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So, thanks to everyone who expressed concern after this huge earthquake that struck Wenchuan 汶川 County here in Sichuan. I am perfectly safe and was never in any danger whatsoever. I figured I would have to wait 'til LA to get to experience my first earthquake (I'm totally curious to know what it's like to feel the freaking EARTH freaking MOVE!) and never guessed it one would strike less than 100km from my home in Chengdu. But unfortunately, I've got no war stories to relate. I rode out the earthquake 1,000km away in idyllic Yangshuo in southern Guangxi province, without a single inkling that my friends in Chengdu were getting tossed around in size 7.8 quake - China's biggest in 30 years.
A weekend trip back to Yangshuo 阳朔 (the site of my first real glimpse of China last summer - see last year's blog 'T.I.C.') has reaffirmed my belief that I can't imagine a more beautiful place on earth. Five days of cruising the blissful countryside, exploring caves, rockclimbing made the chaos of a natural disaster seem light years away. The first tremor was felt Monday afternoon on our last day there and with information slowly staggering in, we
had little concept of the damage or implications on our return. It wasn't until checking online that night that we realized what a disaster it was turning into. From there, in typical China fashion, getting info on whether our flight into Chengdu the next morning would take off turned into an absolute circus. Nobody could tell us whether there would be flights or when they would know or even how we could find out and even my raving in English and Judy's Chinese tongue-lashing got us nowhere. In the end, we were ecstatic to be able to board our flight just 1 hour late - a happiness that quickly evaporated when the announcement came that a 2nd size 6.4 aftershock had hit and our flight would be delayed. So grumbling, we got off the plane and spent the next 24 miserable hours couped up in a Guilin airport hotel, with no information on getting out. Then again, in typical China fashion, we were quickly awakened at 7am, rushed to the airport and on our way back to Chengdu in a flash.
I was anxious to get back and see what was going on in Chengdu. While you'd never know
there was an earthquake from looking at it, it's a pretty ridiculous scene here. There seems to be no structural damage in Chengdu and considering the entire country is under construction anyway, the sight of rubble and cosmetic damage is nothing to even bat an eye at. What is different is those silly Chinese and their silly 'follow the crowd' mob mentality. Immediately, the rumors spread that the factory that produced all of Chengdu's water was destroyed and that there would soon be a water shortage. Judy hysterically grabbed my wallet and raced down the street join the mobs in their run on food and water, loading up on powered milk and instant noodles. When rationality returned, she then took our 'precious stash' and donated it to the relief effort. So in other words, I guess I've done my part for the relief effort and I encourage you all to give as well, out of the goodness of your hearts or the initiative of your girlfriends. Equally perplexing, is the idea that even though the initial & largest quake didn't bring the buildings down, the decreasingly sized aftershocks may. Apparently, the government has urged it's comrades not to remain in
their houses and Chengdu has been transformed into one big gypsie-town, with makeshift tents set up all over the city. Like reliving a skydiving, G-force flashback, people have asked me if I just felt that last aftershock, but having not experienced the big one, I have yet to feel anything since.
Meanwhile, the news is all-consuming. TV's are on everywhere, complete with CNN-style 'Talking Heads' and tear-jerking human interest stories (I wonder if the irony is lost on all those Chinese people denouncing CNN). After the phone contact came back and I could get in touch with Goodman, he relayed the seriousness of the situation. Facts and numbers were hard to come by, but the rumors were that far more people were killed than was first being reported. The news is showing incredibly graphic videos of crushed and lacerated bodies and frantic rescue efforts, reminiscent of 9/11. And the outpouring of support from the people and the government is a real testament to just how far this country has come in the last generation - the swiftness of the relief, an intense, critical media coverage and the government's cooperation and acceptance of foreign support and aid is in striking
contrast to the Burmese military junta's nonchalant reaction to the cyclone disaster that recently devastated Burma (that disaster is even being milked to justify the government's decision to move the capital inland). In 1976, when an earthquake as big as 8.2 leveled Tangshan 唐山 in NE China, killing hundreds of thousands of people, the news was suppressed, aid was refused and the death toll is still disputed to this day (official figures report roughly 250,000 while rumors persist of well over 600,000). Three days after this initial quake, the official toll is around 12,000, while there are rumblings that the real number is several times that.
This quake was particularly devastating due to some specific circumstances. Sichuan province (including Chongqing) is China's Rice Bowl, by far it's most populated province, with roughly 10% of China's population (approximately 1 out of every 50 people on this earth live in Sichuan), with the overwhelming majority being poor, rural peasants. With China's rocket-paced urbanization, many of these people have migrated to the small cities that have sprung up around the countryside, drastically increasing the historical population density of this already incredibly dense area. Having been to small towns within 20 miles of
the epicenter as well as countless small, poor cities of this kind throughout the country, I can say I truly would not want to be anywhere near there in a massive natural disaster. In these hastily-constructed, shoddy buildings, a new class of proletariat lives in an urban filth deemed light years better than toiling the rice paddies in the countryside. It's no surprise that these cities were leveled and the death toll is rapidly rising. I never even knew that just 2 months ago, an earthquake of nearly equal size hit NW Xinjiang province, in a rural area killing few people. A Sichuan earthquake is infinitely more terrifying.
Natural disasters have long been significant in Chinese history. As the Son of Heaven (天子), the Chinese Emperor's mandate to rule was always granted by the Heavens and would only be stripped by the Heavens themselves. The Chinese word for 'revolution' -
ge ming 革命 - literally translates as 'stripping the mandate' as it was seen that when the Emperor strayed from his duty to rule earth according to the will of Heaven that he should be stripped of his right to rule. It is this logic that the creation and fall of every Chinese dynasty has based their legitimacy on. The Communists themselves have continued to exploit this for nearly 60 years, claiming that a weakened Qing Dynasty and corrupt Guomindang had to be stripped of its mandate by a glorious communist revolution that would bring China back to its rightful glory. Natural disasters have been seen as signs from Heaven that its will has been thwarted and change is coming. Many Chinese people believe it is no surprise that the 1976 Tangshan earthquake, the deadliest earthquake in history, occurred weeks before the death of Mao Zedong and the downfall of the Gang of Four. Mother Nature has certainly been a heartless bitch this year in China, between the winter storms during New Year and now this earthquake, all amid the growing controversy of the upcoming Beijing Olympics. Does this mean the CCP is about to fall?? I wouldn't hold your breath. but when Heaven speaks, it's hard to rule anything out. It's probably just the earth's orgasmic excitement over my birthday today.....😊
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Catalfano
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Shameless
Glad to hear you are ok, but that was a shameless, shameless plug at the end...