Amah Rock Hike on Lunar New Year

On the First Day of the Lunar New Year, we went to pay our respects to my aunts and their families.  As per Chinese custom.  On the second day, we went hiking with friends. 

Starting in Tai Wai, we hiked up Amah Rock (望夫石).  The hike was not particularly hazardous. But the ascent is fairly steep, and some steps are high.  With my poor balance, it was a challenge, particularly coming down. Decades ago, when I was much younger, the Rock was considered quite an attraction, a popular destination for hiking.  Nowadays it seems less so.  Many young people might not even know what and where it is. 

At the rock, one gets a panoramic view of the western part of Shatin.  In the distance, once can see Taipo Road snaking down from the gap between mountains, to come to Tai Wai / Shatin.  Before the opening of Taipo Road, people who wanted to travel between Shatin and Kowloon have to come through the area around Amah Rock.  

The weather was great for hiking.  Sunny but cool.  We got to see a bit of nature.  Such as the eggs of a moth forming a neat lattice on a green leaf.  And early flowers such as polyspora axillaris (大頭茶).  It kind of resembles a fried egg, sunny side up, with its yellow centre surrounded by white petals.  

Coming down, we decided to check out the crowd worshipping at Che Kung Temple (車公廟).  The third day of the Lunar New Year is the most popular day for coming to the temple.  But on the second day, it was crowded enough.  

The incense was so thick that the attendants at the temple had to wear gas masks. We were choked pretty badly.  At one point, a man poked his incense sticks into the back of my left hand.  It burned off a piece of skin and left a small wound.  I yelled but was too stunned to say anything to the man, beyond “Wah!”.  An older man scolded the younger culprit.  It couldn’t undo the burn in my hand.  But I did feel better that he spoke up for me.  

Then we strolled over to Tsang Walled Village (曾大屋).  It is perhaps one of best preserved Hakka  walled villages in Hong Kong.  It has not changed much since my last visit about 20 years ago.  A lot of distinctive features: the layout of the walls, the style of the rooftops, the colouring scheme, the tiles, the gateways, the ancestor hall, the wells inside, …  It is a whole story by itself.  Many of the residents these days, however, are renters from the outside. 

We ended up watching the fireworks at home,.

Over good food, with a couple of very good friends.  A very enjoyable day to begin the New Year. 

Getting Ready for Lunar New Year

For the Chinese, it is not a proper Lunar New Year without proper food.  Hence each family has been getting ready.  Dried sausages, oysters, mushrooms, ducks, pork bellies, scallops, abalones, sea cucumbers, fish bladder, …

Fresh fish, shrimp, crabs, lobsters, geoducks, …

The pig, in particular, has sacrificed its whole body -  every single part of it - so that we can have a proper feast.  Cows, chicken, ducks, lambs, etc., as well.  But the Chinese are particular to pigs. 

We also like roasted ducks, geese, pork bellies, …

Big bak choi with a string attached.  So that we can hang them up.  So that we can eat them over several days over the New Year Festival, without having to put them in a refrigerator.  

Watermelon seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, pine nuts, pistachios, macadamia nuts, 

…

Noodles of all kinds and colours, …

Sugared lotus seeds, coconut slices, watermelon pieces, …

Fried sugar and peanut-filled dumplings, …

…

Finished New Year’s Eve dinner only an hour or so ago.  But hungry again, already!

Trust and Mistrust

AI (Artificial Intelligence) is no doubt very powerful.  It can be very useful.  But it can also be very problematic.  

It can be used to create text, images and videos that are indistinguishable from real ones.  Deep fakes have deceived a lot of people, causing people to trust what is not true, thereby creating lots of problems.  

On the other hand, it has also caused us to not believe what is actually true.  Suppose there are texts, images, and even videos that show that a person has done something wrong.  How does one know that the “evidence” is not deep fake?  The culprit can also claim that actual “evidence” is deep fake, even if it really is not.  It is often difficult to prove one way or the other.  

Of course, very often it is a matter of degree.  Some people are more trustworthy than others.  Some governments are more trustworthy than others.  Some agencies (news and otherwise) are more trustworthy than others.  Reputation takes a lot of time and effort to build up.  It is perhaps even more valuable than before now. 

Who do we then trust?

My Transformer

Is it a wheel?

A flower?

A star?

A stand for other objects?

Just a bunch of coffee stirrers as links and tooth picks as joints/hinges?

It is all of the above.  My Transformer. 

#SChanPalmArt

Pythagoras Theorem

A two and a half dimension version of an illustration of Pythagoras Theorem.  It is one of the most recognisable figures in geometry, perhaps in all of mathematics.  

The theorem was named after the Greek Pythagoras, who lived around 570 BC. Apparently, however, it was known well before Pythagoras, in Egypt, Babylon, India, and other places.  It was also proven in many ways.  

This 2-1/2 D model was made with coffee stirrers and toothpicks, without glue.  

Xi Nan Lian Da 西南聯大

I was in Kunming to run two workshops.  When that was done, there was really one place at the top of the places that I would love to visit, even though Kunming is a beautiful, historical city, with very rich ethnic diversity.  

That is 國立西南聯合大學 (National South West Associated University).  This was that university created in Kunming when Japan invaded China. The site is now part of the campus of Yunnan Normal University 雲南師範大學. 

By 1937, Japan had overrun northern China and was rapidly moving south.  Three of the top universities in China relocated to the south west, and settled in Kunming from 1938 to 1946.  The three were National Peking University 國立北京大學, National Tsinghua University 國立清華大學 and Nankai University 南開大學.  Xi Nan Lian Da was arguably where the brightest minds  in China were most concentrated at the time.  

Some of the classrooms were preserved, furnished in the same way.  I can picture in my mind’s eye how these scholars studied in the middle of the war.  Hoping that the war would be over eventually, but preparing for a long fight.

 

They must have believed that the intellectual pursue of knowledge and the preservation of culture is just as important as physically defending the territory of the country.  Many went on to fight physically and died during the war.  Many continued to study and achieved great things.  Two of the students subsequently were awarded the Nobel prize.  All deserve the greatest respect. 

Jiang Menglin 蔣夢麟 was president of Peking University earlier and became one of the leaders of Xi Nan Lian Da.  One of his books, Tides from the West 西潮, was one of my favourites.  It is his biography.  Through which we learn of the modernisation of China - how western civilisation wash over China like relentless tides.  It is part of my own enlightenment.  If I have any idols, he would be one of them.  The modernisation of China is still continuing, and far from finishing, of course.  Hence what he wrote is still relevant.  Just like the way history is never out of date

This visit was thought provoking, to say the least.  I am very grateful to my friends who brought me there.