Mosaic of China 英语脱口秀

Spending over a decade being a Tour Manager in China for international bands has taken this week's guest, Abe Deyo, to many destinations. In our discussion, we discuss some of his favourites, as well as his experiences on tour and his opinions on music tastes in the Chinese indie scene. 

I tried to elicit some nefarious stories of the rock and role lifestyle out of Abe, but I promise that our chat remained family friendly. Well.. for the most part. 

Abe Deyo’s object: His camera. Which was the reason he got into tour management in the first place. 

Abe Deyo’s favourite WeChat sticker [1]: this Christian Bale kissy-face monstrosity...(Add @oscar10877 on WeChat to join the Group and see the original sticker) 

Abe Deyo’s favourite WeChat sticker [2]: this sluglike caricature of himself and his wife. (Add @oscar10877 on WeChat to join the Group and see the original sticker) 

Abe Deyo: He works at Adapt, the Emerging Artists arm of Live Nation. 

Abe Deyo: Some photos he took on a variety of tours around China, taken from his Instagram account, @abramdeyo. 

Abe Deyo: Postiljonen, a Scandinavian band whose fan base he has helped to grow in China. 

Abe Deyo: Higher Brothers, a Chinese rap group that may break out into the mainstream in China. 

Abe Deyo: Luoyang by day; Luoyang by night. 

Abe Deyo’s favourite China fact: There are 102 cities in China with over a population of over 1 million people. 

Abe Deyo’s favourite word or phrase in Chinese: 牛逼 (Niúbī - Awesome). In writing, it’s often stylised as 牛B. 

One of Abe Deyo’s favourite places to visit in China: The Wudang Mountains (武当山). 

Abe Deyo’s favourite place to hang out: Uptown Records n' Beer, otherwise known as RnB. 

Abe Deyo’s favourite song to sing at KTV (karaoke): S.H.E by Super Star. 

Abe Deyo’s favourite China-related information sources: QQ Music (QQ音乐), NetEase (网易) and Douban (豆瓣). 

Abe Deyo’s selfie with Oscar.

We all take translation and translators for granted these days. There are now apps on your phone that can translate inputted text, can magically convert text within photos, and can even simultaneously translate audio as you’re speaking. But once you listen to Gigi Chang talk about the philosophy behind her work translating literary texts, you’ll know that there can be no substitute to the human touch.

If you’ve worked in any kind of international arena, you will have had some experience in having work translated, be it for marketing slogans, short texts, or longer pieces. So I hope that listening to this episode will give you a broader appreciation of the process behind it.

Gigi Chang’s object: A clipboard. Old school.

Gigi Chang’s favourite WeChat sticker: This pooping pup.
(Add @oscar10877 on WeChat to join the Group and see the original sticker)

Gigi Chang: A big fan of the Harry Potter series as a child, she now uses it as an example of how difficult it can be to translate a story without knowing where its going.

Gigi Chang: Her first experience in translating literary texts was when she worked with Chinese artists being showcased at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, in the run-up to the Beijing Olympic Games.


Gigi Chang: Working on Jin Yong’s “Legends of the Condor Hero” was the ultimate challenge in translating ancient kung fu training techniques from Chinese into English.

Gigi Chang: A display of her translated works at the Kinokuniya bookstore in Singapore.

Gigi Chang: Translating can be a lonesome task, so where possible she enjoys working in a team. For the “Legends of the Condor Hero” project, she worked alongside fellow translator Anna Holmwood, publisher Christopher MacLehose and editor Paul Engles.


Gigi Chang’s favourite China fact: Noel Coward wrote the quintessential upper class British play “Private Lives” while holed up at the Cathay Hotel (the latter day Fairmont Peace Hotel) in Shanghai.

Gigi Chang didn’t have a single favourite word or phrase in Chinese. But she appreciates the kind of language which has one meaning on the surface, but an entirely different meaning buried underneath.

Gigi Chang’s favourite place to visit in China: 运城 (Yùnchéng).

Gigi Chang’s favourite place to eat: the Hunanese restaurant, Spicy Moment.

Gigi Chang’s best “purchase” in China: her rescue dogs and cat.

Gigi Chang’s favourite songs to sing at KTV (karaoke): Either an old Hong Kong TV theme tune (such as 上海滩 by Joseph Koo) or anything by New Pants (新裤子).

Gigi Chang’s favourite China-related information source: Sixth Tone.

Gigi Chang’s selfie with Oscar.

We all take translation and translators for granted these days. There are now apps on your phone that can translate inputted text, can magically convert text within photos, and can even simultaneously translate audio as you’re speaking. But once you listen to Gigi Chang talk about the philosophy behind her work translating literary texts, you’ll know that there can be no substitute to the human touch. 

If you’ve worked in any kind of international arena, you will have had some experience in having work translated, be it for marketing slogans, short texts, or longer pieces. So I hope that listening to this episode will give you a broader appreciation of the process behind it.

Gigi Chang’s object: A clipboard. Old school.

Gigi Chang’s favourite WeChat sticker: This pooping pup. 
(Add @oscar10877 on WeChat to join the Group and see the original sticker)

Gigi Chang: A big fan of the Harry Potter series as a child, she now uses it as an example of how difficult it can be to translate a story without knowing where its going. 

Gigi Chang: Her first experience in translating literary texts was when she worked with Chinese artists being showcased at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, in the run-up to the Beijing Olympic Games. 


Gigi Chang: Working on Jin Yong’s “Legends of the Condor Hero” was the ultimate challenge in translating ancient kung fu training techniques from Chinese into English. 

Gigi Chang: A display of her translated works at the Kinokuniya bookstore in Singapore. 

Gigi Chang: Translating can be a lonesome task, so where possible she enjoys working in a team. For the “Legends of the Condor Hero” project, she worked alongside fellow translator Anna Holmwood, publisher Christopher MacLehose and editor Paul Engles.


Gigi Chang’s favourite China fact: Noel Coward wrote the quintessential upper class British play “Private Lives” while holed up at the Cathay Hotel (the latter day Fairmont Peace Hotel) in Shanghai. 

Gigi Chang didn’t have a single favourite word or phrase in Chinese. But she appreciates the kind of language which has one meaning on the surface, but an entirely different meaning buried underneath. 

Gigi Chang’s favourite place to visit in China: 运城 (Yùnchéng).

Gigi Chang’s favourite place to eat: the Hunanese restaurant, Spicy Moment.

Gigi Chang’s best “purchase” in China: her rescue dogs and cat.

Gigi Chang’s favourite songs to sing at KTV (karaoke): Either an old Hong Kong TV theme tune (such as 上海滩 by Joseph Koo) or anything by New Pants (新裤子).

Gigi Chang’s favourite China-related information source: Sixth Tone.

Gigi Chang’s selfie with Oscar.

Greg Nance’s business is in China, but his story will resonate with anyone around the world who is addicted to their life pursuits. For Greg, his addictions include ultramarathon racing, and his education business.

If you’re a cynic, you’ll immediately be turned off by the idea of listening to someone as positive and accomplished as Greg. And about 5 minutes into our conversation, we talk about this directly. What ensues is an interview that was highly personal and highly unexpected. If you are inspired by co-founders, endurance athletes and motivational speakers, you will love this episode. And if you absolutely loathe co-founders, endurance athletes and motivational speakers, you will love this episode too, I promise. 

At the time of recording, Roz Coleman was the International Company Manager of the immersive theatre experience “Sleep No More” in Shanghai. This has given Roz a unique appreciation of audience responses in different countries and cultures, and during our short chat she shares some great observations about human behavioural traits in China. 

The obvious irony is that our discussion covers audience behaviour in environments where people are crammed together and inhabiting each other’s space. Well of course that’s not what we’re experiencing now in February 2020, with most facets of everyday life on lockdown in China. I hope that my chat with Roz will be a good reminder that our current situation is only temporary. 

Roz Coleman’s object: A set of keys. Listen to the episode to find out why. 

Roz Coleman’s favourite WeChat stickers: Anything featuring the happy dancing boy!(Add @oscar10877 on WeChat to join the Group and see the original sticker) 

Roz Coleman: The immersive theatre experience “Sleep No More”《不眠之夜 》in Shanghai. 

Roz Coleman: Some of her other world in immersive art includes 1) a tree house show called Air Hotel that took place in a forest, 2) a show called Walking, which took place on a beach in Norfolk, England, and 3) one which featured the world’s largest disco ball in a car park. 

Roz Coleman: The contemporary circus troupe, Circa. 

Roz Coleman: The phenomenon where women refuse to yield to men in busy cities like New York, otherwise known as “manslamming”. 

Roz Coleman: The book “When We Were Orphans” by Kazuo Ishiguro, which also references “Shanghai Flow”. 

Roz Coleman: A photo from one of her monthly costume parties, with her friend Nick. 

Roz Coleman’s favourite China fact: Every year, 10 million new people enter the middle classes in China. 

Roz Coleman’s favourite word or phrase in Chinese: 天下没有不散的宴席 (Tiānxià méiyǒu bú sàn de yànxí - All good things come to an end.) The literal translation is: “There's no such thing as a never-ending feast.” 

Roz Coleman’s favourite place to visit in China: The tea mountains above Hangzhou. 

Roz Coleman’s favourite place to hang out: ALL Club. 

Roz Coleman’s favourite China-related information source: Radii.

Roz Coleman’s selfie with Oscar.

Yang Yi is a Chinese editor, a broadcaster, and one of the trailblazers in the new world of podcasting in China. He is the host of two podcasts, a culture-themed show called "Left-Right", and a show called "Go! LIVE" where he invites reporters in China to share their eperiences in journalism. And he is also co-founder of the "JustPod" company, which currently produces four original and three branded podcasts. 

Yi and I discuss his personal experiences of growing up with broadcast media in China, and he makes some great observations about China's media landscape from the 1990s to today. While our interview was recorded many weeks before COVID, some of the things we discuss will resonate with anyone observing how the issue is being handled in the media.

Yang Yi is a Chinese editor, a broadcaster, and one of the trailblazers in the new world of podcasting in China. He is the host of two podcasts, a culture-themed show called "Left-Right", and a show called "Go! LIVE" where he invites reporters in China to share their eperiences in journalism. And he is also co-founder of the "JustPod" company, which currently produces four original and three branded podcasts. 

Yi and I discuss his personal experiences of growing up with broadcast media in China, and he makes some great observations about China's media landscape from the 1990s to today. While our interview was recorded many weeks before the coronavirus outbreak, some of the things we discuss will resonate with anyone observing how the issue is being handled in the Chinese and Western media. 

Yang Yi’s object: A radio of course. 

Yang Yi’s favourite WeChat sticker: This esoteric one of Jiang Zemin. You may need to listen to the episode for more information about this one!(Add @oscar10877 on WeChat to join the Group and see the original sticker) 

Yang Yi: The original radio made in the Soviet Union that he used to listen to as a child growing up in Anhui Province. 

Yang Yi: His hometown of Huáinán, nowadays most famous for the Piano House building. 

Yang Yi: His “JustPod” podcasting company, and two of the podcasts he personally hosts: “Left-Right” and “Go! LIVE”. 

Yang Yi: Two of the American storytelling podcasts that he referenced in our discussion: “This American Life” and “Serial”. Yi believes China is still waiting for its “Serial moment” that will allow podcasts to achieve mainstream popularity in China. 

Yang Yi: There are a couple of storytelling shows breaking through in the China podcast space at the moment. The most famous of these is 故事FM. 

Yang Yi: The overwhelmingly most popular podcasting host and distributor in China is Ximalaya (喜马拉雅). 

Yang Yi’s favourite China fact: The Confucian concept of 中庸之一 (Zhōngyōng zhīyī - Doctrine of the Mean). 

Yang Yi’s favourite word or phrase in Chinese: 好吧 (Hǎo ba), which means something like, “well... alright then”. That’s in contrast to 好的 (Hǎo de) which is a more emphatic way of saying yes or OK. 

If Yang Yi left China, he would miss the efficiency of life, including the Shanghai metro system. 

The thing that surprises Yang Yi about modern life in China is the advancement of video production apps like 抖音 (Dǒuyīn - Tiktok). 

Yang Yi’s favourite place to eat: The 大肠汤 (Dàcháng tāng - Pig’s large intestine soup) restaurant around the corner from his home. 

Yang Yi’s best recent purchase: The book "The Fifth Risk" by Michael Lewis. 

Yang Yi’s favourite song to sing at KTV (karaoke): 最炫民族风 (Zuì xuàn mínzú fēng - The Most Dazzling Folk Style) by 凤凰传奇 (Fènghuáng chuánqí - Phoenix Legend). 

Yang Yi’s favourite China-related information source: 财新传媒 (Cáixīn Media). 

Yang Yi’s selfie with Oscar.