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Chinese Idioms: From Ancient Wisdom to Modern Pop Culture
How chengyu became more than just their four characters. This dictionary of (translated) Chinese proverbs and idioms contains thousands...
Calvin Stevens
Jun 411 min read
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How to get the most out of Online Literary Slap-fights
“Heart of Darkness”, universities, Goodreads reviews, and collecting one’s thoughts. Graphic created by the author in Canva . Have you...
Calvin Stevens
Jun 48 min read
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Hernán Cortés leaves a Google Review of the Aztec Empire
And let’s just say: it’s a bit of a burner. Original post (05/05/1520): “I am most pleased to be in a position to comment on this niche,...
Calvin Stevens
Jun 34 min read
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Writing on Medium: Month 3
A Bit of Housekeeping and Trying Something New. Photo by the Author. I was bound to reach this point: the need for housekeeping. It’s not...
Calvin Stevens
May 83 min read
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How to Blog about Asia
A white man’s guide to blogging your trip through Asia in 2025. Image created in Canva . Original background photo by Manuel Joseph on...
Calvin Stevens
May 44 min read
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Anti-colonial but not Anti-racist
Doris Lessing’s “The Grass is Singing” and the problem of the white gaze in African literature. Cover for “The Grass is Singing” |...
Calvin Stevens
Apr 1311 min read
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Writing on Medium: Month 2
These are my statistics, earnings, and a new bit of advice I discovered pertaining to writing-backlogs. Photo by Leah Newhouse on...
Calvin Stevens
Apr 133 min read
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A Little Bowl of Asia in South Africa
This is how Chinese, Indian, and Indonesian food came to South Africa and influenced local cuisine. "Where Asia meets Africa" - photo by...
Calvin Stevens
Mar 1612 min read
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I was 17 when I read “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”
Strangely enough, it prepared me more for adulthood than any other book. One of the most beautiful books on my shelf — a Barnes and Noble...
Calvin Stevens
Mar 139 min read
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Emotions Affect the Way We Learn Languages
This is how I “set the mood” for language learning via the affective filter. Photo by Kaboompics on Pexels . It goes without saying that...
Calvin Stevens
Mar 47 min read
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A Novel of Unfolding Disappointment
How the depressing banality of society is presented in Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure. If you would like to support this article...
Calvin Stevens
Mar 37 min read
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Before European Patriarchy: Women in West and Central Africa
What were the highly-regarded and important roles of women in African societies pre-1900? If you would like to support this article...
Calvin Stevens
Feb 2812 min read
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Writing on Medium: Month 1
This is my oddly successful journey, thoughts, statistics, and earnings while writing on Medium for 1 month. Photo by Patrick Fore on...
Calvin Stevens
Feb 236 min read
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How Women Helped Forge Modern Nigeria
What role did women play in 20th century Nigeria, and how is the patriarchy treating them today? If you want to support this blog-post...
Calvin Stevens
Feb 159 min read
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The Butterfly Lovers: Chinese Romeo and Juliet
This is the tragic love-story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai. If you wish to support this blog post further, please feel free to check...
Calvin Stevens
Feb 109 min read
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Language Learning versus Language Acquisition
Graphic designed by the author using Canva . Original template by Studio Flare . So, you’ve decided to learn a new language, right? Yes,...
Calvin Stevens
Feb 97 min read
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Learning a New Language Is Giving Me an Identity Crisis
Author's photo. I have a bit of a dilemma: I’m no longer certain what my second language is. This became apparent to me during a casual...
Calvin Stevens
Feb 38 min read
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A Truly Universal, All-inclusive Book
Author’s photo — The two beautiful second-hand copies of ‘The Art of War’ and the ‘Tao Te Ching’ I got for a bargain price at a Chinese...
Calvin Stevens
Jan 298 min read
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Goodbye ChatGPT, Hello DeepSeek
Image retrieved from Getty Images. Within a mere week of its launch, the app for the Chinese artificial intelligence model, DeepSeek ,...
Calvin Stevens
Jan 276 min read
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A Different Way of looking at the Past and Future
"There's something in the distance - I just can't see very well." Picture from the author's Instagram. Saturday, 18th January: another...
Calvin Stevens
Jan 247 min read
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