My Writing Inspiration: A Note from Andrew

(photo by Glenn Carstons Peters, www.unsplash.com)

My mentor often asks me if I have an outline of topics mapped out for future Substack posts. My answer is the same every time. No. There are many good reasons to do so, but it does not come easy for me.

So, where do my writing ideas come from? What is my inspiration?

I read a lot and something always hits me and sends me down a new path. This past weekend (before a blizzard knocked me back to the stone ages for several days) I spent researching a 17th century Chinese encyclopedia, the Tiangong Kaiwu, "The Exploitation of the Works of Nature." Why? Because in preparation for an upcoming hiking adventure on the Great Wall, I am reading William Lindesay's The Great Wall in 50 Objects. He mentions the encyclopedia in Chapter 6. I had not heard of it before. Now, I am reading it.

What about my next Substack post? I was reading an article a few weeks ago that mentioned bamboo writing strips from ancient China that were buried more than 2,000 years ago and now uncovered, preserved, and being studied. This set me down another new path. I have been reading about the Guodian texts since, particularly as they relate to the development of Chinese Confucian identity and governance in ancient times that in significant ways carry forward to today. This is my current topic.

I want to also try something new here. If there is anything China- or Chinese-related that readers would like to know more about to get a better understanding of this fascinating subject and critical nation to the balance of the Twenty-First Century or if you are simply curious, please reach out and share it with me. Maybe, most likely, it will set me down another path. I love pulling the strings on these paths, learning more, and sharing.