On NewsTalk AM 1490 WGCH Radio and WGCH.COM
Saturday Mornings 10:30 a.m.- 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time (USA)
Welcome to the official newsletter of the Marvels of China: Pathways to the Pacific Rim Show that airs weekly on NewsTalk AM 1490 WGCH Radio in Greenwich, Connecticut USA.
TUNE IN FROM ANYWHERE!
The show is listed on the station's web site: www.wgch.com. Our fifth show aired on Saturday morning, March 5. We remind our readers and listeners that the shows are archived as podcasts. These can be heard and downloaded for free from the station web site.
Just go to the station web address at www.wgch.com, click Shows & Hosts, scroll down and find the show's title, and click the broadcast you want to hear.
Marvels of China: Pathways to the Pacific Rim has a dedicated email address MarvelsofChina@gmail.com and a blog site at marvelsofchina.blogspot.com. Please write to me!
I am always looking for interesting ideas for shows and for fascinating guests. For those of you not able to access the blog site, this newsletter will feature stories from the blog and from shows.
Marvels of China: Pathways to the Pacific Rim is also being made available to colleges and universities throughout China! Xie-xie, Beijing AmBridge!
WE ARE ON FACEBOOK!
The show now has a Facebook page all its own! Please go online to https://www.facebook.com/marvelsofchina/ and "like" the show's page. Encourage your friends and family members to do the same. In the near future a social media publication about the show will be created and developed on a Chinese online platform.
WELCOME OUR NEWEST SUPPORTING SPONSOR:
PENANG GRILL!
In Hawaii we have a term that describes food that is extra special and tasty: Onolicious! I’ve been on the prowl for Asian food that I’ve been accustomed to all these years that was good for my waistline -and my wallet.
So you could imagine my delight at finding Penang Grill at 55 Lewis Street in downtown Greenwich. Connecticut. Whether its the complimentary pickled veggies, the sesame chicken with brown rice, General Tso’s Chicken, Thai curry noodle soup and so many other superb selection you’ll find something here that caters to your tastes that will make your mouth water.
Thank you, Danny Chan, for your support of Marvels of China: Pathways to the Pacific Rim. We look forward to having you as a special guest soon.
Don’t miss the special experience that is Penang Grill. Whether you dine-in or order take out, Penang Grill in Greenwich, Connecticut is an outstanding choice for lovers of Asian cuisine everywhere. Penang Grill is located at 55 Lewis Street, just off the east side of Greenwich Avenue. Call 203-861-1988. You’ll be glad you did.
ARE FORTUNE COOKIES CHINESE? YES -AND NO.
My interest in the history of fortune cookies started this past week at Penang Grill, 55 Lewis Street in downtown Greenwich. Talk-show personality Debbie Nigro and I went there for a business lunch this past week. Fortunately for us this amazing restaurant is literally a “stone’s throw” away from the WGCH Radio studios.
When I opened up my fortune cookie the paper inside said, “Any activity becomes creative when the doer cares about doing it right or better.” It was right then and there that I needed to learn amore about the mysterious origins of the fortune cookie.
To most American’s surprise, the fortune cookie is not a Chinese invention. In my research I found out that in 1983, a mock trial was held in San Francisco's pseudo-legal Court of Historical Review to determine the origins of the fortune cookie.
The judge gave a split decision stating that the modern fortune cookie was born in pre-World War I San Francisco. He declined to decide which nationality had claim to the treats we in America know, love and expect to receive.
The Chinese immigrant, David Jung, founded the Hong Kong Noodle Company while living in Los Angeles, invented the cookie in 1918. Concerned about the poor he saw wandering near his shop, he created the cookie with inspirational messages and passed them out free on the streets.
Some claim a Japanese immigrant, Makoto Hagiwara, invented the fortune cookie in San Francisco. Hagiwara, designer of the famous Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park, was an avid gardener until an anti-Japanese mayor fired him from his job around the turn of the century. Later a new mayor reinstated him. In 1914, to show his deep appreciation to friends who had stood by him during his time of hardship, Hagiwara made a cookie and placed a thank you note inside. After passing them out to those who had helped him, he began serving them regularly at the Japanese Tea Garden. In 1915, they were displayed at the Panama- Pacific Exhibition, San Francisco's World’s Fair.
San Francisco’s Chinatown in the 1900s promised tourists a real Chinese experience with decorations, pageantry and architecture. Increased tourism led to the invention of the fortune cookie to substitute for a dessert item, so it is thought. A worker in San Francisco’s Kay Heong Noodle Factory invented a plain flat cookie in the 1930s. While still warm it was folded around a little piece of paper on which a hand- written prediction or piece of Chinese wisdom would be found.
China was occupied by Mongols 900 years ago. The Mongols, it is said, had no taste for Lotus Nut paste. So, the Chinese people hid sayings inscribed with the date of their revolution inside the Moon Cakes. Under the disguise of a Taoist priest and patriotic revolutionary Chu Yuan Chang, he entered occupied walled-cities to hand out Moon Cakes to other revolutionaries. The instructions hidden inside helped coordinate an uprising that allowed the Chinese people to form the basis of the Ming Dynasty. The Moon Festival became regularly celebrated that included passing out of cakes with sayings inside them.
Inspired by this legend, Chinese laborers working on the construction of the American transcontinental railroad improvised when no traditional moon cakes were available. They substituted the Moon Cakes with hard biscuits -and the Fortune Cookie was supposedly born.
MENG KE: MUSIC OF INNER MONGOLIA
Thanks to Ms. Dong Qixin of Beijing AmBridge, the title sponsor of this show, we've been learning about Inner Mongolia and enjoying its contemporary music by Meng Ke.
Friends wishing to visit Ordos are encouraged to contact our show's title sponsor Beijing AmBridge at ambridge01@163.com.
CONFUCIUS MOMENT
“Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.”
Now that’s thought-provoking, isn’t it? I tend to think that these wise words from the Great Sage himself means that in seeking revenge that you will not only hurt your target, but you will end up hurting yourself. How many times have you driven on a road or highway and been cut off by someone? There are extreme examples of road rage in the news on occasion. Everyone gets hurt in such instances. So, in those brief moments of anger remember the “Law of Unintended Consequences” before you act. Be sure to tune-in next week for another Confucius Moment.
CONVERSATIONS
Conversations is a regular segment of the show in which we hear from important and interesting people on Chinese culture, history, the arts, business, and more.
My very special guest was Nell Calloway, the granddaughter of the legendary General Claire Lee Chennault and the director of the Chennault Aviation and Military Museum in Monroe, Louisiana USA.
Both Nell Calloway and I were among the invited dignitaries to the 70th Year Victory Day celebrations in Beijing. For both of us being there was truly transformational. It is important for American and Chinese to be friends and to remember the history of the World War II -something which our Chinese friends are clearly way ahead of Americans on.
Who was General Claire Lee Chennault? Nell shared with me and the audience how her grandfather became a leader of America's Greatest Generation in China after retiring from the army in 1937. We heard from Nell about the 1st American Volunteer Group (Flying Tigers), its mission and why the China-Burma-India theater was strategically essential. General Chennault’s relationship with the Chinese people was a close one, a relationship that is maintained by her granddaughter today. Nell Calloway is the director of the Chennault Aviation and Military Museum. To learn more about its founding, mission, hours of operation, education and more go to its web site at http://www.chennaultmuseum.org. Please visit the web site, join as a member and help support the noble legacy left to us by General Chennault and the Flying Tigers.
Stay tuned! We expect to have Nell Calloway with us again and again on Marvels of China: Pathways to the Pacific Rim on NewsTalk AM 1490 Radio Greenwich, Connecticut and everywhere on WGCH.com.
PATHS TO THE PAST
On this segment of Marvels of China: Pathways to the Pacific Rim we learned that as far back in time as 250 B.C., Chinese lanterns were an important symbol of long life. Lanterns were once symbols of a family’s wealth. For the richest families the lanterns were so large that it required several people with poles to hoist them into place.
THANK YOU, BEIJING AMBRIDGE!
Beijing AmBridge International Culture Development Ltd is the title-sponsor of this radio show. AmBridge is synonymous with the pursuit of long-lasting cross-cultural relationships with an eye for excellence.
AmBridge’s commitment to developing intercultural and international relationships makes it a leader in bringing people and ideas together.
Based in the Chinese capitol, AmBridge is an international public relations and communications firm whose mission is to help engage diverse communities, shape trusting relationships through friendship, constructive collaboration while investing its talents and energies in the success of every client and every enterprise.
In an increasingly globalized world with China playing an increasingly prominent role means you need a communications and public relations firm that you can trust. AmBridge focuses on delivering customized services connecting and nurturing American and Chinese leaders and organizations in education, media, civic affairs and business.
You are invited to explore how an alliance with AmBridge can help your company or organization grow and prosper.
Call AmBridge’s main office in Beijing at 86-10-80775517 or email ambridge01@163.com.
THANK YOU, CEO OFFICES!
Are you looking for an affordable partner for success? Look no further than Corporate Executive Offices in Greenwich. Locally owned and managed since 1989, CEO provides world-class offices in a prominent, modern building with contemporary services, advanced technology and amenities that will help you focus on productivity while keeping your monthly costs under control.
Enjoy the benefit of a prestigious Greenwich, Connecticut address. You’ll enjoy a full range of office support services. CEO allows you to present a professional image to your clients, regardless of your location. Don’t just visualize your potential; CEO will partner with you to see it realized.
Whether your business requires one professionally appointed executive office, a suite of offices, a large team room, collaborative office space or a virtual office, CEO can provide the solution.
The best thing about CEO is that they treat you like family -only better! Visit them online at www.ceooffices.com or call 203-622-1300 today.
REMEMBER TO TUNE IN
Be sure to tune-in every Saturday morning 10:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Eastern USA Time on NewsTalk AM 1490 WGCH Radio in Greenwich, Connecticut USA and everywhere on wgch.com.
Xie xie! Thank you!
Jeffrey Bingham Mead,
Your Host
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