Do you still remember when you first picked out your Chinese name? Did you want something special? Something that sounds like your real name? Or did you simply copy the name of your favorite kung fu star?

Further along in the language study process, do you remember sitting there, annoyed, as that kid with the really good pronunciation and ridiculous vocabulary showed off in front of the class? Well, Mandarin Star might bring those memories back.

His novels, To Live and Brothers, were celebrated by Chinese readers. Then, when Zhang Yimou adapted To Live into a film starring Gong Li and Ge You, Yu Hua's work gained international recognition. With his first major nonfiction work, China in Ten Words, his penchant for storytelling brings to light so much that's funny, poignant, infuriating and beautiful about modern China. If you find yourself constantly at a loss for how to understand and articulate the insanity you're experiencing here, reading his latest will surely hit the spot. In the meantime, Yu Hua was kind enough to answer some of our questions in advance of his sold out talks at The Bookworm International Literary Festival:

What's been your biggest breakthrough?
The best breakthrough an author can have is to forget his previous successes. Each time he sits down to write, he should imagine himself a novice again.

Drum & bass trio Pendulum are back in Beijing this Saturday (March 10), and we've got tickets to give away to readers overflowing with wit and creativity. Luck doesn't come into it.

The JUE Music + Art Festival 2012 gets underway this Tuesday (Mar 6), and Death Cab For Cutie's gig at Tango this Saturday (Mar 10) is one of the highlights among a packed schedule featuring local and international bands and musicians, art exhibitions, film screenings and more. If you haven't picked up a copy of the March issue of the Beijinger, you can read our interview with Death Cab later this week on the blog, but right now we've got a chance for you to win a pair of tickets to the concert, courtesy of our Vedett-peddling friends at Duvel Moortgat Beijing.

While St Patrick’s Day only falls once a year, there’s no reason that the celebrations can’t begin before March 17. The Irish craic begins this weekend with a Celtic concert that will feature music, singers and dancers. We talked with Hong Kong-based Scottish harpist Katie Targett-Adams to bring us up to speed on Celtic tunes, her small harp and drinking Guinness. We’re also giving away two pairs of tickets to the Irish Connections Concert on Saturday, March 3, read on to find out how to win.