If you think that 7/15 looks far off from the correct date today, check again to make sure your computer's calendar is set for "lunar" mode.
To many Mainland Chinese people today, this lunar calendar date is unremarkable. It is the middle of the seventh lunar month and a week after the "Chinese Valentine's Day," but generally an unremarkable day. However, comparatively traditional Chinese are certainly aware of today's lunar calendar date.
Today was 鬼节 guijie, the ghost festival. This holiday is somewhat similar to old spooky versions of Halloween, although the attitude towards ghosts here is generally less fearful and more reverent. The traditions of the holiday, along with those of many other holidays, are nearly invisible in Beijing and other large Chinese cities. Unfortunately, the Communist party firmly believed in Marx's assertion that "religion is the opiate of the masses." The result of party policy is only dim recognition of many significant traditions that still survive in many overseas Chinese communities.
Fortunately, even in the sleek and modern capital city, there is still room for tradition--even if it is in a narrow Hutong that has already been marked for the wrecking ball. On my walk home from dinner, I was surprised to see an old woman and her granddaughter kindling a fire in the street until I realized that she was burning paper money as an offering to either ghosts or ancestors. Several doors down another family was at work on a similar undertaking, and a few lanterns were suspended from firey red kites flying far overhead.
The celebration was certainly subdued compared to footage I have seen of Ghost Festival celebrations in Taiwan. Nevertheless, the careful attention to performing and passing on tradition was touching.
Starting fires in the middle of a largely wooden section of the city in observance of a traditional holiday provides evidence that China's cultural heritage runs deeper than a government campaign for "Civilization." The scenes I saw tonight also demonstrated that the traditions are being passed on to the younger generations. Perhaps Chinese traditional culture and civilization will not be eradicated by a government eagerly playing catch up with the West. Perhaps the traditions will be reborn in a generation that is growing up with experience of old and new ideas and the capabilities to integrate the two sides into a new identity.
Perhaps not. Contrary to some traditional beliefs, predicting the future is nearly impossible in China. As the cliché says, "the only thing that's constant is change." That said, it's good to know that some people still pay attention to the cycles of the traditional year. It's reassuring to know that the lunar calendar so much as exists in today's China. It's comforting to know that as much as the surface of Beijing changes, there will always be people on the ground keeping watch "lest the old traditions fail."
Monday, August 27, 2007
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
8/8 and counting
Today marks the one year countdown to the Beijing Olympics. There are festivities this evening (probably at 8 o'clock) in Tian'anmen Square. I will avoid the "Oceans and Mountains of People" and remain near home for this one. Maybe there will be something on TV...
Other recent interesting events:
I finally ate at the "Fusion" restaurant 锣鼓 Luogu. I still don't understand what fusion is. We had one dish with a little bit of cheese in it, but otherwise everything tasted just like typical Beijing Chinese food. I think it's all a marketing scam.
I was given a section of wall in Hutong School on which I can rotate exhibits of my photos--Printing costs covered by the school. It's pretty great because the photos look nice on the web, but they look even nicer when they're printed.
More and more people are leaving Hutong School. It seems like there is a goodbye party every week. Last week Melissa and 2 other Americans left. Friday I will lose my roommates. Next week more of the French girls are out of here. All this has me wondering what I'm still doing in Beijing.
Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz) has written and produced a rock opera based on the Chinese story "Journey To the West" called Monkey: Journey to the West. It has played in England and France. I hear that it will also go to Tokyo and New York. If anyone can come up with information about USA shows (dates etc.) I would appreciate it.
Other recent interesting events:
I finally ate at the "Fusion" restaurant 锣鼓 Luogu. I still don't understand what fusion is. We had one dish with a little bit of cheese in it, but otherwise everything tasted just like typical Beijing Chinese food. I think it's all a marketing scam.
I was given a section of wall in Hutong School on which I can rotate exhibits of my photos--Printing costs covered by the school. It's pretty great because the photos look nice on the web, but they look even nicer when they're printed.More and more people are leaving Hutong School. It seems like there is a goodbye party every week. Last week Melissa and 2 other Americans left. Friday I will lose my roommates. Next week more of the French girls are out of here. All this has me wondering what I'm still doing in Beijing.
Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz) has written and produced a rock opera based on the Chinese story "Journey To the West" called Monkey: Journey to the West. It has played in England and France. I hear that it will also go to Tokyo and New York. If anyone can come up with information about USA shows (dates etc.) I would appreciate it.
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Civilization Ho!
What does the number 11 mean to you? Probably not much… Maybe it is associated with some bad joke about what “one and one make,” or maybe it’s a lucky number. But otherwise 11 is just a number like any other.
In Beijing, 11 has a new meaning. It stands for being civilized. This concept itself is pretty interesting because in addition to recently coining the abbreviation “11,” it seems that the word for civilization has also recently been created. Chinese now use the word 文明 wenming to mean “civilized” the adjective. It used to be that wenming was a noun that meant civilization, as in “China: a civilization that has thousands of years of history.” It would seem that English has influenced the creation of a new meaning for this word.
What implications do the coinage of a new term and abbreviation have? Beijing is in the process of a major “civilization” campaign. There are posters everywhere that encourage people to be more 文明. In the subway, people are supposed to line up (the number 11 looks like two people lined up properly). People are not supposed to spit on the ground or walk around without their shirts on in public. In many ways, “civilization” means westernization, and the campaign to civilize is a campaign to be less Chinese. This trend strikes me as odd given that Chinese are proud to be part of a civilization that dates back thousands of years.
Beijingers are used to spitting on the street, pushing and shoving to get on trains and taking their shirts off when it’s hot. It’s the pesky foreigners coming in who are different, and there are certainly more Chinese doing things their way than foreigners disapproving. It does not seem fair to have a campaign against your own culture. Some might even recall the Cultural Revolution campaign against the 'Four Olds,' which attacked old customs among other "outdated" ways of life. Does anyone have the right to say that the Chinese way of life is less civilized than anyone else’s?
Some would say yes. It is certainly true that life is more pleasant when people don’t push and shove and spit on your feet. It may even be more pleasant if you could go into a restaurant in China and have an attentive server rather than having to yell across a crowded room to attract the attention of a waitress who is not ashamed to let you know how much she would rather be messaging on her mobile phone.
The people are not stupid either. They know that the government’s campaign for civilization is based on a Western ideal of Civilization. Therefore, Chinese people look at foreigners as examples of the civilized ideal. When I discovered this, I realized that a foreigner really cannot expect Chinese people to ever accept his behavior as anything like theirs.
On the hottest night of the summer I walked outside for the two minutes between Cody's apartment and mine with my shirt off. When I passed the “guards” who sit in front of the gate all night (with their shirts off or at least rolled up), I heard them talking about me. Their conversation was roughly as follows:
The main point, though, is that China is a civilization with thousands of years of history. People here have their own way of life, and they know that any effort to change their ways is based on external pressure. The implication for people like me is that we have to serve not only as an ambassador for our country, but also as an example of an ideal that Chinese people don’t necessarily want to adopt. There’s no way out because we seem so different that Chinese will never just overlook our behavior as normal.
August 11 is Civilization day. I for one can’t wait to see that China is exactly as civilized as it has been for thousands of years. I hope that people have enough pride to know that to really be civilized they need to do little more than avoid making other people angry. This is something China has known ever since Confucius wrote (around the 4th Century BC) that one should “do nothing to others that you don’t want done to yourself.”
In Beijing, 11 has a new meaning. It stands for being civilized. This concept itself is pretty interesting because in addition to recently coining the abbreviation “11,” it seems that the word for civilization has also recently been created. Chinese now use the word 文明 wenming to mean “civilized” the adjective. It used to be that wenming was a noun that meant civilization, as in “China: a civilization that has thousands of years of history.” It would seem that English has influenced the creation of a new meaning for this word.
What implications do the coinage of a new term and abbreviation have? Beijing is in the process of a major “civilization” campaign. There are posters everywhere that encourage people to be more 文明. In the subway, people are supposed to line up (the number 11 looks like two people lined up properly). People are not supposed to spit on the ground or walk around without their shirts on in public. In many ways, “civilization” means westernization, and the campaign to civilize is a campaign to be less Chinese. This trend strikes me as odd given that Chinese are proud to be part of a civilization that dates back thousands of years.
Beijingers are used to spitting on the street, pushing and shoving to get on trains and taking their shirts off when it’s hot. It’s the pesky foreigners coming in who are different, and there are certainly more Chinese doing things their way than foreigners disapproving. It does not seem fair to have a campaign against your own culture. Some might even recall the Cultural Revolution campaign against the 'Four Olds,' which attacked old customs among other "outdated" ways of life. Does anyone have the right to say that the Chinese way of life is less civilized than anyone else’s?
Some would say yes. It is certainly true that life is more pleasant when people don’t push and shove and spit on your feet. It may even be more pleasant if you could go into a restaurant in China and have an attentive server rather than having to yell across a crowded room to attract the attention of a waitress who is not ashamed to let you know how much she would rather be messaging on her mobile phone.
The people are not stupid either. They know that the government’s campaign for civilization is based on a Western ideal of Civilization. Therefore, Chinese people look at foreigners as examples of the civilized ideal. When I discovered this, I realized that a foreigner really cannot expect Chinese people to ever accept his behavior as anything like theirs.
On the hottest night of the summer I walked outside for the two minutes between Cody's apartment and mine with my shirt off. When I passed the “guards” who sit in front of the gate all night (with their shirts off or at least rolled up), I heard them talking about me. Their conversation was roughly as follows:
Guy 1: “Hah! Foreigners aren’t civilized either.”I don’t know if the third comment implied that you should be allowed to walk around with your shirt off only if you are in good shape, but I hope that’s what he was going for.
Guy 2: “If they aren’t Civilized, why should we be?”
Guy 3: “Yeah, but he’s in really good shape…”
The main point, though, is that China is a civilization with thousands of years of history. People here have their own way of life, and they know that any effort to change their ways is based on external pressure. The implication for people like me is that we have to serve not only as an ambassador for our country, but also as an example of an ideal that Chinese people don’t necessarily want to adopt. There’s no way out because we seem so different that Chinese will never just overlook our behavior as normal.
August 11 is Civilization day. I for one can’t wait to see that China is exactly as civilized as it has been for thousands of years. I hope that people have enough pride to know that to really be civilized they need to do little more than avoid making other people angry. This is something China has known ever since Confucius wrote (around the 4th Century BC) that one should “do nothing to others that you don’t want done to yourself.”
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Recent Wrap-up
Okay, I'm a little late with this post. I planned to put it up two days ago, but got distracted by big important things like dinner. Basically I'm just going to run down the cool things that have been going on in Beijing recently that I haven't posted about before. It's not very literary, but maybe it's fun and informative for those readers who are wondering what I do when I'm not posting my deep thoughts on the internet.
1) Posting Deep Thoughts on the Internet: Okay, maybe my thoughts aren't really so deep, but I have spent a lot of time in the last month whipping InterestingChinese.com into shape. It's not finished yet, but it is starting to look presentable and I finally feel like I've accomplished something at my internship.
2) Visiting the Great Wall: This seems like a no-brainer since I live in Beijing. However, I know some old Beijingers who have been to the Great Wall only ten times in their entire life--some have been less. I went to the Great Wall four times in one month, bringing my total to 7 times in my life. I guess there's a reason that random tourists believe me when I tell them a fact or two about the Wall.
3) Visitors: I've had a bunch of visitors since of been in Beijing. Some were pleasant surprises, and some I knew about. First Michelle dropped in for lunch in June, then Grant Came in July for two weeks. While Grant was here, Thorn came through Beijing for a week on his massive tour of China. Finally Mum stayed for a week at the end of her trip around the world. I fell kind of lonely now--someone should come in August!
4) ART: I have had some great opportunities to check out great contemporary art recently. 798 is still cool. The Borderline Moving Images Festival provided a good excuse to visit some great galleries in the outskirts of the city. The best, though, was the two days Mum and I spent at the Commune at the Great Wall. The architecture and design on display there is really worthwhile and the setting is great. I can't wait to go back home, but New Hampshire is a bit detached from any kind of art scene...
5) Full Moon Party and Great Wall Beach Party: Okay, I think the Full moon party may have been the last weekend of June, but whenever these outdoor all-night blinky-light dance parties happened they were really fun. The beach party was a great weekend. It featured insanely dangerous fireworks, a picturesque stretch of Great Wall and great music. Not to mention the great people at the party and the curious Chinese onlookers who spent the whole night staring over the fence at the Crazy foreigners playing on their beach.
6) Yi Du Gong Du "One Poison Fights Another": The band is playing really well together now. After a week of marathon rehearsal, we are pretty on top of our game and hopefully about ready to book a couple gigs in Beijing. More on that if it actually comes to fruition...
7) Lots of good meals: So many good meals in good restaurants. I have been way lax on writing reviews, but my restaurant tour of Beijing continues and the results are great. There's nothing better than a belly full of delicious food.
8) Baijiu Night: Cody, Grant, Thorn and Old Guy know what I'm talking about. So does the old Belgian Woman who lived with us then.
9) House: Every episode. I'm not exactly proud of this, but it does seem like a bit of an accomplishment.
10) BBQ: After buying a small grill for July Fourth, we have had a bunch of really good BBQ dinners. Apparently my grilled chicken was the best that Jeremie had ever eaten--of course, when you don't eat good Western food so much, anything might seem like the best.
Okay, there's bound to be more things that have happened recently, but these are the salient ones. I'll try to come up with some more deep thoughts this weekend.
1) Posting Deep Thoughts on the Internet: Okay, maybe my thoughts aren't really so deep, but I have spent a lot of time in the last month whipping InterestingChinese.com into shape. It's not finished yet, but it is starting to look presentable and I finally feel like I've accomplished something at my internship.
2) Visiting the Great Wall: This seems like a no-brainer since I live in Beijing. However, I know some old Beijingers who have been to the Great Wall only ten times in their entire life--some have been less. I went to the Great Wall four times in one month, bringing my total to 7 times in my life. I guess there's a reason that random tourists believe me when I tell them a fact or two about the Wall.
3) Visitors: I've had a bunch of visitors since of been in Beijing. Some were pleasant surprises, and some I knew about. First Michelle dropped in for lunch in June, then Grant Came in July for two weeks. While Grant was here, Thorn came through Beijing for a week on his massive tour of China. Finally Mum stayed for a week at the end of her trip around the world. I fell kind of lonely now--someone should come in August!
4) ART: I have had some great opportunities to check out great contemporary art recently. 798 is still cool. The Borderline Moving Images Festival provided a good excuse to visit some great galleries in the outskirts of the city. The best, though, was the two days Mum and I spent at the Commune at the Great Wall. The architecture and design on display there is really worthwhile and the setting is great. I can't wait to go back home, but New Hampshire is a bit detached from any kind of art scene...
5) Full Moon Party and Great Wall Beach Party: Okay, I think the Full moon party may have been the last weekend of June, but whenever these outdoor all-night blinky-light dance parties happened they were really fun. The beach party was a great weekend. It featured insanely dangerous fireworks, a picturesque stretch of Great Wall and great music. Not to mention the great people at the party and the curious Chinese onlookers who spent the whole night staring over the fence at the Crazy foreigners playing on their beach.
6) Yi Du Gong Du "One Poison Fights Another": The band is playing really well together now. After a week of marathon rehearsal, we are pretty on top of our game and hopefully about ready to book a couple gigs in Beijing. More on that if it actually comes to fruition...
7) Lots of good meals: So many good meals in good restaurants. I have been way lax on writing reviews, but my restaurant tour of Beijing continues and the results are great. There's nothing better than a belly full of delicious food.
8) Baijiu Night: Cody, Grant, Thorn and Old Guy know what I'm talking about. So does the old Belgian Woman who lived with us then.
9) House: Every episode. I'm not exactly proud of this, but it does seem like a bit of an accomplishment.
10) BBQ: After buying a small grill for July Fourth, we have had a bunch of really good BBQ dinners. Apparently my grilled chicken was the best that Jeremie had ever eaten--of course, when you don't eat good Western food so much, anything might seem like the best.
Okay, there's bound to be more things that have happened recently, but these are the salient ones. I'll try to come up with some more deep thoughts this weekend.
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