The Cleaver and the Butterfly

A Poem Turned Into a Sword

A Mobius strip of Chinese women warriors, from my living room to the Spring and Autumn Annals and back again. Climbing Emei Mountain, Part II.

Jul 11 • 

Andrew Leonard

6

3

June 2025

"In the Darkness, I Pour Wine"

The distance between a civilization’s peak and its collapse can be as short as a single love affair gone wrong. Climbing Emei Mountain, Part I

Jun 1 • 

Andrew Leonard

9

3

May 2025

Robot Invaders Are Coming For Your Sichuan Food

What could be spicer than the "industrial production" of Sichuan cuisine?

May 4 • 

Andrew Leonard

6

1

April 2025

Sichuan Pepper Tariff Trouble

So I thought this was going to be diverting.

Apr 17 • 

Andrew Leonard

16

1

The Dao is a Gigantic Glass of Beer

At a fraught moment, let us honor those who show us the way

Apr 7 • 

Andrew Leonard

7

4

A Lesson from the Kangxi Emperor for Robert Kennedy Jr.

In his resignation letter dated March 28, 2025, prior to lambasting FDA director Robert Kennedy Jr.

Apr 3 • 

Andrew Leonard

7

March 2025

"A Daoist ran a wine shop in Chengdu"

A footnote about everybody's favorite drunken Tang dynasty "highest level of immortal" poet

Mar 24 • 

Andrew Leonard

7

1

How the Internet became the Book of Changes

The conclusion of The Universal Commerce of Light

Mar 21 • 

Andrew Leonard

7

2

February 2025

On The Production Line

An ode to Taiwan's women electronics workers

Feb 18 • 

Andrew Leonard

6

January 2025

Did Leibniz dream of DeepSeek？

In the age of hypography, AI will be king. Part VI of The Universal Commerce of Light

Jan 30 • 

Andrew Leonard

8

6

How Was It Possible?

The current that drew me from Gottfried Leibniz to curiosity about the remarkable history of the Hohenzollern dynasty and the rise (and fall) of…

Jan 16 • 

Andrew Leonard

5

1

The Secret of the Sichuanese iPad

Or, how the rise and fall of RCA explains everything. Part V of The Universal Commerce of Light

Jan 15 • 

Andrew Leonard

7

3