A Piece of the Sky | Substack

A Piece of the Sky

The 30-year deeply human experience of China’s rise, unlocking its psychology & ‘Black Heart’ wisdom as the ultimate art of survival in an uncertain world. A universal masterclass in resilience and turning life's chaos into triumph. English&Deutsch.

By Holger

A Piece of the Sky

A 30-year masterclass in resilience. The psychology behind China's rise & its Black Heart wisdom, helping you read an uncertain world, build unshakeable resilience, and win unthinkable wars. En & De.

The STORY: My Piece of the Sky

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Paper Tigers and Bank Envelopes

Chapter 22. An Exercise in Perception Management and Operational Expenses. Shanghai, Fall 1997.

May 15•A Piece of the Sky

3

Supplement: List of Key Characters

An on-going list of key characters, as the "Sky" story develops, chapter by chapter. Updated regularly.

May 15•A Piece of the Sky

3

Partnership with Chinese Characteristics

Chapter 21. A tycoon in the making, a dozen borrowed thugs, and the day I finished a sentence for someone who shouldn't have started it. Shanghai, Fall…

May 14•A Piece of the Sky

3

The Logic of Leverage

Chapter 20. Discovering old shadows in new rooms. An exercise in Black Heart accounting and a cold change of course. Shanghai, 1997.

May 11•A Piece of the Sky

4

The Puppet’s Rebellion

Chapter 19. The end of a vacuous charlatan. How the petty stupidity of the boss who wasn’t turned a coward into a nationalist. Shanghai, 1996.

Apr 21•A Piece of the Sky

4

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The Beauty Trap

Chapter 18. On the bike in the rain, the Win-Win of a fake pregnancy, and the dismantling of a man who should have known better. Taipei and Shanghai…

Apr 12•A Piece of the Sky

5

1

The Lethality of Silence

Chapter 17. A Black Heart stratagem, a Scottish woman who read horoscopes instead of people, and the first time the blade felt right in my hand. Taipei…

Apr 10•A Piece of the Sky

2

1

The Power of Rejection

Chapter 16. The uses of rejection: a mother's final door, a brown paper bag in Russell Square, and the flight back into the fire. Germany and London…

Apr 9•A Piece of the Sky

4

1

Nobody Needs A China Hand

Chapter 15. Ditching my formative roots, and the idiocy of Western companies sleepwalking into carefully set traps. Germany, Summer 1995.

Apr 9•A Piece of the Sky

3

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The Tomb Sweeper’s Vow

Chapter 14. Disinherited, broke, married on the Day of the Dead, and somehow not done yet. Guangdong, Spring 1995.

Apr 4•A Piece of the Sky

4

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Riding the Tiger

Chapter 13. On orchestrated betrayal, phantom laws, and the strange comfort of a place where danger is at least honest. Guangdong, 1995.

Mar 18•A Piece of the Sky

5