Haggling
















All over China, even in very large cities like Hangzhou (population: 7 million), you see open air markets. It is essential to bargain in these places. Fengyi, or Felix (above) as he calls himself in America, was concerned that I would not know how.

I'm not entirely sure where I learned this fine art. I think from my Austrian Jewish grandmother. Her apartment was near Sutter Avenue in Brooklyn, where there were many peddlers and pushcarts years ago, and I vaguely remember her haggling.

In the market, I saw some wooden beads bound with the great knot of China. The proprietor of the stand wanted 120 yuen, or about $17.50. It was worth less than half that, I thought. We argued awhile, the proprietor in his minimal English, I in my minimal Chinese; and we kept track using a calculator. Finally, we settled on a price of 20 yuen.

Below: Trinkets in a market stand.















It's a game, sort of. Felix says I'm as good at it as the Chinese.
Maybe it's genetic.

Confucian tradition

It's probably the influence of Confucius. The Chinese view the contributions of teachers very differently from the way we do. We are revered, and it is assumed our tie to the student will be lifelong in some cases. I taught English to the young man in this picture during the Fall semester of 2006. He now has an excellent job at an international company. He goes by the English name "Max'" a name he selected, he says because it has only three letters and is therefore easy to spell.

Max had us visit his company and introduced us to his manager, who told me what an excellent employee Max is and thanked me for teaching him. Then, he arranged lunch for us at a very nice seafood restaurant.















Above: Max, who is newly married with Wendy, his wife.

Below: At the restaurant Max selects foods from the plates and fish tanks.

Perspectives of travel

Normally, I have no great fondness for spiders, and I get away from them as quickly as possible. But travel makes us newly open to the weirdness and wonder around us. So when Joe noticed this enormous spider while we were walking through a grove of pine trees yesterday evening, I stopped for photographs.

Banquets

The Chinese love to hold social events which they call "banquets" and
which we might call restaurant dinner parties. Guests sit around a
rotating circular table on which is placed a huge assortment of foods,
which one grasps with chopsticks. It's a lot of eating. I continue
to wonder why the Chinese are so thin and why I always lose weight
when I'm here.















Above: Joe, me and some old friends from Weihai at a recent banquet.
Below: A dish I incorrectly identified as French fried onions.
Actually, it was fried, breaded octupus tentacles.

Guanxi
To understand China, one must understand the notion of "guanxi" (pronounced GWAN-SHEE). Roughly translated, it means connection or relationship. It connotes respect, familiarity, and often friendship. It is analogous to collegiality in American universities, but Guanxi cuts deeper, implying long-standingl ties. To get anything done in China, one must have guanxi. I think It was because of guanxi that Professor Li, Vice President of NCUT asked us to visit his home last evening after the ceremony, rather than to a restaurant as would have been customary . Professor Li's daughter, Sonshu, just completed her Masters degree at our university. When she arrived at ETSU in 2007, the dorms were not ready-- it is hard to arrange flights from China that mesh with everyone's schedule. Joe and I often host overseas students until they get settled; so we suggested Songshu stay with us. Her parents have always been grateful. It must be a difficult thing to send one's only child to the other side of the world.

Professor Li, who is an excellent cook, personally prepared zhaodzi. This is China's signature festival dish, and the process is labor intensive. His niece, who will study business at ETSU this fall, entertained us with a piano selection, "Wonderful Chairman Mao."















Above: The Vice President as chef.

Below: A patriotic performance

Appreciation

American teachers grow accustomed to criticism. The shortcomings of the education system are laid at our feet. If we only taught better, so the myth goes, parents would support us; standards would rise; students would do their work joyfully; and the achievement gap between "haves" and "have nots" would spontaneously close.

In higher education, we are told that students are "customers" whose needs we must satisfy. We are also told we must keep standards high. I work hard. I prepare carefully and spend lots of time reviewing student work. Students don't always like me. Many complain I give too much work.

At NCUT, I did what I always do-- nothing more. I gave lectures, prepared assignments, and conferred with students. And I was showered with appreciation. Go figure. Today, at a special ceremony, I was awarded honorary professorship here.
















Above: I am handed my "certificate of appointment" in a red velvet folder.

Below: My certificate, complete with the university's red star seal.

June 4th
Yesterday, a student told me it would be best not to leave my apartment today. "You never know what will happen," he said. "Especially, do not go anywhere near Tiananmen."
June 4, 2009. This is the 20th anniversary of the massacre on Tiananmen Square, where thousands of young people assembled peacefully to demand reforms from the government and were killed by automatic weapons and tanks.
I asked the young man if there were likely to be demonstrations this year. "It is best we not talk about it," he said. The fear in his face was palpable. "My parents have told me I should not go outside. You should not, either."
The Tiananmen Square events are not discussed here, and the websites about it are blocked; but older people remember what happened.. Word about the massacre passes from person to person, creating an atmosphere of tension and fear. China is much freer now than it was twenty years ago and people's lives better. Still the question remains: could this happen again?
Some people say such open repression would be unlikely today, given China's place in the world. Just as the United States was eventually too embarrassed to maintain segregation, China may relinquish such strong arm techniques.
The Chinese leaders are extremely intelligent and know that a nation cannot make progress when people are hopeless and there is no free exchange of ideas. Yet, they fear more liberty would mean fragmentation of China, for man happy with the status quo. The government wants to stay in control. As Marx said, no one gives up power without a struggle.



















Above: At the heart of the city, the Chairman.
















Above: Chinese flag








Above: Tiananmen Square today. The name means "Gate of heaven." Long before the massacre, the plaza was the center of many important events in Chinese history. See this website:

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/594819/Tiananmen-Square


Below: Scenes from the massacre.


























Below: The People's Army on Tiananmen