Category: Essays
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[ESSAY] “No Moral at Its End” by Matt Reeck Also read Matt Reeck’s story “Three Travelling Portraits: India”. When I wrote โThree Travelling Portraits,โ I was interested in depicting some of the sexual tension that I had experienced and witnessed…
![[ESSAY] “No Moral at Its End” by Matt Reeck](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/screenshot-2026-07-10-at-19.06.38.png?w=850)
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[ESSAY] “The Internet Cafe That Died During The Pandemic” by Laurehl Onyx B. Cabiles There was a well-known internet cafรฉ in our municipality. Like all other small businesses, it was located at our public terminal since there were no complex…
![[ESSAY] “The Internet Cafe That Died During The Pandemic” by Laurehl Onyx B. Cabiles](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/screenshot-2026-07-11-at-11.40.29.png?w=824)
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[ESSAY] โSaigon, in a Previous Lifeโ by Yun Li Yun Li’s note on “Saigon, in a Previous Life”: “Saigon, in a Previous Life” was originally written in Chinese and published as “่ฅฟ่ดก็ๅไธไป็” in the Night Light Cup section of Xinmin…
![[ESSAY] โSaigon, in a Previous Lifeโ by Yun Li](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/screenshot-2026-07-09-at-16.04.22.png?w=849)
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่ถ FIRST IMPRESSIONS ่ถ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] โInto the Heart of Darkness in Rudraneil Senguptaโs The Beast Within and Nilanjana S. Royโs Black Riverโ by Rituparna Mukherjee ๐ธ Rudraneil Sengupta. The Beast Within, Context, 2025. 352 pgs.๐ธ…
![[ESSAY] โInto the Heart of Darkness in Rudraneil Senguptaโs ๐โ๐ ๐ต๐๐๐ ๐ก ๐๐๐กโ๐๐ and Nilanjana S. Royโs ๐ต๐๐๐๐ ๐
๐๐ฃ๐๐โ by Rituparna Mukherjee](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/rudraneil-sengupta.-the-beast-within-context-2025.-352-pgs.-nilanjana-s.-roy.-black-river-pushkin-vertigo-2024.-368-pgs.png?w=1024)
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[ESSAY] โLiner Notesโ by Jeremiah Dutch Also read Jeremiah Dutch’s story “Cool Jazz at the Dragonfly Club”. โAnyone who understands jazz knows that you canโt understand it. Itโs too complicated. Thatโs whatโs so simple about it.โ โAttributed to Yogi Berra…
![[ESSAY] โLiner Notesโ by Jeremiah Dutch](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/liner-notes-jeremiah-dutch.png?w=864)
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่ถ FIRST IMPRESSIONS ่ถ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] “Finding My Own Silent Friends: From the Botanical Garden to Hong Kong’s Streets” by Jennifer Eagleton Click HERE to read all entries in Chaon SILENT FRIEND. Ildikรณ Enyedi (director), Silent…
![[ESSAY] “Finding My Own Silent Friends: From the Botanical Garden to Hong Kong’s Streets” by Jennifer Eagleton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/screenshot-2026-06-02-at-10.42.17.png?w=824)
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่ถ FIRST IMPRESSIONS ่ถ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] โWhat Lingers: On Babitha Marina Justinโs The Way Madmen Smellโ by Ankush Banerjee Babitha Marina Justin. The Way Madmen Smell, Red River Press, 2026. 149 pgs. Noted Trivandrum-based academic, poet,…
![[ESSAY] โWhat Lingers: On Babitha Marina Justinโs ๐โ๐ ๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐โ by Ankush Banerjee](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/the-way-madmen-smell-by-babitha-marina-justin-.jpg?w=868)
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่ถ FIRST IMPRESSIONS ่ถ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] “A Landmark in Environmental Science: Ma Tianjie’s In Search of Green China“ by Laurence Westwood Ma Tianjie. In Search of Green China, Polity Books, 2025. 272 pgs. Beginning in the…
![[ESSAY] “A Landmark in Environmental Science: Ma Tianjie’s ๐ผ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐โ ๐๐ ๐บ๐๐๐๐ ๐ถโ๐๐๐” by Laurence Westwood](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/in-search-of-green-china-tianjie-ma-livres.jpg?w=575)
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่ถ FIRST IMPRESSIONS ่ถ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] โSimmering, Steaming, Spilling: On Hongwei Baoโs Queer Playtext Hot Potโ by Ronny Chan Clickย HERE to readย all entries inย Chaonย Hot Pot. Hongwei Bao. Hot Pot, Poetic Edge Publishers, 2026. 112 pgs. “To…
![[ESSAY] โSimmering, Steaming, Spilling: On Hongwei Baoโs Queer Playtext ๐ป๐๐ก ๐๐๐กโ by Ronny Chan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/hongwei-bao.-hot-pot-poetic-edge-publishers-2026.-112-pgs.png?w=1024)
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[ESSAY] โHot Pot: A Queer East Asian Play About A Meal, Four Friends and What Remains Unsaidโ by Hongwei Bao Clickย HERE to readย all entries inย Chaonย Hot Pot. Hongwei Bao (playwright). Hot Pot: A Queer East Asian Play About A Meal, Four…
![[ESSAY] โ๐ป๐๐ก ๐๐๐ก: A Queer East Asian Play About A Meal, Four Friends and What Remains Unsaidโ by Hongwei Bao](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/hot-pot-poster-square-with-title.jpg?w=1024)
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[ESSAY] “Memory and Music: Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Michael Raymond The first time I ever heard Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” I was watching the music video through a mosquito net late at night. Just me and the dim,…
![[ESSAY] “Memory and Music: Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Michael Raymond](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/screenshot-2026-05-27-at-20.06.27.png?w=1024)
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FIRST IMPRESSIONS ่ถ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] “Yi-Ling Liuโs Portrait of Chinaโs Digital Dissidents in The Wall Dancers” by Johanna M. Costigan Yi-Ling Liu. The Wall Dancers: Searching for Freedom and Connection on the Chinese Internet, Knopf, 2026,…
![[ESSAY] “Yi-Ling Liuโs Portrait of Chinaโs Digital Dissidents in ๐โ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ท๐๐๐๐๐๐ ” by Johanna M. Costigan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/wall-dancers.jpg?w=987)
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[ESSAY] “Of Elephants and Peoples” by Aishwarya Narayanan Image Periyar Tiger Reserve is located in the South-Western Ghats of India, administratively falling under the Idukki, Kottayam, and Pathanamthitta districts of Kerala. Encompassing 925 kilometres of protected wilderness, the Reserve is…
![[ESSAY] “Of Elephants and Peoples” by Aishwarya Narayanan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/elephants-https-periyartigerreserve.org_.jpg?w=1024)
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Editor’s note: In this essay, Chris Song reflects on debates in Hong Kongโs Sinophone literary field since the 2019 Biennial Awards, where tensions between everyday poetics and politically engaged writing surfaced. He shows how prizes, criticism, and institutions shape poetic…
![[ESSAY] “Poetics Debates and the Shadow of Power in Hong Kongโs Sinophone Literary Field” by Chris Song](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/poetics-debates-and-the-shadow-of-power-in-hong-kongs-sinophone-literary-field.png?w=786)
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[ESSAY] โAssemblage of/as Faith: Max Balatbat Reimagines the Sacred in ‘Sampalataya’” by Jose P. Mojica When one imagines the church, certain images come to mind. Mannerist-style paintings of the Stations of the Cross hang on tiled walls. Sunrays brim with…
![[ESSAY] โAssemblage of/as Faith: Max Balatbat Reimagines the Sacred in ‘Sampalataya'” by Jose P. Mojica](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/sampalataya-max-balatbat.png?w=1024)
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Editor’s note: We are delighted to present an essay by the distinguished translator Howard Goldblatt, whose work has been instrumental in introducing modern Chinese fiction to English-speaking readers. In his essay, Goldblatt reflects on his translation of Liang Xiaoshengโs My…
![[MY DESTINY] “Me and ๐๐ฆ ๐ท๐๐ ๐ก๐๐๐ฆ” by Howard Goldblatt](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/howard-goldblatt-my-destiny-and-me-for-cha.png?w=1024)
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[ESSAY] โMeeting the Moment: The Intimacy of LingJiun Wangโs Photographyโ by Julia Merican In Passing (2019 – present)ย I am looking at a photograph by LingJiun Wang. In it, a woman lies on a dark rug, which in turn rests…
![[ESSAY] โMeeting the Moment: The Intimacy of LingJiun Wangโs Photographyโ by Julia Merican](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/in-passing-2019-present.png?w=1024)
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Editor’s note: Through a sequence of transient homes across Singapore and Malaysia, Sia Ling Ee’s essay โTo All the Homes Iโd Known Beforeโ traces a childhood shaped by precarity, familial strain, and longing for stability. Contrasted with her husbandโs rooted…
![[ESSAY] โTo All the Homes Iโd Known Beforeโ by Sia Ling Ee](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/pic-1-amk-rental-flat.jpeg?w=1024)
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่ถ FIRST IMPRESSIONS ่ถ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS Editor’s note: Qinxian Bonnie Ran’s essay examines Amitav Ghosh’s incorporation of Cantonese into English in River of Smoke. She argues that the novel’s multilingual Fanqui City creates a space where economic…
![[ESSAY] “Canton and Cantonese in Amitav Ghoshโs ๐
๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐” by Qinxian Bonnie Ran](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/river-of-smoke_cha.jpg?w=990)
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่ถ FIRST IMPRESSIONS ่ถ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] โSleep, Baby, Oh Donโt You Sleep: Thailandโs Northeast in Apichatpong Weerasethakulโs Cemetery of Splendour and Thunska Pansittivorakulโs Isan Odysseyโ by Peixuan Xie โ Apichatpong Weerasethakul (director), Cemetery of Splendour, 2015.…
![[ESSAY] โSleep, Baby, Oh Donโt You Sleep: Thailandโs Northeast in Apichatpong Weerasethakulโs ๐ถ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ข๐ and Thunska Pansittivorakulโs ๐ผ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฆ๐ ๐ ๐๐ฆโ by Peixuan Xie](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/apichatpong-weerasethakuls-cemetery-of-splendour-and-thunska-pansittivorakuls-isan-odyssey.png?w=1024)
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่ถ FIRST IMPRESSIONS ่ถ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] โWe Are What We Read: Reading Zheng Liuโs Cultural Mavericksโ by X. H. Collins Click HERE to readย all entries inย Chaย onย Cultural Mavericks. Zheng Liu, Cultural Mavericks: The Business and Politics of…
![[ESSAY] โWe Are What We Read: Reading Zheng Liuโs ๐ถ๐ข๐๐ก๐ข๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐๐ โ by X. H. Collins](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/cultural-mavericks-the-business-and-politics-of-independent-bookselling-in-china.jpg?w=971)
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[ESSAY] โLost and Found in Languagesโ by Qinxian Bonnie Ran Photo by Peicen Yan The Failure of Poetry Ma, I read a poem today: โthe walls have been mortared with grief, dark enoughTo make blindness as a giftโwe donโt have…
![[ESSAY] โLost and Found in Languagesโ by Qinxian Bonnie Ran](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/yan7.jpg?w=1024)
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่ถ FIRST IMPRESSIONS ่ถ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] “Poetry as Archive: Creativity, Political Commitment, and the Everyday in Tammy Lai-Ming Ho’s If I Do Not Reply” by Hannah Steurer Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on If I Do Not Reply.…
![[ESSAY] “Poetry as Archive: Creativity, Political Commitment, and the Everyday in Tammy Lai-Ming Ho’s ๐ผ๐ ๐ผ ๐ท๐ ๐๐๐ก ๐
๐๐๐๐ฆ” by Hannah Steurer](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/if-i-do-not-reply_tammy-ho.jpg?w=907)
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่ถ FIRST IMPRESSIONS ่ถ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] “Ghostly Formations and Queer Futures: On Queer Southeast Asia” by Charlotte Marie Chadwick Shawna Tang and Hendri Yulius Wijaya (editors). Queer Southeast Asia, Routledge. 2022. 296 pgs. Queer Southeast Asia,…
![[ESSAY] “Ghostly Formations and Queer Futures: On ๐๐ข๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ข๐กโ๐๐๐ ๐ก ๐ด๐ ๐๐” by Charlotte Marie Chadwick](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/queer-southeast-asia-edited-by-shawna-tang-hendri-yulius-wijaya-copyright-2023.jpg?w=1000)
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่ถ FIRST IMPRESSIONS ่ถ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS Editor’s note: Jason S Polley opens his review essay by recounting his fond and fervent championing of Kit Fanโs first novel, Diamond Hill (2021), whose Cantonese-inflected language enabled rare intergenerational and…
![[ESSAY] โ๐๐๐ ๐บ๐๐ Canton: Reading Kit Fanโs ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐ฆ๐ ๐ถโ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ค๐โ by Jason S Polley](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/goodbye-chinatown-kit-fan-cha.jpg?w=938)
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[ESSAY] โIn Another Life, I Might Not Be A Better Selfโ by Lei Wang Miss Universe by John Doe If not for COVID, I would have moved back to China after my MFA, rather than remaining in Iowa. Instead of…
![[ESSAY] โIn Another Life, I Might Not Be A Better Selfโ by Lei Wang](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/lei-wang-for-cha-an-asian-literary-journal.jpeg?w=275)
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[ESSAY] โHong Kong: Once in a Million Yearsโ by Simon Patton Owen Chow ้ๅฎถๆ and his tatoo Between 2019 and 2021, Hong Kong was repeatedly in the international spotlight. A decisive clash between civilisations was the main reason for such…
![[ESSAY] โHong Kong: Once in a Million Yearsโ by Simon Patton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/718kdzhcgql._ac_uf10001000_ql80_.jpg?w=895)
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่ถ FIRST IMPRESSIONS ่ถ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] “Shelves, Stories, and Silence: Reading Zheng Liu’s Cultural Mavericks” by Laurence Westwood Clickย HERE to readย all entries inย Chaย onย Cultural Mavericks. Zheng Liu, Cultural Mavericks: The Business and Politics of Independent Bookselling in…
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Editor’s note: Elaine Tsaiโs essay traces Taiwanโs layered history before turning to Ghost Month, whose rituals of burning joss paper and offering food shape her childhood summers. These practices lead into reflections on ancestor worship, her fatherโs death, and beliefs…
![[ESSAY] โGhost Month and the Afterlifeโ by Elaine Tsai](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/the-religious-painting-unprovoked-dead-ghosts.png?w=1024)
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Editor’s note: Julien Pieronโs essay examines Sophie Houdartโs Ce territoire qui, comme une pulsationโฆ (รditions des mondes ร faire, 2026), an ethnographic study of post-Fukushima life in Tลwa that portrays a world where catastrophe persists as an unclosed present. Through…
![[ESSAY] โLife in the Persistence of Fukushima: Sophie Houdartโs ๐ถ๐ ๐ก๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐, ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐ข๐๐ ๐๐ก๐๐๐โฆโ by Julien Pieronย](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/maf_houdart_scan_01-resp2880.jpg?w=1024)
Cha 