China Exchange 1999 - International Programs @ TCC

As part of the exchange agreement between TCC and BBI, Foreign Experts (I love the sound of that) in Beijing are hosted to a weekend trip during their stay. Deborah and I chose the city of Tai'an for our getaway. This city is famous for two attractions. First, Qufu, the birthplace,temple, and burial ground of Confucius and his ancestors is close-by. Second is the Tai Mountain which towers over the city of Tai'an. Tai mountain is the most important mountain in the history of China.

Tai'an is about a seven hour train ride from Beijing. The trip was planned by Xiong Yan, whose English name is Diana. Xiong Yan works in the Foreign Affairs Office of BBI. She is in charge of taking care of the foreign teachers and visitors at the school. She arranged our trip so that we traveled to and from Tai'an on an overnight train. We left Beijing at 10:00 P.M. on Thursday evening and arrived in Tai'an at 5:00 A.M. This was the first experience that Deborah or I had sleeping on a train. First class (called soft sleeper) sleeper accommodations consist of a small room with four berths, two upper and two lower. Xiong Yan, Deborah, and I shared a cabin on the outgoing trip. During the night a fourth traveler joined us and departed before we reach Tai'an. Neither Deborah nor I got much sleep. Every time the train put on breaks I woke up with a start. I dreamed about war. We arrived at Tai'an and checked into our hotel for a couple of hours sleep before we started our day.

Xiong Yan and Deborah on the train.

Tai'an is not a big draw to Western tourist. In the two days we were there we probably only saw about a half dozen non Asian people. That meant that we were a bit of a curiosity. When we walked around people would stare at us (not considered impolite in China) and sometimes follow us around. A few times people asked to have their pictures made with us. While Deborah and I have become used to this kind of attention, Diana thought it a little strange.

Having a picture made with two other visitors at Confucius' Mansions.

We woke the first morning to the call of a rooster from the housing area next to the hotel. After having a Chinese breakfast in the hotel we met our guide for the trip to Qufu. Confucius has a special place in Chinese history and culture. A poor and unappreciated teacher during his lifetime, his teachings were promoted by the Chinese emperors soon after his death. At the heart of Confucius teaching was the idea of a strict social order with a high level of respect paid to one's parents and the government. These teachings were promoted by the countries rulers as a means of controlling the vast population of China. For generations Confucius' family held a privileged place in Chinese society. For example these heirs were the only people besides the Emperor that could ride horses in the Forbidden City. During the Cultural Revolution there was an emphasis on the youth of China and Confucius' teaching became suspect. There is now a resurgence of interest in his work.

Deborah and guide exploring Confucius' temple

 

Confucius lived a life of poverty but soon after his death a large temple was built by the emperor on the spot where he taught. This temple was expanded by other emperors through the centuries to follow. Nearby is the mansion of the family of Confucius. For 2,500 years his family lived in mainland China. In 1948 the 77th eldest son of that family moved to Taiwan, breaking that centuries old tradition.

This is the view from the window of our hotel. Somewhere down there was the rooster that woke us up at six a.m. I suggested to the hotel staff that they hire someone to track down and kill that particular animal.

On Saturday we went to Tai Mountain which towers over the city of Tai'an. Though Tai Mountain is not the tallest or most magnificent mountain in China, it is the most historically significant. It is especially striking because it rises from the flat plains of Shandong Province. Being the highest mountain in proximity to Beijing, it was visited by many emperors. An emperor was referred to as the Son of Heaven and, as the mountaintop was the closest you could get to heaven, many would go there to report their successes in governing their people to the gods. There are several temples located at the top of the mountain. In one area we saw small trees that had large stones placed on their branches. These were near the temple of the mother goddess, who helps people to have children. In Chinese the word for bent branch sounds the same as the word for son. So people believe that if they put stones in trees to bend the branches, they will be blessed with children. The intricacies of language in Chinese culture are fascinating. For instance, the number four is considered unlucky because it sounds similar to the word for death, while six is lucky because it is pronounced the same as the word for long life. We could have spent several days exploring and learning the lore of Tai Mountain.

A view at the top of Tai Mountain. You could spend days exploring all of the sights and sounds of this sacred place.

Offerings of money tied to the eaves of a small temple building.

A river of coins. In the center is an opening. If your coin lands in the hole you will have good luck.

Touching various parts of this miniature bronze temple brings fortune and long life.

Tourists? Who are you calling tourists? The red ribbons are to protect you on your journey on the mountain, the long beads are a type of rosary worn by Buddhist monks, and then there are the walking sticks. For about twenty dollars you could bring home a tractor trailer load of souvenirs.

 

On our return trip to Beijing Xiong Yan was put in another compartment on the train. Our two roommate were an older Chinese couple who were very sweet. We couldn't communicate much because of the language barrier. They did manage to ask our ages, the most common question we get when we meet people in China. The woman said that Deborah looked ten years younger than she was. No similar comment was made about me. The woman was seventy-five.

 

 

We have one week left in China. I am in a bit of a panic. There is so much, yet, that we want to see and do. So many people that we want to spend more time with. So much more food that we want to eat. (We have been counting down our time here by the number of meals left to eat in China - at this point there are fourteen. We don't count breakfast.) I guess I need to nurture a more Zen-like attitude for the next week. While my consciousness may not be developing much, my physique is becoming more Buddha-like each day that I spend here. I will probably get two more updates posted in the remaining week in China.

NEXT: 4/30 Student life at BBI

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ED GIBBS
egibbs@tcc.edu    

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