Lucas has Arrived, April 3

---

Or: Waiting for Paperwork, Buying More of China's Treasures

In case any of you are wondering why we are languishing in Nanjing rather than moving on to the next step in Guangzhou, we are waiting for the Chinese end of the paperwork to be completed. While we have the certificate attesting to Luke's adoption there apparently are a lot more documents that need to be created and/or prepared. So we wait and while the time away doing touristy stuff.

Due to the loss of both of the Tu-Sekine's cameras (more on that in a separate blog by Becky and Pam). there are less pictures available. Fortunately, Pam still has her camera and has jumped into the breach.

To make sure their charges don't get too stir crazy, the adoption people have scheduled a tour for today--the Nanjing city wall and the brokade factory. The wall is pretty imposing. It used to include the old capital and was 34 kilometers long. Parts of it have been destroyed, but 24 kilometers still remain.

Even more impressive was the brokade factory. Silk brokade is silk woven with intricate patterns in many different colors. It apparently is a process that so far no one has figured out how to automate, so the actual brokade is still made by hand. That is the official story. Becky, who is a big believer in the power of computers refuses to accept that no machine can be designed to make the brokade. Her point of view is supported by the fact that the first room of the gift shop (you didn't think that there wasn't a gift shop at the end of this, did you?) is crammed with brokade items that are machine made.

Still, the handmade process is impressive. The looms are something like 15 feet long and it takes two persons to make the brokade. There is a person that sits on the top of the loom and is responsible for the pattern by manipulating the yarns running length-wise. The weaver is responsible for the color in the pattern by running the horizontal yarns. Each loom creates five square centimeters a day. Nanjing historically has been one of the centers of brokade creation in China and at some point in its history, all of the output of the Nanjing masters were reserved for the Imperial family. The Nanjing Yunjin (brokade) Institute specializes in re-creating lost techniques and patterns and they have some impressive stuff on display. One of the price-winning items on display is a 70-foot long fabric that took three workers five years to complete. That's fifteen man-years. If each worker was paid $10,000 per year (I am not sure how much they actually do get paid), just the salary for that piece of cloth would be $150,000. Fortunately, the gift shop has less extravagant items (though the one item I was interested in, reproductions of the seven insignia worn by the military officer ranks, was priced at 70,000 yuan, or slightly more than $10,000 at today's rates. Needless to say, the Glorious and Heavenly Mother (aka the more responsible spouse) nixed the proposed purchase despite some eloquent arguments on my part).

As you have read by now, we are down to Pam's camera and once she leaves on Saturday, we will be completely without so there may be less pictures. In the meantime, enjoy the pictures we have!

---

Photos

The Brothers Tu-Sekine
Some bonding going on over food. The real bonding has happened in the bathtub, with two squealing boys splashing Mom to make sure her clothes are soaked. But for obvious reasons, these pictures are not being released...

Saying Goodbye
From left, the orphanage director (holding another child); Becky; Lucas' caretaker at the orphanage (his Auntie, as they are called) with Heavenly Son #2; the proud papa and Glorious Son #1

Auntie
Lucas and his Auntie, a proud woman whom I managed to offend by inadvertently offering her my camera when I was pantomimimg whether I could take a picture of her. It took her two days to finally smile.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered
Signing the final adoption decree by adding all of our fingerprints to the document in vermillion ink.

Crime Scene
Jiming temple, scene of the crime

Praying to Buddha
Inside the temple. This may be a reproduction since the whole temple has been rebuilt.

The Other 23.9 km Look Just Like This
A section of the Nanjing wall, seen from what would have been the inside.

Sign Here, Please
Names of the brickmakers, layers and supervisors were added to the bricks. As Becky said in her blog, penalty for repeated bad work was death. This is a great incentive, but only if people don't have a choice whether or not to work for you.

Loft Living
The person responsible for the pattern of the cloth sits on top of the loom.

Tangled Web
The weaver is responsible for the colors of the pattern. If you look closely, you can see the finished cloth in the mirror below the cloth--the weaver does not see the finished image but only the reverse of the cloth. Did I mention that they manage to do 5 square centimeters a day?

Hotel Room Living
The three guys hanging out.

Blogging
The Glorious and Heavenly Mother, recounting her run in with the police.