meow

剧透的人生

2011-12-19T12:07:00.004-10:00

习惯的养成真的只需要30天？那末一个寒假的时间就够了。
于是我决定用寒假的时间在做个小试验。权当打发无聊好了。
曾经以工作太忙为借口，而不愿意做的许多事情。等到不忙了才发现，工作不忙虽然是必要条件，但绝不是充分条件。

挺高兴得发现，彷徨得不只是我一个人。并不是所有的大伙都被投行这个东东洗脑了。投行可以是生活的一部分，但是投行并不等于生活，就像工作并不等于生活一样。
如果大家都能把投行作为一项兴趣爱好，把挣钱作为最终目标，或者把其他的神马作为最终目标的话，即使做着投行的过程中也应该会更开心些吧。
面试时候的大叔问我，5年后想做什么。但是我随便说说我想做一些比投行更有趣的现在还没法立刻做的事。大叔就不高兴了，说我们辛辛苦苦培养了你们就是希望你们一直为我们做民工的。于是我就面瓜了，可是我觉得挺好的，我避免了误签卖身契，大叔避免了招错人的麻烦。

原来觉得投行挺不仗义得，把小朋友们作为螺丝用旧了就一股脑丢到商学院里，真不负责任，恨不得能一毕业马上能找份终身制的工作，从此开始一直到退休的一眼可以望穿的生活。后来才发现自己傻了，没人热爱已经知道已经被剧透的连续剧，哪怕主角演得再好，中间剧情再复杂，正如上大学，上中学，等等，认为工作和上学有本质差别是傻乎乎的行为（当然，工作可以挣钱而上学大部分是赔钱，这还是一个很重要的差别）。

即使有工作了，还是要做些好玩儿的事情。否则人生就太无聊了。而且，做到最后还是傻乎乎笨呼呼的民工，实在让人充满怨念。不管所谓青春期还是思春期是否已经过去，追求好玩儿的确值得成为人生目的之一。对不对？

淡定

2010-05-08T16:31:00.002-10:00

最近不知道为什么很容易受伤，先是收拾房间后腿上遍布乌青和擦伤，再是不知道怎么了胳膊上被划了长长一大道。。。

总觉得自己的常态是很淡定，处事不惊，天塌下来的时候还会在家里睡大觉的。可以发现淡定的情绪永远都是溃于蚁穴的那个千里之堤。而且溃于蚁穴的那个时刻，你想要再把它修好，可能还得再多花不少的时间。

读读励志书籍吧。。。

D.C.

2010-04-05T16:41:00.000-10:00

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XODI0MjQxNDQ=.html

好久米看到这么牛掰的片儿了～～～

早春四月，樱花绚烂。

四月的阳光，未免太耀眼。

带着脚镣舞蹈，越是临刑时，舞步越欢快。

趁年轻，将坏事干够。

为了忘却的纪念，为了纪念的忘却。

即将离开的四月，我终究是去拜会了这个牛掰帝国的首都。樱花非常美，空气非常干净，建筑物非常洁白，小动物非常欢快。建筑物的设计非常完美。没有重工业的金属味道，没有金融业的铜臭味道，没有贫民窟的发霉味道。仿佛真空中的干净。每一个细胞都被日光渗透，每一个毛孔都通畅，脑中的邪念没有了，口中的污言秽语没有了。街道上有数不清的小朋友，跑着的，跳着的，牵着小狗的，坐在婴儿车里的，妈妈抱着的，清醒的，睡着了的，打架的，大哭的，大笑的。

难以想象的是，金属，铜臭，和发霉的合成物品竟然是一个没有任何污点任何瑕疵的城市。上帝有着诙谐的性格，这一点毋庸置疑。

我知道我在坐着巨大的摩天轮，我知道今天我在最高点明天我就会跌落谷底，我知道到了12点钟我的马车就会变成南瓜，但是我还是想像罗拉一样努力的冲刺一回。我向着自己编织的万丈深渊冲刺。

我紧紧的抱着我的梦想，因为我知道，梦想消失的时候，我将永远不能重新爱上那个没有梦想的自己。

Met

2009-11-07T19:11:00.006-10:00

So I visited the Met for my Art Hum class...awesome weather, everything's just perfect. I love taking the bus because it allows you to look around =)

So I've chosen a few pictures to write about, haven't decided which ones yet. But you really have to see it close-up to see the impact...these ones just draws you into them

First one is Modern Rome by Giovanni Paolo Panini

Second one is The Penitent Magdalen by Georges de la Tour

Summer

2009-08-25T11:08:00.003-10:00

I was reading TimeOut's 75 things to do before summer ends...and apparently 5 of them were about going to fun places for ice-creams.

Rolling Stone names Goldman as 'a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity' http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/29127316/the_great_american_bubble_machine

one洪门guy was invited as a guest-of-honor at NYU's Mid-Autumn Festival press conference

my boss is going to Atlanta to battle with some Israelis over something called 'the finder's fee'.

Sitting in front of your computer in a cell-like room makes you shy away from the mid-summer's sunshine. But despite that, people still easily fell in love with New York for some strange reason. It might be the lady wearing a flowery dress who is walking her two bulldogs across central park. It might be the clueless European girl asking you for directions. It might be the Asian artist playing Swan Lake in the underground subway station beneath the buzz of Times Square. Anyways, summertime in New York is different from the other seasons, and it is a blessing to New Yorkers that it is relatively long. At other times you will almost invariably be sucked into the endless swirl of things big or small, significant or trivial.

So that marks the end of my summer.

ZZ

2009-05-06T10:01:00.003-10:00

'Despotism corrupts the man who submits to it much more than the man who imposes it'

'The American courtiers...do not give him their wives or daughters for him kindly to raise them to the position of his mistresses but, in sacrificing their opinions to him, they prostitute themselves.'

'人是孤独的存在，生活是一部静默的断代史，无论多少言语，多少书本，却也写不出那些最简单的问题。譬如，人生的意义是什么，譬如，死亡的那一端是什么，譬如，爱在何种意义上成为可能。

我走过墨脱，安宁的旅行，不似莲花。多年过去，依旧朋友很多，依旧是与人争论时的雄辩滔滔，一人独处时的沉默坚定。可是，也依旧无法摆脱建造许久的心境崩塌于一个夜晚，一个眼神，一段文字。

哲学，宗教，数学和物理，这一切在本质上最为接近我们的灵魂，却也是它们让一个人远离了简单的生活。即使我们此刻再平静，也无法否定心中的累累伤痕。佛家说，烦恼即菩提，是否这一切本就是一个人为的悖论。'

'多少言语，多少书本，不是为了解答众多答案，它们没有这种力量。是那些在寻找解答的人，在寻找中得到了力量。认真走路的时候，会忘记真实的目标在哪里，持续而明确的发力本身，就带来抵达。如果你有过长途跋涉，会对这种感觉记忆深刻。

看似建造已必的心境崩塌于一个夜晚，一个眼神，一段文字，又有什么不好呢，说明那颗心依旧十分柔软。这和坚定无冲突。良好的心境，是一片大海，要承容下微澜或巨浪，而非停滞静止。心可以无限扩大，敏感善良却难得。'

Mill

2009-05-05T16:40:00.003-10:00

'Harm Principle': nobody's liberty should be constrained save to prevent harm to others.

Mill崇尚保护言论自由，尤其是个人言论自由，因为多数派的意见常常具有侵略性，会限制少数派意见的发展，甚至将其扼杀于襁褓之中。

这个理论应用的主要的问题是如何定义所谓的‘harm' - 心灵上的，身体上的，什么样的程度算是，什么算不是。

虽然在这个问题上Mill没有给出完美的答案，他对舆论的理解在当时是具有非常大程度的前瞻性的。他清楚阐明了主观情感和客观事实的区别。他用怀疑的态度看待所谓的‘事实’-通常有舆论支持的所谓事实都不是客观的。

2009-05-05T09:27:00.004-10:00

‘就像一个车手，他要在一个赛段里做时间，怎么能做到最快又不翻车。我一直寻找这个速度，安全起见，所以总是会从慢一点开始。太快了，就会翻车。 ’

其实这个世界没有绝对的是非，是非是人的心境，人咀嚼是非，就如同咀嚼槟榔，
会上瘾的，嘴巴也越吃越肮脏。但槟榔本身，其实只是一种植物，更可用于药材，
并非一种毒物。

Back to Work

2009-04-13T07:36:00.000-10:00

再过三天的好学生生活，就要再次踏上旅程，去Berkshire Hathaway拜访巴菲特先生和他的家人了。

老爸说，你妈妈又有了和三姑六婆畅谈的话题了。我笑。表面上的虚荣繁华，其实不过是冥冥之中上错了车，相遇，再离开。心中坚信的必然也只不过是偶然，伸手可触及的可能只不过是水中月，镜里花。我想到了在‘会见’了无数‘芸芸众生’之后仍能保持笑容的他们，心中是否曾经隐隐约约的感到过一个‘累’--又或许，所谓的‘累’本身就是一种常态？是什么使得我们永远不满足于现状，而憧憬遥远不可及的可能？--于是我们便永久地生存在跋涉和无法到达之间的快乐与痛苦之中。

唯一的区别是，在跋涉的途中，长大的我们已经懂得欣赏路边的风景，而不再彷徨。

在接下来的三天里，我要收拾行装，并为即将到来的假期作一番盘算。

有道理

2009-02-20T14:50:00.000-10:00

''for many are miserable by loving that which ought not to be loved, and still more miserable when they enjoy it''

- St. Augustine

非诚勿扰

2009-01-04T08:25:00.002-10:00

看了山寨版的非诚勿扰，觉得很有点意思。

看的前因是为了给春晚找素材。大家都说上纲上线无聊，时髦话题滥俗。读书不够，又无从幽默。

1.上纲上线无聊

冯导演可以说是把上纲上线的本领发挥到了极致。
主人公创造发明，获得财富 - 自主创新
在北海道误入神社 - 中日友好
在教堂忏悔 - 和谐社会
etc.

2. 时髦话题滥俗

时髦话题更是多了去了。

海归，毕业=失业，投机，投资，科技板块上市，大龄青年择偶。。。甚至还有狗熊一头，呼应股市走向，也展望即将到来的牛年。

时髦之余不忘传统，又穿插了学农，集体宿舍，插队。

幽默实在是一个巨大的本事。更难得的是看似随意的幽默，含蓄的戏谑。
有意思。

敏于事而慎于言

2008-12-10T17:27:00.001-10:00

不患人之不己知，患不知人也。

天才的烦恼伯格灵和宝石花

2007-05-31T20:38:00.000-10:00

在瓦肯罗德《一个热爱艺术的修饰的内心倾诉》中，伯格灵无疑是一个充满想象力的疯子和天才。别人耳中模糊暧昧的丝竹之音，在他听来却是清晰无比的低声呢喃。然而沉浸在曼妙‘梵语’中的他，却无法把一腔热情化为乐章，使得他自惭在创造力上还远不如一名技匠。他和《宝石花》里的雕刻匠一样进入了桃花源，可是却缺乏将桃花源内美景与他人说的天赋。世界不理解他的语言，所以他想选择重入桃花源，独自享受那遍地芳华。

然而音乐却自有表达方式。与音乐本身的毫无客体可言不同，音乐创作却是机械的形式游戏。至于为什么机械的产物会难以捉摸，并能偶然触发伯格灵一类人的狂热与激情，有人认为魔力存在于‘异己的力量’。因此聆听者与创作者很少是同一个人；至于是否音乐本身的不完整性导致了这一事实，我认为不能妄下评论。

对于这种现象，我曾经的导师Ms. Tham也暗示过。‘演绎音乐的过程是艰苦的，你们必须集中精神，在气的运吐、音的高低、甚至表情的配合上做到尽善尽美。观众以为我们在享受音乐，其实我们是在享受苦难。’

‘If Yahoo is a hobby turned into a business, Google is an intellectual obsession turned into a quest’. 希望两个来自斯坦福的天才能够实现他们的梦想，用algorithm改造世界。

达尔豪斯的辩证理论

2007-05-14T05:49:00.000-10:00

‘当我们对某一事件大发议论的时候，我们仅仅是在把脑中根深蒂固的偏见重新排列。’

‘Sometimes we thought we are expressing opinions, when in fact we are merely rearranging prejudices.’

批判是无法揭开事物本质的；相反，它所反映的往往是是批判者自身。

‘A critique reveals more often the critic than the object of his criticism.’

最后还是被文字游戏迷惑了。

‘黎明前永远是最黑暗的’

‘Debate precedes enlightenment’.

在期中论文上写上这句话的人，一直被我奉若神明。表面上看，怀疑主义者自己吞下了苦果；擅用‘常识’这一逻辑的他们，在同样无法辩驳所谓‘理论’面前无话可说。

可是这样的辩论在佩恩看来，只能是无谓的形式主义。毕竟只要辩论没有结果，怀疑主义者
就可以继续宣扬他们的教条。

卡尔-达尔豪斯（Carl Dahlhaus）, 二十世纪末最有影响的音乐学者。犀利的分析力和判断力令人叹服。

‘批评家之间的对话，其实根本没有发生过。内心雪亮的读者会发掘批判背后的前提条件，而这些前提条件往往不是相互补充，就是殊途同归。’

杜鲁门想找的一只手的经济学家，看来是永远不会出现了。

The Metamorphosis

2007-05-12T16:29:00.000-10:00

In The Carrick" and in "The Metamorphosis" there is a central figure endowed with a certain amount of human pathos among grotesque, heartless characters, figures of fun or figures of horror, asses parading as zebras, or hybrids between rabbits and rats.

- from Vladimir Nabokov's Lecture on "The Metamorphosis"

我觉得小熊和此君是英雄所见略同

BBC的连续剧Hustle, 讲的是一个和旅团类似的盗贼团体。

诈骗的第一条原则，就是你骗不了一个诚实的人。

Con Artists屡屡得手，可是却骗不了完美主义者的印度大叔。

他说，只有真正的完美主义者才知道，完美并不存在于这个世界。当他看到完美的计划被完美实施的时候，也看到了完美背后的金钱陷阱。

完美主义者对瑕疵的不容忍，本身就是瑕疵。这也似乎暗示着，完美非人力所能及。反躬自问，若是学古人非礼勿听，非礼勿视，不饮盗泉，为了追求完美畏首畏尾，似与闭关自守无异！

A Prayer for Owen Meany is now officially on my booklist!^___^

狗八顿今天半岁生日，贴照片纪念一下

India Revisited

2007-05-06T21:00:00.000-10:00

"I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy."

"The fish in the water is silent, the animals on the earth is noisy, the bird in the air is singing. But man has in him the silence of the sea, the noise of the earth and the music of the air."

I stole these from a sweet girl's site~ I couldn't help it. Nothing but simplicity and pure beauty. I wish I could say the same to India. Had the rivers been cleaner, and the children less hunger-striken!

水基乳化液乳化皂

2007-03-16T05:38:00.000-10:00

电加工由于其特殊的加工条件用的加工液也很与众不同

加工液的作用：冷却和洗涤。加工液的洗涤能力直接与切割件表面的光洁度有关，而洗涤能力又与其耐高温的能力有关。高温条件易导致加工液化学性质的变化。由于电加工采用高温和放电对切件表面进行腐蚀，这种工艺对于加工液的要求非常高。通常能耐高温的加工液的洗涤能力也更高，然而价格不菲，因此国内常常采用使用乳化皂配置的切削液，俗称为‘水基’。
加工液的另外一项重要功能称为电解磨平，原理是通过电解使得切削件表面光洁度更高，做出来的磨具也更精密。洗涤能力强的加工液保证了切削件表面的清洁，而由于表面沉淀物会影响导电性能（I think),用洗涤能力强的加工液也能达到更好的电解磨平效果。

上班的时候，时不时的也得学学

谈谈poetry

2007-03-15T03:26:00.000-10:00

由于晚上很无聊，就去琢磨了一下子poetry到底是咋整的

在人类发明出文字之前，音乐和绘画是主要的娱乐形式．文字起初被人们作通信交流之用，然而很快也成了娱乐形式之一．诗歌是音乐与绘画特色的完美结合．一方面古典诗歌的平仄使其带有音乐性，另一方面诗歌中最重要的修辞形式'意象'又给了诗人在诗中使用绘画元素的自由．某人说，画是存在于空间中，而音乐则是存在于时间中的．似乎诗不偏不倚的诞生在了这两个象限的交界处。再加上文字本身的魅力，三个平面构成了万花筒的基本结构，此间折射出的人生百态，似乎使得所有其它的艺术形式都只能望诗歌之项背。

雪莱出于50%的自恋和50%的自私说只有诗人才适合做社会的‘guardian angel’

是先有文字还是先有思想呢？如果是先有文字，那么诗人的世界永远是停滞不前的。诗人从前人汲取知识，然而前人的知识是常量，即使前辈们不像连城诀的传授师傅那样藏技，诗歌还是会一代不如一代。
那么文字源于思想，思想又源于什么呢？安徒生说创造皆来源于上帝，密尔顿却只在失乐园的开头呼唤缪斯。雪莱说，诗人的想象力和创造力是最惊人的。显然他并不屑于为自己的假说提供论据。

狄更斯过世的时候，万人空巷
古典诗歌对于平仄写意的注重似乎成就了小说的巨大成功。也许时间空间是互相平行的，鱼翅熊掌不可兼得。然而诗人似乎总也没走出过去。诗人说，小说锉平了人的判断力，使人回到了开化以前的时代。其实返璞归真倒也没有什么原则上的不好。然而诗歌就好像小甜饼。不能作正餐，却比正餐好吃多了。

雪莱说写作是在一个亘古不变巨大循环诗篇中挖掘文字的痛苦过程

2007-03-02T23:43:00.000-10:00

。。。那么这首诗是良莠不齐的吧

Paul Johnson不喜欢读书的异教徒伪善的假面下面
是走在唯我主义边缘的穷途末路
卢梭手上沾满了他亲生子女的鲜血
易卜生的豪饮和爱慕虚荣招来了不加掩饰的戏谑
雪莱的火是为抽象而烧的亲人朋友进不了他的想象空间
马恩的科学充满了猫腻全能的神只配做托尔斯泰的跑腿小弟

诗里的生命是不是老早就存在
荷马和奥林匹斯山的众神究竟哪个先出现
诗人和他们的祖先不断进行着普罗米修斯之前的古老仪式
也许没有石壁上的痛苦我们也能爬到起点

有力量的ego 才能胜出
是不是唯我主义就是那条唯一的窄路
因为诗人都是历史学家世上没有什么东西能赶超时间的密度

妄图搬动时间钟上的发条似乎还为时过早
寻找的时候要轻手轻脚免得吵醒了猫
说是艺术其实不过是缪斯的胡搞

。。。虽然不服气，最后还是得承认人家的实力。一个谨慎观望的投资者，总会在最后关头被套牢。戏剧如是，读书也如是。

此废话写于读Harold Bloom: The Anxiety of Influence 和 Paul Johnson: Intellectuals之后

Dolichos

2007-02-28T05:11:00.000-10:00

乌尔奇奥拉　其实我不比你傻
漩涡鸣人的精神　摔你个仰趴叉
下雨了　小溪出现了　赶紧泡龙井茶
虽然咱们杭州虎跑滋味也不差

雪莱和卢梭的活法　不学也罢
小嘎嘣豆子　怎么才能变伟大
马克思的哲学太难　诗人的书信思维混乱
世界那么大　到底从哪个窟窿往里看
于是于丹做客了百家讲坛

坚持到底　就是胜利
伟人伸出金贵的手　还停用敬语称呼自己
南大挺美丽　就是没人气
十点的飞机　蹉跎得继续

Ospreys

2007-02-25T03:55:00.000-10:00

在天上地下的各位中魔王最是闲不着
漫画游戏少不了他当主角虽然工资领的挺少
所以出门时候看到冬天的阳光也不要怕
因为他晚上准嗑了安眠药
CanTwo外面的两只公猫并排着躺倒
似乎在猫的世界里gay并不造成很多困扰
我和猫说猫话他能听得懂可是他对我说了什么我却是稀里糊涂

青草地里的黄花里面透着白色
一千年里面也找不出这么一朵
乘着同样的公车却不再打折
开车的大叔摇手说这不是我的错

没人看管的山坡上长满了草人口危机了就搬到了屋顶上
永远的顺理成章
大家一拨一拨的踏在他们身上乱穿马路这里没有人不让
餐厅的大姐烧了小猪来卖一边HALAL着的穆斯林同胞也没太见外

有人升官了有人挑战魔王挑重担
有人旅游被宰了一刀有人跑遍了学校
公用电话愣是没找着
有人习惯在听讲道的时候睡着
有人把事事都考虑得很周到就是心里不知道是什么味道

喜欢的东西不做砸不好反正傻笑就会让人觉得不可救药
结了婚的培狄尼克驴子也没有一次作的这么糟

在南大迷路

2007-02-20T01:20:00.000-10:00

在新加坡了好多年国大愣没去过一次，可是南大却似乎去了几百回了。这次在Hall 8入住了似乎变成了必然的。Taxi的uncle问我明天阿上学，我说不上阿，听得他一脸诧异。

南大的楼梯是很别致的：一共六层楼，有几个楼梯是从一楼到四楼的，另外的是从三楼到六楼的。楼房依山而建，也就像山一样的呈不规则形状，因此楼梯的分布也同样的诡异。每个房间门口都是向墙里边陷进去的，和楼梯的格局一样，因此经常出现走到楼道的尽头发现自己想象中的楼梯口其实是个房门。

所谓无能才是真知，迷惘是大彻大悟之母。我凭直觉走路，在迷宫一样的巨大的南大校园里找自己住的地方，才发现自己的直觉真是满有规律的。我会弄混南北和东西，却永远不弄混南东和北西或是南西和北东，所以发现路不对只要沿原路往回走就能走对。

南大的一切都像是个很大的笼子。厕所门像是纳粹时代毒气室的门，上面竟然还有密码。一个人在乡下待着没有人讲话的日子真没意思。还好窗户外面有好多虫子，门口经常跑来些没家可归的野猫，算是和我作伴。我变得喜欢动物了。

2007-01-27T20:15:00.000-10:00

闲来无事，在书橱里发现则一本书，叫做《苏州文化，文化苏州》。扉页上写着，此书是献给陆文夫老先生的。我虽然读书很少可是还知道陆老先生是苏高中校友，他为苏中校史写的文章我拜读过，是整本书里所有文章中我最中意的，因为文笔很幽默，让枯燥的历史事件有了生气。于是我就想，不得了了，说不定是一本什么利害的人写的书，看一眼吧。作者的名字我不熟悉，原因自明，因为读书太少。可是从上下文理解是苏州的学者，出版的时间是一年前。突然之间我就有了点兴趣，想看看书里写的和自己的亲身经历有什么联系。

也许是国内出版物的惯例，序言需要写一些这本书对国家建设的重要性，于是乎出现了打造苏州文化品牌，为苏州经济建设作贡献的泛泛之辞。脑子里浮现的是在飞机上翻到的‘品牌万里行’活动。现在各大城市向新加坡学习成功经验，一个词’pragmatism'似乎在任何情况下都要用一用。这个先不讨论。

接下来讲讲书里的内容，要用英文了，怕侵权。

The First Chapter is on Suzhou’s culture and its proliferation.

Every culture has a ‘gene’ that preserves its characteristics over time. Unlike a ‘gene’ in the traditional sense of the word, this gene could not be examined under a microscope; and therefore the study of it will involve an investigation into the impact of time, geography and people upon this ‘cultural gene’.

The cultural gene manifests itself in a physical way as the cultural ecology. The most distinct feature of the cultural ecology of Suzhou lies in its water. Suzhou is surrounded by 东海 on its East, 太湖 on its West, 京杭运河 on the South and 长江 on the North. The 20,000 rivers of Suzhou forms a network within which the cultural life of Suzhou unfolds.

The traditional 衣食住行‘四大件’of Suzhou people are all associated with water. Traditionally the main fabric for clothing is silk, the soft and tender feel of which resembles that of water. Known as ‘鱼米之乡’，Suzhou also boasts its wide variety of fish and great abundance of rice, with both industries relying upon water as one of the primary raw materials. ‘君到姑苏往，人家尽枕河’ is a perfect reflection on how close the association is between water and people’s housing in Suzhou. The verse, which is from a famous poem, literally means that houses in Suzhou are all built along streams and small rivers, a scene that almost inevitably triggers the most romantic imagination from poets. Lastly, in Suzhou, ‘无船即无脚’，and boats needs water to travel around. The integration of water into virtually every aspect of the lives of Suzhou people seems to bear testament to the assertion that the element of water indeed constitutes the ‘cultural gene’ of Suzhou.

小试牛刀

2006-12-30T16:26:00.000-10:00

初到苏州，不习惯的是连绵的雨，和雨后向四周漫溢着水气的石板路。雨通常就是那么随意的把周围的粉墙黛瓦化开了去，‘烟雨’，有人给它取了个这么不寻常的名字。人在这烟雨中，不知不觉地就沾染上了苏州水的习气。

不喜欢的还有声名远播的苏州园林，处处都沾染了苏州名商大贾的显赫和甩不掉的小家习气。直到后来，认识了苏中的春雨碧霞。这两池水是随意的，与人亲近的。身在其中，不自觉地蜕去了独在异乡的壳，又变得自由自在起来。水在红楼边，似乎也有了人的灵性，所以与其说是水与人亲近，不如说是苏中的人让人喜欢上了苏中的水。

虽然只是在黄池假山边上走了一遭，却一致认定了红楼是自己的囊中物，两汪碧水一座小丘便是自己家的后花园。颇有野心勃勃私生子的味道！一晃度过了三年的幼稚时光，几多失败的记忆，可是愁云惨雾之后，苏州的雨总能把一切洗得通莹透亮。

Review on 'The Soft Underbelly of China’s Growth'

2006-11-23T01:41:00.000-10:00

by Jun Zhang - Director, China Center for Economic Studies, Fudan University, Shanghai.
The original text is found at http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/zhang2

Seemingly complicated issue – export-lead growth leading to excess capacity and investment-growth nexus, which puts macroeconomic stability on the wane. Inward complexity arising from structural flaws, as exemplified by the immature capital market and the banking sector, which limits the growth of the private sector, was to the author the main culprit for a languid domestic economy. My knowledge of economic theories especially of the financial market is nil; need to study again. Is this currently the most pressing problem of China’s economy?
Furthermore, the author argues against globalisation as a means of avoiding inward complexity. He introduced the term ‘international balance of interests’, and cited Japan’s example in the 1980s as a failure of aggressive overseas expansion as a means to walk around domestic policy constraints.
The main challenge faced by China’s economy is therefore a government unwilling to sacrifice some short-term figures and stability for healthier and sustainable growth in the long run. Structural problems have to be tackled – they do not simply go away.

The End of Secularism?

2006-11-22T02:13:00.000-10:00

Commentary by Ralf Dahrendorf, from Project Syndicate.
I am still very unsure of copyrights issues - hence only a little bit of the text is quoted. Interested people can visithttp://www.project-syndicate.org
Why has religion returned to secular and democratic politics?
The main reason is probably that the enlightened countries of the world have become unsure of their values, even of the Enlightenment itself. A moral relativism has spread, leading many to accept the taboos of all religious groups in the name of tolerance and multiculturalism. Cartoons of Mohammed are not published, and Mozart’s opera Idomeneo is not performed in order to avoid offending religious sensitivities; and when, in the end, the publication and the performance take place, they become a demonstration almost intended to offend. One can understand that enlightened believers in Islam (of whom there are many) find it upsetting that the world in which they want to live is in fact frail and vulnerable. But why politics and which area of politics is the author referring to? The replacement of the rule of law, by the rule of say the Ten Commandments, for example, should certainly by distinguished from the invasion into another country in the name of human liberty? Moral relativism should affect domestic political scene the most – like the case of stem cell research; but the prevalence of religion in international relations – an example of internal conflict spreading to the outside?
The author talks about the return of religion to politics, triggered by ‘moral relativism’ and a need for a new moral standard, and its consequence for liberty. He offered a solution of what Qian Mu would call ‘passive liberty’. I wonder whether some might call that ‘sin of omission’. 读过此文的诸君说不定会给我贴上危险人物的商标，也说不定会因此把我拒之门外了，大叔写文章写的真不是时候。接触了新事物，某些原则也要跟着改变，这本来是很正常的事情。如果西方真的讲政教分家，那所谓的moral relativism应该只对宗教信仰有影响。用政治手段维护宗教思想是对自己信仰缺乏自信的表现，而且法律如果用来维护道德就不能很好的维护自由了，如果Tinbergen Principle可以用在政治上的话。西方成天讲法制，说中国古代的人治的种种不是，其实无论道德也好宗教也好法律也好都是作为行为准则，当然有互相影响的地方，政治完全脱离宗教是不可能的。我觉得关键是要明确法律的目的，就是社会自由的最大化，其他别的目的当然只能为这个主要目的服务。这挺像佩恩说的政府是社会中的恶所衍生的，法律也是为了抑制它所存在的，而不是为了其他的任何目的。孔子说做事前要先正名，现在是时候为法律正名了。

The Problem with Russell's China

2006-10-15T15:30:00.000-10:00

Our Western civilization is built upon assumptions, which, to a psychologist, are rationalizings of excessive energy. Our industrialism, our militarism, our love of progress, our missionary zeal, our imperialism, our passion for dominating and organizing, all spring from a superflux of the itch for activity.
While it is certainly true that the West has a greater crave and obsession with efficiency than the East, it is an over-generalisation to argue that the Oriental society has not a desire for progress. Is power maniac not present in the endless wars between the eunuchs? And as Russell later mentioned, only a small portion of the Chinese population are literate, hence the Confuciusian doctrine is less incorporated in the mass than in the elite. Whence come from the tolerance and ‘peaceable’ nature of the peasants? Certainly not from Confucius; it is in fact difficult to trace the root of such common sentiment, for there is little record about the lives of peasants in China, who almost invariably were assigned the lowest status. It is arguable that only until Ming dynasty was the general population sufficiently educated – which the rise of much easier novels like Shui Hu – making the point that the Chinese are inherently more peaceable an extremely contrived/strenuous one. I do believe that there should be something common in human nature – the desire for progress and not degradation, and even for better material comfort. It is again dubious whether the apparatus of Western progress is driven mainly by this ‘superflux of the itch for activity’, for what exactly it is that makes the Westerners more energetic has not been proven to be in existence. In fact, leaning my ears to Descartes’s ‘epistemological priority’, it is fairly obvious to me that human nature should be assumed to be uniform unless there is some internal or external stimulus that disturbs the uniformity. Many would then point to the environment – but if Russell is referring to environment as the ‘ultimate cause’, then he seems to be contradicting himself when he describes the Chinese people’s reaction to the Yellow River, as opposed to that of the Westerners, as a result of their peaceable nature, rather than the cause of it. Since it cannot be established that outside stimulus – environment or education - changes human nature in such a way that distinguishes the West from the Chinese, whether the West is any different from the East is open to further exploration. But if one were to assume supernatural design – then there is little room for doubt that Russell could still be right in examining the effect first, and then conjecturing the cause.

And at last I began to feel that all politics are inspired by a grinning devil, teaching the energetic and quickwitted to torture submissive populations for the profit of pocket or power or theory.

Oh please don’t say that. That is very disheartening to hear – for a future politician or something of that nature. But is he really referring to the study of politics here? Seems more like international relations to me. He seems to say, ‘leave the Chinese people alone, go home and clear up your own mess first! '

Whatever may be said against filial piety carried to excess, it is certainly less harmful than its Western counterpart, patriotism. Both, of course, err in inculcating duties to a certain portion of mankind to the practical exclusion of the rest. But patriotism directs one's loyalty to a fighting unit, which filial piety does not (except in a very primitive society).
The principal method of advancing the interests of one's nation is homicide; the principal method of advancing the interest of one's family is corruption and intrigue. Therefore family feeling is less harmful than patriotism.
Very impressive – the parallel drawn between filial piety and patriotism. Indeed, the common good might still be not good enough.

David Hume on a party-state democracy

2006-10-12T14:58:00.000-10:00

‘An established government has an infinite advantage, by that very circumstance of its being established; the bulk of mankind being governed by authority, not reason, and never attributing authority to any thing that has not the recommendation of antiquity. To tamper, therefore, in this affair, or try experiments merely upon the credit of supposed argument and philosophy, can never be the part of a wise magistrate, who will bear a reverence to what carries the marks of age; and though he may attempt some improvements for the public good, yet will he adjust his innovations, as much as possible, to the ancient fabric, and preserve entire the chief pillars and supports of the constitution.”

China's Unresolved Issues

2006-10-08T16:35:00.000-10:00

Something about the influence of Confucianism:
It embraces a secular worldview. Confucius believes that the world and its people are essentially moral, and that people should train themselves in benevolence and in humanity, and extend them to other people. His idea of morality starts from filial duty to fraternal submission to helping everyone. The government’s role is to teach people virtue and ceremonial rites.

It can thus be seen that Confucius’ ideals are practical, ethical, and orientated towards ‘now’, which contrast sharply with that of Plato or Aristotle, which are theoretical, metaphysical, and concerned about hereafter and the origin of life. The merchants are given very low status unlike in Western capitalism, which might explain why the attributes of Protestantism is not widely accepted by the Chinese population.

Confucius advocates a hierarchical organization. The nature of society should be family-based, and hierarchically organized. People’s fundamental loyalty and submission is to one’s family, not the state or the public. This kind of structure discourages independence and innovation.

The emperor is believed to serve as the connection of Heaven and Earth, and the humanity. Thus his right to rule is premised on his ability to maintain harmony between Heaven and Earth, him and his officials, and his officials and the people. To be able to achieve that, he must be morally upright, and perform ritual in the appropriate order. Revolution is permissible if the ruler is considered a mere commoner, and society then searches for the new ruler who is appointed by the Mandate of Heaven. This system permits a new ruler, but not a new system.

Birth forth from such a system is a group of educated elite which forms the scholar-gentry class. Officials and selected for their technical expertise as well as moral quality, which was evaluated via a nation-wide examination on the work of Confucius and his disciples. This system of rule by men, and not rule by law poses the question of how leaders should be appointed in the new age.

This is the day that the Lord has made!

2006-10-07T14:48:00.000-10:00

I thought yesterday was just another day of doing community work. I was knocking doors, distributing flyers just as usual. Then this door opened in front of me and the uncle told me that he could not come to today’s event because of the haze, which according to the morning’s report caused the SPI to shoot up to 128. Then he said, ‘Xiao Mei ah, go back home lah, don’t come out running around, it’s bad for your health.’

‘for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;
‘I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
… 'And the King will answer and say to them, ‘assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

This is one of the instances that makes you feel that indeed the order is being slowly restored, and I could not help but anticipate with great joy the day the walls will be torn down and people will become reunited as one. Everyday as ordinary as it is could be, if we are willing, another day for you and me in paradise.

Common Sense.

2006-10-05T03:25:00.000-10:00

Paine goes on to discuss the British form of governance, which brings forth one observation which I deem a self-evident truth that ‘only has to be stated so that it becomes obvious’.

The nicest construction that words are capable of, when applied to the description of things which either cannot exist, or is too incomprehensible within the compass of description, will be words of sound only, and though they may amuse the ear, they cannot inform the mind.

His point is that the king is appointed by a power which people claim exist, but which in fact does not exist. And monarchy is often undesirable because it excludes a man from the means of information, yet empowers him to act in cases where the highest judgment is required. By making the crown an overbearing part of the English Constitution, though we have been wise enough to shut and lock a door against absolute monarchy, we at the same time have been foolish enough to put the crown in the possession of the key.

The next point that he adopted, concerning the nature and source of this special form of governance, is much more contentious:

It arises as much or more from national pride than reason. As a man who is attached to a prostitute is unfitted to choose or judge of a wife, so any prepossession in form of a rotten constitution of government will disable us from discerning a good one.

Common Sense

2006-09-30T17:58:00.000-10:00

Common Sense
Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine seems determined that the premises used in modern political philosophy are ‘common sense’ even to the layperson, although many other scholars would beg to defer. These premises generally concern the nature of man, which in the opinion of Auguste Comte, the father of the term ‘sociology’, should be absolute, such that it becomes possible for humanities to be studied as a science, and subsequently, lavoir pour prevoir et prevoir pour pouvoir, ‘from science comes prevision; from prevision comes action’.

Whether the stance adopted by Paine is the most appropriate for the study of political philosophy is open to debate, but the prowess with which Common Sense was written is indeed remarkable. It offers a break from the acrid observations of Krugman and the deeply controversial tone of Friedman; the reader is led to explore this serious discipline by a poet, who carefully selects his words as if he is composing a song, while maintaining the academic precision of a scientist. No more jokes about ‘anything calling itself a science is not a science’: whether science is to be defined by its empirical methods and epistemology, or simply the use of precise, economical language, political science should be justifiably called a ‘science’.

This particular field of study, however, is far from honest and upright as many others of its brothers and sisters claim to be. Government is a mode rendered necessary by the inability of moral virtue to govern the world’.

Society is produced by our wants, and government by our wickedness. The former promotes happiness positively by uniting our affections (for society emerges because ‘the strength of man is so unequal to his wants, and his mind so unfitted for perpetual solitude’ – a rather rosy proposition, but sound in its own right), and the latter negatively by restraining our vices. The first is a patron, the last a punisher. Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is a necessary evil (just because it is born out of evil?).

We furnish the means by which we suffer, for government, like dress, is the badge of lost innocence (a reference to the Biblical story).

The conclusion, therefore, is that security being the true design and end of government, it unanswerably follows that whatever form thereof appears most likely to ensure it to us, with the least expense and greatest benefit, is preferable to all others.