Holy Week RedNote
The strange title reflects the paradoxical content of my column for today.
Holy Week is of course, Holy Week or Semana Santa, which every year is becoming less and less “holy” in its practices and longer and longer, not as extreme as Christmas, which now begins as early as the “ber” months (September onward), but still relatively long, meaning the week even before Palm Sunday.
The RedNote part refers to what you might want to do, almost totally out of character from Holy Week.
RedNote is a translation from Xiaohongshu, which literally means Little Red Book, which originally referred to—prepare yourself—the Quotations from Chair Mao, a collection of, well, quotes from Chair Mao Zedong, who ruled over China from 1949 to 1977, or 28 years, much longer if you include his years as the chair of the Chinese Communist Party, which already controlled many parts of China even before 1949.
The quotations were printed in different languages, including Filipino, and different sizes, but the most popular were about 5×3.6 inches, intended to fit into the breast pocket, and intended to be waved in the air during political rallies, with political slogans including “Long live Chairman Mao!”
You can still buy the original small editions, often from souvenir shops and antique stores, but the latest version can be downloaded for free on the internet, simply as Redbook, which can be read in your language of choice. You can then register with a unique name and a password, or just use it for free, which makes it like Facebook, including making friends.
I use it more like Facebook just to keep track of Chinese culture, society, politics and, of course, languages. I will admit there’s a bit of nostalgia involved, being ethnic Chinese, and every time I use it, I learn something new, including learning something new about China, which is very old (my late father liked to boast that China had a 6,000-year-old culture, and I can accept that figure if you include archaeology.
You can use any language to search, but there’s more to look up if there are more users using, say, Lithuanian … or, I presume, Chavacano Zamboangueño. There is also a search tab for “nearby,” which narrows your search, which would mean searching through Philippine posts. I’ve found such searches help to find out what the Chinese—mostly Chinese tourists—are saying about the Philippines and Filipinos. I suspect there are Chinese trolls, noticing many commentaries about the Philippines during the Duterte presidency and after he was arrested, all in defense of former President Rodrigo Duterte. The intended audience, probably, is fellow Chinese rather than Filipinos.
Politics aside, many posts about the Philippines are neutral, and lots of touristy comments, mostly in praise. There’s a bit too much of what Westerners call tourist porn—describing our poverty with a combination of curiosity and pity, and emphasizing the exotic. I have to say I had never seen some of the places described, mostly the bars and entertainment places, including some pretty sleazy watering holes.
But there’s also fairly good coverage of lesser known beaches, churches (there’s your Holy Week), bed and breakfasts, and warnings of tourist traps.
What I’ve enjoyed the most are commentaries, including translated materials, about the United States. Three categories here. First would be cultural performances from well-known cultural venues—never the whole performance, but even excerpts are appreciated. The performers, of course, include top-rated Chinese classical performers. Second, would be excerpts from English-language movies and TV shows, intended as a way to teach English. Imagine watching “Friends” in Chinese!
Third, Redbook features commentaries on current American politics, mostly anti-Donald Trump. These are not “leftist” propaganda but very thoughtful critiques, mostly from American, Canadian, and British experts concerned with how Trump is dismantling democracies. Occasionally, there are even commentaries from religious leaders, including the Holy Father. (The Catholic commentaries are usually about the abuse and maltreatment of migrants, and about Trump’s neglect of climate change.)
Oh no, I’ve run out of space on what you can catch. Let me see if I can produce a second column soon.
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michael.tan@inquirer.net
