Time Int 12.27.2021

ENDNOTE

Tomorrow’s Innovator

BY WALTER ISAACSON

ELON MUSK MIGHT BE THE MOST INTEREST- psychological and physical violence as a kid in South

ing person on the planet. And given his passion- Africa, he has a greater-than-normal mental ability

ate quest (so far surprisingly on track) to make to calculate risk and emotional ability to tolerate it.

humans into a multiplanetary species, he could As a biographer who has covered the shapers of

someday become the most interesting person in technological revolutions, I see in Musk many of the

the solar system. traits of earlier innovators. Like Thomas Edison, he

O.K., those statements may be hyperbole. But knows that vision without execution is hallucina-

Musk’s ability to turn hyperbole into reality is one tion, a weakness that sometimes hobbled the origi-

of his superpowers. Through his intense focus on nal Tesla, as in Nikola. So he expends 90% of his

driving every problem down to the level of basic time on the nuts and bolts (literally) of his products.

physics, he has already earned himself a spot in the Like Henry Ford, he understands the importance

pantheon of history’s great innovators. not only of the products he devises but also the

His endeavors are not merely digi- factories that can churn them out. His

tal concoctions conjured up in a dorm gigafactories for cars and batteries—in

room or garage. They involve devising the U.S., Germany and China—are show-

and manufacturing physical products, ing that innovative methods for manufac-

such as cars and batteries and rocket turing a product are even more important

ships, like America used to be able to do: than innovative products themselves.

Tesla (no, Mr. President, not General Like Steve Jobs, he is reinventing

Motors) is the primary driving force multiple industries with the strategic

transporting the world into the age of use of reality-distortion fields. He ques-

electric cars. And self-driving ones. tions every assumption in order to drill

Tesla Energy, with its solar roof tiles down to the first principles of physics.

and battery walls, is heralding an era of Like Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, he has

decentralized, carbon-free electricity. a hardcore intensity that can drive col-

SpaceX has enabled the U.S. to launch leagues (and himself) to near madness

humans into orbit for the first time since but also drive them to do things they

NASA shut down the space-shuttle pro- thought were impossible.

gram a decade ago. And like Benjamin Franklin and

Starlink has deployed more than Leonardo da Vinci, he has an obsessive

1,800 satellites and is quietly rebuild- but playful curiosity about all of the

ing the Internet in space. wonders of nature that helps him see

Neuralink is making the next great patterns across disparate fields.

leap in the storied history of human- But more than most other great inno-

machine interfaces by creating implants vators, Musk is driven by a larger sense

that can link to the neurons of a brain. of mission. He has a fierce urge to make

The Boring Co. is building tunnels de- life on this planet sustainable, turn hu-

signed to conquer the scourge of traffic. mans into a spacefaring species, and as-

And Starship, the biggest rocket ever sure that artificial intelligence will be

built, will someday take us to Mars. beneficial rather than malign to us mor-

Musk’s input-output mechanisms can tals. These goals are audacious, and he

be unnerving. He displays a manic wacki- may fail. But at the moment, he has be-

ness and semicalculated craziness that come the most important single individ-

occasionally skitters, like a too early beta PAST CHOICES ual in designing and deploying the in-
version of Full Self-Driving, across the line SPOTLIGHTING novations that will bring us a few steps
between wiliness and weirdness. With closer to each of these aspirations.
INNOVATION

ultracapacitor bursts of energy, he is ad- INCLUDE, FROM TOP: Isaacson, a former editor of TIME, is
dicted to sparking dramas that he can use THE COMPUTER (1982); writing a biography of Musk
for strategic purposes. Having endured ANDREW GROVE (1997);

JEFF BEZOS (1999)

101

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PRESENTED BY CHINA DAILY

The perfect
farm combo:
rice and fish

New farming methods are helping harvest
a tourism wave in Guangxi Zhuang
autonomous region

BY YANG FEIYUE living since ancient times. Tourists from home and abroad enjoy traditional Dong food during a festival
The fertile land, rich water banquet. GONG PUKANG / FOR CHINA DAILY
Harvest time always pres-
ents Sanjiang Dong autono- resources and pleasant climate The historical bridges and stays and selling local farm
mous county at its picturesque make things ideal for agricul- traditional wooden buildings produce.
best. tural development. are picture perfect, especially
the drum towers and houses Tang Xinguang of Dashu
Farmers are busy harvest- The symbiosis of the two on stilts. village was one of the first to
ing the rice paddies amid the brings the benefits as the fish answer Sanjiang’s call to take
golden farmland and fishing eat pests and microorganisms Yongji Bridge, for instance, up rice production and fish
the ponds in October, and the that are bad for the rice, while features pagodas and pavilions farming.
air is filled with optimism for a producing fertilizer for the across its span. Completed in
big harvest in the county in the crop, the local authority said. 1912, it is typical of many local ar- He rented idle land from
Guangxi Zhuang autonomous tistic structures, some of which villagers and applied the new
region. The county was named can boast a history stretching agricultural standards. At
a demonstration zone for back more than 2,000 years. It the same time, he got help in
Wei Fahong seems content standardized fish culture in was named among the world’s promoting the farm’s produce
with the harvest from his fam- paddy fields this year, and the top 10 most spectacular bridges via e-commerce and various
ily’s farmland of half an acre in authority has come up with by the American Broadcasting agricultural shows.
Linlue village of Sanjiang. standards for all links in the Co. in 2008.
fish culture chain. “The standardized paddy-
This year he reaped more From January to July Sanjiang field-fish-culture has spread in
than 3,300 pounds of rice, The standards have helped received a total of 5.71 million our village,” Tang said, adding
which will bring his family an increase production of paddy visits, 124% more than in the that the area dedicated to the
income of more than 10,000 rice and fish, improving their corresponding period last year, farming technique has expand-
yuan ($1,570). popularity among consumers, and tourism revenue reached ed from 22 acres to more than
said Hou Menglin, director of 6.7 billion yuan, 125% higher. 74 acres in Dashu.
Amid the high wheat straw the Sanjiang market supervi-
in the pond, fish were fattened sion bureau. By last year a total of 25,000 Many locals have opened
perfectly for the dining table. people in Sanjiang had engaged rural restaurants serving a feast
The method has enabled in the tourism industry by of- of fish for visitors.
Some farmers celebrated locals to produce premium, fering various related services,
harvest ahead of time with high-quality rice and fish, both including running rural home- Sanjiang has built five paddy
fresh roast fish. of which have helped to draw and fish culture demonstration
visitors from the city. bases, which altogether cover
“It’s harvest season, and
having fish is an auspicious They can go fishing and grill
practice that expresses our their catch, while taking in the
wish for a surplus harvest,” distinctive rural and ethnic cul-
said Shi Shilian, a villager in ture as they enjoy the unrivaled
Sanjiang. hospitality of Sanjiang.

In Chinese, the word for fish The Chengyang Bazhai sce-
and a word meaning surplus nic area in Sanjiang comprises
are pronounced in the same eight villages with more than
way. 10,000 Dong residents and
features a rich ethnic culture.
“It’s a good way to celebrate
our gains,” Shi said. It allows visitors to get a fas-
cinating glimpse into the well-
Sanjiang county is home preserved ancient traditions of
to the ethnic Dong people, the ethnic group, including its
accounting for 57% of the local songs, dances, religious beliefs,
population. Locals have relied folk customs and textile skills.
on paddies and fishing for a

China Watch materials are distributed by China Daily Distribution Corp. on behalf of China Daily, Beijing, China.

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Ping-pong envoys relish Games power

an area of more than 470 acres. BY LINDA DENG “And it just brings about “Ping-pong diplomacy was
The local authority has ad- understanding between the thing that just ignited it
Connie Sweeris, who has individuals, which then can and got it started. I do think
opted a plan to upgrade paddy witnessed the power of seep into the rest of the that sports, and other cultural
and fish farming technology. It sports said she is hopeful culture. Especially for me, exchanges, play a huge part
aims to develop a cultivation about the upcoming Winter that became true in 1971, in bringing people together,
area of about 11,600 acres over Olympics in Beijing. when I was on the U.S. team nations together.
the next three years, increasing in Nagoya, Japan, represent-
per capita annual income by “It’s just a great oppor- ing the U.S. at the World Table Hoarfrost said she loves the
1,000 yuan in the county. tunity to gather the world Tennis Championships. On slogan for the 2022 Beijing
together. We do want to get the last day of that competi- Winter Olympics, “Together
Some villages have consoli- together and compete again,” tion, China had extended an for a shared future”.
dated their farmland base and Sweeris said. invitation to our U.S. team
dug fishponds on the side. to come and play friendship “We have to work together
The U.S.A. Table Tennis matches,” Connie said. to have our common health
“The advantage of this is that Hall of Famer was a mem- goals and our common
it can support ratoon cropping ber of the pioneering team “As we did that, we realized environmental goals. I think
(pruning the part of the crop from the U.S. that made the that we were the first Ameri- that we should all give some
that sits above the waterline historic trip to China in 1971, cans that were going to be led thought to that.”
but leaving the roots intact, to that launched ping-pong into China since 1949. When
encourage recovery and stron- diplomacy between the two we got into China, the slogan Connie Sweeris said: “By
ger yield the following season), nations. when we played our matches doing these exchanges, and
prolonging the growth period of was ‘Friendship first, competi- what this slogan means, is we
the fish,” said Wu Xin, a village “When it’s only every four tion second’, and it broke open can do things in the world to-
official. years, for some athletes that a door between our two coun- gether better than separate.
are getting toward the end tries to establish a relation- And it will create more of a
“It ensures the quality of fish of their career and wanted ship or diplomatic ties, and to peaceful world if we have this
while promoting the stable yield to make the Olympics, they begin talks with each other.” understanding and together-
of rice,” he said. maybe cannot have another ness.”
chance to make an Olympic Judy Hoarfrost, the young-
Improved agricultural de- team or make the Olympics,” est player in the nine-mem- The Sweerises’ son Todd
velopment has paved the way said Dell Sweeris, Connie’s ber U.S. table tennis team is a former two-time table
for tourism as Sanjiang county husband, doubles partner that arrived in Beijing in 1971, tennis Olympian. He told his
continues to integrate agricul- and also a Hall of Famer. said ping-pong diplomacy has parents about his dream of
ture with its ethnic festivals. given her a unique perspec- being in the Olympics when
Fifty years since the birth tive on how a sport can help he was 8. When he represent-
“The benefit of planting alone of ping-pong diplomacy bring people together. The ed the U.S. and competed in
was minimal, and many people between the U.S. and China, sporting endeavor helped the 1996 Summer Olympics
were unwilling to plant, result- the couple said they firmly open up exchanges between in Atlanta, his parents were
ing in the serious problem of a believe sports can foster the two countries, culminat- thrilled.
lot of abandoned paddy fields,” friendship between nations ing in president Richard
said Wu Chengdong, deputy and peoples. Nixon’s trip to China in 1972. “The highest thing that you
head of Sanjiang county. can attain in your sports is
“When you compete “The U.S. and China have becoming an Olympic ath-
“If we do a good job with the against each other from many, many ties, business lete,” Connie Sweeris said.
infrastructure of paddy fields countries all over the world, ties and personal ties, so
and combine aquaculture with you begin to break barri- many ways that we are inter- “And that is just an amaz-
tourism we can not only solve ers down, and you begin to related now that we were ing event, doesn’t matter
the problems of land waste and understand their culture, not in 1971,” Hoarfrost said. whether it’s in the United
food security, but also improve and you have exchanges with States or China or any of
soil stratification and environ- them,” she said. these states,” her husband
mental sanitation.” added.

Chinese and
U.S. table tennis
mixed doubles
players at a
training session
in Houston,
Texas, for the
2021 World
Table Tennis
Championships
in the city last
month.

WU XIAOLING /

XINHUA

Additional information is on file with the Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.

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Concert brings Chinese

and U.S. artists together

at Lincoln Center

BY MINLU ZHANG

Inspired by connections Soprano Esther Maureen Kelly (left) and coloratura soprano Holly Flack sing during the concert, East/West: A Symphonic
between the East and the West, Celebration, at the Lincoln Center in New York on Nov. 13. PHOTOS BY LI RUI / XINHUA
musicians from China and the
United States staged a concert, EAST AND WEST
performing pieces from two MEET IN HARMONY
sides of the world at the Lincoln
Center in New York on Nov. 13. Violinist Hu Shenghua leads the “Music is the universal This year marks the 50th
orchestra during the concert. language of mankind. Music anniversary of Ping-Pong
Presented by the China Arts helps peoples and nations com- Diplomacy between China and
and Entertainment Group, audience.“Especially when you municate through means that the U.S., a mission that helped
East/West: A Symphonic Cel- listen to how the soloists play, are more efficient than words, to open up exchanges between
ebration is part of Image China, you can hear a lot of different because it touches the core of the two countries, culminating in
a cultural exchange initiative inflections and styles of playing humanity by awakening empa- president Richard Nixon’s trip to
aimed at introducing traditional that are not traditionally done in thy and compassion.” China in 1972.
and contemporary Chinese Western music, which I thought
performance arts to people is really interesting.” Holly Flack, a coloratura so- “Since then, people of all
around the world. prano who sang songs derived walks of life in China and the
Hu Shenghua, the violinist who from ancient Chinese poems U.S., including those in the art
Featuring conductor Cai Jin- played the Butterfly Lovers violin A Night Mooring by the Maple field, have deeply engaged in
dong of the Bard College and the concerto, says he felt proud to Bridge, Ode to the Goose and promoting China-U.S. rela-
New York City Ballet Orchestra, play Eastern music at the Lincoln Song of Snow, said the concert tions and made contributions
the concert presented several Center, one of the world’s lead- brought hope to people in China to build a healthy and stable
traditional Chinese musical piec- ing performing arts centers. and the U.S. bilateral relationship,” Huang
es and one U.S. musical piece, Ping, China’s consul general in
including Butterfly Lovers, Great “The concert is very reflective New York, wrote in a letter to
Wall Capriccio and Appalachian of hope. Everybody everywhere the concert.
Spring Suite. went through an unquestionably
difficult time that was unprec- Since 2012, Image China has
“If the concert tonight can be edented. But it’s like the crocus presented a series of Chinese
illustrated as a picture, then this coming up for spring out of the dance dramas at the Lincoln
picture is from the Appalachian snowy winter. We can come back Center’s David H. Koch Theater,
Mountains to the Great Wall,” slowly as long as we all cooper- including The Peony Pavilion,
Cai said.“Through this picture, ate together, and music itself is Silk Road, The Red Dress, The
everyone can feel the connec- universal. Legend of Mulan, Dragon Boat
tion between the cultures. Racing, Confucius, Soaring
“You don’t even have to speak Wings and Princess Zhaojun.
“Music indeed is a very good the same language to be moved
art form for communication. by a piece of music. If everyone A second concert, China Inspi-
Putting aside politics, economy feels the same way emotion- rations, was staged on Nov. 28
and idealism, communication ally, we can almost get over any with artists from the Chamber
between people is the most other kind of problems we have.” Music Society of Lincoln Center.
important. And music is the best
way to communicate.”

The concert included per-
formances by U.S. musicians,
providing the audience with
the opportunity to get to know
traditional Chinese music. By
performing traditional Chinese
music, Cai said, the musicians
try to interpret it themselves.

“During our rehearsals I heard
someone say,‘Wow, Chinese
traditional music is so beautiful’,”
Cai said.

Many enjoyed Chinese tradi-
tional music at the concert.

“It’s very different from West-
ern music, absolutely,” said Wes-
ley Michalski, a member of the

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In mists of Shennongjia

the legendary wild man remains elusive

Exquisite scenery

brings in tourists Clockwise from top: In Shennong Altar Scenic Area of Shennongjia, a long stone Shennongjia boasts rich
staircase leads to a 69-ft.-high stone sculpture of the head of Emperor Yan (Shennong). biodiversity. WAN ZHONGYI / FOR
all year round XU LIN / CHINA DAILY Shennongjia is known for its stunning view of a sea of clouds and its
colorful autumn leaves. WAN ZHONGYI / FOR CHINA DAILY AND XU LIN / CHINA DAILY CHINA DAILY
BY XU LIN
Guanmenshan Scenic Area and mountains and reed marshes In Shennong Altar Scenic
Shennongjia is said to be showcases rich biodiversity, with a as the backdrop. Area, a long stone staircase
the place where the mythical natural ecology museum, a garden leads to a 69-ft.-high stone
Emperor Yan once lived. Some with precious plants and areas that Chinese proclaim themselves sculpture of Shennong’s
visitors hope that they may animals such as deer and giant yan huang zi sun, the offspring of head. With two ox horns,
encounter the legendary yeren salamanders inhabit. mythical Emperor Yan (Shennong) his eyes are closed and his
(wild man), China’s equiva- and the Yellow Emperor. chin raised as if he is lost in
lent of Bigfoot, in the remote On a zigzag wooden plank road thought.
mountains and virgin forests. in the forest are small exhibition Shennongjia was so named
boards that present information because it is said to be the place Looking up, visitors will
They may not see any about bird species, and there are where Shennong tasted various gaze in awe at the stone
such creature, but they are fish ponds. It is a perfect place to herbs to figure out how to use them head as they ascend the
attracted by Shennongjia’s discover natural science. to cure sickness. stairs. They can also appre-
vibrant ecology, rich biodiver- ciate murals depicting Shen-
sity and karst landforms. Being in Dajiuhu National Shennong, often depicted with nong’s legend, with a row of
Wetland Park when the wetlands the horns of an ox, was a man of traditional Chinese sacrificial
The nature of Shennongjia’s are shrouded in mist early in the all trades. He invented farm tools vessels to the side.
beauty varies over the year as morning is like being in a wonder- and discovered tinder and tea,
time takes its course. Tourists land, with reflections in the water and made cooking utensils out of Legends similar to that of
can enjoy flower blossoms in pottery. the wild man can be found
spring, be shaded from the all over the globe, ranging
summer heat, appreciate red from Bigfoot in North Amer-
leaves in autumn and go ski- ica to Yeti in the Himalayan
ing in winter. mountains.

In 2016 China announced Between 1976 and 1981
that it would build 10 pilot the Chinese Academy of Sci-
national parks for ecosystem ences organized three large-
preservation, including in scale scientific investigations
Shennongjia Forestry District, — and anthropologists, zoolo-
Hubei province. gists and botanists were sent
to the region’s thick forest.
Trips in such a mountainous
region depend very much on Scientists have collected
the weather. An early rise by hair, footprints and excre-
visitors may be rewarded with ment suspected of belonging
a stunning view of a sea of to the wild man, but some
clouds beneath. experts argue that most
were left by bears, monkeys
The natural beauty of karst or even human beings.
landforms is ubiquitous.
What they did discover
There are waterfalls, pools was the area’s rich biodi-
and a 56-ft.-high arch that versity. During the second
resembles a bridge crafted mission in 1977, the golden
by nature after centuries of snub-nosed monkey was ob-
rain erosion. served in Shennongjia.

Visitors can hike in a forest, In 1999 Chinese authori-
climb a mountain and explore a ties announced that there is
large, dark cave to listen to the no wild man in Shennongjia.
sounds of swallows nestling. Nevertheless, in 2016 the
wild man legend was added
Tourists may come across to Hubei’s intangible cultural
an area in which golden snub- heritage list.
nosed monkeys that are ill or
injured are treated before they These days it is Shen-
go back into the forest. nongjia’s flora and fauna
that are its biggest drawcard.

Additional information is on file with the Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.