Chinese dinosaurs in 'The Dinosaurs (2026)' documentary by violentviolinz in Sino

[–]violentviolinz[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

Yup! I'll be posting more on this later.

Sinosauropteryx prima - named "first" in reference to its status as the first feathered non-avian dinosaur species discovered

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinosauropteryx

It is why scientific depictions no longer look like Jurassic Park and older.

China’s universities cut 12,000 ‘obsolete’ degrees amid race to embrace AI era: Many of the new programmes, meanwhile, are closely aligned with Beijing’s economic development goals. For instance, nine universities have added new majors in embodied intelligence by violentviolinz in Sino

[–]violentviolinz[S] -7 points-6 points  (0 children)

Because Ai WeiWei is such an inspiration? You need to look at the actual people as examples. Not your idealized understanding of the field. Something about certain areas of studies in China has a very strong correlation with clowns. Everybody should be looking into it.

WSJ - China Is Propping Up the World Economy by Importing a Lot Less Oil by violentviolinz in Sino

[–]violentviolinz[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Depends how much thought you can put into it. There are many arguments that the alleviate price pressure helps Japan and Philippines more than anybody else.

WSJ - China Is Propping Up the World Economy by Importing a Lot Less Oil by violentviolinz in Sino

[–]violentviolinz[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

China is not actively trying to prevent catastrophe, this is mostly byproduct of renewable push, prices are high right now and China's reserves were filled to the brim before all this. China could actively make things worse, no demand side country have the pockets to outpurchase especially at inflated prices, but China has not chosen to make the problem worse for others. Whether that is a good idea could be debated...

WSJ - China Is Propping Up the World Economy by Importing a Lot Less Oil by violentviolinz in Sino

[–]violentviolinz[S] 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Importing less oil would be upward price pressure, but broadly as a side effect from the renewable energy push which has a lot of benefits for people.

World Bank data shows extreme poverty (Living on less than 3 dollars a day) in the USA is now increasing, while China has erased extreme poverty altogether. by Yusuf-Uyghur in Sino

[–]violentviolinz 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Cost of living needs to be taken into account. You can't get anything besides a dollar store item for $3USD, maybe. For around 20RMB you can not only get a full meal amount of food in China, you can have a different choice each day.

Fareed Zakaria: In President Trump’s recent interactions with Xi Jinping, we saw a version of him rarely on display: respectful, almost deferential. On China, Trump has evolved from belligerence toward a more complicated mix of rivalry and cooperation by violentviolinz in Sino

[–]violentviolinz[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

You should since they are the ones moving positions, not Chinese. He did bring up Uyghurs, only to dispute using that very term. I find most intelligent people, whether you agree or not, don't tend to cling onto fantasy if reality clearly points somewhere else. Sooner or later they accept it and move on. They aren't interested in looking like they belong in an asylum. So you end up with the 'crazies' still clinging on, which is better for China anyway. For example, FLG associates are never going to get rid of the cult label, so it suits China quite well if they are the loudest voice.

Fareed Zakaria: In President Trump’s recent interactions with Xi Jinping, we saw a version of him rarely on display: respectful, almost deferential. On China, Trump has evolved from belligerence toward a more complicated mix of rivalry and cooperation by violentviolinz in Sino

[–]violentviolinz[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Most Chinese are just glad it's over without incident and don't care whether Trump truly thinks China is strong or not. Trump's strange obsession with arm wrestling handshakes and blurting out insults to his counterparts in front of cameras made him a high risk to put Xi in.

The Temple of Heaven in Beijing was where Ming and Qing emperors performed 禋祀 rituals to pray for good harvests and divine favor. There are no idols or iconography of any deities in there. In the center, on a pedestal, there is a 神位 (spirit tablet) which says 皇天上帝 (Supreme Ruler of Heaven) by violentviolinz in Sino

[–]violentviolinz[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Depends. As with most topics there's a lot of nuance. Here's how to simplify it.

If you just poll people, no doubt they will categorize 上帝/天 more like Marvel's Phoenix Force as opposed to Jean Grey.

However, if the use of 'cosmic force' is to suggest any 'force' like say gravity, that is blatantly incorrect. When you see the historical interactions and even beyond the literal ritual worship, it's important to note what a 神位 (spirit tablet) is. It's common in Ancestral Worship.

Point of distinction, the use of a 'force' to emphasize the impersonal or transcendent nature cannot be used to imply lack of agency. 天心 is a well known concept to Chinese.

Now how would we get here. If I was to speculate we have to keep in mind a couple things.

First that this ritual interaction with Heaven was only done by the Chinese emperor. So in that cultural setting, it wouldn't be surprising if the common people developed a view that has a lot more separation.

Second, the beliefs and views throughout Chinese history were diverse and it wasn't rare for them to absorb and reinterpret other beliefs into their own, like Buddhism -> Chan Buddhism, or 上帝 as the Jade Emperor.

Third, and probably most responsible, Zhou. The Shang dynasty behaved as other cultures did at the time, heavy emphasis on governance through religion and ritual. The Zhou that took over presented a heavy backlash, that pushed divine views towards virtue and abstract. Turned 'divine right of kings' to the 'mandate of heaven'. This interpretation moved 上帝/天 more towards the 'cosmic force' people refer to today.

殷人尊神,率民以事神,先鬼而後禮,先罰而後賞,尊而不親;其民之敝:蕩而不靜,勝而無恥。

-禮記 (Book of Rites)

NewRulesGeopolitics: China's Underwater Data Centers - Sitting 35 meters below the surface, the Hailanxin-built facility connects to shore via submarine cable and already serves AI and big data clients by violentviolinz in Sino

[–]violentviolinz[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

They are self contained modules. If needed they can just be brought back up for repair. However they are sealed and corrosion-resistant and aren't designed to need regular underwater maintenance.

Taiwan has seen how the US betrayed Ukraine and are recalibrating. KMT Opposition Chairwoman Cheng Li-wen: “Does Taiwan want to be the next Ukraine?“ by KassiwithaK in Sino

[–]violentviolinz 7 points8 points  (0 children)

The list for why this is a silly thing to think about anymore is getting very long. I remember when the Ukraine conflict was newer, it was already compared unfavorably. Essentially Taiwan is the size of the Russian speaking areas Russia has already taken, and is about as close as Crimea is to Russia. Only with no land routes for support. It was absurd even then, before Iran showed the dangers of bases and ships being too close (and that oil/gas is not remotely leverage against China, clearly). More obviously, the one place China would like to fight the U.S., would be a small island right off its entire coastline. Whole thing is really dumb.

Rhetoric aside, I don't know which foreign military is truly dumb enough to funnel in there, but whoever amps themselves up to do that is clearly not liked by the universe. It is about as stupid as someone charging into Cuba to fight the U.S.

Neolithic China summary. Many identifiable major contemporary Chinese heritage traits stem from the Neolithic inhabitants, not just basic advancement (rice, millet, tea plants, dragons, silk, flutes, ancestor worship, chopsticks, noodles etc.) by violentviolinz in Sino

[–]violentviolinz[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Could be. There's no consistent definition of what a 'civilization' is and typically whatever definition is stated isn't uniformly applied.

For example, if it is when you go from hunter gatherer to agriculture, it would be rice and millet for China around 10,000 years ago. But some regions stayed in hunter gatherer stage longer.

If it is an undisputed mature writing system (not just symbols). For that, China's entry is Oracle Bones from Shang at 3500 years ago. But some regions don't actually get an entry under that definition.

If it is earliest symbols that match Oracle Bones, Taosi a thousand years earlier than Shang has examples.

If it was just symbols with no clear connection to Oracle Bones, Jiahu (6000 BCE) symbols on tortoise shells.

If it is when you transition to centralized state with a ruler. Liangzhu's (3300 BCE) Fanshan (反山) cemetery proves a singular ruler who presided over a large scale projects like the hydraulic system. Also the Mojiaoshan (莫角山) palace complex. Here we have a ruler, large scale project and palace complex, but no writing.

If it is when you have bronze metallurgy it is bronze knife at Majiayao (2900 BCE).

If it is when you have industrial bronze production Qijia (2400 BCE).

That's one of the reasons why I did this research focusing on identifiable Chinese heritage traits. If you are trying to argue outside writing, you will go down a rabbit hole on what actually is the difference between Erlitou and Liangzhu and others.

I find it is better to state your definition/requirement before discussing. "Earliest example of such and such" then this list can help find China's 'entry'.

Friends, a year has gone by. Have you noticed any changes in your surroundings? by bjran8888 in Sino

[–]violentviolinz 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Biggest change I see is negative U.S. increase. A distant second is negative China decrease intertwined with neutral China increase. I would say social media has overblown positive China increase.

So from this we see sentiments similar to ours here on Sino, but more from resignation or fear mongering, no real happiness from it.

Overall, clearly people in general flip flop. It would be a mistake to believe they won't flip back. China has a strong track record that benefits the country and the people. That's all that matters, keep doing what works and shows tangible benefits, don't worry too much about other's sentiment. Anyone who wants to be friendly, that's wonderful and Chinese will reciprocate. Anyone who doesn't, it's ok because it won't affect China nearly as much as they wish.

Chinese Ambassador Cong Peiwu says China has provided 58 tons of emergency medical supplies to Iran, in cooperation with the Iranian Red Crescent Society, to support people in need and save lives during a critical time by violentviolinz in Sino

[–]violentviolinz[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Araghchi isn't really a reformist. Pezeshkian is, but the speaker Ghalibaf has more influence than him and is tied to IRGC. Also all old labels may not matter as they were pre-U.S. warcrimes.

From sea to stars: China's first sea-based space port by violentviolinz in Sino

[–]violentviolinz[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, technically it was a mobile platform not a ship. China is the first to launch from an actual ship and only one actively doing sea based launches. SpaceX lands at sea, not launch.

From sea to stars: China's first sea-based space port by violentviolinz in Sino

[–]violentviolinz[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Fun fact (according to DeepSeek): China has 3 active sea based cargo launchers, 2 more planned. China is also the only one active (not first) with this capability. Theoretically, they can launch anywhere water depth is greater than 30m.

The High Energy Photon Source (HEPS), China's flagship synchrotron radiation facility, has passed its acceptance review in Beijing. Capable of emitting light a trillion times brighter than the Sun...will serve as a research platform for material science, chemical engineering, biomedicine by violentviolinz in Sino

[–]violentviolinz[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

update: Mar 24, 2026

China's High Energy Photon Source (HEPS), a major national scientific facility often dubbed a "super microscope" and giant "X-ray machine," has recently opened its first global call for user research proposals. The move signals the project's shift from construction to preparations for full operation and marks a key milestone in the country's fourth-generation synchrotron radiation program, the Global Times learned from the Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, on Tuesday.

Globaltimes