Beijing and Hong Kong Thoughts

China was an eye opener. I hope you have been able to read my emails and visit the flickr site to see the photos I have uploaded. They tell much of the incredible story. It became apparent to me that caucasion peoples are in the minority of world population - something that we self-centered north americans don't usually contemplate. There is much wisdom and tradition and spirituality in China's very old culture and I enjoyed the exposure I got very much. Obviously, with limited language capability, I only touched the surface. Chinese is basically an ancient "cave-man language," as Mark Johnsen calls it - single syllable words stacked together with syntax roughly similar to ours - that has survived the millennia and enables one to look back, linguistically, to very early times in Asia. That is not to say that the language is not complex. Mandarin is spoken with 4 separate tones (even, up, down, scooping) to give entirely meaning to an otherwise similar vowel. Cantonese (South China and Hong Kong) is spoken with 9 separate tones and these tones are difficult for a western ear to differentiate. The written characters build on basic designs but there are said to be upwards of 400,000 separate characters though the average vocabulary would include "only" several thousand. My latin wasn't much help here.

The people are beautiful and children, dressed in their matching school uniforms are so very cute. The merchants are very aggressive and it is apparent that their ancient skills of trading and marketing are very much at their disposal, even under the rule of the communist party. It is a strange juxtaposition of collectivism in politics but with capitalism thriving and growing at the grass roots level. Western culture influences clothing styles and cars and comsumables. More than 1/2 of the store mannequins are caucasian. Everyone wears jeans and tries to look stylish. McDonalds and Pizza Hut and Starbucks were everywhere and very popular. One of the most popular brands of cars in Beijing is Buick, believe it or not. Apparently General Motors made a joint venture with Chinese auto manufacturers to produce millions of Buicks - full size ones, too. I noticed to my surprise that cars in Hong Kong and Beijing were not small and economical, like I had seen in Europe years ago, but rather were huge oversized Buicks and BMWs and Mercedes and SUVs I've never seen before.

Smog in Beijing was oppresive the last day we were there. I don't know how the 2008 Olympics can be held in Beijing if there is smog on the level we saw. Its very unhealthy.

But there are some cultural differences that struck me in the short time I was there: Families are more important to them than western cultures. One's surname or family name is always spoken first with given names secondary. Old people are respected and given first place at seats on benches and trams and subways. Wealth is not flounted but hidden - homes are surrounded by high walls with secure gates that to not reflect the higher standard of living inside the walls.

Chinese people eat differently - a massive population scours the seas and fields for food. There were virtually no birds in the sky, absolutly no ducks or geese in the rivers and lakes and food served included fish jaw soup, fish head soup, pig intestine soup, chicken foot soup, knuckle soup, and on and on. Diets include lots and lots of animal fat of various kinds. Which is a testament to the addage that "fat does not make you fat." It is carbs, not fat that puts on the weight. There are lots of shops that sell dried fish and dried seafood of all kinds, sea worms and critters that I've never seen, etc.

I liked the lack of supermarkets and instead enjoyed the street markets with so many things for sale placed out in open view.

Religion among the people is also very different. The Taoist temples are beautiful inside but quite simple, really, with offerings of fruit placed before a statute of a "saint"-like figure - I don't think Buddha in every case. The temple "organ" consists of one drum and one deep bell. While someone lights an incense burner and genuflects with hands pressed to gether, others mill around the room - even workmen with ladders and equipment continue their work. It is very casual.

Music is very primitive in this culture. Harmony in choral music in unheard of and most music consists of occassional supporting polyphonic sounds underlying a single melody line sung and played on lute-like instruments. High screeching female voices carry the melody in opera and stretch the patience of the western ear. Spare lines characterize both music and visual art. It is a beauty that requires patience foreign to the western mind to appreciate.

I could continue on and on with observations about the history I learned and such- but I've got to stop now and get to my "chores" for the day. I've written some about these things in my emails.

Let's keep in touch.

Dad

----- Original Message -----
From: "kyrstyn" <kschmixton@yahoo.com>
To: <tom@pixtonfamily.com>
Sent: Saturday, November 03, 2007 1:15 AM
Subject: Home again!
> Hi Papa!> I just sent this to Mom, and was going to write a little letter to> you too, but I realized it would sound basically the same. So I'll> just copy it here. Are you well? Do you feel changed by your first> experience of Asia? > Love you dad!!> -Yer lil' Prodigal daughter.> > > > "Hi Mamma!> Welcome back from China! I don't have much time at the moment but I> wanted to send you my love, and let you know how I am. I am well! > March Fourth tour was really hard for me, but now it's over and the> blissful lightness of being I've grown accustomed to has returned in> me. I spent halloween in San Fran with Gamelan friends making music,> and celebrating proliferating new loves and relationships that seem to> be sprouting up everywhere in my bay friends' lives, as well as mine. > I just started working up in north cali today and am settling in to> this for a while. My spirit is alive and stretching into awareness> more and more, and working here actually awakens me in many wonderful> ways, and brings me into intimacy with myself at a very deep level. > It's really good.> > What was the most inspiring event for you on your journey? What did> you feel that you'd never felt before? What did you learn?> > I love you Mama!> > -Kyrstyn">