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Tuesday, April 28, 2026
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    First impressions of Mount Lu/Lushan, Jiangxi tour—Part 3

    “The True Face of Mt. Lu” is a famous idiom. It is a phrase written in 1084 by the Song Dynasty poet Su Shi (Su…

    Julia_M April 23, 2026 No Comments
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    Day 2—Jiangxi

    Donglin Temple Today we visited this historic temple. Tour brochures invariably highlight the fact that this temple has the world’s tallest Buddha statue on a…

    Julia_M April 20, 2026 No Comments
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    Day 1 & 2 Jiangxi tour (18 – 25 April 2026)—Part 1

    The Soong Sisters are the most famous sisters in Chinese history. Sadly, the three sisters became estranged because of their husbands’ political beliefs. For that…

    Julia_M April 20, 2026 No Comments
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    Japanese War Crimes and Chinese Justice

    For all the publicity given to the Tokyo War Crimes Trial, only 7 were actually hanged. These included General Doihara Kenji for drug trafficking in…

    Julia_M April 20, 2026 No Comments
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    The Many Voices of Lynn Pan

    Lynn Pan, to me, is arguably the second most famous female Chinese writer in Chinese history and culture after Han Suyin. Her most popular work…

    Julia_M April 17, 2026 No Comments
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One Man’s Will

Julia_M December 3, 2024 No Comments

It is a pity we are yet to have a definitive study on The March to Malaya Independence, unlike in India, where we have, among…

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Canton Elegy – Part 2

Julia_M December 1, 2024 No Comments Asian History (Books)Asian PoliticsChinese History (Books)Hong Kong HistoryWorld History (Books)

In this note, I make 2 propositions. The first is that if not for the Japanese invasion of China, China would have remained a democracy.…

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Canton Elegy – Part 1

Julia_M November 30, 2024 No Comments Asian & Asian American BiographiesAsian PoliticsChinese History (Books)Historical China BiographiesWorld History (Books)

Canton Elegy is a loving memoir, in the form of a letter to his 4 children, written by a Chinese dad late in life so…

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The Life and Legacy of Mr Opposition

Julia_M November 24, 2024 No Comments

Tan Chee Khoon needs no introduction to Malaysians above the age of three scores. Known to admirers and all as Mr. Opposition, his life is…

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Part 3 – Lincoln and God

Julia_M November 20, 2024 No Comments United States History (Books)US Presidents

Lincoln was steeped in Biblical knowledge. He peppered his speeches with quotes from the Bible. He made poetic allusions to biblical imagery too. In his…

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Part 2 – Lincoln and God

Julia_M November 19, 2024 No Comments American Civil War Biographies (Books)Christian InspirationalUS Presidents

After finishing this book I agree with Mansfield that, based on the recollections of persons close to Lincoln presented in this book and Lincoln’s usage…

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Part 1 – Lincoln and God

Julia_M November 17, 2024 No Comments American Civil War Biographies (Books)Christian InspirationalUS Presidents

Arguably the best study on the growth from disbelief and early skepticism to a positive belief in Christianity of the US 16th President, if one…

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Reflections on Rainy Afternoons

Julia_M November 17, 2024 No Comments

The wettest place in the peninsular is Maxwell’s Hill and not Taiping. So writes Liew Suet Fun in her charming homage to her hometown Taiping…

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Wartime China Through Western Eyes

Julia_M November 16, 2024 No Comments Asian & Asian American BiographiesChinese History (Books)Historical Asian Biographies (Books)Historical China BiographiesWWII Biographies

Here are 3 excellent books on life in wartime China from Western perspectives. Based on diaries and letters, the literature here transports us vividly to…

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Patriots, Pretenders, and the Untold Story of Malayan Independence

Julia_M November 6, 2024 No Comments

KKS in Patriots and Pretenders, 2011 published, has an interesting theory of the patriots and pretenders who won independence for Malaya. Unfortunately, this slim book…

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