Feature Stories

There is a common connotative warmth associated with the term innovation. In a culture that glorifies success and celebrates triumph over adversity, innovation is applauded, while the flipside of Icarian plummets is less lauded. It may seem paradoxical, a fallacy, a...

Natalie Amezcua, an English teacher from Los Angeles, was not expecting a lot last August when she arrived in Nanjing looking for a taste of home. Two years of living in Korea had taught her to temper her expectations. If...

The Four Great Inventions of paper, gunpowder, printing and the compass are the four most amazing and revolutionising innovations that came from ancient China. In the modern world, creative innovations include the first AI teaching assistant, making a house...

“I’m really into purple velvet right now”, Rosie Colvin said. “Think Willy Wonka, or maybe Prince.That’s my vibe.” The UK fashion designer was discussing her dream ensemble for when she’d finally be released from quarantine. Currently waiting for permission to...

“We’ll burn that bridge when we get to it” is one of my father’s favourite sayings. “Until the cows freeze over” is another. A blended idiom or cliché is called a malaphor. The combination of two hitherto unrelated concepts makes...

It’s really difficult not to think of fashion when you think of a Nanjinger. Everything we know is coloured by something or other; in the case of Nanjing, the fashion that stands out is the Nanjing dialect, “Nankinese”, because...

Traditions tell us how to be who we are. This year, for the first time in the history of The Republic, Ireland has had to cancel its St. Patrick’s Day Parades, and even worse, the pubs have been closed...

When I was a third grader, my family used to take moon cakes and chairs outside to sit in front of the lake, admiring the full moon for an hour. It was exciting for the first 5 minutes, but...