Episode Transcript
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OF (00:02):
Hello this is Oscar Fuchs.
And welcome to Season 03 of the Mosaic ofChina podcast.
Yes, we are back!
And only 5 months behind schedule!
Things have been a little difficult for usfolks based in Shanghai these days.
But it’s finally time for the next 30 episodes,where we will once again be hearing from a
(00:23):
diverse group of 30 people who are makingtheir mark in China.
If you’re a new listener, welcome, and here’sa quick recap of how the show works.
There are three parts to each interview.
The first part is a straightforward two-wayconversation, which starts with the guest
introducing an object that in some way describestheir life in China.
(00:47):
In the second part, I ask every guest thesame 10 China-related questions, all on the
theme of their personal experiences, tastesand opinions.
And the final part is just one extra question,where I ask each guest to nominate someone
for the next season of Mosaic of China.
And this is how the tiles of this Mosaic willconnect, and continue to build out in future
(01:11):
seasons.
We’re still on mostly the same platformsas last season.
And there’s still a transcript of the showon the Mosaic of China website, for everyone
whose first language isn’t English.
But I also want to mention that the YouTubeversion of the podcast shows this transcript
as captions alongside the dialogue.
(01:33):
So if you do have access to YouTube, that’sa really good way to make sure you’re catching
everything that’s spoken.
And I’m probably going to incorporate morevisuals into that video version too.
For example, I want to say a big thank youto all the people who came to the Season 03
Launch Party last week.
It was a great turn-out, and for many people(including myself) it was a nice reminder
(01:57):
about the kind of events that used to be muchmore common in Shanghai in years gone by.
The reason I bring that up is because I’mnow going to include a little excerpt of the
speech that I made at the event, and if you’rewatching the YouTube version then you’ll
actually be seeing the original video, takenby one of the guests, Tom Miller.
(02:17):
Thank you Tom.
The audio quality is obviously not great,so please fast forward 2 minutes if you prefer
to skip it.
[Start of Video Clip]OF: You know, there is one reason why are
here today, actually.
And it’s because I am very easily influenced.
All you have to do is to say something niceto me, and then make me feel a bit guilty.
(02:43):
That’s the equation.
And somebody in this room said to me “Youknow, the end of Season 02 party, that to
me was the highlight of the Shanghai socialcalendar last year.”
And then he said “You know, you really shoulddo it again.”
Say something nice; make me feel guilty.
(03:03):
It worked, we’re all here.
Because honestly I didn’t really want todo this event.
I think you all know why.
Because I’ve been solidly pissed off forfive fricking months.
You know, I was ready to do this party 5 monthsago.
(03:28):
I had almost the whole season done, I evenhad a venue planned.
And then guess what?
That venue is now closed, and the person whoowned that venue is no longer in China.
No, the real reason for this party is becauseI needed this.
(03:49):
We needed this.
You know, when it was the launch party forSeason 01, it was very small back then.
It was just 20 people, it was basically justsome of the guests of that season.
And we were in my house, and I was sayingto them “The thing I like the most about
this podcast is the luxury that I have inmeeting interesting people.”
(04:10):
That was what I thought was going to be myfavourite part.
Then in Season 02, for those of you who wereat the launch party for that season, I amended
that, I expanded that.
Because what I realised was that actuallywhen people meet each other because of this
project, that’s what I really enjoyed.
Seeing people who make connections at eventslike this is now the part that I really like
(04:34):
the most.
But now it’s the launch party for Season03, and we are 200 people in La Barra, and
I must say the thing that feels the most importantis just showing up.
At this point, showing up means something.
So let me go back and say thank you againfor coming, it does mean a lot that you came
(04:55):
today.”
[End of Video Clip]
There are photos from the party, just go tothe events section of the website to see them
all there.
And I gave everyone who attended a littlegift bag, and then asked them to send silly
photos of how they’re using them.
So check out the photos section of the websiteto see those too.
(05:17):
If you’re in China and you’re wonderinghow to get an invitation to one of these events,
please make sure you’re in one of the listenersgroups on WeChat.
They’re a great place to follow the showand its graphics, as well as to be part of
the community.
Add me on my ID (05:30):
mosaicofchina, and I’ll
invite you to the group.
Alternatively you can follow the images onFacebook or Instagram.
There’s no longer a dedicated Instagrampage for Mosaic of China, I’m now folding
it into my personal Instagram page, whichis @oscology.
So if you’re not already following me there,please make the switch.
(05:53):
The podcast is also no longer on 小宇宙[Xiǎoyǔzhòu], which is a shame because
it’s the biggest podcasting app in China.
They just one day removed all English-languageshows from the platform.
The good news for listeners in China is thatSHINE.cn - which is the name of the electronic
version of Shanghai Daily - has been syndicatingthe show on their site.
(06:15):
And I’ll come back to that in a minute.
While I’m talking about changes, there aresome more new elements to the show.
One of them is that I’m now asking guestsfrom the season to pose a question for their
referral to the next season of the show.
Credit goes to Logan Brouse from the Season02 Wrap-up episode for coming up with that
idea during our recording.
(06:36):
Another new thing this season is that I’vetaken on board some of the listener feedback,
and have tried to inject a little more ofmy own personality into the show.
It’s not like I didn’t do that before,but now I’m injecting more about myself
when it’s suitable.
And when it’s not suitable, you’ll behappy to know that - as before - I will shut
up and just let the guest speak.
(06:56):
Anyway, there’s a new logo for the showwhich reflects this slightly new style.
And I want to give a big thank you to DennyNewell for designing it, and all the other
graphic signatures of the show.
The final new thing about the season is thatthe Mosaic feels like it’s getting a little
more set in stone.
Because this season we have some corporatesupporters, who will be mentioned alongside
(07:18):
some of the 10 questions that I pose to everyguest of the show.
So I mentioned Shanghai Daily earlier on,this season they are supporting Question 1,
on the topic of favourite China facts.
Question 2 on favourite Chinese words andphrases is supporting by the language learning
company, Rosetta Stone.
(07:39):
Question 3 on favourite destinations is supportedby the luxury resorts company, naked Retreats.
Question 6 on favourite places to go out - toeat, drink or hang out - is supported by the
listings and classifieds app SmartShanghai.
And an entirely new question this season,‘favourite sources of inspiration’.
(08:01):
This question is supported by JustPod, thepodcasting company co-founded by one of the
guests in Season 01, Yang Yi, who very generouslyallowed me to use their studios to record
most of the season.
Thank you to all these supporters of Season03 and I hope that with your help we will
be able to spread the word more about thepodcast this year.
(08:23):
Let me leave you with one more thing.
I want to remind you - yes you listening now- that now is the perfect time to subscribe
to the extended version of the show, wherethere will be an average of 10-20 minutes
of extra content for every episode.
These will accumulate to over 10 hours ofextra content over the course of the season,
(08:46):
and they can be accessed for the tiny costof US$2 per month on Patreon and Apple Podcasts
Subscriptions, or RMB13 per month on 爱发电[Àifādiàn].
Just to help prove that it’s worth it, I’mgoing to end this episode with a compilation
of audio snippets that you could only haveheard on the PREMIUM version of the show last
(09:06):
season.
And of course you can access the full back-cataloguewhen you subscribe for Season 03.
[Clip 1]Stéphane WILMET: So in a way China invented
crypto-currency decades ago.
[Clip 2]Jamie BARYS: He invented 煎饼 [jiānbing],
包子 [bāozi], and landmines.
You're like “Well, he wasn't all good”.
[Clip 3]CHANG Chihyun: I was a sort of bodyguard for
(09:29):
a gentlemen's club.
OF (09:30):
Oh right.
CC (09:31):
Yeah.
[Clip 4]Katherine WONG: So the guinea pig was used
as an X-ray.
[Clip 5]‘COCOSANTI': I’m smart, China, I am.
I have degrees.
[Clip 6]Louise ROY: But then you look like crazy religious
freaks, as everyone walks down the street,bowed in prayer.
[Clip 7]ZHANG Yuan: It’s kind of that I got a marriage,
you know.
(09:51):
I married my parents during these three orfour months.
[Clip 8]Jovana ZHANG: We brought a craftsman from
China to do a carving on a concept car whichwe designed for Peugeot.
OF (10:03):
OK.
[Clip 9]Sean HARMON: We’re a young group.
I think our average age is around 32.
And that's my age as well.
So yeah.
Really?
SH (10:11):
Yeah.
[Clip 10]Danma JYID: I lived in the tents, but now
people think tents are too inconvenient.
[Clip 11]Alex SHOER: The immigration agents were asking
me “Did you just come in from China?”
And I said “Yeah”.
And they were like “Right this way, separateline”.
[Clip 12]Wendy SAUNDERS: When we called, they said
“Come back in March.”
And we were like “What?”
[Clip 13]Vladimir DJUROVIC: So basically people could
imagine that the roof was falling on theirhead.
[Clip 14]Noxolo BHENGU: When you come to one of my
(10:33):
plays, I know how to do ‘depressing andserious’ very well.
[Clip 15]Douglon TSE: They fill the red wine to the
brim.
And then you have to 干杯 [gānbēi] a wholefull glass of red wine instead of 白酒 [báijiǔ].
OF (10:44):
Oh man.
[Clip 16]Björn DAHLMAN: Me falling on my ass.
I mean, how beautiful can life get?
[Clip 17]Jo MCFARLAND: Oh we once had some bicycles
that we brought in, and the wheels didn’tgo round.
That's not ideal.
[Clip 18]Seth HARVEY: There's not a lot of room for
discussion, and if I teach you two plus twoequals five, and I put it on the exam, and
you write four, you're wrong.
[Clip 19]Michelle QU: “吃饭那个,今天挺热的,你得买个西瓜啊。[Chīfàn
(11:05):
nàgè, jīntiān tǐngrède, nǐděi mǎigè xīguā a.]”
Understand?
I understand.
And I’m a bit scared.
[Clip 20]Ajay JAIN: I still see it driving around;
I still see it in movies; I see it in America;I see it all over the world, actually.
Yes.
[Clip 21]Casey HALL: My mother-in-law, she was like
“Nope, not enjoying this at all”.
[Clip 22]‘DJ BO’: “Writing about music is like
(11:26):
dancing about architecture”.
I love the idea of dancing about architecture.
Yeah.
[Clip 23]Salome CHEN: And he is one of the guys who
proposed to me.
You're kidding.
SC (11:35):
No.
[Clip 24]Michael KINSEY: Known waits feel shorter than
unknown waits.
So if you tell people how long they're goingto wait, that makes it feel like it's a shorter
period of time.
[Clip 25]Crystyl MO: He was in the kitchen, I went
in the kitchen, I met him there.
Basically love at first sight, and I was like"Wrap him up, and I'm taking him home”.
[Clip 26]Vittorio FRANZESE: You make the law, you find
the trick.
OF (11:56):
The tricksters are always one step ahead,
right?
[Clip 27]ZHAO Huiling: I would get so excited, and
we would buy fried yam.
I can see your eyes light up just talking
about that.
[Clip 28]Murray KING: We talk every day - obviously,
he’s my brother, he's my twin actually - so…
What?
MK (12:10):
Yeah.
OF (12:11):
Do they actually know there's two of you,
right?
MK (12:12):
They do, they do.
[Clip 29]‘JIYOUNG’: I mean, there are people who
say “Oh, you're just like a drag queen,”thinking it's a compliment.
When actually it really isn't a compliment.
OF (12:17):
Oh dear.
J (12:18):
Not that it's bad to be a drag queen.
[End of Audio Clips]
There you go, that was my hard sell.
Please head to Patreon, Apple Podcasts Subscriptions,or 爱发电 [Àifādiàn], the links are
all on the website.
Thanks to all of you for your continued support,and I hope to see you back here next week
for Episode 1 of the Season.