Recently, in a period of comparing coverages of the Snowden saga in various blogs, I came across this frustrated admission from 1 of HH’s previous comment participants:
http://justrecently.wordpress.com/2013/07/05/the-china-related-blogosphere-a-deserted-playground/
“I’d happily participate in bridging the gap if this was still a sphere of blogs in the first place. But nothing on Twitter or Sina Weibo seems to last, most of it looks both chaotic and boring, and I doubt that I’ll ever become a microblogger in this life. Next life, something still hipper (and still more boring) will have replaced the microblogs.But I’m wondering: are there still active English-language Chinese blogs?”
You can read the comment section to find out that “PekingDuck” sort of imploded recently.
But obviously, some folks have forgotten HH, or rather pretended that HH does not exist.
Well. Here are some facts/stats from the net to dispute their narrow vision. (Some of you have seen these stats, which are not that great, but HH is ahead of some “English-language Chinese blogs”, and more diverse in readership. And HH doesn’t sell any thing, like marketing tips, hobby movies that never get done, etc.)
So thanks to all of our audience, HH is still alive and kicking. Perhaps it is ironic, but we lived up to our name, “Hidden Harmonies”, in that we are harmonious to some, and hidden to others.
Long life, harmonies to all, even if you choose to ignore its existence!
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godfree says
Congratulations. HH is doing exactly what it was designed to do!
pug_ster says
Many of these English language bloggers about China are written up by expats who seems to have the notion that the West is great and China sucks. In light of Economic problems, fake wars, lying politicians, and of course NSA problems, it seems that the West is not so great anymore and it deflated these bloggers’ egos.
Of course, there are plenty of English blogs about China which remains interesting and not talking about China bashing all the time.
Black Pheonix says
@pug_ster
The Snowden disclosure definitely took some hot air out of a lot of them.
Richard went on some half-assed character assassination of Snowden which riled up some of the expat groupies.
Nothing shows the true color of the Duck like when he picks on a Controversy in the West to use as rope to hang himself with.
And FOARP/Grundy? He’s waiting in Poland watch the slow wave of EU recession get closer to his feet.
colin says
I think “what happened” was that those china bashing blogs got tired of waiting for China to collapse and realized life was passing them by. It’s interesting that they claim the peak of China blogging was the CSB era, a new term to me – Chen Shui Bian. Can you give away your agenda any better than that?
And that roast duck guy, I’ve pointed out before how he is so full of personal failings and hypocrisy. He yells about so called tyranny in China, yet bans anyone one who voices opposition to his views. My account go banned for pointing out a book he was pushing about the horrors of the CR was, in fact, fiction. I don’t think he’s really schizophrenic with all the opposing views and illogic he holds in his head, but rather he’s on someone’s payroll with an agenda.
Black Pheonix says
@colin
Richard even invented his own Newspeak to justify his banning: “Hall Monitoring”.
Yeah, OK, Duck, you really don’t quack at all, just because you also squirm like a worm.
JJ says
Keep up the good work guys! While I don’t always agree with everything written here, I do find it extremely informative and the articles definitely make me think.
I feel the problem with most English-language Chinese blogs is that the authors are often stuck in an expat bubble and very rarely venture outside of it.
Their perspective is extremely limited and they only see the surface of things. Furthermore, their own biases tend color their writing. I also feel that they try to get more page views by sensationalizing the story.
@colin
That could be it! I guess it can be tiring to always have a “Chicken Little” worldview. And I notice the longer lasting travel/expat blogs mainly focus on the joy and happiness they experience.
Panthera Tigris Amoyensis says
Richard Burger & his “Peking Duck” showcases a frustrated 40 something with an unmoderated blog that FOARP administers. Burgers been in China for what? Eight years and it ain’t happening for him. He isn’t making anything happen. Cue: Taking his failings out on everybody else. He’s an English teacher cum Journalist that is washed up man. He should never have left University. Burger believes he is always right. Just like a substandard teacher does. BTW: his book about Sex in China the publisher Earnshaw Books went bankrupt a month after its release so claims of it being “critically well received” and a “best seller” are bullshit. They only ever printed 200 copies. Check it out. About Gilman Grundy – aka FOARP never had a China career. He only went to Nanjing Uni for a couple of years to learn Chinese. I was his classmate. Weird fucker, no-one liked him even then. Couldn’t get a job in China, fucked off a lot of people online and is now in Poland. He can never come back to Asia he burned so many bridges. Both are generally loathed. So mehhbe the guy wuz right, the English language blog mafia that Burger, Grundy, Danwei, Dan Harris et al represent is fucked up. Thank fuck we have HH – which is outspoken to moderate these wannabes and never-weres. Burger. Grundy. Harris: You’ll all screwed, and no-one likes you.
Dan Harris @ ChinaLawBlog – do the online stats through the SEO and answer why your readers seem all to be housewives in their 30-40’s. Because you manipulate your views, scumbag, and steal other peoples shit (ie: Shaun Rein) and pass it off as your knowledge. Which it isn’t. Of yowse three, NONE of you are even IN China except Burger and I know he leaves soon, hes being made redundant. China Law Blog Harris & Moure aren’t even registered in China as a law firm. WTF!!! No-one of them made it. Their blogging pain and obvious detesting of anyone who has done well is soooo obvious. Losers, all of them, I 110% agree. Nasty selfish fuckers full of self promotion but with little talent.
melektaus says
Anyone follow the photo blog chinasmack? There’s some seriously disturbing shit on there. It’s China with all the warts and wrinkles. Granted there’s also a lot of rumor and handwringing but I find that much of the ills of what goes on in China is reflected in that blog.
colin says
@melektaus
It’s a pretty good blog. Granted it exposes the ugly underbelly of society, but it does so in a non-patronizing way, probably because the founder is a chinese national. It translates the stories and the netizen reactions in a matter-of-factly way. As I’ve said in the past, the very fact that these stories of social ills bubble up, become popular and cause social debate, gives me great optimism that there is a strong moral determination over there. Who thinks similar ills don’t happen in other developing countries? But yet, Chinese society is bringing them to the forefront and discussing them. China is a society open to debate, and willing to change. Progress, pure and simple, my friends right before our eyes! It’s beautiful!
Black Pheonix says
@colin
Of course, such sites are good at highlighting the “underbelly”.
Expats like Duck don’t care much for such sites, because they merely discuss “rumors” of mundane stuff, nothing grandiose like “democracy”.
My only problem is, like most media, there is a tendency for sensationalizing the “underbelly” stories.
Black Pheonix says
I personally think that the every day kinds of stories about individual people are much more enlightening, without the need to draw generalized conclusions about “trends” or big ethical questions.
Kardashians are sufficiently acknowledged in media, but they don’t necessarily have huge grandiose meaning.
Sometimes, the “underbelly” is just another “underbelly”.