personal, largely unrecognized, hell. When drink has been taken, good friends come to the startling realization that they should open a bar together. Well, Michele Penna went on a comfy mission to some of Beijing’s hottest pubs to look at the problems inherent in opening a bar in China. From copycats to rent and from bad staff to bogus business partners, lounging around in your own pub isn’t the cushy job it appears to be. As The World of Chinese says hello to a New Year, we’ve had to say goodbye to a few regular features. “30 Years” has gotten a little old and “Don’t Miss” will indeed be missed; however, we’re happy to have “Dragon’s Digest” and “Saving China” on board. “Dragon’s Digest” will bring you fiction from a modern China in cooperation with Pathlight, complete with a story translated from Paper Republic’s editor-in-chief and founder: Alice Xin Lu. In our new eco-friendly column, we’ll be delving into China’s environmental successes and failures with “Saving China” featuring columnist Kaitlin Solimine. Finally, we’re happy to welcome our new cartoonist, who will hopefully add a little classic Chinese humor to our back page. With our first issue of the year, The World of Chinese has undergone a number of changes in staff and content. As always, make sure to check out our website at www.theworldofchinese.com, and you can write to us with your comments to editor@theworldofchinese.com. So, from all of us here: 干杯 (cheers, g`nb8i) and enjoy the Year of the Snake.
Tyler Roney Managing Editor
Issue 1 /2013
1
刊名题字 许嘉璐
Inscription for The World of Chinese by Xu Jialu 声明：本刊内容未经书面许可，不得使用。本刊内容的电子版、 网络版和其他语种的版权视同一并授予本刊所有。
All Rights Reserved. No part of the contents herein should be republished without the prior written consent of The World of Chinese. The electronic and online versions of infomation in this magazine and copyrights in other languages are the intellectual property of The World of Chinese.
ISSN 1673 - 7660 CN11 - 5509 / H
DIRECTED BY 主管： PUBLISHED BY 主办： PRODUCED BY 编辑出版： CONSULTANTS 顾问： PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR 总监制： PUBLISHER 社长： EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER 常务副社长： CHIEF EDITOR 主编： Managing Editor 编辑主任 ： BOARD DIRECTOR 编委主任： BOARD MEMBERS 编委：
EDITORS / CORRESPONDENTS 编辑/记者：
ART DIRECTOR 艺术总监： WEB DIRECTOR 网络总监： DISTRIBUTION 发行部： MARKETING 市场部： ADVERTISING 广告部： INTERN 实习生： PROOFREADERS 责任校对： PRINTER 印刷： OFFICE ADDRESS 社址：
FAX 传真： EDITORIAL TEL 编辑部电话： EDITORIAL E-MAIL 编辑部电子邮箱： ADVERTISING TEL 广告部电话： ADVERTISING E-MAIL 广告部电子邮箱： SUBSCRIPTION TEL 发行部电话： SUBSCRIPTION E-MAIL 发行部电子邮箱： WEBSITE 网址： NATIONAL SERIAL CODE 国内邮发代号： OVERSEAS DISTRIBUTOR 国外发行： OVERSEAS CODE 国外代号： AD PERMIT 广告许可证：
China Publishing Group 中国出版集团公司 The Commercial Press Co., Ltd. 商务印书馆 有限公司 The World of Chinese Magazine Co., Ltd. 《汉语世界》杂志社有限责任公司 Xu Jialu 许嘉璐, Tang Wensheng 唐闻生, Xu Lin 许琳, Joel Bellassen (France) 白乐桑 (法) Yu Dianli 于殿利 Zhou Hongbo 周洪波 Wen Xuechun 文学春 Cao Quan 草荃 Tyler Roney (USA) Jun Liu (USA) 刘骏 (美) Ping Chen (AU) 陈平 (澳), Chu Chengzhi (USA) 储诚志 (美), Yuan Boping (UK) 袁博平 (英), Goh Yeng-Seng (SG) 吴英成 (新加坡), Wang Tao 王涛, Li Yuming 李宇明, Zhu Xiaojian 朱小健, Wang Jianqin 王建勤, Zhu Ruiping 朱瑞平, Zhang Hesheng 张和生, Zhou Hongbo 周洪波, Cao Quan 草荃 Ginger Huang 黄原竟, Chu Dandan 储丹丹, Jessica Rapp (USA) 阮洁茜 (美), Liu Jue 刘珏, Zhang Huayang 张华阳, Lee Maxwell Simpson (UK), Terence Hsieh (USA) 谢燕辉 (美) Cai Yi 蔡怡 Keoni Everington (USA) 华武杰 (美) Hong Jie 洪洁, Juliette Boa 鲍迪 Travis Li 李宁飞 Hu Jiping 胡继萍 Carole Lauener (SWE) Yu Libin 于立滨, Zhao Yuhong 赵育红 Beijing Hualian Printing Co., Ltd. 北京华联印刷有限公司 1508 / 1509 Jiahui International Center, 14 Jiqingli, Chaowai Street, Beijing 100020, China 中国北京朝外大街吉庆里14号佳汇国际中心 1508 /1509 (邮编100020) +86-10-65523101 +86-10-65523106 65523100x836 editor@theworldofchinese.com (北京) +86-10-65523108 / 65523100x801 (上海) +86-21-63355115 advertising@theworldofchinese.com (北京) +86-10-65523109 (上海) +86-21-63355115 subscriptions@theworldofchinese.com www.theworldofchinese.com 80 - 570 China International Books Trading Corporation 中国国际图书贸易总公司 BM4956 BAIC DBB Ad. No. 0040 京东工商广字第0040号
Where to Buy Beijing • April Gourmet • Beijing Friendship Supermarket • Beijing Language and Culture University Bookstore • Bookworm • Foreign Language Bookstore • Foreign Language Bookstore in Lufthansa Center • Friendship Store • Hanfenlou Bookstore • Hutong School • International Bookstore in International Culture Building • Jisi-HuiYuan Bookstore • Lion Mart • Peking University Bookstore • The Hutong • Salud • Modernista • Starfish • Culture Yard
Shanghai • Bookazine • Cityshop • Shanghai Bookstore City • Xinhua Bookstore
International and Domestic Subscriptions
Email: mail@theworldofchinese.com
1/2013 42 Theme Story
Beer Beatdown: the Rise of the Underbrew 微酿——啤酒新时代
COVER STORY 26 Go Home China, You’re Drunk! 禁酒还是酿酒？一部充满矛盾的酒史 Alcohol, for the ancient Chinese, was matched in popularity only by the government’s desire to control it
and
Carole Lauener (beer), Illustr ation
by
Gao Fei
Microbreweries are beginning to make a splash in Beijing. Is this the beginning of the end for the reign of light-bodied lager?
Photographs
by
Fotoe(making
wine
)
36 Theme story The Last Cup 探访嗜酒者互诫协会 A somber look into the darker side of drinking and the clash of cultures when it comes to understanding and educating about alcoholism in china.
Issue 1 /2013
Theme Story
Let’s Open A Bar 开家酒吧有多难
48
Everyone wants to open a bar, but do you have what it takes to handle the stiff competition? Here are some of Beijing’s greatest successes and horror stories. 3
GALlERY
56
Hutong Painting and Couplet Calligraphy 胡同画家与对联书法 Artist Feng Ke and Calligrapher Zhu Tianshu share their work and philosophy with The World of Chinese
76 SOCIAL CHINESE
The Language of Drink
60
酒席用语攻略
The Chinese language has an abundance of words that involve food and wine that you might find incredibly useful, from proposing a toast to knowing how to politely turn down a drink
4
On The Road
Pamir People 柯尔克孜族人的高原生活
Photographer and writer Daniel Allen travels to Xinjiang’s Kashgar region and experiences the lives of the nomadic herdsmen of the steppe
85
52
20
CHI LE MA Fried Salty Flounder
saving china one shark at a time
Kaleidoscope Line 1
海盐左口鱼
对鱼翅说 “不”
穿越北京腹地
Flounder, once revered as a symbol of a devoted pair of lovers, makes a pretty tasty meal, as it turns out
Shark fin soup is considered to be one of China’s greatest delicacies; Due to rampant growth in the controversial practice, the world’s shark ranks are quickly thinning
Photographer Carole Lauener takes us from East to West, across Beijing’s first subway line, showing the face of development and just how different Beijing is, from station to station
1 EDITOR’S LETTER 卷首语
7 News 新闻
8 mishmash 多棱镜
13 STREET TALK 街头俚语
14 dragon's digest 三味书屋
19 Made in China C fp ( m o v i e )
中国制造
魅力汉字
92 PIONEeR 对话先锋
68
J e s s i c a R a pp ( n i n e
gragon wall
), Daniel Allen (children)
and
90 ON THE CHARACTEr
CITY STROLL
Two Days in datong
94 ASK LAOSHI
Jessica Rapp takes us to Datong, a once-ancient and mystical city that is known for its neighboring sites: climb through the Yungang Buddhist Grottoes, and test your courage at the Hanging Temples, eat rabbits and barbequed noodles
漫画
Photographs
by
大同两日
80 AUDIO-VISUAL wORLD Mystery 《浮城谜事》 Love triangles, deceit and a myriad of plot twists abound in Lou Ye’s “Mystery”—a stark and contemplative look at lust and marriage
Issue 1 /2013
问老师
9 5 THE GEEK CORNER 高手学堂
96 COMICS
WANT MORE LIKE THIS? You can find more written, visual and audio content on our newly revamped website, www.theworldofchinese. com, which is updated daily with recipes, travel tales, language lessons and more!
5
1. 内容贴近孩子生活 2. 涵盖日常口语、句型， 难度适中 3. 有效的教学工具 4. 免费下载演唱录音文件
6
1.Perfect for application to children’s daily life 2.Contains commonlyused characters and sentences, highly accessible to children 3.An effective tool for teachers 4.Free song downloads
新 闻 NEWS
Journals in the New Age What is the future of journal publishing in China? The World of Chinese Chief Editor Cao Quan and Deputy Chief Editor Wei Lingcha from its sister magazine The World of English attended the 7th Annual Meeting for Chinese Journal Innovation in Beijing on December 6, with this question in mind. Pressing issues such as new media, digital publishing and business innovation were discussed among 200 representatives from journals and relevant organizations across the country. Keynote speaker, Wu Shulin, the Deputy Administrator of the General Administration of Press and Publication of the PRC, spoke about opportunities for the journal industry in the new age.
Most Popular Word of 2012 On December 20, through online voting and expert deliberation, 梦 (dream) and 钓 鱼岛 (Diaoyu Islands) were revealed by the Commercial Press, in collaboration with the National Language Resource Monitoring & Research Center and China Network Television, as the most popular Chinese word and phrase of 2012. The chosen phrases and words commonly referred to national achievements in aerospace, the development of China’s first aircraft carrier, author Mo Yan’s acceptance of the Nobel Prize in Literature and the international controversy surrounding the Diaoyu islands. Internationally, 衡 (balance, measure or judge) and 选举 (election) were nominated. The ten most popular internet phrases were also selected, including 元 芳, 你怎么看? (“Yuanfang, what do you think?” A TV show catchphrase) and 舌尖 上的中国 (“A Bite of China”, a popular documentary on Chinese cuisine).
Confucius Conference
A Christmas Bazaar with a Difference
The World of Chinese showcased its latest work at the 7th Confucius Institute Conference from December 16 to 18 in Beijing. The magazine has long been providing the Confucius Institutes with high-quality Chinese education materials. The three-day meeting is also an opportunity for the Confucius Institute Headquarters to discuss its present operations and future plans with overseas directors and domestic delegates.
A Christmas Bazaar was held at Yew Chung International School of Beijing (YCIS) on December 6 to teach primary students how to embrace the spirit of giving and frugality. All the items on sale were for the children to buy as gifts for their parents, including Christmas cards, home-made jewelry and bookmarks with reasonable prices (no more than 20 RMB per item). The Christmas Bazaar was a huge success, raising 9,000 RMB, which will go towards buying bookshelves for Fangshan District Chuang Wei School in cooperation with the Migrant Children’s Foundation (MCF).
Issue 1 /2013
7
多 棱镜
mishmash
DJ Pei: Spreading Jams Beijing’s DJ Pei (real name: Sun Peipei, 孙配配) has been dropping disco tracks at some of the capital’s grooviest bars and clubs for the last two years, but for her, the party is really only just getting started. She has gone from appearances at a nearly hidden hutong spot, Siif, to a regular monthly gig at Dada, a popular new Gulou (鼓楼) bar and club hailing from Shanghai, in addition to the occasional boutique party hosted by a member of a Beijing fashion design collective, Nono Muaks. Her musical taste—mostly Nu-disco and Disco House—is in the minority for most Chinese DJs, she says. “Most Chinese DJs play disco just because retro culture is back and they think playing disco is in fashion or something. I don’t think they really love disco.” But Pei’s fondness for disco started at an early age. “My mom told me that when I was a baby, every time I cried, she would hold me, dancing to disco music, and I stopped crying. So I think maybe there’s something in my bones. I was born as a disco-music lover!” When Pei isn’t spinning with her petite Vestex controller (“Small is best for a female DJ!” she laughs), she is busy as a senior buyer at Nuandao (暖岛),
8
an online shop featuring quirky techie and home products from Chinese designers. You can relive the old days by visiting her online Taobao store, Bye Bye Disco, a Chinese vintage shop for Feiyue (飞跃) kicks and other 80s pop culture finds that was formerly located in Nanlougu Xiang (南锣鼓巷) and co-owned with a member of Beijing band New Pants (新裤子). - Jessica rapp (阮洁茜)
Out of the Shadows Comes Style If you’ve been browsing China’s touristy shops, you’ve probably been bombarded with those hand painted Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-220 A.D.) shadow puppets such that you’ve forgotten all about the various creatures that you can bring to life with your own hands. Triple Major’s founder Ritchie Chan hasn’t forgotten though; his newest collection “Hand Shadow” incorporates all those index finger rabbit ears and alligator chops that used to prance along our walls when we believed in fairies and magic. These mainly black and white button-up shirts, bags and tees were featured at Capsule during Paris Fashion week and are just one of the many avant-garde designs in Chan’s shop on Baochao Hutong (宝 钞胡同). Want pencil pants or crab claw gloves? Xiamen native Chan has them—the goal for his concept store is to bring creative, independent,
international designers into China’s growing fashion industry. His inspiration for the “Hand Shadow” collection coincides with his mission to connect progressive style-seekers in China to the international fashion community. “Hand shadows are a form of universal language. No matter what country you’re from you can always understand it,” Chan told design web-magazine NeochaEDGE. “Clothing itself is quite similar. Everybody wears a white T-shirt or a pair of jeans no matter what cultural background you have. So clothing essentially is also a form of universal expression.” - J.R.
couple near us tried some though, and said it reminded them of cognac.” Snake wine is said to have been first consumed during the Western Zhou Dynasty (1046 B.C.-771 B.C.) and is supposed to have health benefits according to TCM. Venomous snakes are commonly used for making the rice wine concoction, but have no fear: the alcohol content negates the poison. Now, if only you can get past those slit pupils… - J.R.
Sip a Glass of Snake It’s slithering; it’s slimey; it’s snake wine (蛇酒 sh9ji^ )! You’re most likely to run into this traditional delicacy when on a tour down the Li River (漓 江) in Guilin (桂林), but you can certainly decide to pass up a taste if your stomach isn’t up for it. Brian Ritchie, a tourist from Scotland, certainly did, but made sure to photograph the paunchy reptile in its liquor-filled jar to share with his unbelieving friends back home. “I’m afraid we chickened out,” he lamented of his choice not to sample the drink. “It reminded me too much of jars of preserved specimens in natural history museums! One Italian
Issue 1 /2013
9
Booze Blabber
Speak the sprach of spirits!
p. 76
by xiang
, Illustration dish)
),Carole Lauener (fish movie poster
, o f pi
C fp ( l if e
Some Chinese movies are hard for foreign audience to appreciate because of cultural differences or the language barrier. But if you ever encounter “The Promise” (《无极》W% J!) directed by Chen Kaige in 2005, run fast and run far! Despite the scale of the production and with some of Asia’s biggest names in its cast, it may be one of the worst in Chinese movie history.
Zheng
Movie The Promise
by
李安中国创业，拿《少年派》 样片找张导，导说：画面差， 未加中国红元素。找陈导，导 说：思想肤浅，格局不够。冯 导：场面不热闹，一人四畜哪 儿够，不懂票房。第六代导演 集体说：不够批判，人该把老 虎吃了。电影局审片：未体现 政府在海难的主导作用。群众 观后齐声：看球不懂！安郁郁 寡欢，于通州某影楼，终。 @李承鹏
Ang Lee’s “Life of Pi” received universal praise among its Chinese audience after its premier last November. Lee’s success also has led bloggers to reflect upon the lagging Chinese movie industry. Journalist and author, Li Chengpeng (李承 鹏) posted a satirical depictingpiece imaging what Lee’s career in china might have been like: Director Ang Lee wanted to start his career in China. With a sample film of “Life of Pi,” he turned to Director Zhang (Zhang Yimou), who responded, “Without the signature Chinese red, it’s poor visually.” He turned to Director Chen (Chen Kaige), who replied, “Your story is shallow and narrow-minded.” “It’s not exciting enough with only a human and four animals; you have no idea about how the box office works,” commented Director Feng (Feng Xiaogang). The sixth-generation directors col-
Photograph
ON “LIFE OF PI”
lectively commented, “It’s not critical enough. The boy should have eaten the tiger.” Film censors also said that, “the government should be depicted in a leading role in dealing with the accident.” The audience said, “What the hell? I don’t get it!” Ang Lee was depressed and left to work in a photography studio in Tongzhou, a suburb of Beijing, and died a wedding photographer. -Ginger Huang (黄原竟)
Taste the Love
Love Triangles
Fry and feast on the flounder, China's fish of love
Lou Ye's dark narrative of deceit and lust
p. 85
p. 80 有谁想看看我斗篷下面穿的是什 么？那就放下武器。 Slave Kunlunnu determined to break the curse for Qingcheng: “Qingcheng, I will turn back time for you and let you know that fate can be changed.” Q~ngch9ng, w6 y3o d3i n@ hu!q&, w6 y3o r3ng n@ zh~d3o, m#ngy&n sh# k0y@ g2ibi3n de.
倾城，我要带你回去，我要让你知 道，命运是可以改变的。 Wuhuan, another suitor who joined a fight over Qingcheng, says to her: “It’s you who cost me the opportunity to be a nice man.” Sh# n@, r3ng w6 sh~q& y! g- zu7 h2or9n de j~hu#.
是你，让我失去一个做好人的机 会。 - Alicia Zhang（张华阳）
Set in a fictional dynasty, the movie features a beautiful female protagonist (Qingcheng) who was cursed to live a luxurious life, but without true love, as the King’s concubine. A slave, Kunlunnu, fell in love with her and broke the curse—this is the ridiculous part— by running so fast that time was turned back so that Qingcheng could start her life over. The preposterous plot, exaggerated performances and cheesy lines have made a laughing stick among many Chinese viewers. Here are some lines that might entertain you: Proud of her beauty, Qingcheng charmes a group of invaders into letting her go: “ Who wants to know what I am wearing under my cloak? Then put down your weapons.” Y6u shei xi2ng k3nkan w6 d6upeng xi3mi3n chu`n de sh# sh9nme? N3 ji& f3ngxi3 w^q#.
Book Club: The Civil Servant's Notebook by Wang Xiaofang Translated by Eric Abrahamsen Published By the Penguin Group, 2012 To understand China, one must understand its politics: “The Civil Servant’s Notebook” (《公务员日记》 G4ngw&yu1n R#j# ) draws on author Wang Xiaofang’s personal experience in public office and offers a rare glimpse into a world generally sealed off to outsiders. In Xiaofang’s latest literary contribution, two old rivals, Vice-Mayors Liu Yihe and Peng Guoliang, compete
for the position of Dongzhou City Mayor. But when a private notebook finds its way into the wrong hands, the stage is set for a spectacular fall from grace. The question is: who will it be? Through the scandalous affairs, defamation, nepotism, conspiracy and unmitigated corruption of a notable cast of narrators, Wang documents the obsession with power surrounding political ascension. He renders it a catalyst for moral decay as he questions the sacrifice of personal integrity for political gain. He shows how power and corruption are cancers of the soul, propelling victims ever-forward in a rat race for the ruling-seats of officialdom. Ultimately, Wang seeks change: in Chinese politics, “the official comes first,”—the very thing that is “still holding us back.” - Marie Cahalane
11
T
he ThreeCharacter Primer of Film Please don’t read the Three-Character Primer of Film by Liu Cheng. If you do, you’ll become extremely wise in the ways of screenwriting, and I don’t need the competition. ——David Seidler ( American playwright, The King’s Speech won for Best Original Screenplay at the American Academy Awards in 2010 )
Order online for discount prices Chinese Edition (Yellow) English Edition (Red)
STREET TALK
Illustration
by
Gao Fei
J
街头 俚语
ust about everyone enjoys a good drink with friends: the pleasant clinking of glasses, the display of camaraderie W6 h8 g`o le, w6 y3o hu!ji`! and celebration. But, before you know it you’re squinting through 我喝高了, 我要回家！ one eye, drunk-texting and buying an over-priced round for anyone who wants one. Next thing you know you are dragging yourself from the darkened pits of despair; waking in the gutter at 6 a.m., your vomitencrusted shirt stinking of smoke and stale booze as sprightly morning joggers tut and sneer, and you stagger to where you think might be home g`o le, w6 y3o hu!ji`！I’m blind before slipping into a coma. Well if drunk, I need to go home!). this sounds like your average Saturday So, as you stagger from the night, then read on my friend. bar and attempt to locate your The euphoria of being a little keys, phone and wallet, you more than tipsy soon leads to going may succumb to the power of all-out nuts and doing your best the alcohol pumping through Coyote Ugly impression. If this is your veins and give up all the case, in Chinese, we can say 撒 hope of ever getting home or remaining conscious: 我 酒疯(s` ji^f8ng), meaning you went crazy; you were so drunk that you 们发现他烂醉如泥地躺在 were dancing wildly, perhaps even 街上。(W6men f`xi3n t` l3nzu#r%n! on the bar, and having a right-old de t2ngz3i ji8sh3ng. We found him whale of a time. For example: 她撒 unconscious in the street.) As you slowly come around 酒疯，竟然爬到吧台上，又唱又 after having your poor stomach 跳。T` s` ji^f8ng, j#ngr1n p1 d3o b`t1i sh3ng, pumped, you may say to the y7u ch3ng y7u ti3o, meaning “ she got unsuspecting nurse who is treating completely hammered and jumped you, that you have no recollection onto the bar, dancing and singing!” whatsoever of the evening and Now, as your crazed evening that you have had a complete 断 continues and the shots keep flowing, the cloud of drunkenness may begin 片儿 (du3npi`nr), black out (我完全 to consume you; you start to lose 不记得昨晚发生了什么，我喝 control of your actions and you decide 断片儿了。W6 w1nqu1n b% j#de zu5w2n to take yourself home before things f`sh8ng le sh9nme, w6 h8 du3npi`nr le. I get even worse and you do something can’t remember anything from last you might regret. In that case, you night, I have a memory black out). can say that you were 喝高了, 喝大 Of course, it was all worth it. 了(h8 g`o le, h8 d3 le) or “blind drunk” BY Lee Maxwell Simpson, research by Alicia (我喝高了, 我要回家！W6 h8 Zhang (张华阳)
Issue 1 /2013
I'M BLIND DRUNK, I NEED TO GO HOME
13
三味 书屋
dragon's digest
Williams© Tomb The World of Chinese is happy to present modern Chinese fiction from young Chinese writers in our new column Dragon’s Digest. This issue, we bring you an excerpt from “Williams’ Tomb” (《威廉姆斯之墓》W8ili1nm^s~ Zh~ M&) from author Di An (笛安). Born in Shanxi Province, Di An began writing in 2002, when her story “Sister’s Forest” 《姐姐的丛林》(Ji0jie de C5ngl!n) appeared in Harvest (《收获》Sh4ushu7) magazine, and her works have been published in an array of magazines and journals since. She published her first novel in 2005, “Farewell to Heaven” (《告别天堂》 G3obi9 Ti`nt1ng), and in 2008 her story “Yuanji” (《圆寂》, “Parinirvana”) won the China Novel Biennale prize. Di An won the most promising newcomer at the Chinese Literature Media Awards for “Memory in the City of the Dragon” (《西决》X~ Ju9), the first novel of her “the City of Dragon Trilogy”. The novel saw sales of over 700,000, followed by the successful sequels, “Memory in the City of the Dragon II” (《东霓》D4ng N!) and “III” (《南音》N1n Y~n).
W
hen I was younger, he’d always say to me, “Son, be brave.” “Bravery” was a medicine that healed everything: you chewed it and swallowed it so it could treat the laughing and shaking shadows made by trees on the curtains, or the green bug called the “looper” that lowers itself without a care from the sky. It could treat the piercing cold that comes when you have to leave your bed on a cold winter morning. It could treat the kids who were bigger than me and used to bully me, or the repugnant teachers and words they wretchedly declaimed, the
14
solemn norms of the world. I still don’t understand why I don’t hate those things that make me afraid, yet I am so determined to hate “bravery.” Or perhaps I’m just choosing a soft fruit to squeeze because the “fear” is so powerful, or maybe it’s because “bravery” is something that invaded me, while the “fear” comes from within me and belongs wholly to me. I said before that I must chew it and swallow it. It’s very bitter. So I can say simply that I am not a brave person. In fact, “not brave” is a polite, neutral, and civilized way
DI AN
of saying it. Father used other words to describe me: “limp dick,” for example, or “hopeless case,” or “snot bag” —this one in particular when I shed tears— and also, “good for nothing.” It’s not as if he was a coarse father; no, when he spoke his tone had a cadence, his voice was deep and resonant, and his breath came from his lower abdomen. There was something calm and unhurried about his choice of words—he was once the parent representative of the graduates at my alma mater, where he read a speech to over 1,000 people in the great hall. After the speech was over my form master smiled at me warmly, which was unprecedented. His back was bent slightly forwards and he stared me in the eye. In that silence I wept whilst thinking that the sound of my sniffling was especially dirty. Quietly, slowly, Father said: “Take a look at yourself. Look at the hopeless case you are. When your father was on the battlefield in Vietnam fighting for his life, I never thought that I would end up having a limp dick for a son. Remember this, a limp dick like you will only wait to die, on the battlefield or not. You’ll lose to a person who is brave and strong, understand? I’m thinking about you. I don’t want you to become a good-fornothing.” During the long days he kept repeating these phrases: the same old stuff with a different label. I came to know by heart the key words used to describe a coward—usually after saying his piece he would stand up straight and look coldly at my mother who would be standing by the door. The adults would exchange indifferent, knowing looks, my mother’s expression as icy as her long slim fingers. Sometimes Issue 1 /2013
Mother would furrow her brow lightly, and slowly close a copy of Czerny Teaching Materials— sometimes it was Bach—and say, “If you want to tell him off like this in the future, wait until my students are gone so you don’t interrupt our lesson.” I never expected my mother to save me. In reality, most of the time I only wished that Mother would close the door a little more tightly, and then even more tightly, so the sound of their piano music would fill the gaps in my father’s reprimand. The smooth music was my mother’s, and the inexplicably brittle sound of the piano was the student’s—how great that they didn’t need to pay attention to what was happening next door. With this otherworldly music playing, it was as if all the shame I felt had a place to go. That was when I was 14. After reciting words that hadn’t changed for years, like a priest saying Mass, he changed the ending: “You’ll be an adult soon. You don’t really plan to become a good-for-nothing, do you?” Why he was reprimanding me again I’d already forgotten. Most likely it was to do with the high school exam. He just knew how to summarize all my weaknesses into “being a coward,” “a good-for-nothing,” “lacking in confidence,” leading always to the final conclusion that I would become a good-for-nothing. I am becoming a good-fornothing right now. I will eventually become a good-fornothing. I have to become a good-for-nothing—otherwise, I’m afraid that I can’t make up for the diligence of his cursing over the years. At this point I could hear in the room next
I came to know by heart the key words used to describe a coward door the sound of the piano stool scraping against the floor. My mother appeared at the door of the dining room, her shoulders thinner as she trembled. She said clearly: “I’ve had enough of you.” Then she said, “Can’t you just be quiet? I can’t bear you. What right do you have to tell off our child this way? Limp dick? You never even went to war. When you were in Vietnam the war was over. All you did was stay a few days in the hospital and help carry stretchers. Tell me, what kind of life and death was it? Don’t lie to the child, and stop lying to yourself. I’m begging you, okay?” There was still the same look of indifference on her face. Without hesitation Father raised his right arm, and then a slap fell on my face. “What the hell.” Father was baring his teeth. “What the hell is all this.” I didn’t know who he was cursing. I forget who it was that said that the enemy of an enemy is a friend—but it’s wrong. In that moment Father and Mother became enemies. I saw a deep loathing in her eyes, but as for my mother and I, we felt even further apart. “Tell me, what kind of life and death was it?” In the days that followed, I thought back to my mother’s terrific lines and admitted with embarrassment: Mother was a 15
hero. She made me feel ashamed in a completely new way. The girl in the convenience store looked at me across the shelves. She was standing behind the cashier, her hair tied to one side. Chinese. Don’t ask me how, I just knew. I have a hobby— finding out who is Chinese out of a bunch of Japanese girls on the street on a weekend, in the store or on university grounds. If you needed to ask how—maybe, hiding within the majority of Chinese girls, there is an unspeakable, faint sloppiness—not necessarily in the way they do their make-up, or the way they hold their bags, or even in their expressions. I can’t explain it, that indescribable sloppiness circling them like a curl of smoke not yet extinguished. They are like cigarette butts that are still alight, easily distinguished by their easy heft and warm ash. She bent slightly, took the beer and tea from my hands, scanned them, and asked under her breath in Japanese: “Just these?” “And a pack of Seven Stars.” I used Chinese. She gave me a bright smile. Looking behind her, she touched the Seven Star booth with her fingers. She asked me which kind. “0.8.” I replied. “What?” She didn’t understand. She didn’t seem to smoke, and there wasn’t a man in her life who did. “0.8 refers to the nicotine content, Miss.” I smiled, “It’s on your right hand side. That’s the one. The dark blue one. That one. Are you new here? You’re not very familiar with the business.” “I didn’t realize.” She raised her face, and her smile this time was braver than her first: “You look so young, but you’re addicted to nicotine.” Yes, I’ve seen my father
16
smoke two packs of Camels a day. The streets in the evening appear even narrower because of the shadows made by the flickering streetlights. Except it doesn’t matter. The houses in this community looked like they were made of toy building blocks, and the narrow streets made them look even more so. I walked slowly, boldly setting one foot in front of the other. After all, my shadow behind me won’t be stepped on. There was a bus
"Don’t lie to the child, and stop lying to yourself. I’m begging you, okay?" stop a few dozen meters from here—only two stops to Yokohama and its wide roads. My rented apartment was hidden between the two floors of a small building with a pointed roof, behind the animal hospital and faced diagonally to the launderette. If I was getting back in the middle of the night, I usually used the stairs that hung outside of the building—the ones the landlord used when he fed his pigeons. I would walk to the second floor and use all my strength to push open the window to my room, and transform my body into a pole of the sort used for hanging clothes between the rail and the balcony of the apartment. I would swing once and slip in-side. Sometimes I would forget to take off my shoes and hold them in my hand before slipping in, so there would be a few black marks on the tatami mat. It didn’t matter. I’d deal with it when I returned to the apartment. However, my qinggong wasn’t good enough:
when I flew into my room, I could never be stealthy, so my descent was always accompanied by my neighbor’s complaints—my neighbor was a student at the dental academy. Though right now I didn’t need to go back to my nest because this street was so clean and quiet, it lacked a human spirit—no trash, no noise, nothing but houses with lights turning quietly on and off—I felt I had to do something about it. Therefore I sat with my back to the streetlight and tore the ring-pull from the beer in the bag, and tore open the Seven Stars I bought—I had a lighter in the pocket of my jeans. I sat on the near side of the road with a vending machine on the other side. We looked at one another warmly, and as I roughly tossed cigarette butts on the spotless ground it looked at me forgivingly. Then I picked up my second cigarette. I knew it understood what I was doing. It looked at me as if looking at a spoilt child leaving his first footprints on snowy ground that was as quiet as death. I lived in a community similar to this one the year I first arrived in Japan. I will never forget that afternoon: a middle-aged man wearing an immaculate uniform and a peaceful expression was pruning the hedges into squares. The constant noise of the electric saw was as natural to him as breathing, and as the shrubs bent their waists to him, the benevolent look on his face remained the same. I felt extreme fear then: why on earth are the people in this country so unified, and why did they want to work together to clean off the dirt that was a natural part of this world? Really, did they think that if they did this, it would prove that they were not ordinary people? But
Then I picked up my second cigarette. I knew it understood what I was doing. It looked at me as if looking at a spoilt child leaving his first footprints on snowy ground that was as quiet as death.
她略微欠了欠身, 拿过我手里的啤酒和凉茶, 扫过了条码之后就 用日语低声问我: “就这些么?” “还要一包七星。” 我说的是中文。 她粲然一笑。回头望着身后, 手指略略地碰触到 “七星” 的那几 个格子, 问我：“要哪种的？” “0.8的。”我答。 “什么？” 她没听懂。看来她不抽烟, 而且生活中也没有一个抽 烟的男人。 “0.8指的是尼古丁的含量, 妹妹。” 我微笑, “在你的右手边, 对 了, 再往右一个格子, 这种深蓝色的, 就是它。你是新来的么, 业 务不太熟练。” “没看出来。” 她抬起眼睑, 这个笑容比最初的大胆, “你看上去这 么年轻, 可惜烟瘾倒不小。” “这话听起来就外行了。” 我也笑, “你怕是没真正见过有烟瘾 的人。” ——是的, 我见识过, 父亲抽的是浓烈的“骆驼”, 一天两 包。
this thought passed in a flash. I would gradually get used to everything. “Hi, what are you still doing here?” I didn’t know how long it’d been, but the girl from the convenience store walked past me and was looking at me in surprise. “Clocking off ?” I gestured to invite her to sit down. She sat down by my side, opened a bag of snacks and began to eat, like it was a picnic. She picked up the half-empty can of beer, drank in big gulps, and looked completely comfortable where she was. “Are you new here? I’ve seen every Chinese person who lives around here, apart from you.” “I only moved to Yokohama last weekend.” I said. “Where did you live before?” She asked. “In Numazu. It’s a port town. Have you heard of it?” “It’s very small, right? What are you doing in Yokohama? Work, study or business?” “I’m studying at Yokohama National University.” I crushed
the can in my hand. “You’re strong.” Her smile blossomed like a flower. “But it’s two months until school starts. Why didn’t you go home?” I didn’t answer, and she didn’t see at all that she had crossed the line. She bent her head towards me and said: “If you’re not going home, then you’re going to earn some cash before school starts. I have friends in Yokohama. I can get you a job. Why don’t you leave me your number?” “Thank you.” Inside, I was starting to hate her. “Hey.” She looked at me curiously, there was a strange vagueness in her smile. “You look great when you’re smoking, very manly.” Naturally I didn’t spend the night with her, something that others would have done as a logical conclusion. I see girls like her all the time. Under the ghoulish light of the nightclubs, in parties where strangers and people you know mix with evil intentions, there were always girls like her, and
Issue 1 /2013
nobody knew why but there was a greediness, a flirtatiousness and even improper closeness—they would exchange bright glances or come say to me, in a warm breath through lips that alcohol had reverted to their original color: “You are so handsome,” or “You are so manly.” But if I pulled them over and kissed them, they would only end up screaming and running away. I really didn’t understand, was there something that made me seem frivolous? As I was absent-mindedly trying to figure out how to get rid of the girl from the convenience store, there was an unexpected “ping,” and my computer would receive an email for me in the apartment only a few dozen meters away. I’d read it in the middle of the night once I got home, or maybe I’d read it in daylight the next day. It made no difference, because the e-mail would tell me about my father’s impending death.
17
On the Chinese Road Train travel adventures across the country Brand New from The World of Chinese Books!
Sharing Stories, Sharing Culture
China in Scope
The real lives and stories of contemporary Chinese people through photography
Cultural Files: Intangible Heritage
Cultural Files: Cultural Relics
Feast your eyes on mouth-watering delicacies and truly magnificent traditions
A mysterious mountain mansion, kung fu fighting monks and all the places you will want to visit
Order online for discount prices
18
中国 制造 Made in China
Mixing
Wine and Changing Minds
Illustration
by
Gao Fei
I
n his guide for the newly emerged middle class Chinese male, “Life Like a Gentleman” (《绅 士生活》Sh8nsh# Sh8nghu5), British writer Edward Burman proposes that wine-drinking is an essential element in a modern gentleman’s life. The Chinese proved disappointing in that department, as Burman tells the horrific story of a wine importer in 1995. The man witnessed 12 bottles of pricey Lafite getting mixed with Sprite, bombarded by watermelon slices and gulped down by a group of Chinese businessmen while shouting “ 干杯!” (g`nb8i, cheers). From the Western view, such drinking habits are certainly strange. But for many Chinese, the tannic taste of wine is just plain weird, believing wine should be sweet and fruity. All this began with a domestic Chinese wine called “half-juice wine,” wine that mixes fermented grape juice with other fruit juice, water and sugar. Because of the simple process in making the half-juice wine, it practically dominated the market until 2004, when such products were banned all together due to tainted wine production. Before then, almost all wine labels produced half-juice wine, such as Changyu (张裕) and Great Wall (长 城 Ch1ngch9ng). Tonghua Grape Wine (通化葡萄酒 T4nghu3 P%t1oji^) used to be the favorite half-juice wine for the country’s leaders back then. Founded in 1937, Tonghua certainly had its day of glory. Produced from grapes grown at the foot of Changbai Mountain (长白山 Ch1ngb1i Sh`n) in Jilin Province, Tonghua wine was served at state banquets and diplomatic dinners and was promoted nationwide. At one time, it was “The Red Wine of the Nation.”
Issue 1 /2013
From the founding ceremony to China’s tenth anniversary, the sweet Tonghua wine was there every step of the way. Even former US president Richard Nixon and former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher had their share of Tonghua wine during their visits to China. The taste of Tonghua Grape Wine was then regarded as standard for all wine. Half-juice wine is easy to make. To cut costs, many smaller vintners even lowered the percentage of the grape juice and replaced it with more water and sugar. Such unpalatable chaos was finally put to a stop in 2004. With new regulations and the increased importation of foreign wine, the Chinese taste for wine changed over time. “Beginners prefer relatively sweet wine,” says 33-year-old Joe Ma, manager of the Education and Publication Center of Aussino World Wines, a successful wine importer for 12 years. “But as they gain more knowledge about wine, the general trend is that they will grow fonder of dry wine.” According to Ma, people in the northern areas of China also tend to enjoy dry wine because their daily diet is made up of heavy flavors. As a result, people now enjoy wine without mixing. “It was done when the market wasn’t mature yet,” says Ma. “The quality of wine was not that good, and people added other stuff to cover the defects in the flavors. But now, a person with the slightest wine knowledge will refuse a mixed glass of wine.” Chinese people now consume over 1.2 billion bottles of wine every year. With the growing number of wine drinkers, the expanding wine market and evolving wine culture, the Chinese taste for wine in the new age is still yet to be decided. - Liu Jue (刘珏)
19
镜像 中国 KALEIDOSCOPE
Line 1 P h oto g r a p h s & T e x t by C a ro l e L a u e n er
From c o m m e rc i al h i g h ri se s i n the eas t t o w i de o pe n spac e s i n the we st , t ak e t he t rai n ac ro ss Beijing ’s f i rst su bw ay l i n e 曾经神秘的军用专线，如今摩肩接 踵。北京地铁一号线贯穿东西， 连接繁华与萧瑟。
The Beijing Subway was initially built to serve the military. Construction began in July 1965, and the first stretch, which corresponds with the western half of today’s Line 1, was completed in time to mark the 20th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China on October 1, 1969. It ran 21km from the army barracks at Fushouling (福寿岭) to the Beijing Railway Station. The subway had the capacity to transfer five divisions from Beijing’s military base to the city center in case there was a Soviet invasion. Due
20
to its military purpose, Beijing Subway was not open to the public at this stage. In 1981, the initial stretch of Beijing Subway was finally opened to the public. A single ride fare was set at 0.10RMB and annual ridership reached 72.5 million in 1982. Two years later, a second line, corresponding to the southern half of the present-day Line 2, opened. Line 1, however, was shortened and, ever since, only runs to Pingguoyuan (苹果园). The three stations behind the current terminus— Fushouling, Gaojing (高井) and Heishitou (黑石
a rare moment of calm on the usually chaotic line 1
头)—are inaccessible to the public with the two latter stops located in a military zone. With the receipt of a 19.2 billion yen development assistance loan from Japan, construction began on the eastward extension of Line 1. Xidan (西单) station was opened in December 1992, and the remaining extension to Sihui East (四惠东) was completed in 1999. The line’s total length is 30.4km and has 23 stations in operation. Nowadays, Line 1 and its Batong Line (八通线) extension is packed with local commuters and tourists. It runs under Chang’an Avenue (长安街) and connects
Issue 1 /2013
commercial centers like Xidan and Wangfujing (王府井) with Beijing’s Central Business District (CBD) and the heart of the old city around Tian’ anmen Square, one of the top tourist spots in China’s capital. I set out for a ride on Line 1 and its extension, and traveled as far east as Tuqiao (土桥) and as far west as Pingguoyuan. I met people and places I never imagined existed and captured the diverse landscapes and faces of Beijing’s historic subway line.
21
The Shougang Steel Factory near Pingguoyuan has been abandoned since 2010
22
a second hand furniture market near Babaoshan station
Xidan is a shopper's paradise
Issue 1 /2013
tian'anmen, the gate of heavenly peace and mao zedong's portrait 23
Wangfujing is famous AMONG Chinese and foreign tourists for its food street where YOU can taste scorpions, centipedes and duck embryos
24
Skyscrapers towers over the streets of Guomao
a gIANT led Sky screen dominates "the place"
Issue 1 /2013
25