Cheeseburger Jiaozi
Usually, “fusion food” is a worrying term for me. However, having come across the cheeseburger dumpling, it seemed like a dongsi recipe that could work well, so we tried making them at home.
Posted in Blog and tagged cheesburger, china, Chinese, culture, dumpling, food, fusion food, Jiaozi, recipe
Tientsin Mystic: A Review
I really enjoyed Tientsin Mystic back in 2018 and wanted to wait for a suitable occasion to write about it. Now that we’re in Novel Coronavirus lockdown, I am, as usual, working my hours in publishing, as well as being in the middle of a Chinese culture project, in this case, my new book. However, apart from staying in and social distancing, looking after your mental welfare, is something that I can use my particular skills to contribute to. It’s been a while since I’ve seen the series, but this means I can write about the salient themes that have stood the test of time, without spoiling much of the plot.
Posted in Blog and tagged china, Chinese, culture, drama, fantasy, historical, novel, review, TV
Five Fabulous Chinese Goddesses: Tian Hou
Even though China’s pantheon is mammoth, there does tend to be more male deities than female, it’s an imbalance I’ve tried to redress in my book. For Chinese goddesses are fabulous indeed, they come in many types – deities of the elements, the trades, protectors, creators. Most of the Nü Shen, Chinese for female deity, are very powerful. They also have amazing stories, and are some of China’s oldest supernatural beings. In this mini-series I write about 5 of them.
Posted in Blog and tagged china, Chinese, culture, deity, goddess, International Women's Day, sea
Five Fabulous Chinese Goddesses: Lei Zu
Even though China’s pantheon is mammoth, there does tend to be more male deities than female, it’s an imbalance I’ve tried to redress in my book. For Chinese goddesses are fabulous indeed, they come in many types – deities of the elements, the trades, protectors, creators. Most of the Nü Shen, Chinese for female deity, are very powerful. They also have amazing stories, and are some of China’s oldest supernatural beings. In this mini-series I write about 5 of them.
Posted in Blog and tagged china, Chinese, culture, deity, goddess, International Women's Day, Leizu, silk
Five Fabulous Chinese Goddesses: Hou Tu
Even though China’s pantheon is mammoth, there does tend to be more male deities than female, it’s an imbalance I’ve tried to redress in my book. For Chinese goddesses are fabulous indeed, they come in many types – deities of the elements, the trades, protectors, creators. Most of the Nü Shen, Chinese for female deity, are very powerful. They also have amazing stories, and are some of China’s oldest supernatural beings. In this mini-series I write about 5 of them.
Posted in Blog and tagged china, Chinese, culture, deities, goddess, International Women's Day
Five Fabulous Chinese Goddesses: Nü Wa
Even though China’s pantheon is mammoth, there does tend to be more male deities than female, it’s an imbalance I’ve tried to redress in my book. For Chinese goddesses are fabulous indeed, they come in many types – deities of the elements, the trades, protectors, creators. Most of the Nü Shen, Chinese for female deity, are very powerful. They also have amazing stories, and are some of China’s oldest supernatural beings. In this mini-series I write about 5 of them.
Posted in Blog and tagged china, Chinese, culture, goddess, International Women's Day
Five Fabulous Chinese Goddesses: Xi Wang Mu
Even though China’s pantheon is mammoth, there does tend to be more male deities than female, it’s an imbalance I’ve tried to redress in my book. For Chinese goddesses are fabulous indeed, they come in many types – deities of the elements, the trades, protectors, creators. Most of the Nü Shen, Chinese for female deity, are very powerful. They also have amazing stories, and are some of China’s oldest supernatural beings. In this mini-series I write about 5 of them.
Posted in Blog and tagged china, Chinese, culture, deities, goddess, International Women's Day, women
Chunwan 2020
It’s Chinese New Year eve. We all know what that means. After the big meal, there would be four hours of non-stop song, dance and comedy. Like a baptism by fire to being truly Chinese, the Chunjie Wanhui (Chunwan for short), has to be done. For all Chinese like myself who’ve grown up with it, sat through it during childhood, rolled our eyeballs at it over adolescence (when our parents still managed to get it over satellite), as we get older, it’s become a ritual that, no matter where in the world you are, and how you’re celebrating, brings you right back.
Posted in Blog and tagged 2020, china, Chinese, Chinese New Year, Chunwan, culture, gala, show, Spring Festival Gala, variety show
The Danwei Community
Last week, we received the terrific news that Wuhan, a city that I and many others around the world have been cheering on for months, has officially come out of quarantine. As I watched some videos during the quarantine period, the organized volunteer help in local compounds really demonstrated to me how China’s old-style residential living have come in useful during this time of crisis. Known as the Danwei community, this remnant of the Communist Era had still been the prevalent style of living in China until the early 1990s, and it was very much part of the first dozen years of my life.
Posted in Blog and tagged china, Chinese, commentary, community, Coronvavirus, culture, Danwei, life style, society