"To live an interesting life... A life that writes its own stories."

I believe that the point of life is to make it interesting. I caution myself against devoting to a certain mission - instead, it should be about making a unique and irreplaceable contribution, about doing something that only I can do, something that makes me who I am. This is how I am (trying to) balance "worldly work" and "self-sovereignty": that in trying to make irreplaceable contributions, I am carving out my own paths; that walking my own paths, in refusing to serve a pre-defined mission, I am contributing to our world the best way I can. If I made no contributions, this way, at least, I lived an interesting life, and that in itself is worthwhile.

Music

I play the Guqin - a Chinese classical instrument tracing back to the Book of Odes (11th - 6th c. BC). One can still play Guqins made in Tang Dynasty (6th - 8th c. AD). Historically, Guqin is more of a cultural and social symbol than a musical instrument, and its music ties more to poetry than to musicology. 

I used to teach Guqin in NZ and now mostly work on expanding the scope of Guqin music. I have done Guqin impressions of Game of Thrones, Succession, Hotel California, Sound of Silence, Rachmaninov Piano Concertos, Shostakovich Cello Concerto, Mahler 5, Danzon No. 2, and Clair de Lune. I post experiments on my instagram stories, feel free to go check it out.

Also check out the programme of my recital at Selwyn College, University of Cambridge (2022)

I love going to see London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican Centre. Let me know if you would like to join!

Sports

I was never very good at sports in my upbringing, but I always enjoyed its social aspect: At Cambridge, I was president of the college table tennis society, and captained a rowing boat. 

I started amateur road cycling in summer 2022, right after graduation. I mostly did 40-50km rides and completed my first 100km+ ride in early summer 2023. 

Now I try to build a habit of short morning runs. Nothing big, just a small rituals to anchor my day, no matter how short, no matter out much it's raining. 

Food and Drinks

At Yonder, part of the job is to test out all the nice restaurants around London, which I thoroughly enjoy. 

Back in Cambridge we had these strange "formal dinners": students and fellows would suit up in academic gowns to sit in Hogwarts-style candle lit dining halls, and have ceremonies such as Latin graces and gong knocking to compensate the likely under-flavoured meals. 

It was a great excuse for us undergrads to have excessive wine. Sadly I didn't complete the "formal challenge" - going to formals at all 31 colleges - but I did do 12 of them so it wasn't too bad.

Travelling

I have move several times around the planet for education, but I never took any gap years to purely travel and see the world like many of my western peers do. 

In 2023, settled in London with a job, I did monthly weekend city trips to see Europe. I loved the sunsets, the restaurants, and the art galleries. Now my visa expired so I can't travel much anymore, but if I should come visit your city, please let me know and we'll grab a coffee or a pint.