English Essays
-
Having Cows Does Not Mean Having Butter
This essay continues the reflection on butter and common sense, asking why the existence of cows does not necessarily mean that butter became part of ordinary people’s everyday lives. China had cows, and dairy products did exist in certain regions… Continue reading
-
What You Think Is Common Sense Is Only the Default Setting of Your Own World
Starting from a small family conversation about whether butter is made from milk, this essay reflects on the cultural boundaries of common sense. What one person considers basic knowledge may simply be the result of their own language, childhood, food… Continue reading
-
Germany Turns Environmental Protection into a Habit; China Turns It into an Engineering Project
Starting from the everyday experience of waste sorting in Germany, this essay compares two different environmental paths. Germany has turned environmental protection into a daily habit, supported by long-term education, civic discipline, and stable rules. China, by contrast, increasingly turns… Continue reading
-
They Were Not Born to Prefer Sons; They Were Soaked in Bitterness
Starting from a television scene of conflict among three generations of Chinese women, this essay looks beneath son preference to the historical wounds behind it. It asks how poverty, patriarchal order, old-age insecurity, family lineage, and survival fear shaped women… Continue reading
-
Theory Does Not Enter Life First; It Is Lit Up Again by Life
This essay was written after I finally built A Chinese Way of Seeing. Starting from the small but meaningful act of registering an independent website, it reflects on procrastination, writing, theory, and lived experience. For me, writing is not only… Continue reading
-
I Finally Built a Home for My Words
This essay is about why I built A Chinese Way of Seeing, a trilingual independent website beyond Chinese platforms. As a Chinese writer living in Germany, I wanted to create a quiet, lasting place for my words — a small… Continue reading
-
Before You Read On: Who I Am?
By Jane Sonnenschein · April 20, 2026 This text is a personal introduction, written before A Chinese Way of Seeing officially begins. Hello, I am Jane Sonnenschein. I am Chinese, and I have lived in Germany for more than twenty… Continue reading






