Epilogue:
After our last post, on Sunday, November 29, 2009 we had the distinct privilege to be invited by Yang Xianyi's daughter to attend his funeral. We were driven there by Weili Fan and husband, Jerry Zhang along with their daughter, Mollie. Weili had originally introduced me to Yang Lao. The funeral was open to the public and held at a site where many Chinese dignitaries receive their final farewell, however it can now be rented by the public. The funeral was arranged by the International Writers's Association. Family and friends met in a small room and had a private viewing of the body. The viewing hall was filled with flowers. As the public filed in to view, one could hear "Danny Boy", "On The Bonny Banks of Loch Lomond", and "Auld Lang Syne", Xianyi's favorite songs, playing in the background. The body was then removed and presumably cremated and friends and family were encouraged to carry the flowers to the crematorium for burning. The press and TV were present and there were individual messages from every politburo member with the exception of Premier, Hu Jintao.
This appears to be the passing of a unique era in Chinese history and it was interesting to get a glimpse of it and an honor to have met this important and brave man.
Now we will try to read his translation of "A Dream of Red Mansions".
Philip and Astri
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Yang Xianyi
An email popped up from a Fan Weili. She mentioned that she had read a story about me in a magazine, Villa Life and asked if I would consider meeting a man she had befriended. This man was Yang Xianyi who was a renowned Chinese literary scholar and who along with his wife, Gladys, had translated many of the Chinese classics into English and many English classics into Chinese.
Villa Life is a glossy magazine distributed to those who live in upscale villas mostly in the part of Beijing called Shunyi near the airport. Despite the fact that I have yet to accomplish much they interviewed me about my work in Beijing. We really hit it off and the editor, his journalist and photographer spent about 2 hours with me.
Weili is a Chinese-American who was a member of the first class to enter University after the Cultural Revolution, the class of 1977. Plucked from working in the fields to enter school and study English literature. There she became familiar with Yang and Gladys Xianyi. Only years later after studying in Montana along with her husband and then becoming quite successful in Chicago, did they move back to China with their two teen-age children. Back in Beijing she developed a wonderful friendship with Yang Xianyi who she refers endearingly as Yang Lao ("Old Yang), visiting and spending time with him weekly.
Astri and I were invited to meet Yang Lao at his hutang home where he lived with his daughter. It was a rare privilege to meet such a man who had accomplished so much, had been so brave and to meet him in his own home. He remained fluent in English with no accent, witty, and content. When I mentioned that it was a great honor to meet him and that I heard so much about him, he said, "then you must have heard some lies". We also had the honor of getting a copy of "The Dream of the Red Chamber" Yang and his wife had translated, with his autograph.
Unfortunately, Yang Xianyi passed away on Monday, November 23 at the age of 94.
We look forward to reading his classic translation and to our continued friendship with Weili and Jerry.
I think you might be interested in reading Yang Xianyi's obituary in the Guardian.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/23/yang-xianyi-obituary
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Carpets Galore
Beijing has all kinds of stores. Markets where floor upon floor consist of small stalls filled with "dongxi", a catchword for "things" you may want to buy. Dong meaning east...-xi meaning west. And these markets literally sell anything under the sky from east to west. Then there are really upscale malls where prices far surpass even what you would pay at a mall in the US. In between you find hole-in-the wall places: small stores often specializing in one item and with good prices.
With winter approaching, suddenly our wooden floors looked awfully bare. So as I walked by a hole-in the-wall carpet store one day, I decided to go in to have a look. The owner, Aileen, a young woman around 30 was very pleasant and pulled down carpet after carpet for me to look at. She also volunteered to bring half the store to our apartment should I so desire. As I was only hoping to buy one, I declined that offer, thanked her for the chat and left.
A week later Philip and I had another day of biking, and suddenly found ourselves in front of the same store. We needed a little break, and decided that he may want a look as well. Since we bought a silk carpet in India some years ago, we have both been very partial to silk rugs. China is a prime location for silk, so it did not take long before the offer of bringing some rugs to the house was accepted. But we are only planning to buy one, we said over and over, and this presented no problems.
Two days later I went down to help guide the truck to our basement. Our address is easy to find, but for deliveries it s easier if cars drive directly to our underground parking garage where they can take an elevator right to the apartment. Looking over the carpets with Aileen, suddenly we were surrounded by 11 possibilities. "No problem"- nothing here ever is!!. Her delivery truck was in for repairs, so we stepped out on the street, hailed a taxi, threw the carpets in the trunk and were on our way. What a difference it made, suddenly 9 silk carpets and 2 wool woven carpets were making our abode very cozy indeed. Aileen and her helper left, telling me to call when we had made a decision.
Now we were in the negotiation phase. Philip has become very adept at bargaining, but these are really nice rugs. Taking just one suddenly seemed out of the question as our eyes feasted on the luscious colors and designs. We asked for a 30% discount and ended up with 15% off and Ailleen telling us she had no more room to bargain and still make a profit. Her initial price, in fact, did appear to be 20% less than what we had seen in another carpet store. The final price was agreeable to both as long as we tell all our friends to go to Aileen”s shop. Meanwhile, our floors look inviting and the entire apartment suddenly feels several degrees warmer. As you probably guess, even though the majority of rugs went back with Aileen, we could not stop at one.
Astri
Sunday, November 15, 2009
November Snow in Beijing
Having previously lived in places with ample rainfall, the sunny nature of Beijing has been a surprise. Well, include an occasional smoggy day, but certainly not as bad as we had anticipated. Visible smog is more the exception than the rule, and we have yet to see it thick and yellow so you need a knife to slice it. Plus Beijing has offered plenty of days with bright, blue skies. Rain is the one kind of weather that is rare. So sometimes the government just has to step in. However, it appeared that the night of Oct. 31 somebody did not do their homework. Yes, the air had moisture but what was missed was the incoming cold front. During the night the clouds were seeded to bring down moisture to drought-ridden fields. However, as we woke up the morning of November 1, a white world waited outside, and thousands of white flakes filled the air. The many trees still clothed in leaves did not enjoy the heavy burden as exhibited by many broken branches, but as a rule both children and adults alike poured out to enjoy the early snow that cloaked the earth, and many a snowman was born, see photos.
Strangely enough, since then we have had 2 more snowfalls, and it is not even Thanksgiving. It appears we may have moved east, but not south!!!.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Biking in Beijing
These days there seems to be an obsession with anti-aging medicine. While in Bangkok, we visited a huge hospital with an elegant clinic dedicated to this field of medicine, concentrating on nutrition, exercise, medical and surgical intervention. Last week I read in The New York Times that even Harvard had dedicated a conference to this topic. As for me, biking is one source to the fountain of youth. The joy of jumping on our bikes, and heading for unexpected adventures feels like a reenactment of the joy of childhood.
Last Saturday we woke up to a beautiful late summer day. No agenda and blue sky thanks to the government actively chasing the clouds far away to insure no rain on the 60th anniversary parade. So the decision of an agenda was easy, an exploratory day on our bikes toward the center of the city.
Of course, I would not send a child into Beijing traffic. The rules are pretty much the same as Darwin's law, The survival of the fittest or: The strongest vehicle always has the right of way. That said, we do have traffic lights, and for traffic going straight , the rules are obeyed. But when it comes to intersections, turning vehicles turn both right and left on red without looking. So, the buses beat the cars, the cars beat the bikes and we bikes beat the pedestrians. So the only rule becomes to look, look and carefully look again if you want to get across in one piece. Also, remember to stay in your "lane". If you ride 30" from the edge of the pavement, that is where you are expected to stay. A motorized bike will speed by you 3'' from your shoulder at a high speed, and you better not venture into his "lane".
Philip is always in charge of nourishment's: that is he loves to look up new and exiting eateries. His favorite book these days:" Beijing Eateries"
Not that he is alone in this passion. If you talk with a Beijinger, it never takes long before the conversation turns to food. Most people are really interested in food, as can be seen by the multitude of restaurants everywhere. It sometimes feels as if food has become the substitute for religion for many as it is talked about very reverently. Chinese chef claim that theirs is the most tasty cuisine in the world, and the most varied as shown in all the regional kitchens: hot fare from Sichuan, hotter fare from Yunnan, sweet food from the Shanghai area with lots of seafood and delicious lamb dishes from the Muslim areas etc, etc,etc
Anyway, today Philip had decided that since we had not had a hot dog since January, our itinerary would include a stop at the Workers Stadium to see if we could find "Stadium Dog". After 30 minutes in busy Beijing traffic, the Workers Stadium looms ahead. And yes, on the ground level is a small stall selling "all beef hot dogs", and yes, they were good. Slowly a vast smile spreads across Philip's face, the taste from home and the mission of finding the stand was accomplished.
Soon after the restart of our bike trip we find ourselves on "Ghost Street". Hundreds of red lanterns line both sides of the street to signal the masses of restaurants in this area. Traditionally restaurants are recognized by hanging of red lanterns, the more lanterns, the better the food. If this idea had been followed, this street is filled with amazing places. In this case, I think there is great food here, however the lanterns also signal the multitude of choice, and also the fact that the eateries are open 24 hours a day. Beijing is normally a city that closes down early in the evening, but this street is different.
Our next goal was to reach Hou Hai area. This is the lake area in the center of town, inside the 2nd ring road. It is North of the Forbidden City, and from here the royals could take their boats that would carry them via canals to the Summer Palace. Now-a-days this area is becoming very popular, and is very beautiful indeed. The lakes are filled with little boats where you can peddle or just relax on a hot day to escape some of the heat. In winter the lakes are frozen, and Beijingers can go ice skating or gliding on chairs with runners. Around the lakes there are a multitude of restaurants and bars, but also open areas for karaoke, swing dancing, flying kites, kicking “birdies” around, biking or being biked in pedicabs, and of course shopping. But if you walk only a block or two away, you find old hutong houses where people live as they did 200 years ago, and you really feel the pulse of ancient China.
We really love to walk or bike around in this area, so when we reach it 3 hours later after multiple stops, it is with joy and a sense of accomplishment. We walk around, discovering alleys with great stalls for food, clothing, leather and anything you may desire. After a while we find a park, and sit down to play cards. The parks are often filled with people playing all kinds of games, but as Westerners we always arouse interest when we play, and gather a crowd around us to see what rules we follow.
But now the ride takes on a more specific goal: Philip wants to find Liu Zhai Shifu, a small hutong restaurant he has heard is great, and where you normally need to make reservations, not so common here. The hot dog was appetizer, but now it is time for lunch. We soon find the place, and as few people eat lunch at 3 PM, we park our bikes outside, and get a seat right away. The food is very tasty, and after a leisurely meal we head out again, get our bikes, and start on our way home. At this time of the year it gets dark around 6 PM, and it would be nice to be home before dark. That said, Beijing drivers are very alert. Since driving here is somewhat unconventional like u-turns on major streets, a drive on the sidewalk if it is helpful, drivers seem to react very fast if they see a bike. However, as we return home dusk seeps in, I am happy to be home after a great Beijing Day.
PS. I am a little late with this posting as our trip happened Oct3. However, when our niece Åse with boyfriend Helge visited the last 2 weeks, we repeated a similar bike trip. The four of us had a great time, and Åse exclaimed afterwards that it was even more fun and insightful than the Summer Palace" A great way to see Beijing!!!
Last Saturday we woke up to a beautiful late summer day. No agenda and blue sky thanks to the government actively chasing the clouds far away to insure no rain on the 60th anniversary parade. So the decision of an agenda was easy, an exploratory day on our bikes toward the center of the city.
Of course, I would not send a child into Beijing traffic. The rules are pretty much the same as Darwin's law, The survival of the fittest or: The strongest vehicle always has the right of way. That said, we do have traffic lights, and for traffic going straight , the rules are obeyed. But when it comes to intersections, turning vehicles turn both right and left on red without looking. So, the buses beat the cars, the cars beat the bikes and we bikes beat the pedestrians. So the only rule becomes to look, look and carefully look again if you want to get across in one piece. Also, remember to stay in your "lane". If you ride 30" from the edge of the pavement, that is where you are expected to stay. A motorized bike will speed by you 3'' from your shoulder at a high speed, and you better not venture into his "lane".
Philip is always in charge of nourishment's: that is he loves to look up new and exiting eateries. His favorite book these days:" Beijing Eateries"
Not that he is alone in this passion. If you talk with a Beijinger, it never takes long before the conversation turns to food. Most people are really interested in food, as can be seen by the multitude of restaurants everywhere. It sometimes feels as if food has become the substitute for religion for many as it is talked about very reverently. Chinese chef claim that theirs is the most tasty cuisine in the world, and the most varied as shown in all the regional kitchens: hot fare from Sichuan, hotter fare from Yunnan, sweet food from the Shanghai area with lots of seafood and delicious lamb dishes from the Muslim areas etc, etc,etc
Anyway, today Philip had decided that since we had not had a hot dog since January, our itinerary would include a stop at the Workers Stadium to see if we could find "Stadium Dog". After 30 minutes in busy Beijing traffic, the Workers Stadium looms ahead. And yes, on the ground level is a small stall selling "all beef hot dogs", and yes, they were good. Slowly a vast smile spreads across Philip's face, the taste from home and the mission of finding the stand was accomplished.
Soon after the restart of our bike trip we find ourselves on "Ghost Street". Hundreds of red lanterns line both sides of the street to signal the masses of restaurants in this area. Traditionally restaurants are recognized by hanging of red lanterns, the more lanterns, the better the food. If this idea had been followed, this street is filled with amazing places. In this case, I think there is great food here, however the lanterns also signal the multitude of choice, and also the fact that the eateries are open 24 hours a day. Beijing is normally a city that closes down early in the evening, but this street is different.
Our next goal was to reach Hou Hai area. This is the lake area in the center of town, inside the 2nd ring road. It is North of the Forbidden City, and from here the royals could take their boats that would carry them via canals to the Summer Palace. Now-a-days this area is becoming very popular, and is very beautiful indeed. The lakes are filled with little boats where you can peddle or just relax on a hot day to escape some of the heat. In winter the lakes are frozen, and Beijingers can go ice skating or gliding on chairs with runners. Around the lakes there are a multitude of restaurants and bars, but also open areas for karaoke, swing dancing, flying kites, kicking “birdies” around, biking or being biked in pedicabs, and of course shopping. But if you walk only a block or two away, you find old hutong houses where people live as they did 200 years ago, and you really feel the pulse of ancient China.
We really love to walk or bike around in this area, so when we reach it 3 hours later after multiple stops, it is with joy and a sense of accomplishment. We walk around, discovering alleys with great stalls for food, clothing, leather and anything you may desire. After a while we find a park, and sit down to play cards. The parks are often filled with people playing all kinds of games, but as Westerners we always arouse interest when we play, and gather a crowd around us to see what rules we follow.
But now the ride takes on a more specific goal: Philip wants to find Liu Zhai Shifu, a small hutong restaurant he has heard is great, and where you normally need to make reservations, not so common here. The hot dog was appetizer, but now it is time for lunch. We soon find the place, and as few people eat lunch at 3 PM, we park our bikes outside, and get a seat right away. The food is very tasty, and after a leisurely meal we head out again, get our bikes, and start on our way home. At this time of the year it gets dark around 6 PM, and it would be nice to be home before dark. That said, Beijing drivers are very alert. Since driving here is somewhat unconventional like u-turns on major streets, a drive on the sidewalk if it is helpful, drivers seem to react very fast if they see a bike. However, as we return home dusk seeps in, I am happy to be home after a great Beijing Day.
PS. I am a little late with this posting as our trip happened Oct3. However, when our niece Åse with boyfriend Helge visited the last 2 weeks, we repeated a similar bike trip. The four of us had a great time, and Åse exclaimed afterwards that it was even more fun and insightful than the Summer Palace" A great way to see Beijing!!!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Wedding of Wang Ao and Xuan
Astri and I were fortunate to have been included on the invitation list for the wedding of Wang Ao and Xuan. Wang is a wonderful young man who works in development for United Family Healthcare. Traditional weddings disappeared with the cultural revolution but it appears that the young people recognize the need to retain their culture. The wedding started a 9AM with the arrival of the "Palanquin" at the South gate of Ritan Park. Groom and bride were in full regalia. With great ceremony and music there was a procession to the restaurant. Upon arrival there was "shooting of the arrows". With "accuracy, steadiness, heaven and earth" their married life was started. The bride and groom did kiss as they do at Western weddings but the program specifically noted that this is definitely not part of a traditional Chinese wedding. Wang's father took us aside and confided that this ceremony and customs were as foreign to him as to us as his marriage was at a time when only a trip to town hall to register the wedding was all that was permitted.
I will let the pictures tell the story of a wonderful event. It was fascinating and quite a privilege to be part of Wang and Xuan's wedding day.
I will let the pictures tell the story of a wonderful event. It was fascinating and quite a privilege to be part of Wang and Xuan's wedding day.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Thailand Trip
Dear Friends and Family,
We finally bought a reliable VPN that appears to get us past the Chinese firewall so hopefully we are back on our blog without interruptions.
Ingrid Solomon left a week a ago after a really nice visit with us.
We are now on a 6 day holiday for National Day and Moon Festival and are taking it easy in Beijing. The government with their cloud seeding has provided spectacular weather, mid 70s and blue skies. Friday Astri and I spent a day biking into the heart of Beijing with a restaurant we had read about as our destination. It was a small Chinese restaurant in a Hutong with very good food. Yesterday we spent the day at China Open tennis tournament and today Astri's sister, Martha, and our niece, Marit arrive.
Work remains an adventure doing many different things including completing designs on our out-patient cancer center. Quite a few changes in the hospital with the Chief Medical Officer leaving, an interim CMO, and a new CMO from Ohio that just signed on to arrive in January. Looking for new Ob and Pediatric chiefs. 16 physicians coming in next 3 weeks to take their exams and hopefully join the staff in the next few months.
We had a great week in Thailand in early September. I attended a two day 3rd East Asian Lung Cancer Conference in Bangkok and we had a few days to see Bangkok but the best was a 3 day bike ride. We were met at 7AM and after a 2 1/2 hour drive got a tour of the Bridge over the River Kwai and the museum of the famous battle. We also biked up to "hellfire pass" where 90,000 lives of slave laborors, many who were POWs were lost building the railway to Burma. We took a train for an hour and then started our ride. First day over roads and very muddy track and arrived at a beautiful resort on the river. Then biked most of the 2nd day with beautiful scenery on quiet roads and arrived at another very nice resort hotel. That night we had a well-deserved Thai massage. We then biked a good part of the 3rd day before driving back and arriving in Bangkok at 7PM. Great local food, beautiful waterfall, stopped at the sounds of schoolchildren singing. We had a wonderful guide,Noom, an assistant who was learning the route, driver with van and one other rider, a 30 yo Belgian working in Hong Kong as CFO for oil company. Let us know who you think he looks like. We had a great time. We then hired Noom for a tour of Bangkok the next day.
Thailand is a lovely country. Bangkok is very busy and noisy but very interesting and easy to get around by subway and skytrain but the traffic is awful and makes Beijing look quiet. The food is excellent but very spicy. Their love of the King is overwhelming as are the number of pictures of him. Everyone knows of the 3000 wonderful projects he is responsible for but no one can say anything bad about him. Hmmmm! Buddhism also seems to have many inconsistencies but then what religion doesn't? There certainly are a lot of temples and Buddhas such as the reclining one in the slide show.
Hope you are all well and look forward to hearing from many of you.
Philip
You can click on the slideshow to go to the gallery.
We finally bought a reliable VPN that appears to get us past the Chinese firewall so hopefully we are back on our blog without interruptions.
Ingrid Solomon left a week a ago after a really nice visit with us.
We are now on a 6 day holiday for National Day and Moon Festival and are taking it easy in Beijing. The government with their cloud seeding has provided spectacular weather, mid 70s and blue skies. Friday Astri and I spent a day biking into the heart of Beijing with a restaurant we had read about as our destination. It was a small Chinese restaurant in a Hutong with very good food. Yesterday we spent the day at China Open tennis tournament and today Astri's sister, Martha, and our niece, Marit arrive.
Work remains an adventure doing many different things including completing designs on our out-patient cancer center. Quite a few changes in the hospital with the Chief Medical Officer leaving, an interim CMO, and a new CMO from Ohio that just signed on to arrive in January. Looking for new Ob and Pediatric chiefs. 16 physicians coming in next 3 weeks to take their exams and hopefully join the staff in the next few months.
We had a great week in Thailand in early September. I attended a two day 3rd East Asian Lung Cancer Conference in Bangkok and we had a few days to see Bangkok but the best was a 3 day bike ride. We were met at 7AM and after a 2 1/2 hour drive got a tour of the Bridge over the River Kwai and the museum of the famous battle. We also biked up to "hellfire pass" where 90,000 lives of slave laborors, many who were POWs were lost building the railway to Burma. We took a train for an hour and then started our ride. First day over roads and very muddy track and arrived at a beautiful resort on the river. Then biked most of the 2nd day with beautiful scenery on quiet roads and arrived at another very nice resort hotel. That night we had a well-deserved Thai massage. We then biked a good part of the 3rd day before driving back and arriving in Bangkok at 7PM. Great local food, beautiful waterfall, stopped at the sounds of schoolchildren singing. We had a wonderful guide,Noom, an assistant who was learning the route, driver with van and one other rider, a 30 yo Belgian working in Hong Kong as CFO for oil company. Let us know who you think he looks like. We had a great time. We then hired Noom for a tour of Bangkok the next day.
Thailand is a lovely country. Bangkok is very busy and noisy but very interesting and easy to get around by subway and skytrain but the traffic is awful and makes Beijing look quiet. The food is excellent but very spicy. Their love of the King is overwhelming as are the number of pictures of him. Everyone knows of the 3000 wonderful projects he is responsible for but no one can say anything bad about him. Hmmmm! Buddhism also seems to have many inconsistencies but then what religion doesn't? There certainly are a lot of temples and Buddhas such as the reclining one in the slide show.
Hope you are all well and look forward to hearing from many of you.
Philip
You can click on the slideshow to go to the gallery.
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