Traveling to China

Traveling with an infant wasn't as bad as I had expected, which was
good (I deliberately expected the worst). But the time change of 12
hours meant that the first night in Beijing was not fun, to say the
least!

Access to blogger from China was flaky at best, so I had to email the blog entries to blogger for later editing/entry (which is now, after we're semi-recovered from our trip back).

Oracle Bones

I finally have some time to read: on the train commuting to/from Manhattan.  It is a bit difficult to work, so I combine leisure reading and some work to make the commute bearable.

I managed to finally finish this lovely book by Peter Hessler, which is about China in the first 5 or 6 years of this century.  (I had to return his newest book to the library before I could even crack it open, given the arrival of Penelope!)  Even now it feels like it is about an "old China", given the pace of change there (as well as here).

My favorite quote: "General Tso and Colonel Sanders: great chicken imperialists."

The funniest chapter was the one about Imre Galambos and his website, www.logoi.com.  He sells Chinese characters for tattoo art, but the funniest part was where Peter Hessler describes how Galambos kept trying to explain to people that Chinese doesn't have an alphabet!

Prisoner of the State

I tried to read this book, which consists of Zhao Ziyang's notes about his life (and Tiananmen, in particular). Unfortunately, my knowledge of contemporary Chinese politics is fairly weak, and the notes were pretty dry analyses of what went wrong: nothing really gripping, other than the historical context. So eventually I gave up: the first book I haven't finished in a while.

Stolen Life

An excellent movie about modern Chinese society. Dark, and yet hopeful in many ways, it depicts a young woman's coming of age. Shot in video, it has a very intimate feel about it: and the setting of the story in flashback (with the main character's voiceover) works well.

Please Vote For Me

This entertaining documentary about a class election in China is really cute. Vicious politics at work among 9-10 year-olds!

The Last Days of Old Beijing

A colleague at work recommended this book, and it's definitely worth a read. The author, Michael Meyer, spent two years living in a Beijing hutong. The book is a historical record of a rapidly changing Beijing; it's a history of Beijing's changes over the centuries; it's a commentary on living in tightly knit communities; it's a nostalgic look at old ways of living. The sad part of the book is how it depicts the ways in communities are uprooted for the sake of progress; the uplifting part is the way in which the people in those communities survive and endure the changes.

One of the most interesting bits of commentary comes from a Chinese intellectual, Feng Jicai, who wants to preserve the old ways of living: "Average people, unlike intellectuals, have no interest in preserving traditional and immaterial heritage, because they do not understand the values of it." Possibly accurate, highly elitist, and it reflects the fact that poor people don't want to stay poor. The conflict inherent in that statement echoes the author's feelings about China.

This book's topic reminds me of another book I just finished, "Gang Leader for a Day". Both books are written by middle-class Americans who spend time in marginalized communities, and who illustrate how those communities are vibrant and full of life.

Taming of the Shrew

We saw a British theater troupe's production of Taming of the Shrew in Beijing, which verged on excellent. A few minor flaws, but overall it was funny, easy to understand, and a creative production. The troupe of about 6 was highly talented: they acted, sang, and danced.

China Road

Rob Gifford's wonderful book about China describes a trip he took across China. It's a wonderful read, and its clear that Gifford loves China and its people. The most fascinating thing that I learned was that China is more diverse than the government lets on. Gifford says that China today is analogous to the Roman Empire: a motley collection of peoples held together by force. (He also makes the humorous statement that "going out for Chinese food" is analogous to "going out for European food".) All in all, a definite must-read if you're interested in China!

Gimme Kudos

This Chinese movie has English subtitles, which is one of the reasons we took it out of the library. It was an interesting, dark little movie; I was glad that we watched it (although it had enough scratches that we couldn't watch the very end). The movie deals with the conflict between societal pressures in the "old" Communist China, and the new modern China. It is pretty funny at times (my Chinese is good enough to appreciate that), but it isn't really a comedy. I give it a solid "thumbs-up".

Red Dust

I finished Red Dust, by Ma Jian. The book is a memoir of the author's travels through rural China near the beginning of China's transformation to a modern economy. Very disjointed writing, without much obvious structure; nonetheless, I found it to be a fascinating read.

Sunflower

We watched a Chinese movie called Sunflower, which was set during the period 1976-1999 in Beijing. (1976 was the year that Chairman Mao died.) The primary plot driver is the conflict between a father and his son. The movie was well done, but kind of depressing and very predictable, and the ending was very unrealistic. I found the movie more interesting because it really demonstrates the economic, social, and physical changes that China has been through in the last 30 years.

Inside China

We saw an interesting show on TV called Inside China. The episode we saw talked about a photographer visiting Beijing, and about the 798 building, which is an artists' colony in Beijing.

The West invades China

Materialism invades China! Or maybe it would be more accurate to say that capitalism has won...

 

What could be less Western than Ikea?

 

And look at this: the shopping channel in China, which is selling toy pigs (2007 is the Year of the Pig)!

Terra cotta soldiers

While in Xi'an, we visited the famous terra-cotta soldiers that were created for the Qin emperor's tomb. Amazing! It was a little disappointing when we learned that all of the items had been reassembled and refired; for some reason I thought that they had been carefully dug out of the ground.

Lucky numbers

Can you tell that this elevator panel is in China? The 13th floor is missing, as is traditional in Western buildings. Note that 4, 14, and 24 are also missing. The number 4 is unlucky because it sounds like the Chinese character for "dead".

Beijing/Los Angeles

After spending some time in Beijing, I decided that LA and BJ should be sister cities. They share many important characteristics of modern cities: traffic, sprawl, and smog. The first two are linked, of course, and contribute significantly to the third.
One noticeable change in China since the first time I went (in 2001) is that the number of cars has increased dramatically. In 2001, bicycles still outnumbered cars in Beijing. In 2007, cars vastly outnumber bicycles.

How different is China?

This shot was taken out of a window in the same building as the Red Gate Gallery. Can you tell that it is in China? I can't.

Red Gate Gallery

I visited a modern art gallery called the Red Gate Gallery. It is next to the Ming City Wall Site Park, inside the building shown in the picture. My favorite painting in the gallery was the one below, Silk Road by Zheng Xuewu.

Chairman Mao

Inside the same building as the Red Gate Gallery were some interesting historical items that depict various periods in Beijing's history. This calligraphy is a wonderful piece of work, and demonstrates the power of Chairman Mao's personality. Too bad I can't read Chinese!

Ming City Wall Site Park

This photo is of a pretty little city park that contains the last remnants of the Beijing city wall. Chairman Mao ordered the entire wall torn down, and this is the last remaining piece, unfortunately; otherwise, it would be a wonderful tourist attraction today! Note the Marriott's odd architecture in the background.