In this post I would like to introduce my new website: china-journal.org, in which I will be writing about Chinese culture, history and society.
I had been thinking for quite some time about starting a new website, since I was very unhappy with how this blog has developed over the years. At the beginning "My New Life In Asia" was supposed to be a platform where I could write about my personal experiences and thoughts - which is what blogs have been invented for. Instead, I started to write about Confucianism, politics, culture etc. In the end I totally abandoned my original purpose.
This created two problems: first, many posts I published on this site are out of place; second, I have no space for a "public diary" as I had envisioned it. The only way to solve this issue was to separate blogging from more "serious" writing by creating an entirely new website. Let me now briefly explain the concept and structure of china-journal.org.
First of all, I decided to reject the logic behind most websites we see on the internet nowadays, which is to attract as many viewers as possible in order to monetize traffic. Of course, this is probably the only viable business model in the internet age, but to be honest, this tends to generate a lot of superficial content whose main purpose is to stir emotions, prompt engagement, and ultimately lead to precious clicks. As a result, whenever I visit my Facebook profile and other social media I am bombarded with videos of cute animals, with articles about uncivilised Chinese tourists or about collapsing roads. One either has to accept the mainstream trends and write similar stuff, or one simply has to reject them, forget about statistics and traffic, and focus on what matters: on trying to share knowledge and to create a community of people who want to think, learn and debate (whether this is possible on the internet, I do not know).
Second, I will try to create "evergreen" content about Chinese culture, history and society, writing long, "academic-style" articles. After all, I major in literature and cultural studies, and that's what I have learnt to do. I also love to write simpler and entertaining articles from time to time, but I will post that kind of content on my blog or on other websites.
Third, I will finally be able to use this blog to share pictures, write about things that happen or have happened to me while living in Asia, or just to express my totally personal views on more or less trivial subjects.
I really hope that some of you will be interested in my new website, and I am always happy to receive comments and suggestions (if you want to write to me privately, just check the 'contact me' section of the blog :)
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