Me posing in the Old Summer Palace, 1994.
With Beijing hosting the Olympics, I thought it might be an appropriate time to talk a bit about my interest in China.
I have a B.A. in East Asian Studies and minor in Mandarin Chinese. Chinese language, history and culture were my passion in college and continue to be today. I can still speak Mandarin fairly well conversationally, enough to get around anyway. As long as I keep away from in-depth discussions about nuclear fission, law or brain surgery I’m good. Chinese history is another topic I’m interested in and can talk your ear off about the Mongolian influence during China’s Yuan Dynasty if you’re not careful.
The most common questions I get are “What got you interested in China?” or “Why did you decide to study Chinese?” I usually tell people it’s a long story, but since this is my blog and China is in the news..I will tell the tale.
Long before I was born, back in the late 1950s and early 60s, my dad was based in Taipei, Taiwan with the U.S. Air Force. He was there keeping tabs on the Chinese communists. After a year or so, my mother joined him with my two oldest sisters who were toddlers at the time. They lived there amongst the Taiwan Chinese for two years.
During their time there, my parents not only picked up some Mandarin Chinese phrases, but they also gained a deep respect and appreciation for Chinese culture.
Fast forward a dozen years and thousands of miles to rural Washington state, when I was born. Yes, I was a surprise. I grew up with tales of their experiences and adventures in Taipei.
My father also would often display his affinity for Chinese cooking; one which garnered him accolades from local food critics. He’d also, much to my embarrassment, attempt to speak what few Chinese phrases he knew to nearly every waiter or waitress in each Chinese restaurant we’d visit.
Then, in 1987 at the tender of age of 14, I joined my parents on a trip to Hong Kong, China and Taiwan. This trip came at a crucial point in my life and showed me that there was a much more expansive and diverse world outside of my small backwoods home town.
I was awed by the ancient and grandiose aspect of China. Its rich history and enduring traditions fascinated me. These people might as well have lived on a different planet, I remember thinking. From the city streets choked with bicyclists, to the towering limestone peaks surrounding the Li River it was all exotic, strangely beautiful and seductive to me. I wanted to try to understand it all. Back then, I recall seeing horses pulling wooden trailers behind them down the streets of Beijing. Needless to say, things have changed, just watch the Olympic opening ceremonies for proof.
The memorable experiences and fascination from that trip remained with me until I began college up at Western Washington University. Late in my freshman year, I noticed that Mandarin Chinese language classes were offered. So, when registering for fall quarter, I eagerly signed up. The rest of the story is my personal Chinese history.
Every night I was at the library studying my Chinese characters and tones. I looked forward to Chinese class above all else. I became an active member of the Chinese Culture Club, and remained so the rest of my college career.
During my studies at WWU, I took part in an exchange program with Beijing Foreign Studies University. I arrived in Beijing in late August 1994 and stayed for the next 6 months or so. During that time I got to know the capital city intimately, and made lasting friends with others from around the world who shared my interest in the Middle Kingdom.
Me at the Great Wall, 1994
I returned to Beijing in 2005. If it wasn’t for the landmarks such as Tian Tan (the Temple of Heaven), the white pagoda at Beihai or Mao’s portrait at Tiananmen I scarcely recognized the city. There are millions more cars on the road clogging up the grand avenues of the city. Wangfujing was stripped of vehicles and made a pedestrian paradise of shops, malls and gigantic LCD screens. The tree lined street that was the home of the communist police Public Security Bureau was now an avenue of capitalist commerce. (The PSB may still be there, I’m not sure.)
Stopping by Beijing Foreign Studies University (my home while I was in China) many of the same buildings I knew were thankfully still there, alongside newer structures.
I wasn’t sure I liked what I saw when I returned to Beijing in 2005. It has developed the point that Beijing’s charm was drowned in worsened pollution, traffic and a skyline punctuated by taller and more ostentatious buildings.
Much like when I first visited China in 1987, there remains a gulf of understanding between China and the west. It’s my hope that these Olympics will help build new bridges that create better understanding, and ignite a passion in a new generation of Americans. I know for myself, it is a passion that will never dim.
Previously I posted some entries from the journal I kept while I was in China. I’ve got more to post, but you are welcome to read what I’ve already posted:
China Journals: Entry 1, Part 2
China Journals: Chinese Bureaucracy 101
China Journals: Money and Moshing
