Friday, November 14, 2003
Two Schools of Thought
See pictures of the of two schools in Huairou.
Wednesday, November 12, 2003 saw us at two middle schools in Huairou. At our school, Huairou Yi Zhong, we were invited in periods 2 and 3 to open classes where teachers invite their colleagues to sit in and view a lesson, and in the late afternoon we ended our day at Hong Luo Si Middle School where we were the centre of attention. In between these two special events, we taught our normal classes for the day.
HUAIROU YI ZHONG MIDDLE SCHOOL
School policy requires that every so often teachers hold what are called "open classes". Melody and Sarah from Ken's office, teachers of Senior 2 students, were on the schedule for yesterday. The classes were #1 and #9 of Senior 2, rooms 414 and 316. At 8:50 we gathered at the first classroom, part of a troupe of about 20 teachers, some from other nearby schools, each carrying a chair, along with two official inspectors from the Beijing District Department of Education, experts in English, as well as the Vice Principal Mr. Gao and sundry hangers-on, including us, the only native English speakers in the room. What an intimidating set of circumstances for any teacher! We couldn't think of how more people could be squeezed into the classroom, since it already held over 50 students, their books and other paraphernalia, but we did. How did we do it? The students crammed into one agglomeration of desks, so as to allow the teachers and officials to shoe-horn in... and it worked.
Our school has most recently made every effort to become a model school. Among the things that appeared like mushrooms overnight were audio visual high tech units which were a combination of overhead projector and computer generated programs which throw an image on a high resolution screen, so that you don't even have to close the curtains. The teachers obviously had to master this new technology. And that is one of the things the open class was meant to illustrate. Two weeks before, amid many mumblings and "ai-ye", teachers were mastering Power Point and how to pull images off the web.
In China, the text book is everything -- the guide, the mentor, the scheduler, the prime reference for information, the prime consideration in the lesson plan. And so both teachers and students, well-versed in the process, performed for us all. The specific subject under discussion this day, and this means the entire country of China at level 2 English, is the environment and especially the loss of animal species as a result of human intervention. While this may seem patently obvious, we were somewhat at a loss to understand how the dinosaurs could be an instructive example in as much as they passed on even before human existence was ever contemplated! The other examples, such as the decline of the tiger in Asia and its possible resurgence, seemed more useful as exemplars.
The teachers made use of a variety of approaches, all well-known to the students, and made some effort to move beyond just mere comprehension. Activities included classic question and answer, paraphrasing the passage under discussion, group discussion and reporting, individual assessment of the information, and describing a picture "in as many words as possible". After all, this was a class designed to show command of English. The material itself is merely a vehicle for speaking, writing, discussing and comprehending. We commend particularly these teachers who tried to move beyond the descriptions in the text, to encourage their students to more speculation, analysis and creativity. For instance, Liang Limin (English name Sarah) organized an interview-style in the manner of CCTV-News (China's national broadcaster, the equivalent of CBC). Zhang Yue (English name Melody) asked her students to personify themselves as an endangered species (if you were a fish, bird, etc) and to report in that persona. The students were having fun, and their level of English was very good, somewhat beyond the tried and true. They even took some language risks, which under the prevailing situation was quite remarkable.
These teachers are to be commended, because teaching at risk is not a common situation here. Many are much more comfortable with the tried and true, and will not risk moving into the unknown and the unpredictable. Teaching at risk removes the security of the formulated lesson and stimulates both teacher and student to creative thinking. After the classes, the inspectors convened a meeting, of which we were a token part, where they gave their analysis of the lesson, totally in Chinese! Which, in our view, had certain ironic overtones. Afterwards, we were introduced to the inspectors, and found that one of them had been to Ontario, and Niagara Falls, and that Ontario teachers had been to visit them in Beijing to consult on the proper teaching of Chinese in Ontario schools. The Beijing standard is the supposed standard for the entire country.
Keyan, ever the consummate host, having picked up the inspectors in Beijing in the early morning with the school's driver, made sure that tea was available, and that the inspectors were properly introduced and accompanied on their rounds of the campus. This was a big deal for those involved. Melody later told us she hadn't slept well in nights, and Sarah revealed that even though she was lead teacher, she herself was quite nervous and had to suppress that feeling. No wonder! We too would have been apprehensive with a room full of teachers and officials, all with their notepads and pens at the ready.
HONG LUO SI MIDDLE SCHOOL
Immediately following Judy's last class, headmaster Teng Lijun met us at the school gate with the school's official car and driver. This school is named after the famous Buddhist temple Hong Luo, (Red Shell) which is situated 20 minutes north of the centre of Huairou. A peaceful and quiet sanctuary, it contains an imperially designated bamboo forest growing well beyond its northern limits. Wisteria vines and ancient trees also distinguish this site, which covers a large area of mountainous terrain, with hundreds of stairs for the hardy determined to reach the summits for the physical and spiritual benefits provided there.
Before even hearing what we had to say, the headmaster presented us with a classically beautiful flower and bird painting done by a student. (see photo) After an anxious drive (we had 10 minutes to get from one place to the other after our classes) through Huairou's horn-blaring streets, we arrived to find that the electricity was out in the wing where we were to make our presentation. Much scurrying, many cables snaking their way, drawing from some other hidden power source, many technicians and teachers offering help and suggestions. At the last possible moment, when we fully expected to talk without visual support, the technology came on stream, the students arrived and we were off. It must be noted that the room would hold only 100 people, and therefore the top 5 students from each class were selected to be our audience. We were piped into the other classrooms via television feed. Across the hall from us, we had already seen the quite handsomely appointed television studio, complete with technicians. We were impressed. Huairou Yi Zhong also has similar facilities, but on a smaller scale.
So, what did we have to say and do as Canada's unpaid and unacknowledged ambassadors at large in Huairou? (Our many communications with the Canadian Embassy in Beijing is another story.) We knew that the Senior 2 students had studied Canada in their English classes (pages 37 to 41 in their Senior English for China, Students' Book 2A), which informs the students that Canadians speak a combination of British and American English, that Canada is the second largest country in the world, that we speak English and French, that most of the year it's mighty cold, that we have a lot of freshwater, tons of forests and that fishing is a very important industry. In addition Chinese students are informed in 3 paragraphs on page 40 of the history and exploits of Inuit and North American Indians. It was our job to fill in the gaps!
We heroically tried to do this by personalizing as much as we could about where we lived, who we are, why we're here and why we like China, using all the Chinese words we had for the occasion. "Welcome...Good afternoon ... our names are...we are from Canada -- Huang ying... xiao wu hao... wo jiao ... wo cong Jianada lai." We began with maps of Canada, Ontario and the Great Lakes Basin, and moved on to views of Owen Sound and our house and property. We included photos of our family, with shots of Catherine and Andrew's wedding, Christmas, Jane and I singing happy birthday, and images of Kevin, Cheryl with Aidan and Charlotte, and Andrew. There you all were, larger than life, being carefully scrutinized by an extremely attentive Chinese audience. Aidan and Charlotte, our grandchildren 4 and 2 respectively, were the hits of the presentation -- pictures of kids just melt the Chinese heart. Before we left home, we had collected calendars and post cards, and put together a small photo album, and once here, Ken was able to scan many of these images into the computer. We had no idea all these visuals would be so useful! Throughout the presentation, we struggled with the computer technology and eventually mastered it by the end. We had spent some time carefully ordering the images to follow a logical sequence which was lost in the transfer. Whatever came up on the screen next was what we talked about.
At the end of our talk we were open for questions. This gave rise to a flood of questions both intimate "How old are you?" to the one we always expect, "Do you like Chinese food?" and the disarming "Do you like us?" Most of the questions began with a warm and sincere welcome, and we tried to express this same warmth in our answers. There was no holding back one student who insisted that she must kiss Judy, and did so with no self-consciousness or embarrassment. The mention of Dr. Norman Bethune and his relation to our area, once again evoked a knowing and sympathetic response, as it does in any part of China, since Chairman Mao's essay on the topic of Bethune's altruism is required reading and held as an exemplar of selflessness. We really begin to appreciate that Canada has no axe to grind, no hidden agenda and offers no threat, implied or stated. In other words, we're nice guys ...!
At the end of the lecture, the headmaster, who had been taking notes, gave an instructive and inspiring summation in Chinese, to the students, who seemed genuinely moved. As they left the room, the students insisted on shaking our hands, and hugging us. For many, we may have been the first foreign teachers they had encountered. We hope we left a good impression.
We went on to dinner with the Party Secretary and three English teachers, who expressed a wish that we meet again, to have English conversations as a way of improving their fluency. We were already impressed with their speaking ability. Dinner was at a local restaurant famed for its dumplings, along with a parade of many other dishes, including a fish specialty and an eggplant dish garnished with shredded pork. There were the obligatory toasts, of course. We were escorted home by one of the teachers who had been instructed by the Party Secretary to see us directly to our door ...and he did.
Excuse us while we editorialize ...Perhaps this is an appropriate time to say something about Canada's lost opportunity in not being aware that Chinese students are studying our country in their English text. While the information is an vehicle to practice English, it also offers an opportunity for Canada to make its presence more known. There are few if any materials available to teachers as enrichment on the topic, and we were hard put to get anything much from the Embassy to help the teachers at our school. The English section of the school library has nothing which would support further study, either for teachers or students.
We see here a cause which needs champions! Already we are in touch with officials at the Canadian Embassy in Beijing, and in the latest email from them, we have been asked to suggest topics and materials which would be useful to the study of Canada in China. Well! You can well imagine our eagerness.
From our experiences here, there is a genuine desire to know more. Chinese teachers and students are especially impressed that our present Governor General is a woman of Chinese heritage and register surprise at this information. There is a pool of good will for Canada which would serve our country well.
See pictures of the of two schools in Huairou.
Wednesday, November 12, 2003 saw us at two middle schools in Huairou. At our school, Huairou Yi Zhong, we were invited in periods 2 and 3 to open classes where teachers invite their colleagues to sit in and view a lesson, and in the late afternoon we ended our day at Hong Luo Si Middle School where we were the centre of attention. In between these two special events, we taught our normal classes for the day.
HUAIROU YI ZHONG MIDDLE SCHOOL
School policy requires that every so often teachers hold what are called "open classes". Melody and Sarah from Ken's office, teachers of Senior 2 students, were on the schedule for yesterday. The classes were #1 and #9 of Senior 2, rooms 414 and 316. At 8:50 we gathered at the first classroom, part of a troupe of about 20 teachers, some from other nearby schools, each carrying a chair, along with two official inspectors from the Beijing District Department of Education, experts in English, as well as the Vice Principal Mr. Gao and sundry hangers-on, including us, the only native English speakers in the room. What an intimidating set of circumstances for any teacher! We couldn't think of how more people could be squeezed into the classroom, since it already held over 50 students, their books and other paraphernalia, but we did. How did we do it? The students crammed into one agglomeration of desks, so as to allow the teachers and officials to shoe-horn in... and it worked.
Our school has most recently made every effort to become a model school. Among the things that appeared like mushrooms overnight were audio visual high tech units which were a combination of overhead projector and computer generated programs which throw an image on a high resolution screen, so that you don't even have to close the curtains. The teachers obviously had to master this new technology. And that is one of the things the open class was meant to illustrate. Two weeks before, amid many mumblings and "ai-ye", teachers were mastering Power Point and how to pull images off the web.
In China, the text book is everything -- the guide, the mentor, the scheduler, the prime reference for information, the prime consideration in the lesson plan. And so both teachers and students, well-versed in the process, performed for us all. The specific subject under discussion this day, and this means the entire country of China at level 2 English, is the environment and especially the loss of animal species as a result of human intervention. While this may seem patently obvious, we were somewhat at a loss to understand how the dinosaurs could be an instructive example in as much as they passed on even before human existence was ever contemplated! The other examples, such as the decline of the tiger in Asia and its possible resurgence, seemed more useful as exemplars.
The teachers made use of a variety of approaches, all well-known to the students, and made some effort to move beyond just mere comprehension. Activities included classic question and answer, paraphrasing the passage under discussion, group discussion and reporting, individual assessment of the information, and describing a picture "in as many words as possible". After all, this was a class designed to show command of English. The material itself is merely a vehicle for speaking, writing, discussing and comprehending. We commend particularly these teachers who tried to move beyond the descriptions in the text, to encourage their students to more speculation, analysis and creativity. For instance, Liang Limin (English name Sarah) organized an interview-style in the manner of CCTV-News (China's national broadcaster, the equivalent of CBC). Zhang Yue (English name Melody) asked her students to personify themselves as an endangered species (if you were a fish, bird, etc) and to report in that persona. The students were having fun, and their level of English was very good, somewhat beyond the tried and true. They even took some language risks, which under the prevailing situation was quite remarkable.
These teachers are to be commended, because teaching at risk is not a common situation here. Many are much more comfortable with the tried and true, and will not risk moving into the unknown and the unpredictable. Teaching at risk removes the security of the formulated lesson and stimulates both teacher and student to creative thinking. After the classes, the inspectors convened a meeting, of which we were a token part, where they gave their analysis of the lesson, totally in Chinese! Which, in our view, had certain ironic overtones. Afterwards, we were introduced to the inspectors, and found that one of them had been to Ontario, and Niagara Falls, and that Ontario teachers had been to visit them in Beijing to consult on the proper teaching of Chinese in Ontario schools. The Beijing standard is the supposed standard for the entire country.
Keyan, ever the consummate host, having picked up the inspectors in Beijing in the early morning with the school's driver, made sure that tea was available, and that the inspectors were properly introduced and accompanied on their rounds of the campus. This was a big deal for those involved. Melody later told us she hadn't slept well in nights, and Sarah revealed that even though she was lead teacher, she herself was quite nervous and had to suppress that feeling. No wonder! We too would have been apprehensive with a room full of teachers and officials, all with their notepads and pens at the ready.
HONG LUO SI MIDDLE SCHOOL
Immediately following Judy's last class, headmaster Teng Lijun met us at the school gate with the school's official car and driver. This school is named after the famous Buddhist temple Hong Luo, (Red Shell) which is situated 20 minutes north of the centre of Huairou. A peaceful and quiet sanctuary, it contains an imperially designated bamboo forest growing well beyond its northern limits. Wisteria vines and ancient trees also distinguish this site, which covers a large area of mountainous terrain, with hundreds of stairs for the hardy determined to reach the summits for the physical and spiritual benefits provided there.
Before even hearing what we had to say, the headmaster presented us with a classically beautiful flower and bird painting done by a student. (see photo) After an anxious drive (we had 10 minutes to get from one place to the other after our classes) through Huairou's horn-blaring streets, we arrived to find that the electricity was out in the wing where we were to make our presentation. Much scurrying, many cables snaking their way, drawing from some other hidden power source, many technicians and teachers offering help and suggestions. At the last possible moment, when we fully expected to talk without visual support, the technology came on stream, the students arrived and we were off. It must be noted that the room would hold only 100 people, and therefore the top 5 students from each class were selected to be our audience. We were piped into the other classrooms via television feed. Across the hall from us, we had already seen the quite handsomely appointed television studio, complete with technicians. We were impressed. Huairou Yi Zhong also has similar facilities, but on a smaller scale.
So, what did we have to say and do as Canada's unpaid and unacknowledged ambassadors at large in Huairou? (Our many communications with the Canadian Embassy in Beijing is another story.) We knew that the Senior 2 students had studied Canada in their English classes (pages 37 to 41 in their Senior English for China, Students' Book 2A), which informs the students that Canadians speak a combination of British and American English, that Canada is the second largest country in the world, that we speak English and French, that most of the year it's mighty cold, that we have a lot of freshwater, tons of forests and that fishing is a very important industry. In addition Chinese students are informed in 3 paragraphs on page 40 of the history and exploits of Inuit and North American Indians. It was our job to fill in the gaps!
We heroically tried to do this by personalizing as much as we could about where we lived, who we are, why we're here and why we like China, using all the Chinese words we had for the occasion. "Welcome...Good afternoon ... our names are...we are from Canada -- Huang ying... xiao wu hao... wo jiao ... wo cong Jianada lai." We began with maps of Canada, Ontario and the Great Lakes Basin, and moved on to views of Owen Sound and our house and property. We included photos of our family, with shots of Catherine and Andrew's wedding, Christmas, Jane and I singing happy birthday, and images of Kevin, Cheryl with Aidan and Charlotte, and Andrew. There you all were, larger than life, being carefully scrutinized by an extremely attentive Chinese audience. Aidan and Charlotte, our grandchildren 4 and 2 respectively, were the hits of the presentation -- pictures of kids just melt the Chinese heart. Before we left home, we had collected calendars and post cards, and put together a small photo album, and once here, Ken was able to scan many of these images into the computer. We had no idea all these visuals would be so useful! Throughout the presentation, we struggled with the computer technology and eventually mastered it by the end. We had spent some time carefully ordering the images to follow a logical sequence which was lost in the transfer. Whatever came up on the screen next was what we talked about.
At the end of our talk we were open for questions. This gave rise to a flood of questions both intimate "How old are you?" to the one we always expect, "Do you like Chinese food?" and the disarming "Do you like us?" Most of the questions began with a warm and sincere welcome, and we tried to express this same warmth in our answers. There was no holding back one student who insisted that she must kiss Judy, and did so with no self-consciousness or embarrassment. The mention of Dr. Norman Bethune and his relation to our area, once again evoked a knowing and sympathetic response, as it does in any part of China, since Chairman Mao's essay on the topic of Bethune's altruism is required reading and held as an exemplar of selflessness. We really begin to appreciate that Canada has no axe to grind, no hidden agenda and offers no threat, implied or stated. In other words, we're nice guys ...!
At the end of the lecture, the headmaster, who had been taking notes, gave an instructive and inspiring summation in Chinese, to the students, who seemed genuinely moved. As they left the room, the students insisted on shaking our hands, and hugging us. For many, we may have been the first foreign teachers they had encountered. We hope we left a good impression.
We went on to dinner with the Party Secretary and three English teachers, who expressed a wish that we meet again, to have English conversations as a way of improving their fluency. We were already impressed with their speaking ability. Dinner was at a local restaurant famed for its dumplings, along with a parade of many other dishes, including a fish specialty and an eggplant dish garnished with shredded pork. There were the obligatory toasts, of course. We were escorted home by one of the teachers who had been instructed by the Party Secretary to see us directly to our door ...and he did.
Excuse us while we editorialize ...Perhaps this is an appropriate time to say something about Canada's lost opportunity in not being aware that Chinese students are studying our country in their English text. While the information is an vehicle to practice English, it also offers an opportunity for Canada to make its presence more known. There are few if any materials available to teachers as enrichment on the topic, and we were hard put to get anything much from the Embassy to help the teachers at our school. The English section of the school library has nothing which would support further study, either for teachers or students.
We see here a cause which needs champions! Already we are in touch with officials at the Canadian Embassy in Beijing, and in the latest email from them, we have been asked to suggest topics and materials which would be useful to the study of Canada in China. Well! You can well imagine our eagerness.
From our experiences here, there is a genuine desire to know more. Chinese teachers and students are especially impressed that our present Governor General is a woman of Chinese heritage and register surprise at this information. There is a pool of good will for Canada which would serve our country well.
Sunday, November 09, 2003
The Great Wall
See pictures of the Great Wall.
"Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That spills the upper boulders in the sun,
and makes gaps that even two can pass abreast..."
We can suppose that poet Robert Frost didn't have emperor Qin Shihuang in mind when he penned those words from Mending Wall, but Chinese legend has it that 20 kilometers of the wall did come down one day in response to the love of Meng Jiangnu for her husband. The much loved Chinese story goes that Lady Meng's husband, Fan Xilliang, was torn away on their wedding night to work as forced labour on Emperor Qin's military project, the Great Wall. Meng broke her jade hairpin in half and gave half to her husband. Five years elapsed and her husband did not return. She dreamed of him suffering in the cold, northern climate and set off with warm clothing. When she arrived she found that her husband had long since died and been buried under the wall. Hearing her sighs and sorrowful keening, the Great Wall itself was moved by her grief and collapsed in sympathy. The story goes on to relate how Lady Meng found the remains of her husband (identified by the half pin jade memento) and many others buried under the wall. So moved was she at this sight that she carried the remains of her husband in her arms as she leapt into the sea to drown. Chinese song and legend celebrate this sad story and a temple at Shanhaiguan commemorates Meng's selfless love. The story is as much about the anonymous thousands of workers who died realizing Qin Shihuang's audacious efforts to thwart the country's enemies and to build China as a national state, as it is about personal tragedy and sacrifice.
"Before I built a wall I'd ask to know
What I was walling in or out
And to whom I was like to give offence."
We would never have imagined that China's Great Wall (Chang Cheng) would become part of our every day lives, but living here only 20 minutes by miandi from the actual site does tend to make us feel rather blasè about it all. On a clear day we can look north on Huairou's main street, Qingchun Lu, and see the wall snaking up the side of the mountain out of sight. Keyan can see it from her apartment bedroom window. Ken can see it from the third floor landing of the building where his office is at school, as well as from the classrooms on the fourth floor. Like our acceptance of the Great Lakes as part of our home environment, so here the Great Wall has become almost common place.
The Great Wall is a rich mixture of history, myth and tourist exploitation. In concept, the wall was built as a defence against invaders from the north -- always the direction of the enemy throughout Chinese history. Begun independently by seven small states around 450 BCE, it became a unified ribbon of brick and stone during the Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE) and has been variously destroyed, fallen into ruin and repaired since then. What we walk upon today is primarily the reconstruction undertaken during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Today, great stretches of the wall remain in ruins. Where communities have taken the initiative, sections continue to be restored. (Each becomes another tourist attraction.) The Chinese government has imposed fines for trespassing on prohibited sections of the Wall, both to prevent souvenir hunters carting bits off, and to keep hikers from injury or even death. Some sections of the restored wall are as recent as 5 years ago. In all, the thing has been around for over 2000 years and is either 10,000 li (a Chinese measurement still used today, about 1/2 km) or 6,700 km or around 5,000 km long, depending on who you talk to!
As Robert Frost has said: "Something there is that doesnÃt love a wall." It's important to keep in mind that the wall didn't work for the purpose it was intended, just as Hadrian's wall didn't keep the Picts out of Britain or the Maginot line save France from the Germans. It's not that difficult to go over, through or around a wall, and all of these routes were used by invaders. That's how the Ming dynasty came to an end. The Manchus went around the end of the Wall, where it meets the sea at Shanhaiguan, a city on the Yellow Sea about 3 hours by train north east from Beijing. These invaders, who became the Qing dynasty rulers, then advanced on the capital, taking it easily and causing the last Ming Emperor to hang himself in shame from a now-famous tree on the hill behind the Forbidden City.
The wall is as much an idea as it is a construction. As it undulates dragon-like, across China's mountains, valleys and plains, it is the symbol of unity. Its existence strengthened an EmperorÃs rule -- the land it enclosed made the statement of great power. Enter here at your peril, it said. Because the dragon is a Chinese symbol of luck and heavenly protection, the twisting course of the Wall undoubtedly suggested protection and security to those who saw it. It tames the wilds of nature as it rides over seemingly impossible geographical features - craggy mountains, wide rivers and endless plains. There's a saying here in China that you are not a man if you have not been to the wall. Whether this is tourist hucksterism or a deeply held conviction is hard to tell.
Why do tourists go to the wall? Because it is there. Our most recent trip there in mid-October was a mixture of modern technology, Chinese commercial entrepreneurship and the awesome beauty of nature. We cannot deny that the Great Wall itself is truly impressive. It is even more so when one contemplates all the human effort and ingenuity which put this edifice in place. Merely that such a structure exists is an eloquent enough statement.
Our little "miandi", the local 20-yuan-to-the-Great-Wall taxi, scuttled along the narrowing valley road, honking all the way to warn local bicycled fruit vendors and slower three wheeled blue trucks that we were coming through. Our young Chinese friends, Ada and Richard had chosen a superb afternoon to make an excursion that they had made many, many times. In spite of this,they were still excited to be here. Once out of the taxi we get our bottled water to carry with us, and make our first effort to try to be a casual stroller among the hawking vendors pointing out their wares, even bringing them forward for us to see. We climb the cobbled path, accosted by the noise and colour and movement all around us. To avoid a harangue in some remarkably good English is impossible. Just smile and move forward. Western tourists are marked people. The vendors will remember us later when we must once again run the gauntlet of "Buy, buy, buy!"
On to the trip up the steep slope to the Great Wall itself - by enclosed orange cable car. In an instant we are swooping high in the air and in another we are there. On this glorious Sunday afternoon, the sky a clear and intense teal blue, the scent of autumn leaves in the air, we are walking on the wide road atop The Great Wall, wide enough to accommodate three horses abreast. Here at Mutianyu section, the Ming dynasty watch towers and crenelated battlements insinuate along dangerous and impossible slopes and challenge our balance as well as our legs. We walk to the right because it's downhill most of the way, thus lessening the number of stairs we must climb. Our young friends are very considerate of their 60+ Canadian visitors! But eventually we begin to climb -- as many as 80 steps at a time. Our strategy is to look at the step directly in front of us, not at the entire number ahead. This way we are pleasantly surprised when we reach the top. As we stop to catch our breath, we look out on folded velvety green mountains topped with stoney crags, marching away from us to the misty distance. In the valleys far below are villages and farms where the autumn harvest sends up trails of smoke from slash fires. On we go as far as a watch tower, where we could ascend to the second floor if we wished. Ahead we see several other towers, all beautifully restored in this section of the wall. We spend an hour or so walking and climbing, talking and looking at the views. It's entirely possible to spend several hours here, walking off into the distance for miles, always remembering that one must return to this section in order to descend.
No crowds... not too many tourists today. We try not to acknowledge the few westerners we see, even though we have not seen a caucasian in weeks. Hey, that young guy over there with the backpack... the one at the parapet. He speaks English - albeit with an Australian accent. We leave him to his photos. Every
moment, every step is another photograph. Can we ever take enough to capture what we are feeling, what we are doing. We can but imagine the miles of film expended in just one day like today.
What can one say about spending a warm sunny afternoon at the Great Wall which does not sound like a tourist pamphlet or a schill for a guided tour? No doubt poet Robert Frost could do it to effect, but for us there is no poetry to be had in our decent by what amounts to a slide ride downhill. Within the confines of a winding aluminum trough we sit in our moving sleds as we wind downhill. We would be faster, and at least get the adrenaline rush from speed, but no, the Japanese ladies in front of us are fearful and constantly pull on the brakes to move us at a crawl. Even the sharp curves offer no challenge. The thrill is gone and we glide slowly down from the Great Wall to a prosaic end.
They are waiting... yes, they are there with their goods to sell. "I remember you, sir", says a vendor offering silk bags and Chinese style skull caps, with braid attached. We buy what we will, but of course our Chinese friends will negotiate. No one pays the asking price, not here in China, they tell us. We move through the line of stalls, repeating what has become our mantra in such situations, "bu yao", not want. It seems to work, although one woman vendor chased us down to the parking lot with a silk jacket because we had expressed a passing interest in her stall. Some three "bu yaos" later she retreated. To give them their due, these people are in a tourist dependent market and often the most aggressive one gets the sale. Indeed the vendors at Mutianyu are much more orderly than at other tourist places in China.
"Something there is that doesn't love a wall. That wants it down!..." says Robert Frost. The Chinese would emphatically agree. The Great Wall is in many places a ruin. But the history of the Great Wall in China also tells us that once it is reduced to overgrown rubble, the Chinese will build it up again, if, for no other reason than tourism requires more reconstruction efforts.
So ends our most recent trip to the Great Wall, some 20 minutes from our doorstep. If any of our friends or relatives venture to Huairou, you can sure, following the tradition of local people, we will find the closest miandi, negotiate the price, and be enthusiastically off to the Great Wall again.
See pictures of the Great Wall.
"Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That spills the upper boulders in the sun,
and makes gaps that even two can pass abreast..."
We can suppose that poet Robert Frost didn't have emperor Qin Shihuang in mind when he penned those words from Mending Wall, but Chinese legend has it that 20 kilometers of the wall did come down one day in response to the love of Meng Jiangnu for her husband. The much loved Chinese story goes that Lady Meng's husband, Fan Xilliang, was torn away on their wedding night to work as forced labour on Emperor Qin's military project, the Great Wall. Meng broke her jade hairpin in half and gave half to her husband. Five years elapsed and her husband did not return. She dreamed of him suffering in the cold, northern climate and set off with warm clothing. When she arrived she found that her husband had long since died and been buried under the wall. Hearing her sighs and sorrowful keening, the Great Wall itself was moved by her grief and collapsed in sympathy. The story goes on to relate how Lady Meng found the remains of her husband (identified by the half pin jade memento) and many others buried under the wall. So moved was she at this sight that she carried the remains of her husband in her arms as she leapt into the sea to drown. Chinese song and legend celebrate this sad story and a temple at Shanhaiguan commemorates Meng's selfless love. The story is as much about the anonymous thousands of workers who died realizing Qin Shihuang's audacious efforts to thwart the country's enemies and to build China as a national state, as it is about personal tragedy and sacrifice.
"Before I built a wall I'd ask to know
What I was walling in or out
And to whom I was like to give offence."
We would never have imagined that China's Great Wall (Chang Cheng) would become part of our every day lives, but living here only 20 minutes by miandi from the actual site does tend to make us feel rather blasè about it all. On a clear day we can look north on Huairou's main street, Qingchun Lu, and see the wall snaking up the side of the mountain out of sight. Keyan can see it from her apartment bedroom window. Ken can see it from the third floor landing of the building where his office is at school, as well as from the classrooms on the fourth floor. Like our acceptance of the Great Lakes as part of our home environment, so here the Great Wall has become almost common place.
The Great Wall is a rich mixture of history, myth and tourist exploitation. In concept, the wall was built as a defence against invaders from the north -- always the direction of the enemy throughout Chinese history. Begun independently by seven small states around 450 BCE, it became a unified ribbon of brick and stone during the Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE) and has been variously destroyed, fallen into ruin and repaired since then. What we walk upon today is primarily the reconstruction undertaken during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Today, great stretches of the wall remain in ruins. Where communities have taken the initiative, sections continue to be restored. (Each becomes another tourist attraction.) The Chinese government has imposed fines for trespassing on prohibited sections of the Wall, both to prevent souvenir hunters carting bits off, and to keep hikers from injury or even death. Some sections of the restored wall are as recent as 5 years ago. In all, the thing has been around for over 2000 years and is either 10,000 li (a Chinese measurement still used today, about 1/2 km) or 6,700 km or around 5,000 km long, depending on who you talk to!
As Robert Frost has said: "Something there is that doesnÃt love a wall." It's important to keep in mind that the wall didn't work for the purpose it was intended, just as Hadrian's wall didn't keep the Picts out of Britain or the Maginot line save France from the Germans. It's not that difficult to go over, through or around a wall, and all of these routes were used by invaders. That's how the Ming dynasty came to an end. The Manchus went around the end of the Wall, where it meets the sea at Shanhaiguan, a city on the Yellow Sea about 3 hours by train north east from Beijing. These invaders, who became the Qing dynasty rulers, then advanced on the capital, taking it easily and causing the last Ming Emperor to hang himself in shame from a now-famous tree on the hill behind the Forbidden City.
The wall is as much an idea as it is a construction. As it undulates dragon-like, across China's mountains, valleys and plains, it is the symbol of unity. Its existence strengthened an EmperorÃs rule -- the land it enclosed made the statement of great power. Enter here at your peril, it said. Because the dragon is a Chinese symbol of luck and heavenly protection, the twisting course of the Wall undoubtedly suggested protection and security to those who saw it. It tames the wilds of nature as it rides over seemingly impossible geographical features - craggy mountains, wide rivers and endless plains. There's a saying here in China that you are not a man if you have not been to the wall. Whether this is tourist hucksterism or a deeply held conviction is hard to tell.
Why do tourists go to the wall? Because it is there. Our most recent trip there in mid-October was a mixture of modern technology, Chinese commercial entrepreneurship and the awesome beauty of nature. We cannot deny that the Great Wall itself is truly impressive. It is even more so when one contemplates all the human effort and ingenuity which put this edifice in place. Merely that such a structure exists is an eloquent enough statement.
Our little "miandi", the local 20-yuan-to-the-Great-Wall taxi, scuttled along the narrowing valley road, honking all the way to warn local bicycled fruit vendors and slower three wheeled blue trucks that we were coming through. Our young Chinese friends, Ada and Richard had chosen a superb afternoon to make an excursion that they had made many, many times. In spite of this,they were still excited to be here. Once out of the taxi we get our bottled water to carry with us, and make our first effort to try to be a casual stroller among the hawking vendors pointing out their wares, even bringing them forward for us to see. We climb the cobbled path, accosted by the noise and colour and movement all around us. To avoid a harangue in some remarkably good English is impossible. Just smile and move forward. Western tourists are marked people. The vendors will remember us later when we must once again run the gauntlet of "Buy, buy, buy!"
On to the trip up the steep slope to the Great Wall itself - by enclosed orange cable car. In an instant we are swooping high in the air and in another we are there. On this glorious Sunday afternoon, the sky a clear and intense teal blue, the scent of autumn leaves in the air, we are walking on the wide road atop The Great Wall, wide enough to accommodate three horses abreast. Here at Mutianyu section, the Ming dynasty watch towers and crenelated battlements insinuate along dangerous and impossible slopes and challenge our balance as well as our legs. We walk to the right because it's downhill most of the way, thus lessening the number of stairs we must climb. Our young friends are very considerate of their 60+ Canadian visitors! But eventually we begin to climb -- as many as 80 steps at a time. Our strategy is to look at the step directly in front of us, not at the entire number ahead. This way we are pleasantly surprised when we reach the top. As we stop to catch our breath, we look out on folded velvety green mountains topped with stoney crags, marching away from us to the misty distance. In the valleys far below are villages and farms where the autumn harvest sends up trails of smoke from slash fires. On we go as far as a watch tower, where we could ascend to the second floor if we wished. Ahead we see several other towers, all beautifully restored in this section of the wall. We spend an hour or so walking and climbing, talking and looking at the views. It's entirely possible to spend several hours here, walking off into the distance for miles, always remembering that one must return to this section in order to descend.
No crowds... not too many tourists today. We try not to acknowledge the few westerners we see, even though we have not seen a caucasian in weeks. Hey, that young guy over there with the backpack... the one at the parapet. He speaks English - albeit with an Australian accent. We leave him to his photos. Every
moment, every step is another photograph. Can we ever take enough to capture what we are feeling, what we are doing. We can but imagine the miles of film expended in just one day like today.
What can one say about spending a warm sunny afternoon at the Great Wall which does not sound like a tourist pamphlet or a schill for a guided tour? No doubt poet Robert Frost could do it to effect, but for us there is no poetry to be had in our decent by what amounts to a slide ride downhill. Within the confines of a winding aluminum trough we sit in our moving sleds as we wind downhill. We would be faster, and at least get the adrenaline rush from speed, but no, the Japanese ladies in front of us are fearful and constantly pull on the brakes to move us at a crawl. Even the sharp curves offer no challenge. The thrill is gone and we glide slowly down from the Great Wall to a prosaic end.
They are waiting... yes, they are there with their goods to sell. "I remember you, sir", says a vendor offering silk bags and Chinese style skull caps, with braid attached. We buy what we will, but of course our Chinese friends will negotiate. No one pays the asking price, not here in China, they tell us. We move through the line of stalls, repeating what has become our mantra in such situations, "bu yao", not want. It seems to work, although one woman vendor chased us down to the parking lot with a silk jacket because we had expressed a passing interest in her stall. Some three "bu yaos" later she retreated. To give them their due, these people are in a tourist dependent market and often the most aggressive one gets the sale. Indeed the vendors at Mutianyu are much more orderly than at other tourist places in China.
"Something there is that doesn't love a wall. That wants it down!..." says Robert Frost. The Chinese would emphatically agree. The Great Wall is in many places a ruin. But the history of the Great Wall in China also tells us that once it is reduced to overgrown rubble, the Chinese will build it up again, if, for no other reason than tourism requires more reconstruction efforts.
So ends our most recent trip to the Great Wall, some 20 minutes from our doorstep. If any of our friends or relatives venture to Huairou, you can sure, following the tradition of local people, we will find the closest miandi, negotiate the price, and be enthusiastically off to the Great Wall again.
All text and photography © copyright Harkaway, 2003 - 2004
