Too Many 'There's Not Enough 'Back's

They, them, the others, have always spoken about reverse culture shock; what happens when you go home an you start comparing and overlapping cultures until your brain explodes (actual definition, look it up! But actually, don't. Just keep reading). But this trip has been interesting in that since leaving China I have now been to three different cultures in three days. Here is a breakdown of thoughts regarding other cultures while I've still been aware.

When I fist stopped on Hong Kong before the program took place I knew it wasn't much like mainland China but I never realised the difference until the return trip. When we go home from trips, especially Asia, it's easier going knowing your home due tithe obvious things such as other people are white and everyone is speaking English. But in Hong Kong everything is pretty much visually the same, to me it's the same people and the same illegible language. Except that's where the similarities end. The first thing that really shook me was waiting at stop lights. After weaving my way through traffic everyone now stopped and waited until the light turned green. It didn't matter if a car was coming or not, they waited. It was very much like being back in Canada. And Hong Kong seemed spotless! Not quite the same observation I would have made the first time through but this time I was amazed, very little spit on the ground and almost no litter. The other thing that took me aback was the silence. Tim and I were walking through the subway station and I made him stop. There were countless throngs of people coming from everywhere and going anywhere and no one was making a noise! All you could here were the footsteps that almost sounded a little too in unison. It was definitely interesting to see this difference and the things that create a division between Chinese and Hong Kongers. I remember my first time through I was surprised so few people spoke English whereas now I could order without pointing at a placemat!

Singapore took these elements to the extreme! My roommate in Hong Kong had said that his friends disliked Singapore because it was too perfect. I didn't know there could be such a thing but now understand where they are coming from (although I don't object to it!) the city is beyond spotless, the people are friendly, so many cultures and people's are woven together to make that perfect tapestry. While I would never be able to afford to live there I wouldn't mind having to make that trip every once and a whole on a companies expense. The other thing I noticed that intrigued me was how important morality seemed to them. Now I was only In the city for 7 hours so I could be wrong but every sign I saw had two parts, the first being the do/don't do and it was always followed by a why. I wish I had taken a picture or written down an example, I will keep my eyes open for next time. One example would be something like 'Don't litter, Keep our city clean'. This was a huge change from China where the signed simple give the order.

Then landing in Bangkok it was like taking a couple steps back again. While I wouldn't be willing to sleep on the sidewalk, which I would have been okay with in Singapore, it has impressed me more than I thought. I haven't quite figured out if people are genuinely nice or trying some elaborate scam on me. Part of me is probably still suspicious after China and while a few people have tried some scams here, I've run into a lot of people who have come up to me and helped me find my way. Even those that where trying something funny usually ended up being quite helpful anyway. The architecture here is also a lot more like mainland China although with some distinct differences. Temples still have three levels but the stair count is different. The style of the roofs put a different emphasis on the numbers. This is all stuff I would have never noticed four months ago but now I have been burdened with greater knowledge an understanding.

I'm looking forward to the rest of my travels and hope I will be less of a Chinese cheapskate when I finish so I can buy a souvenir or two!

Thanks for stopping by,
Colin

The Tao Te Ching

The following are quotes from the Tao Te Ching (pronounced Dao De Jing). The Tao Te Ching was written by the ancient Chinese philosopher Laozi and is used as the foundational text for Taoism (Daoism). Written around 6BC this text has become a foundation of Chinese culture. Bellow are quotes that I belief pertain greatly to China in the present as well as quotes I simply found interesting/thought-provoking/humorous. Enjoy

Chapter Two

When people see some things as beautiful,

other things become ugly.

When people see some things as good,

other things become bad.

Chapter 11

We shape clay into a pot,

but it is the emptiness inside

that holds whatever we want.

We hammer wood for a house,

but it is the inner space

that makes it livable.

We work with being,

but non-being is what we use.

Chapter 17

When the Master governs, the people

are hardly aware that he exists.

Next best is a leader who is loved.

Next, one who is feared.

The worst is one who is despised.

If you don’t trust the people,

you make them untrustworthy

The Master doesn’t talk, he acts.

When his work is done,

the people say, “Amazing:

we did it, all by ourselves!”

 Chapter 38

When the Tao is lost, there is goodness.

When goodness is lost, there is morality

When morality is lost, there is ritual

Ritual is the husk of true faith,

the beginning of chaos.

Chapter 41

When a superior man hears the Tao,

he immediately begins to embody it.

When an average man hears of the Tao,

he half believes it, half doubts it.

When a foolish man hears of the Tao,

he laughs out loud.

If he didn’t laugh,

it wouldn’t be the Tao.

Chapter 42

The Tao gives birth to One.

One gives birth to Two.

Two gives birth to Three.

Three gives birth to all things.

…

Ordinary men hate solitude.

But the Master makes use of it,

embracing his aloneness, realizing

he is one with the whole universe.

Chapter 59

For governing a country well

there is nothing better than moderation

Chapter 60

Governing a large country

is like frying a small fish.

You spoil it with too much poking.

Chapter 61

When a country obtains great power,

it becomes like the sea:

all streams run downward to into it.

The more powerful it grow,

the greater the need for humility.

Humility means trusting the Tao,

thus never needing to be defensive.

Chapter 65

When they think that they know the answers,

people are difficult to guide.

When they know that they don’t know,

people can find their own way.

Chapter 80

If a country is governed wisely,

its inhabitants will be content.

They enjoy the labor of their hands

and they don’t waste time inventing

labor-saving machines.

Since they dearly love their homes,

they aren’t interesting in travel.

There may be a few wagons and boats,

but these don’t go anywhere.

There may be an arsenal of weapons,

but nobody ever uses them.

People enjoy their food,

take pleasure in being with their families,

spend their weekends working in their gardens,

delight in the doings of the neighbourhood.

And even though the next country is so close

that people can hear its roosters crowing and its dogs barking,

they are content to die of old age

without ever having gone to see it.

The Future of Sino-US History

One of the things I have found most interesting in spending time in China is comparing the different ways that people view China against that which I like to think I know. Now unfortunately everything I write here very well may be proven wrong over the coming years but I thought it might be beneficial for some to take a look at the rising conflict between the two largest powers in the world from the viewpoint of a Canadian in China. The topic of Sino-US relations has been one of interest since watching a video several months back about Fukuyama discussing the matter of world hegemony, and his current beliefs regarding his book The End of History. The title here is a play on words from his more recent article entitled The Future of History (kind of ironic, but okay) which does not call into attention the relationship between China and the United States but relates none the less.

The purpose for me writing this now is multi-fold, one of my assignments for our Contemporary Studies class is to interview Chinese from around China and find their thoughts on the matter. So having done this I had a groundwork for the common thought of any Chinese and then just this morning I came across an article written by Henry Kissinger which is to be the afterword in the next publication of his book On China. To ensure that as little of this as possible is simply me rambling, it be largely quotations from articles, thoughts from Chinese people and some of my own ideas simply drizzled on top. I warn you now, this post is the same length as a paper (without the editing, sorry) but it will be well worth your read.

The following excerpts from Kissinger’s article give a well rounded background to current relations;

“[Chinese] see the United States as a wounded superpower determined to thwart the rise of any challenger, of which China is the most credible. No matter how intensely China pursues cooperation, some Chinese argue, Washington's fixed objective will be to hem in a growing China by military deployment and treaty commitments, thus preventing it from playing its historic role as the Middle Kingdom.

…

In China, the United States would encounter an adversary skilled over the centuries in using prolonged conflict as a strategy and whose doctrine emphasizes the psychological exhaustion of the opponent. In an actual conflict, both sides possess the capabilities and the ingenuity to inflict catastrophic damage on each other. By the time any such hypothetical conflagration drew to a close, all participants would be left exhausted and debilitated. They would then be obliged to face anew the very task that confronts them today: the construction of an international order in which both countries are significant components.

…

The United States will, as it should, continue to make its views known on human rights issues and individual cases. And its day-to-day conduct will express its national preference for democratic principles. But a systematic project to transform China's institutions by diplomatic pressure and economic sanctions is likely to backfire and isolate the very liberals it is intended to assist.

…

The U.S.-Chinese relationship should not be considered as a zero-sum game, nor can the emergence of a prosperous and powerful China be assumed in itself to be an American strategic defeat.

…

The United States has few precedents in its national experience of relating to a country of comparable size, self-confidence, economic achievement, and international scope and yet with such a different culture and political system. Nor does history supply China with precedents for how to relate to a fellow great power with a permanent presence in Asia, a vision of universal ideals not geared toward Chinese conceptions, and alliances with several of China's neighbors. Prior to the United States, all countries establishing such a position did so as a prelude to an attempt to dominate China.

…

The key decision facing both Beijing and Washington is whether to move toward a genuine effort at cooperation or fall into a new version of historic patterns of international rivalry. Both countries have adopted the rhetoric of community. They have even established a high-level forum for it, the Strategic and Economic Dialogue, which meets twice a year. It has been productive on immediate issues, but it is still in the foothills of its ultimate assignment to produce a truly global economic and political order. And if a global order does not emerge in the economic field, barriers to progress on more emotional and less positive-sum issues, such as territory and security, may grow insurmountable.

…

The American debate, on both sides of the political divide, often describes China as a "rising power" that will need to "mature" and learn how to exercise responsibility on the world stage. China, however, sees itself not as a rising power but as a returning one, predominant in its region for two millennia and temporarily displaced by colonial exploiters taking advantage of Chinese domestic strife and decay. It views the prospect of a strong China exercising influence in economic, cultural, political, and military affairs not as an unnatural challenge to world order but rather as a return to normality.“

Kissinger, Henry A, Foreign Affairs; Mar/Apr2012, Vol. 91 Issue 2, p44-55, 12p

Forbes has recently published an article as well entitled bluntly “China Doesn’t Think the US is That Awesome”.

“The United States is no longer seen as “that awesome, nor is it trustworthy, and its example to the world and admonitions to China should therefore be much discounted,” Mr. Wang writes of the general view of China’s leadership.

Many Chinese political elites suspect that it is the United States that is “on the wrong side of history.”

(http://www.forbes.com/sites/raykwong/2012/04/04/china-doesnt-think-the-u-s-is-that-awesome/2/)

In discussion with a group of law students in the ancient capital of Xi’an I was let into the mindset of the Chinese towards the United States. When asked what they thought about Americans they were really nervous at first and conversation stopped. After a little coaxing I got some very interesting answers; “I used to like American culture, but now I’m more rational”, “Americans look down on others”, “Americans don’t like China”. Being a Canadian these answers didn’t really surprise me; it is much of the same response you could get around the world. The latter two I have also witnessed from the Americans within the group although albeit not consciously and not immediately apparent. In later discussion with Americans they were quite appalled that people thought of them this way.

I also asked the question ‘Who is your favorite American President within the past 50 years and why?’ in order to hear some positive things about our neighbour to the south. Now the answer to this question was incredibly specific to China and it blew me away to hear it but it was well validated. The first name out of everyone’s mouth was Nixon. Nixon does not exactly have the best track record in the United States but one of the things he did well was initiate Ping Pong Diplomacy in the 70’s which paved the way to more positive relations between the new Peoples Republic of China and the United States of America.

Another answer I got that surprised me was Obama. At first I figured this may be the only other president they know (really, who reading this knows the current leader in China?) but again the answer came with a solid explanation that he is gentle, not looking for war and doesn’t over exert American influence in the east.

Chinese know much more about America and Americans that Americans know about China and while it may be brushed off because the United States is more powerful and influential I feel forced to ask for how much longer? China is the second largest economy and they have 1/6^th of the world’s population. It is the fact that America seems to ignore China’s success and current position in the world that causes much of the friction. At the moment China owns more US debt than any other nation and with that it means they could destroy the world economy as we know it with a snap of the fingers. To borrow the quote from Kissinger, I have to position myself with the Chinese when they see “the United States as a wounded superpower determined to thwart the rise of any challenger, of which China is the most credible”.

The other argument that Americans have against China is the lack of democracy but after being here, talking with people, and learning about the system, China is much more democratic than it looks. You don’t have to vote for anyone in the party, although that means they know what they are doing. One constituency may have several party member running in which case you vote for the individual, not the party. The party answers only to the people, not to some assembly. After following the upcoming American elections it makes me laugh at democracy in the west, more time is spent parading potential leaders in front of a camera like a dog show than listening to the people and working for the common good. There are still flaws in the Chinese system, don’t get me wrong, I don’t think it’s perfect but on the scale of good governance I have to believe that China is still on the uphill while the west is rolling down the other side. Hopefully this highlights the current but what about the future?

Fukuyama’s article “The Future of History” referenced at the top of the page does away with the current model of countries and looks towards what democracy and nations will look like down the road.

 “Imagine, for a moment, an obscure scribbler today in a garret somewhere trying to outline an ideology of the future that could provide a realistic path toward a world with healthy middle-class societies and robust democracies. What would that ideology look like?

…

It would have to have at least two components, political and economic. Politically, the new ideology would need to reassert the supremacy of democratic politics over economics and legitimate anew government as an expression of the public interest…Economically, the ideology could not begin with a denunciation of capitalism as such, as if old-fashioned socialism were still a viable alternative. It is more the variety of capitalism that is at stake and the degree to which governments should help societies adjust to change.

…

Elites in all societies use their superior access to the political system to protect their interests, absent a countervailing democratic mobilization to rectify the situation. American elites are no exception to the rule.

…

That mobilization will not happen, however, as long as the middle classes of the developed world remain enthralled by the narrative of the past generation: that their interests will be best served by ever-freer markets and smaller states. The alternative narrative is out there, waiting to be born.”

Fukuyama, Francis, Foreign Affairs; Jan/Feb2012, Vol. 91 Issue 1, p53-61, 9p

After reading that I have to say, it sounds like China is much closer to the democracy of the future than the United States; “Americans may today benefit from cheap cell phones, inexpensive clothing, and Facebook, but they increasingly cannot afford their own homes, or health insurance, or comfortable pensions when they retire”.

If you have made it this far I applaud you and I hope you have learned even just a little about China-US Relations and if you have any comments or questions at all please let me know as I also desire to keep looking at it and would love a fresh point of view. (If you want to have a dialogue, feel free to email me at colin_buschman@hotmail.com)

PS. Just so you now know, the current leader is Hu Jintao with power transferring to the fifth generation of leadership Xi Jinping over the next coming months.

Oot 'n Aboot, China Style!

Okay, so I know it's been a little while since my last post and I apologize! To be a little fair, there was a one month period in there where I didn't have my computer. I feel like too much has happened that it has scared me from putting up a new post but I'm going to do it anyway, it will be rushed and probably not quite up to standard quality but it's either this or nothing! Each paragraph is a city with a few pictures for each.

Disclaimer: So blogspot has decided to be uber asinine and not letting the photo's work if I move them in any sense so, this blog is now interactive! The captions are still there and you can match them up with the photo's below. I debated not putting the captions back on for the ones far below but figured that would make it too difficult for some of you. Stupid technology, all I want to do is share information to people all over the world at the click of a button and include photo's taken from a tiny device that fits in my pocket, is that too much to ask!

Life on the farm

So at the start of March we departed for our trek across China. The first step found us in the province of Guizhou, about 45 minutes outside the city of Guiyang on an expats' farm. This portion of the program is meant for us to do a service projectand experience something beyond the tourist China. It was an interesting experience in that we were pretty much in the middle of nowhere on a cattle farm. My work for the week mostly involved the digging of run-off trenches. It was fascinating to see a China so far removed from the coast and even capitalism. Even though the farm was owned by an American/Canadian couple and we didn't meet any actual Chinese, it was the whole experience. The first thing that really made us 'experience' China was the lack of heating. Now in Xiamen they don't have heating either and while I may have complained about this a few times the temperature in my room never dipped far below 13 Celsius. In Guizhou on the other hand though, I don't think I even found a temperature higher than five degrees with our bedroom at night hovering around freezing. This is extremely common in the mountainous/plateau regions of China and I for one am not a fan! This farm was also high enough that we were pretty much in the clouds with fog lasting all day and sometimes no allowing the flashlight to reach the ground.

The village closest to the farm

Beating a Chinese man at international chess in Duyun while eating sugar cane (forced him into a stalemate! Booyah!)

 

Xi'an city wall

After these adventures we flew onward to China's ancient capital Xi'an. This portion was actually a class portion where we had class pretty much every morning about about 50 pages of a textbook to read every night. It was interesting though to be learning ancient Chinese history in the place where it all began. When not in class and not checking out the Terracotta warriors or biking on the 700 year old city wall there was not really a whole lot to do other than shop in the Muslim Quarter or hang out at Starbucks. Seeing the Terracotta warriors is an interesting experience in that everyone in our group was looking forward to it and we have all heard about it since grade school and while it is quite the sight to see all these soldiers that date to 200 BC there's something about the sheer size of it all that, to be honest, is boring. If there was only one it would be like the Mona Lisa and pretty awesome but there's just so many that eventually it gets a little old, no pun intended. I actually preferred to see the ones that were still all smashed up and yet to be properly excavated. Don't get me wrong, it was still awesome!

Hopefully these look vaguely familiar

Pre-rebuilding

Big Wild Goose Pagoda at sunset

Sleeper train!

We finished up our class in Xi'an and then headed off for our 'Spring Break' to Beijing. While in Beijing we did all the historical stuff as a class including the Summer Palace, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven and the Great Wall. Funny story about the Great Wall, when we went as a class we must have picked the absolute worst day to go as the fog must have followed us from Guizhou and to be honest, the Great Wall doesn't look all that great when you can only see the ten feet in front of you. To remedy the situation a few of us did go again to a different section of the wall that turned out to be pretty much abandoned where you could go on the un-restored sections. This part of the wall also involved a chair lift to go up and a toboggan/kart thing to come back down, it was pretty fun. Some other fun times in Beijing involved the flag raising ceremony in Tiananmen square after it had been beautifully blanketed with a dusting of snow and of course eating Peking duck in Peking [for those that don't know, Peking is the Manchu/Wade-Gilles pre-1949 spelling/pronunciation of Beijing].

Great Wall take one

Great Wall take two, you can see a little further here...

Glass floor in the Pearl Tower

The last stop on this adventure took us on a 16 hour train ride south to Shanghai. I have never really had any huge desire to go to Shanghai and now that I've been there my feelings haven't not been to altered. It is a wonderfully fanscinating city in that looking at the skyline from 1990 to 2010 you would never think they are the same city (http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/01/picture-of-the-day-shanghai-in-1990-and-2010/69959/).  Shanghai also a history of involvement with the Opium wars with the end result of the older areas of the city looking like the old areas of any European city. the east side of the water is compiled of early 1900 European buildings looking over to the west side with the rising skyscrapers looking like a fights about to break out.
 

Shanghai Skyline

Back across the water from the top of the Pearl Tower

Evening skyline across the water

After visiting these cities, it makes me truly appreciate how lucky I am to be able to study in Xiamen, the air in clean, the roads are lined with palm trees, the ocean is 3 mintues away and it's never too crowded. For someone to say they like China after visiting only Xiamen is like someone saying they love Canada if they only hang out in Ikea. I'm sorry if this blog is less than gripping, my thought the other day followed the lines of either I live a boring life or I'm a horrible story teller, I've settled on the second one, sorry.

Life on the farm

Village closest to the farm

Beating a Chinese man at international chess in Duyun while eating sugar cane (forced him into a stalemate! Booyah!)

Big Wild Goose Pagoda at sunset

Xi'an City Wall

Great Wall take one

Great Wall take two

Pre-Rebuilding

Hopefully these look familiar

Sleeper Train