Pop Culture Connects Us to Traditions AS A CHILD, I had no interest in Peking Opera. In my eyes, it represented something very old. Actors spoke and sang in ways I didn’t understand, and their “ancient” clothes were anything but cool. My view changed last year when I saw a video of an actress singing “Queencard” in a Peking Opera style. That moment I realized how cool an old art form can be. My experience might help explain the new C-drama Love Game in Eastern Fantasy’s (《永夜星河》) popularity with young audiences both at home and abroad. Although it has an ancient setting, the show develops in a game-like way. The female lead Ling Miaomiao (Yu Shuxin) suddenly finds herself in the world of a fantasy novel. To return to the real world, she must complete a series of tasks. When I first saw her struck by lightning in the game world — and the phrase “The End” appears on the screen — I was surprised but couldn’t help laughing out loud. The whole thing mirrors my own gaming experience so well! Modern elements can also be found in the drama’s dialogue. Ling would sometimes say things like “What? Did I break the law?” or “How much did these special effects cost?” These words don’t feel out of place; instead, they suit the character well and add humor to the show. Pop culture has played an important role in spreading Chinese culture. The Global Times (《环球时报》) calls online novels, online dramas and online games the “three carriages (三驾马车)” of this effort. The key is to make use of things that speak to today’s young people. They must have some level of interest first before they can willingly (自愿地) be led down the road of exploration. In the case of Love Game in Eastern Fantasy, people are talking about the traditional skills behind many of its props. They are also finding out more about Shanhaijing and other folklore (民间传说) — the show’s source of inspiration. The demons (妖) in the show stand for different parts of nature in traditional Chinese philosophy (哲学). Ending the feud (世仇) between humans and demons means bringing harmony to nature. I believe this is the power of pop culture. It makes many of us feel more connected to our traditions.China’s Yearly NEV Output Hits 10 Million CHINA has made more than 10 million new energy vehicles (NEVs) this year. It is the first country in the world to reach this milestone (里程碑). China started keeping records of NEV output in 2013. That year, only 18,000 NEVs were produced. In 2018, the number was more than one million. It kept rising and reached five million in 2022. Experts expect it to grow to more than 12 million by the end of this year. The fast development of China’s NEV industry means a lot to the environment. Developing the new energy industry is a common goal worldwide, said Xin Guobin, China’s vice minister of industry and information technology (工信部副部长). NEVs help to reduce carbon footprints, Xin noted. Therefore, they play a big part in dealing with climate change. Sales of NEVs in China have also grown quickly. About ten years ago, just above 1 percent of the cars on Chinese roads were NEVs. In July this year, NEVs made history by surpassing (超过) fuel-powered cars in market share. As NEV sales hit 878,000, their market share reached 51.1 percent. A greener auto industry is a trend for the future. A report showed that electric cars made up about 18 percent of all cars sold worldwide last year. That was an increase from 14 percent in 2022. In 2018, only 2 percent of cars sold worldwide were electric. According to the IEA (国际能源署), the world will need 45 million NEVs by 2030 to reach a net zero carbon footprint. To help meet this goal, China will continue to provide more greener cars.Thinking Doesn’t Have to Feel So Hard TWENTY YEARS AGO, when Andrew Westbrook was in college, he had a hard time staying focused in class. He certainly had the ability to focus — when he got lost in a good book, for example, thinking felt effortless. But when it came to some other tasks, thinking felt like pulling teeth. Westbrook managed to graduate in the end. Now he is a neuroscientist (神经学家). His research is shaking up old ideas about why we struggle with certain tasks. For years, scientists thought that mentally tiring tasks like writing and solving math problems required more energy than easier ones like looking out the window. As a result, these harder tasks would make us run out of fuel — and lose focus — more quickly. But the brain is a complex (复杂的) machine. It’s always doing heavy lifting. Even when you’re just looking around a room, your brain is dealing with lots of information (from your eyes) and using lots of energy. But we don’t think of such tasks as hard work, do we? According to Westbrook’s studies, we often think certain tasks are harder than they really are. “When you are thinking about doing a difficult task, it often feels much worse than when you are actually doing it,” Westbrook says. But this early “mental hurdle (障碍)” can lead us to put off the task or even avoid it altogether. “If we can get over this hurdle, thinking will become easier,” he adds. Westbrook’s team has found ways to help us do just that. For one, he suggests focusing on the benefits of completing the task rather than the effort it takes. We can also try to get into a mental state called “flow (心流).” When people are in this state, they seem not to care how hard the task is. One key to entering “flow” is to reduce uncertainty. Before writing a book report, for example, you can set yourself a time limit. How much can you get done in 15 minutes? Finally, it can help to make these mentally tiring tasks a habit. Try doing them at the same time and place every day or week. After a few weeks, focusing on these tasks won’t just feel easier — it will be easier.
