Tidbits From the World

Some Chinese farmers are learning the hard way the law of supply and demand.

Last year, the price of bananas was so high that it became subject to speculation. A number of peasants started to produce bananas, hoping they would rake in enormous profits…

But too many peasants decided to become banana growers, which caused the price of bananas to collapse. Today, the price of one 斤 [jin] (500g) of bananas is 1 yuan ($0.17), but it can probably be haggled down to half the price, if you try.

The same phenomenon occurred a couple of years ago with bricks of compacted Pu’er tea (普洱茶). The price of Pu’er tea had soared to a point where people judged it economically more favorable to “store” their money into some bricks of tea instead of at the bank. At the time, this market would offer a much better return on investment than banks’ low interest rates. But that was until the market collapsed and hundreds of thousands of peasants lost all their savings. It might seem laughable today, but lives were shattered as a result of that bubble, and suicides were committed.

The big thing this year, in addition to bananas, is garlic. We’ll see what is going to happen, but there are already a lot of farmers starting to grow garlic…

On January 1st 2010, there was a buddhist concert in Xi’an. A popular Taiwanese singer came to give a performance in Xi’an’s auditorium. This singer is trying to popularize buddhist music by incorporating some elements from pop music.  She only sang during the last thirty minutes of the two-hour show. During the first hour and a half, various kinds of Buddhist music were played: monks hitting their gongs, children singing in chorus and orchestras playing traditional Chinese violin. After the show, some spectators complained that the Taiwanese singer had been lyp-synching because she sang over a recording, instead of with an orchestra. I personally believe she was genuine, because as she would move her microphone closer to her mouth and then back further again, one could hear some mild distortion in her voice… a small detail that can prove a lot!

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A man is standing in front of the scene with a panel which reads:

Please turn off your cellphones
No Pictures
No Recording
Do not Talk

Security guards were located in strategic locations to make sure the directions were properly followed.

It was, however, allowed to take photos of the concert hall.

Outside, I found an interesting ad that, in its English version, doesn’t respect the “One China Principle”:

The centre for Ajison Noodle is located in Kumamoto Kyushu, Japan, and since 1968 over 500 noodle shops have been established in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and China.

“味千拉面” 是以日本九州熊本为中心，自1968年创设以来，到目前为止在日本，香港，新加坡，中国台湾，大陆等地已拥有500余家的连锁店。

Usually, when Taiwan and China are referred to in the same sentence, they are always referred to as “Chinese Taiwan and the Mainland” or “Taiwan Province and Mainland China” or other variations… In the Chinese version, the distinction was made, but not in English… Is it the work of the “Japanese Devils” English translators?

On a bag of dog food you get the directions to feed your beloved “gestating bitch” or your “lactating bitch”. I’m not sure if the word “bitch” is still commonly used to indicate a female dog, but it surely looks awkward on a nutrition table.

I got the result of my standardized test of aptitude in Chinese (HSK)… and with great regret, I learned that I am still considered a BEGINNER (level 5). After one year and a half of intensive studies, in China, I am still a beginner… If I had gotten 1% more, I would have been able to move up to the intermediate level (I needed 262 points out of 400, but I got 258). I will have to try again in March in Montreal.

In my apartment, all the mirrors are too low; I always have to bend down to see my face. And yet I am not particularly tall and I don’t find the Xi’anese to be short either… I don’t know why all the mirrors are so low here…