Asian Reads | Issue 07

Essays on finding meaning in daily life, work-life balance, and discussions on language and identity

Tiffany Chu

bakhtawar

, and

sunshine moonlight

Jan 31, 2025

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This issue of AWC features was curated by

sunshine moonlight

of Scrupulous Pessimism, where they write about occasional musings. Their interests include public opinion, narrative formation, and how ideas shape the world. They also Write about middle power diplomacy & the impact of war on national identity. Popular articles include “The Values Gap,” and “Blended Identities”.

Happy New Year everyone. I write at Scrupulous Pessimism and primarily cover international relations, diplomatic history, and general musings on life. Some posts that I’d like to advertise are my review of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s novel-turned-series The Sympathizer and a list of some of my favorite novels.

Thank you very much for your attention and engagement. Below are some articles that I found particularly helpful or insightful.

WORK-LIFE BALANCE

This recent post was especially timely for me, and while the author shares her realizations through an intensely personal story, it is one that is universally relatable. Set in the context of a recent family visit to China to tend to her grandmother, the writer delves into the relationships between productivity and inspiration, contentment and work output, and life’s basic and plentiful sources of fulfillment. Describing her propensity to derive meaning from the fruit of her labor and her tendency to plan and prioritize in pursuit of the most efficient allocation of her time, the author narrates how she arrived at the revelation that the inspiration necessary for her work and the satisfaction she derived from the latter requires healthy spontaneity.

You Won’t Grind Your Way to Aliveness

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Cissy Hu

writes Becoming | More Myself

Back at home, when I suppressed my desire to be inspired and connected, I inevitably operated from disconnection. Yet, self-expression and creativity flow as a byproduct of harnessing possibility and wonder in our lives. Our best work rarely emerges when we’re deprioritizing our bodies and souls. By putting work and self-expression above all else, I closed myself off to drawing inspiration from other areas of my life.

EVERYDAY WISDOM

This essay lucidly illustrates the truth in the phrase “You learn something new every day” through a series of brief narratives describing conversations at social gatherings with friends, acquaintances, and strangers. In this piece there’s an entertaining mélange of humor, insight, and personality which shine through in anecdotes involving an array of people at parties, church, and meals. Whether you wish to ponder faith, travel, or the influence of the ancients on us moderns, there’s food for thought.

Things I heard & Overheard At Parties

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Lola

writes Lola’s Newsletter

Then I celebrated my housemate’s birthday again at a pub. Nothing to report here. Conversation was nice and pleasant. I did meet her little brother and invited myself to his tech company’s Christmas party. He did say he would be happy to oblige, though.

LANGUAGE AND ETHNICITY

This article discusses the role and future of literary Sinitic (popularly referred to in English as classical Chinese) in Vietnam’s history and identity. The author presents a brief yet thorough overview of Hán-Nôm and its presence in contemporary Vietnam as well as its noticeable retreat in the modern age. He raises the question of whether Vietnamese people can reconceive of literary Sinitic as truly their own despite its association with Chinese domination, a historical narrative that has been further complicated by the importation of Western concepts of race and ethnicity. The entire newsletter has been highly informative, and anybody with a passion for Vietnamese history will find it illuminating.

Appropriating Literary Sinitic

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Nguyễn Tấn Đạt (Danny)

writes Vietnam & Modernity

For Vietnamese like TTD, why is it necessary to appropriate literary Sinitic? Why can’t they just simply learn and use it? One appropriates something when one does not have it—that is to take something for one’s own use, without the owner’s permission. I think it has to do with how modern Vietnamese see themselves, see others.