“The Strugatskys in Political Context” by Erik Simon. Science Fiction Studies, Vol. 31, No. 3, Soviet Science Fiction: The Thaw and After (Nov., 2004), pp. 378-406
君子不器
“The Strugatskys in Political Context” by Erik Simon. Science Fiction Studies, Vol. 31, No. 3, Soviet Science Fiction: The Thaw and After (Nov., 2004), pp. 378-406
Where does the term stochastic terrorism come from? While evidence for the term dates back to at least 2002, the term stochastic terrorism, as we are using here, spreads in the 2010s, popularly credited to a blog post in 2011. Terrorism experts, security analysts, and political observers have been increasingly using the term stochastic terrorism…
Diagramming Chen Qiufan’s story “Year of the Rat” (for talk at Changsha conference)
靜夜 這燈光，這燈光漂白了四壁；這賢良的棹椅，朋友似的親密；這古書的紙香一陣陣的襲來；要好的茶杯貞女一般潔白；受哺的小兒接呷在母親懷裏，鼾聲報道我大兒康健的消息……這神秘的靜夜，這渾圓的和平，我喉嚨裏顫動著感謝的歌聲。但是歌聲馬上又變成了詛咒，靜夜！我不能，不能受你的賄賂。誰希罕你這牆內尺方的和平！我的世界還有遼闊的邊境。這四牆既隔不斷戰爭的喧囂，你有什麼方法禁止我的心跳？最好是讓這口裏塞滿了沙泥，如其它只會唱著個人的休戚！最好是讓這頭顱給田鼠掘洞，讓這一團血肉也去餵著屍蟲，如果只是為了一盃酒，一本詩靜夜裏鐘擺搖來的一片閒適，就聽不見了你們四鄰的呻吟，看不見寡婦孤兒抖顫的身影，戰壕裏的症攣，瘋人咬著病褟，和各種慘劇在生活的磨子下。幸福！我如今不能受你的私賄，我的世界不在這尺方的牆內。聽！又是一陣砲聲，死神在咆哮。靜夜！你如何能禁止我的心跳？
This is a pic of poet Wen Yi-duo taken while he was studying art in Chicago in the early-1920s, at approximately the time he was writing his famous collection Red Candle 《紅燭》. As some readers may know, Wen was murdered before the eyes of his son by Kuomintang thugs in 1946. A tragic loss because…
Turning posthuman
From Hu Shih, The Chinese Renaissance.