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“四不像”归来 亲爱的各位读者： 真心祝愿各位蛇年幸福安康，富贵满堂，大吉大利，万事如意！在此我也要感谢各位对“东8时区”系列博客的持续关注，感谢你们花费时间阅读并评论我的博客。 大约4年前，也就是2009年6月，我开始创作并推出第一个系列博客——“四不像”（如今在www.FortuneChina.com网站上仍可以找到这些旧作。）老实说，那个时候就连我自己都不怎么关注博客，所以可以想见，亲爱的读者们能抽出时间浏览我絮絮叨叨、文风老派的拙作，该是多么地宽宏大量！ 2011年11月，我觉得到时候该改变一下了，所以就在当月推出了“四不像”博客的兄弟篇——“东8时区”博客，这个名字取材于大中华区所在的时区。 当时我觉得这个名字很讨巧，但后来发现它也许有些巧得过了头。对世界时区比较了解的国际旅客可能都明白“东8时区”的含义，但对更多人来说这个名字可能过于晦涩和生僻。 相比之下，中国人对“四不像”的含义了解得更多。我要告诉那些不知道“四不像”的人，“四不像”是一种真实存在的动物，由法国天主教传教士佩雷•戴维发现，并以他的名字命名为“佩雷戴维鹿”。十八世纪，这种动物在中国的野生环境中已基本绝迹，但有少数被带往了国外，主要是英国。中国的江苏省还有少量保留。 关于“四不像”到底怎么讲有很多不同的解释，但大家普遍认可的说法是这种动物“蹄子像牛不是牛；脑袋像马不是马；犄角像鹿不是鹿；身子像驴不是驴。” 在中文中，“四不像”也有“不伦不类”的意思——指某人或某物不合常规。这也是可以把我和这个名字联系在一起的另一个原因。幸亏“四不像”的标准解释不包括“脑子像驴、屁股像大象、肚腩像河马、声音像髭狗”，要不我可惨了。 所以，按着试错法的原则，在推出“东8时区”系列博客15个月后，我决定从今年春节停用这个博客名称。在筹划这一变动时，我发现本篇博客将是“东8时区”系列的第60篇博文，如果按照中国的传统文化理解，恰好是五个轮回，一个甲子。在此时此刻辞旧迎新，应该是再合适不过了。 对我来说，亲身体验读者数量、浏览量、反馈量的高涨与滑坡是个极佳的学习机会，我一直都密切地关注着这些。从这个意义上说，写博就像教书，貌似是老师在向学生灌输信息，但实际上价值最高的却是学生给老师的反馈。 所以朋友们，“四不像”将在蛇年回归，为您带来新的视角和思考。 这既是对以往博客系列的延续，也带有一定的实验性质。 选择在此时更换博主名称的次要原因是，我属兔（但至于是哪个兔年则属于最高机密）。在现实生活中，兔子害怕各种蛇。可是即使蛇再大，也不可能吞下一只成年的“四不像”。 这说明在面临不确定和变化时，要勇于追求变化，直面风险，但也要谨慎，不违背常理。 请允许我春节告假几周，好好准备新的系列博客。 祝各位新春快乐！
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The Return of Sibuxiang Dear Readers, Please accept my best wishes for a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year of the Snake, as well as my gratitude and appreciation for your time, attention, and feedback in reading this blog. Not quite 4 years ago, I began writing my first blog, called Sibuxiang. It launched in June, 2009. (The archives are still here on www.FortuneChina.com) To be honest, up until that time I had not been a frequent reader of blogs. So, in hindsight, my readers were very generous with their time, and also kind enough to overlook my clumsy, long-winded and unfashionable style of blog-writing. In November, 2011, I decided it was time for re-invention. That month I launched Sibuxiang's successor blog, called "GMT +8". This is the name of the time zone in which Greater China is located. At the time I thought this was a clever name, but in hindsight I think it is a bit too clever. Frequent international travelers know global time zones well enough to recognize the meaning of "GMT + 8", but to many others it's obscure at best, or mumbo jumbo at worst. By contrast, most Chinese people know what the word Sibuxiang means ("four unlikes"). For those who are unfamiliar, Sibuxiang is an actual animal: the Pere David deer, named in English for the French Catholic priest who discovered it. It became extinct in the wild in China around 1900, but small numbers had been taken abroad, mainly to England, and raised as an exotic protected species. In the early 1980s, small herds were reintroduced to China. Today, more than 1,200 Pere David deer are living in two main nature reserves, the larger (Nanhaizi Milu Park) being in Daxing County outside of Beijing. Another reserve is located in Jiangsu Province. There are various explanations for what the"four unlikes" refer to, but the most commonly accepted set is an animal with: "the hoofs of a cow, which is not a cow; the head of a horse, which is not a horse; the antlers of a deer, which is not a deer; and the body of a donkey, which is not a donkey." In common parlance in Chinese, "sibuxiang" also means "neither fish nor fowl" -- something or someone which does not fit stereotypes. That's another reason I can relate to the name. Fortunately for me, the standard explanation of the four unlikes does not include items like: "the brain of a donkey, the ass of an elephant, the belly of a hippo, the voice of a hyena" etc. So, in the spirit of trial and error, following about 15 months of publication, I am retiring the blog name "GMT + 8" after the Spring Festival. In considering the timing of this change, it also occurred to me that this current GMT + 8 blog post is the 60th in the series, which seemed an appropriate close in traditional Chinese culture, 60 representing an important milestone in its completion of 5 cycles of 12. What better time to conclude the old and start something new? It has been an interesting learning experience for me to see the peaks and valleys of reader interest, traffic, and feedback, which I pay close attention to. In that sense blogging is similar to teaching, in that the most obvious flow of information is from teacher to student, but often the most valuable flow is in the other direction, from students to teacher. So, my friends, Sibuxiang will be back in the Year of the Snake, with some new ideas and perspectives. There is merit in consistency, as well as experimentation. Another peripheral consideration for the timing of the name change is that I was born in the Year of the Rabbit (precisely which rabbit year remains a highly confidential matter), and in real life, rabbits have much to fear from many species of snakes. On the other hand, there are arguably no snakes big enough to swallow a full-grown Sibuxiang. Moral: in times of uncertainty and change, pursue change and embrace risk, but with some degree of caution and common sense. Please bear with me for a few weeks absence following the Lunar New Year holidays, while I prepare the new series. Enjoy the holidays! |
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