In Chinese and other East Asian societies, a red envelope or red packet or red pocket (known as hong bao in Mandarin, ang pao in Hokkien and lai see in Cantonese, and lì xì in Vietnamese) is a monetary gift which is given on holidays or special occasions. —Wikipedia   Excerpt from a journal entry Last night, at an artists’ gathering, we talked about Guangzhou, of all places, and I heard two stories of what had happened to two of the artists while they were there. Louis was a man of good features. Tall and broad-faced, he had a sonorous…