Xi'an Man in Siam

“Two cliches make us laugh but a hundred cliches moves us because we sense dimly that the cliches are talking among themselves, celebrating a reunion.” Umberto Eco

It must be homesickness that makes me use this quote again. Readers of my other attempts at blogging will recognise it.

You need to remember that I live in China, where they have no fear of cliches, embrace them, cherish them, even.

This is nowhere truer than with the conversations you have with people you’ve just met. These conversations are like reading from a script. The pattern never varies but people never tire of it. It is at once both cliched and profoundly comforting. In China, you’ll never be lost for words. Continue reading →