I was used to slammed doors, rumbling buses, shouting, snarling pitties, police sirens, […]

Until the early Sung, P'u-t'ien was part of Ch'üan-chou prefecture; in 983 a new prefecture, Hsing-hua Commandery (Hsing-hua chün), was established with P'u-t'ien as the prefectural capital.]

The Commons, on the other hand, upon permission being granted to appear at their Lordships' bar, come in with as many and as sapient noddings of the head, as a wooden mandarin performs in a tea-dealer's window[…]

Meanwhile, Japan must bolster its own defenses and substantially increase defense spending to meet new threats. Tokyo should swallow some of its suspicions and move more quickly to rebuild frayed ties with South Korea. It should make cooperation with the United States a cornerstone of its engagement throughout the Indo-Pacific and with NATO. It is a full agenda and there is no time to lose.