The Nanjinger

Author: Filippa Rui

  • Bird and Beast Beware; Snows a’ Comin’ to Nanjing

    Bird and Beast Beware; Snows a’ Comin’ to Nanjing

    As an Arctic blast swings southwest over Seoul, Shanghai and onto Nanjing, we need brace ourselves for icy weather. Sleet is predicted to be incoming, most likely showing its chilly face this Sunday.

    This year, snow fell on Nanjing for the first time at the beginning of January, but while it came late, it stuck around for a week, making it the biggest snowfall the city had seen in a decade. While the snowfall was indeed enough to garner a few days of work from home, it was categorised only as a “Yellow Weather Alert”. 

    Temperatures plummeted and meteorological authorities suggested it was a match only for the “big freeze” of 2008, which cut off parts of Nanjing for a week. Xinhua News reported that said was deemed the worst winter weather China had seen for 50 years.

    The snowy spell caused extensive damage and disrupted the travel of several thousand travellers; 129 people died. So while we wait for that which the winter of 2018 has in store for us, it is worth contemplating the next few weeks, or as it may be, months. Are we in for a white Christmas or just its icy, grey equivalent?

    While the first days of this year might have been the worst in a decade, Nanjing’s longest snowy spell in fact dates from almost 400 years ago. Historical records of the year 1620 show that Nanjing, along with the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, was under snowfall for a staggering 139 days, according a 2014 report published in Advances in Climate Change Research.

    With an estimated average temperature of 4.4 degrees Celcius, Nanjing’s longest-ever winter lasted from the tenth Chinese lunar month of 1620 to the middle ten days of the second Chinese lunar month of 1621, which corresponds to the Gregorian calendar of 25 October, 1620, to 12 March, 1621, not far off 5 months.

    Inevitably, accounts of the time in historical records vary. Another reported, “It was bitter cold in the spring of 1621, with snow covering on the ground for more than 50 days. Many birds and beasts were frozen to death”.

  • What’s in a Name? The Big Bear Cat, aka Panda

    What’s in a Name? The Big Bear Cat, aka Panda

    In China, the panda is known today as “daxiaongmao” (大熊猫) which literally translates as “big bear cat”. In English, it is the giant panda bear. However, when looking closely at the Chinese name, one would be forgiven for questioning whether it should not be called Big Cat Bear? Since it is indeed a cat-like-bear….

    在中国，熊猫如今被称为“大熊猫”，字面意思是“大熊猫”。在英语中，它是大熊猫。然而，仔细一看这个中文名字，人们会质疑它是否不应该被称为“大猫熊”？因为它确实是一只像猫一样的熊……

    During the 1930s, the Sichuan Museum held an animal exhibition in which the pandas featured therein were most popular. The museum’s official signage had named the bears, “maoxiong” (猫熊), meaning a bear with cat-like appearance), written in the traditional way; right to left.

    20世纪30年代，四川博物院举办动物展览，其中展出的大熊猫最受欢迎。博物馆的官方标牌将这些熊命名为“猫熊”，意思是长得像猫的熊，用传统的方式书写；从右到左。

    However, since around the 1920s, all books, legal documents and newspapers were written in Vernacular Chinese using a national standard, also known as standard or modern, written Chinese. The Chinese journalists who visited the museum exhibit were, as a result, used to reading Chinese headlines left to right and wrongly reported the bears as xiongmao. Media reports at the time were so widely popular that, even some time after it was reported a mistake had been made, xiongmao stuck.

    然而，自20世纪20年代左右以来，所有书籍、法律文件和报纸均采用国家标准（也称为标准或现代书面汉语）以白话文书写。因此，参观博物馆展览的中国记者习惯于从左到右阅读中文头条新闻，并错误地将这些熊报道为“熊毛”。当时的媒体报道非常受欢迎，以至于即使在报道错误一段时间后，雄猫仍陷于困境。

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    When it was officially named in English, it became known as Panda, a word borrowed from French that is found to be connected to the Nepali word Ponya, which they used to describe their red panda. Before 1901, when it became Panda, the animal was simply known in English as Black and White Cat Footed-Animal.

    当它以英文正式命名时，它被称为“Panda”，这个词借自法语，被发现与尼泊尔语“Ponya”有关，他们用这个词来形容他们的小熊猫。在 1901 年更名为 Panda 之前，这种动物在英语中简称为 Black and White Cat Footed-Animal。

    Throughout Chinese history, the humble bear has been called at least 20 different names, some of which include “spotted bear huaxiong” (花熊) and “bamboo bear zhuxiong” (竹熊). Despite official writings of its Chinese name in Taiwan; damaoxiong (大猫熊) gained popularity in 1988 and is still used today, with linguists arguing that this version makes the most logic and is more grammatically correct.

    纵观中国历史，这种不起眼的熊至少有20个不同的名字，其中包括“花熊”和“竹熊”。尽管台湾官方有其中文名称； “大猫熊”于1988年流行起来，至今仍在使用，语言学家认为这个版本最符合逻辑，语法也更正确。

    Declared an endangered species in the 1980s, it is thought there are only 2,000 Big Cat Bears left in the world today. Mostly found in Western Sichuan province and the surrounding forests, Giant Pandas can also be seen at Nanjing’s Hongshan Zoo.

    大型猫科熊在 20 世纪 80 年代被宣布为濒危物种，目前世界上仅存 2,000 只。大熊猫主要分布在四川省西部及周边森林，在南京红山动物园也能看到它们。

  • China Dumps Glasses; Falls in Love with Contacts

    China Dumps Glasses; Falls in Love with Contacts

    After the Chinese singer Wang Faye wore a pair of grey contact lenses while performing at the Spring Festival Gala in 2010, the wearing of coloured contacts received a major boost to its popularity. Since then, the look has grown, quite literally; dolly eyes, anime eyes or just plain big eyes are all the rage. Known locally as “meitong”, coloured contacts have over the past decade exploded in popularity throughout Japan, Korea and China.

    继2010年中国歌手王菲在春晚表演时佩戴灰色隐形眼镜后，彩色隐形眼镜的流行度大幅提升。从那时起，这种外观确实在不断发展。娃娃眼、动漫眼或普通的大眼睛都很流行。彩色隐形眼镜在当地被称为“美瞳”，过去十年在日本、韩国和中国迅速流行。

    Meitong come in an array of shapes, sizes and colours, circling the pupil of the eye, making the iris appear larger. The bigger the contacts, the more of an enlarged “doll-like” look for the wearer. Unlike ordinary contact lenses, which cover the entire eye, meitong contacts pose a significant risk to the wearer, due to their positioning on the eye, among other factors.

    美瞳有多种形状、大小和颜色，环绕眼睛的瞳孔，使虹膜显得更大。隐形眼镜越大，佩戴者看起来就越像放大的“娃娃”。与覆盖整个眼睛的普通隐形眼镜不同，美通隐形眼镜由于其在眼睛上的位置等因素，对佩戴者构成重大风险。

    The term meitong is reported to be a Johnson&Johnson trademark that has now become the generally accepted term in China. Johnson&Johnson and the Pinky Paradise brand are together the largest manufacturers of coloured contacts. Industry insiders point out that while price and quality varies dramatically, it is ultimately safer to purchase from larger companies such as these so as to avoid any potential damage.

    据报道，“美通”一词是强生公司的商标，现已成为中国普遍接受的术语。 Johnson&Johnson 和 Pinky Paradise 品牌共同是最大的彩色隐形眼镜制造商。业内人士指出，虽然价格和质量差异很大，但从这样的大公司购买最终更安全，以避免任何潜在的损害。

    “The lenses can scratch or poke a hole in the cornea, which basically makes you go blind”, Beijing optometrist Li Zhong, president of the Intech Eye Hospital told China Daily, adding that continuous use of such “circle lenses” pose an increased risk of infection, deprive the eye of oxygen, and can cause various vision problems.

    北京英泰眼科医院院长、验光师李忠告诉《中国日报》：“这种镜片会在角膜上划伤或刺出一个洞，基本上会让你失明。”他补充说，持续使用这种“圆形镜片”会增加感染的风险，使眼睛缺氧，并可能导致各种视力问题。

    A pair of non prescription contacts go for anywhere between ￥50 to ￥500, with similar extremes in quality. According to Wade Shepard from Vagabond Journey, “In China, they can currently be [purchased] without a prescription, but the country’s health board claims that this will change [as] soon as many people have reputedly damaged their vision through using them”.

    一副非处方隐形眼镜的价格在 50 到 500 元之间，质量也差不多。流浪之旅的韦德·谢泼德 (Wade Shepard) 表示，“在中国，目前不需要处方就可以[购买]它们，但该国卫生局声称，这种情况将会改变，因为据称许多人因使用它们而损害了视力”。

    Nanjing model agency executive, Lucy Chen, spoke with The Nanjinger, “I’ve been wearing my meitong contacts for 10 years. I started wearing them for fashionable reasons; in the beginning, I would change colours for various occasions. But nowadays, I just wear the same colour. In fact mine are corrective, so I do wear them for necessity and also for fashion; I believe they make me look more beautiful.

    南京模特经纪公司负责人Lucy Chen接受《南京人》采访时表示，“我戴美瞳隐形眼镜已经有10年了。我开始戴它是为了时尚，一开始我会根据不同的场合改变颜色。但现在我只是戴同一个颜色。事实上我的隐形眼镜是矫正用的，所以我戴它是为了必需，也是为了时尚；我相信它们让我看起来更漂亮。”

    “I pay around ￥200 for a year’s supply. I’ve never had any problems using them. Personally, I don’t believe that there are any dangers, I practice good hygiene and haven’t had any problems”, Chen added, while recognising that stories of women suffering from red eye or infections due to lack of hygiene or improper use are not uncommon.

    “我一年的用量大约是200元左右。我使用它们从来没有遇到过任何问题。我个人认为没有任何危险，我保持良好的卫生习惯，没有出现过任何问题。”陈补充道，同时也承认，由于不卫生或使用不当而导致女性患红眼或感染的故事并不少见。

    It has been reported that after Lady Gaga popularised the look by digitally enlarging her eyes for her video “Bad Romance”, other celebrities in the West followed suit, making the look popular for a short time around the start of the decade. In Asia, however, the look seems to have stuck, with most Chinese women admitting that having bigger eyes makes them feel more beautiful.

    据报道，Lady Gaga 在她的视频《Bad Romance》中通过数码放大眼睛使这种造型流行起来后，西方其他名人也纷纷效仿，使得这种造型在本世纪初短暂流行。然而，在亚洲，这种外观似乎已经流行起来，大多数中国女性承认拥有更大的眼睛让她们感觉更美丽。

    Also in 2010, the New York Times noted that, in the U.S, it is illegal to sell contact lenses without a prescription; corrective or cosmetic. FDA spokeswoman Karen Riley said, “Consumers risk significant eye injuries, even blindness”.

    同样在 2010 年，《纽约时报》指出，在美国，未经处方销售隐形眼镜是违法的；矫正或美容。 FDA 发言人凯伦·莱利 (Karen Riley) 表示：“消费者面临严重眼部损伤，甚至失明的风险”。

    Nanjing freelance writer, Lily Xu, told The Nanjinger, “All of my friends wear contacts and most of them are corrective as well. I don’t wear them all the time because I think my eyes need a rest. During this time, I will just wear my glasses. I’m aware of the dangers of using the contacts; for me I seem to be ok using them but I don’t wear them often for this reason.

    南京自由撰稿人徐莉莉告诉《南京人》，“我的朋友都戴隐形眼镜，而且大部分都是矫正用的。我不会一直戴隐形眼镜，因为我觉得眼睛需要休息。这段时间我就戴眼镜。我知道使用隐形眼镜的危险；对我来说，我似乎可以使用隐形眼镜，但因此我不经常戴。

    “I have been using meitong contacts for 3 years. My first experience wearing the lenses was in Thailand; I bought them in China and wore them there, because they made me more beautiful. I buy them in China and now often wear them when I go on holidays. Mine are corrective so they’re very useful as well as being beautiful… I don’t like the Dolly Eye look though, that’s for the young ones; young people all wear the really big ones nowadays, I think it looks scary,” Xu went on to say.

    “我用美通隐形眼镜已经三年了。我第一次戴隐形眼镜是在泰国；我在中国买了它们，在那里戴，因为它们让我更漂亮。我在中国买的，现在去度假时经常戴。我的隐形眼镜是矫正用的，所以它们非常有用，而且很漂亮……不过我不喜欢娃娃眼的样子，那是给年轻人的，现在年轻人都戴很大的，我觉得看起来很吓人，”徐接着说道。

    In Beijing, men have admitted to jumping on the bandwagon, by adopting grey lenses as part of a fashion trend. Speaking with Todd Balazovic and Wang Wen from China Daily, University student Lu Zhengwei said, “I thought it was unique to have a pair of grey eyes. But I gave it up because my vision was damaged”, noting his Myopia got worse after 6 months of wear.

    在北京，男士们承认他们也追随潮流，佩戴灰色镜片成为时尚潮流的一部分。大学生陆正伟在接受《中国日报》的托德·巴拉佐维奇和王文采访时表示，“我认为拥有一双灰色的眼睛很独特。但我放弃了，因为我的视力受损”，并指出佩戴 6 个月后他的近视度数变得更严重。

    While some men in China may indeed dabble in coloured contacts for cosmetics purposes, it is clear that the majority still view traditional corrective contact lenses from a rather practical point of view.  

    虽然中国的一些男性可能确实出于美容目的而涉足彩色隐形眼镜，但很明显，大多数人仍然从相当实用的角度看待传统矫正隐形眼镜。

    “I wear non coloured corrective contacts and for me they are rather useful in many situations such travelling to beachy places, wearing sunglasses and if I want to go swimming”, Steven Zhao, Nanjing carwash entrepreneur told The Nanjinger.

    “我佩戴非彩色矫正隐形眼镜，对我来说，它们在很多情况下都非常有用，例如去海边旅行、戴墨镜以及如果我想去游泳”，南京洗车企业家史蒂文·赵告诉《南京人》。

    The Chinese are a myopic race. In fact, one and a half times more so than the world on average; 33 percent versus 22 percent. So whether contacts are worn for practical or cosmetic purposes, the industry in China is thriving, with a growth rate of over 10 percent that matches that of traditional glasses. 

    中国人是一个短视的民族。事实上，这一比例是世界平均水平的一倍半； 33% 对 22%。因此，无论是出于实用目的还是出于美容目的而佩戴隐形眼镜，中国的隐形眼镜行业都在蓬勃发展，增长率超过10%，与传统眼镜的增长率相当。

  • Nanjing Student Fined 10k for Selling Faster Broadband on Campus

    Nanjing Student Fined 10k for Selling Faster Broadband on Campus

    Dissatisfied with his vocational college’s slow Internet and the campus night-time disconnection of the network, one student, Yan Xindi, decided he had had enough and purchased a broadband account on Chinese major online shopping platform, Taobao. He then sold the broadband to other students on campus, earning him more than ￥2,000.

    His entrepreneurial spirit was soon crushed, however, as it was revealed that his actions were criminal and he was to be charged. As reported by Pengpai News the student has now been studying and living as a “criminal suspect” for the past 4 years, as a result of the broadband incident.

    Over the years, he has insisted that at the time he knew not that his actions were criminal, however, in July, 2018 he was convicted of, “concealing the proceeds of crime”, and has been fined ￥10,000, by Nanjing Xuanwu District Count.

    Predictably, the student is appealing his conviction and has taken his case to the Nanjing Intermediate Court. The case was reopened on 18 September 2018, and is ongoing.
    　　
    “Last year I almost thought that I would be sentenced to death, and thought that my diploma cannot be obtained because of it. [And] it is said that this crime can [carry] a maximum sentence of seven years”, Yan told reporters.
    　　
    Yan’s main concern is that his criminal record will prohibit him from getting a good job in the future, all the while insisting he is not guilty of any crime. He notes that there are many online Taobao broadband sellers, and there are many people who buy them. “I can’t figure out where I am wrong”, he insists.
    　　
    The court revealed that the main problem lies in the fact that when purchasing the broadband account, Yan had not used any ID, and that the account he was using had already been used and was still owing money. The court held that the student should have known that to acquire a broadband account in this way is a crime.

  • Vast China Fanbase British Author Visits Nanjing

    Vast China Fanbase British Author Visits Nanjing

    Highly regarded British writer Claire McFall, who has penned a series of works entitled “The Ferryman” that is immensely popular in China, recently visited Nanjing Audit University and Nanjing Foreign Language School.

    Having sold more than 2 million copies, Claire’s visit to Nanjing was brief, but noted. Claire spoke about her hopes to contribute to the younger generation’s return to books in China.

    The Ferryman is a touching, interesting but sometimes distressing debut that describes first love that is nurtured between life and death, full of myths and philosophies, says the Yangtze Evening Post.

    In June 2015, “The Ferryman” was ranked in the top ten of China’s fictional bestseller list, and its sequel, “The Ferryman 2: Returning to the Wasteland”, since its publication in September last year, also ranked in the list. 

    The Chinese version of her next book is expected to be launched in June next year. 

  • Shanghai Tourism Festival Highlights Oceanic Island Nations

    Shanghai Tourism Festival Highlights Oceanic Island Nations

    Aimed at promoting cultural exchanges between China and the International Community via tourism, is a cultural event highlighting the Oceanic Island Nations that will feature at this year’s Shanghai Tourism Festival.

    The festival not only aspires to promote tourism, but has the further aims of  internationalising Shanghai’s Jing’an District and promoting China’s up-and-coming International Import Expo.

    With a taste of island culture enjoyed through food, dancing and singing, the event is sponsored by the Embassy of Micronesia and The New Zealand and Fijian Consulate Generals, using a large variety of videos to showcase the natural ecosystem and culture of the island countries, according to Shine News.

    “The unique tropical customs displayed at the event will provide visitors a general picture of the charm of these islands and give enthusiastic travelers a better understanding of these bright pearls in the vast blue ocean”, writes Liu Qi for Shine.

    Micronesia consists of thousands of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. Sharing its cultural history with two other island regions Polynesia and Melanesia, the region has four main archipelagos and its politics is divided between several sovereign countries.

    Exhibition details:
    Date: September 18-24
Venue: Jujidi Mall in Jing’an Temple Commerce Zone
Address: Upper floor of Jing’an Temple Station, Exit 6, Metro Line 7, 1605 Nanjing Xi Lu, Shanghai.

  • 9th International Medical Expo Comes to Taizhou

    9th International Medical Expo Comes to Taizhou

    The 9th China (Taizhou) International Medicine Expo, with the theme of “Base on Health China, Construct Famous Medical City”, is being held in Taizhou, China from today, 16 September, until Wednesday. It has been confirmed that three Nobel Prize winners will attend the opening ceremony of the Expo.

    Taizhou is a famous historical and cultural city in China and the hometown of Mei Lanfang, Peking Opera master. More than 700 years ago, Marco Polo travelled to Taizhou and praised that “this city is not big, but there are many kinds of worldly happiness.”

    In recent years, Taizhou has focused on the health industry and is striving to build a China Medical City and a healthy industrial city. The China Medical City has grown into the largest biomedical gathering area in Chinawith the most complete industrial chain.

    China (Taizhou) International Medical Expo is the only medical exhibition held by the Jiangsu Provincial People’s Government. The Expo is sponsored by the Jiangsu Provincial People’s Government and supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Commerce, the National Health Commission, and the China Drug Administration.

    More than 1,000 Chinese and foreign companies that have signed up for the exhibition, among which more than 260 overseas companies. The numbers of exhibitors, countries and regions have increased significantly compared with the previous session.

    With a total area of more than 50,000 square metres, this year’s medical expo will set up 6 major platforms, 6 major exhibition areas and hold more than 20 medical special events, striving to make greater breakthroughs in internationalisation and industry influence.

  • Nanjing University Cooperates with Intel to Set up AI Research Center

    Nanjing University Cooperates with Intel to Set up AI Research Center

    12 September 2018, Nanjing University has been cooperating with tech giant Intel and recently held the opening ceremony of AI IPCC center (Intel Parallel Computing Centers), which is the first AI-orientated IPCC for Intel.

    Focusing on the latest technical AI research including a new generation of deep learning models directed by professor Zhou Zhihua, Dean of the School of Artificial Intelligence of Nanjing University. 


    Zhou has said that the cooperation between Intel and Nanjing University will further promote the AI machine learning and algorithms and will further help the university push its research further.

    
Working together to create the application Deep Forest, Song Jiqiang, Dean of Intel (China) Research Institute said that the cooperation and deep learning requires a lot of marked data.

    It [Deep Forrest] can be used on a small amount of data and it is possible that it be changed into comprehensible knowledge. Thus, its application field has also been extended, which can go directly to the perception and decision-making level, laying a foundation for the spiral escalation of algorithm and hardware.

  • Mouldy Food Puts High Speed Train Catering Company Under Fire

    Mouldy Food Puts High Speed Train Catering Company Under Fire

    Passengers traveling south from Beijing to Wuhan have called out the country’s high speed train catering company for serving them highly toxic food, whereby large quantities of mould had accumulated on the bottom of th rice.

    A Mr. Zhu and a Mr. Xia had bought two lunch box sets in the dining car on the train. However, the two were disgusted, when after opening the lid they found the meal to smell badly of mildew. Xia and Zhu both claim to have not even having finished eating their meals before experiencing vomiting and diarrhoea.

    Choosing not to seek compensation, Zhu warned that food that is this mouldy is extremely toxic and asked the train to investigate the cause and inform him of their findings.

    The following day, the Guangzhou Gaotie (high speed train) responded on their Weibo official Chinese social media account saying they would immediately investigate and remove that batch of products the same day. A suspension of  Shanghai Xincheng Food’s catering service was also put in place.

  • Attacker Slashes Throat of Nanjing Police Officer

    Attacker Slashes Throat of Nanjing Police Officer

    A man who had trapped himself in his own car violently lashed out at police when they approached the vehicle.

    After producing a knife, the situation became dangerous as officers produced their guns and batons to point them at the car.

    Police officer Gu Quan, of the Ninghai Lu police station in Nanjing Drum Tower Public Security Bureau, approached the man in the car, later identified as 48-year-old male Zhao, and was seriously injured in the scuffle.

    It has been reported Zhao slashed the officer across the throat missing a main artery by only 3cm. Continuing to his face and arm, suffering trauma to the neck, face and left upper extremity multiple trauma.