6 in ’09

Xin nian kuai le everyone!

In 2009, the most important number will of course be none of the above, but rather … 6. If you like, you can think of it as an upside down 9. I, of course, prefer to think of the 9 as an upside down 6.

To celebrate the exciting new year, I will be focusing this blog more sharply on the stories of young Chinese friends and acquaintances of mine. Look out for Marie, the sexy-jazz dancing student of A.I. at Beida, William, the environmental activist, ‘Leonidas’, adept at ancient Greek, Thomas the painter from Qinghai and more.

You might notice my ‘6 moods to indulge’ categorization (frivolous, dead serious etc.) will shift to a ‘6 characters’ (in search of an author?) feature. This way, you can keep track of the meandering narratives of young Chinese in a new China, as they negotiate 2009.

If the 21st century is China’s, it’s the youth of this evening’s shade who will be in tomorrow’s limelight. So follow the future here.