What’s Wright in the World

We’ve been back from our Jaunt around Southern China for ten days now. We took over 1000 photos between us. We are still sifting through them, putting them in some order for presentation. The working title of one package, designed as an overview of the trip, is called China: Twenty one days of sensory overload. There is so much to tell, it is hard to know where to begin.

For today, though, just one experience:

We were in the city of LiJiang. We had just traveled by bus through a range of mountains, covered with some of the lushest terraced farmlands imaginable, and had dropped down into a valley wherein that city of some 1.5 million people is situated, surrounding a beautiful lake. In an area far away from the town center, we stopped at a home of a family that has, reputedly, for centuries been in the business of fabric dying. This family makes an excellent living catering to busloads of travelers who are anxious to see “authentic” living history. Their “home” is a two story-mud brick building that surrounds an inner courtyard on three sides, with the fourth side being protected by a wall equal to the height of the buildings, and a set of solid wood double doors through which one makes entrance into the compound. The home is not ancient: It sits on a 20th century cement foundation. The walls are whitewashed, the roof is of classic red Chinese tile, upswept at the corners. The Li people decorate the exterior walls of their homes with elaborate decoupage designs, frequently featuring dragons, vines, and various flourishes.

Inside the compound, the entire first floor is devoted to the dying and selling of fabric, and things made from fabric. The impression is that all being sold was made by the family. Not true.

Most of the merchandise was purchased at wholesale from factories. This is not advertised by the ‘family,” of course. To do so would diminish the quality of the story travelers would tell about their “finds.”

The “family” did, however have a genuine history of cloth dying; which brings me to the point of this narrative. When we first entered the compound, the first thing to greet us is a giant (perhaps 200 gallon) wooden vat of ancient structure, filled with an almost black-blue dye.

A thin and jovial man in his late 40′s or early 50′s stands at the edge of the vat, his rubber gloved hands holding a bamboo stirring stick. In the vat are several crumpled pieces of cloth, absorbing the dye. On a clothes line to the left of the vat are wet indigo dyed cloths hung to dry. At the foot of the barrell are several small potted indigo plants. Our guide explained that it is the leaves from these plants that are dried, then boiled to create the indigo dye contained in the vat. Several feet away from the vat, in the center of the courtyard, is a high work table, perhaps ten feet by ten feet square. On the table is spread linen or muslin cloth, to which has been affixed a hand made template containing repetitive design features. A worker (wearing a beautiful costume of the ancient Li culture – this is a tourist attraction) uses a roller containing a very light blue ink to mark the cloth with the design from the template.

Seated near the work table was a lady who was busy sewing the patterns on the cloth into tight little bundles . There were dozens of little bundles to be sewn into each piece of cloth. Each bundle was sewn using a combination of parafein and waxed thread, and sewn so tightly that the dye in the vat would not penetrate the bundle.
At her feet (presentation is everything) were two bundles of cloth, one completely sewn and ready to be dyed, and the second a dried and partially untied tie-dyed piece of fabric, showing the final result of her handiwork.

I knew just enough Chinese to have the conversation that follows with the seamstress:
Q: How long does it take you to sew one of these cloths?
A: About 45 days (We bought one for the equivalent of $7.50 U.S-factory made, I’m sure)
Q: How long have you been doing this?
A: 63 years. How old are you?
Q: I am 68 years old
A: (laughter) I am 83 years old.
Q; You are a beautiful lady (old habits die hard).
A: (Smile).

We have traveled enough now, to recognize staged events. The family was genuine, but were expert merchandisers, each wearing the colorful traditional costumes of their culture. Nevertheless, the serenity, care and skill of this dear lady were unquestionably bona-fide. Our brief meeting was a trip highlight.

I will put a few photos on Yahoo, and invite you to look at them, when they are posted.

Enjoy!

Happy New Year!

2006, the Year of the Dog, is fast coming upon us. The Chinese celebrate the Lunar New Year, which this year falls on January 28. The Chinese Lunar calendar is based on a twelve-year cycle, with each cycle being represented by a creature from legend. For example, my birth year is represented by the Ox. According to legend, the ox was the (ahem) strongest, kindest and most patient of the creatures, the odds-on favorite to be first in the race for the honor of beginning the cycle of years. But the ox lost out to the rat, who cajoled the Ox into taking it across the river on the ox’s back. Upon reaching the opposite shore, rat jumped down and raced to the finish line, to become first in the cycle of years. By the way, students taught us the “official” Chinese New Year song. It’s fairly simple libretto is sung to the tune familiar to the West as “Oh, My Darlin’ Clementine.” We have had fun with that fact.

We had our first, and only, snow last week. It was a lovely event. The government successfully “seeded” the clouds, resulting in snowfall for just about 24 hours. With the daily temperature around 0 degrees centigrade, the snow has stayed on the ground nicely.
The cameras have been busy.

Schools here take a long break between semesters. This year, the break commences on January 16, and ends on February 24. Classes resume February 27. As of today (January 12) We do not know what we will be teaching next semester, or who our students will be. Oh, we have a general idea. Janet will continue in the English Department, probably teaching second semester first year English, and possibly with the same students. I probably will have at least three new classes and lose two of my present classes. The new classes are in the Law department and cover English Legal Systems and Legal Terms, a class I am anxious to begin.

We just completed the final examinations of our students, involving a grueling week of individual student interviews of 3 to 4 minutes each, evaluating their progress in Oral English, then grading first-year student exam papers in English Listening. In the oral presentations, the students reviewed several dozen Chinese Folk Legends. In the written exam, students listened to, and were tested on, a brief article on George Lucas and Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. While most did very well in the written exam, there were some notable errors in identifying the name of the Movie and the Director. A few examples:

• The Phantom – Jordge Lukes
• The Phantom – Jordge Lukars (These first two “studied” together?)
• Sky Worker – Gerg Looker
• The Sentence Menace – (see “Judge Lookers, infra.) – George Looks
• The Phanto Menace – Gorge Loukers
• The Fanciest Menace (Inspired by Mr. Blackwell, obviously) – Jonh Lookers
• Dog Looker (An indication of his Chinese birth year?) – Judge Lookers (See “The Sentence Menace”, supra.)
• The Phantom of the Meance (A musical version?)
• The Fight of Maners (A Judith Martin book?)
• The Fighten Menace (a WWA Wrestler maybe?) – Jochi Lookis
• Menace Warrior – Gegro (Italian one-named director)

We have our work cut out for us in the second semester!

The written testing was done in a new building on campus. By new is meant that over half of the building was not complete, and they rushed through installing of some 400 computerized media center stations in the period between December 30 and January 10, when testing began. Entry was through the one doorway that had been completed prior to testing beginning. The building was a steel shell when last semester began. Things go up quickly on the new campus. It is, sadly, a fact that the quality of workmanship on the new buildings leaves much to be desired. Doors that do not close, settling cracks, creaking floors, water leaks, etc.

Janet and I will be traveling for the next three weeks, visiting Hainan Island (the Hawaii of China), Shenzhen (gateway to Hong Kong), Hong Kong,, Guilin, Kungming, Suzhou, a cruise on the Green (Li) River, Yangshuo, Lijiang (near the Tibetan border), Dali, Shanghai, and cities around Shanghai, etc. Janet will shop. I will complain (Janet says I should memorize the first few pages of A Christmas Carol for new things about which to complain) and take pictures. I will also memorize the Chinese words to “Happy Birthday to you”, in celebration of Janet’s Birthday on January 25. She insists that, even then, she will not have reached “a certain age.”

We are loving this experience. We recommend it to anyone with any sense of adventure left in them.

Enjoy!

This is not original, but I loved reading it first thing New Year’s Morning:

FROM NOW ON, NOTHING COULD POSSIBLY GO WROGN.