Lunar New Year’s Eve is almost here. A quick look back at my 2019.
Academic
Early 2019 was all about writing my thesis — “A Study of the Argumentation on Mind Theory in the Guanzi” (an ancient Chinese philosophical text). It came naturally enough that I started to wonder if research might actually suit me.
After finishing the thesis, I wrote a companion piece on methodology — My Thoughts on Reading Literature and Writing Academic Papers. The Communist Youth League of China later messaged asking to reprint it. Whether they actually did, I never found out.
Then, while my hand was still warm, I wrote a short philosophical essay: How Could Artificial Consciousness Be Possible?. Looking back, studying philosophy really was enormously fun. I’m proud of that choice.
Two years of graduate school passed in a blink. The quiet walkways and ancient lecture halls of Sun Yat-sen University remain vivid in my mind.
Work
In the six months since graduation and starting my job, some highlights:
- QQ Baby: Followed this project from the very first line of code through the 1.0 launch. I treated it like my own child.
- Green Diamond campaigns: In the last two months of the year, I shipped two S-tier campaigns — the 12th Anniversary and Lunar New Year Red Envelope events.
Exhausting but rewarding. The pressure of real business work pushed my technical skills forward faster than anything before.
I also gave two internal presentations:
- QQ Baby’s Hippy Client Development
- React 16: Fiber, Hooks, Concurrent
This year I dug into the React source code and gained meaningful insight into both React and Hippy internals. I published a series of React source code analysis articles and some web security pieces — about 10+ posts total, averaging roughly one a month.
Side Projects
Embarrassing confession: this year’s plan was Shuangsheng (Twin Diary) 3.0. I missed the deadline again. The technical architecture still needed more thought. Current progress: 60%. Aiming for 2020.
The live version of Shuangsheng holds steady DAU numbers, and I get occasional messages from users encouraging me to keep going. That keeps me going.
Shuangsheng also got a write-up in Guangzhou Daily and some other outlets — another nudge to keep polishing it.
Thank you.
Places I Went
- USA: Attended WWDC. (Travel log)
- Danxia Mountain: Simple graduation trip.
- Shunde, Dapeng (team outings)
- Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hefei…
Finally met my online friend Bobo-sensei in the US. Met up with Wei in Shenzhen, and reconnected with Wang Rui and Yang Yuxuan — people I hadn’t seen in years.
Also: I met my idol (a colleague from PCG) @Zhong Wenze in the US. He interviewed me for his Weibo. Pretty cool.
Games
Switch:
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild — Completed over New Year’s.
- Hollow Knight — About 90%, nearly there. Best game in the genre! (Zelda is the sky above.)
- Octopath Traveler — Unlocked 5 characters so far.
- Child of Light — Dipped in briefly.
- Slay the Spire — Played on PC before; nicer on Switch.
- Diablo III — Tried one class; late game felt like grinding. My thumbs paid the price.
- Super Mario Party — Played with family.
- Super Dance 2019 — Same. Bought the subscription, barely danced.
- Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker — Got stuck near the end; maybe 50%.
- Super Mario Odyssey — 50%. Kept getting dizzy with 3D movement, shelved it.
PS4:
Bought one during Golden Week thinking I’d be bored alone in Shenzhen. Played God of War (2018) — made it to 40% before work got too busy to continue. Red Dead Redemption 2: still shrink-wrapped.
Film & TV
Movies:
- Avengers: Endgame — Watched in theaters three times. “I love you three thousand.”
- Spider-Man: Far From Home — My personal top 3 Marvel solo films. The Sony saga was stressful but resolved well.
- Captain Marvel, Ne Zha, Joker, Searching, Better Days, The Legend of 1900, Parasite, Saving Private Ryan, Cast Away, I Am Sam, Darkest Hour
- Green Book — Second watch. Lovely music, lovely story, unhurried and never dull.
- Andhadhun, Pelé: Birth of a Legend, Good Will Hunting, Big Hero 6
Series:
- Joy of Life (Qing Yu Nian) — Didn’t expect to love a costume drama this much.
- Turn Up the Volume (Rinno ni Nare) — Disappointing ending. The male lead is a walking disaster.
- Hanzawa Naoki — Top-3 Japanese drama. Rewatched the best scenes many times. Season 2 was rumored for April — hoping!
Anime:
- Demon Slayer — Stunning. Not a single off frame. The ukiyo-e-style fights with ambient BGM somehow create genuine intensity — remarkable. Read the manga afterward; excited for the film.
- My Hero Academia (Seasons 1–3) — The first three seasons hold up well. Reminds me of Naruto.
- The Brave and the Bold (Yūsha wa Eiyū ni Aranai) — Solid short-form watch.
Documentaries:
- Faces, Planet Earth II
Reading
- The Disgraced Life of Matsuko — Still not finished after six months…
- 84, Charing Cross Road — Twenty years of near-missed meetings. Intimacy across an ocean.
- The Stories of the Sahara — San Mao is exactly the kind of person I love: warm, funny, a little wild.
- The New Recruit (Higashino Keigo)
- Bond of Dreams, Bond of Love (Higashino Keigo)
- A Man Called Ove — Quietly warm. Softens something in you.
First half of the year: one book a month. Second half: slacked off. Hoping to keep the pace up in 2020.
Romance
Still a long road, and you’re still nowhere on the horizon. I’ve given up setting flags.
Falling for someone feels impossibly difficult. But I believe when it happens, it’ll feel impossibly lucky.
So — fate will figure it out.
Drawing
My watercolor course is 70% done. First half of the year: painted every two weeks. Second half: painted once.
My Cats
I got two cats after moving to Shenzhen: Shoutao (手套 / “Gloves”), a Ragdoll who has grown to look more like a pig than a cat, and Paofu (泡芙 / “Puff”), a mischievous British Shorthair. They’re a bit of work, but honestly they’re good kittens — and they’re what gets me home from work each evening.
Getting more clingy lately. The moment I sit down, Gloves drapes himself over my arm and leans into my shoulder, while Puff tries to commandeer my lap from the other side.
Finally
I’ve also collected some fun little things.
And this was my favorite song of 2019:
After all this rambling, my hopes for 2020: Eat breakfast. Reflect often. Sleep earlier. Read more. Be braver. Keep doing what you love.
I live in a marvelous waiting — waiting for whatever future comes.
