Mirrors #chinesewisdom #selfimprovement Yuan Yu Perspectives 2025-08-15 | An ancient Chinese saying teaches: *Polish your attire with a bronze mirror, Learn the rise and fall of dynasties with history as your mirror, See your faults clearly through the mirror of others.* But gaze into a distorting mirror, and you’ll only entertain yourself. So ask: Do your friends help you see your flaws clearly— *or merely give you a laugh?*
The Wheel of Illusion Yuan Yu Perspectives 2025-08-14 | Buddhism teaches that life's eight sufferings—the pain of birth, aging, sickness, death; the agony of unfulfilled desires; the sorrow of parting from loved ones; the torment of meeting those one despises; and the anguish of attachment to the five aggregates—all stem from *ignorance*. This ignorance is a fundamental misunderstanding of the true nature of what we love, hate, or crave. It breeds greed, hatred, and delusion—the three poisons that chain us to psychological burdens and torment. We are like hamsters in a cage, tirelessly running on an illusory wheel. Often, what we desperately chase are mere illusions of desire, only to reap suffering in the end. Only by igniting the lamp of wisdom—illuminating your path and revealing the essence of things—can you walk the true way forward.
A Smile with a Flower #chinesewisdom#improveyourlife #buddhism Yuan Yu Perspectives 2025-08-13 | During an assembly where the Buddha was teaching the Dharma, he held up a flower and faced the crowd in complete silence. While everyone stood bewildered, only Mahākāśyapa smiled knowingly — and so the Buddha entrusted the Dharma to him.Though this story belongs to Zen lore, we often encounter similar moments in daily life. As the saying goes: *Sometimes everything is conveyed without words.* There exists a rare, profound connection in the silent communion of souls. If you meet someone whose spirit resonates so deeply with yours, cherish them — it is a true blessing.And such joy, don’t you think, lives beyond words?
The Stars in Your Hands #chinesewisdom #improveyourlife Yuan Yu Perspectives 2025-08-13 | **The Stars in Your Hands**In Chinese astrology, the Zi Wei Dou Shu system holds that each person is born under a constellation of celestial stars that shapes their lifelong energy distribution, destiny inclinations, and development. Yet some are born with distinctive star-like markings on their palms—those who grasp their own destiny.But if you observe closely over time, you’ll find that palm lines actually change. This means that when you choose to plan, act, and transform your behavior patterns, stars can emerge on your palms too. Then you too can become a holder of stars.
Theres No Such Thing as Overproduction in Economics Yuan Yu Perspectives 2025-08-12 | Hi everyone, welcome back to Yuanyu Perspectives, where we explain the real world through the lens of economics. Today, we're going to talk about There's No Such Thing as "Overproduction" in Economics.American politicians have recently been claiming that China is "overproducing" – electric vehicles, solar panels, steel, cement – making too much, selling too cheap, and harming the world. Their solution is simple: slap on tariffs, impose restrictions. But what's the economic foundation for this rhetoric? I've searched high and low through textbooks and can't find any.Economics tells us that surplus is relative, not absolute. As long as prices can float freely in the market, how can anything be "unsellable"? When prices drop, demand naturally increases and inventory naturally decreases. In other words, as long as prices are right, markets can always achieve "market clearing." So-called "overproduction" usually just means someone doesn't want to accept that price.When American politicians point to Chinese "overproduction," they're really just complaining that Chinese goods are too cheap. Since when is being cheap a crime? If China can produce quality goods at lower costs, that's comparative advantage – a manifestation of market competitiveness that global consumers should be thanking them for. I've asked this before in my previous articles: aside from politicians and competitors, who else in this world would complain about you selling things too cheaply?
Chinese Life Wisdom Yuan Yu Perspectives 2025-08-08 | A city bus will still drive all the way to its final stop on time, even if there isn’t a single passenger on board.Isn’t your life the same? You’re the driver of a one-way bus headed toward its destination. The people who get on and off along the way are merely passengers in your journey. Don’t let the crowd—or the lack of it, their warmth or their coldness—shake your control over your own life or diminish your enjoyment of the ride.When you finally reach the end of the line and step off, you’ll likely remember the scenery along the way far more than the faces of those who boarded at one stop and left at another.
On Heart Yin Deficiency Yuan Yu Perspectives 2025-08-08 | Hello everyone, this is Yuanyu on Traditional Chinese Medicine. I am a fifth-generation TCM doctor, trained in a family tradition, and a graduate of Beijing Traditional Chinese Medicine University. Today, I’d like to start with an article I wrote in 2021 on Heart Yin Deficiency and add some details that weren’t clearly explained at the time—particularly on pulse diagnosis and TCM theory. Let’s begin.
Starting With Modi’s Upcoming Visit to China Yuan Yu Perspectives 2025-08-08 | Today we’re talking about a country that is both our neighbor and our rival—India. News of Modi’s upcoming visit to China has drawn quite a bit of attention in both countries, but behind it lies decades of grievances and entanglements in China–India relations. Today, we’ll take a closer look at India’s foreign strategy, its historical baggage, and why I say India is a “credit-bankrupt” country.It’s now confirmed that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit China from August 31 to September 1 to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. In India, this has been heavily publicized, but the motives behind it are telling.It turns out Trump has recently stopped giving India face. He’s demanded that India stop buying Russian oil and even threatened to slap tariffs of 25% or 50% on Indian goods—a major blow to India’s economy.
Revisiting Tariffs Yuan Yu Perspectives 2025-08-07 | Over the past eight years, I’ve written multiple articles on the U.S. government’s trade and tariff wars. Today, I’d like to add a few thoughts in light of a recent Wall Street Journal report titled: “Trump Pledged to Bring Back Manufacturing. The Sector Is Sputtering.”
The Real Meaning Behind Nvidias H20 Exports to China Yuan Yu Perspectives 2025-08-05 | Welcome back to Yuanyu Perspectives, where we decode global events through the lens of economics, strategy, and power dynamics. I’m your host, and today’s episode dives deep into the chip war — not just as a tech story, but as a war of narratives, leverage, and national sovereignty.Today, we’re going to explore why Nvidia’s H20 chip exports to China — which at first glance might seem like a tech reprieve — are actually seen by many Chinese economic thinkers as a sophisticated trap.So grab your headphones. Let’s talk semiconductors, control, and why some are calling this "digital opium."
Why do feminists always go after sexy ads? Yuan Yu Perspectives 2025-08-04 | Did you hear? Lately, American actress Sydney Sweeney has been absolutely slammed—just because she’s too attractive.American Eagle invited her to do a campaign with the tagline, “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans”—a pun that refers to both her denim and her genes. The backlash? Some said it promoted Nazi aesthetics, some said it was pushing white supremacy, others called it “objectifying women,” “misogynistic,” or “a conservative fantasy in human form.”But from an economic perspective, we have to ask: why do seemingly harmless sexy marketing campaigns trigger such intense emotional backlash? Why are some people especially outraged—so much so they’re demanding the ad be canceled? Who’s mad, and why?Hi everyone, welcome back to Yuanyu Perspectives, where we explain the real world through the lens of economics—even the stuff that’s uncomfortable or, frankly, a little spicy.Today, we’ll go from Sydney’s jeans to bikini nights, to workplace sexual harassment and power structures. I’ll walk you through two core ideas that will help you see all of this clearly through the lens of competition and incentives.
A Simple Economic Analysis of Giving Up Your Seat Yuan Yu Perspectives 2025-08-03 | Hi everyone, welcome back to Yuanyu Perspectives. Today, I want to talk about a short article I wrote back in 2016 titled A Simple Economic Analysis of Giving Up Your Seat.Let’s start with a basic principle in economics—the Coase Theorem. It says that as long as property rights are clearly defined and transaction costs are low, resources will naturally be allocated efficiently through voluntary exchange.
J 20 flew over the Tsushima Strait Yuan Yu Perspectives 2025-07-31 | CCTV has officially announced that the J-20 flew over the Tsushima Strait, and neither Japan nor South Korea detected it, indicating that it could also perform 'covert decapitation' strikes during wartime."
Maneuvers Behind U S Japan and U S EU Trade Yuan Yu Perspectives 2025-07-30 | Hello everyone, this is Yuan Yu Perspectives. Today, in just a couple of minutes, we will delve into the political maneuvers behind the U.S.-Japan and U.S.-EU trade agreements.
On Universal Basic Income Yuan Yu Perspectives 2025-07-28 | Hi everyone, welcome back to Yuanyu Perspectives. Today, I want to revisit an article I wrote back in 2017, where I shared my thoughts on Universal Basic Income, or UBI for short.So, what is UBI?In short, it’s the idea that the government gives everyone—no matter who they are—a fixed amount of money regularly, with no strings attached. The goal is to provide a basic income floor and help reduce poverty.Sounds simple. Sounds generous. But here’s my take:UBI, in essence, is just a large-scale inflation engine. And ironically, it could hurt the poor more than it helps them. Here’s why:
On US Tariffs Yuan Yu Perspectives 2025-07-27 | Hi everyone, and welcome to *Yuanyu Perspectives*. Today, we’re diving into a topic that affects not just trade and business—but your wallet too: **US tariffs**.#tariffs #trump #tradewar #economy #tax
How Much Is a Ghost Worth Yuan Yu Perspectives 2025-07-26 | Hi everyone! Welcome to Yuanyu Perspectives, where we explore quirky ideas through the lens of law, economics, and sometimes... ghosts.Today’s episode is called “How Much Is a Ghost Worth?” And no—we’re not talking about Halloween decorations. We’re diving into a real-life story from Hong Kong’s housing market and how ghosts, yes, actual haunted apartments, tell us something important about economics and law.Let’s get into it.
The Gao Zhikai Line Yuan Yu Perspectives 2025-07-26 | Hi, this is Yuan Yu Perspectives.This channel features excerpts from Chinese news and current affairs commentary that I read daily, intended solely as a reference for those in the English-speaking world who are interested in or curious about China.Here is today’s news or perspectives from China.
