Nebraska Educators' China Culture Tour

Today was a day that felt like school—it’s what we do.  And we did it with lots of ceremony and lots of laughter.  The morning began on the campus of Xi’an Jiaotong University, the sister university of UNL.  It’s a lovely campus, with many trees, and a large square with statues symbolizing the four inventions of the early Chinese people:  paper, print making, the compass, and gun powder.  Graduation is approaching, and many students were in small groups around the campus, posing with friends for photos.  We were there for the formal opening ceremony, hosted by the leaders of Xi’an Jiaotong University (XJTU), greeting us as the delegation from the UNL Confucius Institute.  The President of the University, Nanning Zheng, hosted the morning ceremony.  It was both formal, with formal seating and a definite protocol, and informal, because of the personable nature of President Zheng and David Lou, Director of the UNL Confucius Institute.  Formality that honored the occasion, and ease that made all of us comfortable.

It is unusual for the President to meet with visiting delegations such as ours, so it was indeed an honor.  Dr. Zheng had visited Nebraska earlier in this spring, giving the commencement address at UNL and receiving an honorary Doctor of Science degree.  He is genuinely interested in the work of public school educators, and he liked the Nebraska people he had met earlier.  The opening ceremony included remarks by Dr. Zheng and Dr. Lou; Alan Schneider, superintendent of ESU 5 in Nebraska, and I spoke on behalf of the Nebraska educators.  It was an honor to do so.  We also exchanged gifts; I was delighted to be able to present Dr. Zheng with a beautiful piece of Nancy Childs’ art.  Nancy, as you know, works with and makes her own paper, so that was particularly appropriate for the President of a university in the country that created the process for making paper.  We received lovely shadow puppets and fans, especially appreciated because of the very warm days in Xi’an in June.  It was a gracious and centering way to begin the day.

President Zheng hosted a banquet in our honor at noon, and I was seated at his left hand.  He talked about the similarities of the United States and China, both large countries with many people.  I noted the importance of education for the future of both nations, and he agreed.  Then, engineering professor that he is, he commented that he thought educators have “the human heart of the engineer.”  It was a touching statement.

In the afternoon we had a Chinese language and culture class, and I remembered all over again how very difficult it is to begin to learn a new language.  Our teacher was excellent, and we’re all learners sitting around the table.  We’re motivated, we’re interested.  And we struggled to learn to count to 10 in Chinese.  It’s just hard.  We also learned key elements of Chinese culture and history, including the timeline of the dynasties and the times during which paper, print making, the compass, and gun powder were invented.  She taught us about the significance of the dragon in Chinese culture, and she taught us about Confucius and Confucianism.  We were engaged throughout.  We did much better with the culture and history part than the language, because we have some prior knowledge about culture and history.  Most of us have absolutely no prior knowledge of the language, and without “hooks” in our brains to connect the new learning to old, it’s very difficult to learn brand new concepts or terms.  Makes me all the more in awe of our English Language Learners and their teachers…..

Tomorrow, a visit to the City Wall and another lecture on the Chinese culture.  Soon, for this blog, thoughts about food and photos….

Posted from Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.

The story of the terra cotta warriors is one of the “grand sweep of history” stories.  A young emperor, 2200 years ago, starts planning his mausoleum.  The plans include being surrounded by terra cotta warriors–infantrymen, cavalry men, and soldiers in chariots.  Over a period of 38 years, 700,000 men build the mausoleum and fill it with the terra cotta warriors.  Thousands of life size warriors, horses, armor, and chariots.  Thousands of the workers die in the process; it is hot, heavy, dangerous work.  The emperor reigns for 38 years, conquering six other kingdoms and uniting China.  He installs common weights and measures and common language characters, important actions for centuries to come.  He dies, and he is interred in the mausoleum, surrounded by the terra cotta warriors.  The warriors are in long corridors, with walls of hard packed earth separating the columns.  The pits are protected by heavy wooden beams, covered with mats, and earth is filtered over all of it, masking its place for centuries to come.

In 1974, the farmers around Xi’an were suffering from a major drought, and they were digging wells to attempt to get to water.  One farmer discovered large pottery fragments 1.5 km east of the emperor’s mausoleum.  That led to the discovery of one pit of terra cotta warriors; since then, two more have been discovered.  Among the three pits are more than 8000 terra cotta warriors, all of them in pieces from plundering and destruction following a rebellion that overthrew the young emperor’s successor nearly 2200 years ago.  Since then, archaeological teams have painstakingly reassembled the warriors, working where they find them, and restoring them to the positions in which they stood at the time they were first put in place.

The farmer who is credited with the discovery lost his farm, as all that’s below the earth in China belongs to the government.  Today, he sits at a table in the gift shop at the excavation, signing books that that describe this important discovery.  And our guide speaks with pride as she describes the work that has happened to bring this remarkable find to the world.  It’s history made real, on a grand scale, right in front of our eyes.

Posted from Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.

We arrived in Xi’an yesterday.  As our new guide said, a small town of 8 million compared to the 16 million of Beijing.  As we rode from the airport, she told us that the national bird is the crane.  Then she laughed as she clarified that 70-80% of the world’s construction cranes are in China.  From our ride and from our hotel window, I suspect that  might be true for just Xi’an.

Posted from Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.

A final note before leaving Beijing behind and beginning new adventures in Xi’an.  On our last full day in Beijing we were joined by two East High/Science Focus graduates, both now undergraduates at UNL.  Skyler is finishing a 10-month study abroad at Peking University in Beijing.  Sarah is finishing a semester abroad in Bilbao, Spain, and she had come to Beijing to visit Skyler.  Soon, Skyler will return to Lincoln, and Sarah will travel in Europe for a few weeks before coming back to UNL.  Both are bright and curious women who want to know the world and its peoples and cultures.  We should all be proud.

As I listened to the two of them talk with my niece Chelsea, who was with me on this trip for the first week, and who lived in Spain for a semester of her junior year at UNL, I thought again about what global citizens so many members of this generation are.  I am filled with hope that when they assume the decision-making roles in their communities and nations they will make better decisions for having lived in the world.

Posted from Beijing, Beijing, China.

My intention was to tweet from China.  I did not know that Twitter was not allowed.  So today I offer some short observations.

Today is our last day in Beijing.  As Marilyn has written what a place of contrasts – modern to ancient.

Ancient:  We climbed the Great Wall yesterday.  I made it to the first tower.  The steps were worn, uneven and full of history.  With each step I tried to imagine who else had stepped here throughout the centuries…not years or decades…but centuries.   The Wall was crowded.  Politeness and encouragement framed the experience.  Each time I paused, another climber  would catch my eyes and urge me on.  One Chinese woman patted my shoulder then gently pushed my back with a strong voiced encouragement that I heard as , “you can do this…it is worth it.”. It was.  The climb was overwhelming physically, intellectually, and emotionally!

Modern: In the evening, we visited the equivalent of Times Square, Beijing style. Neon signs, Hermes, Tiffanys and other fancy, expensive stores I do not remember.  Many people milled around with their bags of goods and cell phones texting.  To get back to the hotel,   We rode the subway  around 9 pm.   We were  packed in so tightly, 7 of us literally pushed to get out of the subway car at our stop as the buzzer warned us the doors were closing.  We, Nebraskans, looked frazzled by the lack of personal space and the need to push.

Another amazing day with much to remember .

Posted from Beijing, Beijing, China.

Today was our last full day in Beijing, and it’s the day in which I have experienced more discomfort than any previous days. Discomfort based on cultural differences, or more likely, my own lack of cultural proficiency. I have felt profoundly like an outsider.

This afternoon we toured the Hutong district of Beijing, one of the oldest continuously occupied residential areas of the city. It’s in the center of the city, and in the beginning the homes were in the inner ring of the city, where the wealthy families resided. The homes were small buildings arranged around courtyards, and in those early days, toilets and kitchens were common areas shared among many households. Today, the homes are occupied mostly by those with little means. The outer walls have been declared historic (that would be the term we use in the US, not sure if that’s the appropriate term here), so the outer structure of the buildings cannot be altered. Inside, it’s possible to install a kitchen, or a shower, or a toilet, but our guide estimated that up to 80% of the homes still use the common toilets, which are at some distance from some homes.

We rode through the area on rickshaws, using tickets purchased from the Hutong Tour office. The streets are narrow, barely enough room for two rickshaws to pass, and the residents live outside their homes as well as inside. Groups of people were clustered in social activities, watching children play, playing cards, talking and visiting. Many little sidewalk businesses are evident, one with a chalkboard advertising English tea and cheesecake–a delightful combination, in my book! We also visited in one of the homes. The owner is a retired worker who is restoring her family’s courtyard where her father, age 92, and some of her siblings and their families live. She talked with us, showed us family pictures, and was gracious in answering questions.

The discomfort came from seeing in such an “up close and personal” manner the very intimate details of these families’ lives. As Chelsea said, it’s a really good reminder that all of China isn’t like our hotel. It felt somewhat exploitive, or at least like an invasion of privacy, to ride the rickshaw through the neighborhood. We all hoped that the fee to be on this tour works its way back into the lives of the residents.

We ended the afternoon at the Silk Market, a huge building of six stories of merchandise. It’s crowded, noisy, and the price for everything is negotiated. Some members of our group loved it; I did not. I discovered I don’t like to barter, and I’m not good at it. I don’t have to do this in my daily life, but bartering is the major system for buying and selling in many cultures. Another lesson in cultural proficiency….

We leave tomorrow for Xi’an, where we will meet with university faculty, take a Chinese language and culture class, and visit schools. I suspect it will be much more comfortable for me, simply because it’s school, and there are some characteristics of “school” that will transcend nation and language. Another lesson in cultural proficiency….

Posted from Beijing, Beijing, China.

If there is any site in China that most people think of when they hear the country’s name, it’s the Great Wall. Built across several centuries, under the direction and rule of many monarchs, the Great Wall spans 5600 kilometers of China, running generally east to west. It stood as a barrier to protect those on the south from the invaders of the north. It is one of the Seven Wonders of the World, and astronaut Neil Armstrong reported that it could be seen from space. If one were to visit only one site in China, this would be it.

So today, we visited the Great Wall. And we attempted to climb the 1600+ steps to the top from our starting point at Badaling. That’s 1600 steps of uneven stone, uneven rise, and more straight up than one thinks possible. Two members of the group made it all the way in the time that we had, the rest of us were certain that if we had more time/were in better shape/ were climbing in cool weather/were climbing steps that were more even in depth, we would have made it, too. I’m one of the ones making the excuses…

Even without making it to the top, it’s an exhilarating experience to be at the Great Wall. I am struck by the human years, and lives, that were involved in its construction. Some writers have characterized it as the world’s longest cemetery, given the number of workers who died in its construction. (Some might characterize the Oregon Trail in the same way.) It is indeed a massive site, and it captures in so many ways the scope and span of history in which it was created and defended.

With that piece of history firmly in mind, and still feeling the effects of the climb on my knees and feet, we walked tonight after dinner in the Pedestrian Mall, an urban shopping center that felt like New York’s Times Square, only with buildings that were not tall. A large electronic screen dominated the main intersection, and stores that sold Gucci, Rolex, Hermes, and other high-end fashion were mixed with McDonald’s, KFC, Dairy Queen, and Starbucks, with local pharmacies, an international bookstore, and outdoor cafes also a part of the mix. As 21st century as it could be….

The contrasts were clear. China is a land of the very old, and the very new. Our guide, a young man whose English name is Penn and who is the father of a new baby boy, will be of the generation that brings them together.

Posted from Beijing, Beijing, China.

Today was a study in contrasts. We started the day at the Temple of Heaven, one of four such temples in Beijing. The other three ore the Temples of Earth, Sun, and Moon. The Temple of Heaven is set in a large, lovely park, a green oasis surrounded by the tall buildings and hustle and bustle of this huge city. We arrived about 9:00 and discovered the park filled with people, mostly those we would call senior citizens, starting their day with informally organized activity–tai chi, singing, dancing, and a lovely racket ball game whose name I don’t know. We thought of what a great way to start the day–it is social, it is community, it is outdoors, it is active. Those senior citizens appeared to be in good health and to be happy, and we couldn’t help but think that their early morning gathering contributes to that.

This afternoon we visited the Forbidden City, the home of the emperors of two dynasties spanning more than 500 years. It is a huge space, with an inner courtyard of 9,999 rooms, and it’s just grim. There are no trees, no plants, no earth. The earth has been covered over by at least three meters of rock and brick over the centuries, to prevent anyone from tunneling into the inner courtyard and attempting to assassinate the emperor. Elaborate systems of bridges, moats, and watch towers were constructed for the same reason. The emperor slept in a different room every night, to decrease the likelihood that someone in the inner family would assassinate him. The emperor (and I believe there were 24 that reigned during these two dynasties) may have been powerful, but the emperor’s energies were greatly occupied with avoiding assassination.

Of the two, I believe the senior citizens we observed in the Temple of Heaven are living a far more enjoyable and satisfying life than did the emperors….

Posted from Beijing, Beijing, China.

Beijing is really big–everything about it is big. More than 16 million people live here, in an area that’s eight times larger than Los Angeles. The tall buildings are really tall. The interstate system has multiple lanes of traffic, filled to capacity at times. The Bird’s Nest at the Olympic site seats 77,000 people, and they’re building another that will be larger. The city has the largest train station in China, and they’re building another that will be larger.

Beijing has lovely places, including beautiful landscapes with blooming flowers and lush green grass, in parks, along streets, and along the interstate. Some of the new buildings have eye-catching architecture, like the headquarters of the television network that was built with angular lines and designed so the mythical dragon can fly through it. Another is a new performance arena, nicknamed The Egg, because of its oval shape, where those attending a performance must cross a lake to enter.

What we would call mythology plays a role in Chinese culture, past and present. We visited the Summer Palace today, which served as the summer home of the emperors for many years (hundreds? thousands? my sense of history is escaping me….) The many buildings, built around a large, shallow lake, have structures to prevent demons from entering them. The belief is that demons can only move in straight lines, so a large (and I mean really large) rock is placed several feet in front of the door to block the demon from entering. The belief is that demons can’t step up or down, so a raised threshold keeps the demons from entering. The belief is that demons can’t stand to look at themselves because they are ugly, so mirrors are placed in the entry hall to scare demons away if they do enter. According to our delightful guide Penn, it is not uncommon to have raised thresholds in households today….

The Chinese designers of museums know how to engage learners of all ages. The eleven of us spent more than an hour in a small exhibit room at the Confucius Institute, absolutely captured by interactive exhibits about the Chinese language characters, paper cutting, Chinese dress, Chinese food, and other aspects of Chinese culture. The exhibit on the language characters is the coolest thing I’ve seen; I could have stayed for hours.

A variety show is a variety show, regardless of nation, language, or culture. An evening at the Laoshe Tea House included a magician, string musicians, animal sounds mimicry, a skit about a battle with the gods to reclaim a spouse, and an emcee that kept things moving. Even with limited translation, we go the gist of the acts, and appreciated their talents.

Tea is a good thing, and we are served often.

Posted from Beijing, Beijing, China.

Posted from Beijing, Beijing, China.