The Dragon

Gao Ru or “Rosie” has finished my Dragon painting. It is exactly what I was trying to convey with the dragon leaving the hardships of winter to attain a goal in the spring symbolizing perseverance. I uploaded the picture into my blog so you could all see it. In fact, Rosie asked if I knew anyone else who would like such a painting. I paid a little over 200 RMB for this which is around 25 dollars. I think the personal touch is worth the price. It is not every day that you can personally request a painting from an artist. With that said if anyone has requests please email me and I can bring you back a painting.

Things have been pretty quiet on this front, but today I had one of those moments that allow me to truly see my progress. Coming back in the cab from teaching English I had a 45 minute conversation with the taxi driver without a pause…all in Chinese of course. Little things like this make me happy.

I am now into my two week count down for Thailand. I will be leaving on the 9th of April to go to Bangkok and Phuket for the week. It is finally time for some fresh beach air and sun!

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Jordan J. Foley

傅力波

789

789 pronounced “chee joe bah” is Beijing’s artist colony and modern art district. From its inception, like everything else in China, has grown exponentially at a tremendous pace. As a modern art district, 789 is now rivaling those in France, Spain, and America.

789 used to be a large factory complex during Mao’s China in charge of making light posts. In some of the exhibits you can still see old factory slogans painted in red on the walls. Now 789 has developed into an indoor and outdoor art facility, allowing Beijing and Chinese artists to present their work in a common area.

I believe modern art is open for personal interpretation so I took pictures of some paintings and sculptures that I found interesting. I will allow you to define the meaning for yourself. My favorite artist at 789 was named Ahn Doolin. I actually got to meet the strange fellow and took a picture with him outside of his exhibit. He is the guy dressed like a 70’s pimp. We talked some prices about his art, but he is out of my price range for now. I took some pictures of a few of his paintings as well and you can see why I like them so much. Ahn combines stark battle scenes with florescent colors, but only names his paintings after the season which they are in. For instance, there is a painting of a sunrise over the sea as it hits the shore of an ancient sea shore battle titled “Winter Time.” Another titled “Friends in Summer” shows two knights dueling in front of fluorescent stained glass.

789 is an interesting area and shows China’s steps towards modernization and presents art that is uncommon to Chinese culture. There was so much to see that it was impossible to do it in one day so I plan on heading back soon…maybe to buy some of Ahn’s paintings.

(Note)
Graffiti of person being shot in head, blood hearts read “I will forever love you.”

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Jordan J. Foley
傅力波

A Chinese Wedding

This past Sunday I was invited to my friend’s cousin’s wedding. It was explained to me that a traditional Chinese wedding is quite informal and is more of a dinner party during the day rather than a full service like we might be used to in Western culture. The dress was very informal; attire consisted of something you would wear to a family dinner at Atria’s or Red Lobster. I, however, had to wear a suit because I forgot to pack anything in-between. It was either suit or ratty everyday school-wear.

The main difference in a Chinese style wedding from a Western style wedding is the fact that the service and reception are lumped into one. As everyone eats delicious fried fish, roast duck, pork loins, and mounds of noodles the service goes on and speeches are given by friends and family members. The ring, “I do” part, and bouquet throw were all conducted in the giant hotel party hall while everyone was eating and drinking. This method is definitely a lot easier than moving around from place to place, because sometimes miscommunications happen and people get left out of pictures…uhhhh….(inside joke)

It was amazing how excited the bride and groom were to have a foreigner in attendance. My friend and I sat down at one of the head tables, even though he himself was not the closest of relatives with the groom. Soon after we sat down my friend’s cell phone rang and it was the bride from the other room! She told him to make sure that I had everything I needed and if I wanted anything they could get the servers to get it. She obviously meant to be secretive about it, but my friend thought it was too funny and told me anyway.

The dinner started at 10:30 in the morning on a Sunday and right away we began drinking bai jiu (Chinese liquor). My friend made it a point to tell the whole table I was in the Navy and because China has an infatuation with the military, from fashion to just plain curiosity, they began to pass me more and more shots. It is impolite to refuse anything, especially in this setting, so I looked at my watch and said here we go! I took the first shot at 10:45 am.

The dinner and festivities were about five to six hours long and I was going shot for shot with our table. I started to get pretty good at drinking bai jiu so I was feeling good, but still coherent. As the bottle reached its end I asked the eldest man at the table to finish it with me (polite custom). He said that he was driving and only drinking Sprite. I asked if anyone else wanted to and they all had the same response. Apparently the only two people actually drinking at the table were me and my friend. So we were basically going shot of bai jiu for shot of Sprite…not a fair game.

The ceremony consisted of segmented performances and picture slide shows being played on big screens. I took some pictures of the ceremonies performed by the couple and of some of the decorations. I have not really been to many weddings I can remember, but I believe that this is the way to do it. Money was definitely not an option and there were no stale cookies or fake bottles of wine on the table. Everything was real and real expensive. They did not expect gifts and they just enjoyed everyone’s company and wanted to allow everyone to celebrate WITH them not FOR them. My friend convinced me I should go up and say something to the bride and groom over the MC. I agreed and grabbed the microphone and said a few words, everyone clapped and I sat down. Not until the next day did I see the video of me literally standing up there for five minutes speaking fluid Chinese about how love is the most important thing on earth and how great the bride and groom looked so nice, all the time holding a glass of bai jiu. I was thinking about posting this, but my blog is not able to upload large video, so I will just keep this one to myself.

The dinner ended around 4:00 pm and we all went back home. My friend and I made it back to our dorm OK and could not believe we still had the rest of the day ahead of us. This experience was truly a lot of fun and I am thankful I had an opportunity to see an actual Chinese wedding.


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Jordan J. Foley傅力波

Trip to Rosie's

Today my program organized an auxiliary trip the house of a 68 year old artist named Rosie. Her English name is Rosie, but she is actually a Beijing native. The reason for the trip was because last week during our 21st Century Beijing class we were discussing the concept of ti yong. Ti yong was formed during the reform era and used by Confucian reformers who were tasked with deciding what to preserve from Chinese imperial culture and what they could use practically from the West. The ti or “essence” refers to Chinese society and what was important in order for cultural preservation, and the yong refers to “usage” such as infrastructure and economic developments used by the Western powers.

This concept was actually invented by Rosie’s Great-grandfather who was a famous Confucian reformist. One of our CET professors knew Rosie quite well and when we started talking about this in class she offered for us to visit Rosie’s house and see some of her paintings. The trip was organized and we went the following week.

Rosie’s home was a typical Chinese style apartment on the east side of Beijing. Inside was atypical. Inside there were stacks on stacks of traditional style Chinese paintings and calligraphy. I would estimate over 500 works of art. I should also mention that what makes Rosie’s work so impressive is that she suffers from MS and is confined to a wheel chair and has limited mobility in her hands. This, however, has not slowed down her painting. She still produces fabulous works on a daily basis and much of it from memory. When we came in she was showing us a recent painting of the Summer Palace in Beijing that she reconstructed from memory. The details were uncanny. Rosie’s husband also suffers from debilitating Alzheimer’s disease. Due to both of their health problems they have a full time nurse working at their home. I mentioned before that Rosie was not slowed down by her own illness, but instead her husband frequently slows her down. This is because he likes to hide her brushes and paint in random spots around the house. It is sad to see considering they were both very active and healthy painters not so long ago, but old age has really taken a toll on their physical health. Rosie is still very communicative, although she has trouble moving part of her face.

I ended up sifting through the paintings and buying a small Chinese landscape and calligraphy of a famous Li Bai poem. I also made two special orders which I will pick up in May to add to my art collection I started in Yunan. I asked her to paint the calligraphy of ti yong (体用 ). I felt like this had significance not only what it represents in Chinese society, but also the fact that her Great-grandfather was the man who came up with the phrase. I also requested a painting of a dragon (my birth year). I discussed with her how I wanted a black dragon coming out of the water. He would be leaving a turbulent winter scene and entering a spring landscape. Right away, Rosie took my idea and ran with it and from her rough sketch I am very excited to see what she comes up with.

The trip was quite an experience and it really shows the great things that can come about during an abroad program. I can always hang these paintings in my house and have meaningful stories to go along with them that will allow me to recall the experience I had while studying in China.

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Jordan J. Foley
傅力波

International Friends

The dorm which I live in is named the International Cultural Building and rightly so. To my best estimations there are over five hundred foreign students here from Spain, Italy, England, Russia, and many more. I must say one of the best parts about looking the way I do is that I can pass for about any of these countries. For example, my friend from Canada who I met in the lobby the other day said that he had no idea I was American and could swear that I was Italian. Some of the Italians think I am Russian, the Russians think I am Spanish, and the Spanish do not usually care enough to differentiate anyone. The only people who can tell that I am American are the Brits, but I have been working on a muffled British/Irish accent when speaking Chinese so hopefully with some time I can pass as being from England. I have also noticed different habits from each of the countries. My group of friend is essentially the UN consisting of a few Canadians, some Brits, a Russian, and a bunch of Italians. The problem with having an international group of friends is that everyone’s weekend habits are different. For instance, the Canadians and Brits like to go out early and hang out at bars whereas the Italians like to go to clubs with loud techno music. The Russians enjoy clubs with places to sit and drink and the Spanish do not even go out until 11:30 pm because they take their siestas during the day which allows them to go out all night.

Having such different interests and schedules makes hanging out on the weekends difficult, but when we are all able to get together it is quite a good time. It is also funny hearing people with different accents speak Chinese. As I said before, I have been practicing different accents with my Chinese and right now I am working on a Russian accent as well. It actually sounds much better than my British accent because I have already convinced many taxi drivers I was from Russia.

I have enjoyed having such a diverse group of friends because not only am I experiencing Chinese culture, but I am also part of a world culture in my dorm. Sometimes I feel like an international traveller just from walking to the lobby for a late night snack.
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Jordan J. Foley傅力波

Kuang Kuang

I hope my little brother Grant’s East Asian Politics class will take the time to watch this video and discuss its contents. Below is a link to the popular cartoon in China called Kuang Kuang which is the equivalent of America’s South Park. The creators are equally edgy, but what makes this three minute video much more sensitive than say South Park’s infamous Muhammad episode is that China is known for its strict censorship. For instance, yesterday I was doing a report on China’s population and pollution problems and half of the sites providing facts were blocked. The episode of Kuang Kuang I posted was taken off the Chinese web in a matter of days, but still lives on YouTube. The episode was posted last month for the Chinese New Year and recounts some of the corruption and atrocities that have happened in China all the while relaying an undertone of government corruption and moral ineptness. Please watch the video first and then read the explanation below and then watch the video again. Most of the subtitles are in Chinese, but I translated the important parts. It is pretty gruesome so beware!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNzjClqE1pY


Ok, let’s address the many questions you may have. Kuang Kuang is the little character with the bloody nose and he has just received a New Year’s gift from his girlfriend Xiao Hong. Kuang Kuang begins to read and falls asleep and starts to dream. The book is about rabbits and the song begins, “Little Rabbits, white and white, love to eat carrots love to eat lettuce, hoppy hop so cute…and so on”


The next scene is Kuang Kuang and Xiao Hong as rabbits feeding their baby. The delivery truck was driven by a tiger and the truck reads “3 Tigers Milk” which is a parody of the “3 Deers Milk” which contained melamine and caused many babies to become sick and die in China this past year.


The age old fight between the rabbit and the tiger dates back to the Chinese Lunar Calendar as they are not compatible creatures to marry and be friends. This also adds to the comedy of the cartoon by portraying the tigers as “The Man” and the rabbits as “the commoners.” The next scene you see Kuang Kuang running to a tiger cave and the translations show, “To serve the rabbits” and “to build a harmonious forest.” Two phrases used by the Chinese government, “To serve the people” and “to build a harmonious society.” The fire that takes place in the cave and little rabbits being incinerated refers to a school fire that happened ten years ago in Xinjiang when the teachers shouted, “rang ling dao xian zou” which means “let the leaders leave first.” This caused outrage all over China as many children were burned to death in the school fire as they waited for the teachers to leave.


Next scene, the slot machine reads “destroy” and the construction machine runs over a TV showing a tiger that looks very much like Hu Jintao. This TV program refers to last summer when Mr. Hu went to a woman’s home in Beijing to ask her how her quality of life was in the city. Clearly staged, she said it was fantastic and only paid 77 Yuan a month for rent. This caused so much uproar in Beijing because it was a blatant government lie. Rent in the city is nowhere close to 77 Yuan a month. It is more like 77 Yuan per square foot, per day!


The next scene shows two rabbits and a nail house or a “ding zi hu.” Nail houses are people who refuse to relocate as the government has bought the land for construction. The rabbit lighting herself on fire refers to a woman five years ago who protested the moving of her home and lit herself on fire. The government proceeded to tear down the house after her death. The old rabbit you see who’s face turns to the words “I object!” goes to the government to state his views but as you see he is beaten badly. You will see the old man again, remember?


The next scene is a tiger driving a car as Kuang Kuang and Xiao Hong are running down the road. The car hits Xiao Hong and kills her. The tiger gets out of the car and says “My dad is Tiger Gong!” which refers to the Hebei incident when the son of the powerful Hebei police official, Li Gong, drove drunk and killed a girl who was biking on the road. He got out of the car and shouted to the villagers “My dad is Li Gong, sue me if you can!” and drove off. This caused such outrage in China about corruption of officials that the sentence for the boy was quite heavy and he will be serving a long sentence in jail.


The old rabbit appears in the cartoon again as he is thrown under the tire of the car. This refers to the murder of a village governor in Guangzhou who protested the destruction of villages for infrastructure. It still remains an unsolved mystery, but he was found one day decapitated by a truck tire. Some believe government thugs held him down and had the truck drive over his head.


As you can see by the end the rabbits cannot take it anymore and fight back. This might have undertones of a revolution, but to me it is just some edgy artists’ black humor. I hope this explanation helps and you can watch it again and get what is trying to be conveyed through the cartoon. As Americans we are not as shocked by this as we should be, but just think about this from a Chinese perspective and how censorship rules the media. The fact that this cartoon so openly protested the government and China’s morality is clearly a novel idea in Chinese media and is worth discussing.


PS nothing we know of has happened to the creators of the cartoon.


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Jordan J. Foley




傅力波

Lao She Tea House

Today was my first trip to an authentic tea house in Beijing.  Throughout Chinese history tea houses have been important social and business gathering areas.  For example, in Shanghai the first ever Chinese Communist Party congress was secretly held in a tea house and among those in attendance was Mao Zedong.    Lao She Tea House is special in Beijing because of the history of whom it is named after and the foreign celebrities it has attracted.  One of the foreign guests was George Bush Senior, and, in fact, the owner of Lao She Tea House enjoyed Bush’s company so much that now in the entrance to the dining room stands a stone statue of the two shaking hands over tea!

The history behind the name of the tea house dates back to the early part of the 1900s.  Born in 1899, Lao She was a famous playwright in China and best known for his works Rickshaw Boy and Tea House.  Lao She was also a teacher in Beijing and Tianjin.   After the May 4^th Movement of 1919, when imperialism was overthrown, Lao She stated that his motive to write literature began. During the rise of Mao Zedong and the CPC, Mao asked Lao She to be the voice of the revolution and lead China to a new literature frontier.  Sadly, during the Cultural Revolution in the 1950’s, Lao She suffered discrimination and was occasionally beaten for being an intellectual and having studied abroad in London for some of his life.   This mistreatment lead to his humiliation both mentally and physically until one day in 1966 he could no longer stand it and quietly walked to Beijing’s Taiping (Trans: Extreme Peace) Lake.  There he took off his clothes, folded them neatly on the shore, and drowned himself.  It was not until twenty years later Lao She was revived as a national hero.

Now the Lao She Tea House stands across from Tiananmen Square in the heart of the city. The Tea House features acrobatic performances, magic shows, and comedy routines all while serving guests snacks and tea.  The shows were incredible!  One acrobat specialized in balancing ceramic jars and tables of her feet while she stood on her head!   The magic show was a bit mundane, but entertaining nonetheless.  The comedy routine was hard to understand, but I was able to get some of the jokes because my “street” Chinese is better than my actual Chinese, meaning I know a lot of swear words and references…All in all an entertaining night. 

The night was truly an experience and the Lao She Tea House is a must see if you are in Beijing for a bit, simply for the history…oh, also next to Lao She is the first ever KFC built in China in 1987.  It took me a while to realize the significance of this as well, but think 1987 it was opened and sits right across from Tiananmen Square…this KFC basically had a front row seat to the Tiananmen Square massacre…Quite interesting if you enjoy fast food and history as much as I do.  

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Jordan J. Foley

傅力波

Time Enough at Last

China has an interesting dichotomy when it comes to time. At times life is nonstop and moves at a dizzying pace, but occasionally life slows down and time no longer matters during moments of bliss. I have found the Chinese concept of time in their speech and everyday sayings. For example, “I’ll be there soon” “我马上来 (wo ma shang lai),” literally means “I am coming on my horse.” I like this saying because it has ancient influence and also transitions to the English saying, “Get on your horse!” as in “Hurry up!” In addition, the commonly asked question is “Do you have time” “你有时间吗(ni you shi jian ma)?” Time is truly of the essence in China and people’s days move so fast from their home to their long commutes to their jobs that having time is as valuable as gold. Free time (空儿 (kong er)) literally means empty space. This empty space is filled with three hour long dinners with friends and just relaxing, drinking tea, and smoking. The concept of family still prevails in China no matter what has been happening with government laws like the One Child Policy, relationships are still the most important thing in Chinese culture. It is important to note, however, that China, being so huge, has different cultures.

Diverse places in China have their own concepts of time. For example, when I traveled to Yunan there was a very Southern feel to their lives. What I mean is that in America’s south, in states such as the Carolinas, Georgia, and Mississippi, life seems to move at a slower pace than those bustling down Wall Street. Beijing is the center of urbanization and government in China so you can imagine the pace of life being quick for its inhabitants, but those in Yunan did not seem to have much care for schedules. The weather was nicer, the shops did not have open and closing times on the doors, and the people just enjoyed each others’ company. It was interesting traveling to such a place and walking into a gelatin where life moved much slower.

A personal story I have about time is the differences that my Chinese roommate and I have when it comes to managing our days. Like every midshipman, I am a fairly regimented creature. The day does not feel worthwhile if I am not completing tasks and following a schedule. My roommate, however, takes a much more relaxed approach to his days and just goes with the flow, if you will. When our differences clash is when we go to his house for dinner. The occasional dinners at my roommate’s house turn into 6 pm until 12 pm adventures of eating, drinking, more eating, and more drinking. I get annoyed because most of the time we eat at his house it is a weeknight and I have to do homework, but I am starting to see what is really important and that is having relationships. This is where the Chinese concept of time has influenced me the most. I used to be much more tightly wound, but now that I see the way the Chinese handle time when it comes to having fun with family and friends I have changed for the better.

The less pleasant side of the Chinese concept of time is when it moves at the speed of light. During rush hour and in transportation areas, Chinese culture makes a grim turn to a “me first” mentality. No longer do I see the courtesy and politeness at family tables, but instead I see people pushing ahead to get where they need to go. I cannot say that we do not do this in America as well, but it is such juxtaposition from the peace and harmony I enjoy during long dinners. Subways are crowded with people packing into cars like sardines, streets are busy with speeding cars disobeying traffic laws, and sidewalks are used for bikes and rickshaws as well so you better watch out!

Looking at time from an objective perspective I believe that the dichotomy I spoke of reflects two cultures: a new and developing one and reverence to an ancient one. The speed and importance of time is a reflection of Westernization and China’s modernization. It is almost a necessity that their lives move at this speedy pace because China herself is moving at an incredible pace (Towards what? I do not know). The total disregard for time, however, shows the essence of Confucian values for family that have existed for thousands of years. The balance provided by slowing things down keeps China sane, but it is hard to say if the dizzying pace at which China is moving will ever slow down.




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Jordan J. Foley傅力波

Naxi Embroidery

I finally found the time to sit down and translate the artist's description of the embroidery.  I now have a different outlook on the artwork after reading the artist's intentions.  The translation follows:

Happy New Year.  Of the Miao ethnic minority all women wear this type of clothing for holidays, special gatherings, and just for fun.  The girl in the picture is named Ah Xiali (pronounced Ashley), and she is preparing to return home.   The hutong street she is walking on is a peaceful one.   To her surprise she hears a man’s voice behind her.  He calls Ah Xiali’s name and begins softly singing a love song.  Ah Xiali feels bashful and her face is turning hot and red as she blushes.  She uses her fan to cover her face in embarrassment as she tires to turn around to see who owns the strange voice, but is far too shy and cannot, although she does enjoy the song.     

I feel like Ah Xiali looks a bit more annoyed than embarrassed, but maybe that is just me.  My first impression was that she was a young ethnic minority making a trip to the city finding herself overwhelmed and upset at what she was seeing.  later I thought it was a representation of repression of the Miao minority, but after reading the artist's description I like the embroidery even more.  I believe the last line is interesting because it admits that although she is embarrassed by the attention she cannot help but enjoy it.


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Jordan J. Foley

傅力波