Losing the Dean

The Summer Palace was the summer residence of the ancient Chinese emperors. One day when we visited the Summer Palace in Beijing, we lost Hal Knight, our Dean. Dr. Weixing Chen was not with us, since he had been to this monument park many times. It was me, Dr. Rhoton, Dr. Knight, and a beautiful young tour guide who goes by the English name Lillian. One minute, Hal was with us. The next, he had vanished. We scoured the spacious grounds but couldn't find him anywhere.

After an hour, we were panicky. It was time for lunch, but we were not interested in eating. Lillian advocated talking to officials-- maybe the monument park had a loud speaker system on which he could be summoned. Jack and I thought we should keep looking on our own awhile longer, but agreed we would have need help soon. Had Hal been abducted? Could this happen in China? What if we didn't find him? How could I explain to his secretary, and all the other people who work in Hal's office on the third floor? It would be an international incident. Our university would do no more exchanges with China. There would be a job search to find a new Dean.

We reasoned Hal would go to the front of the park once he realized he was separated from our small group. All of a sudden, Hal appeared from the opposite direction. In his own mind, he had never been lost. He was walking the length of the park to explore. Like an eight year old kid who "loses" parents in Disney World, he had had a good time. Hal had even spotted someone eating a Snickers Bar and bought one for lunch.

It's Not Just Language

Westerners have trouble understanding the Chinese, and they have trouble understanding us. Our languages are very different-- Chinese writing is ideographic rather than alphabetic, and there are no common word roots to help in learning vocabulary. But the problem is deeper. The Chinese culture is very different from ours, for it rests on fundamentally different assumptions about life.

One cannot understand the philosophical foundations of Western Civilization without reading the Bible and perhaps Plato; similarly, one cannot understand Chinese civilization without studying the Analects of Confucius. My friend, Sir Barry Jowett, is passionate on this matter. His work as director of the Oxford English Academy convinced him that Westerners needed to know more about the heritage of Kongzi (Confucius) and that Chinese might be interested in further study of Confucius as well. The academy's website is http://www.kongziacademy.com/ See also www.english.qianlong.com/article1.jsp?oid=19407980

There are huge differences between Western and Eastern thought, especially regarding concepts of interpersonal harmony and interfamilial fealty, still there are similarities. Confucius offered a version of the "Golden Rule": If something is hateful to you, do not do it to other people.

Above: Image of the sage imposed on a page from the Analects.

Below 1: A statue of Confucius stands before the School of Interpretation and Translation, Shandong University at Weihai.

Below 2: View from the balcony, Kongzi Academy of Nanjing.

Thanks Dennis!

Last summer, one could not access blogs in China and posting was time consuming and difficult. My friend, Dennis Cope (above), offered to post Gmail entries for me. Things have been loosening up in China-- these days one can read most blogs, but posting still takes a long time. Dennis has been helping out with site management, which I very much appreciate. Dennis is also a blogger. His address is www.copesofjc.blogspot.com

A naturalized US citizen, Dennis was educated in England. The final report from his "secondary modern school" notes that he was a prefect. It begins, "Cope is a reliable boy..." It's true. He knows all my passwords, has copies of our housekeys and wills, and is the head cashier at the Cherokee Church thrift store.

Dennis often speaks to ETSU classes about education. I especially enjoy having him address classes on educational assessment. Dennis holds several patents to equipment he invented during his long career as an engineer. Today's jets and computers utilize components he designed. He enterred engineering via the trade school and technology route, for he failed a high stakes British exam, the eleven plus. Some companies would not hire him because he lacked university training.

Computer technology is something I use, but learning this has not come easily. Dennis is one of the people I go to for help. That's what he does in retirement-- he helps technological idiots like me learn to use computers, software and peripherals.

This piece will be embarrassing to Dennis. He is a modest person, undesirous of attention. But his story is important. It bespeaks the limitations of educational testing and the resilience of a person who determines not to be ruined by a single exam. Tests and measurements sometimes eliminate people of extraordinary talent. And while Dennis' experience was in another country, the US education system is not immune to such errors. Let's hope we do better.

And thanks again, Dennis, for posting to this blog!

A good way to bond

We've just gotten home. Drs. Rhoton and Knight vowed they would turn up at the office the day after a 36 hour hour journey; I on the other hand took the day off, except for checking my email. I didn't think I'd be very productive until I slept.

On the trip, we went to a lot of meetings and dinners, and in between we saw some of historical China. One day, we climbed all the way up the Great Wall-- didn't even use the cable cars that take you part of the way to the top (below).

Back at ETSU, we are all very busy. We do the things that we do, and when we take time to chat, we're apt to feel guilty (at least I do). We don't always know each other. However, there's nothing like climbing the Great Wall of China to stimulate comraderie. Our Dean's comment, "Unfortunately, takingeveryone to China is not a cost effective way to build staff relations." We were lucky.

Networks and common purpose

Last summer, this blog described a humorous incident at Nanjing's Oxford English Academy which reflected cultural differences (see enty of June 20, 07 "Office Etiquette, but whose ?) China Daily recently referred to the entry in a profile of Sir Barry Jowett :

www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2007-03/14/content_826973.htm

The piece in China Daily describes Sir Barry's efforts to address cultural differences between China and the West by developing the newly formed Kongzi Academy:

www.kongziacademy.com Anyone who has worked with Sir Barry knows he has a unique talent for bringing people together around areas of common interest.

The restored Temple to Kongzi (Confucius) is an enchanting setting for what promises to be a unique center for cultural study. It includes exhibits of traditional Chinese practices such as silk weaving (see below). I am proud to that East Tennessee State University hopes to be involved in projects with the center.

I first began blogging to avoid clogging people's virtual mailboxes with pictures of China. But in a time of networked intercommunication, blogs like this one become part of a worldwide quest for common understanding.

Above: Sir Barry discusses the goals of the academy with ETSU's delegation.

Below Kongzi Academy: view from the balcony.

Temple of 1,000 Buddhas

My former student Xavier Li took the train here from Weihai, and we spent a day together while the others shopped and saw the sights. Xavier and I went to Jinan's Temple of 1000 Buddhas, an amazing collection of shrines and stone statues, set against the Jinan hillside. There's a pavilion at the pinnacle, we didn't get all the way to the top of the winding stone stairs.

It seemed fitting that we visit a house of worship, as this was Sunday. While I did not to kneel in front of any of the statues, nor burn incense, I was affected by the holy hush of the place and the presence of many worshippers.

I'm not sure there are 1000 statues of the Buddha, but there were many. This place used to be called the "Temple of 10,000 Buddhas," before many of the Buddhas were destroyed between 1966-1976 during China's cultural revolution www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0814235.html

The scars of this series of Maoist purges are very much with today's China.

Above: Xavier stands by a stone archway.

Below: Many gates art decorated with red lanterns. I stand below one of these.

Below: One of the many statues of Buddha

Confucius' birthplace

Yesterday, we visited Qu Fu, Confucius' birthplace, approximately a 2 hr. drive from Jinan. Confucius was a philosopher and moral teacher, not a god; however, the Chinese venerate him as their most important teacher.(See statue below). At Qu Fu, a temple marks the memory and influence of this great man. All Chinese temples must have a well (see above). Red lanterns decorate the temple buildings.(Second below).