曾國藩名言類鈔傳記

這是在曾國藩名言類鈔傳記理看到的. 覺得挺有意思的!

君子之學道, 尤病於近名. 人稟器於天地, 受形於父母, 苟官骸得職, 做事有倫, 雖一字不識, 闃寂無聞, 於我乎無損也; 雖著述萬卷, 譽滿天下, 於我乎無加. 世士不察, 乃捨此由, 急彼之騖; 校經則漢宋分門, 論文則奇偶異幟. 小學, 金石, 算術, 輿地之事, 名目既繁, 風尚日新, 窮年而殫日, 悴力敝身, 則足以熾其好名爭勝之私矣, 豈篤於為己者哉? 僕之往歲, 亦嘗馳逐眾說, 昏庸作輟, 百無一成, 窮而思返, 恍若有悟. 乃知德行未尊, 則學問適足以助長; 德行既尊, 然後吾之知識少焉而不足恥, 多焉而不足矜. 周公之才藝, 孔子之多能, 吾不如彼, 非吾咎也; 若其踐形盡性, 彼之所稟, 吾亦稟焉, 一息尚存, 不敢不勉. 是以邇日業術雖無寸進, 而心念大定, 寤寐安恬.

並不是說所有都懂. 只是自以為猜的到他的意思所在. 就我所能看到的意思, 我覺得很重要. 這是一種自我肯定, 是一種對人生的了解, 亦有自強不息的味道!

第五十八頁,

金庸茶館論壇上討論有關平型關戰役與中共

平型關戰役和忻口戰役同屬於太原會戰...

中共歷年對於平型關戰役的描述:

<<一九三七年十一月二十日由中共所屬的抗戰出版社發行的《第八路軍》一書是這 樣報導的：“二十五號那天，敵人著名的板垣師團的第十和二十二聯隊，進入平型 關……戰畢，我軍俘獲敵人一千余人，敵傷亡在五千以上，我軍又奪得坦克車、裝 甲車及馬車共七十四輛。” >>

<<文革中或之前出版的資料記載是：“九月二十五日，天色微明，日軍進攻平型關 的兵力部屬已隱約可見。這時板垣第五師團第二十一旅團約四千人，一百余輛汽車 ，兩百余輛大車，走入我們的伏擊圈內，大約五時半光景，戰斗幵始了。……在這 次戰斗中，殲滅日軍三千多，毀汽車一百多輛，大車二百輛……我軍傷亡近千人。 >>

<<一九八七年十一月由上海社會科學院出版的《中國共產党抗日戰爭大事記》也沿 用了以上說法：“殲敵三千”云云。 >>

<<一九八三年由湖北人民出版社出版龔古今、唐培吉編的《中國抗日戰爭史 稿》卻是這樣記載的：“二十五日拂曉，日軍第五板垣師團二十一旅團第二十一聯 隊第三大隊和輜重部隊一部進入我軍伏擊圈…据統計，此次戰役，殲滅日軍一千多 人，毀敵汽車八十余輛，我軍傷亡六百余人。” >>

哪 裡管這個東西是誰寫的. 只管這個東西是不是對的. 文章裡提出的東西是否存在. 中共是否歷年來的說法是否是這樣? 在雜誌上的問題翻雲覆雨. 永遠不在主題上做出回應. 這文章就是顯示出, 中共如何利用文字做政治上的宣傳. 他不惜用隱瞞, 欺騙, 誇大, 扭曲事實,來作為他政治上的宣傳. 而你的神, 毛澤東就是這事的始作俑者.

節錄一段楊奎松有平型關戰報的文字:

>>平型关战斗的捷报问题

由上述情况不难了解，八路军一一五师参战部队，如六八五团事后的战斗详报，以及林彪在作战过程中和战斗结束后向八路军前总所做的战报，包括朱、彭向蒋介石和军委会所做的战报和相关奖恤申请的报告，基本上都是实事求是的。

对于八路军平型关作战力主从振奋人心的宣传角度加以夸大的是毛泽东。他在26日上午接得朱、彭捷报后，当即草拟了用于宣传的捷报并迅速发出，随即于11时 电告朱、彭说明：“已用八路军参谋处名义用有线电、无线电发出简单捷报，只说将敌万余击溃，击毙甚多，一部俘虏，车辆枪炮缴获甚多，正清查中等语。”毛并 提出：“关于缴获数目对国民党不可夸大，但对外宣传可略增数目字，是否可说俘虏千余人，汽车八十余辆，坦克五辆，炮三门，炮弹三千发，请酌定见告，以为统 一”。[45](《毛泽东致朱彭任并告林聂电》，1937年9月26日。)

由于这时朱、彭已依据早上给毛泽东等人的捷报，上报南京蒋介石和阎锡山，内容仍然是“缴获汽车六十余辆，小摩托车三辆，外炮一门，炮弹二千余发”，“俘虏 敌官兵三百余名，另有敌一部约四五百人，马数十匹被我完全包围，死不缴械，故全部打死”等，故对毛泽东把击敌数扩大到万余，且声称俘虏千余等，他们显然认 为不妥。接电后，朱、彭两人当晚即联名复电提出：“昨天的胜利对国民党、对外宣传，我们意见不必扩大，以我们本日致蒋阎电为好。”[46](《朱彭致毛泽 东并告林聂电》，1937年9月26日。)

但是，毛泽东以八路军参谋处名义拟发的捷报已经无法收回了。这就出现了延安和前总两个内容大相径庭的平型关战斗捷报，一个是前述朱、彭的战报，国民党有关 方面所得及其转述的也都是这个电报的内容。而各方报纸，特别是延安公开宣传的，自然毛泽东所拟八路军参谋处致南京军委会军政部、中央日报社的捷报了。该捷 报宣称：“九月廿五日，我八路军在晋北平型关与敌万余人激战，反复冲锋，我军奋勇无比，将进攻之敌全部击溃，所有平型关以北之辛庄、关沟、东跑池一带阵地 完全夺取，敌兵被击毙者尸横山野，一部被俘虏，并获汽车、坦克车、枪炮及其他军用品甚多，正清查中。现残敌溃至小寨村，被我四面包围中。”[47] (八路军参谋处致南京军委会军政部中央日报社捷报》，1937年9月26日。) 所谓平型关一战歼敌万余的说法，即由此而来。但是，考虑到此后整个抗战期间各方，包括国民党方面，由于军事上始终处于劣势，故其宣传上较多夸大，甚至许多 部队的战报中亦习惯于多报或谎报，故当年出现此种情况也并非完全不可理解。重要的只是，后人在研究这段历史时，应当有所甄别和考证，不能偏听偏 信。<< (http://www.yangkuisong.net/ztlw/sjyj/000223.htm)



至於有關其他國軍的事績:


這是中華民國 五十五年出版的 ''''抗日戰史''''


>>同年（１９３７年）９月１０日，敵第五師團由懷來攻占蔚縣，川原旅團附偽軍由懷安
南據陽泉。此時我大同戰局正在吃緊之時，旋即放棄大同，傅總司令作義率所部到雁門關布
置陣線。本戰斗參加部隊為第２１師、７３師、８４師及獨立第３旅，先在廣靈、炭堡、亂
石關之線占領陣地（平型關之外），由湯恩伯將軍統一指揮之。同月（９月）１３日敵川原
旅團攻占我火燒嶺８４師之前進陣地，蔚縣敵第五師團亦同時向我２１師、７３師陣地發動
攻擊，激戰終日，翌日（１４日）拂曉猛攻廣靈城垣，十時廣靈陷落。１５日陷廣靈之敵，
續向我７３師陣地松林山陣地側擊，劉師長奉濱親自督戰，激烈異常，劉師長身負四創，官
兵傷亡過半，我軍乃沿平型關左右之線轉移陣地。是時湯將軍恩伯奉命赴河北南部整理所
部，第６集團軍孫副總司令楚接替本作戰之指揮。閻長官錫山并重新划定第２戰區作戰地界
如下：以楊愛源為右地區總司令，孫楚為副總司令，轄３３軍，１７軍，１５軍，傅作義為
左地區總司令，轄６１軍，３４軍，３５軍，１９軍。以７１、７２兩師為預備隊。
“９月２２日，敵步炮聯合５０００人由靈邱南進，薄暮向我７３師平型關陣地攻擊。
翌日（２３日）大舉來犯，孫楚副司令當令８４師出擊，戰況激烈，敵我相持不下。閻長官
特令傅總司令作義率預備隊加入右地區，并與楊愛源聯合指揮本區作戰，將左地區交第１９
軍王靖國代行，更令第１８集團軍之１１５師攻擊平型關敵之左側背。本月（９月）２４日
平型關正面之敵，增援數千人，猛烈來攻，我軍奮勇抵抗，并由傅總司令親率生力軍參加作
戰，雙方傷亡雖重，敵未得逞，時為同月（９月）２７日。
“同時（９月２７日）我左翼軍有２０３旅正面茹越口敵軍大增，步炮聯合四、五千
人，來攻甚猛烈，該旅２２７團堅強抵抗，損失慘重。翌日（２８日）敵繼續攻擊茹越口，
梁旅長鑒堂奮不顧身，親來督戰，不幸陣亡，茹越口陷落，該旅殘部退守繁峙以北之鐵角嶺
陣地。敵由平綏路以汽車輸來援軍，向我鐵角嶺繼續再攻，我３４軍雖奮勇阻擊，終以眾寡
不敵，鐵角嶺亦于２９日陷落，敵急向繁峙南進。此時，閻長官決心縮短戰線，令各部隊向
五台山之神堂堡、雁門關、陽方口轉移陣地，我軍遂自動放棄平型關，本戰斗乃告結束。<< (http://www.china918.net/big5/91802/kz/jswx/115s/003.htm)


根據楊奎松寫的有關國軍和 115 軍之配合行動:


<< 其次，国民党正面守军当天是否不予配合，袖手旁观或不战而退了呢？既然此次作战是第二战区的具体部署的围歼日军进攻平型关主力的一次作战行动，平型关正面 守军自然有配合八路军的侧击，从正面出击的任务规定。那么，为什么国民党守军当天没有按照预定计划大规模出击呢？此时国民党在平型关的正面守军主要是高桂 滋的第八十四师，负责防守自1886.4高地、团城口、霸河口、上寺、讲堂村至1981.4高地防务。据高桂滋报称，22日，东跑池以南阵地即告失守。 23日战后，该师已告不支。至24日，“该师全线被敌攻破，各守据点。斯时下级干部伤亡十之六、七，无人指挥，代理艾团长之杜团副亦受重伤。职催送弹药将 到，已被敌人遮断。此时仍盼援军加入，或可挽回。力竭声嘶，终未到达，致各据点均被包围，大部官兵壮烈殉国。各部尚奋勇冲出，退回后防，逐渐收容。”3日 来部队伤官兵近千名，亡850余人。[98]25 日晨，依据战区部署，高桂滋部等计划凌晨出击。据二战区司令部所报平型关战役经过，当时“适敌亦向团城口高军阵地猛攻。而高军以出击不利，遂向后转移阵 地。东西跑池以北之险要为敌侵占，致出击之郭师及孟旅之一部，不得不先向敌迎头痛击，堵其内侵。激战至午，将敌左翼击溃。郭师连夺山头数个，并占领鹞子间 南方高地，续行攻击，血战竟日，恢复原阵地大部。”俟陈师吕、梁两旅陆续加入，乃连合大举反攻。陈师吕旅、郭师赵旅由公路两翼出击，将公路两侧之敌包围于 东西跑池之深沟内。同时林师由平型关东方山中，分三路向蔡家峪、小寨村，主力向老爷庙进袭击，刘师三九四团亦向敌左侧背挺进。九时许，林师分别攻占老爷 庙、蔡家峪、小寨村及1886.4高地，并将小寨村敌兵站守护队约步兵一营，悉数歼灭，将敌后路截断，敌机械化部队遂不能撤退。我夺获汽车五十余辆，焚毁 敌军品甚多。惟林师不惯持久战，已占各地旋又被敌攻占。次日因敌由灵邱来援，平型关前再成混战状。[99] 对于国民党军上述记载，亦可对照日方战史资料。25日凌晨4时，日军第二十一联队第三大队向平型关正面守军高桂滋部发动了夜袭，一举占领了团城口附近的靠 近东跑池的某高地。只是，根据日方战史资料，国民党军队至少当天上午并未能将此一阵地夺回。[100]但不论当天国民党军何时夺回此一阵地，以上资料显 示，由于高桂滋部不守，包括团城口在内的一线阵地均被日军夺取，正面出击计划实际上被打破。因“此地为晋北主阵地之要点，一被突破，则雁门关感受威胁，关 系重大。”故负责前线指挥的傅作义总司令当即改变原部署，“率生力军十余团到达平型关附近，准备反攻”。[101]可见，当天并未发生国民党军有意袖手旁 观或不战而退的情况。 再次，国民党军当天到底有没有出击？由上可知，按照大陆史书的记载，国民党军当天对八路军的伏击战毫无帮助。而按照 国民党军当年的电报和战报，国民党军第七十一师等当天在完成夺回高师所失阵地的任务后，曾一度向东西跑池两侧大举出击。奇怪的是，在日军的战史资料当中， 并未见到有类似情况的相关记载。但从林彪当天晚上的电报中，还是可以多少印证国民党方面的记录的。林电称：“打了一天战，至黄昏始见晋军之出击部队，所谓 二路出击，全是勉强！”“现战况已成对峙中，能否解决要看晋军能否出力。”[102]综合上述情况不难了解，因原定合击计划被日军打破，国民党军为“堵其 内侵”，不得不首先集中兵力防备日军从团城口方向突破，并设法夺回团城口及其附近阵地。故当天傅作义等几乎没有能够顾及与八路军合击日军之事。等到傍晚时 分，因先前夺取东跑池附近高地的日军第三大队主力调往增援被袭击的汽车队等部，国民党军确有部队开始组织侧击该阵地。故不论林彪报怨与否，国民党军傍晚时 分开始出击并参加平型关前之作战也是事实。根据日军战报，当天傍晚，国民党军已经大举插入团城口以东日军新夺取之高地与关沟日军第三大队之间，因此三浦敏 事不得不急令第三大队主力放弃增援被伏汽车队，掉头回防。可惜，一一五师并不了解这一情况，当晚即开始部署脱离战场，次日凌晨已撤出战斗，没有能利用第三 大队26日回防之际再袭关沟村卫生队，丧失了再度歼敌和与国民党军配合作战的一次重要机会。而因为日军增援部队很快运到，国民党守军遭到日军的大举围攻， 陷于苦战。几天后，平型关最终失守。>>
(http://www.yangkuisong.net/ztlw/sjyj/000223.htm)

很 抱歉, 我得節錄那麼多... 因為我覺得文章很好. 我之前貼過這連結, 但是我好奇有多少人會去看... 另一方面, 有關其他國軍方面的紀錄實在真的很少. 至於完顏烈的東西, 我始終都得有點保留... 從這些節錄也可以看出, 老共和國府的東西哪一個比較可以信. 實際上, 共產黨得一改再改是因為她隱瞞不下去了. 就以戰報而言, 這也不是我第一次見到毛澤東信口開河, 然後變成歷史資料. 在塔斯社記者日記裡, 這是經常出現的事情. 更可笑的是, 這個記者甚至提到 theodore H. white 引用了一個毛的數字. 結果, 美國和其他國家的大報都引用這一數字! 但是, 不管如何, 中國二戰史實在是需要巨大的研究.

這個楊奎松並不是說他寫的東西都一定對. 但是至少人家不懶, 所用資料幾乎都可以有書名年份, 甚至作者. 不會像某某信徒, 大話一堆. 啥都沒做, 還要老王賣瓜.

信徒該不會是某某單位派來傳教的吧? 你看, 你的教友熱烈支持你啊! 但是要把你眼裡的異端, 彎彎 們變直之前. 連教導別人不要預設立場都出來了. 你的信徒立場就在你第一篇貼文就明明白白了. 還預設立場哩...你要不要先挑挑你眼睛裡的樑木?

棒子一樣的粗

今天早上在切肉絲. 每次在切肉絲的時候, 就一定會想到媽媽提到外婆的事. 我有時候會在媽媽做菜的時候看. 他通常都會講一些小時候的事給我聽. 譬如說, 在廚房裡作菜的時候, 外婆做上手, 他就做下手. 他有時也是要切肉絲, 肉片. 因為他說他們小時候是不吃大塊肉的. 他切的肉絲有時候切的不夠精細. 外婆就說, 怎麼這個肉絲切的像棒子一樣粗. 媽媽每次提到這一件事的時候總是用蘇州話, "膀珠". 媽媽平常是不用蘇州話的. 但是只要是提到小時候事情, 往往蘇州話就不經意的流出來. 所以每次切肉, 我一定試著想要切細一點. 不過每次切的時候, 左看右看, 還是很 "膀珠".

記下話來, 作為紀念.

let the right one in

i watched a movie two days ago. it's called, let the right on in, from sweden. it's one of the best vampire movie i've ever seen. vampire movies are many, but few are really watchable.

when i really liked a movie, i always have a feeling of hard to get out of the movie. i mean, while a movie i love lured me into its story, its world, i have hard time to come out of that world. there are strong feelings lingering in my heart. and it's a terrible experience. it's a very contradicting sensation, on the one hand, i want to get out that place; but on the other hand, i don't want to let it go.

i am in that situation right now... i don't want to let it go, at the same time, i want to get on with my daily routines... something heart wrenching was provoked inside of me by that movie. and somehow, i don't want to let that heart wrenching feeling go. if there's anything that i consistently have in my mind, was the imaging of pulling my heart out of my chest. the reason i mention this, i don't know. maybe one day, i will dare to say what i don't know.

中國抗戰史的研究, 費正清說

"During eight years of war, a major part of the Chinese people were in Japanese-occupied territory, mainly the coastal cities and railway towns. Another major segment were in the GMD-controlled area, called Free China. The smallest division of China was the CCP area, with its capital at Yan'an. Historians are genetic-minded, looking for origins, and China's future came out of Yan'an. Accordingly, the defeat of the Japanese and of the Nationalists has been less researched than the rise of the CCP. Success is creative and interesting; failure is sad and dull. Who wants it? Moreover, Yan'an being smaller, in size and documentation, is easier to encompass than the vastly variegated experience of occupied China and Free China. These two areas, though larger than the area under Yan'an, have been less studied."

節錄自 --china's war of resistance-- 大字第二版 費正清著, 第十六章1937-1945, 312 頁.

全軍破敵論壇上的一篇我寫的文章

我也非常喜歡一寸山河一寸血, 但是我覺得裡面終究有很多問題. 就拿史迪威來說好了, 我就有看過一個論壇上說, 拿史迪威的日記和杜聿銘寫的中國遠征軍回憶錄要正確... (http://taiwantp.net/cgi/TWforum. ... w_post&post=367) 史迪威會說中文, 他在馬歇爾手下待在中國至少六七年以上. 他會說中文. 他在中國的時候, 就很喜歡共產黨. 就租借法案而言, 中國拿到的東西那麼少, 怕也不能全怪他... 我今天才在圖書館看了蒙巴頓將軍傳記, 裡面提到了英國也用了不少租借法案的東西... 連搬運租借法案的飛機都搶走了. 也就是說, 經過印度的物資, 英國少不得要慨油... 而事實上, 史迪威不止是蔣中正的參謀長, 他還是蒙巴頓將軍的參謀長... 史迪威在他的日記裡也經常抱怨說, 英國根本就不想作戰...

蔣始終都認為要在緬甸開戰, 英美必須要能在 bengal bay (我忘記中文是啥了...) 和緬甸上空完全掌握, 並且, 美國至少要三個陸戰隊, 還有英國的軍隊同時加入緬戰場, 他才願意開部隊入緬甸作戰. 而史呢, 他的看法是滇緬公路需要奪回來, 支援作戰的物資才能夠充足的進入中國. 事實上, 當時英美基本上不能達到海空的掌握權, 所以蔣斷然拒絕緬甸的作戰計畫. 蔣希望可以用陳納德的計畫. 陳納德是希望用近半租借法案物資來發動他的十四航空大隊取得中國上空的控制權. 然 後配合中國軍隊, 希望用空軍騷擾日本陸軍的補給線來幫助中國陸軍, 在中國本土和日軍開戰. 陳納德的計畫, 實際上還包含了整個東南亞和中國南海.

史迪威認為中國的軍隊訓練不夠, 軍官, 尤其是高級軍官顢頇貪污, 是不可能抵擋的了日本陸軍的. 他認為到時候, 陳納德惹的日本火大了, 日本就會試圖把陳納德的很多飛機場給拿下來. 史迪威總是認為, 在中國軍隊的素質很好, 但是要在強將的帶領下才能發揮... 基本上, 他認為中國沒啥強將, 國民革命軍裡, 只有一兩個, 其他的中國強將要在共產黨裡找了, 譬如說, 朱德. 我現在是覺得租借物資的來龍去脈具有舉足輕重的影響... 因為, 以上, 是我看到所有資料裡都一樣的地方, 包括一些回憶錄, 還有傳記... 但是之後就因為租借物資的分配, 產生了各方面互相指責.

美國相信史迪威一派的(現在美國史學界的主流)認為, 國民政府根本不願意和日本人打仗. 所有在雲南由史迪威分給國民政府的租借物資通通被國民政府不是貪掉了, 就是囤積起來準備和中國共產黨在未來做內戰的打算. 美國另有一派(在我看是非主流, 屬於陳納德十四航空隊一方還有魏德邁等, 堅決反共者))和國民政府官方的批平蠻類似的. 就像一寸山河一寸血上提到的, 蔣中正對於第一次的緬甸遠征軍那麼失敗是痛心疾首. 對於史迪威一再要求反攻緬甸是堅決反對, 對於史迪威用租借法案威脅蔣一定得支持緬甸之戰, 那是厭惡之級. 這一群人認為史迪威那麼想進攻緬甸完全是面子問題.

史迪威那麼看重的滇緬公路, 他估計每個月可以輸入物資六萬噸. 但是實際上, 直到二戰結束, 滇緬公路每個月的輸入物資不超過一萬噸. 而在那時, 空運到中國物資已經達到七萬噸一個月...我個人現在也是不怎麼喜歡史迪威. 但是, 說一具老實話, 我很希望知道國民政府數據資料有多少可信度... 因為就像我前面說的, 租借物資的來龍去脈具有舉足輕重的影響... 如果我們資料沒有他那一派所提供的準確, 那就提供別人 "討論" 的空間...

白油烘蛋

這個名字是我在食譜上看到的. 但我第一次吃到的時候, 只知道他叫蛋餅. 這是小的時候, 有一天晚上肚子餓了, 爸爸煎給我和小瑋吃的. 第一次吃到可真的是很香! 現在依然是很香. 不過那時看爸爸弄食物吃, 廚房裡只開著抽油煙機的小燈, 我在他背後聞到蛋香, 這情景很令人回味!

這是非常簡單的食物. 只要一個蛋, 一點點鹽, 一小匙麵粉就可以了. 不過通常我都是要兩個蛋. 麵粉不要多, 不然就減少蛋的味道. 所有東西在碗裡攪拌後, 中火熱油, 下鍋煎. 兩面翻翻. 就好了! 全部過程不到十分鐘. 如果你喜歡, 也可以加一點蔥花啥的...

有趣的是, 外國人喜歡吃的 pancake, 也是類似的做法. 但是要加上牛油, 很多麵粉, 牛奶, 還有一些 小蘇打之類的東西. 比較起來, 爸爸的蛋餅味道簡單的多. 我喜歡簡單的味道. 不過, 再加上那個回憶, 或許這味道也不是那樣的單純了.

soup

my mom loves soup. to prepare for soup, my mom prepared broth almost daily. after experiencing the miracle of soup, i have to agree with her. soup was fantastic.

when she comes home at night, especially in the winter, she said that a hot soup was great for anyone just came in from the cold. i totally agree with her. a broth is the bases of all soup! so it's important to prepare it. once the soup was simmered slowly for 2 hours, or more, it's concentrated enough to use it portion by portion. and it can be used throughout whole week! very convenient. of course, you can buy can broth, but you can't guarantee what was used to cook the can broth.

my mom loved to use pork bones without or with very little meat for the broth. it's important to add some ginger and scallion, sometimes, garlic. adding a bit of rice alcohol would be even better as well. when simmering broth for concentrated form, the broth should looks like white, not clear broth. however, it should not confuse with dirty broth with blood-esque stuff... there are two ways to deal with the blood-esque thing.

1. put bones in a cold water pan, bring them to boil for few minutes. you have to put bones in while the water is still cold. then pouring out the blood-esque thing with boiled water and bones. after that, you can start to cook the broth with worrying.

2. you can directly proceed to cook the broth. however, before simmering, you need to constantly getting rid of the blood-esque thing, until the water is clear. then start to simmer.

soup is good. broth is an essential ingredient. it's awesome.

two pillars of action games

an action adventure game always comes down to two things. one is fighting, doesn't matter it's gun, cold weapon, or empty handed. the other one is traveling from one area to another. other factors, such as story, puzzles, levels, voice acting, etc, should be included in level designs. if we looked at many other action games. we could do a detailed analysis of each own short comings in either or both areas of fighting and platformers:

1. Oni, it's a great hand to hand fighting games. the developers got inspiration from street fighters. there's no hard lock system, only a very cleverly designed soft lock system. the character can move smoothly through space, had amazing acrobatic ability. however, the platformer gameplay was not incorporated well at all. let's just say, it's randomly designed at best. most of the acrobatic ability was wasted in Oni, imo. in a fight, it would be fun to use acrobatics. however, it's not necessary most of the game. and the lack of the interactivity with the environment was frustrating, and a huge source of my complain about the wasted acrobatics in the game.

2. Blade of Darkness Severance. this game should be hailed as one of the best 3rd person action adventure melee game. the weapon based fighting though flawed, was and still is the best in any games, PC or console unmatched. the game had a hard lock system. but when not using hard system, there's no soft lock system to support the battle. although some claimed it worked better without the hard locks, i could not disagree more. one of the reason was that there's no strafes in the game. navigation without strafes through spaces was ok enough, not the case in fighting though. the platformer ability was kept at minimum in this game. besides few jumps and hanging on to ledges, there's nothing much. this is not much a hindrance to the whole experience though. since the fighting is heavy enough to carry the weight. however, if there's strafes and better designed platformer ability plus a plable level design. this game would be more appealing.

3. Bushido Blades series. this series was a real fighting games with one very special emphasize, which is it's a more fight simulation than an arcadish fighting games. there's no meters, there's only one realistic damage model. one well placed, or timed blow will instantly killed the opponent, or be killed. there are not many fancy combos. the fights usually slows and dull compared with other flashy arcadish fighting games. however, that's where the appeal lies, realitic fighting. as any fighting game, it's viewed from side, not like the ones mentioned before in which the camera was placed from behind a character. the frustrating part of the game was that the defense for the game was automated. so if you can't find a way to break down the defense, the game will be like constantly banging your head against your fryign pane. other frustation of the game was that it's not a action adventure game. i kept wondering what would happen if the camera of the game put behind the characters. the distance of the game character might become hard to perceive. the third frustration of the game that it's not very popular. the platformer ability was very awkward, although implemented. but it's quite adequate for a fighting game with limited stage space to explore.

4. Lugaru. i only have the demo of the game. It's an indie game. there's no lock on system whatsoever. what's very interesting about this game is one gameplay mechanics. It's called "Reflection". the game is basically, attack, defense, and reflection. attack and defense is self explanatory. reflection however, add a genuine new game experience! a well timed reflection will keep the opponent off the balance and throw him afar. if you are "reflected", you also have the ability to stay on your feet, if you timed the reflection well enough. which adds a new dynamics to the game. although it' nothing new, soul calibur already had something like it. it was not found in any other action adventure games. the platformer part of the game was interesting enough. although not very smooth in my opinion.

5. prince of persia sands of time series. This is truly a platformer series. this game incorprated platformer and fighting together. although the fight was not realistic in anyway, and i don't think it would fair well with online competition either. the infusion of platformer and fight however, was something i wish to created for Oni. one of the frustration of the PoP SoT series was it's camera and control for PC. most part of the game was alright, but in some spots was just down right frustrating.

6. Rune. This game was often compared with BoDS. It is much more popular than BoDS as well. there used to be a huge online competition enthusastic crowd. there's no soft or hard lock on system. from my experience, the fighting mechanics was really sad. there seemed to have some combos. but not enough for me to really get into it, except if i want to play online. the differences between Rune and BoDS, is that BoDS is really a fighting game, with detailed fighting mechanics. however, Rune does not. the platformer ability was poor. however, simple running around was more like Oni than BoDS.

7. god of war, devil may cry, ninja gaiden. ninja gaiden was in my opinion worth of mentioning though since it incorporated the platformer and fighting together better. navigation with it's platform ability was ok. not the best, because it's way too fancy even for a console analogue control.

8. Mount and Blade. this game is one that inspires me the most. its weapon fighting and mounted fighting was one reason. it's simple and fun. i loved its defense concept. i wish i could find a way to implemented such mechanic in my dream action adventure game in some ways. however, there's not much platformer ability. but with its design, this ability could be ignored somehow. and since it's a action RPG, this inability was forgivable anyway.

9. assassin's creed. i played the Xbox 360 verions, not the PC version. i am pretty sure that platformer on this game with M/K control would be alright. but i am not sure of the fighting mechanics. however, this game's fighting mechanics probably is not worth mentioning much. way too simple, not much initiation given to players. however, the platformer ability of the game was huge and grandeous. need to find a way to somehow infused within my game! HAHA

games i wish to make

i wish to make a video game. it's an action adventure game. the main gameplays are melee fighting and platformer. it's a PC game. the setting should be in around 1000 A.C., in China. the features in the game should be a realistic fighting mechanics in weapon and hand to hand. the fighting should find a way to infuse with platformer. the platformer should find a way to become a competitive racing game for online plays. the idea was inspired by Mount and Blade, where the gameplay of riding horses and melee combats were the selling points. what's more inspiring though is the players made mods. the idea of a racing platformer was inspired by mirror's edge and super mario bro. the fighting mechanics was inspired by bushido blade series, Oni, Blade of Darkness Severance, and lugaru.

i want to see a game with a very realistic but highly adjustable combat system. this system should be very suitable for online competitive. however, because it is highly adjustable, the modes of online play will have many. some like arcadish fighter like tekken, virtual fighter, or soul calibur. some loved bushido blades series and BOD severance with a more realistic approach, best with much improved bushido's damage model and one shot kill. and there're weapon based fight, or no weapon, like Oni. the weapon and empty handed should be able to mix as well! basically, the fighting is the one of the two core gameplays! and should be the primary concern, because, i consdier this to be the most diffifult develope.

the platformer should be combined with mirror's edge, with something like those funny snowskating racing games, where you could find a way to punch, kick, or whatever way to slow down your opponents. But also, the basic platformer gameplay have to be able to stand for a real racing without those interference. the platformer is also best incorporrated with fighting mechanics. some of fighting mode should also consider to involve platformer as well.

as for the single player game. i think, one of the best thing for a developer to interact with players is mods. release the tool, even designate a team to support those who wants to make mod but with little programming experiences. what should developers encourage player to mod the game is to create new scenarios within game's fighting and platformer gameplays. over the course, developers could be freed from doing level designs, or minimal level designs. this free the developers to concentrate on creating new gameplays, improved the old gameplays, and find a way expand the existing formula, like by adding a new strategical gameplay mechanics, like Mount and Blade. it should be eventually expanded into a real Total War style battlefield gameplay! give players options to really his characters to become a real king, or he could choose to be a lonely warrior, or a merchants to amass huge property to influence the diplomacy, or something else. the expansion of the new modes, gameplays, and contents should be in expansion packages.

the graphics and sounds should be barely up to the standards. the improvements of G&S over the course of expanding the gameplays, modes, and contents, should be kept at minimum. the reason behind this is because i want the maximum people who could play it.

the online part of the game should eventually be included the Total War style of Battlefield gameplays. the grand cmpaign of the game that should also be in the eventual expansion package should be online as well. this however, should be kept from being total war style, this has to have a whole new style in real time. a co-op mode should be supported for strategy and action adventure as well. i don't like a mmorpg though. so i will try not to touch such thing.

the total war style of battlefield was not the only options the game should go. what should be kept in mind is the options. always remember this, different modes are optional. the two core gameplays are not. fighting and platformer, and the infusion of the two are my main concern here. how to put a game into an incredible experience all depends on these two factors. other good thoughts should be kept for the future references.

some thoughts from reading memoirs

i need a detailed time lines of the memoir so i could compare with other time lines from other memoirs.

i am in desperate need of maps.

i really need to have some knowledge of how finance and economics work.

the more languages i know the better. english, chinese, japanese, russians, french, and german really are necessity to study history around China in modern days.

sources from England was incredibly important. it's a surprise to me. but after some thoughts, it's really natural.

i need to know more about land lease act. what's the contents? what's the relation of it between china and england? how it was actually distributed, from the distribution's end, to the actual receiving end.

from the look of it, the most foundamental conflict between 蔣中正 和 Joseph Stillwell was "should we take on Burma or not?" So a detailed analysis of the strategic importance of Burma should be the most important thing on this subject. The capacity of Stilwell Road (Ledo) would be a good start in the analysis.

A detailed analysis on the results of Chennault's air force in China and China south sea is also a must.

Good and reliable Japanese Sources are in desperate need!

a neatly constructed timeline of China's 8 year war struggle against Japan is a must. the extension from 1931 918 to 1945 99 would be prefered but not in priority. because, 1931 918 could be a totally independent topic.

All the names in English sources should translated back into Chinese. It was a horror try to guess the English translation of Chinese names!

i felt that memoirs are always heavily biased. however, it's a great start point to ask questions, especially when the different memoirs have conflict point of views. these conflicts provides easy and quick questions to start researches!

hoover institute, yale collection

Chennault's the way of a fighter

I finished Chennault's memoir about two days ago. It was a really great read. The style of Chennault's writing really showed what kind of a person he was. It was clear and direct with a very strong personality infused between columns. But most importantly, he spent most of his writing on his own experience. He kept all the hearsay at the minimal which is what I prefer. I consider this memoir to be incredibly important. There are stats to be confirmed. There are events due for further readings.

My feeling right after the reading was how come this was never put into a movie? Chennault was clearly a huge underdog! He was such a huge advocate on Pursuit tactics, but there's no mention of Chennault at all on any of Wiki's pages about Aeriel warfare! Remeber this, the reason he was retired early because he fervently argued for the Pursuit tactics against his superiors. For either his superior was a old army school who believed firmly that land infantry was everything, or his superiors believed an unpoved doctrine of bomber theory. A huge part of reason for him to come to China was a hope that he could prove his theory, which mainly was that bomber plane without fighter plane escorting was useless. He was proved totally correct. From AVG to Fourteenth Air Corp, he led US air force against a huge odd. Japanese air force had to abandon most of the offensive and concentrated on defense instead. Chinese was freed from being bombed again. Chinese army even got support from his superior Air force, which gave Chinese incomparable morale boost. This was all done by very little support from very meager supply, provided by the US CBI command center. Chennault was a man with a vision. He often argued fervently with his superiors, and it's no excpetions during the WWII. Stilwell hated it, Marshall hated, and Arnold hated it, plus many other people. Almost all his superiors hated him, and Chennault was ousted from China right at the time when the tide of war was turned around against Japan in July 1945! It is so easy to see how frustrated he could be! But after 6 months, he returned to China to help out the distribution of civil materials in China! This guy was amazing, tough and resilience.

Chennault's contribution to the Aerial warfare was not acknowledged. His war effort was minialized with Chinese Communist took over China and fictionalized the Chinese history. He was mistreated by his Country. What's more underdog than this?

league of nations

league of nations was not all useless after all... before 九一八, it actually did something to stop the wars from Italy v. Greece, Greece v. Turkey, and some other conflicts!

my info came from "九一八事變史述, 梁敬錞"

the longest journey my view

it's a PC point-click adventure game. i bought this game and sold it last time without finishing it. i was frustrated by the fact that i constantly needed to use walkthroughs for the game. but there were just so many places mentioned this game. they all claimed how wonder the story was. eventually, i broke down and got another copy. to my surprise, i was able to complete it with much less trips to the walkthroughs! i am happy about this fact...somehow.

it's a very wordy adventure game. There were a lot of conversations from the non playable characters. most of these conversations were wonderfully acted out by the voice actors. There're times that i skipped some of the dialogues. however, most of the time, i enjoyed them quite a bit! i loved the Alatian's part. Alatians were the winged people who were the best storytellers in the world. i loved most of the tales from them.

there're still some nuinces in the, of course. for example, the character had to to be guided through the background without doing anything else. i could not stand that. the background might be pretty, but i had absolutely no patience for them. most of the story line was fine, however, the ending was really underwhelming! they left many loose ends.

this my second comletely finished point and click adventure games. the first one was still life. although i still feel that this kind games are just a collection of puzzles, the way developer put those puzzles together to build a story is quite interesting!

two very interesting books

i just finished a very interesting book, called the Vladimirov diaries. 這是一個叫做 Vladimirov 的蘇聯 TASS 社的記者, 同時也是國際共產駐延安的代表所寫的日記. 時間涵蓋 1942~1945. 有另一本書叫做, thunder out of china, 作者是 Theodor White. 這位美國記者是美國 time 雜誌和其他像 Life 這樣的媒體特派員. 他在中國從 1939 待到 1945. 我為啥說這兩本書很有趣呢?

第一, Vladimirov 因為是國際共產的特別代表, 在如此特殊的身分下, 他對中共內部有很深刻的觀察. 觀察的結果是, 中國共產黨很糟糕, 罪魁禍首就是毛澤東. White 是 time 雜誌的特派員. 他長期待在重慶觀察國民政府. 雖說他很親共. 但是他還是極力想保持他的中立立場. 但是無論他多用力, 他對國民政府的觀察和 Vladimirov 對中共的觀察幾乎如出一轍. 國民政府很糟糕, 罪魁禍首是蔣中正.

第二, 他們兩人對他們所觀察的對象在深刻表示厭惡後. Vladimirov 認為中國正在向著內戰前進, 而且他親眼看到中共是如何用力朝著這個方向前進. White 也認為中國戰後一定會有革命, 也就是內戰. 他認為內戰的無法避免, 都是因為國民政府的無能.

第三, 這兩本書一本是美國人的觀察, 另一本是俄國人的觀察. 這是很有趣的. 因為俄國人對中共的所作所為看的清清楚楚, 而美國人卻始終對共產黨存著一絲偏好. 這個美國人對國民政府當時的無力看的非常清楚. Vladimirov 卻在他的日記裡提到中共是如何的利用 White 左傾的態度來達成自己的目標. Vladimirov 認為中共當時是有奶的就是娘. 他的認知和當時美國大使館的一部分人是相同的.

第四, White 對於國民政府所給的資料, 處處存疑. 他似乎對中共的資料存疑較少. 而且, 在他的回憶錄裡, 他雖然坦承他的一大堆資料都是周恩來給的, 他對之仍然信之少疑. 只要是國民政府提到的大戰, 他通通一概認為是誇大不實. 但是他在 thunder out of china 裡, 寫共軍的地方卻是榮褒過甚.

第五, Vlaidmirov 對於共產主義似乎有很深度的研究. 雖說我對他一再批評中共已經把毛澤東當成神很好玩. 因為他似乎也早已是列寧主義的信徒了, 和中共成為毛的信徒實在沒啥兩樣. 但是之後他不僅僅是引列寧的話, 他還引恩格斯的節錄. 都很恰如其分. 很有趣.

第六, Vladimirov 和 White 分別批評中共和國民政府的用詞裡, 幾乎有很多都可以互換著用... 也就是說, Vladimirov 批評中共的用語和 White 評擊國民政府的辭彙很像. 譬如說, 他們分別說中共和國民政府消極抗日. 他們都認為他們所觀察的主要對象都企圖誤導外國人.

雖說 Vladimirov diaries 被認為是蘇聯的宣傳手段, 但是我覺得是一本寶貴的書. 我是很希望有一天他的原本可以真正的出現! 他對於他所親眼目睹的東西有很深刻的描述. 他本人雖說對於共產黨有一種教徒式的信仰, 但是對於分析中共的政治和軍事不盲目. 我還沒有看完 White 的書. 雖然如此, 我覺得他親身所見的資料是非常珍貴的. 他的文筆流暢易懂, 讀起來很舒服. 但是我對他非親身經歷的描述抱持著疑問的態度. 因為在我看來, 他太親共了. 他對共產黨的那份情感在我看是深透了. 他不斷的提到國民政府的消極抗日, 並對其大為不滿. 甚至認為在武漢陷落後, 中國戰場上就再沒有啥巨大衝突了. 其他的小衝突, 都是日軍拿國軍來訓練自己的軍隊用的. 這在我看來是很大的問題. 他在 thunder out of china 裡把幾乎所有的國民政府人員通通罵的狗血淋頭. 這一方面, 我覺得很具有研究的價值. 到底有多少真的, 有多少假的, 有多少是他聽人家說的, 有多少是他自己看到的? 有沒有其他的佐證, 其他人是怎麼說的. 我覺得因該要仔細的就他的書去做研究.

在看完 Vladimirov's diaries 後, 更加強我對中共資料的不信任. 這是一件可怕的事情! 試想, 在日記裡, Vladimirov 提到說 White 把中共那個不正確的數字寫到 Life 雜誌上, 結果其他的各大報紙也跟進... 像中共這樣隨便造假, 我覺得真是可怕! 而要如何從他的資料裡得到真實的數據, 恐怕需要大量的參考對照才有可能! 這不是一個人所能做的... 但是這應該也不是沒以人或著團體在研究... 還得大量的參考日本資料和蘇聯資料才行... 其實, 還有韓國共產黨和日本共產黨的資料...

歷史二

最近一直在看有關中國二戰的東西. 看的相關書籍都是屬於傳記或回憶錄, 譬如說魏德邁報告, 馬歇爾傳記, T 懷特的回憶錄, Vladimirov 的延安日記, 還有前天才借到的陳納德回憶錄. 另外直接和戰爭有關的有, 中國抗日戰爭大畫史, 蔣緯國等人主持的紀錄片一寸河山一寸血, 再加上一些辛灝年的影片. 還有一個很有趣的是日本的紀錄片, 在 youtube 上!

這些都很有趣. 目前是希望可以由中國抗日戰爭大畫史的紀錄畫出一個時間表. 因為我對於這八年的紀錄很有興趣. 尤其是對國軍的紀錄. 希望可以由此有一個更清晰的輪廓, 至於裡面細節上的對錯, 則可以一邊看其他的紀錄, 一邊對照. 必要的時候可以修正. 對共黨的紀錄也有興趣. 但是我對於共黨的紀錄是非常沒有信心! 尤其現在正在看 Vladimirov 的日記... 不過有一點很好玩, 我一開始以為這本日記是純粹在罵毛澤東的. 但是在我看來, 他更是在笑美國... 因為這個記者對毛的看法和 john S. Service 的看法很像...

我現在面臨的無力感卻不是說有太多的資料. 而是我很希望可以看到很專業的相關研究... 無論是任何文字的相關資料. 另一方面也很希望有人可以予以指導, 也很希望有人可以討論... 網上是無論如何無法進行類似的討論的...

grand strategy

Three and a half centuries before Christ, the great Athenian orator Demosthenes chided the people of his city, soon to be conquered by Macedon, for following a day-to-day policy of expediency. His words are relevant to our own case:

Shame on you Athenians for not wishing to understand that in war one must not allow oneself to be at the command of the events. You Athenians are the strongest of all the Greeks in ships, cavalry, and revenue. But you don't make the best of them. You make war like a barbarian when he wrestles-if he suffers a blow, he immediately puts his hand to it. If he is struck again, he puts his hand there. But he has not the skill to evade his antagonist, nor does he think of parrying the blow. You likewise, if you hear that Philip has attacked the Chaeronea, you send help there. If he is at Thermopylae, you run there. If he turns aside, you follow him to right or left as if you were acting on his orders. Never a fixed plan, never any precautions. You wait for bad news before you act.


----except from Wedemeyer Reports! by Albert C. Wedemeyer

platformer with combat in TP action game

platforming in 3D game is an extremely difficult thing, in my opinion. a game without platformer leaves designers very easy at level design. because gamers can be given one or a certain number of finely crafted path. there are certain elements could be largely ignored, for example, the roof of a building can just be left undone. although there're still a lot of players tried to use a limited platforming ability provided by the games they are playing.

but this is not what i want to talk about though. i want to talk about how to combine platformer with combat. the most basic form of the combination i can remember is Mario's jump on the green turtles, or mushrooms. the most wonderful example i have witnessed was prince of persia sand of time series. it was triumphed in warrior within and perfected in the two thrones. with that in mind, i want to ask. how do i create a game like Oni, with Oni's hand to hand combat and BoD's weapon combat, with a platformer like PoP SoT series? so basically, i am asking how do i have a game with great platformer, great and detailed melee combat, and how do i combine both of them?

there are two main situations for players to explore in action games. one is navigation, the other one is combat. why do i want to combine platformer with combat? one of the reasons is that i am so very excited by PoP SoT series. an action game without platformer was boring. you are just merely going from one level to another. the combat will eventually wear thin and repetitive. it is normal to expect your game might have a cult following, but not mass market product. this might not be a bad thing, however, most action games with before mentioned level design pattern was usually bad. because most combat designed was usually sad. combining platformer and combat was a good way to bring variety to the games, even though one of the elements might be too simple. platformer might even be more important than combat. since it keeps player moving without another mind bothering along side of him.

second reason for combining platformer with combat was because it gives different players a chance to explore same situations in different manners. some people like to fight one on one, pure fighting. the other people might like to running around, find a chance not to fight. thus, open a great door for a feeling for the power of coice. third, it also gives a chance for designers to really develope few different characters with different fighting style. the example i could come up with is neo and morpheus in matrix. when neo faced morpheos in a virtual dojo, two totally different style was so obvious, but also very interesting.

there's a very important issue i wish to see solved. that's the camera. i want a realistic fighting mechanics. by integrated platformer into melee mechanics, i am afraid of characters went out of the camera. and since i wish for a camera style like Oni throughout most of the game, i wonder how do i make a wall jump without displacing camera on the far side of room...

by jolly, this is just a writing to distract myself from wantom destruction. i do not see any future of any improvements on the fighting action games at all. since complicated control is always belonged to a handful of players...

你是啥南北!?

我覺得蠻有趣的. 我記得有這麼一個對話, 出處忘了.

北魏的魏孝文帝仰慕中華文化. 凡事都要說南朝的好. 有一回, 又和他的大臣在說, 南朝多好多好.

他的大臣氣死了, 說: "南朝好, 南朝一年換一帝, 咱們幾十年才一帝."

看來, 那時的南朝就已經民主化了...LOL!!

first thoughts on fighting mechanics for TP actioin games

i like blade of darkness' fighting mechanics. It is the most complete design for weapon combat on pc.

i love Oni's hand to hand combat mechanics. It is the best fighting mechanics for TP action adventure games on PC.

i will not stress on the things i love in both games. i will however, stress on the things i wish to have for both games with bits of elements from other games that i wish to be included in the future TP action adventure game.

Blade of darkness doesn't have strafes, which is a huge turn off for many gamers. it could even count as one of the reasons this game failed. the other major reason is because of lacking support for online competition. for me, the decision of no strafe was horrible to me as well. but after watching a match in Rune, i felt i could guess for the reason behind it. my thoughts was that Blade of darkness require higher degree on combos. designers purposely want the fight to be locked on business, so the combo enhanced combat mechanics can then fly. the fighting is suppose to be more meticulous and methodical. but lacking strafe was still horrible for navigating through the corridors. Blade of darkness did not have a grabbing combo and the defense mechanics was a bit lacking, especially when there's no shield. i like the escape mechanics in the game, i think it's a great idea. but need to be improved on maybe variety and precision.

Oni has strafes. but it did not have hard locking on system. it did have a very hard to notice soft lock on system, which automatically fired up when a fight mechanics was issued. Oni featured at least 4 grabbing moves. however, the designers find a way to stop players' abusing the ability. instead let AI cheats, i wish to bump up AI and make evasive moves available. some of the combos in Oni were not realistic enough. i wish for more realistic fighting. we could add a ground grappling system. i wish the evasive movements could be integrated into fighting mechanics.

i also wish to mixed bod with a defensive mechanics like something in the mount and blade. i really loved bushido blade series. what i would love have bushido's elements transfered to BoD is the instant death system, weapons contact reaction system, and body parts hurt system.

i think it's best to have both hard and soft lock on system. each lock on system, i will try to deesign two different fighting mchanics. for instance, the soft lock on system will have less combos, much much less chance for instant kills, but it's best to fight multiple enemies by using platform abilities. with hard locking on system, the combo will be complete, players will have more control over the instant kills, evasive movements are available. but it's best used against one or two enemies, preferable, boss, since switching target will be a huge hassle.