The senior colleague in our department finally left, in a hurry, after the last visit she paid to a customer in the afternoon. I saw her off into the elevator. Another male colleague, once her subordinate, carried personal belongs for her down to the street. For the brief moment when she and I were alone, she said I was a careful person and would have a promising future. Before that she gave every junior colleague a farewell hug. Despite all these, she left in a hurry, without even a goodbye message, which has become so common that people would think of them as holiday broadcast. 

On the same day, email box broadcasts tens of dozens of promotions to managing directors, with some being promoted again within a year. 

Well, above all the title inflations, the sacking, the quitting, it's just a job and nothing more.

On Professor Yang Sued "Counter-Revolutionary"

One university professor in East China University of Polictical Science and Law was sued by two of his students as "counter-revolutionary". It so happened that Professor Yang Shiqun criticised on some of China's current policies during a lecture on ancient Chinese language. Two students were apparently offended. They complained to Professor Yang after class and then went to the police and charged Professor Yang of "counter-revoluntionary" speech.  

The matter was posted on Professor Yang's own blog, which has since been removed. But a reprocuded post could be found here. According to the post, the two girls were actually in tears when they complained to him. Apparently they were really into the belief that any statement against the government was unpatriotic. It then raises the question - does one need to totally agree with the government on everything to be patriotic? If so, where is the freedom of speech? 

What's worse is that this happened on the campus of a prominent university on politics and law. One has reason to believe not all of these youngsters are like these two girls but it is nevertheless alarming that the ideology behind this thinking is worrying. Indeed, as many have observed, China's younger generation are increasingly loosing touch on the country's own history. What these two girls have done would have striken an especially stronger cord in those who have exprienced the turmoil in the 1960s and 1970s. For forty years ago, the girls would have had an upper hand in suing their professor. I'm sure no one would ever wish to repeat that all over again. But could we take it for granted that it never will? Particulary given the current state of mind of the young in China? And given their awareness (or lack of it) of our past? 

熟视无睹之怪现状

The article carries an interesting summary of events in 2008

1. China's customs restricts one Bible per person
2. Sanlu milk powder continues to be sold in Hebei despite its melamine content
3. University teachers will have a more difficult time going forward as they will be no longer allowed to lecture what deviate from party's line.

The last point strikes a special cord in me. Going back to be a university teacher is still my dream. Now that prospect looks dimmer. 

30 years into the reform and opening up,  China is papering up its past history of reforms. Foreig-invested enterprises have been forced into accepting trade unions.

http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displayStory.cfm?story_id=12758848&source=hptextfeature

作为80后，我们必须要《奋斗》。

My diaries

My diaries

On Certified Emission Reduction
Once property rights are defined, even pollution rights could be traded. Carbon emissions are now actively traded between developed countries and developing countries. 
Basically, the rich countries signed a scheme called Clean Development Mechanism, or CDM, in which they agree on an emission reduction target to be achieved within a few years. However, for these rich countries to reduce emission is very costly because the existing ways of production or ways of life are hard to change. So the UN allows them to buy emission quotas from other countries, typically developing countries that are rapidly building up production lines and accumulating wealth, to partially fulfill their obligations. Effectively, developing countries that have found a way to reduce emissions will be rewarded in the form of getting paid for the emission reduced. So there is a stronger incentive for developing countries to develop cleaner projects because the extra cleanliness can now be monetized. 
How Are CERs Measured?
The quantity of emission reduced is certified by UN and registered in units of CER credit. One unit of CER credit represents the equivalent to one tonne of carbon dioxide reduced under CDM. How are CERs measured? 

CER in China After 2012
Currently China is the largest CER seller in the world because it is not an Anex I country for the moment and does not have an obligation  to reduce emissoin. But as the current treaty expires in 2012, will China be included as well? 
The Price Behavior of CERs in Primary and Secondary MarketCERs are considered a commodity in many senses. It has a primary market where CERs are orginated. This is the place project owners of clean energy would sell their CERs to an intermediary. It also has a secondary market where CERs are traded and bought by the final users, typically producers from developed nations.  References:Wikipedia.org
newenergy.com.cnShanghai Securities NewsCarbonpositive.net

Lin Yutang: "The Little Critic"

Lin Yutang - The Little Critic

----Book Review of With Love & Irony 



Lin Yutang, a famous but forgotten name in Chinese society, has been a well-known writer among English readers from the Western world ever since his publications of My Country and My Men and The Importance of Living. His fame topped when he was nominated for the Nobel Prize for his work A Moment in Peking, which vividly narrates the life of a middle class home in Peking throughout the unstable times from the collapse of the Qing Dynasty to the Anti-Japanese War. Lin Yutang, as he self-describes, is a "mix of contradictions". So is reflected in his works. In A Moment in Peking he is a Confucius, who cares for the miseries of his countrymen, while in My Country and My Men and The Importance of Living he is a Taoist, who prefers to step back into the stage curtains and take a sarcastic but all-encompassing view of life. He once wrote essays for a column called The Little Critic in Nanjing during the rule of the Nationalists to criticize those in power but with witty styles so as not to cause anger of certain persons and to disclose life in ordinary people with a persuasive but calm heart so as not to disturb people's lives. The book With Love & Irony is such a collection of critical but humorous essays written during that period. 



He has a good opinion of what Englishmen and Chinese are like. He writes that the English and the Chinese are both nations which would not loose common sense to pure logical reasoning. He compares the two nations to the German and the Japanese, which were then at war with other nations. Englishmen would always maintain their own way of living even in a most remote place as the African desert or the Amazon jungles. They are so confident in themselves that they believe what they do should not and could not be otherwise wrong. For example, they have such firm confidence in their English banks that it won't go bankrupt just because they believe so. That is the reason why the Bank of England was left with its name untouched even after it was acquired by HSBC in the last century. While the English stubbornness represents a masculine style the Chinese vagueness deals with life in a feminine way. Chinese are good at holding back their opinions and thus bad at drawing comparisons. A is good but B seems not bad either, maybe from a different viewpoint, better. "Action without thinking may be foolish, but action without common sense is always disastrous." 

Besides his humor, his sarcasm is expressed explicitly when he talks about nudism. He first confesses he sees no harm in nudism. Then he adds that he is a "reasonable" nudist "at certain hours and in certain circumstances". He would like the fresh air to touch his naked body in his bathroom well protected from neighbor's peeping eyes but hates the idea of walking down the street disclosing the skin that is mother-given. So is he discussing being a vegetarian. He stresses being reasonable rather than principle-abiding, eating nothing but vegetables. No point in refusing blood-sticking beefsteak paying every mercy to the cattle slaughtered while turning a blind eye on the thousands being killed or starved to death every day around the world. 



This book With Love & Irony is thus a making of his wisdom, fearlessness and unaffected commentary delivered with sparkling humor. Featured by ranging aspects of daily life to the fascinating insight of the social and political scene at that time, some essays of this book are untimely that we may get amazed that much of his observations recorded in the 1930's are still valid and relevant today. Lin Yutang, the little critic, is such a genius but who took to ordinary life so much that he is a true life philosopher who merely lived, observed life and went away, leaving behind piles of books in which stored his great but plain spirits for us to experience and through them explore our true inner selves. 

公司附近有个红绿灯

公司附近的红绿灯，旁边站交警，见到行人乱穿马路就要抓，抓来坐下看电视，电视里面播放的是交通教育片。所以这个红绿灯普遍遵守交通规则，偶尔有个别不看灯，被交警叔叔抓起来，大家都嗤之以鼻。对面红绿灯就没有交警，大家于是无视红灯，心安理得。长久如此，行人就会养成看交警过马路的习惯，而非看红绿灯。

另外，经常看到红字头车牌的车，无视红灯，乱穿马路，交警叔叔同样熟视无睹。有些交警同志不知好歹，偶尔逮到一个红字头车，车内人物使起脸色，最终扬长而去。长久如此，交警就会养成看车牌执行交通规则的习惯，而非遵章照法。

了解国外的朋友会知道，以上是中国特有的国情。西方的社会，行人会养成的习惯，是看交通灯过马路，交警养成的习惯，是看法律执行公务。西方的社会，法律健全，规章制度井然有序，执行起来严格，但是最终由大法官们灵活掌握。中国的社会，法律同样健全，规章制度同样井然有序，但是执行起来，由我们每个人灵活掌握。

在中国，到处都是红绿灯，每个人心目中，都必须有一盏红绿灯。

品易中天

最近在看易中天教授《品三国》，有豁然一新的感觉。

其主要的“卖点”在于易教授能够站在三国时代的历史人物的“立场”上，说出历史人物的“心里话”，让他们的思维过程跃然纸上。易教授此番叙述模式并非创新。我们在武侠、言情、侦破等小说中见得多了，小说作者往往对主人公的心理活动以及相应的行为决策分析得淋漓尽致而又不露马脚。而在《论语别裁》中，南怀瑾老先生也假借了孔子的口吻来分析《论语》的意思，让孔子也变得活灵活现，而非供桌上的呆板老头一个。在《品三国》里面，曹操、诸葛亮、刘备等等三国人物，在易教授的笔下，都成了活脱脱的人——会为自己的利益思考，同时会衡量对方心思以及周遭环境的一个理性而又不失感性的人。

易教授的叙述方式又是提问式的。他会问，刘备的“三顾茅庐”真有其事否？提问的原因是“三顾茅庐”这个事件，照目前存在的历史资料分析，并不十分符合刘备和诸葛亮他们自身的出发点。一边厢，刘备迫切需要人才，而他周围的谋士不可能不向他举荐诸葛亮；另一边厢，诸葛亮可选择的老板当中，刘备最符合条件。在这样的情况下，诸葛亮自荐的可能性要大于刘备上门拜访。更何况诸葛亮当时仍未有任何实际政绩来证明其本领，而论年龄诸葛亮差刘备二十岁，一个晚辈、一个长辈，在当时众多谋士纷纷毛遂自荐而后“跳槽”的情况下，遑论刘备“三顾茅庐”？《三国演义》迷可能会觉得不可思议。可小说、民间传说固然美好，我们现代人更有理由去探讨以进一步解历史的真相，从而满足好奇心，甚至从而达到“以史为鉴”的目的。易教授提问式的分析，加上历史资料的相互“合参”，更能让读者明白其中的因果关系。易教授然后推出自己的“个人意见”，供读者思考。

这种对经典的叙事方式却非其首创。细想一下，于丹乃至于南怀瑾，都用平民化的叙事来诠释经典。这种现象我们姑且称之为“经典平民化”吧。换言之，就是把经典从书架上“请”下来，并注入稍许“娱乐”元素，让读者更容易接收。

我曾经有过这样的担心。我担心民族的文化会在商品化、功利化的社会得不到传承。之前有过断层，现在又有市场经济——天下熙熙，皆为利来，天下攘攘，皆为利往，于是笃定民族的文化传承必定完蛋。现在看来此中担心纯属多余，而且有悖于经济学最基本的观点：产权的保证，即自由的选择，是市场交易的前提，而市场交易则是经济繁荣、生活质量提高的保障了。易教授、于教授、南先生，以及其它学科的大师等的观点、思想，无不是由市场经济这个特快转递，传达到我们平民老百姓面前的呀！

读易中天豁然一新，其“新”在于其对三国历史那非小说、非学究、平民化的诠释。而“豁然”之感觉，则在于发现产权保障、选择自由的影响，超出了我想象的范围，故觉柳暗花明也！

(http://blog.sina.com.cn/u/53a1f3300100096a）

别了，爷爷！

2007年3月10日，爷爷去世了。是肺的问题。

父亲是爷爷最喜欢的儿子。父亲说，爷爷在弥留之际，为了看他最后一眼，一直憋着最后一口气，等着父亲回来。等父亲从城里赶回来，来到爷爷身边，此时，已经基本停止呼吸、闭了眼但尚存余温的爷爷，慢慢张开浑浊的双眼，沙哑地叫了一身父亲的名字，才阖然而去。

那天星期六，晚上广州大雾，远在他乡的我在窗前发呆。雾气大，如同天上的云层直压下来。广州第一高楼中信大厦，我白天工作的地方，此时直耸云霄，似乎架起了天、地的桥梁。大厦的顶部灿红的标志“中信”两字，若隐若现，依稀可辨。此时，一阵强风，吹破了云层，“中信”两字忽然璀璨夺目。等我回过神来，“中信”两字又复云层中。

隔日便得知爷爷的消息，心理按耐不住的悲伤，化作热泪，夺目而出。

数日后，父亲来电，说后事料理妥当，隆重、热闹。

落红岂是无情物，化作春泥更护花。

别了，亲爱的爷爷！

岭南文化

或曰：何谓岭南无文化？不高谈，无阔论，食早茶，睇陈Sir，莫求凌云志，只管住与吃，镇海楼、百花冢、孙中山、农讲所，北有京、津地，南有粤广府，何来文化沙漠之有？

广州电视台有个陈Sir

陈Sir姓陈，名杨。普罗百姓，出于尊敬，袭香港之惯，去名加Sir，称其陈Sir。

陈Sir光头，每日晚7点主持节目《新闻日日睇，日日倾下偈》，着记者服，揸笔一支，点评时弊，击浊扬清，先吐而后快。过瘾、真是过瘾！

陈Sir亦因此被有关领导点名批评。幕后呆几日，后又出返来，愈加受欢迎，一发不可收。

多少电视名嘴一语中招遭除名，唯有陈Sir在。

记雷锋日

忽忆今为雷锋日，一生助人乐好施。
凛冽英容仍犹在，灿烂稚貌似不识。

这是我的测试文档。主要目的是测试Google文档是否真的管用。

很多日没有写东西了,觉得心里面憋得慌。听着奥斯卡金奖电影的音乐，心里始觉稍微舒畅。

刚刚看了春上村树的小说，觉得很离奇，不知所云。心想其小说竟为白领所喜，便思索现代白领族都在想些什么。或许是我落伍了？还是我的文字阅读能力受到了一定程度的障碍了？不得知也。

连续看了三天的经济学教科书，看完两个章节，都是讲宏观经济的，谈到宏观需求和宏观供应的关系，还有政府财政政策对经济所产生的影响等等。看了这么多，一时消化不了，觉得头脑似乎暂时淤塞不通，于是暂时放弃阅读。

然而停下来的感觉并不怎么舒畅。头脑里面老有性幻想。做梦也是。

或许我头脑里面想的东西太多了。思维不能集中于一处。久而久之，形成了浅薄而泛滥的池塘。

又或许我不能尽情释放自己的情感，不能尽情做自己感兴趣的事情，久而久之，形成了自我封闭，自我抑制的习惯，以至于竟不能自己找一种让自己尽兴的方式，除了读书。也许，读书也是我与生俱来的一种爱好和习惯。除此，我其实并没有其他令我身心愉悦的方式了。因而读书累了、困了，并不能立即找到一种代替的休息方式。此外，我视读书为一种娱乐消遣之方式，与教学之阅读相差甚远。教学阅读有讲究，要精读和泛读相结合，必要的时候要做笔记，甚至要背诵。然此皆为我所厌恶。我喜欢兴趣所至而翻阅书籍，字里行间找到一些共鸣和一点新知灼见。故我读书纯属爱好。但凡我兴趣范围内的书籍，所遇必购。然买回来了，也要视兴趣所定，如若彼兴趣一直未至，新书束之高阁也未尝没有。虽然我兴趣广泛好书甚多，但也有所鄙视之书籍也。但凡武侠、言情、迷信、伪科学等一类书籍，一律不看。此等读物乃精神之鸦片，看多了，会入迷，进而产生种种幻想，失去读书明心之原趣也。

关于音乐，我却没有特别的喜好。但也不随波逐流，尤其对当红的歌手持旁观态度。流行歌曲，犹通流行性读物，很大一部分都是为了刻以迎合消费者自身的喜好厌恶而批量制造的。然而消费者对此却未尝有判断能力。青少听流行歌曲，女人看琼瑶，男人看金庸，缠缠绵绵，柔情似水，打打杀杀，海誓山盟，天荒地老，义结桑兰，风云莫测，天下群涌，谁与争锋……很大一部分程度上，这些作品的确弥补了生活上的空虚，使干枯的柴草滋润以酒精，暂时麻醉，很快挥发。于是故态复萌，便产生了新的需求，要更多的酒精来麻醉。于是便有人不断供应，不断创作，夜以继日。于是就有了市场。从经济学上来讲，这是一件好事，因为这促进了消费，同时也促进了社会生产力，最终促进人们生活水平的提高。

写到这里，我不禁问自己：人活着到底为了什么？外婆说能有口饭吃就已经不错，还哪里有时间问这种问题？她说的没错，但是又错了。根据人的需求的定义，她所定义的需求为温饱层面，然而现代的人们温饱问题已经基本解决，接下来更高级的需求层面便涉及到自我发展的概念了。然而在家乡这里的中国，生活似乎还是很混沌，四处可见金钱的流动，去向不明，来历也不明。我此时又不禁问自己：你到低想要什么，你到低想把自己怎么定位于这个社会？然而是否非得有一个定位？人说定位当然越高越好，那样才可以傲视群山，一览无余。也对。如果自己都没有一个高度，那么思想、见解也都无从谈起。

我是在哪里？不知道。乱七八糟。你喜欢什么？不清楚。你在干什么？不干什么。

维港印象（三）


香港的维多利亚港永远是美丽的，香港的太平山顶永远是那么平静，而这美丽和平静必须借助于夜色的降临，因为只有夜色，才能让人们暂时忘却白日里工作的浮躁和生活的沉闷，忘却上司的嘴脸和大婶的长舌，从而让人们能够得到短暂的精神麻醉，从而使人们有这种平静而微醉的心去欣赏维港和山顶的宁静和美。没有醉意是无法欣赏这种宁静和美的，正如保持清醒是无法投入浪漫的爱情中去的。这种宁静和美，在于其幕帘般的山，其水晶般在夜晚闪亮剔透的灯光，在于其看似平静如玉实则暗涛汹涌的海水。

暮色降临，当岸边的路灯亮起，游人也就稀稀疏疏、陆陆续续、懒懒散散地多起来了。昏黄的灯光，伴随着海风习习，冲刷了尘世的喧嚣，正是浪漫的好去处。可不是？一对对恋人们，在此时此刻便不知从什么地方冒出来了，稀稀拉拉的散布在沿岸一公里长的栏杆旁，低声莺语。而海水此刻也似乎变得通晓人意，轻轻的拍打着堤岸，像慈祥的上帝，用温柔的目光和坚强的臂膀注视并守护着他伊甸园的两个新人。

在游客闪光灯背后的一个角落里坐着一位长者，长年累月得很嬉皮士的抱着一个老式的功放机，反复的播放着七、八十年代流行的音乐。他穿着永远不变的皮夹克和牛仔裤，梳着一个夹杂着白发的朝天辫子，坐在岸边的栏杆上，插着腿，腰部在随着音乐的旋律而不停的摇动。他播放的音乐是那种劲爆迪斯科，音量之大让人似乎觉得发出这声音的两个黑色钢丝罩的喇叭也在明显的颤抖着。老者的身后也总有一帮“靓仔”，在跳着不知名的舞蹈，可能是para para，在地上翻滚、打转。一个人在表演，其他人都在看。

不是移植别人的节庆，不是移植别人的语言，那麽“国际化”是什麽？它是一种知己知彼。知己，所以要决定什麽是自己安身立命、生死不渝的价值。知彼，所以有能力用别人听得懂的语言、看得懂的文字、讲得通的逻辑词汇，去呈现自己的语言、自己的观点、自己的典章礼乐。它不是把我变得跟别人一样，而是用别人能理解的方式告诉别人我的不一样。所以“国际化”是要找到那个“别人能理解的方式”，是手段，不是目的。

“全球化”，就是使你“客舍似家家似寄”。我更喜欢在台北的古迹紫藤庐喝茶，会朋友。茶香缭绕，有人安静地回忆在这聚集过的一代又一代风流人物以及风流人物所创造出来的历史，有人慷慨激昂地策划下一个社会改造运动；紫藤花闲闲地开着，它不急，它太清楚这个城市的身世。台北市有五十八家Starbucks，台北市只有一个紫藤庐。全世界有六千六百家Starbucks，全世界只有一个紫藤庐。“国际化”不是让Starbucks进来取代紫藤庐；“国际化”是把自己敞开，让Starbucks进来，进来之後，又知道如何使紫藤庐的光泽更温润优美，知道如何让别人认识紫藤庐──“我”──的不一样。Starbucks越多，每一个城市自己的紫藤庐越重要。

在香港待了三年，而今马上就要离开了。感觉上是轻轻地来，轻轻的走，带走一丝云彩。有些拥有过的东西就要失去，而有些不曾拥有的东西却留下了深刻的印记。就像筛子，筛选过很多东西，才知道哪些是好的，哪些是值得去珍惜的。将那些值得珍惜的东西，好好收藏；其他的，就当时萍水相逢、走马观花。一场烟花，固然灿烂，可是没东西留下，总觉得遗憾；花蔫结果，虽然残红片片，却觉充实。

今天在图书馆的民主墙上看到了一篇对“青云路夏令营”提出异议的文章。文章指出青云路的导师们试图通过营造一种热烈的气氛来向学员们灌输一些看上去比较积极的价值观。作为过往青云路的一分子，我对此感慨颇深。

文章的作者也参加过青云路，他指出导师们要求他放弃旧有的价值观，以接受青云路活动希望传授的一些比积极的价值观，比如意识决定结果(Intention leads to result)。作者认为这种几近强制性灌输的价值观并不能很好的取代学员本人所原有的价值观。两种不同的价值观必然产生冲突。大字报空白处有人回应曾经有学员毕业后患上了精神病，需要靠药物来治疗。作者认为这种做法并不能届时旧有的价值观的不是之处，从而不能很好地说明新灌输的价值观的必然可取之处。

一个人的价值观和他的生长环境是密切相关的。就像土地和植被一样，热带的土壤上生长着热带植物，而北极的冰土就只能生长地苔。价值观的吸收就如同植被转移，弄不好就橘淮南则为橘，生于淮北则为枳了。最不幸的情况是成为空中花园，得不到养分的供给。

香港的生活也有如青云路夏令营，很多新的观念和方法，令我们刚从大陆来的学生们目不暇接。结果有人适应了，并且完成了自身观念的转变，行为举止几乎和本地人无异；有人不能适应，于是日益孤立，自我束缚；还有人兼容并蓄，取长补短，争取优势而取胜。