Author: Midnight Paper

Categories
Books

Buying Books Is a Luxury

Last weekend we visited the bookstore and found a big sale, with books costing more than two hundred going straight into double digits, but it only officially started at 7 a.m. on February 21. It turns out that this is Sweden’s annual Bokrea (book sale), which has been going on for a hundred years, and it is said that during this week many people stock up on books to read for a whole year.

In a place where public libraries are so accessible, buying books is indeed a luxury. But there are still plenty of alternatives, and a book usually costs only a dollar or two at thrift stores around town. I saw a large-format photography book called “Fantastic China” for less than $10. Of course, we can’t buy back all the books about China.

That day, I decided to buy a book called “50 Favorite Toys for Cats” with beautiful color pictures. Fortunately, the event hadn’t started yet, so now that I think about it, I’ll leave it to the people who have cats around.

Categories
Writings

Why Is a Traditional Chinese Version Necessary?

If it weren’t for the translation work I’ve done over the past few years, I probably wouldn’t be so familiar with traditional Chinese characters. But my familiarity is relative. For example, it is still difficult to pick out the simplified characters from a text written in traditional Chinese characters.

As for writing, it is even more impossible to write the slightly more complex strokes of the word, let alone the traditional Chinese characters.

Whether it’s reading old books, watching Hong Kong and Taiwanese dramas, or interacting at work, I wonder how many young mainlanders still consider knowing traditional Chinese characters a basic skill or, more importantly, a pleasure of self-fulfillment.

Of course, it is not just a question of language. When I was in college (about 15 years ago), we still had friends from Taiwan who were curious about our world and eager to interact. I learned the word “rubber stamp” from them and received a 100 NTD note as a souvenir. But the few Taiwanese students we met in Abisko last Christmas just threw snowballs at us from a distance.

I once wrote that the Mandarin version of a Beyond’s popular song is You Know My Confusion, and that when the two worlds go their separate ways and are cut off from each other, we no longer know each other’s confusion.

This is probably why Midnight Paper has to have a traditional Chinese version.

Categories
Life

Lessons Learned from SFI

As the group discussion began, a classmate handed me his phone and asked me to type the question in English into Google Translate. When he saw the Arabic on the screen, he smiled and we started practicing in broken Swedish.

This is a typical moment of our SFI course, which may also explain its intention – to let people from all over the world learn a new language on a relatively level playing field and gradually acquire a new identity.

It gives me another insight that when you move to a new country and the locals speak their language to you, it might be out of respect rather than arrogance, because they won’t treat you differently just because of how you look.

Of course, it’s not all fairy tales. As an American classmate put it, this new government does not like a single person in this classroom.

I know our Swedish teacher better than I know the Swedish government. She asked another student to write her name transliterated into Chinese and copied the three characters in the upper left corner of the whiteboard. After each lesson, she would erase what she had written. But weeks later, her Chinese name is still there.

Categories
Movie

ChatGPT Knows Why You Laugh When You (Probably) Should Not

Last time we asked ChatGPT to write an essay about a Beijinger eating Chinese food in Norrköping, which made our readers feel nostalgic. This week we watched Titanic in the movie theater on Valentine’s Day and were surprised by the laughter we heard when Jack’s body sank into the ocean. So we asked ChatGPT and here is the answer.

It’s difficult to know for certain why some young people might laugh when they see Jack’s body sinking into the ocean in the film Titanic, as everyone’s reactions and emotions are different. However, it’s possible that some viewers might have found the scene uncomfortable or awkward to watch and may have responded with nervous laughter as a way to cope with the intense emotions of the moment.

It’s also possible that some viewers might not have fully understood the gravity of the situation and the impact of Jack’s death, especially if they were young or didn’t have a strong emotional connection to the character. Additionally, some viewers might have found the scene to be a bit melodramatic or over-the-top, which could have also elicited a negative or humorous reaction.

It’s important to note that everyone processes and reacts to emotional situations differently, and there is no right or wrong way to respond. However, it’s important to be respectful and sensitive to the feelings of others, especially when it comes to tragic events and depictions of death.

Categories
Food

Trying New Foods Can Have Another Benefit

I could not remember if we had ever tried salted popcorn before. Maybe we just picked the wrong flavor; everyone was just eager to see Avatar. On Valentine’s Day, we went back to the same theater and found that the only alternative was to add more salt. But this time it did not taste so strange.

Some foods are associated with special occasions, and some are associated with each other. The other day I bought some frozen fried dough sticks, which are a popular street food in China. Neighbors bring their utensils and line up for this freshly fried breakfast. The oven-cooked version was not bad, but it reminded me of the soy milk that goes best with it.

To keep those connections alive, you have to look for an array of ingredients. Not surprisingly, the most talked-about topic among Chinese students during class breaks is the food they recently received from home. There is even a chat group started by the owner of a Chinese grocery store in Linköping, who delivers a wide range of Chinese ingredients and spices every week.

Leung Man-tao once wrote that, to the surprise of many people, seafood is very carbon-intensive because the ocean and the dinner table are at least two airports away. Therefore, while it is a pleasure to receive chili powder from home, exploring new chili specialties in local markets is a more sustainable option and also a new pleasure. After all, it is impossible to copy what you have eaten in the past.

Swedes like to pick blueberries in the wild in the summer, and timing is also very important.

“Don’t they have blueberries all year round?” a classmate asked me.

“Sure, but the ones sold in supermarkets in winter are imported from Chile.”