Tag Archives: Chinese

For The Chinese, Context Is Everything

Posted on January 23, 2021 by N.S. Palmer

It ain’t much, but it’s the first story I’ve written in Chinese. I’d wanted to write about Chinese political philosophy, but I found that my vocabulary was too limited to do it. Surprisingly, some Chinese ideas about governmental legitimacy are … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Psychology | Tagged China, Chinese, Culture, Diplomacy, Language learning, Languages, Mandarin | 3 Comments

Why I Don’t Hug My Chinese Tutor

Posted on April 9, 2020 by N.S. Palmer

As regular readers know, I’ve been studying the Chinese language since last spring. I had previously taken a semester of Chinese in college, but it utterly defeated me. So I wanted payback. This time, I would beat it. I was … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Political Science, Society | Tagged China, Chinese, International Relations, International Trade, National interest, National security, Political corruption, Trade deficits, Wet markets | Leave a comment

Language Does Not Equal Reality

Posted on February 15, 2020 by N.S. Palmer

Every Saturday, my friend Jim Grey publishes a “recommended reading” list of interesting blogs from the previous week. Today’s list linked to an article about the benefits of speaking multiple languages. Jim explained: “I used to speak German very well. … Continue reading →

Posted in Epistemology, Philosophy, Psychology | Tagged Chinese, English language, Language, Multilingual, Newspeak, Objective reality, Postmodernism | 4 Comments

Confucius Said: “Consider the Source”

Posted on February 23, 2019 by N.S. Palmer

I admit it: the ancient Chinese sage Confucius didn’t really say “consider the source.” At least it’s not in The Analects of Confucius, a collection of his teachings that were compiled and edited after his death. (The linked edition provides … Continue reading →