on the webmaster
i'm going to be so honest i never know how to write about pages or how to strike a tone. i think irl and in chat rooms i am a rather goofy silly guy but website writing i tend to go very serious... so if there is ever a drastic tone change between paragraphs or writings, you know why.
but anyways! my name is aster and i use they/he pronouns. i'm a 20 year old american majoring in international law, philosophy and religious studies, and chinese, with a certificate in french studies. my research focus is on the confluence of religion and law (what is law in religion? what is law on religion? when issues of shared jurisdiction arise, how do people choose between secular and religious law?), particularly between the chinese government and mahāyāna buddhist institutions (although i think tibetan buddhism is the easiest to see the interaction between china and buddhism, i want to see how china deals with its most sinicized foreign religion). this can be further subdivided into:
- impact of white lotus societies on the prc (people's republic of china)'s approach to religion
- impact that the 會昌毀佛 (huìchāng huǐfú; huichang persecution of buddhists) era had on buddhist doctrine and if something similar happened during the cultural revolution
- reimportation of humanistic buddhism from taiwan to china
and more generally, the possibilities of an international convention on freedom of religion and belief.
since i am unfortunately a nerd first and foremost, majority of this website will act as a sort of wiki for my various academic pursuits. outside of studying, i'd say some of my favorite things are:
- genealogy. maybe this one is a cop out giving that its really just a form of research, but i really enjoy it! i'm not too sure if i have any deeper reason for enjoying it besides the feeling of discovery and liking history (maybe an ingrained filial piety?) but i enjoy it. see research question five.
- writing. my oldest love! i've never been a particularly great writer, but it's been my primary mode of self-expression ever since i was a child.
- drag. for all it's problems rupaul's drag race has been instrumental in helping me feel more at peace with my queer identity (although i haven't watched it in a bit). my favorite drag queens are vera vanderwoude, is she hungry, m1ss jade so, dakota schiffer, arantxa castilla la mancha, hugacéo crujiente, and nymphia wind.
- dance. as above, i'm not a particularly great dancer but i really enjoy it! current goal is to learn popping love by wayv before the fall semester starts up.
on the website design
as is probably very evident, this website's styling is heavily inspired by xxiivv, one of my favorite websites on the web (along with their sister project of 100 rabbits) and the site that made me learn of the small web in the first place. i also hope to take inspiration from low-tech magazine; it'd be nice to eventually self-host on a solar power setup (but as of now that is not feasible given my programming ability and place of residence). although i am not against complex website designs, in fact i think my favorite designs are often the most maximalist ones, i found that what ended up happening was i was so worried about the aesthetics that i completely neglected the actual substantive writing-- which is arguably the most important part!
i've also been been thinking a lot about research question one: how can we create a sustainable future in accordance with nature while not rejecting tech, even in the event of collapse? to me, this means that my website should thus follow two principles: 1) causes as little environmental damage as possible; 2) can be easily resurrected in the event of societal collapse.
on the website content
in some ways i consider this to be an extended version of my zettelkasten system, where the governing rules of atomicity are put aside in favor of a more easily navigable design. i want to put my ideas and essays out into the world, where hopefully others can either learn or further my own understanding via contacting me.