November was nearly over here in the heartland of China.  The days alternated between short manic bursts of sunny, blue skies and  longer periods of sunless, chilly days full of drizzle and melancholy.  It was weather most conducive  to studying Mandarin, writing for my own site, and reading other people’s blogs.  One of my favorite China blogs was Matt Schiavenza’s A China Journal.  The Kunming-based blogger brought my attention to the Folger Shakespeare Library’s podcast on Perspectives on China in which two correspondants and an author discuss their “boots-on-ground” perspective on the rise of New China in an informal panel.  The moderator asked them to describe their first impressions, especially…