Table of Contents
I MAGENTA MOMENTS: Teas and Tasty Delights 1
Blue Moon in Rising China 3
Muted Lakeside 4
No Stranger 5
Qi Dong Lu 8
Sipping Beer 9
Father Chef Artist 10
Mother Leader Friend 12
The Video Man 13
Jostling Marketplace 15
Favorite Foods 17
Aesthetic of Tea 19
The Butcher 22
The Evening Street 24
Home (wo de jia) 26
Language Is We 28
Huadong Winery 29
Playtime 30
Good Friends and Peony Memories 32
Old Performers in the Morning 33
Phoenix in Flight 34
Riddles 35
Monsoon Dinner and Business 36
II TRAVEL GUANXI: Trans-cultural Explorations 37
Road to the Great Wall at Badaling 39
Hidden Gardens 41
Chengyang Park 43
City Walls and Quiet Remnants 45
Train Station 46
The Train 47
Leaving Beijing 48
Train Culture 50
Triptychs 51
The Hard Sleeper 52
Jinan Sprawl and Sparkle 53
Blossoming Beauty 54
51 Dong Hai Road 55
Badaguan Neighborhood 56
Skygate: Mount Lao 57
Shrouded in Silence 59
Apricot Picking 61
The New Daxue 63
Lancun 66
Golfing at Jimo on Saturday 67
Visiting Hangzhou 69
Hangzhou Lullaby 70
All Because of a Cigarette 71
III MAZE HAZE GAZE: A Rush to the Top 75
Standing Out While in China 77
Under Beijing Skies 79
The Double Glory Pavilion and the Communist Party 80
Morning Public Announcement 82
Strength in a Gray City 86
Selling Survival 87
Hot Like a Wok! 88
Towering Beijing Cranes 89
Architecture Extravaganza 91
Masters of Allurement 93
Modernization Projects 94
The Art of Survival 96
Power and Prestige 97
Industrial Zones 98
Red Flags 99
China's Food Supply 100
Executive Office 101
Jingcha: The Policeman 102
Beware the Flash 103
Where Were You Last Night? 104
Saturn with a Red Scarf 106
IV VEILED TIME: Visions, Spirits, Loss 107
Another Language 109
Dragonflies 110
Mystical Pagoda 112
Seasonal Resonance 113
A Day 115
Not Enough Time 116
Longtan Lake Park 117
Oracle Bones and the 1998 Taiwan Earthquake 118
Deleterious Time 124
Close Quarters 125
Yearning for Sally's Gifts 126
Disappearances 142
Painful Separation 143
Heat Wave at Midnight 144
V OPAL MOON SHADOWS: Lotus Traditions and Generations 145
Bell Culture 147
Gates of China 149
At the Pearl Moon Pavilion 151
The Great Wall 153
Retreat at the Summer Palace 155
Imperial Steps and Stones 157
At Qufu, Home of Confucius 160
Revelation at Mount Tai 161
Beida (Peking University) 162
Stillness and Movement 163
Hidden Splendor 165
Fragrance in Moonlight 166
Stymied in Sunlight 167
Yu Garden 168
Festival of Lanterns 169
Tea, Taiji, and Tradition 171
Knowledge for Millennia 175
Glossary 177
About the Author 209
