Like a Rock

April 6, 2018 / by China Daily Lifestyle Premium

Lithops – also known as flowering stones, pebble plants, living stones or butts (for visually obvious reasons) – is a genus of succulents in the Aizoaceae ice plant family. Native to southern Africa, there are numerous species, with various colours, patterns, textures and even different flowers.

Lithops doesn’t have a true stem; it usually has two leaves that regrow once a year. These taper down in a conical fashion directly to a tap root, which makes it look like a stone, split down the middle with only its immediate surface visible. Due to this, Lithops can avoid being eaten by hiding in the crevices of rocks. 

Nowadays, Lithops is one of the more popular house plants and many specialist succulent growers maintain collections, so they’re easy to buy in plant stores and on the internet. They’re also relatively easy to grow if given sufficient sun and suitable soil.

The Tastemakers

April 6, 2018 / by China Daily Lifestyle Premium

For many, the magical meal between breakfast and lunch serves as a relaxing session to ease into or out of a rush-free weekend. BrunchWith is a website where conversations are initiated over – what else? – brunch. 

On the site, you’ll find a collection of intriguing interviews set in different global metropolises – from San Francisco and New York to Hong Kong and Shanghai – with a wide-ranging variety of creative minds such as independent artists, chefs, fashion editors and entrepreneurs. Inevitably, food is a key subject. As BrunchWith’s founders believe, “We are naturally connected through food.” 

“If New York were to be a food, what would that be?” The city’s premier truffle dealer, Ian Purkayastha, describes it as “$1 pizza slices”. However, for musician and native New Yorker Lenny Kaye, the answer is very specific: “A corned sandwich on rye bread, Russian dressing and coleslaw from Hudson Street, with chocolate and cream to drink.” 

During a brief stay in New York City, Chinese artist Song Dong recalled his food experience – in 1986 as a student, he went to sketch in the countryside of Shaanxi Province, where he was treated to the only steamed buns in a farmer’s family because he was a guest from Beijing. It’s not about the food, but the experience, he thinks. Speaking of what kind of food Beijing would be, he replies: “Hotpot; you can put anything you want in it, make your own dipping sauce.” The help-yourself type of dining reminds him of the early 1990s, when artists had to rely on themselves as support was rarely given by friends, family or the government. 

Feeling Hygge

December 1, 2017 / by Ruiqi Jiang

Hygge: A Winter Checklist

• Make a cup of hot chocolate or mulled wine (see our recipe).

• Learn how to knit a sweater – or pick one from our selection (pictured).

• Cook dinner with family and friends.

• Fabricate a scented lavender sachet.

• Read a biography of a person you admire.

• Meditate in the solitude of home.

• Unwind next to a wood-burning fireplace.

Vin Chaud (French-style Mulled Wine)

• 750ml red wine

• 4 tbsp granulated sugar

• 4 cinnamon sticks

• 2 cardamom pods

• 5 whole cloves

• ½ orange and ½ lemon, cut into slices with white pith removed

• ⅓ cup cognac, brandy or rum

Mix all the ingredients in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then turn off the heat and let stand for 15 minutes. Add cognac, brandy or rum to a glass, and ladle the wine-and-spices mixture over it.

Love to Fear

September 29, 2017 / by China Daily Lifestyle Premium

“Fear is a wonderful thing, in small doses,” said the English author Neil Gaiman in a discussion at the TED 2014 conference in Vancouver. After the prolific writer recited a ghost story, he read a short essay titled “Ghosts in the Machine”, in which he affectionately contemplated the psychology of why we love ghost stories: 

“You ride the ghost train into the darkness, knowing that eventually the doors will open and you will step out into the daylight once again. It’s always reassuring to know that you’re still here, still safe. That nothing strange has happened, not really. It’s good to be a child again, for a little while, and to fear…”

The art of scary storytelling has been ritualised in many festive traditions during Halloween. From its ancient origins as the “dead-returning night” before the Celtic festival of Samhain some 2,000 years ago to All Hallows’ Eve in Christianity (formalised on October 31 by Pope Gregory IV in the 9th century), Halloween has evolved into a full-on party in the modern age, incorporating the nostalgia of ghost stories – and perhaps inspiring a little dread. 

This thrill of fear isn’t only something to be enjoyed during Halloween, of course. Once upon a time, we were all eager children, excitedly begging the adults in our families for a cracking story, be it a never-before-heard one or a true classic. Sometimes it’s not even about the story as much as it is sharing a memory of the storyteller’s vivid performance – and the harmless fear that’s often overcome by the overwhelming feelings of being together. 

As Gaiman concludes in his essay, fear taps into the baseless, ignoring the scariest things in our midst. “…Not governments, not regulations, not infidelities or accountants or distant wars, but ghosts and such things that don’t exist, and even if they do, can do nothing to hurt us.” Thrills, chills and a bit of harmless escapism – who could argue with that?

Romance in the Air

February 3, 2017 / by China Daily

Courtship rituals have been practiced in many forms over the years. These behaviours aren’t exclusive to humans – there are similarities with mating rituals in the animal kingdom. For example, when a man attempts to gain the attention of a romantic partner, he might put on charming clothing and “flaunt his feathers” – just like a male peacock shows his ornamental feathers to attract a female peahen. Two people hold hands to convey a message of their close relationship, while African elephants caress each other and intertwine their trunks in the courtship phase. Couples have dinner together on a date, while many birds also share food in the name of romance. 

Numerous rituals showcase the basic instincts of all living creatures; for humans, however, the approaches tend to be a bit less clinical and a bit more fun. During the Victorian era, a pocket-sized calling card became part of the romance of courting. This custom began in France in the 1800s, and quickly spread across Europe and the US as a formal means to maintain social contacts. 

For a Victorian gentleman who aimed to start a conversation with a lovely lady, or simply wanted to walk her home, he would often use an acquaintance card. According to the Encyclopedia of Ephemera, the acquaintance card was “used by the less formal male in approaches to the less formal female. Given also as an ‘escort card’ or ‘invitation card’, the device commonly carried a brief message and a simple illustration. Flirtatious and fun, the acquaintance card brought levity to what otherwise might have seemed a more formal proposal. A common means of introduction, it was never taken too seriously.” 

With gentle humour and directness, this romantic icebreaker was quite attractive to young women. Men would present a card with a cheeky message, such as “I am Sam Kahn. Who the devil are you?” Or he might just get straight to the point, asking “May I C U Home?” For those less restrained by convention, he might have put those heart-melting words in poetic form. “My heart to you is given / Oh! Do give yours to me / We’ll lock them up together / And throw away the key.” Or, perhaps you’d prefer the more suggestive approach: “Come and see our new lamp – you can turn it down so low that there is scarcely any light at all.” 

Interesting courtship rituals aren’t restricted to Victorian couples, either. In the 17th century, a Welshman would hand-carve a wooden spoon (called a “lovespoon”) as a sign of affection for his potential bride; the woman would wear the spoon around her neck if she felt the same way. In 19th-century rural Austria, young women would perform a ritual dance with apple slices lodged in their armpits – after the dance, she would give a slice to the man of her choice and, if interested in her, he would eat it. 

Even today, a variety of intriguing customs continue in Asia. For example, in southwest China, young singles of the Dai ethnic minority gather by the village bonfire at night; the men each choose a woman to serenade and, if she’s impressed, the woman will pull a small seat out from under her billowing skirt and invite him to sit down. And in one rural village in northwest Cambodia, the unmarried teenage daughters of the Kreung tribe are encouraged to explore sex with a variety of partners as they search for true love – in a “love hut” built by their parents behind their house.

Top Dogs

October 28, 2016 / by Peter Brown