A Dull and Lacklustre Life ahead

I find myself increasingly uninterested in the things that I used to hold great passion for. My usual hobbies, despite the fact that I have not engaged in them for several months, include singing, mahjong, and going to the movies. It seems that I have either reached a bottleneck for these activities (knowing that there will be little improvement and hence less satisfaction derived from them), or lacked the motivation to conduct them at all. I have grown to become a geek. I still possess the drive to read my books and aim high in the academia. Like what some of my friends say, I am on my way towards monkhood, devoid of all desires and feelings. Despite the use of some negative-sounding adjectives to describe what my life may turn out to be, I think it will nonetheless be enjoyable in its own terms. I love to travel, both abroad and spiritually.

By the way, I am 90% sure that I will be skipping my Commencement Ceremony. I will most likely be giving Boredin my letters so that he can invite his siblings over to grace the Ceremony. Call me nuts or weird, but I am not at all happy that I will be graduating soon. Quite on the contrary, I wish to stay on forever.

Loads of thanks to Peggy for her birthday present! I love the Ma Ying-Jeou figurine. See you soon!

Some facts from individual findings

I'm now slightly freer than I was just 2 weeks ago, so to prevent my brains from going idle, I did some research on my own regarding the topics that I have always been interested in. Just for fun.

Singapore used to administer, if not own, Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean before the Australians took over. We were paid a hefty sum of pounds for the deal.

India is actually closer to Singapore than we thought of it to be, because India owns a stretch of islands at the throat of the Malacca Straits called the Andaman Islands.

We Singaporeans are Commonwealth citizens, enjoying many exclusive privileges accorded to past British subjects. We are no longer colonized, but the United Kingdom continues to bestow the privileges upon us. A statement of emphasis, however, is that we are all equals now. It is remarkable to see how the Commonwealth of Nations has grown to incorporate most of the old British colonies and become an international organization of modern, self-determining nation-states. And it works on a voluntary basis. It seems that past British subjects have little hard feelings towards their old colonial masters. That, to me, is remarkable.

For instance (correct me if I'm wrong; what I say here is not Gospel Truth), if Singaporeans reside in the British Isles for work or study, they can choose to be neutralized as British citizens after a few years. One key note is that the immigration process is simpler than in other circumstances, explaining why many Hongkongers (prior to 1997) flood to the British dominions of Australia and Canada that have erected similar clauses in their laws.

Sounds like a viable option for a quick getaway.

Compare this scenerio with the stories of hatred and warfare that have occurred elsewhere and the difference is obvious.

Wow

I didn't know that 秦沛、姜大卫and尔冬升are brothers. Their mother belonged to a Manchu imperial clan and enjoys a linkage with 多尔衮.

Japan

Japan looks so beautiful from the pictures. I wish to visit the country soon. Cape Soya looks captivating. I'm proud to be Asian!

Confusion

I don't know what I can and will do in the next few months. Or should I say, I have too many choices at hand.

I had just rejected an invitation to go to Turkey in May-June, because I need to compile some ethnographic data in my capacity as a research assistant. I could have compiled the data earlier this year, but was too busy and tired with my thesis to do so. There was also a chance for me to go to India on a USP summer programme in May, but I have to give that up too. The ideal plan for me in May-June was actually to head first to India and then to Turkey.

Most probably I will be visiting Beijing (again) in June to immerse myself in the Olympics mood prevalent there. More precisely, I will be the Programme Assistant again for the USP overseas module in Peking University. However, the outcome for my Master's application is not out yet and a high degree of uncertainty lingers on whether I will enrol into NIE or NUS later this year.

Finally, I had expressed my intention to Peggy and gang that I will be visiting Taiwan from China (via transit in Hong Kong; then I can meet Debby, Paul and others) in June-July. However, even this is subject to the approval of my application. What's worse is that USP has allocated me a seat at the USP Graduation Dinner, because (I think) I qualify for their Honours Roll or something. The dinner will be held in mid-July, and even though I had intended to give my whole Commencement Ceremony a miss, I am now undecided on whether I should skip the Dinner because the media may be there and I am still someone who craves for such "transient" fame and glory. And if I am accepted into the Master's programme, I need to rush back by late July for my diagnostic English test (which is like duh) and to complete my registration formalities with NUS.

In a nutshell, I am hopelessly lost in my plans for the holidays.

Why?

Why are cockroaches such big insects? It is hard not to notice them.

What can't insecticide kill them? I had once sprayed half a can of Bygone on a cockroach and miraculously it survived the attack and flew (albeit in zig-zag motion) out.

Why do they like to crawl around aimlessly? It gives me the creeps.

What do they hope to find? I have kept my place clean.

What's worse is, why can they fly?! Flying cockroaches are the ultimate horror because you never know when they may just bump into your face. With them around, who needs horror films?

象牙塔

我不要勾心斗角
也不要尔虞我诈
只想躲在我那座
以书本建构起的象牙塔里
扮演独角戏里的悲情角色
冷眼旁观世间的纷纷扰扰

俯瞰远方的地平线
似乎预示着自己的极限
能够看的就这么多
也很庆幸自己只能如此
太阳落下的那尽头
不知有多少个未知数
笼罩在无限的黑暗中

初日曈曈
习习的海风吹翻了高耸的象牙塔
书本竟化身成一双双坚韧的羽翼
随意乘骑一双
云翔在悠悠天际里
那尽头却永无止境
好奇逐成无奈

好后悔，好后悔
可是倘若没有这后悔的经验
就不会知道后悔之前的美丽
原来是如此简单

Friends or Foes?

It is necessary for us to take the bitter pill when the occasion calls for it. Similarly, we should possess a huge capacity for criticisms, both kind and unkind, so long as these criticisms are constructive ones that allow us to improve. Friends who offer criticisms should be treasured because they are actually placing their friendship at stake by this gesture. They suffer from an imperfect knowledge of how their subject reacts to it, whether positively or negatively. It is better to hear the cold, hard truth face-to-face than to receive it when you least expect it from gossip-mongers who talk behind your back. Offering criticisms is different from hurling abuses, the latter being insulting and offensive and hence yields no tangible outcomes.

Many friends fall out due to misunderstandings, and these misunderstandings arise from either a lack of communication or too much of it, too much in a sense that people simply have enough of criticisms of themselves from their friends. The transition from friends to foes is a high price to pay. You lose a friend and you learn nothing from the experience. Take heed!

Stardom

Mandarin-pop has been dominated by the Taiwanese entertainment scene in recent years. While it holds true that Taiwan produces many well-known celebrities, it is Hong Kong that produces the stars. The Four Heavenly Kings were a classic, followed by the likes of Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui. I belong to the old school, and my personal favourites are Chow Yun-Fatt and Adam Cheng.

I was in Hong Kong last May when my Canadian friends happened to chance upon Chow Yun-Fatt at a cha can tang, the Hong Kong version of our kopitiam. Being excited as they were, they approached him for autographs and photos which he had all gladly obliged. I mean, wasn't Chow Yun-Fatt nice, given his celeb status in the Chinese community and subsequent breakthrough in Hollywood? Having seen this excellent example of humility and modesty despite immense fame and prestige, I wonder why some budding starlets choose to put on airs even though they have yet to make their mark.

Adam Cheng will be holding his concert in Singapore in May, but I am financially strapped to catch it. Oh well, I had missed Jacky Wu's concert a few years back anyway. Might as well.

The World around "Us"

Does "us" literally refer to only us or does it include "them" as well? I think these distinctions are rather useless. People complain about globalization and its ills, claiming that the growing trend is killing off local heritage and individuality. However, why should cultural diversity be celebrated when in its defense we can only gain enmity and suspicion from "them"? To a fair extent, cultural diversity and hence a "clash of civilizations" has led to genocide, terrorist attacks and civil wars, amongst other calamities plaguing the world of today. Look at the fight between "us" and the terrorists. Or the Darfur conflict in Sudan. Or the massacres in the former Yugoslav states and Rwanda. Or the more recent case in which the Chinese have reacted strongly against the West regarding issues pertaining to Tibet and the Olympics. Cultural diversity is a worthy price to pay in order to make the world a more coherent and homogeneous one to live in. Let there be no demarcation between "us" and "them". We are all global citizens, everyone a part of the human race.

Lost MSN password

May I request that those who had bothered to read this blog at all to add me on MSN via ykchan83@live.com because I have yet to recover my old password and am now stuck with this new address. It may eventually become my permanent one if my brain cells really fail to recollect that silly set of alphabets and numbers. It is more economical to broadcast my folly here than to SMS or call everyone regarding the loss. Thank You very much!

I wonder if raking in big bucks is really that important. Are graduate students unproductive units that leech onto the resource base of society? In any case, I will never give up my plans for further studies in favour of fatter paychecks and prospective promotions, if any. A higher degree may seem useless in the eyes of many, especially when it yields little utility in monetary terms. I know that I will remain poor for many years to come, but I simply don't care, so long as I don't become a burden to anyone. I have my own principles when it comes to the academia: I will only study on scholarships and nothing else. If I receive no sponsorship whatsoever, I will work till I have the means to provide for myself, period.

It is only in my last year at NUS that I realize that studying is indeed better than working. At least in my opinion, this is so. This is my plan for the future, if I am doing any planning at all.

Academics are useless on their own. However, they wield great influence on the lives of others and the world per se if their papers are substantial enough to break stereotypes and change mentalities. Intellectuals can muster the strength and resilience of civil societies and effect phenomenal, sweeping transformations for the better. Newton, Einstein, Al Gore etc. offer good examples in this context. For them to have an impact requires an audience to listen to their appeals. This depends on their ability to write and to convince.

I am still in the learning process. I shall strive on.

5-7 April: Xiamen City, Fujian Province, China

Not to be outdone by time constraints, I had tried to cover as much as I could of Xiamen within 3 days. I first visited a beautiful islet called Gu Lang Yu, famous for its high piano population and rich European architectural style.

The red house shown below is a legacy of the islet's past as the prominent site of European embassies during the Qing Dynasty. Like the hundreds of its kind on the islet, it has now become a residence of the common folk after 1949.

The islet is a pleasant place to be in, and indeed it had attracted many influential Chinese of the past to house their residences here. There is a pavilion atop the highest point of the islet, where a skyline view of opposite Xiamen can be obtained. An image of Zheng Chenggong looms near, symbolic of a successful takeover of Taiwan during the Ming-Qing period. It is up to the visitor to decide if it continues to bear any significance as a contemporary.

I hopped onboard a cab to Xiamen University, known as the most beautiful tertiary campus in mainland China. For me, it has to be the most beautiful campus that I have ever visited in the country, followed by Peking University by my own standards.

At the risk of stating the obvious, Xiamen University was founded by Tan Kah Kee. Mini-museums, monuments, statues and buildings bearing his name are scattered all over the campus, adding a nostalgic touch to the picturesque campus.

I stumbled upon a calm and peaceful pond where couples populate by its circumference. By the way, the air is fresher and less polluted in Xiamen than in most other Chinese cities, so it had been a pleasant experience strolling the pathways and roads.

After a while, I decided to get in touch with my material side by going to Zhongshan road, the equivalent of our Orchard Road. The variety of goods and services offered there is decent, not to mention the abundance of discs and more discs.

I realized that I had to fulfil my spiritual needs as well. Off I went to a hilltop temple the next morning. The history of this temple can be traced to as early as the Jin Dynasty.

And then at noon, I prayed at the most famous temple in Xiamen known as Nan Pu Tuo (南普陀). It was established in the Tang Dynasty and had enjoyed imperial patronage for many generations. The vegetarian biscuits and dishes served were superb, so it does not seem too bad an idea to seek monkhood at the temple.

Xiamen and Kinmen

I visited Xiamen en route to Singapore from Anxi. Xiamen is a beautiful city that faces the Taiwan Straits. However, the first thing that I did in Xiamen was to take a ferry and observe the Kinmen archipelago from a distance onboard. The ferry crossed the green indicator below that marks the boundary between China and Taiwan.

I was overwhelmed with joy when the “青天白日”flag greeted me from afar. I had wanted to salute it but I reckoned that if I did, I might not have returned home alive.

The “三民主义统一中国”tablet on the Dadan island was erected by Chiang Ching-kuo to rally all Chinese under the principles expounded by Sun Yat-Sen. The words were big enough to be seen using a pair of binoculars along the Xiamen coastline. He was frustrated at the fact that Taiwan had been expelled from the United Nations.

Prior to this, Chiang Kai-Shek had erected a tablet that says “还我河山”on the Lesser Kinmen island in Yue Fei fashion after the Chinese Civil War. To counter both the tablets erected by the father-and-son duo, China constructed at the beach a big one that says “一国两制统一中国”. It is interesting to see how China and Taiwan have communicated via silent messages indicated on gigantic tablets.

The Kinmen archipelago is smaller than Singapore in its combined land mass. However, it had for the past 60 years experienced massive shellings and repulsed three major invasions from the mainland. This is remarkable for an archipelago that seems too small to be defendable. In fact, Kinmen had protected Taiwan so well that the whole course of history was changed to reflect the status quo that we now see in the Taiwan Straits.

厦门和金门，两地近在咫尺，却又遥不可及。

两门遥相望，却又紧闭门户，不留丝毫缝隙。

3-4 April: Anxi County, Fujian Province, China

I went to Anxi last week to conduct some field research at a local temple. I have a disclaimer to make here: Anxi is a very scenic place, but the photos posted here do little justice to its beauty because the best pictures remain in the memory card of my professor's hi-pro camera, and I failed to capture on a bus in motion the lush green tea plantations that dominate the rural landscape. My first picture here shows urban Anxi as a rather sleepy town:

In a nutshell, I was busy snapping photos of the temple, its architecture, offerings, devotees, altars, idols etc. I had also participated in an annual festive procession to celebrate the celestial birthday of the City God. Again the best pictures of the grand carnival of enacted deities and teeming crowds are left in the hi-pro camera.

Nothing was left to be done at night, so some of the uncles in my tour group decided on something that cannot be done legally in our local context. Here's a glimpse at our arsenal:

My eardrums were almost shattered when the firecrakers fired off.

And I didn't know that fireworks were this cheap even though I understand that the Chinese invented them. The uncles ignited one bout after another like nobody's business. Indeed, it was nobody's business without the kind of enforcement that we have here. I became convinced that we don't need millions to light up the sky.

Crisis!!

I have not completed my thesis yet. Anyway, I had forgotten my MSN password. Please:

1. teach me how to recover my password, or

2. add me at ykchan83@live.com (my new and temporary address)

Now I'm so glad that I had left my blog address in my MSN nick.

And it is no joke that I have lost all my contacts. :(