#72 Teaching at Taizhou Teachers College, China ( A wedding, village life, and honoring the ancestors)

Most of China's massive (1.4 billion) population live in rural areas, in the country-side, and in small villages, where most are still dreaming about the prosperity, that might reach them one day, perhaps sooner?; while China's mega-cities continue to flourish and expand in amazing speed.

Nine months have passed since arriving in China, and on my return visits to various large and small cities, there appear constant transformations, most noticable in their sky-lines. (Remember that 5 million inhabitants qualifies a town in the P.R.China to be recognized as a "medium" city.)

Their city-centers begin to display a bouquet of glass, steel, and concrete structures in all shapes and colors. Unfortunately, these are also being erected exactly on the locals, where China's old and traditional neighborhoods simply vanish, almost overnight. I believe, many people will one day lament their disappearance. It seems that history wants to be forgotten by the ever-more-affluent citizen of China.

Stone by stone, brick by brick, and not a trace remaining of their long and proud existence, these ancient Chinese neighborhoods make way for the future of a "new" China. And if the size and shapes of the new constructions are an indication, China's future beckons in awe.

Buildings and architectual wonders are emerging, that rival images of "The Jetson's" TV series. Spectacular architecture displays itself with pride, perhaps even muffled arrogance, and they transform the horizon with dreamlike super-shapes.

There is only to wonder, how the next constructed super-high-rise and "monument to money and power" will compare to the one just erected.

For 12 hrs. a day, 7 days a week, and every day of the month, interrupted only by the the dark of the night or by a heavy rain, the tiredless workers surround an emerging and forming structure. I'm reminded of the worker-ants and termites of Australia, who are about to create another astonishing red-clay-monument.

The laborers for each development and construction usually come in large crews. They live, eat, and sleep at the contruction-site in make-shift and shack-like housing. Each worker seems to understand his/her responsibility in the formation of these works of architectual-art.

Where once China's ancient history was shaped in the streets of the "Hutongs", the traditional one and two-story rows of houses, that wind chaotically along narrow streets, and supported by never-ending commerce for thousands of years, now monster-steel-cranes lift buiding-supplies to spectacular heights, where the laborers truly appear as the size of ants.

Though we see the larger cities of China booming, growing, and expanding, it is in the country-side, among the simple folk, where life has changed little.

These are the places, where no tourists are to be seen, and few of the villages have ever had a Western visitor. Arthur tells me, that some 15 years ago, it would have been impossible for me to visit such little towns, and no tourists would have been permitted to venture into these areas.

Arthur made my visit to his childhood village possible, and I feel privileged and honored to have had the opportunity to accept and share the hospitality and overwhelming friendliness of some of his town's remaining older citizens, forgotten by time, only visited by relatives honoring their parents during festival times.

Many of the young of China are making the attempt to live in the larger cities, where seeming prosperity lures, and the future promise of wealth may help in the support of their families, whom they see only once or twice a year.

As the youth of China and the able workers rush to the cities in hope and search for their fortunes, the villages seemingly remain populated only by the elderly and the children, and those who attend the crops and the fields.

Arthur's village is located near the city of Huai'an, in N.E. Jiangsu Province, the home of former Premier Zhou Enlai, who helped moderate some of the excesses during the time and history of Chairman Mao.

Premier Zhou Enlai is a man honored and respected by everyone. In the West and in China, history acknowleges his role and his skill to influence Mao's decisions, that might have led to greater catastrophies. He did so, often at great personal risk.

I visited with Arthur's family during China's traditional Spring Festival, when families travel great distances to share a few common days, to bond and renew their family-ties, before returning home, another year apart, each continuing their struggle to make a living and become more successful.

The Chinese Spring Festival is traditionally the time for family-celebration and family-rejuvination , for weddings and banquets, for honoring the dead relatives with offerings of special money and prayers. It is a time for crowed busses and trains, as millions and millions make their way to and from each other.

(It is note-worthy, that one can only purchase one-way tickets to travel on busses and trains in China. A return date and time is therefore never assured, and travellers must struggle a second time to find return transportation on a train or a bus, anywhere in the P.R.C. This creates extreme lines at station-counters, and can test the patience of even the calmest Chinese.)

It was during these very festive holidays, that I felt honored and privileged to be invited by Arthur and his family:

First, to the small home-spun Chinese-wedding of his favorite nephew to a beautiful bride, which had been arranged by two "Go-Betweens" (check the photos for their identity).

Second, to the return of Arthur's mother and much of the family to their village in the North of Jiangsu. This gave me the opportunity to perceive the more traditional village existence in China, far away from the cosmopolitan mega-cities.

Third, to witness the simple and humble ceremony of the groom and other male relatives, paying their respect to the deceased ancestors. It is a tradition that has been continued for centuries by a newly-wed groom at the grave-mounts, which in this part of China are usually located in the fields owned by the family.

(There are 3 pages (48) pictures, and for greater detail, I encourage you to enlarge the photos. They give rich insight into the every-changing China.)

(A future journal entry will detail my visits to the city of Shanghai.)

I also wish everyone a belated "HAPPY EASTER".

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