Welcome to pPipers.com.
Peter Piper, without Pretension to Precocity or Profoundness, Puts Pen to Paper to Produce these Puzzling Pages, Purposely to Please the Palates of Pretty Prattling Playfellows, Proudly Presuming that with Proper Penetration it will Probably, and Perhaps Positively, Prove a Peculiarly Pleasant and Profitable Path to Proper, Plain and Precise Pronunciation.
This Web site was supposed to be simple. I broke down and put it into a blog format, though. I’m not sure I like blogs, but the tools are useful, so here we are.
So, why pPIPERS? At one time I was thinking of flogging hot pepper sauces. So, Peter Piper came to mind. I don’t know how the hell to pick a “pickled” pepper, but that’s how the nursery rhyme goes. There are also some fun things associated with the rhyme, which I may follow later on.
Then there’s that Pied Piper. He led a bunch of kids off to an unknown fate. It’s a rather macabre tale, but the idea of leading someone off to an unknown fate appealed to me. I also happen to like the idea that “pied” means motley or multicolored, which perchance this site aspires to.
In other words, the site is going to be all over the place.
Finally, GLADYS GARDEN is our home and also a place where we host short-term residents. Included are Yang Zhi’s gardening efforts. Our “Hosting” opportunities include four bedrooms and a common breakfast kitchen and living room. It’s what is often called a bed ‘n breakfast (bnb) so check that out if you’re looking to stay in Beijing for a fortnight.
The location of Gladys Garden is in the center of Beijing. The “Palace Museum” aka “Forbidden City” is close to our place. For a way to browse the area better, see the following Google map:
Site Locator for Gladys Garden
Oh, in case you’re wondering who we are, Yang Zhi is an ex-ancient historian and Dawu is too–okay, we’re not that ancient. We taught at university in Northeast China for a few years, then ran an “information” business in Beijing for a few more years. We ran out of steam on that, sold it, and now mostly putter around fixing up our place and host short-term guests who drop in for research or just want to visit Beijing for a spell.
Yang Zhi and Dawu
Revised: 14 January 2021
