#lu cheung

[haveyouseenthismovie-poll]

[roseillith]

SONG OF THE EXILE (1990) dir. ANN HUI

[altairtalisman]

For the 2400th post, I've decided to draw the Hourly Twelve's last moments as humans prior to becoming chronovens

Personally, I saw the clock as fitting due to the chronovens' time-related abilities, and it's such a coincidence that there's exactly 12 of them

The clock-like themed art is based on @djts-arts's art which can be found here

Below the cut contains two still images of the Hourly Twelve's last moments as well as their thoughts

[nezh4a]

woah okay talk about gay people's halloween costumes but china went crazy

[compneuropapers]

Interesting Papers for Week 29, 2024

The time course of feature-selective attention inside and outside the focus of spatial attention. Andersen, S. K., & Hillyard, S. A. (2024). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(16), e2309975121.

The role of uncertainty in regulating associative change. Chan, Y. Y., Lee, J. C., Fam, J. P., Westbrook, R. F., & Holmes, N. M. (2024). Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Learning and Cognition, 50(2), 77–98.

Neural correlates of perceptual similarity masking in primate V1. Chen, S. C.-Y., Chen, Y., Geisler, W. S., & Seidemann, E. (2024). eLife, 12, e89570.3.

Timing along the cardiac cycle modulates neural signals of reward-based learning. Fouragnan, E. F., Hosking, B., Cheung, Y., Prakash, B., Rushworth, M., & Sel, A. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 2976.

Multicore fiber optic imaging reveals that astrocyte calcium activity in the mouse cerebral cortex is modulated by internal motivational state. Gau, Y.-T. A., Hsu, E. T., Cha, R. J., Pak, R. W., Looger, L. L., Kang, J. U., & Bergles, D. E. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 3039.

A cognitive-computational account of mood swings in adolescence. Gregorová, K., Eldar, E., Deserno, L., & Reiter, A. M. F. (2024). Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 28(4), 290–303.

Probabilistic causal reasoning under time pressure. Kolvoort, I. R., Fisher, E. L., van Rooij, R., Schulz, K., & van Maanen, L. (2024). PLOS ONE, 19(4), e0297011.

EEG decoders track memory dynamics. Li, Y., Pazdera, J. K., & Kahana, M. J. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 2981.

Dynamic saccade context triggers more stable object-location binding. Lu, Z., & Golomb, J. D. (2024). Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 153(4), 873–888.

It is not all about you: Communicative cooperation is determined by your partner’s theory of mind abilities as well as your own. Markiewicz, R., Rahman, F., Apperly, I., Mazaheri, A., & Segaert, K. (2024). Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 50(5), 833–844.

Dopamine control of social novelty preference is constrained by an interpeduncular-tegmentum circuit. Molas, S., Freels, T. G., Zhao-Shea, R., Lee, T., Gimenez-Gomez, P., Barbini, M., … Tapper, A. R. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 2891.

Space wandering in the rodent default mode network. Nghiem, T.-A. E., Lee, B., Chao, T.-H. H., Branigan, N. K., Mistry, P. K., Shih, Y.-Y. I., & Menon, V. (2024). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(15), e2315167121.

Attention-based rehearsal: Eye movements reveal how visuospatial information is maintained in working memory. Sahan, M. I., Siugzdaite, R., Mathôt, S., & Fias, W. (2024). Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 50(5), 687–698.

Manipulating Prior Beliefs Causally Induces Under- and Overconfidence. Van Marcke, H., Denmat, P. Le, Verguts, T., & Desender, K. (2024). Psychological Science, 35(4), 358–375.

Top–down modulation in canonical cortical circuits with short-term plasticity. Waitzmann, F., Wu, Y. K., & Gjorgjieva, J. (2024). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(16), e2311040121.

Phasic locus coeruleus activity enhances trace fear conditioning by increasing dopamine release in the hippocampus. Wilmot, J. H., Diniz, C. R., Crestani, A. P., Puhger, K. R., Roshgadol, J., Tian, L., & Wiltgen, B. J. (2024). eLife, 12, e91465.3.

Eye blinks as a visual processing stage. Yang, B., Intoy, J., & Rucci, M. (2024). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(15), e2310291121.

Distinct information conveyed to the olfactory bulb by feedforward input from the nose and feedback from the cortex. Zak, J. D., Reddy, G., Konanur, V., & Murthy, V. N. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 3268.

Conjunctive encoding of exploratory intentions and spatial information in the hippocampus. Zeng, Y.-F., Yang, K.-X., Cui, Y., Zhu, X.-N., Li, R., Zhang, H., … Zhou, N. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 3221.

Environmental regularities mitigate attentional misguidance in contextual cueing of visual search. Zinchenko, A., Conci, M., Müller, H. J., & Geyer, T. (2024). Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 50(5), 699–711.

[blackmoonlightexpress]

TTEOTM Creative Team: What else did they work on?

For those who are a bit underwhelmed by the summer drama options or still dreaming about TTEOTM! 😎

Kuk Kok Leung (Lead Director)

Kuk Kok Leung is a veteran director who started his career in Hong Kong's TVB. He's been nominated for the prestigious Magnolia Award and is known for wuxia and serious, warm-blooded historical dramas (he's adapted 7 out of 8 Jinyong novels). His works include...

Legend of the Condor Heroes (1983) as Assistant Director, with Felix Wong and Barbara Yung

The Duke of Mount Deer (1984), with Tony Leung & Andy Lau

Return of the Condor Heros (1983) with Andy Lau & Idy Chan

Legend of the Condor Heroes (2002) with Li Yapeng & Zhou Xun

Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils (2003), with Hu Jun, Jimmy Lin, and Liu Yifei

Water Margin (2011), nominated for Magnolia Award

Cool Sword (2013), with Julian Cheung & Wallace Chung

The Patriot Fei Yue (2013), with Huang Xiaoming & Ruby Lin

The Stand-In (2014), with Wallace Chung

The General and I (2016), with Wallace Chung and Angelababy

He's also a frequent collaborator and producer on Johnny To films, including Election, Election 2, Mad Detective.

So you get the picture. He makes TV for men who are ready to bleed for their country. This all makes him a really interesting choice for TTEOTM (and tells you a bit about the ambition and creative vision of the producers), especially since all his more recent idol dramas were widely panned.

Wang Haiqi, Director & Action Director

We don't know too much about Wang Haiqi because TTEOTM is actually his directorial debut. He started his career in stunts and has worked as the action coordinator on Ashes of Love (2018) and Immortality (unreleased) alongside Luo Yunxi. He was also a stunts man/double in a bunch of Hollywood films, including Mulan (2020) and the Foreigner (2017) through the Jacky Chan stunts team.

He's responsible for most of the action/battle scenes in TTEOTM, and his experience working on films probably explains why the fight sequences are unusually cinematic for TV.

Luan Hexin, Art Director

Luan Hexin is a Magnolia Award nominated art director best known for Huanyu productions, including Story of Yanxi Palace, Winter Begonia, and Royal Feast. He's a serious art guy, as you can tell from this interview.

(Note: Huanyu is Bai Lu's management company. There is a rumor that Luan Hexin is part of Bai Lu's "dowry", but the parties have since clarified that Luan was brought in after she was cast.)

He's also an interesting choice, having never worked on costume fantasies before and better known for his authentic representation of the look and feel of bygone eras.

Huang Wei, Costume Designer

Huang Wei is one of the most sought-after costume designers working today, especially for xianxias. She started her career as a Vogue China editor and was in fact the person responsible for TTEOTM's Dunhuang-inspired aesthetics.

Her better known works include A Dream of Splendor (2022), One and Only (2020), Love O2O (2015), Back from the Brink (2023) as well as a bunch of highly anticipated dramas like Immortality and The Last Immortal. (The joke on Chinese internet is that there is an "expensive" vs. "cheap" version of Huang Wei costumes - her design can be much simpler on lower-budget productions.)

I'd like to think that after designing 40 mostly white costumes for Luo Yunxi in Immortality, she decided to go nuts on color with Tantai Jin.

Tsang Ming Fai, Makeup Designer

Tsang Ming Fai is a big name in the xianxia circuit. He and his team of “students" have worked on a large number of costume dramas, including Ashes of Love (2018), Love & Redemption (2020), Under the Power (2019), Noble Aspirations (2016), Sword of Legends (2014), as well as the... wait for it... unreleased Immortality and Luo Yunxi's currently filming drama Follow Your Heart.

He's sadly been receiving a lot of hate in fan circles over the heavy makeup in TTEOTM (which may or may not have been his call). What I do appreciate is his ability to help actors craft distinct characters with varied hair and makeup choices. For example you can distinguish between different Luo Yunxi characters and their personalities with Runyu's clean cut tie-back half ponytail (ethereal & straight laced), Tantai Jin's slightly brown hair, messy bangs and heavy eye shadow (dark & sickly), Chu Wanning's angular eyebrows and geometric hair puff (strict & proud).

He also excels at creating unusual, iconic looks even for side characters, e.g. Chen Yao's dark lipstick paired with gothic jewelry in Immortality and Chen Duling's retro updo in TTEOTM.

[michelle-yim]

Happy 75th Birthday to Damian Lau!

Since he announced earlier this year that he was pretty much retiring from acting, here's every pairing he's had with Michelle.

Lu Hsiao Fury / Chivalry of Conspiracy | 陸小鳳與西門吹雪 (1979), dir. Wong Yuen Sun

Fatherland II - Radical City | 大地恩情 之 古都驚雷 [RTV, 1980]

Princess Cheung Ping | 武俠帝女花 [RTV, 1981]

Chronicle of the Shadow Swordsman | 萍蹤俠影錄 [ATV, 1985]

Rise of the Great Wall | 秦始皇 [ATV, 1986]

Laugh in the Sleeves | 啼笑因緣 [ATV, 1987]

Law & Order | 法網柔情 [ATV, 1988]

The August Blossom | 八月桂花香 [TTV, 1988]

警匪較量珠三角 [GZBN, `1998]

Bond of Friendship | 人間友情 [HVD, 2000]

Heaven Sword & Dragon Sabre 2000 | 倚天屠龍記 [TVB, 2000]

New Chronicles of the Shadow Swordsman | 新萍蹤俠影錄 [CCTV, 2011]

Limelight Years | 華麗轉身 [TVB, 2015]

_____________________________________________________________

Also the two times their characters don't know each other:

King of Gambler | 千王之王重出江湖 [ATV, 1995]

New Born | 天地孩兒 (2005), dir. Paul Cheng

[guoman]

just realised that I reached 100 followers here, so a big thank you to everyone who's been here with me and my sporadic posts <333

just as a bit of a signal boost, I am open to taking requests, so if you'd like to see more particular types of content don't be afraid to drop an ask, especially if they are of any of my favorites below ^^

Actively following: Ni Ni, Wen Qi, Qiu Tian, Bao Shangen

Like, but not actively following: Zhou Yiran, Guo Xiaoting, Xin Zhilei, Hu Lianxin, Lu Yangyang, Zhou Yutong, Lu Yuxiao, Zhao Jiamin, Sun Zhenni, Chen Duling, Li Muchen, Zeng Keni, Zhang Jingyi, Zhang Yaqin, Li Jiaxin, Li Gengxi, Zhuang Dafei, Tian Xiwei, Xia Meng, Deng Enxi, Jianaina, Wang Shengdi, Chen Zhiyan // Wang Kai, Hu Ge, Zheng Yecheng, Zhang Xincheng, Yi Yangqianxi, Wang Xiao, Bai Yufan, Jiang Qiming, Yu Shi, Ci Sha, Bai Jingting, Wei Daxun, Rong Zishan

Mother: Reyizha, Maggie Cheung, Gong Li, Joey Wong, Brigitte Lin, Zhou Xun, Shu Qi, Liu Mintao

Animation: Shanghai Animation Film Studio, Nice Boat Animation, Light Chaser Studio, Flint Sugar, Studio Tumble, Haoliners Animation, Curie Lu, Zhou Fanyuan

Fashion: He Cong, Ju Xiaowen, Liu Wen, Chen Man, Zeng Wu, Leslie Zhang, Win Tam, Chen Momo, Liu Zongyuan, Valentina Li, Clive Xiong, Cindy Chao, Rui Zhou, Robert Wun, SHUSHU/TONG, Susan Fang

Music: Lexie Liu, Faye Wong, SNH48 Group, Jingfei, Floruitshow, 一支榴莲, Zhou Shen, Mr Miss, Ayanga, Zheng Yunlong, Yikii, liiii, Re-TROS, Zhang Bichen

Dance: Hao Ruoqi, Xie Xin, Hu Shenyuan, Li Yu, Hu Jie, Li Yanchao, Li Xing, Hua Xiaoyi, Tang Shiyi, Li Xiang, Zhang Han, Yang Liping

[drmikewatts]

IEEE Transactions on Artificial Intelligence, Volume 5, Issue 10, October 2024

1) Transformer-Based Generative Adversarial Networks in Computer Vision: A Comprehensive Survey

Author(s): Shiv Ram Dubey, Satish Kumar Singh

Pages: 4851 - 4867

2) Data-Driven Technology Applications in Planning, Demand-Side Management, and Cybersecurity for Smart Household Community

Author(s): Dipanshu Naware, Arghya Mitra

Pages: 4868 - 4883

3) A Human-in-the-Middle Attack Against Object Detection Systems

Author(s): Han Wu, Sareh Rowlands, Johan Wahlström

Pages: 4884 - 4892

4) Test-Time Adaptation for Nighttime Color-Thermal Semantic Segmentation

Author(s): Yexin Liu, Weiming Zhang, Guoyang Zhao, Jinjing Zhu, Athanasios V. Vasilakos, Lin Wang

Pages: 4893 - 4904

5) Adaptive Decentralized Policies With Attention for Large-Scale Multiagent Environments

Author(s): Youness Boutyour, Abdellah Idrissi

Pages: 4905 - 4914

6) CS-Mixer: A Cross-Scale Vision Multilayer Perceptron With Spatial–Channel Mixing

Author(s): Jonathan Cui, David A. Araujo, Suman Saha, Md Faisal Kabir

Pages: 4915 - 4927

7) Hedge-Embedded Linguistic Fuzzy Neural Networks for Systems Identification and Control

Author(s): Hamed Rafiei, Mohammad-R. Akbarzadeh-T.

Pages: 4928 - 4937

8) A Robust Deep-Learning Model to Detect Major Depressive Disorder Utilizing EEG Signals

Author(s): Israq Ahmed Anik, A. H. M. Kamal, Muhammad Ashad Kabir, Shahadat Uddin, Mohammad Ali Moni

Pages: 4938 - 4947

9) Adaptive Prescribed-Time Neural Control of Nonlinear Systems via Dynamic Surface Technique

Author(s): Ping Wang, Chengpu Yu, Maolong Lv, Zilong Zhao

Pages: 4948 - 4958

10) GOAL: Generalized Jointly Sparse Linear Discriminant Regression for Feature Extraction

Author(s): Haoquan Lu, Zhihui Lai, Junhong Zhang, Zhuozhen Yu, Jiajun Wen

Pages: 4959 - 4971

11) Redefining Real-Time Road Quality Analysis With Vision Transformers on Edge Devices

Author(s): Tasnim Ahmed, Naveed Ejaz, Salimur Choudhury

Pages: 4972 - 4983

12) Bidirectional Influence and Interaction for Multiagent Reinforcement Learning

Author(s): Shaoqi Sun, Kele Xu, Dawei Feng, Bo Ding

Pages: 4984 - 4995

13) Scalable Learning for Multiagent Route Planning: Adapting to Diverse Task Scales

Author(s): Site Qu, Guoqiang Hu

Pages: 4996 - 5011

14) Nonlinear Regression With Hierarchical Recurrent Neural Networks Under Missing Data

Author(s): S. Onur Sahin, Suleyman S. Kozat

Pages: 5012 - 5025

15) Adjusting Logit in Gaussian Form for Long-Tailed Visual Recognition

Author(s): Mengke Li, Yiu-ming Cheung, Yang Lu, Zhikai Hu, Weichao Lan, Hui Huang

Pages: 5026 - 5039

16) CNN-Based Metrics for Performance Evaluation of Generative Adversarial Networks

Author(s): Adarsh Prasad Behera, Satya Prakash, Siddhant Khanna, Shivangi Nigam, Shekhar Verma

Pages: 5040 - 5049

17) DecGAN: Decoupling Generative Adversarial Network for Detecting Abnormal Neural Circuits in Alzheimer's Disease

Author(s): Junren Pan, Qiankun Zuo, Bingchuan Wang, C.L. Philip Chen, Baiying Lei, Shuqiang Wang

Pages: 5050 - 5063

18) Selective Depth Attention Networks for Adaptive Multiscale Feature Representation

Author(s): Qingbei Guo, Xiao-Jun Wu, Tianyang Xu, Tongzhen Si, Cong Hu, Jinglan Tian

Pages: 5064 - 5074

19) ConvBLS: An Effective and Efficient Incremental Convolutional Broad Learning System Combining Deep and Broad Representations

Author(s): Chunyu Lei, Jifeng Guo, C. L. Philip Chen

Pages: 5075 - 5089

20) Observer-Based Adaptive Fuzzy Control for Singular Systems with Nonlinear Perturbation and Actuator Saturation

Author(s): Qingtan Meng, Qian Ma

Pages: 5090 - 5099

21) Heterogeneous Graph Contrastive Learning With Augmentation Graph

Author(s): Zijuan Zhao, Zequn Zhu, Yuan Liu, Jinli Guo, Kai Yang

Pages: 5100 - 5109

22) Enclose and Track a Target of Mobile Robot With Motion and Field of View Constraints Based on Relative Position Measurement

Author(s): Yu Wen, Jiangshuai Huang, Shaoxin Sun, Xiaojie Su

Pages: 5110 - 5119

23) Interacting Multiple Model Framework for Incipient Diagnosis of Interturn Faults in Induction Motors

Author(s): Akash C. Babu, Jeevanand Seshadrinath

Pages: 5120 - 5129

24) A Multichannel Long-Term External Attention Network for Aeroengine Remaining Useful Life Prediction

Author(s): Xuezhen Liu, Yongyi Chen, Dan Zhang, Ruqiang Yan, Hongjie Ni

Pages: 5130 - 5140

25) Human Cognitive Learning in Shared Control via Differential Game With Bounded Rationality and Incomplete Information

Author(s): Huai-Ning Wu, Xiao-Yan Jiang, Mi Wang

Pages: 5141 - 5152

26) Ethical Decision-Making for the Inside of Autonomous Buses Moral Dilemmas

Author(s): Zijie Huang, Yulei Wu, Niccolò Tempini, Haina Tang

Pages: 5153 - 5166

27) Global Attention-Guided Dual-Domain Point Cloud Feature Learning for Classification and Segmentation

Author(s): Zihao Li, Pan Gao, Kang You, Chuan Yan, Manoranjan Paul

Pages: 5167 - 5178

28) U-Park: A User-Centric Smart Parking Recommendation System for Electric Shared Micromobility Services

Author(s): Sen Yan, Noel E. O’Connor, Mingming Liu

Pages: 5179 - 5193

29) Adaptive Intelligent Resilient Bipartite Formation Control for Nonlinear Multiagent Systems With False Data Injection Attacks on Actuators and Sensors

Author(s): Jie Lan, Hao Wang, Yan-Jun Liu, Shaocheng Tong

Pages: 5194 - 5204

30) Artificial Intelligence-Driven Framework for Augmented Reality Markerless Navigation in Knee Surgery

Author(s): Xue Hu, Fabrizio Cutolo, Hisham Iqbal, Johann Henckel, Ferdinando Rodriguez y Baena

Pages: 5205 - 5215

31) Reinforcement Learning-Based Time-Synchronized Optimized Control for Affine Systems

Author(s): Yuxiang Zhang, Xiaoling Liang, Dongyu Li, Shuzhi Sam Ge, Bingzhao Gao, Hong Chen, Tong Heng Lee

Pages: 5216 - 5231

32) Multivariate Time-Series Modeling and Forecasting With Parallelized Convolution and Decomposed Sparse-Transformer

Author(s): Shusen Ma, Yun-Bo Zhao, Yu Kang, Peng Bai

Pages: 5232 - 5243

33) Hybrid Intelligent Optimization of Nonlinear Switched Systems With Guaranteed Feasibility

Author(s): Huan Li, Jun Fu, Tianyou Chai

Pages: 5244 - 5257

34) A Novel Technique of Synthetic Data Generation for Asset Administration Shells in Industry 4.0 Scenarios

Author(s): Suman De, Pabitra Mitra

Pages: 5258 - 5266

35) Stable Learning via Triplex Learning

Author(s): Shuai Yang, Tingting Jiang, Qianlong Dang, Lichuan Gu, Xindong Wu

Pages: 5267 - 5276

36) Dynamic Combination Forecasting for Short-Term Photovoltaic Power

Author(s): Yu Huang, Jiaxing Liu, Zongshi Zhang, Dui Li, Xuxin Li, Guang Wang

Pages: 5277 - 5289

37) Comparative Evaluation in the Wild: Systems for the Expressive Rendering of Music

Author(s): Kyle Worrall, Zongyu Yin, Tom Collins

Pages: 5290 - 5303

38) Data-Driven Model Predictive Control for Hybrid Charging Stations Using Ensemble Learning

Author(s): G. S. Asha Rani, P. S. Lal Priya

Pages: 5304 - 5313

39) Disentangled Cross-modal Fusion for Event-Guided Image Super-resolution

Author(s): Minjie Liu, Hongjian Wang, Kuk-Jin Yoon, Lin Wang

Pages: 5314 - 5324

40) IN-GFD: An Interpretable Graph Fraud Detection Model for Spam Reviews

Author(s): Hang Yu, Weixu Liu, Nengjun Zhu, Pengbo Li, Xiangfeng Luo

Pages: 5325 - 5339

41) Toward Correlated Sequential Rules

Author(s): Lili Chen, Wensheng Gan, Chien-Ming Chen

Pages: 5340 - 5351

42) Expert Knowledge Driven Human-AI Collaboration for Medical Imaging: A Study on Epileptic Seizure Onset Zone Identification

Author(s): Payal Kamboj, Ayan Banerjee, Sandeep K. S. Gupta

Pages: 5352 - 5368

[filmes-online-facil]

Assistir Filme Adeus, Minha Concubina Online fácil

Assistir Filme Adeus, Minha Concubina Online Fácil é só aqui: https://filmesonlinefacil.com/filme/adeus-minha-concubina/

Adeus, Minha Concubina - Filmes Online Fácil

Na Pequim de 1925, a academia “Toda Sorte e Felicidade” ensina a arte da interpretação a meninos pobres e sem lar. Um deles, Douzi (Mingwey Ma), é filho de uma prostituta. O garoto Shitou (Yang Fei) o protege e se torna seu amigo. É um lugar com um sistema de aprendizado puxado, dirigido pelo mestre Guan Jinfa (Lu Qi). Por seus traços femininos, Douzi é treinado a fazer papéis de mulher, enquanto Shitou, um tipo mais rude, papéis masculinos. Os anos passam, Douzi e Shitou aprofundam seus estudos e se tornam atores famosos da Ópera de Pequim. Cheng Dieyi (Leslie Cheung) e Duan Xiaolou (Zhang Fengyi), nomes que adotam na vida artística, continuam amigos e interpretam a peça Adeus Minha Concubina. Quando Xiaolou se apaixona pela prostituta Juxiam (Gong Li), a amizade começa a se desfazer e eles param de trabalhar juntos. É o momento para decidir se prevalecerá a amizade de Dieyi e Xiaolou ou o amor de Juxian e Xiaolou.

[xtruss]

What Can The Transcontinental Railroad Teach Us About Anti-Asian Racism?

Chinese immigrants helped achieve ‘one of the greatest engineering feats in U.S. history.’ But their sacrifices are seldom remembered.

— By Ray Rogers | Published May 17, 2021

Train tracks run through Loray, Nevada. The transcontinental railroad extended through five states and connected America’s coasts. Photograph By Philip Cheung

Every May, tourists gather in Promontory Summit, Utah, to watch two trains meet nose to nose on tracks first laid more than 150 years ago. The Central Pacific Railroad’s Jupiter, painted blue with red and gold accents, whistles as steam billows against a clear sky and rolling hills. Facing it, the Union Pacific Railroad’s red-and-gold 119, its bell swinging, slows to a stop.

Both are near-exact replicas of the original Jupiter and 119 trains that ran in 1869, now used in the reenactment of the Golden Spike ceremony. On May 10, 1869, a gleaming golden spike was carefully tapped into place by Leland Stanford, president of Central Pacific Railroad. An engraving on the spike proclaimed: “May God continue the unity of our country, as this railroad unites the two great oceans of the world.” With that one act, Stanford marked the completion of the transcontinental railroad.

This 1877 photo depicts Chinese laborers in Secret Town, working on the transcontinental railroad across the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Secret Town was named after gold was discovered in the area, east of Gold Run in California’s Placer County. California State University, Chico, Meriam Library Special Collections

In the wake of the Civil War, the railroad became a symbol of progress intended to propel the divided country toward cohesion. Built largely by Chinese and Irish immigrants and Mormon laborers, the railroad made it easier for travelers and goods to move through the nation, but it also laid the foundation for deepening racial divides that are still felt today.

The May anniversary of the railroad’s completion coincides with Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. This year, it also comes at a time of increasing anti-Asian hate crimes worldwide amid an ongoing pandemic that disproportionately affects communities of color. The roots of anti-Asian racism across the United States stretch back hundreds of years. Remembering this context can help make sense of today’s violence, which is critical to building a new future.

“For as long as Asians have been in America, we’ve been seen as outsiders who can’t be trusted, and that misperception has often led to tragic consequences,” says Chris Lu, former U.S. deputy secretary of labor. “If you understand this history, you can better understand why the political rhetoric associating Asian Americans with COVID-19 is so unacceptable.”

Like parallel tracks, stories of unity and division run through history. There is the story of a fledgling nation built on immigrant and slave labor beginning its shaky but swift ascent to global power. Alongside that is the oft-forgotten narrative of anti-Asian racism codified first in sentiment, then in law in America.

For me, a third-generation, biracial Chinese American woman, questions of progress and identity ring louder than ever.

Remembering the Workers

An estimated 10,000–20,000 Chinese men joined the Central Pacific Union to complete the backbreaking labor of clearing the way for the railroad. Working 10–12 hour shifts during six-day work weeks, they dug through some of the most treacherous stretches of terrain, crawling into gaps and carving tunnels through the Sierra Nevada mountains from the inside out. They were paid less than other workers and denied room and board. After the railroad was completed, a slew of anti-Chinese legislation passed.

This stereograph (Year Unknown) shows Chinese immigrants posing along the Pacific railroad. Chinese workers laid a record 10 miles of track each day. New York Public Library

The Page Act of 1875, one of the earliest pieces of federal legislation that restricted immigration from East Asia, stopped almost all Chinese women from entering the country, stereotyping them as prostitutes. Then came the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which barred anyone from China and declared Chinese immigrants ineligible for naturalization. This legislation made it nearly impossible for Chinese families to set roots in America.

For more than 100 years, Chinese workers’ contributions were obscured and diminished. Indeed, few official remembrances were constructed over the decades. In May 2014, Lu helped induct these men into the U.S. Department of Labor’s Hall of Honor. “This was a small way that we could begin to give them the official recognition they rightfully deserve,” he says, reflecting on that day. “We'll never know the names of most of these Chinese workers, but their sacrifices were responsible for one of the greatest engineering feats in U.S. history.”

Today, the plaque is displayed in the North Plaza of the department's Frances Perkins Building in Washington, D.C. In Utah, visitors can stand under the Chinese Arch, a unique rock formation overlooking the valley. These were the result of descendants tirelessly advocating for their ancestors’ story to be told.

This archival photo (Year Unknown) shows a Chinese camp at the end of a section of track. Though Chinese railroad workers eventually received a pay raise, they still had to purchase their own food, housing, and clothes. But this allowed them to have a healthy diet and stave off illness through frequent clothes washing and the drinking of tea. Photograph By Alfred A. Hart, Stanford University Libraries

A More Complete History

Remembering these workers isn’t important only to Asian American history, it’s vital to American history. “The work of history is crucial for us to understand how U.S. society developed, how people have tried to transform it, and what worked or failed,” says Manu Karuka, assistant professor of American Studies at Barnard College. “The stories we tell about the past can play crucial functions in how we understand identity: who we identify with, and who we identify against.”

In 1969, at the centennial anniversary of the completion of the railroad, U.S. Secretary of Transportation John Volpe paid tribute to those who worked on the railroad. “Who else but Americans could drill 10 tunnels in mountains 30 feet deep in snow?” he said. “Who else but Americans could chisel through miles of solid granite? Who else but Americans could have laid 10 miles of track in 12 hours?”

Of course, it was the Chinese workers who did this, while being denied the ability to become Americans. And yet, is there anything more American than an immigrant? Fifty years after Volpe’s speech, at the 150th anniversary celebration in 2019, a new transportation secretary addressed the crowd—Taiwanese immigrant Elaine Chao. While her appointment and participation marked a significant moment, there’s still a long way to go.

All told, 1,776 miles of track had been laid between Sacramento, California, and Omaha, Nebraska. Later, much of the original steel from the tracks was pried up to fill metal needs during World War II. America’s continuous story of independence and reinvention begs the questions: What is essential to America, and now that the oceans are connected, where will the tides bring us next?

The Chinese Arch in Promontory Summit, Utah, at dusk. This limestone structure is one of few tributes to the Chinese laborers who helped build the transcontinental railroad. It was created 300 million years ago by erosion caused by the waves of an ancient lake called Bonneville. Photograph By Philip Cheung

“The history of railroads speaks to this moment in very particular ways. Whether we are thinking about climate change, migration, or war, studying railroad histories can clarify some of the political questions of our own day,” says Karuka. “History, of course, is made by individuals, but not by conditions they choose. How individuals build unity with others, what forms of organization they develop, and how they focus and sustain their resistance are some of the most important questions we can be thinking about in our own fraught moment.”

Back at Golden Spike National Historic Park in Utah, visitors may notice another tribute in the light green stone embedded in the visitors center’s walls. Park administrators chose to incorporate the cuprous quartzite stone to honor the Chinese workers’ contributions. The stone is only found in one local quarry—and in China.

It may be easy to miss, but the next time I visit, I’ll be looking for it, and I’ll remember the history.

[altairtalisman]

List Of Info About The Hourly Twelve

The First Hour

The Second Hour

The Third Hour

The Fourth Hour

The Fifth Hour

The Sixth Hour

The Seventh Hour

The Eighth Hour

The Ninth Hour

The Tenth Hour

The Eleventh Hour

The Twelfth Hour

[optimarcus]

[Movie Review] 'Dynasty Warriors' has everything you love from the games and more

[Movie Review] ‘Dynasty Warriors’ has everything you love from the games and more

Zhang Fei (Justin Cheung) in Dynasty Warriors (Netflix) Running time: 118 minutes Dong Zhuo (Lam Suet) in Dynasty Warriors (Netflix) Director: Ray Chow Dong Zhuo (Lam Suet) in Dynasty Warriors (Netflix) Writer: Christine To Lü Bu (Louis Koo) in Dynasty Warriors (Netflix) Cast: Louis Koo (Lü Bu), Carina Lau (Master of the Sword Forge Castle), Wan Kai (Cao Cao), Tony Yang (Liu Bei), Han Geng (Guan…

[weeguttersnipe]

The dance at the Empress’s birthday in Sound of the Desert (Chinese tv series, 2014)

[brody75]

Ebola Syndrome (1996)