【推荐3】As archaeologists (考古学家) examined ancient tombs in Turfan in western China, they discovered some surprisingly well-preserved and familiar relics. Though hardened from over 1,000 years, there sat little dumplings.

Exactly who invented dumplings remains a mystery. But some scholars suspect they were first spread by nomadic (游牧的) Turkic peoples living in western China and Central Asia. This is thought to be the case because “manti,” meaning “dumpling” or “steamed bun” in many Turkic languages, appears to be the root word for dumpling in several other languages. Ancient Turkic people probably filled their dumplings with meat. But it’s unclear when this practice began, or whether they learned the art of dumpling-making from others. However this happened, dumplings certainly gathered steam in ancient China.

Dumplings continued to take off and diversify in China over the next thousand years. Instead of the traditional meat filling, some communities chose vegetarian (素食) dumplings. People developed new cooking methods. The relationship between Chinese dumplings and those in other areas is tricky to trace, but food historians have made their best guesses based on available clues.

Besides Turkic tribes, some scholars believe that the Mongol Empire also contributed to the spread of dumplings, perhaps introducing them to parts of Eastern Europe. These dumplings could have come by way of China or directly from some of the Turkic peoples the Mongols hired to run their empire. One theory is that this gave rise to dumplings like pelmeni in Russia, pierogi in Poland and vareniki in Ukraine. The Mongol Empire also controlled Korea and might have likewise introduced dumplings there. Later, after Chinese dumpling varieties were introduced to more countries, English speakers began calling them dumplings, which means “little lumps”. During the Second World War, Chinese “jiaozi” were brought to Japan. So what about the Italian dumpling-like pasta? Some historians think it might be brought by Arab conquerors.

It’s unlikely that all dumpling dishes came from the same root tradition. However, we can appreciate the mysterious historical web that made dumplings so various.

【推荐2】Roman Holiday

On Aug. 27, 1953, Roman Holiday, starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck, opened at Radio City Music Hall in New York. The film would go on to win three Oscars at the 26th Academy Awards, for costume design, Dalton Trumbo's screenplay and for Hepburn as best actress. The Hollywood Reporter’s original review, titled “Roman Holiday Smash”, is below:

William Wyler’s first comedy in almost 20 years proves a charming and laugh-provoking affair. With Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn turning in superb performances, Roman Holiday is 118 minutes of sheer entertainment. The critical acclaim and word-of-mouth praise that is bound to come should help make it a box office bonanza.

Out of one of the most ancient premises in story-telling-that of hopeless love between royalty and a commoner-Ian McLellan Hunter and John Dighton have created a delightful screenplay that sparkles with wit and outrageous humor that at times comes close to a foolish comedy. As staged with artistic subtlety and tongue-in-cheek (半开玩笑的)restraint by Wyler, Roman Holiday comes out with great fun that will be enjoyed by all types of audiences.

Miss Hepburn makes her American screen debut a memorable occasion. A beauty, she reveals sensitivity and sincerity in her portrayal of a princess, next in line for the throne of an unnamed country, making a good-will tour of Europe. By the time she reaches Rome, she is so exhausted from the series of dull public appearances, she gets hysterical and is given a sedative (镇静剂). But before the shot takes effect, she slips out of the embassy, determined to find a little fun for herself. She is found sound asleep on a bench by a poor American newspaperman (Peck) who, thinking she is tight, lets her sleep it off in his very small apartment. It isn't until the next day, when the scheduled press conference with the princess is canceled because of her “illness” that he realizes the identity of his guest. Knowing the financial value of such a piece of shocking news, he turns to his news service’s ace photographer（Eddie Albert）and sets off on a fun-seeking tour of the city with the princess, with Albert busily getting pictures with a camera concealed in his cigarette lighter. Naturally the princess and Peck fall in love and, of course, it is a hopeless romance. But the final parting still manages to stay within the funny mood, taking place at a crowded press conference. It is one of those rare scenes that get the audience to burst into laughter.

The Wyler production was filmed entirely in Rome, with all the high quality associated with his name. Frank F. Planer and Henri Alekan have done a fine shooting job of putting Roman landmarks into the story line. Georges Auric’s music is a definite mood contribution, and Robert Swink has got credit for a film editing clip.

-Milton Luban, originally published on June 30, 1953.

【推荐3】The e-commerce company that retailers (零售商) talk about most these days is neither Amazon, the American giant, nor Alibaba, China’s biggest. It is Pinduoduo (PDD), a Chinese firm that started in 2015 as an online food supplier, but whose success has driven its market value above $200bn. Last year it was China’s fastest-growing Internet stock, rising by 330%.

PDD attracts attention for two reasons. One is its business model. David Liu, vice-president of strategy, explains that it has drawn on the popularity of smart phone in China to create an e-commerce experience in which people club together to buy products from robot vacuum-cleaners (吸尘器) to bananas. During the pandemic this has expanded into a fast-growing business across thousands of towns and villages, in which PDD’s users gather to buy local farm produce at low prices. Some call this “community group-buy”. Mr. Liu calls it “interactive (互动的) commerce”. It is one of the hottest parts of the Chinese Internet.

The second is the way PDD has broken the record of giants of online shopping. Until a few years ago, China’s e-commerce market seemed a two-way competition (竞争) between Alibaba and JD.com, a competitor platform. No longer. Elinor Leung of CLSA, a brokerage (经纪公司), expects PDD’s share of online retail in China to go beyond that of JD in 2021. She expects the number of users over Alibaba. And although PDD put a huge amount of money to lower the prices of goods, ensuring the customers from poorer parts of China easy access to its app, she thinks it may turn profitable this year.

Remarkably, the key to its success focused on parts of the market they have been unable to reach instead of defeating its bigger competitors. Although online sales of groceries have rocketed during the pandemic, less than a tenth of the 8.1trn yuan ($1.25trn) farm-produce market is bought and sold digitally. “We are continuing to grow the pie,” says Mr Liu. That lesson applies elsewhere too. However, no matter how a future market looks, there is opportunity for new online businesses because e-commerce is at an early stage of development.