Yanwen’s blog

7/10/2026

Two days ago, a friend shared a new internet term with me: "Beng Laotou" (崩老头). It was the first time I had ever heard it.

I looked it up. In this context, beng is northern Chinese internet slang meaning to deceive, exploit, squeeze money from, or monetize someone. Laotou does not literally refer to elderly men. Instead, it generally describes middle-aged men with stable incomes who are emotionally lonely or vulnerable.

Together, Beng Laotou refers to exploiting such men through emotional manipulation for financial gain. The typical targets are financially secure but emotionally isolated men who are willing to spend money on online companionship.

The term immediately reminded me of a crime I read and wrote about in late 2023.

The case involved a 78-year-old retired Chinese American man and his 73-year-old wife in Connecticut who lost millions of dollars in an elaborate online investment scam, putting their family home at risk.

It all began with what appeared to be an innocent text message. The sender claimed to be a young Chinese woman who had texted the wrong number. Somehow she persuaded the man to continue chatting. Over the next three months, they exchanged messages daily. Although they had never met in person, he came to regard her as a trusted friend. Eventually, she convinced him to borrow and invest millions of dollars in what turned out to be a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme and lost all his life savings.

Criminologists now recognize this pattern as a romance scam or, when it involves fake investments, a "pig butchering" scam (杀猪盘).

The scheme always starts with friendly conversation, gradually builds emotional trust over time, and only then introduces an investment opportunity or financial request.

The scammers exploit one of our most fundamental human needs: the desire to be seen, heard, valued, and connected. Money is the ultimate objective, but emotional trust is the bridge that gets them there.

The term Beng Laotou reflects a growing awareness on Chinese social media that financially secure but emotionally isolated middle-aged men are increasingly being targeted in this way.

To me, this points to something much broader than online fraud. It highlights the importance of close family relationships and strong social connections, especially as people grow older. Loneliness can make people more vulnerable to manipulation. Staying connected to family, friends, and community may be one of the best protections against scams that prey on emotional isolation.

7/9/2026

Yesterday, a friend in Kansas told me that his daughter plans to spend the month before starting college learning the guzheng, a Chinese music instrument. She already plays both the piano and the flute.

I shared with him the article I wrote on July 4 about music and brain health and mentioned that I'm learning the piano myself. He replied, "We should be doing it now."

Then he added: "In fact, writing is also good for preventing dementia, more effective than piano." That was encouraging to hear, since writing comes naturally to me while learning the piano is proving to be much more challenging.

His comment reminded me of something else I recently read.

Recent research suggests that health is often a family characteristic, not simply an individual one. One study identified different "family health climates," ranging from Flourishers, who consistently maintain healthy eating and regular physical activity, to Survivors, who struggle with both.

Other studies have found that family members often share risks for hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and other chronic diseases. Part of that is genetic, but part reflects the environments families create together. Eating habits, physical activity, and even body weight tend to be similar among parents, children, and siblings. Healthy habits—and unhealthy ones—often spread through families.

This reminded me of one relative family. One member has struggled with diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, and other chronic illnesses. Another member has other health issues. The burden is not carried by any individual alone; it affects the well-being of the entire family.

Whether we're talking about learning another language, listening to music, exercising regularly, or simply eating healthier meals, the underlying message is consistent: our behavior is often influenced by the people around us.

Families as one social group don't simply share genes. They also share routines, expectations, habits, values, and culture. Those shared patterns can influence health throughout a lifetime.

A family is a team. When one family member adopts a healthier lifestyle, it often encourages others to do the same. Healthy habits can spread through a family by example. As each person benefits, the whole family benefits. And when a family builds a culture of healthy living together, everyone has a better chance of living a longer, healthier, and happier life.

7/8/2026

Yesterday, while having lunch, I was listening to the Odyssey story. After that, I was wondering the epic story was written over 2000 years ago, what is it that makes it still popular today?

For a brief summary, The Odyssey, attributed to the Greek poet Homer, begins after the Trojan War. Odysseus, king of Ithaca, spends ten years struggling to return home after offending Poseidon, the god of the sea. Along the way, he encounters mythical dangers—the Cyclops, the enchantress Circe, the Sirens, and many others. 

Meanwhile, back in Ithaca, his wife Penelope faithfully waits for him while fending off suitors who have taken over his household, and his son Telemachus searches for news of his missing father. At last, with the help of the goddess Athena, Odysseus returns in disguise, defeats the suitors, reunites with his family, and finally comes home after twenty years away.

For all his heroic deeds, after victory and glory, what Odysseus longed for most was simply returning home -- the place where he belonged.

More than 2,700 years have passed since Homer told Odysseus's story, yet its emotional appeal hasn't changed. Today we may travel farther than ever before, build successful careers, or seek adventure in distant lands. But somewhere deep inside us remains the same longing—to return to the place, and the people, where we belong.

As I wrote those words, I found myself thinking again about the Korean clinician who visited us on July 1. She had left her home and family behind to build a new life in America. Living here alone, thousands of miles from her parents in Korea, she spoke with a sadness that many first-generation immigrants would recognize.

I also thought of a friend here in America. His daughter will start college this fall. This summer, he took her back to China to visit relatives and reconnect with family roots. In a way, it was his own version of a homecoming—not because he was returning permanently, but because he wanted his daughter to know where she came from.

Odysseus spends ten years trying to get home after the war. Many immigrants spend decades trying to reconcile two homes—the one they left behind and the one they have built. 

Finally, east or west, home is best. Home is the symbol of belonging. That's why it resonated with the Korean clinician and why The Odyssey has never grown old after nearly three millennia. The story endures because, despite all the changes in civilization, that human longing has remained unchanged.

7/7/2026

This question came to mind as I was reading  Why Was the PLA Able to Win? by Xu Yan. PLA stands for People’s Liberation Army in China.

First of all, regardless of one's political views, this is a legitimate historical question. More than this, it is one of the central questions of modern Chinese history.

In the late 1940s, the Nationalists appeared to hold almost every advantage. They controlled most major cities, possessed a larger and better-equipped army, enjoyed international recognition, and received substantial American military aid. Many foreign observers expected them to prevail.

Yet within only a few years, the Communists won decisively. That definitely demands an explanation.

Second, Xu Yan's explanation overlaps considerably with what many historians identify as important factors: land reform, discipline, organizational cohesion, political education, and strategic flexibility.

One example of the strategic flexibility is the famous 16-character guerrilla strategy: 敌进我退，敌驻我扰，敌疲我打，敌退我追。When the enemy advances, we retreat. When the enemy camps (or halts), we harass him. When the enemy is exhausted, we attack. When the enemy retreats, we pursue.

This captures the essence of asymmetric warfare. Rather than confronting a stronger opponent head-on, the weaker force chooses when, where, and under what conditions to fight.

Ultimately, XU makes us think this way: instead of treating victory as inevitable, he asks: what makes one organization PLA consistently outperform another even under extraordinarily difficult circumstances?

That question applies far beyond military history. A businesses or sports team, or government or school or a company even families ask the same question.

There are at least two lessons that I learned from the book.

The first is organization and motivation.

An army faces many of the same management challenges as any organization: recruiting people, retaining them, motivating them, developing leaders, maintaining discipline, and building a shared culture.

The second lesson is resource leverage.

There is a Chinese saying, 花少钱办大事—accomplishing big things with limited resources. The PLA achieved victory despite beginning with fewer material resources than the Nationalists.

The lesson extends far beyond military history. Many successful organizations did not begin with abundant resources; they learned to deploy limited resources more effectively than their competitors.

Resources matter, but how you organize and deploy them often matters just as much.

This book connects naturally with several others I've been reading recently.

Thucydides explored why Greek city-states rise and fall during the Peloponnesian War. The Draghi Report asks why Europe is losing competitiveness. Xu Yan examines how the PLA grew from a small revolutionary force into the army that ultimately won the Chinese Civil War.

Each addresses a different historical setting, yet all wrestle with the same enduring question:

Why do some organizations, states, institutions, and societies succeed while others fail?

Their answers differ, but they repeatedly point to the importance of leadership, organization, incentives, adaptability, and the ability to execute under difficult circumstances.

7/6/2026

Yesterday I read an interesting section of the Draghi Report on European competitiveness. The report examines why Europe has been losing ground economically relative to the United States and China.

Its diagnosis is broader than simply blaming bureaucracy, though it's one of the key issues. Europe's competitiveness challenge has multiple causes, one of which is slow and fragmented governance.

Draghi identifies several structural problems that reinforce one another:

• Fragmented markets Europe is still not a fully integrated single market in areas such as capital, digital services, and energy.

• Insufficient investment Europe invests less than is needed in innovation, infrastructure, and strategic industries.

• An innovation gap Europe produces world-class research but often struggles to turn it into globally competitive companies.

• High energy costs Since the energy crisis, European industry has faced significantly higher costs than many of its competitors.

• Regulatory complexity and slow implementation Even when Europe reaches broad agreement on a problem, turning that agreement into concrete action can take years.

To me, the report highlights a familiar pattern: Europe has become very good at diagnosing problems but less effective at implementing solutions.

It reminds me of a saying I heard years ago:

Ideas are cheap. Execution is everything.

A similar thought is often attributed to Peter Drucker:

"Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work."

This pattern extends well beyond Europe. Whether we look at the Greek city-states after the Peloponnesian War, the later Roman Empire, imperial China, modern governments, or even large corporations, a recurring lesson emerges: institutions rarely struggle because they fail to recognize problems. More often, they struggle because they become too slow, too divided, or too constrained or too big to respond effectively.

The question the Draghi Report ultimately raises is a timeless one:

Can institutions adapt as quickly as the world around them changes?

In an age of AI, rapid technological change, and intense global competition, that may be one of the defining questions for every government, organization, and company.

History repeatedly suggests that civilizations and institutions decline because they cannot respond to problems quickly.