14 Comments

We are each waving back at the universe.

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Followed and subscribed! Good writing! Holistic thinking!

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Blade Runner was Taoism, and so were Star Wars and the Fifth Element. Taoism is basically the religion of science.

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Thanks for the comment. Yexs, Star Wars is Taoism. Philip K Dick, the author of the Blade Runner stories, was inspired by Asian themes, Zen (ghost in the shell), Japan, and so on. Neo-Taoism has become almost a techno cult in science fiction literature.

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Wasn't the creature from Gremlins a Yaogai? Chinese culture is full of critters and monsters, we just tend to trivialize the ancient civilizations.

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I believe the American spelling is "Mogwai", which is from mo-guai in Mandarin.

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I think that Gizmo was a "moguai". He was definitely from China in the movies. Also, lots of Chinese Yao demons in Big Trouble in Little China. I read your brilliant article on the Chinese dragon "long". So much potential in the future for Chinese mystical creatures! Cheers, mate!

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Thanks! Yeah, I remember that one, about the long, the pixiu, the fenghuang, and even the xiongmao ;-) Good times! T

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Beware of becoming a true believer. After adopting Chinese names, was he also canceled?

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Everyone is canceled once he adopts the correct Chinese terms. He can only speak freely in China then. :-)

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Good one! Wasn't James Legge Scottish?

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James Legge was Scottish and he translated the entire Chinese canon into proper English. His translations are today's standard work in Chinese Studies. They are really good. However, he lived during a time when it was absolutely necessary to "avoid Chinese words. Write in English," even in Chinese Studies. Legge did not adopt Chinese loanwords as we do today.

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The West pretty much owns all language and information. The name Taoism is Western. Same with Buddhism, which actually was more like Brahmism and Brahmins than a buddha god. The rest is wird play and interpretations. Chinese words look eerie and are mostly avoided in the news. Yao is demon, ok.

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Chinese and Indian histories are rich and precious. There is much to be found still, in the original texts, beneath all those erroneous Western translations.

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