Post #96 23 April 2016

Gentlefolk,

I want to do a post to commemorate the 452nd anniversary of William Shakespeare's birth and the 400th anniversary of his death.

Also, to mark the 10,000th view of my blog.  A 'red letter day' indeed.

I wonder where the English expression 'red letter day' originated?  Could it have come from China?  In China it is a tradition for parents and special family friends to give a hong bao (red envelope/letter containing cash) to children and young relatives on auspicious occasions such as Chinese New Year.

My blog

Yes, my blog hit 10,000 views today.

My first post was on 15 February 2014, almost 800 days ago.

Google Blogspot shows the main countries of origin of views as follows:

Australia - 25%
USA  - 21%
France  - 11%
Russia  -  7%
Germany  -  6%

Our son Andrew convinced me that writing a blog was the 21st Century version of a diary. He motivated me to switch from keeping written notes to this blog.

He was right - it is a good way of keeping a record of our lives in China, and sharing those experiences with others who might be interested in living and teaching here.

This is our last semester teaching in China.  It has been a wonderful experience, but it's time to go home.  Less than 12 weeks till we depart these shores.  At this stage I'm not sure if I will continue the blog - there is still a bit of mystery about life in China, while life in good old Canberra will be pretty predictable.

Anyway, let's see what the future brings.  In the meantime, happy reading.

William Shakespeare

Actor, writer, poet, social scientist, philosopher, Shakespeare was the complete package. A genius.

The greatest English playwright, and an accomplished poet, his popularity endures and grows.

William Shakespeare was born on 23 April 1564 and died on his 52nd birthday in 1616.

His background was not of privilege or money; most people at that time were illiterate, including his parents and his wife & kids, which makes his achievements all the more remarkable.

His father John Shakespeare was a glover in the small town of Stratford-upon-Avon, although looking at the size of his house (see picture below) he must have been relatively well-off .

It is thought that William attended the local school, probably until the age of  14 or 15.  Some historians think he then worked as a teacher; what we are sure of is that by the age of 28 he was an actor in London and had started writing plays.

When he was 18 William married Anne Hathaway.  They had two daughters and a son (the boy died aged 11).  Both girls married; but their offspring did not procreate so William's direct line ended.

William's family stayed in Stratford, while he spent most of his time in London about 160 km away. At age 49 William 'retired' to Stratford, where he died 3 years later.

William was prolific; he wrote 38 plays, 154 sonnets and two long narrative poems.

His plays include almost 900,000 words, all hand-written of course. He is believed to have introduced more than 1,000 new words to the English language, such as: lonely, gloomy, fretful, obscene, swagger, drugged, etc.

Common expressions which originated with Shakespeare or which he made popular include:

Heart of gold; As luck would have it; Send him packing; Short shrift; Neither here nor there; Mum's the word; More fool you; With bated breath; Wild goose chase; The be-all and end-all; etc

Shakespeare's characters often displayed a philosophical bent, viz:

Quotes from his plays, such as "To be or not to be, that is the question" (Hamlet) are still frequently used today.

“The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.”  (As You Like It)

 “Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.”  (All's Well That Ends Well)

 “Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.”  (A Midsummer Night's Dream)

 “Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them.” (Twelfth Night)

 “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.” (Julius Caesar)

“I would challenge you to a battle of wits, but I see you are unarmed!” (William Shakespeare)

If Confucius had not espoused the Golden Rule (Treat others as you want them to treat you) 2000 years before him, I'm sure Shakespeare would have come up with it.

In fact, I think Shakespeare should be raised to "Sage" status; he would be good company for Confucius.

John and Mary Shakespeare's house in Stratford-upon-Avon, and likely where William Shakespeare was born on 23 April 1564 and grew up. His father had a small business making gloves - from the size of this house the family must have been well-off.

As an addition to Bard, I think 'The Sage Shakespeare' has a nice ring to it, don't you?

A portrait thought to have been painted around 1600.

What Shakespeare might have looked like today.

The "First Portfolio"of Shakespeare's plays was published in 1623, seven years after his death. Ben Jonson said of Shakespeare "He is not of an age, but for all time." How true.

Shakespeare was prolific: 38 plays, 154 sonnets, +++.

How Shakespeare would have written today ...

...


Keep well and keep smiling.

Alex & Vera Olah
English teachers at the China University of Petroleum, Qingdao
www.upc.edu.cn
Saturday, 23 April 2016

Post #95 16 April 2016

Gentlefolk,

I can't resist doing another post about Kobe Bryant, although I did a special post dedicated to Kobe four months ago when he announced his intention to retire at the end of this season - see Post #82 dated 22 December 2015.

Post #82 contains a synopsis of his illustrious career and includes short poems written by my English Major students.

The NBA's 2015-16 regular season ended this week with a couple of highlights.

Firstly, Kobe Bryant finished his NBA career with a last game at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on 13 April (14 April here in China).

The LA Lakers played the Utah Jazz.  The Jazz led all the way until the last minute when the Lakers overtook them to win 101 - 96.

The arena was full of adoring fans and Kobe rose to the occasion.  Our 37-year-old hero scored 60 points; 22 in the first half and a remarkable 38 points in the second half.

Kobe played like a man possessed.  What he lacked in accuracy he made up with frenetic energy.  He was the Kobe of old, running, turning, twisting, passing, shooting - it was an amazing performance.

Although the Lakers didn't make the play-offs having won only 17 and losing 65, Kobe finished on personal high - his 60 points gave him the highest score for the 2015-16 season!

Suffice it to say that this last game was a fitting farewell to a great champion.

Kobe ended his NBA career with 33,643 points in 1,346 regular season games, averaging 24.99 ppg.

Kobe has been immensely popular in China. "KB20", a designated page on China's major social networking platform Sina Weibo, had more than 410 million views within an hour of the Lakers' game ending. Yes, 410 million views ... only in China!

Kobe has visited China at least once a year since 2006 and fans and the media mobbed him at every public appearance.  His image graced billboards from Beijing to Shanghai.

Kobe's Lakers 24 jersey was the best-seller in China from 2008 to 2013. While the Houston Rockets are sentimental favorites because Yao Ming played there, the Lakers have consistently been one of the most-watched NBA teams because of Kobe.

What made Kobe so admired around the world? Was it his boyish charm? His outstanding athleticism? His extraordinary work ethic (one felt that he always gave his best, and never gave up)?

Probably a combination of all his characteristics.

What Michael Jordan was to the 1990s, Kobe was to the 2000s.  For a while it looked as if LeBron James might inherit the Super Star mantle but ... (see below).

Here are some photos related to Kobe's final game.

A huge crowd gathered outside the Staples Center, waiting to catch a glimpse of  their idol.

Inside the Staples Center, it was all KOBE, KOBE, KOBE. The most expensive court-side seat cost $27,500.  Many celebrities attended the game, including Jack Nicholson and David Beckham.

Picture of Kobe with Shaquille O'Neal when the Lakers won the NBA Championship in 2000, the first of five NBA Championships for Kobe.

For the day LA changed the name of the nearby train station in his honour.

A group of fans came all the way from Zhengzhou, Henan Province.

Kobe participating in the pre-game ceremonies.

Kobe in action against the Jazz.

The Bryant girls, from left Gianna, wife Vanessa, and Natalie.

Kobe fist-bumping with youngest daughter Gianna.

A celebratory kiss with wife Vanessa.

Kobe saluting the crowd after the game.

Kobe at the post-game media conference.

Kobe Bryant, in 1998 and 2016. A legend.

Students at the Sports University of Shenyang, Liaoning Province drew a giant picture of Kobe to commemorate his final game. What a wonderful tribute.

...


As one super-star exited, another was emerging.

On the same day as Kobe's last hurrah, the reigning NBA Champions Golden State Warriors (based in San Francisco) made history of their own.  They ended the regular season with 73 wins and 9 losses.

Their 73 wins was one more than the previous record set by the Chicago Bulls in the 1995-96 season.

Stephen Curry scored an incredible 402 3-pointers, smashing his own previous record of 286.  He averaged an extraordinary 30 ppg for the 2015-16 regular season.

Steph was born on 14 March 1988 in Akron, Ohio.  He is 1.91m tall and weighs 86kg. His father, Dell Curry, was also a professional basketball player, mostly with the Charlotte Hornets.

Steph joined Golden State in 2009 from College, and plays point guard.  He won the NBA's Most Valuable Player Award for the 2014-15 season.

He's not particularly big or strong, but oh what a talent.

No doubt we'll see a lot more of this young man ... but will he capture our hearts and minds the way Kobe did?

Steph Curry and his Golden State Warriors team-mates after beating the Memphis Grizzlies 125 - 104 to record their 73rd win of the 2015-16 regular NBA season.

...

Well, that's it for this post.

Keep well and keep smiling.

Alex & Vera Olah
English teachers at the China University of Petroleum, Qingdao
www.upc.edu.cn
Saturday, 16 April 2016

Post #94 4 April 2016

Gentlefolk,

This post contains the News Summary for March 2016.

I compile a monthly summary of news items, with a focus on news on China.  

There is so much competition for space in Western media outlets that usually only the unusual, sensational, or bizarre gets a mention. Hopefully this summary will give you a better idea of some of the things happening in China.

The events/items included are not necessarily the headlines, but rather things which caught my eye.

The second list shows international events reported in China.  There are so many things happening around the world (information overload!), that I find it useful to have such a list to look back at. 

These news items were all sourced from the China Daily newspaper 1 – 29 March 2016. 

Actual events usually occurred a day or two before they appeared in the China Daily newspaper. 

Currency shown is US$, and the exchange rate used this month is US$1 = Yuan 6.5.

Remember: the China Daily is a government newspaper whose main purpose in life is to make the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese Government look good.  But if you strip away the propaganda, there is still quite a lot of interesting stuff in the paper. 

Events which made the news in China in March 2016

(a) Domestic (in China) events and news

1 Mar	The Govt said that protection of judges would be increased after the shooting of Ma Cai Yun of Beijing’s Changping District Court. The killer, who later committed suicide, was angry at the property settlement in his divorce.
	To boost liquidity China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China, reduced the reserve ratio requirement (RRR) of banks by 50 points.
	To reduce pressure on pensions from an ageing society, the Govt announced that it is considering raising the retirement age, currently 55 for women and 60 for men. 16% of China’s population (about 230 m) are 60+ years of age.
	Baidu’s revenue in Q4 2015 was $2.9 billion; its share price rose to $176.
2 Mar	Beijing Municipal Govt said that it plans to almost double its subway by 2020. The subway now covers 554 km (18 lines, 334 stations) and is planned to be close to 1,000 km by 2020. The subway carried over 3.4 billion passengers in 2015.
3 Mar	WeChat will charge 0.1% on money transfers made via its ‘digital wallet’. Digital hongbao (red envelopes) totalling $5 billion were sent via WeChat during the Spring Festival period (7 – 12 February).
	Annual meeting of the China People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) opened in Beijing. 2,100 delegates. The meeting will conclude on 15 March.
	By 2020 27 provinces and regions will amend their hukou (household registration) requirements to give migrant workers in cities equal access to social services such as education and health care. An estimated 13 million Chinese have no hukou.
	The govt has set aside $2.5 billion to assist the almost-2 million workers expected to be laid off in industries with chronic over-capacity, mainly in shipbuilding, steel, coal and iron ore mining, and cement.
	An online survey by the China Daily listed the top concerns of respondents as: environment 15%; healthcare 12%; education 11%; corruption 10%; housing affordability 9%.
	Beijing will double the number of air quality monitoring stations in the city, from 35 to 70.
	To better target young gay men, Beijing has introduced five mobile HIV testing laboratories.  Testing will be free, and no ID will be required.  Results will be available within 15 minutes.
	134 registered marathons were run in China in 2015, up from 83 in 2104.
	The Royal No. 1 Nightclub in Zhengzhou, Henan, was busted for gambling and prostitution.  Two ‘bosses’ got life imprisonment and 85 others lesser sentences.
	China Resources will buy SAB Miller’s 49% shareholding in Snow Breweries for $1.6 billion.  In 2014 Snow had 24% of the beer market, Tsingtao 18%, Budweiser 14%, and Yanjing 12%.
	Danish company Lego will open a 1,000 sq m store near the new Shanghai Disney Resort.  Lego had worldwide revenues of $5.2 billion in 2015.
	Opening of Kung Fu movie Ip Man 3 Sword of Destiny starring Donnie Yen and Mike Tyson.   Accusations of box office fraud followed, with the producers buying tickets to inflate attendance figures.
4 Mar	China is developing a domestic aircraft industry; forty State Owned Companies (SOEs) were amalgamated to form the Aircraft Engine Corporation of China.
	An estimated 40,000 Chinese have commercial pilots licenses.
	National lottery sales (Welfare Lottery and Sports Lottery) totalled $56 billion in 2015,  4% less than in 2014. The National Audit Office has found that 25% of lottery funds were not used for designated purposes.
5 Mar	Annual meeting of the National People’s Congress (NPC) opened in Beijing; it will conclude on 16 March; main task to approve the 13th Five Year Plan (2016 – 2020).
	In 2015 China had an estimated 668 million internet users, 72% of whom were urban residents, 28% rural.
7 Mar	Discovery of a 43 year old woman’s body in an elevator in Xian.  She was trapped inside when the power was turned off by workmen before the Spring Festival break.
8 Mar	In 2014 China’s population totalled 1,368 million; 701m males and 667m females. Females represented 50% of High School students, 52% of college undergraduates, and 37% of PhD students. Life expectancy rose from 73.3 years in 2000 to 77.4 years in 2010.
10 Mar	In 2015 China’s grain production totalled 622 million tonnes, the 12th consecutive year of increased production.
14 Mar	4.09 passenger motor vehicles were sold in China in the first 2 months of 2016, and increase of 4% on the same period in 2015.
15 Mar	An estimated 7.65 million students will graduate from college in mid-2016.
16 Mar	The number of gyms increased from 2,930 in 2009 to 3,650 in 2014.
	The State Administration of Industry & Commerce said that in 2015 it received 146,000 complaints (up 87%) related to online shopping, mainly about poor quality of goods and false advertising. It closed 1,134 online shops.
	CCTV’s annual “315 Gala” program for World Consumers Day identified unlicensed vendors on online food company Ele.me platform.  This sector has grown rapidly. Ele had 34% market share, Meituan 33%, and Baidu Takeout 19%.
18 Mar	In 2015 523,700 Chinese students were studying overseas (14% up on 2014); 409,100 students returned to China after studying overseas (12% up on 2014).
19 Mar	Disney’s latest animation, Zootopia, took $127 million in its first two weeks in China.  Flash the sloth, in role of a civil servant, was a great hit.
	Mother and daughter team arrested in Jinan, Shandong for selling Category 2 vaccines which were improperly stored and/or past use-by date. They made sales totalling $88 million between 2010 and 2014. Category 1 vaccines are mandatory, and carefully controlled by the Govt; Category 2 vaccines are optional and have been less strictly controlled. Many netizens expressed anger.
21 Mar	Moodys cut its credit rating on China and its biggest banks from ‘stable’ to ‘negative’, citing rising debts and inadequate reforms.
	Winners of the 21st Century Coca Cola National English Speaking competition: Zhu Xue won the college level (there were 110,000 participants, 67 finalists); Wang Xi Wen won the High School level (500,000 participants, 172 finalists).
	In 2015 China’s exports totalled $2.2 trillion and imports $1.6 trillion (trade surplus was $59.8 billion); foreign exchange reserves end 2015 were $3.2 trillion, still by far the world’s largest.
25 Mar	The Public Security University of China has introduced a new major in “Counter terrorism Studies”.  4 year undergraduate program.
	Chinese Super League (soccer) clubs spent $373 million on buying foreign players for the 2016 season.
	Sichuan Jin Qiang (Blue Whales) won the Chinese Basketball Association championship, beating Liaoning Fei Bao 4-1.
	The Govt announced that the current 10% ‘parcel tax’ on foreign purchases would be replaced by a value-added tax.
26 Mar	To cool rising property prices, Shanghai residents who already own a home will have to put down a deposit of 50% on additional purchases; the down-payment rises to 70% on properties valued over $700,000. Shenzhen has been the hottest property market, with a rise of 53% in 12 months; average price now $6,600 per square meter.
	Shanghai Disneyland will open on 16 June 2016.  Regular tickets will cost $56, at peak times $77. Free admission for children less than 1 meter in height.
	Chinese Anti-doping Agency denied swimming cover-up following article in The Times newspaper (London).

(b) International events

1 Mar	Japan’s 2015 Census reported a total population of 127 million, a decrease of about 1 million on 2010. It was the first fall since the Census started in 1920.
	Leonardo DiCaprio won an Oscar at the Academy Awards, for his role in The Revanant. He is very popular in China.
3 Mar	Astronauts Scott Kelly (US) and Mikhail Kornienko (Russia) landed safely after 340 days on the International Space Station. Kelly used Twitter and Instagram to communicate with people back on earth.
4 Mar	DPRK test-fired rockets – angry at annual South Korean + US military exercises.
7 Mar	IMF estimated GDP growth figures for 2015: US 2.4%; EU 1.8%;  Japan 0.4%; China 6.9%; India 7.5%; Brazil -3.8%; Russia -3.7%. In 2015 China represented 15% of the world economy and 25% of global economic growth.
	Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton won Louisiana, but Ted Cruz and Bernie Sanders are still in the primaries races.
	Australia govt agreed to the purchase of Van Diemans Land Dairy Company by Moon Lake for A$280m.
8 Mar	Peyton Manning of the Denver Broncos announced his retirement; he will be 40 next month. After 18 years in the NFL he retires with two Super Bowls (2007 & 2016) and 186 wins (equal with Scott Favre).
9 Mar	Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova announced that she had tested positive for meldonium/mildronate at the Australian Open in late-January. She claims to have taken it for medical purposes for 10 years. WADA added it to the banned list from 1 January 2016. She has won 5 Grand Slams; the first when she was 17 in 2004.
10 Mar	Google’s AlphaGo AI beat current world champion Go master Lee Se Dol in the first of 5 games.  AlphaGo ended up winning the contest 4-1. China’s Go champion, Ke Jie, said he might play AlphaGo next.
11 Mar	Balkan countries close off the ‘migrant’ routes to north Europe. Negotiations underway that ‘migrants’ will be returned from Greece to Turkey.
	China Railway Rolling Stock Corp won a tender to supply 846 rails cars to Chicago Transit Authority. They will be assembled in Illinois, creating 169 jobs.
12 Mar	Highest earning actors & actresses in 2015: Robert Downey Jr ($80m); Jackie Chan ($50m); Vin Diesel ($47m); Bradley Cooper ($42m); Adam Sandler ($41m); Jennifer Lawrence ($52m); Scarlett Johansson ($35m); Melissa McCarthy ($23m); Fan Bing Bing ($21m); Jennifer Aniston ($17m).
15 Mar	Suicide car bombing in Ankara, Turkey, killed 37 and injured 100+. The following week, another bombing in Istanbul; five dead, dozens injured.
	Angela Merkel’s CDU Party lost ground in three regional elections in Germany.
	Big protests in Brazil to indict ex-President Lula on corruption charges.  Current President Dilma Rousseff appointed Lula to her Cabinet, causing more controversy.
	Lin Dan beat Tian Hou Wei to win his 6th All England Badminton men’s singles title. It was the only title won by Chinese players this time, their worst result for more than a decade.
16 Mar	Hou Yi Fan beat Maria Murzychuk to become the Womens World Chess Champion. Her 3rd time, she first won the title in 2010 at the age of 16.
	World Happiness Report by Gallup ranked 150 countries. First was Denmark, then Iceland, Norway, Finland, Canada, The Netherlands, NZ, Australia, and Sweden. USA was #13, Indonesia #79, China #83, India #118.
18 Mar	Chinese company Midea will pay $1 billion for a majority share-holding in Toshiba’s white goods business. Huawei recruited Lionel Messi as a brand ambassador for their mobile phones.
19 Mar	Opening of the joint Sino-USA Center of Excellence on Nuclear Strategy and Security in Beijing. China has 30 nuclear reactors in operation (installed capacity 29 gigawatts) and 24 under construction.
21 Mar	President Obama and family make official visit to Cuba, the first visit by an American President for 88 years. The following week, the Rolling Stones held a free concert in Havana.
23 Mar	Terrorist bombs at two locations in Brussels: Airport and Subway.
	Lancang Mekong Cooperation Meeting in Hainan – leaders of the countries along the Mekong River (Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, China). China offered $1.5 billion in cheap loans for infrastructure projects. The river starts in China where it is called the Lancang River.
	The annual BOAO Business Forum meets in Hainan. Theme “New dynamics, new vision”. Bob Hawke, 86, attended.
	Taxi drivers in Jakarta stage violent anti-Uber protest.
	Apple launched the iPhone SE, smaller, cheaper.
25 Mar	Debris, ‘almost certainly from MH370’, found on the coast of Mozambique.
	More than 2 million New Zealanders voted 57% – 43% to keep current flag design.
26 Mar	ChinaChem announced $43b takeover bid for Swiss agricultural company Syngenta.
	David Beckham’s company bought land in Miami as site for his new soccer team/stadium.
	Johan Cruyff, renowned Dutch soccer player, died of cancer at 68. He has been likened to Pele, Maradona, and Platini.
28 Mar	President Xi Jin Ping made an official visit to Czech Republic, before going on to Washington DC to attend the Nuclear Security Summit.
31 Mar	Suicide bomb in public park in Lahore, Pakistan killed at least 76, many injured.
	Fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

…

Best wishes to you all, keep well and keep smiling.

Alex & Vera Olah

English teachers at the China University of Petroleum, Qingdao

www.upc.edu.cn

Monday 4 April 2016

Post #93 31 March 2016

Gentlefolk,

This post describes actions by four exceptional Chinese people.

Feng Yan Tao

Vera and I flew back to Qingdao on Friday 26 February 2016; we were late checking in for the flight, and ended up in different rows.

I sat next to an elderly couple from Harbin.  They had just spent a month in Sanya, Hainan - isn't it interesting that now some folk, at least the better off, "go south" for part of the winter (just like Canadians going down to Florida).

It turned out the lady had been a college English teacher.  I mentioned that I had a similar job at the China University of Petroleum (UPC).

When we landed in Qingdao a man in the row in front of me said that he had overheard us.  He said that he and his wife lived near the UPC campus, and offered to give us a ride.

Wow, what a nice offer. Totally unexpected.  We had planned to catch the Airport Bus to our suburb (Huangdao, about 80 km), and then get a taxi, but this sounded much better.

He introduced himself as Feng Yan Tao (English name Ivan).  He is a senior marketing executive in Haier, a very large manufacturer of home appliances (refrigerators etc) which has its headquarters in Qingdao.  He and his wife had been on a business trip to Shanghai.

We got 'home' in half the time it would have taken by bus, which was welcome after a long, tiring day.

What a wonderful, friendly gesture by a total stranger reaching out with a kindness.  Well done, Ivan, you set a good example. If we all did little kindnesses like this, the world would be a better place!

Ren Zhi Qiang

Towards the end of February we spent a few days in Hong Kong, on our way back to Qingdao for the new semester.

I read in the South China Morning Post newspaper that President Xi Jin Ping visited  a number of media outlets, including CCTV, and emphasised that they must promote the Communist Party of China and its policies.

The SCMP article noted that the next day one of China's most popular bloggers, Ren Zhi Qiang, wrote on his Weibo twitter-blog that the media is not part of the formal CPC structure; he said that the media is paid for by citizens' taxes, and as such it should serve the people, not the Party.

This was most unusual - what would happen? We didn't have to wait long to find out.

Two days later the Cyberspace Administration of China, China's internet watchdog, accused Mr Ren of 'spreading illegal information and disrupting social harmony' and ordered the immediate closure of his social media accounts.

Goodbye Mr Ren.

Who is Ren Zhi Qiang?

Add caption

He was born on 8 March 1951 in Yantai, Shandong Province; his parents were strong Party members and senior government officials in Beijing.

In 1968, during the Cultural Revolution, Ren was "sent to the countryside"; the following year he enlisted in the Peoples Liberation Army.  At the age of 30 he joined a State Owned Enterprise in Beijing and rose through the management ranks.  

He took the company into property development, caught the boom, and became very successful and very rich.

Mr Ren became known for his outspoken views, including criticisms of Government policies.  For example, when people complained about rising property prices he had a simple solution: "anyone who can't afford a house in the city should go back to the countryside".

Comments like that did not endear him to the masses.  At a public meeting a frustrated man threw his shoes at Mr Ren.

Mr Ren retired from business a couple of years ago, and started blogging.  The more controversial his comments, the bigger his following. In the end his twitter-blog had almost 38 million followers, more than the population of many countries.

His shoot-from-the-hip and take-no-prisoners style earned him the nickname "The Cannon".

Remind you of anyone? He has been dubbed "China's Donald Trump".

Mr Ren was muzzled on the eve of his 65th birthday.

Unlike The Don, it's doubtful we'll hear from The Cannon again.

Hou Yi Fan

On 14 March 2016 Hou Yi Fan beat Maria Muzychuk to become the new Women's World Chess Champion.

Actually, Hou became the World Champion for the first time in 2010, at the tender age of 16.  This is the third time she has got the crown, and she is still only 22 years old.

Hou was born on 27 February 1994 in Jiangsu Province.  Her father, a local magistrate, bought her a chess set when she was 3 years old. Within a short time she was beating her father.

When she was 5 a local chess master became her mentor; at the age of 13 she was China's youngest-ever National Womens Champion; and at 16 became World Champion for the first time.

Hou is one of only 3 women to break into the "Top 100 Chess Players in the World" - she is currently ranked #73.

What an amazing talent.

Lin Dan

On 13 March 2016 Lin Dan won his sixth All England Mens Single Badminton title.

Lin Dan was born on 14 October 1983 in Fujian Province. His parents tried to interest him in the piano, but that hope quickly vanished when he was introduced to badminton at the age of 5.

Lin is nicknamed "Super Dan " by his fans.  He is 1.76m tall, and weighs in at 68 kg.

By the age of 28 he had completed the Super Grand Slam having won all nine major titles in world badminton - still the only player to achieve that feat.  He is undoubtedly the best badminton player ever.

Lin has won the World Badminton Championships five times, and Olympic Gold twice (Beijing 2008, London 2012).  Fingers crossed that he gets a third Gold Medal at the Rio Olympics later this year.

What a guy!

...

That's all for this post.

Keep well, and keep smiling.

Alex & Vera Olah
English teachers at the China University of Petroleum, Qingdao
www.upc.edu.cn
Thursday, 31 March 2016