User Comments - bodawei
bodawei
Posted on: 孔子拜访老子 1：道可道非常道
December 16, 2011 at 7:25 AMIf you would like to send me an IM and email address I will give you a reference.
Posted on: 孔子拜访老子 1：道可道非常道
December 16, 2011 at 7:22 AMGuolan - thanks for that reference.
Posted on: 孔子拜访老子 1：道可道非常道
December 16, 2011 at 4:14 AMHa ha - this sounds like me and my teacher reading the 三字经 － we read a bit then he asks 'what do you think that means?' I tell him, and he says 不对！
So far I have read and understood seventy four 4-line stanzas, but I cannot articulate them apparently. Am I wrong in trying? I have written up fifteen of them in a blog. Yes, I know that there are hundreds of English translations but the couple I have looked at don't give me SATISFACTION!.
Posted on: Visa Issues
December 15, 2011 at 11:22 PMAbout your flight - if you get a one year visa your flight details should match the visa, but most airlines allow you to change the date once without financial penalty.
Posted on: Visa Issues
December 15, 2011 at 11:18 PMThere are basically two approaches that members of my family use. The one I mentioned above (with either 60 or 90 day stays till you have to leave the country) and the alternative is to get a one month visa and renew it in China once or twice, before leaving and getting another one. The advantage of the 12 month version multiple entry is that you don't have to keep submitting paperwork.
Now some riders - your nationality, where you get your original visa, and your location in China can all yield different outcomes. Frustrating, I know. Where my family live they can get a one month visa renewed twice (each for one month) without leaving the country. Other places may only do this once.
The easiest situation to be in is to get a work contract and then your visa matches your work contract, plus a little time to allow you to pack and leave the country. When you are in this situation they give you 'residency' and you can come and go as many times as you like without paperwork or any additional fees. The convenient arrangement I describe comes to an end when your work contract comes to an end. You could consider getting a teaching job, teaching oral English (minimal preparation), making sure it is maximum 6 - 8 hours a week over one or two days with no extra responsibilities; then you have plenty of time to yourself. These days you need a university degree to get a half decent English teaching job, and they prefer people to have an ESL qualification and experience.
Good luck, and let me know if you want any more advice.
Posted on: Visa Issues
December 14, 2011 at 10:21 PMOne option is to get a tourist visa - you can get one for a year, multiple entry - you just have to leave and re-enter every so often (to Korea, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam etc.)
Posted on: National Stereotypes
December 14, 2011 at 1:43 PM'conflating Chinese 'culture' and Chinese 'politics''
Politics is indeed culture, but that has nothing to do with the Chinese. I think that you are confusing culture with things like Beijing Opera. (Which I guess I would label reluctantly 'high culture'.) Any learned behaviour is culture. Perhaps I should have spelled out these definitions before this.
Posted on: National Stereotypes
December 13, 2011 at 12:43 PMThanks for the link Grambers, that is funny. I'm against gender stereotyping as well. It does seem to assume that people are so stupid they can't make choices, and the research supports this view. One reason we make poor choices is that we can't recognise stereotypes. See Sheena Iyengar 'The Art of Choosing', great book. We'll have to leave it there, I need to go to bed. :(
Posted on: Preparing for Pain
December 13, 2011 at 12:16 PMWell, good luck. :)
Kickbacks by the international pharmaceuticals is an industry one way or another - it has been legislated against, but remains a problem for consumers and big business for the lawyers.
See for example http://pharmaceutical-kickbacks.com/
Posted on: 孔子拜访老子 1：道可道非常道
December 16, 2011 at 9:54 AM'Keep going bozi!'
That is very funny - the sort of joke my teacher would not appreciate. :)
As they say (or maybe they don't???) 过程比结果重要。I can't recall any Chinese person saying this but it is food for thought, and I am wondering if somewhere in the 三字经 this will be expressed.
I will make this available shortly but I need to advise that (1) my commentary is far from finished!, (2) it is in English, and (3) it is written to 'an imaginary and clever little ten year old.' It does not look anything like a 'serious'/published translation.
At one stage I comment on how the interpretation of these texts change over time. It is public property, so different families interpret it in different ways, depending on their personal philosophy, or depending on their local culture. (Consider how a minority group may view it compared to the 汉族... )
A small quote (slightly modified to fit our conversation): '... Last stanza I softened the 三字经 message somewhat – the three ‘standards of behaviour’ actually convey the idea that the king sets the rules for the subject, the father for the son, and the husband for the wife. There is no shame in modifying the scriptures of previous generations – it is an old respected tradition. … :D
The stanza's original meaning is more along the lines:
君为臣纲 (the king, for the subject, sets the rules, 义 trust each other)
父为子纲 (the father, for the son, sets the rules, 亲 be intimate and close)
夫为妇纲 (the husband, for the wife, sets the rules, 顺 travel in the same direction)...
By IM I means a personal message on this site, yes.