Sensei Michael

This article first appeared in Domain of Experts , a website where selected academic experts write. Introduction One of my students recently asked me if there is a difference between "backward" and "backwards". "Is it another of those American English versus British English thing?" he wondered aloud. I smiled. My students have become very used to my explaining how my American friends use different terms or spell certain words differently, compared to we Singaporeans (who use British English). In fact, it is not just "backward" and "backwards" that many students got in a bind over, but all the various "wards" in English. Forward vs Forwards Forward can be used as an adverb or an adjective, and is used to describe a direction of motion, to the front, or describe a position. Forwards, on the other hand, can only be used as an adverb, and is used interchangeably with "forward" The squad commander took a forward position ...

Another story from the Sheep Pen series. The winter solstice was fast approaching, and it was a traditional time for sheepdog to hibernate together with the sheep. All sheepdogs were looking forward to their final feeding time before the hibernation, but the Sheepdog had heard disturbing news on the grapevine. Apparently, the Owner planned to feed all Sheepdogs after their hibernation, instead of before. Such things were disturbing indeed to the sheepdogs, which needed the warmth of the food before they hibernate. Further news came from the grapevine – the Shepherd had argued for food to be distributed to the sheepdogs, and the Owner had finally agreed. Only to decide that the vitamin tablets be withheld, since hibernating dogs do not need them. The Sheepdog shook its head. Such things were not new – back two years ago, the Owner had wanted to stop feeding the dogs during summer as well, since the sheep had gone for their shearing and slaughter, and the dogs were not needed. The Owner...

Another story from the Shang Wars series. The courier brought another petition to the Emperor, while he was in the middle of watching a performance by his consorts. He shook his head as he realised it was from the Generalissimo again. Why anyone fighting at the border could have the time to send petitions was really beyond him, but he read anyway, before chucking it aside. The Empress, sitting next to his royal throne, picked up the petition. It was a request for more troops, but even more urgently, a few good Generals and gold to build fortifications. “Your Majesty,” the Empress asked, “The Generalissimo fights hard at the border. Shouldn’t we send what he wants?” “My Empress, have you heard of the story of the General Tian Yi, who won the horse races against the princes of Qi?” The Empress nodded. All who were learned in court would have read the works of Sun Bin, even if they were really boring to women like her. “In order for me to win 2 out of 3 races, I would have to sacrifice a...

I am going to tell another story of  the Rabbit family  today. A teary Baby Rabbit hopped onto Mother Rabbit’s burrow one day and complained that Sister Rabbit had bullied him. She had shouted at him in front of the other rabbits and told him a lot of nasty things. Mother Rabbit comforted him, and told him that he was a good rabbit, and need not think too much of what Sister Rabbit had said. She made a mental note to talk to Sister Rabbit later, since she was busy with her spring cleaning. A little while later, Brother Rabbit stormed into her burrow! He was livid, and demanded an answer why Sister Rabbit had bullied Baby Rabbit. He also mentioned that Sister Rabbit had said nasty things about him as well. Now, Baby Rabbit was a favourite brother of Brother Rabbit, and he had taken care of him and loved him from a young age. Mother Rabbit had to calm Brother Rabbit down, and assured him she would be talking to Sister Rabbit about the matter. Brother Rabbit was muttering angrily when he ...

This article was first written when I was working in China. I suspect virtually all foreigners working here in China, if they ever need to purchase anything and claim from the company, would get burnt by the strange financial procedures. I remembered early on in my career in my school, that I needed to buy something for the school. They cost about RMB250 (about USD30 or SGD50) and I asked for a receipt from the stall. They gave me a handwritten receipt with the company stamp – something which would certainly be OK back in Singapore. Not here in China. Finance rejected these receipts, indicating that only proper official receipts with the word 发票 fapiao  on them could be accepted. So there went my RMB250. After a while, I get to understand why the Chinese are so reluctant to buy something on behalf of the company, and to pay first. Recently, something happened again – this time to my own department teacher. My teacher bought something for the school, and got a receipt with the 发票 fapiao...

I shall tell another story about  the Rabbit family  today. It was Spring, and the days of burrow cleaning drew closer. After a season of hibernation, the burrows were full of stuff to be cleared out. Brother Rabbit, as usual, had already cleared his burrow before the close of winter, and was relaxing away. Mother Rabbit had set the rules long ago – each rabbit was responsible for his and her own burrow. Sister Rabbit, however, had experienced a bad bout of sickness during the Winter, and her burrow not only looked terrible – it smelled terrible as well. “It’s not fair, mummy!” cried Sister Rabbit, “I’ve so much more to clear than Brother Rabbit! I’m still sick and I’ve to clear my burrow myself?” Mother Rabbit sighed and said, “Dear, didn’t we agree to the clearing of the burrows ourselves? If I’m fair, I have to administer the rules equally!” Mother Rabbit watched sadly as Sister Rabbit stomped off to sulk in a corner. She turned to Brother Rabbit and asked, “Dear, do you think you c...

Yet another story of the  Shang Wars . The battle had raged hard the past week, with plenty of deaths on both sides. The Generalissimo had fought hard, and repelled the enemy. He quickly sent reports to the capital of the situation, and was taking a nap when the reports from the capital came in. The Aide-de-Camp could see the frowns on his face as he read the report. The Generalissimo sighed and passed the letter to the Aide-de-Camp. It was disturbing news. Apparently, one of the small towns had been depleted of all its men for the heavy fighting at the border. The women were upset after being separated from their men for so long, and had hung banners in the town protesting the fact. The General in charge of the municipality was a young General who had no experience in fighting battles, and so had been placed in charge of domestic defence. He had rounded the women up, put them on trial and would execute them all in a week’s time. The Aide-de-Camp understood the problem immediately. An ...

Another story from the Sheep Pen series. There once was a mighty Shepherd who was happily serving at another Pen. He was approached by another Pen to move over. The new salary was not too fantastic, but at least some additional benefits were given, like a carriage to take him from his home to the fields where the sheep would graze. Most important of all, however, was the implicit promise that he would be well taken care of, and would have the autonomy to implement the many ideas that he had regarding the raising of sheep. Half a year before the Shepherd was due to move over, he was requested to go over to fill in the post immediately (the previous shepherd had to leave at short notice). He gave up a lot of goodwill with his previous employer, paid his penalty for breaking his contract, and moved over immediately. He did not want to see a situation where sheep were not being taken care of simply because the new Pen has no Shepherd. It was there, at the new Pen, that he encountered some...