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Published: June 23rd 2011
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Lecturer from Peking University6/21, Tuesday—pictures updated!
Well, that was a good night’s sleep! Good thing, too—today we hear from a Peking University lecturer, go to the Summer Palace, the Sackler Museum at Peking University, and end the evening at a show of Chinese Acrobats!
LIU, Jiang joined us from Peking University to tell us about his research into the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and how they governed through the use of an official document system. My notes:
There are five phases of change: fire (red), wood (green), earth (yellow), metal (white), and water (black). Two views: Generating vs Overcoming. Generating: wood feeds fire; fire creates earth; earth bears metal; metal carries water
Last two Southern Song emperors were really Mongols
Some consider the Song Dynasty Poor and Weak (no wars); others consider it the Greatest Age: the population first reached 100 million, 60% of which was in the south; had the first paper money. Nationalism vs social/cultural view of history
Song unified the realm, centralized governmental authority and appointed their reps at the local level; formed political boundaries, reformed the tax structure; moved from big government with small society to smaller government, big society with middle levels, filled with local elite.
Political System: government
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Before the 'lecture' was organized and civil service exams were begun: actually organized the government into categories controlled by departments; the palace was divided into areas with offices for military, service people, religious, and private life.
Civil Service exams became strict and open: locked rooms, covered names, transcribed the papers. Also allowed anyone, not just elite, to participate. 10-20 days of testing.
Provided for some social mobility: rising of poorer groups. When someone passed the test, make them worth marrying into a merchant family. Created a new group of scholar/officials; rise of neo-Confucianism.
He answered our questions and rode with us part-way to our first destination: the Summer Palace. As we rode along, Willy, our guide provided the following information:
The Summer Palace is about 25 miles away and will take at least an hour to get there
Beijing has 10 districts, each with a specific purpose: Central Business District, Financial District, Silicone Valley type…
Apartments are so small (older ones about 300 sq ft) that most people socialize outside of the home
Education: 9 years is compulsory, 7-16 years of age, provided by the government. An additional, optional 3 years of middle/high school are available to parents who will pay. Then,
can go to university if they pass the exams. Entrance exams are 2 days in June. University is no longer free but students can also pick their own profession when they finish (vs. having been assigned in the past). Summer break of 7-8 weeks, winter break of 4 weeks around New Year. School day begins at 7:30 with 4 classes of 45 minutes each during which they have a break for dimsung, aerobics; 2-2.5 hours for lunch (Chinese like a siesta), start again at 2:30 for 3 more classes. End about 5 p.m. then, if parents pay, can go to “Children’s Palace” for music, arts, etc.
Population density depends on where you live; NW is much less densely populated. Mao encouraged childbirth to recover from WWII and Civil War losses, population almost doubled. When married, you live with the husband’s family.
Need a ‘green card’ to move between areas. You’re tied to your original geographic area by where you’re registered – for education, taxes, etc.
Because the Emperor didn’t care for this heat and humidity, the Summer Palace, the grandest imperial playground in China, was built. The compound is an expanse of elaborate Qing-style pavilions, bridges, walkways, and gardens,
Phoenix and Dragon
Kenneth and Hunter, two of the students scattered along the shores of the immense Kunming Lake. We enjoyed a tour of the park, which covers roughly 716 acres, with Kunming Lake in the south and Longevity Hill in the north. The Manchurian Emperors of the Qing Dynasty liked the beautiful scenery of the South of China. SO, he had the materials brought up via the Grand Canal (sound familiar? See the garden in the Forbidden City). It took 10 years to gather the materials. The dirt that they dug out to make the lake (to the south) was used to build the hill (to the north), Longevity Hill, celebrating his mother’s 60th birthday. The lake is shaped like a peach (Longevity). During the Opium War, the french and british soldiers burned parts of the palace. Cixi rebuilt it in the 1890s; it was destroyed by allied forces in 1900 and rebuilt in 1903. Unfortunately, funds that were supposed to go to the Navy were used to rebuild the palace. The idea was that the Navy could practice maneuvers on the lake and the emperor could observe. Never happened.
We walked down the Imperial Corridor (not under the roof but outside on the sidewalk), about ½ mile, looking
at the views, gardens, panels above the walkway, ignoring peddlars, through 4 sections, to the marble boat. We then rode one of the slow electric-powered boats on the lake over to the 17-arch bridge.
Somewhere in here, we went to the Freshwater Pearl Fishery and Factory (after lunch, at a Chinese restaurant). Turns out our trip to the tea factory was just the first in a series of combination demonstration / showroom / sales pitches. That’s okay, especially since we knew we wanted to!
Next we took a visit to the Arthur M. Sackler Museum of Art and Archeology, located on the campus of Peking University. The collection of Chinese art and artifacts contains more than 10,000 objects and spans a period of 280,000 years, from Paleolithic hominids and stone tool remains to costumes, ceramics and paintings of the present era. The collection, which is used for teaching and research purposes, has been acquired during the past seventy years from diverse sources. Some beautiful ancient fibers and quite a number of tripod pots that were very interesting. The grounds of the University are beautiful, as are most of the grounds around the city. Getting in was interesting--the tour
company must not have filed the correct paperwork and we got a super-efficient (dare I say officious) guard who was running our guide ragged. After about 15 minutes, though, his shift ended and Nell walked up to the new guard with her BRCC business card in Chinese and asked if she could bring in her group of American college students and in we walked!
Then, we went to the Chinese Acrobats exhibit. This was quite an exciting hour and a half! Gymnasts, jugglers, women doing back bends and such that shouldn’t ought to be done, and, finally, 5 motorcycles in a metal ball zoooooooming around in circles. Hair raising! Couldn’t take any pictures during the show, though. Perhaps others did and I'll be able to copy some.
As we rode along, Willy, our guide provided the following information:
There are at least 500 dialects in China; same written language. Mongols (more dairy and meat) are stronger, taller than natives of the South (shorter).
In the hospital, there is a West and a Chinese section. Western medicine can often be better for acute problems. Chinese Traditional for chronic problems. Chinese cures the root of a disease, centers more on
prevention, including using foods correctly.
Ying and yang: water is ying; heat is yang.
Garlic a day keeps the doctor away; two garlings a day keeps everyone away.
Over 70% of Chinese have no insurance (and health care is no longer provided); we had to wonder what the people think about that difference!
Retirement: females, 55; males 60; Factory workers: 50 and 55
Soccer, badminton is rising, ping pong always popular: tennis is growing
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