"It is true; the word is preached to all the world, to gather in the children of God's purpose that are scattered up and down in the world [John 11:52] and to leave them inexcusable; but the prime end and aim of the Lord Christ thereby is to gather in those heirs of salvation unto the enjoyment of that feast of fat things which he has prepared for them in his house." - John Owen

I'm doing a lot of reading on this, so I thought while I'm at it I'd aggregate together some of the links I'm reading for the benefit of anyone else who wants to see a decent spread of the material coming out on the internet about Liu Xiaobo's Nobel Prize.

Han Han wrote a blank blog post to make his point about the prize and internet censorship. (Danwei)

Twitter / Sina microblog reactions (CDT)

China blasts Nobel Peace Prize decision (Global Times) - Recommended. This is the Chinese Government mouthpiece newspaper's official English language reaction to this event.

Granite Studio's comparison of current government reaction to Empress Dowager Cixi and the late Manchu. (Granite Studio) - Recommended.

Liu Xiaobo's final statement after being condemned in court (Foreign Policy) - Recommended.

China's Unwanted Nobel Prize (NYT)

Finally, a totally unrelated piece, but excellent nonetheless: a host of video interviews with (mostly) Chinese intellectuals explaining the economic boom of China's last 30 years. Haven't seen anything this cool or comprehensive done in a long time. Check it out.

Matthew Henry on Nebuchadnezzar's return to reason in Daniel 4:

He has the use of his reason so far restored to him that with it he glorifies God, and humbles himself under his mighty hand. He was told that he should continue in that forlorn case till he should know that the Most High rules, and here we have him brought to the knowledge of this: My understanding returned to me, and I blessed the Most High. Note, Those may justly be reckoned void of understanding that do not bless and praise God; nor do men ever rightly use their reason till they begin to be religious, nor live as men till they live to the glory of God. As reason is the substratum or subject of religion (so that creatures which have no reason are not capable of religion), so religion is the crown and glory of reason, and we have our reason in vain, and shall one day wish we had never had it, if we do not glorify God with it.

We miss a lot when we forget that everything we have has a teleology to it.

I realize that these random once quarterly posts aren't good for anything like a regular readership, but I decided to get with the program and put this on the blog.

Over the course of the last two years my language skills in mandarin have progressed significantly. Right now, I think it is far to say I speak mandarin and can read Chinese with a high level of proficiency (I still don't think I've attained an advanced level of proficiency, or the much more distant horizons that may be considered fluency that follow it).

An interesting wrinkle, though, which I think is significant for reasons that I will make apparent later, is that in addition to mandarin I also speak some of the local dialect. The dialect is not altogether a third language, but the pronunciation does have some differences, and also some local vocabulary, that when learned, help my life to go much more smoothly here, as that dialect is after all what everybody speaks. (Most can do their best to speak mandarin with you, but it isn't pretty. Speaking dialect, if possible, is quite a bit more convenient. It is also perilous though, because you can start to have a hick accent to your mandarin if you aren't careful.)

However, one of the special aspects of this dialect is that it is always spoken very loudly, and most of the time sounds kind of angry. The city is a loud place, the people are loud people, and known for speaking their mind and losing their temper quickly and loudly, so if you learn to speak mandarin here, you will be loud, and I am no exception.

But not only am I loud - I was taken aback a few months ago when some classmates told me that I almost have entirely different personalities when I am speaking english and mandarin. The english-speaking me is the more reserved person all of you know, while the mandarin-speaking me is loud, more extroverted, and bold, and occasionally known for bursting into dialect with the occasional cab driver that tries to rip off the foreigner (and for this reason I usually recuse myself of the responsibility of dealing with unpleasant cabbies, best to keep your mouth shut and not regret anything later).

I think some of the reasons for me being so much more extroverted in mandarin are common to language learners in general. I have less of a sense of the need to say something exactly right, or with the right tone and implication, because as a language learner you don't have that luxury, you just have to spit out what you're trying to say and make do. Thing is, I haven't gotten any quieter as my language has gained more nuance, I've retained the extroverted aspect from that. I'm curious if other people have had this experience.

Another reason unique to my particular situation is that I have been learning in a place that is simply very loud. The people here are loud. I yell in restaurants all the time to get the servers' attention, just like the locals sitting next to me. Nothing wrong with that, and I personally think it is kind of fun, but studying here does train me that speaking softly is fruitless (really, it is!), and that you better be loud or nobody will hear you. This is one of the famously frustrating things about mass transit, and especially long journeys on buses/trains in this part of the country - there is always somebody having a cell phone conversation that you can hear in literally the entire bus. There is no volume nob, only "unbearably-make-your-neighbor-who-is-taking-a-nap-furious loud". I'm not quite that bad, but I'm loud. It isn't as bad when I'm speaking mandarin, but it is when I'm speaking dialect.

Beyond my own personal experience as a learner, I can also say I've seen this happen to other people, as well. I have a friend who is very soft spoken when speaking english, but when speaking mandarin, is almost suddenly incredibly assertive, quite straightforward, and not exactly gentle. I do not exaggerate - it is a night and day difference.

Interesting how your environment and the kinds of people you are around while picking up your second language can influence your personality in your second language, both positively and negatively.

Today I just finished Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities. I first got into Calvino when a friend gave me a copy of If on a winter's night a traveler, and I really enjoyed the dramatically different style of writing that characterizes Calvino, and his ability to be more or less continually thought provoking, although not be always working towards a clear thesis. He's just an extremely engaging author with a very unique style that is constantly, as if by nature, making statements touching on hermeneutics, philosophy of language, good and evil, etc. - but never dry.

Invisible Cities is a dialogue between Marco Polo and the Kublai Kahn about the cities that Polo has experienced. As Polo describes city after (fictional) city, he deals with issues such as:

1) The interplay between language and what it actually represents - language destroying and reducing the represented.
2) The cyclical nature of good and evil in human communities (or, one might say, the pervasity of evil even in good).
3) The power of choice, as choice in the present dictates pasts and futures, and prohibits some pasts and futures.
4) The accumulation of human experience - at one point, Polo describes a city where all the people he sees resemble people he once knew that are dead.
5) Differentiating the imagined from the real.
6) The afterlife.

And that's just a few of the things he brings up. Quite an interesting, thought provoking book. If you're looking for an unconventional, deep, yet not dry piece of literature to work through, I'd recommend this book, although for a first time Calvino reader, If on a winter's night a traveler might be a better starting point. Both are well worth your time.