聽完過五關宰六將,真是過癮. 劉備三兄弟終於團圓,又得趙雲. 評書人,袁闊城,話頭一轉,說起曹操破袁紹.

官渡之戰是最精彩的一段,曹操以近十分之一的兵力,隔水對抗袁紹. 對壘多時後,他夜襲烏巢,把袁紹的糧燒了. 袁紹想稱機拿官渡,但不料曹操烏巢的兵大勝而回,反而首尾受敵. 結果十萬大兵,只剩800人退回黎陽. 這一戰,奠定了曹操的地位,也毀了袁紹.

小時看三國,只想諸葛亮打勝仗. 一面看一面氣,為什麼又輸了. 現在的角度不同了,官渡之戰的關鍵,是許攸倒戈,他有烏巢的資訊,曹操因此出兵夜襲. 而許攸倒戈,是因為袁紹沒有管理能力. 歷史雖以成敗論英雄,但是袁曹的人格及管理能力,在這官渡之戰呈現無疑.

從管理的角度看,官渡是雙方的”決定性時機”. 但袁紹以為可以用兵力致勝,而掉以輕心,留下了烏巢這弱點. 曹操要以少致勝,必然想出奇.袁紹低估了對方. 但曹操的膽識,必須佩服. 敢以十分之一兵力對敵,也有”執行能力”,信任許攸,打下烏巢. 這是得霸業的能力,不是運氣.

I have not figured out how to write blogs in Chinese after I upgraded WordPress version. If you know, please teach me. I am running WP 3.1.2, PHP5, MySQL 5.

That’s why all my Chinese blogs are garbled.

Stay tuned.

I am envious of Panda. They live such good lives.

(Pictures by Fred Zlotnick)

ChengDu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding is essentially a zoo for only two species: Panda and Red Panda. I am, of course, saw many TV programs on this animal. But I did not realize how playful and, huh, contently lazy, they are. There were two cubs in a cage, they played with each other in a gentle way, rolling over each other, squeezing for toys or attention, and moving around casually. You just couldn’t hold back the smile watching them play.

One adult Panda came slowing toward us in a steady pace. Then, just like that, decided to lay down and take a quick nap. The crowd just burst into laughter. Then, obviously well rested, he proceeded to the destination: an area with a bunch of bamboo on the ground. Unexpectedly, as I thought all four-legged mammals would bow down to eat, he turned around and sat down. Human-like, he reached out and grab a bunch of bamboo, and started to garble those leaves like a kid would a chicken drumstick: holding it with a hand and never mind whatever dripping on the chest.

He was oblivious to those shutterbugs clicking and ate with such enjoyment that someone in the crowd said, “I am hungry.”

Done eating, he climbed up a platform nearby. He reached the top where there was a railing, put an arm over the railing, lied down, rest his head on that arm, and closed the eyes. “Awww…,” I want to snug up to him and take a nap.

Panda appeared to enjoy simple lives that all of us wish we could too: wake up, eat, nap, play around lazily, more naps, and repeat. Wouldn’t it be cool if we don’t need to worry all those complexity?

Oh, yes, I would have bamboo leaves for dinner please.

山东建筑大学说，学生自杀校方不负责任。这，真是啼笑皆非。

人死是大事，怎么死和为什么死，都要调查清楚。是谁的责任，谁就得负责。如果学生自杀是校方造成的，它就非负责不可。国家刑法的责任，是签不掉的。生死状有什么用。如果人与人间，真能签生死状。麦儿卖女就合法了，因为父母能代孩子行使法律权力。杀人犯有钱也可以买条命代死。这世界还有什么王法？

奇怪的是堂堂山东建筑大学。居然能拿出这怪招，不像是一方高等学府。现在闹上了China Daily，成了个世界级的笑话。有人要掉乌纱帽了。

Wall Street Journal’s provocatively titled article stirred up such a storm. I got several direct emails and numerous forwards, one of them a comment from Melanie on my blog.

Most of my American friends asked, “Is it true? Did you bring up your kids that way?” For that, I forwarded the piece to my kids, “Did we?” Politely and diplomatically, they forwarded me other Chinese kids’ comments. So we have three sides on on this topic: American parents, Chinese parents, and Chinese kids. It is probably fair to say this is a raw subject that brings up intense emotions from all three sides.

If you are in a game of fierce competition and the outcome requires decades of preparation, what kind of coach do you want? One that you would hate for pushing you to the brink of collapse, or the one that becomes your friend? Well, it depends on how much you care about winning or losing.

It is with amusement that I read the comments from kids’ point of view. Many of them are highly successful yet bitter that they are nothing but trophy kids. They implied that their parents sacrificed their well-being for the trophy status, or, given a choice, they would rather not have those material successes.

But the decision is up to the coaches, not kids. Most Chinese parents do not expect their kids to like those decisions, but knew that they would understand.

Kids would face the same decision if they become parents. It does not matter how they will choose, they will understand the gravity of the choice. And that’s enough for me. Just wait.

ABC World News Tonight spent several days in China recently. They made a 3-part series on various aspects of China: its economy, of course, education, innovations, etc.

Viewers should feel awed by China’s prowess in so many areas: manufacturing, internet savvy, attentive to educating its youth, diligent work-style, or even business acumen. The interviews of Jack Ma, CEO of Alibaba, and several other global enterprises were impressive. The program showed case the modern China at its best, while giving Americans a polite nod of acknowledgment, “Americans are still the best, but we are the one with the world’s fastest train.”

There was practically no coverage on anything negative. It touched a bit on censorship and pollution. But were no mention of Mr. Liu XiaoBo or any human right matters. It was as if CCTV produced the whole series.

If Americans don’t get concerned after this, they are in serious denial. There are more people learning English than the entire US population in China. The TV program showed elementary kids conversing with Ms. Sawyer in fluent English. The implication is clear: Chinese will be more competitive in the coming decades, since they invest on education, infra-structure, and government efficiency. “We finished the high-speed railroad before you finish your paperwork.”

I did not know that China imports over $6 billions from Washington State, where I live now. In addition to Boeing airplanes, China buys a lot of Washington apples and Almond Roca. This sweet is hugely popular in China and also one of my favorites. Brown & Hailey has been making candies in Tacoma, WA, since 1912. I cannot help remembering recent political campaign that certain candidates are “sending jobs to China.” In fact, China could have helped more Washingtonians keeping their jobs than the US.

Spoken In Taiwanese (a dialect of Chinese, very similar to those spoken in southern FuJian Province), Pineapple pronounced like On-Lie, very similar to “Fortune is Coming.” The fruit therefore became a symbol for prosperity and a favorite gift. But fresh fruits are perishable, Pineapples are particularly unwieldy, most importantly, they are not expensive enough for serious gifting. The solution is the delicious Pineapple cake, a snack that is uniquely Taiwan.

First of all, it is really not a cake, more a cookie. Imagine Pop Top with Pineapple filling, but morphed into the shape of a ring box. There are probably hundreds of bakeries in Taiwan making Pineapple cakes. When I was a kid, people would bring those all the way from Keelung city; everyone knew the best was made by Lee Hu (李鵠) then. Nowadays, there will be a Pineapple cake tournament every year and the gold medalists will command great sales for years to come.

ChiaTe (佳德) seems to the latest fad. On this raining day, I arrived at a 300+ feet queue that snaked around the next corner. Polite attendants worked the queue, keeping order, offering bottle water, and reminding everyone the quota: only 7 boxes for each customer. We watched people carrying out large bags and got anxious, “Would there be any left when it is my turn?” It felt like the bakery version of the iPhone debut.

The best ones have light, flaky, and buttery shell that can crumble with the slightest squeeze. The filling must be distinctly Pineapple, a bit chewy, and not overly sweet. Pineapple cakes are a bit dense. A couple will make a wonderful breakfast or a afternoon snack. The perfect companion will be a nice cup of hot green tea that leaves the grassy freshness in your mouth. Coffee will do, but sweet drinks, like soda, will not. I have never tried them with wines. I love to microwave it for 5 seconds first. The filling will be slightly warm and extra fragrant.

Next time you are in Taipei, give it a try.

Do you want RMB to appreciate? Whatever Timothy Geithner said about its effects on the US economy, would that be good for you?

(One of my pet peeves is how westerners brutalized the Chinese currency. They say Yu-An, in two syllables, and that’s just wrong. There is no equivalent sound in English, let’s please just call it RMB.)

The US government owes China, in fact a huge sum. RMB appreciation erases part of the debts. That’s good, since we can use the money. Government would either spend less or more on servicing the citizens, instead of those debts.

But you want your unemployment benefits, Obama-care, social security checks, tax cuts, good schools, and also that bridge to nowhere built. Right? To pay for these, government borrows in big part from China. If China lends to the US less, you will either get even less from the government or pay more taxes (or both, but that’s too depressing).

When RMB goes up, China’s industries become weaker and the US ones stronger and more competitive. That means you make more money, or simply get to keep your job.

But your employer relies on China to hold its costs down. If RMB goes up, so would your company’s costs. It would have to make less money, or raise the prices. Either way, it becomes less competitive. You will suffer with your employer, by getting less pay or losing your job.

If your employer is 100% American, then it won’t suffer. But you shop at Walmart, Target, and Costco. Don’t you? China goods save you hundreds of dollars every month. If RMB appreciates, everything become more expensive.

Every pros meets a con. You cannot be bother with this complexity. Let’s trust the government to figure all these out. OK, you do just that. For me, I bought a hundred dollar’s worth of RMB on this trip to Beijing. It would probably make $10?

傳聞李開復的文章,真是洛陽紙貴.網上流傳不止.Google一下,不難找到轉載. 年輕的被說的心悸,過來人看得心有戚戚焉.

同樣的文章,古今中外,歷史上有了幾千版了.李開復的威力,在他的踏實,明確.(但李本人說這文章不是他寫的.) 幾句:

如果你20歲以後所花的每一分錢還都是伸手向父母親人要來的，那你的滿身名牌就只能襯托出你的無恥.

不要與浪子，文藝青年交往，別和沒心沒肺的人在一起，別和沒有正當職業混日子的人在一起.

說穿了,要務實獨立,不要夢幻痛苦,也別想一步登天.

但真想想,沒有幾個天才20歲就念完書了.基本的大學文憑要22歲.這一代近30才走出校園的,比比皆是.我大慨可以接受把他寫的加個10歲.三十以前,人追求的是應該是理想及愛情.在那追求的過程中,年輕人走過那世世代代都走過的路,才站立成人.沒有那段夢幻痛苦,怎麼破繭成蝶?

人的成長歷程,一定有一段是在找自己.找到後,才可能走下一步.過來人看到下一代的歷程會心疼,”能不能聽話,別去找了,你就在這兒.” 很不幸,每一代都必須過這關.

每一代,都有一群過不了這關. 那就是被時代淘汰掉的一群. 如果自己的孩子在那群裏,當然心疼. 看到明明有天分的被淘汰,也心疼. 那些孩子,只要聽話,就能好好的,多可惜.

其實,不聽話的年輕人,當然淘汰率高.但把人類推到新高的偉人,也是年輕時不聽話的那群.

順其自然吧!

Didn’t Adam Smith teach us that the other side will pursue their own self interest? For centuries, we designed complicated incentives based on this teaching. The highest form of governance, or business, is to use the invisible hand to direct wealth to the right places. People, or countries, should be selfish. That’s how it works, at least for western civilizations and MNCs (Multi-National Corporations).

James Mann, from The New Republic blog, has been surprised at how surprised western corporations were when they found out that China seems less open than 15 years ago.

The logic seems painfully obvious. China wants exactly what western countries and corporations want and had: prosperity and influence. They will make their own short- and long-term trade-offs as they see most optimal for themselves. Being open worked very well for the past 30 years, for China. It works less well now, therefore they are less open now.

China has a plan for itself. If western countries and corporations fit that plan, they will be welcome with open arms. Otherwise, not. Their policies and rules are unpredictable only to those blind to this simple logic.

For MNCs, there are only two viable China strategies. The short-term strategy is to exploit whatever natural resources and profit from them. The natural resources of interest are mainly the cheap labor, cheap land, and the lenient environmental laws. MNCs should exit whenever those natural resources become expensive, or inconvenient. (It is curious for me to observe that people will protest that China is polluting the world while shopping at WalMart, Target, or Sears.)

The long-term strategy is to treat China as a market and try to sell into it. Since the fundamental concept is trading, the transactions must have sufficient incentives to both sides. Clearly western corporations want profits. If China wants the same, then we have a built-in zero-sum conflict. China side will tolerate an in-balance for the short-term, but will eventually reverse it.

So the secret to the success is really quite simple. Answer the question, “What’s in for China?”