China

is it so different?
Nanjec
"The biggest natively spoken language on the entire planet." (40 second mark)
We have watched several Chinese historical fantasy dramas on Netflix, half a dozen this year. The clothes and sets are fabulous, and there are long scenes where we have fancy people just standing around and talking. The talk is mostly in consequential, but every so often someone drops a hint and, if you are paying attention, you will start to pick up on the evil plot the bad guys are making. But they all end the same way, happily, the guy gets the girl, the villains are foiled, and all is right with the world.

We watch these shows in Chinese and read the subtitles. Even after all this exposure, spoken Chinese to me is still incomprehensible, so the I found the above video to be enlightening.

 
Inside Chongqing’s Massive Hot Pot Industry
saintcavish
I don't much care about Hot Pot (an interactive, communal dining style where diners cook raw, bite-sized ingredients right at the table in a pot of simmering soup or stock), but first minute and a half he gives an overview of the town of Chongqing, and I found that interesting.

 

Changqing is in the middle of China


Chongqing is a big place. This map is about 500 miles wide.

There's a lot going on in China and my knowledge of the place is decidedly lacking. I have a pretty good understanding of the history of Western Civilization, but my understanding of the history of Asia is pretty poor. To that I end I looked up the section on Chinese history at Powell's City of Books today. Powell's, if you don't know, is big place, it's three story building and covers a whole city block. They've got a zillion books, but surprisingly, the section on Chinese history was only two books cases, and one case was devoted entirely to Communist China, i.e. the People's Republic of China (PRC), not be confused with the Republic of China (ROC - Taiwan).

Anyway, I picked up a copy of Smoke and Ashes: Opium's Hidden Histories by Amitav Ghosh. Don't know when I'll get around to reading it. I'm only halfway through the copy of A Quantum Mythology that I picked up in Las Vegas two months ago.

I've also encountered a few short videos about China, collected in a playlist here.