Tell it to Steven Hawking. A person's physical stature does not limit his/her potential for work that does not rely on his/her physical stature (e.g., English teaching, as well as physics). The cultural attitude that those who are discriminated against because they do not fit the culturally desired norm should be outcast or should be provided for by special environments that can be sold as entertainment venues to those who will not deal with their own prejudices is a cultural attitude that perpetuates discrimination against all who are 'different'. The problem here, as elsewhere, is a matter of dehumanizing those who are 'different' - prejudicial culture that regiments anything that deviates from its standards, rather than dealing with the prejudice itself. Why not have a theme park within which 'foreigners', with all their funny habits, can be kept, so that they do not disturb the 'normality' of cultural prejudices? Actually, there could be many: one for 'black people', one for Tibetans, one for Japanese, one for gay people, one for Han Chinese people who have given up their 'traditional' clothing for 'western-style' clothing (e.g., the great majority of Chinese, over the past century or so) - in fact we could subdivide and subdivide until nothing was left but mutual nonrecognition. All these would help to maintain the narrow identities of 'normality' that can be relied upon to advance support the cultural attitudes that promote the continuing inability of people to recognize each other as human, and to celebrate and accept their differences - not as entertainment items, no matter how 'cute', but as full human beings. How different is all this from apartheid?
This effort to maintain prejudice can, of course, be profitable to those who invest in it, and convenient for social engineers and political elites who want to maintain an elite power status by reliance on it.
The place is an insult to our common humanity and a spotlight on cultural attitudes of exclusion. Those who find that they enjoy such displays should take a good look at the nature of the culture that has formed them so narrowly. Cultures change; cultures have always changed; cultures are presently changing and will continue to do so; there is nothing sacred about cultural attitudes. Our common humanity is an ongoing project, and those who imagine they are not part of such a project are simply contributing their own blindness to it, and limiting themselves in the process. It's not the 'dwarves' who are the problem, its the people who will not accept them as within the boundaries of 'us'.
Exploring history: Jianshui through the ages
Posted byJim's article is, as usual, excellent, but although he mentions renovations, perhaps he has left off a few that are really quite extensive. For example, there is a tourist street in Jianshui that has all the 'traditional' curved Han-style shop roofs you might like to see, but they were all built since the first time I went there some 10 years ago. More recently, the old South Gate has been built from scratch - wasn't there 10 years ago either.
The significance of the Confucian temple should not be missed - the conquerors of Yunnan were Mongols, with Central Asian troops, many Muslim. The fact that a Muslim ruler built such a large structure in this far-away province is a good example of the nature of the rulers: they were big supporters, not only of Islamic learning, but of Confucianism and Buddhism as well. And by the Ming Dynasty, if not before, the fact that this was the second largest Confucian temple in China, after the one in Qufu, the Kong (Confucius) family home in Shandong, is a clear statement of the attitude of the dynasty towards this frontier, Han-minority province, which had been very much independent, and under non-Han rulers, before the Mongols: This place is Ours now, and b'god we're here to stay!
And then note the role played by Lin'an (Jianshui) during the massive 'Panthay Rebellion' against the Qing (Man, or Manchu rulers), led by Muslims but with numerous Yi and Han followers, which went on for 18 bloody years in the 19th century...
Yunnan's history is unique, and it's fascinating.
$17 billion Chongqing-Kunming railway nears completion
Posted byTrain is as fast and more comfortable, I mean.
$17 billion Chongqing-Kunming railway nears completion
Posted byDoesn't it cost more in terms of the planet? And not necessarily cheaper in personal cash terms either. More comfortable too, and not faster to Chongqing - 3 hours, the article says - how much time would you spend getting to the airport, boarding the damn thing, then sitting scrunched up, getting baggage, etc.?
$17 billion Chongqing-Kunming railway nears completion
Posted bySeems to me this is a better idea than a lot of airports and air traffic.
Spring City's tallest skyscraper nears completion
Posted byGood question, nnoble. My not-too-informed knee-jerk reaction would be to say no, but I'd be happy to consider any opinion that came with reasons.
Also the question: 'Does Kunming need this building...' makes me think of another one: who, precisely, is this 'Kunming' who either needs or doesn't need?