A genocidal “cuddly grandpa” takes the wheel in the world’s largest Muslim democracy, TayTay did indeed fly to the Superbowl to see her man lift it, Greece becomes the first Orthodox Christian country to legalise same-sex marriage, Navalny dies in prison, and the Year of the Wood Dragon kicks off with a roar as China’s New Year spending surges beyond 2019 pre-pandemic levels.
All that glitters is not jade
“Jade” holds a cherished place in Chinese culture, so much so that it has infused our psyche and has come to symbolise beauty, elegance and prosperity. Whilst most of the jade – and that would be nephrite – that traditionally made its way into the Central Plains were mined to the west of it, one of the most ancient recently discovered not far from Dunhuang, there was one much further east, in Ciyakang, Taiwan (link via
) – for jadeite?What’s the difference between jadeite and nephrite? Why is jadeite an “imposter”? What is nephrite, which is what the ancient Chinese actually considered “jade”?
Hanfugirl, a mutual acquaintance in real life, maintains an excellent blog and an even lovelier blogshop dedicated to covering and broadcasting Chinese aesthetics. If you’re at all interested in the intersection of history and fashion/jewellery, give her Jade series (linked above) a read.
The Way of Tea
This past weekend I was privileged to attend a Fundamentals of Tea Brewing workshop hosted by a longtime acquaintance of mine, Kenny Leong, in a wonderfully evocative space called The Lighthouse in Joo Chiat, Singapore.
I first started serious exploration of tea back in 2014, when I ambled into the Fukien Tea Company in Hong Kong, famed for its oolongs. In the enthusiasm of youth, I badgered the proprietor about what constituted “good tea”. What he finally said has stuck with me ever since – “as long as you like it, it’s good.”
I wouldn’t necessarily recommend such an approach to tea consumption without first doing some research, as with most things in life. Why has tea gone from mere cultivation and brewing and consumption to literary metaphors for life, love and everything in between? Why is tea a meditative practice? Why have the Chinese never felt a particular need for a “ceremony”, unlike the Japanese or Koreans? (a popular argument is that tea is an import for them, not native, whereas tea suffuses Chinese civilisation to the point that it simply… is)
Can the divine be found in the mundane? The Way of Tea would make it seem so.
Transcendence
One of the best things about living in Singapore is its multi-culturalism. I can attend a talk on pingtan (Soochow musical storytelling) and in the same day, conceivably, walk a few kilometres to catch a Bharathanatyam performance at the superb Bhaskar’s Arts Academy. This dance form has captivated me since I first watched a live performance of it in 2016.
What is it about tea and Bharathanatyam, two seemingly unrelated art forms from two of the world’s oldest continuous civilisations, that “transcends temporal and spatial bounds”?