Dear Editor:
I have been reading Sinorama for many years, and have always liked it very much. Especially now that I am working alone in Japan, and my family sends me copies of each month's magazines after they have read them, reading Sinorama has become a high point of my month.
A few months ago you conducted a reader survey. I carefully gave you my views, and waited patiently for my "exquisite little gift" to arrive. When the Sinorama book labels arrived, I was very pleased, but when I opened the envelope I was astonished to find a set of little cards on the theme of "playing the zither to a buffalo" [choosing the wrong audience]. If you are telling readers who have just replied to your survey that we were "playing to a buffalo," who exactly is the buffalo? Do you mean our opinions are just "bull," or is it that after we spent so long "playing," the only ones listening were ourselves, because Sinorama isn't the least bit interested in its readers' opinions?
I hope the editor will give us a satisfactory explanation. Rest assured that you won't be "playing the zither to a buffalo"!
Sincerely, Chiang Wen-fu
Editor's reply: Firstly I would like to apologize to Mr. Chiang and to other readers who felt the same way, and to take this opportunity to explain.
When we chose the book labels as gifts, we simply thought they had an old-fashioned elegance and would be nice to collect. We never thought that the negative side of their content would lead to a misunderstanding. Because our paper-cut stories are mainly intended to be amusing and tell a story, many of them have a negative or ironic side to their meaning. This is true, for instance, of stories in recent issues such as "Both on the Losing End," and "No Silver Buried Here." But we never had any intention of making fun of readers. We simply wished to let you enjoy the artist's skill and appreciate the subtleties of the saying quoted. In future when producing such gifts we will of course be much more careful. Thank you for pointing out our mistake.
Use Bigger Type, Please!
Dear Editor:
I have been a Sinorama reader for nearly 20 years. I feel that the magazine has been constantly improving, and it is an indispensable source of spiritual nourishment for those of us living abroad who are starved for Chinese-language reading matter. Yet, over the last year or two, perhaps because Sinorama's type size has been shrinking or perhaps because my vision is getting worse, the only things I can make out in the magazine are the titles, the photos, and the captions. The rest--both English and Chinese--is all a blur. Sometimes I see a title that looks especially interesting, and I feel even more disappointed. I hope you can improve the situation.
Chen Ching-hui United States
Editor's reply: Our readers' survey at the end of last year revealed that many readers feel the same as Mr. Chen, and hope that the type size can be increased. Our first response was to increase the size of the typeface in the non-English language sections of the magazine (like "Potpourri") by one font size. As for the main articles, we have been experimenting with different combinations of Chinese and English type sizes in hopes of finding an easier-to-read format while minimizing the impact on the overall appearance of the page. We are trying to improve the situation as quickly as possible, so that our readers will not be so taxed.
Some readers have also commented on the paper and the stapling, and some have noted that the covers can become curled, making long-term storage more problematic. This is caused by technical problems, such as that the covers are glossy and the grain of the paper runs horizontally. We will try to overcome these problems soon. Thank you all for your suggestions.
