Stories from a Burning House

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Su Shi Discovers the Secret Ingredient
It turns out to be "having nothing better to do."
25
The Emperor's So-Called Cats and the Manjurist Bat-Signal
Spoiler: The Qianlong Emperor's cats are (probably) fakety fake-fake-fake.
3
Yo Man, Mo Yan
When's the last time you wondered about Alice Munro's political stances?
2

March 2024

Li Bai to Du Fu: Wish You Were Here
On the friendship between Li Bai and Du Fu, the two greatest Tang poets
7
Babble and Cant and Flummery
Why settle for bullshit artists when you could have bullshit artistes?
7
Spring and Stone and the Total Perspective Vortex
Nice flowers you’ve got there. Be a shame if they turned out to symbolize the ephemerality of all things.
14

January 2024

Chen Cao'an Has Advice for Being Online in an Election Year
It's two words — one, if you use a contraction.
3

December 2023

Qiao Ji Explains Himself
I’m a demimonde valedictorian, transcendently boozy and far past reformation / Laughingly playing Imperial Historian...
12
In Defense of the 'Relatively Low Quality'
I've got a soft spot for sanqu 散曲, an overlooked little form from an embarrassing little dynasty.
5
Friday Doggerel: Yang Jingxian - "The Flea"
A bit of doggerel from the late-Yuan poet Yang Jingxian: 'Small as can be, / The minuscule flea / Can nimbly dance / (With a needle-sharp bite) / From…
11
Substackers Against Nazis
A collective letter to Substack leadership
“A Failure as a Mouser. A Failure as a Cat!”
It's the 18th century. You're a bored schoolmaster. The cat isn't catching mice. Of course you realize this means war.
5
© 2024 Brendan O'Kane
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