Recently a medical study indicated that practicing Taiji [1] can help to relieve depression among the elderly. The study was published in the March 6, 2011 issue of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry [2]. According to the study’s first author Dr. Helen Lavretsky, a UCLA professor-in-residence of psychiatry, “This is the first study to demonstrate the benefits of tai chi in the management of late-life depression.” A summary of the study was published recently in Science Daily [3].
Jewish-Chinese Connection During WWII: How a Chinese Diplomat Saved Thousands of Jews
April 2011
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Tens of thousands of Jews living in Austria wanted to leave their country after Germany annexed Austria in March 1938 and started persecuting the Jews. The persecution of Jews in Austria (and in Europe in general) came to a peak on November 9-10, 1938 with a series of attacks on Jews known as “Kristallnacht” (also known as the Night of Broken Glass). During Kristallnacht, Jewish homes, shops, towns and villages were ransacked, as SA stormtroopers and civilians destroyed buildings with sledgehammers, leaving the streets covered in pieces of smashed windows—the origin of the name “Night of Broken Glass.” In Vienna alone, 95 synagogues or houses of prayer were destroyed. However, in order for Jews to leave Austria, they needed to have a visa from a foreign country. This was not easy, especially after the July 6-13, 1938 Evian Conference. This was a conference initiated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to discuss the issue of increasing numbers of Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution, but the result of the conference was that 31 countries (out of a total of 32, with the Dominican Republic as the only exception) refused to increase or even allow Jewish immigrants due to their fear of Nazi Germany. Dr. Ho Feng-Shan, the young Chinese consul-general in Vienna from May 1938 to May 1940, risked his life and career and acting against the orders of his superior, Chen Jie, the Chinese ambassador to Germany, issued visa to any Jew who requested one.
An Introduction to Lian Gong Shi Ba Fa (練功十八法)
February 2011
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Lian Gong Shi Ba Fa or Lian Gong 18 Form (練功十八法) is a comprehensive system of Chinese health exercises. It is a set of stretching, breathing, and self-massaging exercises designed to prevent and relieve stress and acute pains around the neck, shoulders, back, hips, legs, joints, and connective tissues. Even though it is relatively new (became popularized only about 40 years ago), it is based on many old Chinese stretching, breathing, and warm-up exercises dating back more than 1,000 years, including the well-known Eight Silk Brocade (八段錦). Since its introduction about 40 years ago, it has spread rapidly from China to other countries (especially to Japan and Brazil), and millions of people are now practicing it. It is fairly easy to learn and practice. The time it takes to do the exercise depends on the number of repetitions, but can be as little as 15 minutes.
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Subtle and Not-So-Subtle Distortions of WWII History
More than 65 years have passed since the end of WWII. Massive inhuman atrocities were committed by the Japanese military in many countries in Asia during WWII. Because most people, especially people who do not have relatives who lived through that part of history, have no knowledge of what actually occurred, it is very easy for them to be misled by distortions of that part of WWII history. People may think that such distortions occur only inside Japan, they are not aware that such distortions also occur frequently in the U.S., even in academic and scholarly literary circles. This article discusses two examples to illustrate such distortion.
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