Archaeology in the News - December 29, 2009

I'd like to apologise to my regular readers for the lack of updates in the past week. My mother is staying with us over the Christmas period so I won't be posting much on the blog till after she's gone back home.

I thought I'd just share some links to some news articles which concern recent archaeological discoveries in China and South Korea, including an article on the discovery of what archaeologists believe may be Cao Cao's tomb.

• Speak of Cao Cao, and Cao Cao Arrives (Discovery News)
• Tomb of Legendary General Cao Cao Unearthed in Central China (Xinhua)
• Ancient Ship Back in Business (China Daily)
• Sunken Ship Unveiled in Underwater Exhibit (CRIEnglish)
• Building the Team That Resurrected an Ancient Life (JoongAng Daily)

Since this will probably be the last entry I'll be posting on this blog this year, I'd like to wish all of my readers a happy new year and all the best for 2010!

Archaeology in the News - December 29, 2009

Farewell, Ramen Girl

I was sad to hear that Brittany Murphy passed away earlier this week. While I haven't seen many of her films, I remember her best in her role as Abby in The Ramen Girl, perhaps one of the most underrated and overlooked films of recent years. I posted a review of the film on my old blog, Dreaming in Kanji, some time ago and thought Brittany gave a very heart-warming and heartfelt performance.

I'm not one to worship celebrities and certainly didn't know her personally, but it's always a shame to see someone pass away at such a young age (32). One can only imagine how difficult it will be for her family and friends during this festive season and I hope they can find the strength to come to terms with their loss.

Rest in peace, Ramen Girl.

Farewell, Ramen Girl

Blog Roundup - December 20, 2009

• An American in the Far East - Graham writes about his stay in a yurt at Karakul Lake in Xinjiang Province (新疆).
• Bruce Humes - Bruce posts a calendar of Chinese literary and translation events which will be held in 2010.
  
• Hungry for Words - Maki talks about some Japanese New Year (お正月) traditions and customs.
  
• Jottings from the Granite Studio - Jeremiah talks about the tenth anniversary of Macao's handover.
• Konnichiwa - Bartma905 visits Nezu Museum (根津美術館).
  
• Mandarin Segments - Greg searches for dragons in Chinese vocabulary.
• Shiawase - Robert celebrates his Kanken (漢検) exam result.
• Send Me to Korea - Hyunwoo announces the launch of a new Korean language learning site, TalkToMeInKorean.Com.
  
• Shibuya246 - Shibuya246 posts some photos of Japan festival food.
  
• Shizuoka Gourmet - Dragonlife shares a recipe for kakiage (かき揚げ), a popular of tempura.
  
• Shu Flies - Catherine ponders the life lessons she learnt from Taipei 101's tuned mass damper.
• The Japanese Food Report - Harris attends a cooking workshop with chef Chikara Sono.
  
• The Peking Order - Jez shares his thoughts on the Chinese language and microblogging.
• Transparent : Japanese Blog - Ginny takes a closer look at some traditional Japanese sweets (和菓子).
  
• Tsukublog - Avi pays a visit to the Tsukuba Space Centre (筑波宇宙センター).
  
• Waiguoren Critic of South China - Matthew's thoughts on the thesis market in China.
• Wandering Taiwan - Micki and Kirsten seek out Tainan's (台南) tastiest street food.

That's all for this week. There won't be a blog roundup next week due to the Christmas holidays so the next blog roundup will be on January 3, 2010.

Blog Roundup - December 20, 2009

New Additions to the Blogroll : December 2009

Here is a list of the most recent additions to the Eye on East Asia blogroll :

• An Expatriate in Taiwan (Taiwan Blogs)
  
• Cooking in Japan (Food & Drink)
• Eyes East (China Blogs)
• Fear of a Red Planet (China Blogs)
  
• Global Maverick (The Chinese Language)
  
• Going Places (Korea Blogs)
  
• Jeonnam Life (Korea Blogs)
• Jerome F. Keating's Writings (Taiwan Blogs)
  
• Korean-Style Food (Food & Drink)
• Lost in Transition (Japan Blogs)
• Mad About Shanghai (China Blogs)
  
• Morning Calm, Night Terrors (East Asian Literature)
• Notes from Xi'an (China Blogs)
  
• Seoulful Adventures (Food & Drink)
• Shanghaiist (China Blogs)
  
• Turning Iwatean (Japan Blogs)
  

If you have an East Asia-related blog or know of one that you feel should be added to the blogroll, feel free to leave a message with a link to the blog(s). Please note that a blog will only be added to the blogroll if it meets the following requirements :

• The blog's main theme must fit into one of the categories listed in the blogroll.
  
• At least half of the blog's content should be on a subject related to East Asia.
• The blog must be at least 3 months old and must be updated on a regular basis. Blogs which are not updated at least once every 2 months will be removed from the blogroll.
• Blogs containing racist, sexist or other offensive material will be rejected.

A return link to this blog is not a requirement for inclusion in the blogroll, but it would certainly be appreciated.

New Additions to the Blogroll : December 2009

A Date with Destiny

The China Daily has recently posted an interesting article about the Taosi (陶寺) archaeological site in Shanxi Province (山西), China, a site which dates back more than 4,100 years and which archaeologists believe may contain the ruins of the world's oldest observatory.

Photo taken from the China Daily.

The article, Date with Destiny, is a short account of archaeologist Professor He Nu's research at the Taosi site. Professor He is a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Science's Institute of Archaeology and he believes that the excavations being carried out at the Taosi site may yield clues about China's Neolithic past and help archaeologists determine whether the legendary emperors Yao (堯) and Shun (舜) really existed.*

* Readers may be interested to know that I have translated numerous articles and documents for the CASS Institute of Archaeology. The Institute of Archaeology are always on the lookout for volunteer translators, so if you are looking for a fun opportunity to boost your Chinese language and translation skills, feel free to contact the site's webmaster Qiao Yu for more information.

A Date with Destiny

Restaurant Review - Sake Almere (NL)

Name : Restaurant Sake Almere

Location : Brouwerstraat 15, Almere (The Netherlands)
Type : All-You-Can-Eat Sushi and Teppanyaki Buffet
Prices : 19.80 euro per person (Mon-Wed), 22.80 euro per person (Thurs-Sun)
Opening Hours : 16:30 - 22:00
Contact : +31 681592252 (mobile)
Website : http://www.sake-almere.nl/ (in Dutch, under construction)

Rules : You have up to 2 hours to eat as much as you want. The staff will give you a form which lists all of the dishes available and shows 6 columns labelled as "Round 1", "Round 2", etc. You may select up to 5 dishes per person per round for a maximum of 6 rounds. Once you have finished making your selection for that round, a waiter will come to collect your form and the food will start arriving at your table within 15 minutes (it may take a little longer if the restaurant is particularly busy)

Dishes : The standard menu lists 52 different dishes, including a wide variety of nigiri sushi, maki sushi, grilled meats and vegetables, deep-fried foods, salads, noodles, rice and miso soup. You can also order salmon and tuna sashimi but you will need to pay a little extra for these (4.90 euro for tuna, 3.90 euro for salmon). The restaurant also serves a wide range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

Highly recommended : Salmon nigiri, octopus nigiri, hokkigai nigiri, teriyaki chicken, grilled salmon, mushroom kebab, gyoza.

Review : My partner and I visited the restaurant in its opening week and while I cannot vouch for the quality of the food and service a month later, we were both pleasantly surprised at the variety of food on offer and the excellent service from the extremely busy staff. The restaurant is owned by the same team who run the Kimono Almere restaurant (you can see my review of that restaurant here) but the food served at Sake Almere was far tastier and there was a larger selection of dishes to choose from.

My only warning would be to limit the number of deep-fried foods and meat dishes you order. Try to leave these for the later rounds as these can be very filling. It's also a good idea to only order as much as you can eat as you will be charged for any food that is left uneaten : 1 euro per piece for sushi and 2 euro per piece for all other items.

We will be paying Sake Almere another visit next week to see if the food and service are still as good as they were the first time around. Watch this space..

Restaurant Review - Sake Almere (NL)

Blog Roundup - December 13, 2009

• An American in the Far East - Graham shares his thoughts of his recent visit to Kashgar (喀什) in China's Xinjiang Province (新疆).
• Konnichiwa - Bartman905 posts some beautiful photos of the autumn foliage at the Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens (小石川後楽園).
• Shiawase - Robert shares some useful information regarding the new format JLPT exams.
• Shizuoka Gourmet - Dragonlife explains the best way to eat edamame (枝豆).
• The Japanese Food Report - Harris shares a recipe for kurama mixed rice ().
  
• Wandering Taiwan - Micki and Kirsten go oyster farming in Tainan County.

That's all for this week. The next blog roundup will be on December 20, 2009.

Blog Roundup - December 13, 2009

Blog Roundup - December 6, 2009

• An American in the Far East - Graham spends a day on China's Huangshan (黄山) mountain.
• Ben Ross' Blog - Ben learns some Chinese colloquialisms from the show 奋斗, "Struggle".
• Daily Onigiri - Rok explains the significance of the Japanese tradition of senbazuru (千羽鶴), or "a thousand paper cranes".
• Goddess Carlie - Carlie talks about some of the Japanese children's books she has read recently.
• Just Bento - Maki shares a recipe for stewed winter vegetables with kouya dofu.
• Shizuoka Gourmet - Dragonlife shares tips for making tempura (天ぷら).
• The Japanese Food Report - Harris shares a recipe for chestnut rice, or kuri gohan (栗ご飯).
  
• The View from Taiwan - Michael explores the issue of ethnic identity in Taiwan.
  
• Tsukublog - Avi talks about the mube (むべ) fruit and the origin of its name.
• Wandering Taiwan - Micki and Kirsten learn about Hakka oil-paper umbrellas (紙傘).

That's all for this week. The next blog roundup will be on December 13, 2009.

Blog Roundup - December 6, 2009

Regular Posting Will Resume Soon

Attentive readers may have noticed that there have been few updates over the past couple of weeks. I've been working on an essay which needs to be handed in by next Friday (December 11th) so I haven't really had much time to post any new content, save for the weekly blog roundup.

Regular posting will resume once I have finished and mailed off my essay. This week's blog roundup will be posted tomorrow morning.

Regular Posting Will Resume Soon

Blog Roundup - November 29, 2009

• Ben Ross' Blog - Ben talks about the benefits of learning Chinese from TV shows.
• Bruce Humes - Bruce lists some of the best-selling books in China in October 2009.
  
• Kyoto Foodie - The Foodie samples some delicious imo mochi (芋餅), a traditional Japanese candy made from sweet potatoes and pounded sticky rice.
  
• On the Fringe - Globalgal talks about her recent visit to Kashgar (喀什) in China's Xinjiang Province (新疆).
• Send Me to Korea - Hyunwoo shares a recipe for bibim mandu (비빔만두).
• Shizuoka Gourmet -Dragonlife shares a recipe for vegan agedashi tofu (揚げ出し豆腐).
  
• Speaking of China - Jocelyn shares some tips for ideal gifts for Chinese relatives or friends.
• Wandering Taiwan - Micki and Kristen explore the magical world of Taiwanese hand puppetry (布袋戲).

That's all for this week. The next blog roundup will be on December 6, 2009.

Blog Roundup - November 29, 2009

Blog Roundup - November 22, 2009

• Ben Ross' Blog - Ben examines the reasons why proficiency in Mandarin does not necessarily lead to better career opportunities.
  
• Fili's World - Fili talks about the fishing town of Tai O (大澳), Hong Kong.
  
• Fukuoka Dreaming - Learn how to cook sukiyaki (すきやき).
• How to Japonese - Daniel highlights the differences between American and Japanese resumés (履歴書).
• Hungry for Words - Maki talks about himono onna (干物女).
  
• Japan Blog - Maki explains why President Obama's bow to the Japanese Emperor has sparked such controversy.
• Korean As It Is - James explains why he believes listening skills are vital for developing one's proficiency in the Korean language.
  
• Pinyin News - The author reviews Google Translate's new pinyin function.
• Rainbowhill Language Lab - Some helpful tips for JLPT examinees.
• Shizuoka Gourmet - The author talks about tempura (天ぷら) and the various ways it can be served.
  
• Sinosplice - John explains the concept of aspect in Chinese grammar.
• The China Beat - Maura reflects on President Obama's recent visit to the PRC.
• Tsukublog - Avi talks about the origins and traditions associated with Japan's Shichi-Go-San (七五三) festival.
• Wandering Taiwan - Micki and Kristen take a stroll through Tamsui (淡水).
  
• Wichmann Stories - Tina and Mark visit the northeastern city of Harbin (哈尔滨).
• Xinjiang : Far West China - Josh's thoughts on the spread of H1N1 in Xinjiang Province (新疆).

That's all for this week. The next blog roundup will be on November 29, 2009.

Blog Roundup - November 22, 2009

Go Home and Multiply!

Japanese bankers working at Mitsubishi UFJ have recently been granted shorter work hours as part of the bank's attempt to persuade employees to do their part in alleviating Japan's low fertility rates. Japan has a notoriously low birth rate and nearly a quarter of its population is over 65, which has prompted government officials to seek out new ways to combat the country's population crisis.

The Times Online has an interesting, but short, article on the matter :

With the recovery tenuous, deflation afflicting all levels of commerce and the country at risk of sovereign debt crisis, it seemed an odd time for Japan’s biggest and most austere banking group to be telling its staff to knock off early.

Particularly when they realised how they were supposed to be using the extra one hour and 50 minutes of free time. The national birthrate is low, ran the round-robin e-mail that landed in people’s in-boxes on Monday, so let’s all enjoy “family time”.

The unambiguous note of encouragement heralded Mitsubishi UFJ’s week-long effort to help to reverse Japan’s ultra-low fertility rates and declining population: joining a national campaign in which both enthusiasm and participation is expected to be miserably low. MUFJ is believed to be among only a tiny number of companies taking the scheme seriously.

Management’s idea, according to a woman who works on the bank’s Tokyo trading floor, seemed to be that by getting everyone out of the office by 5.10pm, rather than the 7pm that most staff were used to, couples would be reunited earlier after work, passion would not be crushed by exhaustion and Japan’s chronic population decline would be reversed.

The full article can be found here.

As humorous as the idea may seem to us, Japan's greying population may be an early warning to other countries which are experiencing similar problems with declining birth rates. The question is, what has caused Japan's birth rate to sink to a dangerously low level? Some suggest that Japan's "salaryman" culture is to blame, that exhausted businessmen and company employees have little time and energy to devote to their wives and families. Others blame various sub-cultures and social phenomena, such as the hikikomori and soushoku danshi ("grass-eating men"), and the increasing number of women (and men) who remain single and childless for Japan's population woes.

Whatever the cause, it's a problem that will not be solved overnight or even by stunts such as this one. Economic incentives may be one solution. Countries such as France and Singapore have occasionally resorted to offering tax breaks and benefits as a way of convincing couples to procreate. One acquaintance of mine suggested that Japan could alleviate part of the problem by relaxing its immigration laws and attracting foreign labour but this doesn't seem like a likely option.

Go Home and Multiply!

Blog Roundup - November 8, 2009

• David on Formosa - Registration for the 2009 Best Taiwan Blog Awards is now open.
  
• Fukuoka Dreaming - Asawa gives some advice on where to go to sample the best food in Fukuoka (福岡).
• How to Japonese - Daniel gives a short grammar lesson on stative gerunds.
• Rainbowhill Language Lab - Brett lists some of the benefits of using a monolingual Japanese dictionary in one's language learning.
  
• Speaking of China - Jocelyn talks about the issue of informed consent in China.
• Tsukublog - Avi talks about the origins of Bunka no hi (文化の日) or Culture Day.

That's all for this week. I'll be away next Sunday so the next blog roundup will be on November 22, 2009.

Blog Roundup - November 8, 2009

Shinya Shokudo - 深夜食堂

Fans of Japanese drama and comedy might be interested to know that Abe Yaro's (安倍夜郎) manga series Shinya Shokudo (深夜食堂) has been adapted for TV and is currently airing on various Japanese networks.

The series is set in a small restaurant in Tokyo, one which is open from midnight to the early hours of the morning and whose owner will prepare anything that his customers desire. The chef and owner, known only as Master, is played by Kobayashi Kaoru (小林薫) and plays a small, but central, role. The main stars of the show are his customers, which include a stripper, a group of office ladies (or OLs), a yakuza, and a male porn star. As they dine on Master's food, they share their stories of love and loss with their fellow diners and give us little insights into their lives.

The series is only 4 or 5 episodes old but I've throroughly enjoyed every minute so far. The language used is fairly straightforward and is perfect for anyone who's looking for a fun way to improve their Japanese listening comprehension skills. A word of caution : there are some scenes which are unsuitable for a young audience. The series has a late night slot on Japanese television so this series is strictly for adults, though I have to say it's still quite tame in comparison to some of the other shows on TV right now..

For those of you who don't have access to Japanese television, you can watch some of the episodes here.**

** You will need to register in order to access these videos. Registration is free and will grant you access to a wide selection of Japanese, Taiwanese and Korean TV series.

Shinya Shokudo - 深夜食堂

Blog Roundup - November 1, 2009

• Keeping Pace in Japan - Turner shares his list of what not to do in Japan.
• Konnichiwa - Videos and photos of the Tokyo Grand Tea Ceremony (東京大茶会).
• New Worlds to Conquer - Anuan shares his thoughts on learning Japanese.
• Transparent.Com : Korean - Learn about Korean ghouls and goblins.
  
• Tsukublog - Avi talks about Onzagawari (御座替り) ceremony held at the Mount Tsukuba shrine every April and November.
• Wandering Taiwan - The author visits Guanmiao (關廟) and learns how Guanmiao noodles (關廟麵) are made.

That's all for this week. The next blog roundup will be on November 8, 2009.

Blog Roundup - November 1, 2009