The Power of Blogs

I don't know about you other bloggers out there, but I sometimes get to wondering who else out there is reading my blog, beyond the small circle of friends, and occasional commenters, who sometimes stop by for a glimpse into my virtual world. Lately, I have sensed traffic picking up a bit, and some new friends stopping by for a chat.

One thing that happened yesterday brought a smile to my face, and pointed to the global phenomenon that is the internets. Hanoimark
wrote the following comment in one of my earliest posts on this site:

Hi Wulingren,
I wonder if I could get your help. I purchased what appear to be 2 Yao sacred paintings in Hanoi last month and have posted pictures of them on my blog (Six Months in Hanoi: http://hanoimark.blogspot.com). My readers have been helping me interpret them. If you get a chance I'd be very grateful to get your insight on them since you appear to be a scholar of the Yao.
Sincerely,
HanoiMark

I visited Mark's site yesterday and read his post on the Yao paintings and the comments, and was fascinated by the process in which he and his readers gradually made sense of the paintings. I started to fondly remember my own initial reactions when I saw Yao ceremonial art. Then, I noticed this comment:

Mark, the world is indeed getting smaller...

My chinese friend in HongKong pleaded ignorance on the subject. However he yielded us a surprising referral:

It seems that one of your blogspot.com "neighbor" may prove to be an authority on the subject of Yao anthropology.

Check out his writings at

http://wulingren.blogspot.com/2005_06_01_wulingren_archive.html

under the title/heading
"The Role of Daoism in Yao/State Contacts"

perhaps we can solicit the author's insight on the paintings...

Yes, the world is indeed getting smaller......