Comments for Asian Living.me http://asianliving.me Asian Health and Lifestyle Secrets by Ben Mon, 07 May 2012 14:35:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Comment on Warm Water by Anonymous http://asianliving.me/warm-water/comment-page-1#comment-276 Anonymous Mon, 07 May 2012 14:35:00 +0000 http://asianliving.me/?p=381#comment-276 Hi Elliot, Most of this blog is about traditions passed down through generations. That's the authority which we should consider when making choices about the things we eat and drink. I hope it's helpful! Hi Elliot,
Most of this blog is about traditions passed down through generations. That’s the authority which we should consider when making choices about the things we eat and drink. I hope it’s helpful!

]]> Comment on Warm Water by Elliot Nunn http://asianliving.me/warm-water/comment-page-1#comment-275 Elliot Nunn Mon, 07 May 2012 04:36:00 +0000 http://asianliving.me/?p=381#comment-275 evidence? evidence?

]]> Comment on The Flowers of War (Nanjing War Movie) by Anonymous http://asianliving.me/the-flowers-of-war/comment-page-1#comment-272 Anonymous Tue, 03 Apr 2012 01:32:00 +0000 http://asianliving.me/?p=1744#comment-272 Thanks Leah, you make an interesting point about rallying a country but I don't think this kind of action is uncommon. In the US the government is trying to find ways to create a "man on the moon" proposition in order to rally the country. Maybe 9/11 was a the most recent rally cry, but that event was nothing like the rape of nanking.  You make a comment at the end about foreigners needing to think critically and avoid making bad comparisons. I'm guessing that's directed towards my post, which is fine. It's easy for us to criticize from the outside looking in. I think they deal with these issues in their own way and it's not for me to preach to my girlfriend, or other chinese, about how they should deal with their past. I could just tell her to "buck up, sissy pants" but I'm thinking that might come off badly... At any rate, it was just a movie. Thanks Leah, you make an interesting point about rallying a country but I don’t think this kind of action is uncommon. In the US the government is trying to find ways to create a “man on the moon” proposition in order to rally the country. Maybe 9/11 was a the most recent rally cry, but that event was nothing like the rape of nanking. 

You make a comment at the end about foreigners needing to think critically and avoid making bad comparisons. I’m guessing that’s directed towards my post, which is fine. It’s easy for us to criticize from the outside looking in. I think they deal with these issues in their own way and it’s not for me to preach to my girlfriend, or other chinese, about how they should deal with their past. I could just tell her to “buck up, sissy pants” but I’m thinking that might come off badly… At any rate, it was just a movie.

]]> Comment on The Flowers of War (Nanjing War Movie) by guest http://asianliving.me/the-flowers-of-war/comment-page-1#comment-271 guest Sun, 01 Apr 2012 05:11:00 +0000 http://asianliving.me/?p=1744#comment-271 I don't think hatred is excusable, ever. I understand why Chinese hate the Japanese, and the Japanese should absolutely apologize fully and publicly for it. But this gov't is using the event as a rallying point for cultural identity/social stability. It has got to stop relying on WWII as a way to unify this country. You can't live with your head in the past...it gives Chinese ppl a rather skewed view in that they seem to think they have suffered more, suffered worse, etc.  The Japanese don't deal with this the way the Germans do. German Chancellor Willy Brandt got to his knees in front of Jewish memorial and bowed his head. "German guilt" is a well-known phrase, German schoolchildren are required to learn about the Holocaust and hate groups are illegal-- whereas the Japanese have not responded in kind. Their textbooks are rewritten; many students have no knowledge of the Nanjing incident or the *many other relatively similar incidents* in the Phillippines, in Singapore, in Korea, etc. There has been no public moment of apology from Tokyo that compares with what Brandt did for Germany. The movie was okay. Chinese directors have a sort of slapstick style that is popular here, but will seem dated to most Americans--this is simply a matter of taste. However, as many movies do, it stretched the truth when it came to history. The defense of Nanking was poorly thought out, and the Kuomintang's scorched earth strategy was largely responsible for both the destruction of the city as well as the number of civilians left within. Absolutely nothing excuses the behavior of the Japanese, but neither is anything in war black and white. I sympathize completely with China on this issue, but this country has got to stop seeing itself as the perpetual victim and move forward in building a nation from within--one that doesn't need to link its identity to World War II or Japan. It is important for foreigners in China to think critically and be alert to bad comparisons.    I don’t think hatred is excusable, ever. I understand why Chinese hate the Japanese, and the Japanese should absolutely apologize fully and publicly for it. But this gov’t is using the event as a rallying point for cultural identity/social stability. It has got to stop relying on WWII as a way to unify this country. You can’t live with your head in the past…it gives Chinese ppl a rather skewed view in that they seem to think they have suffered more, suffered worse, etc. 

The Japanese don’t deal with this the way the Germans do. German Chancellor Willy Brandt got to his knees in front of Jewish memorial and bowed his head. “German guilt” is a well-known phrase, German schoolchildren are required to learn about the Holocaust and hate groups are illegal– whereas the Japanese have not responded in kind. Their textbooks are rewritten; many students have no knowledge of the Nanjing incident or the *many other relatively similar incidents* in the Phillippines, in Singapore, in Korea, etc. There has been no public moment of apology from Tokyo that compares with what Brandt did for Germany.

The movie was okay. Chinese directors have a sort of slapstick style that is popular here, but will seem dated to most Americans–this is simply a matter of taste. However, as many movies do, it stretched the truth when it came to history. The defense of Nanking was poorly thought out, and the Kuomintang’s scorched earth strategy was largely responsible for both the destruction of the city as well as the number of civilians left within. Absolutely nothing excuses the behavior of the Japanese, but neither is anything in war black and white. I sympathize completely with China on this issue, but this country has got to stop seeing itself as the perpetual victim and move forward in building a nation from within–one that doesn’t need to link its identity to World War II or Japan.

It is important for foreigners in China to think critically and be alert to bad comparisons. 

 

]]> Comment on Learning Chinese Tools and Sites by translation to Simplified Chin http://asianliving.me/learning-chinese-tools-and-sites/comment-page-1#comment-269 translation to Simplified Chin Sun, 11 Mar 2012 12:15:00 +0000 http://asianliving.me/?p=470#comment-269   "What about Cantonese?" I'm often asked. Cantonese is just one of many spoken Chinese dialects. It is spoken mostly by people from Canton province and Hong Kong. There was a large wave of Cantonese speaking emigrants over the past fifty years, so much so that many Western cities have a large population of Cantonese speakers, causing some Westerners to think that Cantonese is a lot more important than it is. In fact, Mandarin is the official language of China and most Cantonese speakers can understand Mandarin as well  
“What about Cantonese?” I’m often asked. Cantonese is just one of many spoken Chinese dialects. It is spoken mostly by people from Canton province and Hong Kong. There was a large wave of Cantonese speaking emigrants over the past fifty years, so much so that many Western cities have a large population of Cantonese speakers, causing some Westerners to think that Cantonese is a lot more important than it is. In fact, Mandarin is the official language of China and most Cantonese speakers can understand Mandarin as well

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