I’ve had a couple of reasons this week to think about how much the world owes to Chinese art and scholarship.  First, when Margaret and I had to deal with a minor flood in the central part of our house from a broken pipe, we had to hurriedly pack away treasures we brought back from the time when we were residents of the Republic of Singapore.  This week, with the floors all mended, we went about the task of unpacking and putting things back in their place.  We haven’t had to hurry to get things back in order; so I’ve been rediscovering some things I’ve loved for a long time.  One is a Chinese scholar carved from ivory in a time long ago when nobody thought elephants could ever be endangered killed for their tusks.

The second sobering reason to be reminded of the contributions by Chinese to American culture has been the death of our friend Jon Lin’s father.  The family came to the United States as refugees from Laos, by way of Thailand.  These folks have been and are model citizens of their new country.  This week we honor the memory of Bounmy Lin.