As of 2020 (TODO starting when) the Chinese government officially recognizes 55 minorities.
These minorities actually had different legal statuses, e.g. they were exempt from the One Child Policy.
Shanxi by Ciro Santilli 37 Updated 2025-07-16
Literally: West of the Mountain.
Two things come to mind when Ciro Santilli thinks about his sinohpilia.
There is a strong "Ciro Santilli's knowledge hoarding" side to it. Ciro has decided that he has to know EVERYTHING about China. It's culture. It's people. It's art. And so once that has been decided, it becomes inevitable.
But of course, there is also the "which part of Ciro's inner being led to that hoarding decision" part of things. Mishima's quote often comes to mind:
Every night I return to my desk precisely at midnight. I thoroughly analyze why I am attracted to a particular theme. I drag it into my conscious mind. I boil it into abstraction.
Exoticism is undoubtedly part of it.
Maybe it has something to do with growing up observing 5th+ generation Japanese Brazilians immigrants, well, being Asians and crushing it academically. But also being quiet people, and sometimes misfits. I.e., nerds.
Maybe there is also someting to do with the influence Japanese anime, highly popular during Ciro's hildhood in Brazil. Ciro, unlike many of his friends, left that relatively early, as he got into the deeper pleasures of natural sciences and then more traditional Asian culture. But still.
Shehnai by Ciro Santilli 37 Updated 2025-07-16
It is very similar to the Chinese suona.
Video 1.
Divine Shehnai by Saregama Hindustani Classical (2023)
Source.

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