Stewart Lee Beck's Blog, page 7
November 11, 2014
“The more you value the differences that make each of us ...
- Bruce Kasanoff
Fall in love with your feet! Healing through foot massage, acupressure and reflexology
You know what kind of nerves are in your feet?
The same ones that network into your genitals. Your feet are like a minnow bucket full of sensory neurons, all of them wriggling around in search of sensation. Stimulate those nerves just a little, and the impulse will rocket through your entire nervous system.”
- Christopher McDougall, bestselling author of Born to Run
Chinese isn’t the only culture that believes in healing through foot manipulation. Similar practices have been found among ancient...
October 31, 2014
Boo!! Scary Stories of Chinese Ghosts
Over the Halloween weekend, be sure to avoid these four horrifying apparitions that want to suck all your energy, steal all your food or drag you into a watery grave!
We couldn’t resist sharing these spine-tingling tales with you, courtesy of Olivia Bullock (艾文婷) at The World of Chinese:
1. Jiangshi (僵尸 jiāngshī)
You’ve made the mistake of walking alone after dark in the woods. In the distance, you hear a faint thud, then quiet. Then another leaden thump, like someone with heavy boots just jump...
October 28, 2014
Autumn Impressions – A Cultural Collage of China’s Fall Season
Join us for a “textural tour” of autumn, traditionally considered a time of harvest and reflection.
All over the world, different seasons bring to mind different emotions, senses and memories based on where we are from and where we’ve been. China with its vast lands allows nature lovers to experience four seasons in one day, but even among its many peoples, the autumn season engenders a variety of cultural connotations:
1. 秋 qiū (autumn)
The original qiu character is a pictograph with a cricket...
October 21, 2014
Doing The Month – Behind the door of Chinese Postnatal Confinement
If one is fortunate, there are many hundreds, perhaps over a thousand months, in one’s life. Of these many months, one month in particular is so special that in China it’s called “the month.”
THE MONTH evokes a wide range of emotions among women in China. Let’s take a closer look at this fascinating collision of ancient tradition and modern creature comforts and provide 3 “Confinement Commandments” for anyone looking to get serious about this stuff.
Chinese postnatal confinement, known as 坐月子...
October 15, 2014
October 13, 2014
8 Misconceptions about the Chinese Legal System
With so much China misinformation floating around out there, we decided to consult some legal experts and clarify things for our readers. Beware: some of these misconceptions might surprise you!
1. Contracts aren’t worth the paper they’re written on.
No, you need the contract. If you don’t have a chopped/signed document recording what two parties have just agreed on, then you’ve got almost nothing. Never discount the value of having an agreement in writing, even if future renegotiations may ar...
September 29, 2014
Why do they keep moving the Capital?
History books effuse about the sublime glory of the Han, Tang, Ming, and the visionary emperors who built incredible palaces. Let’s explore China’s historic capital proliferation and dig into what’s so unique about Beijing.
Chinese rulers come in many shapes and sizes, hailing from different regions and overcoming a myriad of challenges to consolidate power. Once in charge, it wasn’t uncommon for a new emperor to shift the imperial capital in order to:
Rebuild after a great loss, as in the Han...
September 22, 2014
What Dragons Reveal About East/West Thinking
Dragons. They’re everywhere…and they’re nowhere. Some say Chinese dragons aren’t dragons at all! How does this ancient creature keep clawing back into our 21st Century consciousness?
China Simplified decided to explore dragons with you this week. How strange! Dragons aren’t animals we bump into everyday, not even once in a lifetime, except perhaps in our dreams. Nobody studies their fossilized remains. Modern scientists cannot even produce evidence of their existence. Yet more than most mythi...
September 13, 2014
Maximizing Creativity in the New China – 3 Key Insights and 7 Action Steps
A mix of generations and cultures in today’s China makes creative endeavors such as team brainstorming all the more interesting. The traditional perception of Chinese being more reserved and Westerners being more participative is no longer valid. And while there are plenty of posts out there on brainstorming techniques, we’d like to explore how the fast changing relationship between China and the rest of the world is driving a convergence of collaborative styles.
INSIGHT #1: Appreciate the “Mo...
