Author Archives: Yego

My cousin from Hong Kong came to visit last summer. He was slick, confident, and wore a blazer in ninety-degree weather. Over dim sum, he declared — in a thick, showy accent — that English was “the key to civilization.” I asked him what kind of tea he preferred, and he answered, “Frankly, I onlyContinue reading “My Cousin from Hong Kong”

1. Four Meters in English Poetry There are four basic meters in English poetry: Iambic = da-DUM da-DUM (a single foot is an iamb)Trochaic = DUM-da DUM-da (a single foot is a trochee)Anapestic= dada-DUM dada-DUM (a single foot is an anapest)Dactylic = DUM-dada DUM-dada (a single foot is a dactyl) Iambic meter is the mostContinue reading “Chinese Poems in English Meters”

 Of Whiners and Emperors: The Art of Keeping the Intelligentsia in Check What Is a Whiner? A whiner is someone who complains constantly—not out of necessity or moral urgency—but out of habit. No solution satisfies them; no improvement is ever enough. If you fix their roof, they’ll complain about the color of the shingles. IfContinue reading “Of Whiners and Emperors”

Standing Tall and Unconquered in the Age of Digital Colonization 1. Gulf of Mexico or Gulf of America? Imagine opening Google Maps or Apple’s iMaps, zooming into the waters between the United States and Mexico, and finding the Gulf of Mexico renamed the “Gulf of America.” This is not a hypothetical scenario but a chillingContinue reading “STANDING TALL”

National Unity as the Engine of Progress In the modern imagination, China and India often appear side by side—two populous ancient civilizations with booming economies, rich histories, and vast potential. Yet their trajectories over the past century diverge sharply. China has surged ahead, transforming itself into the world’s factory, a global infrastructure builder, and aContinue reading “Why China Succeeds and India Lags Behind”