汉语世界 （2014年03期） 总第46期汉语世界（The World of Chinese）

    电视荧幕上, 除了婆媳大战, 我们还能看什么? 在韩剧、美剧和英剧面前，国产剧该怎么办？本期封面故事讨论中国电视剧到底怎么了。主题故事还有“谁来保护医生”，关注面对暴力医闹的医生群体；“古代摩尼教”讲述被小说神秘演绎，却早已淹没在历史中的摩尼教。

    What’s wrong with Chinese TV, violenceagainst doctors, and a long dead religion that shaped China—all thatand more inside.

Section: TOC  
28 Cover Story  Televisually Impaired  China’s broken boob tube is causing controversy at the highest levels of government; is it too late to fix it?
电视银幕上除了婆媳大战,我们还能看什么？  
36 Physician, Heal Thyself  Doctors and nurses today face lethal violence from their patients, and while authorities twiddle their thumbs in the face of a broken system, medical professionals are left to fend for themselves.
谁来保护医生？  
42 Manichean Middle Kingdom In the eyes of history, this long dead Persian religion burned brightly and then faded away—but not before changing the hearts of ancient China
扒一扒武侠小说中的明教
52 Gallery  Primitive Extreme A sit down with Zhang Huan, one of China’s most outstanding artists, provides a unique look into the significance of contemporary art and the motivations of a modern art master
身体即道具—行为艺术家张洹  
12 Dragon’s Digest  Chaos of Fiction  Zhu Yue brings us a short story never before seen in English, a surreal tale of a world destroyed by fiction
《说部之乱》  
18 Kaleidoscope  Riding the Tide Once a year, the danjiaren move their boats on land for maintenance, providing a rare glimpse at these water people out of their element
随波逐流的广东渔民生活  
64 Group Think Girls Love Boys’ Love Understanding the bizarre world of BL comics and the young girls who love, read, and write male homoerotic fiction
腐女的前世今生  
48 Saving China Deadly Dirt  The dystopian air may get all the attention, but the real dangers from pollution in China are right under your feet.
危险的土壤  
84 Bookmark The World of Judge Dee James Palmer delves into the works of Robert van Gulik and his immortal Judge Dee to look at how this odd character has survived over the centuries
荷兰汉学家续写狄仁杰断案传奇  
56 On the Road  Dream in the Jungle  A world-weary traveler finds peace and humility with a Bulang village in the rainforest, haven of kindness and beauty
布朗族家庭寄居记  
76 Zoetrope Black Coal, Thin Ice Terence Hsieh critiques Diao Yi’nan’s coal crime thriller Black Coal, Thin Ice, an art-house flick you’d be mad to miss
《白日焰火》  
Cover 封面文字  
Televisusually Impaired
A look at what’s wrong with Chinese TV  
Manichean Middle Kingdom
The long dead religion that helped shape ancient China  
Physician, Heal Thyself
The dangers doctors face and the system the breeds the violence

Editor’s Letter

 

We’re trying a few new things here at TWOC, namely, not going with an overall theme.Instead, we’ll be bringing you stories from a variety of perspectives from around thecountry to help provide a more comprehensive view of the modern Middle Kingdom,and we hope to continue to bring you the best in Chinese culture, society, entertainment,language, and long-form journalism for a long time to come.Since we have been blessed with this warm inviting weather, have you been spending your every moment basking and frolicking in the warmth of the sun? No, of course not. You’re inside watching TV because outside is scary and full of people. Just one problem: Chinese TV is awful. One must ask why—with all the money, influence, and talent in the world—is the Chinese tube so horrible? Thereare a variety of factors that make Chinese TV so difficult to make and watch, and it’s important toremember that China didn’t have a running start at network TV before the internet came along. Someof it is censorship, some of it is organization, but whatever the reason, Carlos Ottery is on top of it in“Televisually Impaired” (see page 28).

 

“Physician, Heal Thyself ” (see page 36) discusses the violence doctors face and the broken, corrupt system that breeds China’s health care mess. It’s a tough job for low pay, and now doctors and nurses risk getting beaten up, stabbed, and kidnapped for just trying to help. A number of high-profile malpractice cases have bred paranoia, but the system of prescription drugs and doctor kickbacks has made things worse. Doctors and nurses are at the bottom of the healthcare administration food chain, and patients—sick of the long lines and expensive drugs—are starting to take matters into their own hands.

Manichaeism—a dead first-millennium religion—is not an everyday topic of conversation, but this interesting religion combines Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, and Christianity in an extremely complex philosophy that, for a time, spread the length and breadth of China, from emperors to rebel cults. In fact, many of the surviving texts from this ancient Persian religion only survive in Chinese. James Palmer brings us “Manichean Middle Kingdom” (see page 42) to take a look at what we know about this dead religion and the impact it had on the politics of ancient China.

 

Also, Group Think (see page 64) this issue wades into the world of Boys’ Love comics—their seemingly dark plots and the young girls who love them. Made In China (see page 24) has a quick look at the bloodless blood sport of cricket fighting. And, it wouldn’t be TWOC without a quick look at sex, so check out Pioneer (see page 88) to hear what Pan Suiming has to say about his sex surveys around the
country and his investigations into red-light districts. If language is more your thing, check out how to speak out in On the Character (see page 92) or learn to speak like a TCM doctor in Social Chinese (see page 72). Also, be sure to check out our new app, called China Dispatch, which contains our magazine content in an easy-to-read format as well as a bi-monthly, topic-centered supplement.

 

From all of us here at TWOC, enjoy this weather while it lasts.

 

Managing Editor
Tyler Roney