こんにちは

みなさんこんにちは、Dongmingです！

I feel regretful to have missed the blog-creating activity, and the regretfulness could not be recompensed by the magnificence of the ancient native American city at Cahokia where I visited accompanying two archeologists in St. Louis, where I am writing this post. (accidentally deleted and retyped at home :<)

Coming back to the topic, I learn Japanese because it's required by my department for a PhD student, and it's crucially important for my research in the field of early China history for the established scholarship in Japan. However, the equally strong motivation is that I have long been fascinated by Japanese culture! It's always a touching moment seeing the tranquil sorrow and peaceful beauty in Japanese literature, movies and artistic works; and I am thus always interested in the tension between chrysanthemum (peace) and sword (violence), which tension inherited from the past influences present-day Japanese society and manifests itself in such a stunning cultural medley.

Years of experience of watching Japanese animation and being a Chinese make it easier for me to learn the language. Still, there are obstacles and problems. For example, it's difficult to remember where the long vowel is or if any in a word, and mistakes are often made and easily neglected when the pronunciation is quasi-correct to the ears of even a native speaker. The irregular rules of numbers also cause trouble. Starting learning katakana this week, I foresee more and more challenges, but much more fun as well. I am looking forward to taking the challenges, enjoying the fun, and going to Kyoto next year's summer!

I'd like to end with the photo of the largest mound at Cahokia, possibly the temple and residence of the king, and, おやすみ！