“Freedom”?

Recently, a good friend of mine from college posed a number of interesting and insightful questions about life in China;  so over the course of the next few months I will try to give my view on these issues; this is the first in the series. I hope you will enjoy these one sided dialogs, if you care to comment please respond on the blog so that all can benefit from your perspective and experiences.

Ever since 1978 when Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping laid out a vision of economic reform, China has been on a growth spurt of massive proportion. However, that growth comes with a huge price in the form of limited freedom. Last week, Chinese leaders clamped down again on freedom of speech in an effort to control the spread of social unrest.

In China, the government blocks access to the microblog service “Twitter” and, instead, a Chinese version called “Weibo” has become popular. In total, more than 300 million Chinese people use microblogs.

 Regarding last week’s clampdown, Chinese officials announced that users of Weibo in Beijing will have to register their real names and be verified by government authorities before posting on the service. In addition, users are banned from posting anything that could lead to disrupting the social order.

This isn’t the first government crackdown on freedom of speech. Earlier in the year, the government blocked citizens’ access to searches on the “Arab Spring” that was rumbling through the Middle East. Prior to that, the government blocked access to Facebook, YouTube, and Google.  Occasionally, we will be watching a global news report on CNN and the screen will go blank; obviously the content was not in keeping with the government’s version of world events.

What’s the government’s problem with freedom of speech?

As the “Arab Spring” uprising in the Middle East demonstrated, social media can enable millions of people to communicate and mobilize in short order. China seems to be very afraid of letting its citizens have this capability for fear that a popular uprising could lead to chaos in a sprawling country of 1.3 billion people.

So why is it important that the government keep the people in line? Well, if the government clamps down too hard and its citizens rise up, it could quickly morph from a social/political movement to one that has major worldwide economic implications. On top of that, China is gearing up for a once in a decade leadership change in 2012 and, given the country’s history, a smooth transition is not guaranteed. In fact the people do have free and open elections and are able to vote for any of the candidates on the ballot (which I am speculating has already been subject to the government’s intervention).  In addition, these elections are limited to certain regions of the country and are for only certain low level elected officials.  Any of the positions of power are still appointed by the government; but maybe it is a start! 

“If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” --George Washington, U.S. President.   But fortunately the rest of the world is monitoring the China situation closely and will most likely intervene if the government heads in the wrong direction. 

Actually I have asked my colleagues about this issue many times and they truly believe that the government is protecting the people and has the peoples’ best interests in mind.  As far as the “man on the street” is concerned, life here has the right amount of freedom.  Many of the people in China are still uneducated and are really not able to make the best decisions and I believe that the people in the big cities, who would be most affected by a change in direction, want to protect their new-found lifestyle and not be adversely influenced by the majority who still live in rural communities.

So, if your definition of freedom is that of the US model, then no, the people of China are not free, but day to day life here seems pretty normal.  Sure they cannot practice western religion, or go on strike, or say anything bad about the government including demonstrations, or have more than 1 child or more than 1 dog (in Shanghai), or visit some social networking internet sites;  but they are now free to: choose their own spouse, choose their own job, go to college if they choose (the cost is actually very low), start their own business, and to travel abroad (with some government restrictions from both the Chinese government and the foreign governments).  The amount of freedom continues to improve but the government continues to enact new laws when things are getting out of balance.  

Or as the song puts it:  Freedom is just another word for nothing left to loose. 

Lost in Translation

Like so many things here in China, a lot gets lost in translation but never more so obvious than at Christmas time.  Although we have seen it happening around the world, here it doesn’t seem to be a transition away from the emphasis on Christ in Christmas, it started that way.  I guess it should be obvious that this would be the case because this is not a Christian country and the government wants to keep it that way.  But the problem is that celebration is not a part of the Buddha religion and everybody likes a party, so why not borrow Christmas. 

Yes it is evident that it is Christmas time here in Shanghai.  In most buildings you will see a Christmas tree and some sort of a Santa representation, so in many ways it feels like Christmas.  It is inspiring to see the Christmas lights and the frivolity in the streets and it makes this time of year a festive time.  There actually seems to be more emphasis on the moon than on anything else.  This also should not be surprising as the moon plays a prominate role in the history of China and the life of the Chinese people.  Remember that the Chinese New Year’s celebration is actually a celebration of the new lunar year; and throughout history many temples were built for the sole purpose of honoring the Moon.

 One might think that you would see signs of preparation for the Chinese New Year but all focus is on the spirit of Christmas. 

                                                               Our Apartment

Like so many places in the world, the commercial side of Christmas gets the spotlight.  But the strange thing here is that Christmas in China is not a time for gift giving, and it is not a time for family get togethers, and it’s not a time to stuff yourself until you can’t do anything but sit on the couch and watch TV.  Actually it is not a time of celebration at all!  If Christmas day falls on a work day then people work, no greeting includes “Merry Christmas” unless a westerner is involved, and no plans are being made for travel to see your relatives.  All of this type of activity actually happens during the Chinese New Year.  At  the Chinese New Year, most people return to their home towns and enjoy time with friends and relatives much like we do at Christmas. 

So; no gifts, no special meals, no time with relatives, no thanks to Christ, only a superficial representation of the “Christmas Celebration”.  I must say that we do enjoy the lights, the Weinachts markets, the Christmas trees and the artificial snow.  What we will enjoy much more will be the visit of Tommy, Allison, Zack and Beckey; this is the true celebration of Christmas, the spirit of love and family!  We have been fortunate to have celebrated Christmas in many places in the world but there is nothing like being “Home” for Christmas.  It has been interesting to see the unique traditions of this time of year in places like London, Germany, Botswana, and Australia but the feeling here is much different; without Christ in the celebration it is only a party!

Emily & Todd perform in Shanghai

It was nice to have our first visitors from the US, Emily Samuelson and her skating partner Todd.  They actually didn't come to see us but we were fortunate to not only see them perform their new ice dancing routine at the amazing Shanghai Skating complex but to spend a day showing them our current "home" town.  We had planed to show them a historic section of Shanghai called YuYuan gardens and then some local temples, but once they got a taste of shopping (bartering for souvenirs), they had so much fun that we decided to forgo the trip to the temples and just enjoy time together in the traditional China gardens.  Once they ran out of money, we went to the downtown area for dinner.  It was a nice clear evening and we all enjoyed dinner among the city lights of Shanghai.  We all had a great time and we hope that more of you will take advantage of our expert tour guiding ability and visit Asia.  See you soon!

Angkor Wat and the temples of Siem Rep Cambodia

Our trip to Siem Reap in Cambodia was an amazing trip that should not be missed if you are visiting the Asian region.  The area was a beautiful mix of jungle and lush rice fields (their main crop).  The people we found to be genuine and very friendly.  The accommodations were first class and affordable.  Our four full day tour of the ancient temples and surrounding area was the right length of time; any more time and the temples would all tend to blend together as they are all built in the same style.  The Cambodian cuisine is built around rice and all dishes seem to be based on coconut milk which made it an interesting blend of Thai and Vietnamese cuisines. We would highly recommend Cambodia as an interesting historical trip but also could be a relaxing pampered experienced; Catharine even experienced a full body massage for the first time (not sure that she enjoyed it but it was relaxing for me). The primary reason for the trip was to see Angkor Wat (an UNESCO site) and to learn about the Hindu and Buddhist temples in the region.  We were surprised to find interest in many of the other temples and also enjoyed shopping in the central market.  Many of you many benefit from this experience. I am afraid that many of you will find the following descriptions a bit of “overkill” but I wanted to write down what I could remember so when my memory fades, as it often does, I will have the memories.  For those of you non history majors; enjoy the pictures!

 Siem Reap is the name of the area which contains more than 200 Hindu and Buddhist temples which were built from the 10^th to14^th centuries and this is the reason for our sojourn into Cambodia.  The region of Siem Reap was given the name by King Ang Chan (1516-1566) after he defeated the Thais.  The meaning of the word is “the defeat of Siam” (Cambodians call Siam or Thailand “Siem”) .  This may however have been a little ironic as the Thais retook the region in 1794 and held it until 1907 when the French army retook it for Cambodia. The French built up the city from what was previously a small fishing village and established the modern day Siem Reap. In 1884 a treaty was signed and the whole of Cambodia essentially became a French colony.  When the French pulled out in the mid 1950’s the city was thrust into turmoil until 1975 when the communist Khmer Rouge began their killing rampage (you may remember the “killing fields”), and forced very one out of the city. At this time, Angkor Wat, Siem Reap's prized asset, lay dormant, not a single visitor coming to see the site as Siem Reap remained off-limits to tourists. Since Pol Pot's death in 1998, relative stability and a rejuvenated tourist industry have been important steps in Siem Reap regaining its importance.

Angkor Wat (Wat meaning temple) is the central feature of the Siem Reap region and the primary reason for our visit.  It is now an UNESCO World Heritage Site containing the magnificent remains of the Khmer civilization. Angkor Wat is dominated by five massive towers which are surrounded by bathing pools, gathering places and libraries where the people came to be educated.  The shape of the towers symbolize the mythical Mount Meru. The walls surrounding the complex are covered by thousands of feet of murals which have been carved into the outer walls and depict the history and the battles of the kings.  Also depicted here are scenes from Hindu mythology including the impressive creation story.

History of Angkor Wat

The temple complex at Angkor Wat, just outside of Siem Reap, Cambodia, is world famous for its intricate lotus-blossom towers, its smiling Buddha images and lovely dancing girls called Apsaras, and its geometrically perfect and very beautiful moats and reservoirs.

An amazing temple, Angkor Wat itself is the largest religious structure in the world. It is the crowning achievement of the classical Khmer Empire, which once ruled most of Southeast Asia. The Khmer culture and the empire alike were built around a single critical resource: water. The Angkor area was unfortunately suffering from too much water during our visit and we were not able to visit two of the lesser temples. Angkor Wat (meaning "Capital Temple") and the larger Angkor Thom ("Capital City") are both surrounded by perfectly square moats. It is hard to get an impression of the massive size of this complex including its moats so we took a tethered balloon 150 meters into the air above the complex to get a better perspective. 

Some twenty miles to the south of Siem Reap, a seemingly inexhaustible supply of freshwater stretches across 16,000 square kilometers of Cambodia. This is the Tonle Sap, Southeast Asia's largest freshwater lake.

According to Hindu mythology, which was brought to the Khmer people by the Indian traders, the gods live on the five-peaked Mount Meru, surrounded by an ocean. To replicate this geography, the Khmer king Suryavarman II designed a five-towered temple surrounded by an enormous moat. Each of Angkor Wat's five towers is shaped like an unopened lotus blossom. Construction of Angkor Wat began in 1140 and ended with his rein some 32 years later.  It is amazing to think that this massive complex could be constructed in such a short period of time. It is thought that most of the 1 million inhabitants at the time took some part in the construction of the complex.

By 1431, the Khmer people had abandoned the urban center at Angkor. Power shifted south, to the area around the present-day capital at Phnom Pehn. But the monks continued to worship at the temple of Angkor Wat itself, but the rest of the 200+ temples and other buildings of the Angkor complex were abandoned. Gradually, the sites were reclaimed by the jungle. Although the Khmer people knew that these marvelous ruins stood there, amidst the jungle trees, the outside world did not know about the temples of Angkor until French explorers began to write about the place in the mid-nineteenth century. Over the past 150 years, scholars and scientists from Cambodia and around the world have worked to restore the Khmer buildings and to learn more about the Khmer Empire

Ta Prohm  is best known as the temple where Tomb Raider was filmed.  It was also a Buddhist temple and was built in the Bayon style in 1186 (before Angkor Wat).  It was founded by the Khmer King Jayavarman VII as a Mahayana Buddhist monastery and university. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Ta Prohm has been left in much the same condition in which it was found: that is taken over by the jungle but this makes it very photogenic as many of the trees are growing out of the ruins which seems to add intrigue to the already beautiful temple; actually making it kind of eerie looking. Ta Prohm was built to honor the deity Prajnaparamita, the 'perfection of wisdom’.

After the fall of the Khmer empire in the 15th century, the temple of Ta Prohm was abandoned and neglected for centuries. When the effort to conserve and restore the temples of Angkor began in the early 20th century, the École française d'Extrême-Orient decided that Ta Prohm would be left largely as it had been found, as a "concession to the general taste for the picturesque." Ta Prohm was singled out because it was "one of the most imposing [temples] and the one which had best merged with the jungle, but not yet to the point of becoming a part of it". The major threat from the tress growing into the temple is that the roots will make the foundations unstable and cause further damage.   But, much work has been done to stabilize the ruins, to permit access, and to maintain "this condition of apparent neglect." We did get to see some archeological work being done at this temple and they were excited that they had discovered some important facades and carvings.

Banteay Srei:  Next we visited the temple named Banteay Srei (Citadel of Women, Citadel of Beauty) , and were astounded by the amazing intrique carvings and small details; we called it the women’s temple. .   Banteay Srei is a 10th century Cambodian temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva.   It was interesting to learn that some of the temples are Buddhist and some are Hindu.  This was largely due to the faith of the King that built the temple and often varied from one King to the next.  Banteay Srei is built largely of red sandstone, a medium that lends itself to the elaborate decorative wall carvings which are still observable today. The buildings themselves are miniature in scale, unusually so when measured by the standards of Angkorian construction. This fact gives the temple an impressive character all its own and has led to it being widely praised as a "precious gem", or the "jewel of Khmer art.”

The temple was not rediscovered until 1914 and was cleared the following year. In the 1930s Banteay Srei was restored and many of its magnificient carving were brought back to “life”. Historians were surprised to discover that this level of extreme decoration had been used at such an early age. To prevent the site from water damage, the joint Cambodian-Swiss Banteay Srei Conservation Project installed a drainage system between 2000 and 2003.It was interesting to learn that the majority of temples are being restored with grants and joint support from many European countries and the USA.  Of the many temples in Angkor, this one holds a special place in our hearts. 

Bayon Temple (c. 1200)

Bayon (The 120 faces of Buddha temple) was the state temple of Jayavarman VII, a powerful ruler in the late 13th century. The temple sat at the center of Angkor Thom, a walled city that served as the capital of the Khmer Empire. The walls of the city were quite a distance from the temple which made the temple seem to rise abruptly from the ground like an artificial mountain. In fact, the temple was intended to simulate the form of Mt. Meru—the cosmic mountain at the center of the world in Buddhist cosmology. The temple honored not just one deity, but a host of gods that were being worshiped throughout the Khmer empire. Its central shrine held an image of Jayavarman VII, who perhaps imagined himself as a god-King ruling in the name of the Buddha.

The temple is best known today for the gigantic face sculptures that adorn its thirty-seven surviving towers. Facing in four directions on each tower, the faces are thought to represent Lokeshvara, a Buddhist deity that projected benevolence outward to the four directions. From a distance, the Bayon temple appears "as but a muddle of stones”, but closer inspection reveals the intricate carvings of the many Buddha faces. There are 216 gigantic faces on the temple's towers many of which appear to be representations of Jayavarman VII himself.

Since the time of Jayavarman VII, the Bayon has suffered numerous additions and alterations at the hands of subsequent monarchs. During the reign of Jayavarman VIII in the mid-13th century, the Khmer empire reverted to Hinduism and its state temple was altered accordingly. In later centuries, Theravada Buddhism became the dominant religion, leading to still further changes, before the temple was eventually abandoned to the jungle. Since 1995 the Japanese Government team for the Safeguarding of Angkor has been restoring the site. Unlike Angkor Wat, which impresses with the grand scale of its architecture and open spaces, the Bayon "gives the impression of being compressed within a frame which is too tight for it."  Many scenes of local activities of the time are carved into the temple walls.

Angkor Thom (We pronounced it Uncle Tom)

Angkor Thom literally means: "Great City", was the last and most enduring capital city of the Khmer empire. It was established in the late twelfth century by king Jayavarman VII. It covers an area of 9 km², within which are located several monuments from earlier eras as well as those established by Jayavarman and his successors. Angkor Thom serves as the entrance into the temple complex within which are housed Bayon temple, Terrace of the Leopard King and the Elephant Terrace. From here the king used to review the troops and throw parties upon their return.

In the following centuries Angkor Thom remained the capital of a kingdom until its decline some time prior to 1609.

Rolous Group:  Next on the agenda was the Rolous group of temples. These were a little bit further from the city center and were comprised of many smaller temples in various states of restoration / disrepair. Roluos is a Cambodian modern small town and an archeological site about 13 km east of Siem Reap.

Among "Rolous Group" of temples are some of the earliest permanent structures built by Khmer. They mark the beginning of classical period of Khmer civilization, dating from the late 9th century. Some were totally built with bricks, others partially with laterite or sandstone. At present it is composed by three major temples: Bakong, Lolei and Preah Ko.  The first temple that we visited was Preah Ko temple. 

Preah Ko, the oldest, is arranged as two rows of three “prasats” (towers) each, and boasts stunning stone carvings and plasterwork. The most impressive part of this temple is the three cows situated out front of the complex.  The cow is a sacred animal and was probably deemed as such by the Indian culture then brought to the Cambodians. The children playing at the threshold of one of the pillars made for a stunning picture.

By now the temples were tending to all blend together but the site at Bakong was impressive.  It also blended the old with the new in that there was a working / thriving new Buddhist monastery on the grounds. 

Bottom of FormBakong: Distinguishable by the three tiers of elephants standing guard at the corners. In 802 AD, the first king of Angkor Jayavarman II declared the sovereignty of Cambodia. After ups and downs, he established his capital at Hariharalaya. Here his successors constructed Bakong as the first temple mountain of sandstone at Angkor. So in 881 King Indravarman I dedicated the temple to the god Shiva. Toward the end of the 9th century, Indravarman's son and successor Yasovarman I moved the capital from Hariharalaya to the area north of Siem Reap now known as Angkor, where he founded the new city of Yasodharapura around a new temple mountain called Bakheng. Large stone statues of elephants are positioned as guardians at the corners of the three lower levels of the pyramid. Statues of lions guard the stairways.

Pre Rup:,Distinguishable by the all brick construction.  Built in 961 and one of the most important temple mountains, it marks the transition from the pre-classic to the classic period of Angkor. It consists of two terraces, on the second of which is a three-tier pyramid. At the top, the central tower is flanked by four corner towers, all in brick.  It is very distinguishable from the other temples as it is built completely of bricks whereas the other temples were constructed of carved stone.

The almost final stop on our adventure was to Tonle Sap, a massive fresh water lake to rival those of Michigan.  At this time the massive lake was even larger due to the torrential rains of the past few months.  It made getting to the Lake difficult as the local roads were flooded out.  Once on the lake we met up with a very interesting city, a floating city.  This city housed 1200 people mostly fisherman and farmers. There are said to be many of these floating villages in Cambodia and about 2 million people are living in these sorts of villages.  The interesting thing about this particular village is that they move the entire village 5 times per year based on the availability of fish and crops.  They literally tow (with boats) the entire village of more than 200 houses.  Even the school is a series of floating classrooms where the kids get back and forth by dugout canoes.

And finally we visited the Angkor National Museum which was opened in 2007 and houses an impressive collection of artifacts..  The museum afforded us the opportunity to learn more about the areas that we had been visiting.  It is impressive in its collections but also in the way the artifacts are presented.  The room of 1000 Buddha’s was very impressive.

It was an amazing trip back in time to when the Cambodian people ruled the region and built some amazing temples to honor their Gods.  Over time things have changed but they left us an outstanding legacy from the 10-14 centuries.

More pictures will be on Picasa

A night out in downtown Shanghai

A day In our life, a good life. Have you ever had a really great day, for me today was one of those days. It started with "a day with Habitat China" and ended with this 70's cruise on the Hongpu river in Shanghai.

 As you can see from the pictures, Shanghai really comes Alive at night ! And this was the best night in Shanghai since we have been here. A Perfectly clear sky (no visible signs of pollution or clouds), and a temperature in the mid 70's with no humidity. And we were partying on the "Captain 2" with a hundred of our closest friends; actually the largest chapter of the American's women's club in the world.

We had a great time listening to the good old songs of the 70's and sipping champagne, a good recipe for a nice evening. We did meet a few really nice couples and it was interesting to discover that most of them had lived in more countries than we had. But none could say that their family had Lived on all the continents except Anartica (we will leave that one to Tommy). Well I will leave you to enjoy the pictures and hopefully plan your trip to come and see Shanghai.

A day with Habitat for Humanity China

About a month ago, Catharine came home from here Expat luncheon all excited because there was a presentation from the Habitat for Humanity China team and she was able to bring me a contact.  Needless to say I was also very excited.

So I immediately, if not before, contacted the group and said that I would be excited to help the local group in whatever way I could.  Well I guess that I should have been a little more specific. AS it turns out, the majority of work here in Shanghai is painting.  Painting is the only thing that I refused to do at Habitat Detroit as I really don’t like painting.  But that was the need here so I excitedly accepted the position of house coordinator for the painting detail at the apartment of an elderly man in one of Shanghai’s suburbs.  Come to find out, the owner of the apartment was one of those that was severely affected by the “cultural revolution”  .  His parents were both well-educated professors at the time and they were executed as they were a threat to the “party”.  He was also a college graduate and was thrown in jail and stripped of his social status.  When the revolution finally ended he was freed but he was still without social status and was an enemy of the state so he to this day is still an outcast and it is difficult for him to get any kind of meaningful work.  So we were happy to help him renovate his meager apartment.  By the time we finished we were very proud of the “new look” as was he. 

So now for the “experience”.  Well since this is not my forte, I was a bit apprehensive about leading the job but I didn’t let on.  Our task was to paint two rooms of his apartment which doesn’t sound too daunting, but as I was soon to find out, we had our hands full.

To begin I gathered the group of 5 volunteers in the main room and asked: how many of you have painted before….no hands were raised, so I asked ok, how many of you have seen someone paint something, again, no hands were raised; I knew I had my work cut out for me.  So undaunted, I proceeded to be the instructor for painting 101.  I started with things like, when you use a paintbrush and when you use a roller, then how to put paint onto a brush or a roller, and then on to the sequence of painting a room.  So after about half an hour of instruction, we proceeded to start the work.  So after I thought I had explained everything, I asked one person in the group to put paint in one of the pails so that we could start painting the corners of the room and ceiling.  (first mistake) So he proceeded to fill the pail so full that you could not lift it then he dropped the paint brush into the pail and it disappeared into the paint (so much for my full instruction), I could not believe that these people really had no practical knowledge.  On the positive side, they thought that I was all knowing and they were very appreciative of learning how to paint. 

So once we recovered from the first incident, we proceeded to painting the ceiling.  Second mistake; so after they turned their hair from black to white, I decided to take over and they went on to the walls (a good decision).  From then on out, they actually did a great job and we almost finished the job by lunch time.  After lunch we moved on to our second can of paint and discovered that it was YELLOW not WHITE!  Panic set in!  So after I admitted the mistake, we took a big breath and set about changing the color of the walls to yellow.  So I had to instruct them in one more skill; taping off the ceiling.  Actually they did a great job at this and we were ready to paint the walls in no time.  The group really stepped up to the plate and hit a home run.  We repainted the walls, the windows and the doors and cleaned up before it was time to go home.  I had a great group of hard, enthusiastic workers. 

Just as we finished, the habitat coordinator came by to take some pictures and said that this was the best job that he had ever seen (whether this was a pep talk or his real opinion we will never know but the group was very proud and they stopped just short of hoisting me up on their shoulders and parading around the block).  And the home owner said that we did a great job and that we even put a primer layer on the walls (a nice thought even if we did make the mistake).  Come to find out, the other house group did not even finish their work and so they asked me to come back next weekend and help finish it off.

So my first experience was a great and humorous one and one I hope to repeat soon.  It was really nice to be recognized for my skill and ability to teach since I never get any of this at work.  The team asked me how I learned how to paint so I related how I had learned this from my Dad; they were amazed and said that it must therefore be a tradition in America! 

I discovered that Habitat for Humanity Shanghai really only does painting because the contractors for construction, wiring, and plumbing are so cheap that it really doesn’t pay to let volunteers make mistakes with the hardware. 

I am now on the preferred volunteer list and was recently asked to lead teams at another 8 apartments before the end of this year. Looks like I found a new hobby.