| Dazhi 的个人资料夜车 Night Drive日志列表 |  工具  帮助 |
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夜车 Night Drive无边无际的黑暗中却有光明碰撞的轰鸣。这夜车啊，正像从子宫到世界的旅行。
5月16日 苡菥八水绕长安。其中潏水每年冬天结冰最早，春天解冻最迟。潏水性寒，初春吸周围麦田的坤气，在水边就会生出一种叫做“苡菥”的水草。苡菥叶长，筋络厚实，根部在泥里相结。开蓝花，单层花瓣，五片至八片不等。花期一十四天，其后结籽。种子随河水可及外省，但是在其他地方却不能生长。于是潏水是唯一能见到苡菥的地方。 5月13日 几个系列虽然好久没更新这里，最近写东西倒是满勤的。都是一个话题，慢慢积累，不知道要写多久。
博客里的东西不分主题。我觉得这种形式放在博客里写显得特别乱，东一槌子西一棒子似的。
光荣与梦想 The Glory and the Dream
汉语和英语的比较
4月14日 韩战老兵的记忆今天的广播节目里有一个老人打进电话突然将起了朝鲜战争。这是一个韩战老兵，讲了自己的亲身经历，很有趣。他大概这么说的。
当时我们击退了北朝鲜的共产党，完成了使命，已经准备回家了，但是中国人突然跨过了鸭绿江发起了进攻。上万人的中国军队（骑着马？）把我们包围了。我看到我们的部队被分割开冲散了，战友倒下。我自己也受了重伤，大腿被打中了。我在雪地里真是太他妈冷了，绝望透了。
老人一般喜欢讲述自己年轻时候的冒险故事，通过故事也向对别人说些道理。他讲这个故事想说的是你们节目现在谈的困难和我们打仗时候的遭遇相比根本就算不上困难。这个故事讲得也很生动。但是所说的历史还是有出入的，美国人并不是要凯旋离开的时候被中国毫无缘故的追着打的，而是侵近中朝边界遭到中国介入的。 3月30日 智能是什么？智能是什么？这肯定是个很深奥的问题。但是我发现智商测定把这个问题搞简单了。智商测试题里绝大部分是模式识别Pattern Identifying类型的，极小一部分题目需要一些想象力。如果一个人用几天时间琢磨出魔方的关键所在，他肯定让你羡慕得吐血（真的是他妈的有这种人啊！）。但是我们在生活中，发现一些人聪明，其原因远远超出此范围。
首先记忆力绝对是个主要因素。过目不忘的能力本身就证明这个人要么是脑子超级好使，要么是有独到的方法处理凌乱的信息。医生要了解人体系统，我们程序员要了解自己的产品系统。我发现有的人就能脱口说出系统的细节，几年前我们做了什么，为什么那么做的。而我却要查资料查代码。这种记忆里给我的震撼力很强，我自愧弗如。这与他理解不理解这些信息无关，他能说出来，他就比我聪明。
还有，是在脑子里建立关于现实的抽象模型。这个能力也是智力的主要组成部分。比如一个有商业才能的人，他能准确地判断客户或者消费者的需要和想法。这种能力来源何处呢？他虽然不是客户，但是客户的世界在他的脑子里有个模型，他就有眼光，有洞察力。
联想的能力。就是当他想出来的时候，你反而有点不甘心。“我知道的。我怎么没想到呢？”语言能力也是一方面。但是我不愿意把这些能力直接说成智力的一部分。这下面有个更底层的思维的能力。是什么呢？究竟是什么呢？
智力的各个方面太多了。我也没有能力把他们抽象出来。什么时候要好好想想。哎，聪明人太多，总想搞明白这些人聪明在何处。这些思维的能力绝对不是天生的不能更改的，也就是说，可以后天习得。 3月23日 回忆《剑风传奇》不知道是个人的成长年代所限，还是事实如此，总觉得音乐和动漫还是八九十年代的好。现在回过头来看漫画，当然是娱乐成分多，适合成人的少。在漫画故事里只有两个比较成熟，一个是太空堡垒Robotech，一个是剑风传奇Berserk。
《剑风传奇》实际上是我看过的最后一个动画片了。在美国读研究生，学校里有个动漫俱乐部，周末晚上放动画片。乱七八糟的看了很多，剑风传奇给我留下了深刻的印象。
这个故事的主角是伽仔Gatz，一个以战求死的小斗士。他遇到了一个叫做“鹰之团”的雇用兵团，其首领是个俊俏的少年，叫格利菲斯。这个格利菲斯是个非凡的人物，谋略武功都非常人所想，极富领导的魅力。格利菲斯看中了伽仔，在和伽仔的决斗中取胜，把他收于麾下。
伽仔对格利菲斯的吸引力，似乎近于同性恋情，虽然故事从来没有表明这里面含有同性恋情，但是格利菲斯对伽仔的感情远超过了友情。
伽仔则倾倒于格利菲斯的才华和人格。实际上格利菲斯已经成为了他生活的目的。他听从格利菲斯的一切指令。
鹰之团在格利菲斯的领导下成长壮大，成员也慢慢长大成人。伽仔成了个高大魁梧的持巨大长剑的头号战士。格利菲斯则英俊出众，为国王赏识，就要作上驸马。
但是在格利菲斯通向权力巅峰的路上充满的坎坷和阴谋。伽仔则是格利菲斯最得力的工具。伽仔充满了力量，无可置疑的忠心，听从命令从不问为什么。伽仔认为格利菲斯的一切都是正确的。
但是这一切都会变。
格利菲斯派伽仔去刺杀一个将军，他的政敌。伽仔在刺杀行动之后被这个将军的儿子发现，伽仔在情急之中杀死了这个小男孩。伽仔在惊慌中回到鹰之团，疯狂的要找格利菲斯。在皇宫里，格利菲斯在和公主跳舞。皇宫外面，伽仔在叫喊着格利菲斯的名字，队友们紧抱着阻拦他。
一个刺客得手之后，应该藏匿起来。他为什么要找他的主人，他为什么那么痛心地叫着格利菲斯的名字？因为他第一次认为自己做了错事。他为了格利菲斯的阴谋杀了一个无辜的小孩。他希望当他看到格利菲斯，他就能看到光芒，他就能找到宽慰，好像能找到一个成立的杀人的理由。看不到格利菲斯，他就要被自己的罪责淹没。格利菲斯曾是他生活的理由。但是这个理由动摇了。格利菲斯已经不是从小长大的朋友，他是未来的驸马。他不再是永远正确的，他已经因为自己的野心而堕落。
这场戏是伽仔自我意识的觉醒。
鹰之团的战斗故事很多很精彩，队员们之间也充满了友爱。但是终于，伽仔决定退隐。
格利菲斯要留住伽仔。就像他们第一次相逢的时候，格利菲斯提出对决，如果伽仔输了，就要留下。格利菲斯对自己的武功充满信心。他对自己的一切对充满信心。但是他输了。这是个意料之中的结果。这些年，伽仔在沙场上战斗，但是格利菲斯还要读书，还要应酬。他们在武功上的差距已经逆转了。
伽仔的离去对格利菲斯的冲击超出别人的想象。格利菲斯几乎崩溃了。他在晚上潜入皇宫，占有了公主。虽然公主和格利菲斯是情人，但是公主的尊严是不能玷污的，国王的权威是不能被挑战的。格利菲斯由驸马成了阶下囚。这样的堕落，是不是源于伽仔？
退出江湖？有人就有恩怨，有恩怨就有江湖，你怎么退出？敌人会找到伽仔。伽仔不得不回到鹰之团。但是没有格利菲斯的鹰之团不过是乌合之众。伽仔的回来凝聚了人心鼓舞了士气。
伽仔和几个精英队员从地牢里救出了已经被酷刑致残的格利菲斯。格利菲斯已经不成人形了。他梦想中光明城堡已经再也不能达到了，而这条通往梦想的路上则是由死人尸骨铺就的。格利菲斯的雄心和梦想啊，现在是一股通彻天地的怨毒之气。他的诅咒就在伽仔身上。
这时格利菲斯注定的命运降临了。因他而来的恶魔把人间变成地狱……
这就是《剑风传奇》的故事。整个作品非常粗犷浓烈，人之间的关系深邃暧昧，不是孩子们能看懂的。这个漫画后来还有很长，但我觉得故事至此作为结局是一个非常完整的故事，后面怕有续貂的可能。
3月11日 Chinese Rock Music ABCThe Chinese in the Mainland, Taiwan, and Hong Kong have lived a very different life. So has their music.
Even though Hong Kong does have many serious musicians, the music in the commercial hub city is more like products rather than art works. Influenced by Hong Kong’s economic might and its successful movie and music industry, Cantonese culture has become one of the most recognizable Chinese cultures. To many, Cantonese language is an equivalence of Mandarin.
Unlike Hong Kong, Taiwan’s culture is actually not a local culture. When KMT retreated from the Mainland to Taiwan after the civil war, a large number of populations from all regions of China migrated to the island, including refugees, soldiers, and intellectual elites. Taiwan’s culture is like a melting pot of Chinese culture on a smaller scale.
In 1980s, both Taiwan and Hong Kong had experienced unprecedented economic development. Cultures burgeoned. The Mainland started economic reforms and opened its door to the outside world. People absorbed a lot of fresh ideas from Taiwan and Hong Kong. A natural progress would be that people would copy the music from Taiwan and Hong Kong, maybe awkwardly in the first step, and then gradually develop music of similar style. But to many people’s surprise, a small group of underground musicians chose a very different path and made their voices first. The rock music.
In 1987, Cui Jian published his first album “The Rock on the New Long March Road”. It was primary, straightforward, and full of strength. His music was very heretical at that time, but meanwhile very Chinese, using a mix of traditional instruments. It was not only the first Chinese rock album, but also one of the best ever.
At the time, Cui Jian was a synonym of rock music. He was rock and rock was him. But more people started their own “Long March”, the pilgrimage to their dreams. Youth moved to Beijing, the capital city, with a guitar, and formed their communities. The unemployed youth rarely had income or financial supports. Some were homeless and lived on the streets. The music resources they could find and learn from were very limited. But they chewed every bit of it. The outcome, as people later found out, was by all mean astonishing and awe-inspiring.
In 1990s, a respected Taiwanese company Rock Record, the largest independent music company in Asia, sent their agents into the Mainland. They were overwhelmed by their discovery. When these underground singers and bands in Beijing were introduced to the public, their music combined with marketing and producing expertise of the Taiwanese company was extremely successful and won the hearts of a generation. This was called the New Music movement.
It was surprising that youth in the Mainland showed so much enthusiasm for rock music. But if we think through it, the phenomenon makes a lot of sense.
First, the political movements in the country planted rebellious spirits, which are very compatible with rock music. Second, the sheer geographic size and long history of the country make the youth think big and aim high. They are less interested in writing soft love songs. Lastly, the lack of commercial environment and education in their lives makes them less sensitive to market needs and the idea of exchanging their talents for money.
Is it a success story? Unfortunately not. Many of these bands couldn’t adjust their lives from underground bar bands to professional musical groups. After their successful debut albums, many released lackluster second albums in a relatively short time. Their supporters were mostly disappointed.
Taiwan and Hong Kong music still dominated. Many people regarded rock as a marginal music that was good to try but was fundamentally unpleasant. After the first wave of the New Music movement, people didn’t find enough exciting new bands to sustain their interests. The market cooled down.
The Mainland got back on the track of what we predicted: copy from Taiwan and Hong Kong, and then create their own popular music. That’s indeed what happened.
But rock music didn’t die. It will never die. Seeds have been planted and they will grow and bloom. To many older as well as younger musicians, rock is their life. They won’t give up due to market fluctuations. Not like in the early time when we could find several inspiriting albums every year, they do produce a steady number of releases with various styles. Their popularity is growing slowly and gradually.
The market shall prevail. Artists shall persist. I am a listener. I am with them, and I will always support them. 2月18日 新年晚会今天去看了UW的新年晚会。办得还真是不错。
我还是第一次去参加这种晚会。今年也是因为女儿进了幼儿园，幼儿园也有节目，所以我才去的。
首先，现场的感觉是看电视远远不能比拟的。在电视里肯定是场普通的晚会，到了现场就完全不一样了。其次呢，是美女众多。最后，是节目质量高。你看看，晚会给观众的观感，节目质量被排在第三个因素。
这场晚会主要是歌舞。舞蹈节目里的美国人反而占了大半。开场是舞狮，美国人。还有一个在中国住了十几年的家庭，我们好像以前在一个聚会上见过。这家的两个女儿表演了好几个少数民族舞蹈，都很地道，在我看来很专业。
然后可能从外面请来的一些歌舞演员，即使不是专业也是受过专业训练的。还有一个可能是学生里的乐队。我觉得他们的最后一首歌《在雨中》可能是自己的歌。真得很不错很摇滚。但是乐队的表演有点拘谨。
这种活动在各个大学都有。一般是中国学生学者协会主办，由中国大使馆资助。 2月12日 Prepared To Rise?Last November, China Central TV broadcasted a documentary TV series titled The Rise of the Great Powers.
The scale and altitude of the series caused discussions domestically, and also raised interests and attentions abroad. According to a common belief, Chinese government doesn’t speak straight, though what they say might convey some crucial messages. Every bland official statement could imply some political climate changes. The documentary is a solid work on its own, and some speculate it might have more profound meanings.
The Rise of the Great Powers consists of 12 episodes, totaling 600 minutes. It narrated 9 countries that achieved global influence in the past 5 centuries, which were Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, Japan, and the United States. It analyzed the reasons why they rose, and, in some cases, the reasons why they fell as well.
The scope and the title of the series naturally reminded me of Paul Kennedy’s The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers. Fortunately, the author himself was interviewed in the documentary, among other historians, economists, and politicians around the world.
The 12 episodes were organized in this way: the series spent one episode on Portugal and Spain, assumedly because the 2 countries dominated the world in roughly the same period, rose and fell for similar reasons. The Netherlands, France, Germany, and Japan each took one episode. Britain, Russia, and the United States took 2 episodes each. And the last episode was for conclusions.
It’s not surprising that some countries concern the Chinese more than the other. Britain started the Industrial Revolution and it was the first nation that entered modern society. Russia was a superpower. It imprinted sentimental memories in Chinese people and left some legacies. The United States is undisputedly the only superpower today.
In the last episode, it attempted to list some widely acknowledged approaches to modernization, including: the unification of the nation, effective exercise of state’s power, peaceful international environment, the rule of law, democracy, technology innovation and system innovation. It stressed that mankind’s future relies on cooperation rather than confrontation, echoing the “Peaceful Rise” slogan China recently introduced to international community. Its perspective also hinted how the Chinese typically view history, which is, the rise and fall of great dynasties and nations are natural progress when putting in the purview of thousands years of history, and the game should be played patiently and foresightedly.
The principles could be considered long term strategies, and they may serve some very practical reasons just as well. Making the unification as a base of a nation’s rise might be rooted in the concerns of Taiwan’s potential troublesome situation. Stressing on regional cooperation reflected China’s diplomatic efforts to develop free trades with its Asian neighbors.
Its praise toward democracy will please the world, but Western audience could also easily identify some ideas that differ from Western thought. The series argued that Germany, Japan, and Russia took a different path to industrialization than other developed countries. They were backward nations and archived industrialization in a much faster speed by utilizing the power of the state. The argument justified China’s policy. Chinese government takes more responsibilities in economic activities in the current early stage of modernization than some other nations do. This contradicts orthodox free market theory firmly hold by Western economists who advocate privatization and less government controls. In some respects, however, what China does is not really new and has been proved effective in history. China’s policy of using gigantic government projects to stimulate demand-and-supply cycle might have been copied exactly from Roosevelt’s “the New Deal”.
Does the series over-simplify the process of human development? If the path to modernization is so clear, why most of the world still live in poverty? The series obviously recognized the challenge. It actually emphasized that the way to prosperity doesn’t have a clear answer nor does it have a single universal answer to every country. It’s still waiting for every one of us to explore.
The Rise of the Great Powers in general is welcomed by both Chinese audience and the outside world. Chinese people in the time are very receptive to new ideas. This series promotes a more confident, open-minded and cooperative attitude to the world. This could be definitely considered a good sign. It also has special meanings in the present time because the international community is calling China to play a more responsible and constructive role in world affairs. It’s unrealistic to talk about China as a great power but it’s time for the Chinese to start thinking about their roles and their affects in the world.
1月23日 大国崛起在看《大国崛起》。感慨就是，每个强国的诞生都是有英雄豪杰啊。
无意中发现个有趣的现象。我是从P2P下载的，下载越快证明越受欢迎。俄罗斯那集迅速的下载了，其他集的下载速度比较均匀。说明我们对俄罗斯还挺有感情的。 1月3日 对联一篇稿子。中文读者不必看了。
During New Year holidays, the Chinese have a tradition of hanging Spring Lian on the two sides of the door. Spring Lian is a special form of Dui Lian. So what is Dui Lian?
If you have experience of Chinese traditional residence, you probably have noticed Dui Lian. They’re wooden boards inscribed with characters and hung on the columns outside or walls inside a house. Dui Lian consists of three pieces: the Upper Lian, the Lower Lian, and the Horizontal Scroll. The Upper Lian and Lower Lian are the same size and written vertically, with the Upper Lian on the right side and the Lower Lian on the left side. The Horizontal Scroll, or called Heng Pi, is much shorter and hung over the top.
Dui Lian is found in residences, temples, schools, and many traditional public sites. It is not only an expensive decoration but also a symbol representing the characters of the residence owner or the teachings of the institute.
Spring Lian is in a casual form that is written in black ink on red paper and specifically used for the New Year. They’re good wills and wishes filled with festive air. Let’s see an example of Spring Lian.
The Upper Lian: The winter has left. Hundred trees revive.
The Lower Lian: The spring is coming. Thousand flowers bloom. In its original language, the upper and lower Lian have exact same number of syllables and letters and the Lower Lian matches the Upper Lian.
Spring Lian are usually simple but Dui Lian could be much more serious.
In Hangzhou city, by the side of Xixia Mountain, resides General Yue’s tomb. General Yue Fei (1103 – 1142) was an extraordinary military leader and hero in the wars between Chinese Song Dynasty and northern nomadic Jin Dynasty. He led his army fighting with Jin on the front lines, though back in the Court, some scheme was fermented by his enemies who were close to the emperor. Some high officials fabricated false evidence, persuaded the emperor to call General Yue back, charged him of disloyalty, and sentenced him to death. The death of General Yue was an unbearable tragedy in history. In 1162, when the grievance was redressed, General Yue was buried in his present place with honors. Outside the tomb, there are statues of the four treacherous officials who betrayed the great general. The statues have a shameful posture, with their knees down to the ground.
The Dui Lian of the tomb reads:
The green mountain is honored to bury the loyal soul; The white iron is too innocent to forge the sycophants. Every concept and syllable of the Upper Lian is perfectly matched, countered and balanced by the Lower Lian. Nonetheless, they both represent the same notion and sentiment. This is the principle and philosophy of Dui Lian.
Another famous Dui Lian is in the Palace of Cultivation in the Forbidden City, which was essentially emperor’s office. The Dui Lian reads:
Only one person to govern the whole world; Not the whole world to serve one person. It says, I, the emperor, am given the responsibility to govern the world, but I am not granted the right to exploit the world to satisfy my individual desires. Compared to the other two examples, this Dui Lian is not in an orderly format. However, no matter how it is presented, the Dui Lian is admirable. 12月3日 Speak Chinese in EnglishMaking friends from different cultures often makes us think about what we got used to. One example is a question a friend asked. "How do you type Chinese on the computer?"
The short answer is, we have some sort of mapping between Chinese characters and English letters. Software is available that helps users input Chinese by actually typing 26 Latin letters on a standard keyboard. The long answer is ... rather long. The history of how the Chinese invented the system, which is called Pinyin, is worth studying. Actually, many people have already seen and used Pinyin. Chinese names translated to English and imported words like Feng Shui are all written in Pinyin.
Unlike English and most other languages, which could be spelled by a limited number of basic letters, Chinese characters are a vast set. A literate should know nearly ten thousand. The most inconvenient part is, when you look at a character, you don't necessarily know how to pronounce it.
In ancient times, this was never a problem, because education was a privilege of the upper classes. However, it became important to invent a tool to facilitate Chinese language-learning when modern China started to bring education to the masses. When we look at China's history, we must keep the turbulent background in mind. When the West used warships to open the gates of the Qing Empire, the Chinese suddenly faced the bitter fact that we had been left so far behind. It was not only a matter of a reform, but a revolution, a choice between survival and extinction of the civilization.
Many radical ideas were introduced. Some proposed to abandon the writing system altogether. Even though it seems ridiculous and incredible today, the proposal appeared like a reasonable option.
After the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, the Chinese Language Reform Committee was established in 1952. Their job was: first, simplify Chinese characters; second, popularize the common speech (putong hua); and third, invent a new character set to identify Chinese language pronunciations.
The three goals were all controversial, though I'm only going to focus on the last one.
It might surprise some readers that using Latin letters in Pinyin was only one proposal among many others. When scholars and linguists worked on the project, they considered how to preserve the traditions of Chinese characters. I personally imagine that a new character set according to the idea would look very much like Korean and Japanese characters.
Different schools on the committee couldn't reach a consensus. By 1955, the committee had received 655 different proposals from the whole country. In 1956, during a meeting of the committee with party leaders, Mao Zedong expressed his preference to use Latin letters. The decision was thus made. In 1958, Pinyin was published and became a national standard.
As an ordinary Pinyin user, I have nothing to complain with it. It's not perfect, but is easy to use; not a marvel, but a solid tool. However, English speakers often find it hard to pronounce the English translations of Chinese names. That's mainly because the Pinyin system was primarily designed for Chinese pronunciation only, not the other way around. Because English and Chinese languages have pronunciations uniquely their own, English speakers may be confused by the likes of Qi and Xi.
When the world entered the computer age, the Chinese faced a new challenge of how to enter Chinese characters into computers. Software companies invented various kinds of input software. Computer users became puzzled by all these inventions on the market. Within a decade, a few softwares won. Some professional input softwares that stress speed could take a month of training to master. But popular input softwares are all based on Pinyin, because most people are familiar and comfortable with it. The learning curve of using it on keyboard is very short.
In late Qing and in the dawn of the computer era, we all heard voices saying that the Chinese language couldn't survive the new age and that it was doomed. At the same time, others claimed that attempts to modify quintessential Chinese characters were crimes and an evil scheme of communists. In reality, we often encounter such a theme. When a country fails, people are too desperate, or incapable, or not willing, to find the causes and solutions. Instead, they simply blame "culture." On the other hand, too much arrogance, or an attitude of "We are so good," only means detachment from reality. The cost could be huge.
11月23日 一个梦我梦见在一个陌生的城市开车，后面坐着妈妈，姐姐，或是老婆。路不熟，开车的时候东张西望的。其他司机都很礼貌，常让我的路，示意让我先走。没想到我在潜意识里对美国人的印象这么好。我在找一条高速，在小路上兜来兜去，知道高速就在不远的地方，但就是找不到路。开到一个像大学校园的地方，再往前突然变成了山路。这时候我知道这个梦变成噩梦了，会有怪物出现。但我知道这是噩梦，心里非常坦然。我就不慌不忙的调头。这时候汽车变成了自行车。然后不出意料的，山路上跑来人，狂喊的有怪物来了。
梦是焦虑的体现。这种找不到高速入口的体验是一种焦虑。这个梦很好笑，有焦虑，有和家人在一起的感觉，还有可笑的怪物。 10月23日 消费主义害死人按理说，东西会越来越便宜。但是这些挣你钱的公司还要想方设法的挣你的钱。就说牙刷吧，牙刷是挣不到什么钱了，就升级换代吧，加功能吧。就有了电动牙刷。还真是比手动的好，那我就换电动的。一晃又好几年，这电动牙刷一点没降价，功能多了很多。原来是单速的，现在是双速的。原来两个按钮，一开一关，现在一个按钮，高低关。你说这些公司里的工程师，好歹也受过高等教育，坐在洁净的实验室天天就琢磨这个，挺可悲的一个职业哈。就这么简单还出问题了。以前牙刷没电了，我关掉，充电。现在牙刷没电了，我乱按几下，最后停下来，我要充电，可是我不知道这个牙刷究竟是开着还是关着，就那么一个按钮。哎呀，我说嘛，你们不要瞎鼓捣。 10月11日 采访随便贴一篇稿子。来这里读博的人可能对这个内容没什么兴趣。可是你要问我在干什么，那就是在干这些了：搞些貌似专业的东西，看看自己能做到什么地步，再挣点零花。
Jane Huang appears to be an ordinary Chinese woman. Though you won't see the real her until she starts talking about her business. When she talks about what she has done and her plan about future, the tremendous energy this petite woman exudes is awe-inspiring.
I interviewed Jane one Saturday afternoon. The first questions on my mind was, "While most Chinese come to the US to work as engineers in big companies, what made Huang establish her own business?" I knew beforehand that she holds a degree in electrical engineering, so I was curious.
Huang's parents were engineers, I was told, so it was no surprise that Jane followed in their footsteps. She completed her college from Tsinghua University back in the 1980s.
When we examine China's past 30 years, the 1980s was characterized with ground-breaking reforms and social restlessness. Among college students in that decade were idealists, poets, and protestors. They cared about the country and people. They had courage to leave home to explore a whole strange world. Jane was one of them.
At that time, people's future was very clear and simple. After graduation, they would be assigned to some research institutes or working units, without their consents. This seemed the only way, though Jane and many students made their own way -- to America.
In her first years in the states, Jane obtained graduate degree from Marquette University with Master Degree of Computer Science with minor of Mathematics. She also accumulated experience of working in software companies. It was a hard choice to choose a career between academics and industry. To Jane, being a scientist meant specializing in one field, while doing business meant expanding one's knowledge. Eventually, her interests in business won.
In 1993, Jane moved back to Madison to join a consulting company. Life led her to meet Barry who became her husband five years later. The couple dated for four years, then became engaged. Jane recalled vividly meeting his parents the first time. Barry's parents lived in an almost all-White small town in central Wisconsin. She was afraid and nervous at the thought that Barry's parents wouldn't accept her. At dinner, she couldn't even pronounce the name of an Italian dish: lasagna! But the old couples' warm hearts relieved her. They looked her as a member of family.
The support of her husband and the whole family was a critical factor when Jane later started her own company. She always feels grateful to them as they have given her the courage and energies to face and handle the obstacles of her challenging job.
In late 1990s, the economy in technology sector boomed. Jane was vice-president of a local PowerBuilder committee. She found out surprisingly that every member of the committee owned his/her own business. This raised her aspiration to be like them. However, she clearly knew the impediments of being a minority: the language barrier and lack of business connections. Despite this, Huang thought she possesses some unique advantages: she was easily recognized and remembered! Jane worked very hard and accomplished many projects. People remembered her and appreciated her job.
But things didn't go smoothly. Jane wasn't able to realize her dream, because the economy made a down turn after September 11. She thought it’s time to have a stable job. She worked for state government for 2 years. However in 2003 during a government reorganization, she lost her job.
The loss of her job turned out to be a final impetus for Huang. Instead of looking for a new job, she asked herself, "Why not look for a contract?" That way, she could take more control of her life, she thought. Huang founded Dragon Technology Solutions and started her career as a consultant and a business owner. She signed a two-year contract with a New York Investment company. The company started running and growing.
It wasn't easy to run a start-up high-tech company, considering a lot of competitions from larger and established companies, competing contracts and excellent consultants. Jane worked 60 hours a week, marketing the company, recruiting right people, and building up connections. Her efforts paid off. Last year, Dragon Technology Solutions was one of just 69 vendors to receive a coveted spot on the State of Wisconsin’s primary vendors list for IT service.
The biggest challenge of running a consulting company is management. The workforce of IT industry is not stable. Huang spends a lot of time to find qualified employees. Many American companies operate based on projects/contracts. They finish projects and move on, quickly hiring and firing people. But Huang is dedicated to build long term relationships between customers, employees and the company. She particularly appreciates immigrant workers from countries like China and India. Moreover, Huang herself is an immigrant. She understands the hardship of lives of new immigrants and feels obliged to help them.
Being a minority is both an advantage and disadvantage. Needless to say, people who were not born in America and speak English as the second language face tremendous difficulties when building relations with American partners and customers. But like other minority business people, Huang has received some help from the government's minority-promotion programs.
At present, Huang is actively working to help launch the U.S. Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce (USPAACC).-Wisconsin Chapter and recruit as many members as possible from the Madison area. The nationwide organization, headquartered in Washington D.C., was founded in August 1984 by a Chinese lady named Susan Au Allen. The Wisconsin Chapter is headed by Ritu Sharma from Milwaukee. Huang pointed out that businesses owned and operated by Asians in Wisconsin are still low in number compared with that of other states. Huang believes that the USPAACC will help local businesses network and communicate with government, large corporations, and other organizations.
In the future, Jane plans to find opportunities to work with her home country China, which is set to become the world’s biggest economy in this century. Jane hopes she could bring her technological expertise to China and at the same time, help utilize the great human resource of China to make American businesses more efficient.
When asked how she enjoys her job, Jane says she likes the challenges of owning a business and enjoys the freedom of defining the business direction and future without cumbersome layers of middle management in traditional large corporations. She particularly likes learning in many different fields besides technologies, like marketing, sales, human resources, finance and accounting. She has learned and practiced so much more than she learned from her MBA courses. Huang sometimes works without getting any payment. She helps people to find satisfactory jobs and a channel to work in the country legally. According to her, the success of those she had helped and her friends is her best reward. 10月3日 鸟声？左小祖咒的《我不能悲伤地坐在你身旁》的结尾处，隐约的有一些很高亢尖锐的声音。在《爱的劳工》里，这个声音更加明显。是鸟声。鸥类的鸟声。
罗大佑的《宁静温泉》里也有鸟的声音，更准确地说，是鸽哨的声音。这个声音一下子带起了很早以前的记忆，鸽群飞过北京的高层居民楼就带着这种声音。很诡异的是为什么罗大佑引用这个音效。 9月15日 歌词欣赏齐秦 寄旅 且把耳后的风梳在发里 把时光倒推20年，没有正式的音乐来源，就是管人借。连双卡录音机也不普及，还要找人转录。听的都是不知道转录了多少手的磁带。猜歌词是个很有意思的审美过程。这一句“且把耳后的风梳在发里”在多年后看到原文的时候，确实有真相大白拍案叫绝的感受。 因为是翻录的磁带，除了音乐一无所有。对歌曲的理解可以说是个很曲折的过程。还有这么个例子。下面是罗大佑的歌词。 终日面对着青山 轻风吹在我身上 蓝蓝的青空在上 终日面对着青山
罗大佑这首歌里的田野情怀让我联想起张雨生的《渺小》。这个词作者级别就更高了，是徐志摩。 渺小 我仰望群山的苍老， 我一人停步在路隅， 哈金《等待》这本书我看完了，是我看得比较快的一本，可以全面地讲一讲。
这本书分三部。第一部是孔林和吴曼娜的恋爱，也就使我感叹作者是写情高手的时候。第二部是生活中很多的机会和过客，他们怎么一步步到了这个苦等十八年的地步。第三部是等待结束后的婚后生活。
上次我说这个小说没有重要的配角。现在看，孔林的前妻可以算个比较重要的配角，但是戏份也不是特别多。但是不能说这个小说在人物上有缺陷。实际上这里面有很多性格鲜明的人物，有些人物两三章之后就退场了，但是仍然形象丰满。很多角色虽然偶然出现只有很短的时间，作者仍然努力的让他们抓紧机会表现他们的性格。这方面很成功。
到了第三部，十八年等待结束的时候，几乎没有什么特别交待。我觉得在这个关键时刻作者做得不充分。这一部就很平淡沉闷，悬念也消失了，多了很多叙述性的东西。前两部，故事是从孔林和吴曼娜两个人的角度交替的讲述的，有个视角的转换。到了这一部，全是孔林的视角，读者感到女主角变得疏远和陌生了。
语言方面，我觉得用英文给外国读者讲中国故事是挺难的。作者几乎无所顾忌坚持不懈地讲着，直接翻译了很多中国词汇，比如“五香驴肉”“滋阴”“工农民大学生”。这些事情没有作特别解释，说实话，没法解释，根本解释不过来。但是中国读者应该都明白。有一次作了特别的解释，是“宝塔糖”，谁都知道这是什么，我们小时候吃的打蛔虫的药。直接讲宝塔糖，外国人怎么也不会明白那是什么，所以要交待一下。
总之，这本书是相当不错的，也很特别。我是饶有兴趣的读它的。我也不敢说推荐给所有人——各人口味都不同，很多人也未必有时间。但是对像我这样有时间也有兴趣读长篇小说的人，我推荐这本书。
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