A review of “La Belle Sauvage” by Philip Pullman
February 28th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
Published in 2017, we have had to wait 17 years for the first part of the trilogy “The Book Of Dust” since the publication of “The Amber Spyglass”, the final part of the trilogy “His Dark Materials”. This novel is a prequel to the other three and “La Belle Sauvage” – the name of a canoe that is central to the plot – is set 10 years before “Northern Lights” in the same universe which, in the words of “Northern Lights” is like our own universe “but different in many ways”.
The heroine of “His Dark Materials”, Lyra, is here only six months old, but we have a new young hero, 11 year old Malcolm Polstead, and a new young heroine, 15 year old Alice Parslow, who are brought together in a desperate attempt to save baby Lyra from the clutches of the Consistorial Court of Disciple, while simultaneously being pursued by the secret service known as Oakley Street, in the other-worldly nature of a southern England overcome by a flood of Noah-like proportions.
We meet people (notably Lord Asriel and Mrs Coulter), characters (such as daemons, gyptians and witches) and objects (the enigmatic alethiometer) that we know from the earlier trilogy but, at this stage in the new trilogy, we discover little more about the mysterious Dust, though we are told: “Since the discovery of the Rusakov field and the shocking but incontestable revelation that consciousness can no longer be regarded exclusively as a function of the human brain, the search for a particle associated with the field has been energetically pursued by a number of researchers and institutions without, so far, any indication of success.”
Although not as brilliantly inventive as the other three novels, this is an enjoyable 540-page addition to the original canon of 1,300 pages.
Philip Pullman has decribed his second triology “The Book Of Dust” as not a sequel or a prequel but an “equal”. Whereas “La Belle Sauvage” starts 10 years before “His Dark Materials”, the next two books will move forward 10 years from “HDM” to when Lyra is an adult. Fortuantely we won’t have to wait another 17 years for them …
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A media lesson on the 25th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution
February 27th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
I’ve watched every episode of the American television series “Madam Secretary” which is now half way through its fourth series, but I’ve only just caught up with the latest episode, partly because it was broadcast later in the UK than in the US and partly because I’ve been away in China.
This episode explores the circumstances in which the American President can be removed from office by invocation of the 25th Amendment of the US Constitution by a majority of the Cabinet. In fact, this provision has never been activated in real life and the programme necessarily simplifies the situation, but the episode manages to examine the provision in a way which is both informative and entertaining.
You can read more about this episode here.
Interestingly, the issue of the 25th Amendment featured in an episode of “The West Wing” – my all-time favourite television series. In this fictional case, the President himself invokes the Amendment because of a perceived conflict of interest and, since there is no Vice-President at the time, command goes to the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
You can read more about this episode here.
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The Internet in China
February 27th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
I have just returned from a two-week visit to China – my fourth trip the country.
In China, most web sites – including my own and usually the BBC – are usually accessible but over 3,000 sites are blocked including the American tech giants Google, Twitter and Facebook – what is often called the Great Firewall of China. In fact, while I was in the country, I was able to use Google and post to Facebook by using a VPN (virtual private network).
The Chinese state blockage of Google, Twitter and Facebook has the effect – as well as limiting free access to information – of forcing the Chinese to use their own versions of these services (Baidu, Weibo and WeChat respectively) which makes monitoring of Net content and activity so much easier and more comprehensive.
The ubiquitous WeChat is used for a very wide range of services including messaging, sharing photos, ordering cabs, and payment of goods and services. It has been called “the app for everything” and has around one billion active monthly users. On the assumption that the state has access to the app’s data, this is a powerful surveillance tool.
In China, smartphones seem to be as popular with older people as with younger ones and most people are consulting them all the time even over meals.
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Television in China
February 26th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
I’m just back from a two week trip to China – my fourth visit to this fascinating country.. I stayed in six hotels and visited five family homes, so I saw a fair bit of local television. I think you can learn a lot about a country by watching its television All the hotels and all the flats I visited had large screen, high quality television sets and in homes they seemed to be on permanently (even during meals). Except for two up-market hotels, all the channels I could find were Chinese.
Even allowing for the special programming at the time of the Chinese New Year, overwhelmingly the content of China’s television is entertainment: lots of singing (usually ballads) and dancing (especially coordinated) and performing (especially acrobatics and magic) with good-looking comperes and singers in neat, bright clothing with huge and elaborate sets. As in the UK and the USA, talent shows are popular. So are comedies and the humour is loud, simple and slapstick. Unlike other countries, uniformed military figures appear on stage and in audiences.
The other main genre is drama which tends to come in two forms. First, there is historic drama set in various dynasties of ancient China with wonderful costumes and characters who often deploy magic and/or martial skills. Second, there is Second World War conflict in which the Chinese always defeat the occupying Japanese and frequently the Chinese guerrilla forces have good looking young women who are ultra brave and brilliant shots. Cutting is frequent and rapid.
There seems to be a paucity of news, discussion and documentaries. Obviously, like any country, the news is selective and slanted. During my visit, much was made of the US President Donald Trump substantially reducing the budget of the Department of State, boosting expenditure of the military, and modernising the nuclear arsenal. What sort of message is this sending to China about the aggressiveness of America’s foreign policy intentions? But then US media represents China’s foreign policy as equally assertive.
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China in the New Year (15): more Guangzhou
February 24th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
It has been the last day of my amazing two-week visit to China with my Chinese ‘family’ Hua and son Joshua to celebrate the Chinese New Year and it was our second day in the southern city of Guangzhou. Typically we had a very varied programme.
In the morning, we visited a place called Baiyun Mountain Scenic Area – a mixture of the kitsch and the colourful. Whereas yesterday, we were in a park full of little children, today we were in a park full of old people – the Chinese cater for everyone. Again someone took a photograph with me, the only foreigner in the place.
In the afternoon, we drove over to the new (2010) Guangzhou Museum, close by the very tall Guangzhou Tower (which was not worth going up because the weather was so gloomy). At the museum, I looked at Ming & Qing dynasty porcelain, Chaozhou woodwork, and Duan ink stones as well as – to my surprise – a special temporary exhibition of the work of the Czech Alphonse Mucha.
In the evening, we went on a boat ride on the Pearl River. We were treated to a show which combined traditional costume and singing with very high tech sets and lasers. Then we enjoyed looking out at the illuminated buildings along the river, most notably the Guangzhou Tower.
Tomorrow morning, we leave our hotel at 6 am for the 13 hour flight back to Britain. I hope that you’ve enjoyed reading these postings about our trip as much as I’ve enjoyed sharing these experiences with you. And, if you’re a friend of mine on Facebook, you’ll have seen lots of photographs too. But actually living these events has been something else.
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China in the New Year (14): Guangzhou
February 23rd, 2018 by Roger Darlington
We have now flown from Xiamen to Guangzhou for the final leg of our two-week trip to China. Guangzhou – which used to be called Canton – is a city the size of London, with a population of 7.4 million, located opposite Hong Kong. I spent a little time in Guangzhou on my first visit to China in 2000.
On this holiday, so far we’ve had lots of family, lots of food, some politics, some culture. So, what’s been missing? Right – animals. So today we went to the Chimelong Safari Park which, as well as a large selection of wild animals in natural outdoor settings, contains loads of amusements (including a fun 4D show), shops, and eateries. Since it was still the week of the Chinese New Year, it was heaving with families with young children. Once again, I was the only foreigner in the place.
The park contains the only twin koalas in the world, but its main claim to fame is that it hosts the only panda triplets in the world. How cool is that? I know that you want to be be advised of their names. They are called Mengmeng, Shuaishuai, and Kuku – and they were born on 2 July 2014 in case you want to send them birthday greetings.
As well as spending all day at the park (after all, we’re travelling with a young boy of almost 11), in the evening we attended the Chimelong International Circus which is a permanent feature of the park. The venue is the largest circus arena I have ever seen and the show was the most spectacular that I have ever experienced – an incredible variety of talented acts with great sound and lighting. Controversially to non-Chinese, the performances involved a wide array of animals from white tigers to pink flamingoes.
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China in the New Year (13): the tulou
February 22nd, 2018 by Roger Darlington
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China in the New Year (12): Mao
February 21st, 2018 by Roger Darlington
Our first full day in southern China was political.
From our hotel in Longyan, we drove around 50 km (about 30 miles) to the Memorial Site of the Gutian Congress. What do you mean, you’ve never heard of it? This two-day event in December 1929 was seminal to the success of the Chinese Communist revolution and apparently the location is visited by all aspiring politicians. It was the busiest place that we went to so far on our China trip and, as everywhere outside Beijing, I was still the only foreigner.
First, we viewed the buildings themselves which date back to 1848. The conditions were spartan in 1929 but, at this stage, the Fourth Troop of the Red Army was a very small contingent. The important work of the congress included a lecture on the execution of deserters by shooting.
Then we climbed the 151 steps to the large statute of Mao Zedong. At the foot of these steps, an electronic noticeboard announces the proper way to “worship” at the statute: lay flowers, bow three times, walk all the way round the pedestal (viewing the text of six of his poems).
Next we visited the Memorial Hall with its 10 exhibitions rooms (there was no English at all). The ninth room is devoted entirely to the current President Xi, underlining his legitimacy as the direct heir of Mao.
For a very different view of Mao, read my book review of his biography here.
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China in the New Year (11): Yichang to Wuhan to Xiamen to Longyan
February 20th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
After five days in Yichang celebrating the Chinese New Year with Hua’s relatives on her mother’s side, the last two days have been largely taken up with travelling.
First, we took the train from Yichang back to Wuhan. Here we were joined by six relatives of Hua’s father who had driven over from his home town a couple of hours away. That evening, the 12 of us had dinner in a private room of a restaurant called “Lotus Flower And Fragment Water”.
It was so cold – in spite the presence of a heater – that everyone kept on their coats. Indeed it has been bizarre in the past week seeing people wearing coat, scarf and even hat in the private room of a restaurant, the public areas of a hotel, and even in people’s flats because the ambient temperature was so low.
Next – together with Hua’s father – we flew from Wuhan south to Xiamen, the south eastern port city across the strait from Taiwan. This meant a welcome increase in temperature from a freezing -6C in Beijing and only 5C in Yichang to 21C. We were met at Xiamen airport by an SUV sent by a professional colleague of Hua’s father and driven inland – at some speed – to the city of Longyan almost two hours away. The final half of the journey was in hilly terrain with around 20 tunnels, an illustration of the huge number of construction projects that are transforming China.
Our first night in Longyan is in a luxury hotel where accommodation and dinner have been provided by the previously mentioned professional colleague of Hua’s father. This guy owns a huge pig farm with 2,500 sows and the production of some 50,000-60,000 pigs a year. I would have entertained him with my specialist knowledge of pigs but sadly my Mandarin was not up to it.
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China in the New Year (10): even more Yichang
February 18th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
PStill in Yichang – the home town of most of the relatives of Hua’s mother – it was a day like a game of football: of two halves – in this case, historic and modern.
In the morning, a group of us visited the Yichang Museum which has over 500 artefacts on display out of a collection of around 50,000 dating back 5,000 years, including some fine porcelain figures from the Ming dynasty and furniture from a 19th century home.
Then, in the afternoon, a different group us went to see a film – my first Chinese film in China. It was “The Monkey King 3” in 3D (which worked well) and fortunately – as apparently with all Chinese films – there were subtitles in English as well as Mandarin.
And, here in China, the food keeps coming with multi-course lunches and dinners. Each meal though has small variations and this evening’s speciality was chicken’s feet. The predominant meat though is pork and Hua’s fsther, who is a pig specialist, advises me that there are 700 million pigs in China.
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