Years of Poems and Spirits

于建嵘：县政改革请自改变“异地为官”始

keywords：改流为土，异地为官，offset the effect of election,

官员更容易倾向于对上负责而不是对下负责, 在历史上,外地来的“官”常常需要用自己的私人班子———各种“师爷”来控制本乡本土的“吏”。

这些官员每个星期都要在家与单位两边跑,县乡政府在食宿、交通工具、娱乐设施等方面进行的巨大投资,已使某些地方的行政成本大量增加

“省直管县”改革并没有引起太大的关注就已经取得了较大进展 (查：vs. 市管县)

杨恒均：全民医保会不会让我们“国破人亡”？
keywords: 中国文化惹祸,

十五年前，帮一位香港朋友在国内联系外科医生动脑部肿瘤的手术，交了昂贵的费用后，医生暗示手术时还要送红包，最后那位香港朋友哆哆嗦嗦地送出了一万元的大红包，手术很成功啊。（有黑色幽默，可入当代《世说新语》）

不是这医保计划不好，而是我突然想，这医保说得比唱的还好听，从长远来看，几乎可以和西方国家如澳洲相媲美。可问题是，我们有适应这种从外面引进的全面医保的“文化”和“制度”吗？（正在跟踪医保改革，报大希望，可能是nation质变的开始。但这的确是盆（应有）的凉水）

我们一边和国际接轨，一边拼命把人家先进的东西搬进来（人权啊，劳动合同法啊，全民医保啊，教师待遇啊等等），一边却在那里拼命抵触支撑这些东西的价值观。（说的很有意思，又回到了“体用”之争。可引伸到法律，法制的软弱表现）

中国文化惹祸：A new Chinese immigrant in Australia wrote a letter to his son’s teacher, with regard to the pending reference for college entrance. Together with the letter, he stuffed A$2,500 in the envelope. When he was prosecuted for bribing a public servant, his defense was, “that is how we Chinese people show respect to teachers. It is a cultural thing. You don’t understand.”

It takes social entrepreneurs like such to help me understand some of the fundamentals better. I always had trouble finding a clear definition of “culture”. Not that I have found one thanks to him, but I do feel there is a new dimension along which I can see “culture” differently.

This new dimension is, for lack of better words, “symbolicism”–how much a cultural element is of only symbolic significance. For example, in my mind, filial piety (孝) is mostly “symbolic” in the sense that being so does not bring one any material reward but only moral credit.

Another example would be this “respect for teacher” thing. This cultural element has more secular significance than symbolic. You give money to your son’s teacher not to be praised for being an exemplary community member, but to help your son to get into a top notch but affordable public school.

What is interesting is how the two types of elements relate to each other. Can we assume that, before something becomes purely symbolic, it was for a long time a very secular thing? For example, could it be that in the early days of an agrarian society, seniors are treasured for their knowledge and experience in the field? But once it evolved into a symbolic value, it can afford certain level of “detachment” from reality. Even in the industrial age, for example, filial piety is still highly valued in traditional agrarian societies.

But the most interesting are the “secular” cultural traits.  That is where symbol, expectation, morality and political institution intersect. Just to use this teacher briber as an example, on the one hand, there is some truth to his argument, teaching is a “financially promiscuous” profession in China, a fact that is widely tolerated, if not accepted, which does give the phenomenon a cultural appearance.

On the other hand, however, not only is bribing illegal in HK (I believe), but also is not practiced by most immigrants from Mainland. I am trying to think of examples where political institutions did pluck budding a social trend before it becomes “culture”. But I am too tired to think now.

Scenes from Taiwan’s Parliament

Scene from Mainland China’s Parliament

Heard Ethan Cohen’s poem read on NPR:

De jure is de facto’s slave;
The most foolhardy beat the brave;
Brass routs restraint; low lies high’s grave;
When conscience leads you, it’s astray;
The drunken driver has the right of way.

In his interview,  Cohen also talked about his struggle with the fear of mortality. Very unnerving.  Sometimes when you feel low, the last thing you want to hear is others describing, in the most poetic and moving way, how else you can feel about it.

What also strikes me is the irony that, being one 0f the most able artists who explores violence for a living, the poem reveals how much fear Cohen has toward the physical. Maybe I am reading too much Ming history recently, the feeling resembles a self-conscious eunuch telling the story of a life serving a capricious tyrant.