Chinese Girl Bands Beijing Red Poppies Ladies' Percussion We got our cable fixed a while back and found out that our esteemed local cable company had been shortchanging us all along. We discovered that we should get no fewer than five Chinese channels. The best of the lot, by far, is Phoenix TV. It shows an assortment of Mandarin language programming from the Mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong, with good documentaries, drama series and news. Thankfully, not so many idiotic Taiwan variety shows. The Chinese term I am thinking of to describe them is 傻乎乎的, which my dictionary translates as "innocent; naive". But I thought that verb+乎 could also indicate degree, as in 'exceeding one's expectations'. So in this case my intended meaning is 'extremely foolish/idiotic'. Am I mistaken in this usage? One thing I've noticed, that seems to be a relatively recent phenomenon, is the influx of Chinese girl bands, albeit with a twist. Unlike the boy bands, which stick to the typical saccharin Chinese pop formula mixed with unremarkable dance routines inspired by the equally forgettable New Kids On the Block and Backstreet Boys, these Chinese girl bands perform a blend of Chinese traditional and pop music. They also have lots of members, usually eight or more, all playing traditional Chinese instruments and percussion. Two that I've been seeing a lot of on Chinese television are the Beijing Red Poppy Ladies' Percussion and 12 Girls Band. Any of you living in China have an explanation for this trend? I've heard there is another such all-girl ensemble from Hangzhou, but their name escapes me at the moment. I don't really know what to make of this kind of music/performance art, other than that it strikes me as the frightening love-child of The Blue Man Group and Zamfir.
- posted by Prince Roy @ 11/28/2004 02:10:00 AM| |

 
亲爱的宝岛,我们将要来了!!! Super news this week. I found out where my next post will be: Taiwan! I am completely stoked. I lived there for a little over three years in various periods from 1988-1993, but haven't been back since. Now Spicygirl and I will be going sometime in the summer or fall of 2006 and we will stay for two years. I'll be at the American Institute in Taiwan, Taipei branch. I was not due to bid on a new post until early 2005, but because I am proficient in Mandarin Chinese, State allowed me to bid out of cycle. I could only bid on posts in which I am language qualified, and since I am not currently eligible for the PRC, Taiwan was my only option. State has a very pragmatic reason for allowing out-of-cycle bidding. It costs well over $200,000 to train someone to the basic 2/0 minimum proficiency in Mandarin (this includes salary, benefits and per diem of the diplomat, as well as actual cost of the 6-8 month language course at the Foreign Service Insitute). By assigning me instead, State saves itself a nice chunk of change. Also, a 2/0 doesn't really get you very far in actual utility. Since I tested at the 3+/3 level, I am potentially far more useful. Persons bidding on Taipei with no Chinese language skills would be finishing up their current tours in summer of 2005 and then heading back to Washington for training and language classes; they would then arrive in Taiwan in the summer of 2006. I will still serve a full two years here in Chennai, and arrive in Taipei right at the same time, since I won't need language instruction. Everyone wins. As for me, I am just dying to get back to a full-time Chinese language environment. Like I have written elsewhere, it's been over 10 years now. I know Taipei has changed quite a bit since I last lived there. They finally finished the subway, for one. And Poagao is now a jazzman. I've been telling Spicygirl about all the yummies there too: Mongolian BBQ, Taipei 牛肉面, hotpot, etc. But what's even better are the night market snacks, especially my favorite: BBQ corn. Also, Taiwan has magnificent scenery. Its eastern coast rivals anywhere else I've ever been. The mountains literally end at the sea. I am looking forward to many, many road trips. You may tell I am pretty hopped up right now, but Taiwan doesn't account for all of that. My sponsoree, bless his heart, brought me two 12-packs of Diet Mountain Dew from the States. He gave them to me tonight. I haven't drank this caffeine-laced ambrosia since leaving the US in early April, so I kind of went for broke and am already on my third can; who knows when I'll get to sleep now? Spicygirl had one, too. Gotta conserve, only 20 left. And 17 more months in Chennai...the countdown has begun. UPDATE: Metanoiac! Matt wanted to know more about AIT. From the AIT website:

The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) is a non-profit, private corporation established shortly after the United States Government changed its diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing on January 1, 1979. The Taiwan Relations Act (PL 96-8) of April 10, 1979, authorized the continuation of "commercial, cultural and other relations between the people of the United States and the people on Taiwan." It also provided that "any programs, transactions, or other relations conducted or carried out by the President or any Agency of the United States Government with respect to Taiwan shall, in the manner and to the extent directed by the President, be conducted and carried out by or through the American Institute in Taiwan." The Department of State, through a contract with the Institute, provides a large part of AIT's funding and guidance in its operations. Congress, in passing the Taiwan Relations Act, also assumed an oversight role with respect to the Institute's operations... ...AIT's Taipei Office (AIT/T) with a total staff of over 300 people undertakes a wide range of activities representing U.S. interests, including commercial services, agricultural sales, consular services and cultural exchanges. The Institute also operates a Chinese language school, trade center, and library. AIT has a branch office in Kaohsiung (AIT/K) that handles local commercial promotion, consular services, information and cultural work.

- posted by Prince Roy @ 11/20/2004 01:25:00 AM| |

 
Spicygirl went back to Chengdu for a month in August. Besides shipping 5 large boxes of Sichuan foodstuffs 四川特产食品 and some books, she also brought back a few DVDs. We are now entering a period of the Indian calendar year where we will get a heap of three-day weekends. Our consulate normally observes Indian holidays (this includes national, regional, and religious, including both Hindu and Muslim) and US ones. We don't get them all, though---I think State caps us at 20 days per year. We had Thursday off (Veterans Day/Diwali) and we'll have tomorrow off (a Muslim holiday to mark the end of Ramadan). We've been using the time to catch up on our DVD viewing. Just as well, because our cable has been out for three days, and though the company has been over three times now, they have yet to repair it. Getting anything done here can be maddening. They hardly ever bring the right tools, if any, which means they disappear for another hour or two, and today at 1:00pm they said the cable had 'worn out' and would need replacing. When would they be back? "By 4:00pm, sir." It is now 5:30pm and no sign of them. No answer at the company telephone either. I think I'll deduct a week off the bill and see how they like it. I will miss many things about India when I finally leave, but Indian business practises, and overall customer service (an oxymoron in this country) will not be among them. Anyway, here's what we're watching: 中国式离婚 is a 20-part series based in Beijing, about a successful heart surgeon, his wife and their bratty "Little Emperor". It stars Chen Daoming and Jiang Wenli. I normally thoroughly enjoy Mainland melodramas, because they offer fairly honest perspectives on modern Chinese society, and how common people are coping with the changes wrought by the economic reforms. And they certainly beat most of the serials Taiwan exports, which are mainly tear-jerker historical costume dramas. This one disappoints though. Neither character comes across as worthy of sympathy, especially the wife, and by just the third episode, I didn't particularly care what happened to them. They were both self-absorbed and shallow. My verdict: will do for a rental if nothing else is available, but don't waste your money buying it. Historical documentaries are always among my favorites. I have more than a passing interest in the Korean War, so I was especially happy when Spicygirl brought this home. It's a two-disc set and includes a 92-page illustrated guide. Like every other Mainland Chinese documentary I've ever seen, with the possible exception of 河殇 River Elegy, it is not at all interested in a serious examination of its topic, but merely serves to indoctrinate the audience with how heroic the Chinese soldier was, and how greatly the PLA 'volunteer' forces manhandled the imperialist US during the conflict. This one is better than most, though, because it includes a lot of war footage, and also contains interviews with many elderly Chinese vets. It also has its (unintended) moments of humor: apparently the most important criteria to succeed as a fighter pilot are not thousands of hours in the air, or hardened combat experience in WWII (which the American pilots had), but instead 'political consciousness' 政治觉悟 and membership in the communist party (which the Chinese pilots had). Now I'll be the first to admit I'm no expert on the Korean air war, but shouldn't whatever difficulties the US had in controlling the skies instead be attributed to Soviet fighters and their more than competent MiG-15s? If you've ever studied Chinese or lived in China for more than two weeks, you'll recognize our old friend Dashan, the bane of every Chinese-speaking Westerner. In case you don't know, Dashan is the stage name of Canadian Mark Rowswell. His claim to fame is that he learned Chinese (very well) and made a name for himself performing "cross-talk", a traditional Beijing folk art which pairs a straight guy/funny guy quipping and punning with each other. Like Brendan writes here, I'm not a big fan of it, and don't find it all that humorous. A lot of people seem to have it in for Dashan, but I've always been lukewarm on the guy. I did get tired of almost every Chinese bringing him up after they discovered I could speak more than a few sentences of Chinese, because then the obligatory compliment invariably becomes: "Wow, you speak Chinese as well as Dashan!", instead of the "Your Chinese is so excellent!" that they say to every foreigner who mangles "你好!" In any event, I freely admit I'm nowhere in Dashan's league---I haven't even lived in China/Taiwan since 1993, and have only visited 3 or 4 times since. So I was surprised when Spicygirl pulled this out of her suitcase. It's a collection of five early Dashan classics,all from the late 1980s-early 1990s. It's a very young-looking Dashan on the screen, and he's not quite as polished; he makes several noticeable mistakes. The cross-talks on this DVD are all ok, except for the fourth one, called "The Postage Stamp" 一张邮票. It's not even a "cross-talk", but a skit 小品. This one is especially annoying because it has a young Mainland performer playing the role of a Taiwanese girl visiting China. I think the only thing more 'ear-ritating' (刺耳) than Taiwanese 小姐国语 is the Mainlander impersonation of it. The whole skit is a sappy plea for Mainland/Taiwan fraternity, and at the end Dashan makes a maudlin appeal for reunification. For the first time I could almost agree with his critics, and I cringed. Not for the peaceful reunification of Taiwan and China, but that Dashan would let himself become an obvious propaganda mouthpiece. But I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, as he also remained in China performing on television there in the aftermath of 1989. Still, you have to hand it to him. He accomplished what he set out to do, and now he is not only a cultural icon instantly recognizable to over one billion people, he is also a living trademark. So I guess Dashan is having the last and loudest laugh of all---all the way to 中国人民银行 The People's Bank of China.
- posted by Prince Roy @ 11/14/2004 07:45:00 PM| |

 
UPDATE: I found out that fireworks here are manufactured domestically, but they love to give them Chinese-sounding names: Phoenix, Empress, Panther, stuff like that. All in a cheesy chopstick font. And in the weirdest case of trademark infringement I've ever seen, a popular assortment package of explosives costing 750 rupees bears the brand name Sony. Lots of cool stuff in it that blows up, but no VAIO, Trinitron, Watchman or Walkman... The city of Chennai has been under non-stop intensive bombardment by the Chinese since late yesterday afternoon. Loud, fearsome explosions are occurring all across town. It is almost impossible to sleep due to the noise. No, China has not invaded Chennai; it is only that time of year again: Diwali. They call it the 'Festival of Lights', but something got left out in translation. What it really means is the 'Festival of (everyone who) Lights (fireworks)'. There are scores of firework stands all over town, including a big one not far from our house. I may go buy some to see if they are made in India, or are Chinese imports. The noise has literally not stopped since yesterday from around six. I heard there is a law against lighting fireworks after 10:00 at night, but people mind that law as much as they do any other city ordinance. I don't know how long this will go on, but it is nice to have the day off regardless. Almost everything is closed, but thankfully The Lotus Thai restaurant at The Park hotel is open, and that is where we are heading for lunch. If you ever visit Chennai, they have an amazing Thai buffet, only 450 rupees. We may even get a room at the hotel if this racket keeps up too much longer... P.S. Happy Veterans Day to all my fellow vets!
- posted by Prince Roy @ 11/11/2004 01:50:00 PM| |

 
UPDATE: I have to admit I am less than satisfied with Wikipedia's assessment of General Stilwell's career. It reads as though a Generalissimo (i.e., "The Peanut") apologist wrote it. To get the true picture, read Tuchman's book, Stilwell's letters, and other contemporary accounts, and you will discover WWII and post-WWII events in China transpired largely as Stilwell and Foreign Service officer John Service (another person I greatly admire) predicted they would. A shout-out to PDM for reminding me of this very prescient diplomat, my personal role model. If his China studliness isn't enough, he also fought the Law, and damned if he didn't win. I just found this photo hidden away in my hard drive. This is from the summer of 2002. It was the summer after my second year of law school, and I was in China to take up a two-month internship at a Chinese law firm in Beijing. First though, Spicygirl and I went to Chengdu for our second marriage ceremony. We were married in the US four years earlier, and this was my first visit to China since 1996. We had to go back to her hometown and have the wedding banquet, because noone considers you married until you do, and it doesn't matter what any scrap of paper otherwise known as a marriage certificate says. After the reception, attended by over 300 people (a bit on the small side), we went to our honeymoon 'suite' at some rundown hotel where all her friends made us do these stupid embarrassing newlywed games. I felt like a total jackass, not the least of which because we had already been married four years. Well, I know they meant well. I hope. One of the highlights was a visit to Chongqing. I had been meaning to get back here for years, because one of the historical figures I most admire,General Joseph Stilwell, lived here several years during WWII. Barbara Tuchman's biography of him, Stilwell and the American Experience in China, 1911-45, is a masterpiece, and a must-read for anyone who wants to understand modern Chinese history. Ever since reading the book I wanted to visit his Chongqing residence, and I had heard the Chinese made it into a small museum. He is still held in wide regard by the Chinese; well, at least by previous generations. We spent all morning looking for it---it sits on the top of a hill overlooking the Yangtze River (Changjiang 长江). But much to my chagrin it was closed all summer for renovation. This was back in June 2002 so I'm sure it's open again now. 史迪威将军旧居 The Chinese characters read: Former Residence of General Stilwell. You can see by my expression that I was highly disappointed, but later we went to see the infamous Zhazidong and Baigongguan KMT prisons at Gele Mountain so the day wasn't a total loss.
- posted by Prince Roy @ 11/08/2004 02:20:00 AM| |

 
Request If any US citizens reading this have visas to India, I would greatly appreciate it if you would let me know the visa validity period. This information is printed on the visa. Please leave a comment or contact me via email.
- posted by Prince Roy @ 11/07/2004 11:15:00 AM| |

 
It's Friday Night! The title of this post is my own personal motto. I use it whenever I have the next day off, no matter what day it actually is. This time, however, it actually happened to be Friday night, and we hosted a party at our home for the newest officer and family to arrive at post. I was his official sponsor. We made a whole bunch of food, a mouth-watering smorgasbord that spanned seven countries. Too bad you couldn't make it, but check out the menu here. This all took place during a torrential monsoon downpour, yet we still had loads of folks show up. This was our second entertainment function. For our housewarming party back in July, we kind of put it on all ourselves, and Spicygirl spent most of the night running back and forth from the kitchen, and I was ferrying drinks to everyone all night; we didn't enjoy much quality time with our guests. This time we did it right and hired more help. Note to self: always hire a server for these things. The food was great and all, but things really got interesting when I broke out my own private reserve stash of Wuliang ye 五粮液 (see picture here). This is Sichuan's finest grain alcohol, and it is not for the timid. I've had a long-standing tradition that every able-bodied male who enters our home for the first time has to drink a shot. Women can try it if they dare. Personally, I love the stuff, but I enjoy the looks on the faces of people trying it for the first time even more. This night was no different. Even the CG paid his dues, but only me, a Korean guest, and one other American colleague had more than the obligatory single shot. The American guy impressed me most of all. He was stationed in China many years, and developed a sincere appreciation for the subtleties of fine 白酒. We ended up almost finishing the bottle, and this stuff doesn't come cheap at around $50 (according to Spicygirl). My Korean friend also brought over a fair amount of soju, the kind packaged in what looks to be a fruit juice carton, so I had plenty of that, too. For straight drinking, I actually prefer soju, because it is much smoother. To appreciate 五粮液, you really have to sip it over a many-course meal---it is not a stand-alone spirit. Anyway, between the 白酒, soju, and beer, we all got pretty happy. I'm afraid my poor sponsoree thinks we are a bunch of madmen. I don't think I was too out of it, though when I went to get a couple of Heinekens for two guests, I brought them back cans of Mountain Dew and Diet Pepsi. In my own defense, once the soju takes hold, everything begins to look like Heineken. All in all, we had a blast. I wear it as a personal badge of honor that I'm hearing through the grapevine how 'under the weather' so many people were feeling the next day! If they think this was rough, they better pray my Mardi Gras party doesn't materialize!
- posted by Prince Roy @ 11/07/2004 04:10:00 AM| |

 
Prince Roy: WannaBeat For anyone interested in the 1950s Beat Literature Movement, look no further than Literary Kicks: Beautitude. It's a veritable online encyclopedia of the period's major and minor creative figures, their works, the holy Beat places, philosophical influences and more. It's a fitting tribute and educational resource devoted to my favorite literary era, and the last Great Age, of modern American literature.
- posted by Prince Roy @ 11/02/2004 12:50:00 AM| |