What’s Wright in the World

Journey to Xi’an
March 26, 2006

Word has come that I have been summoned to Jury Service in Long Beach, with a .
report date of May 1. Jury Duty will, hopefully, be postponed for a while, until the mileage expense is somewhat less for the County of Los Angeles.

Yesterday, Janet and I traveled two hours north-east of Xi’an, with a group of foreign teachers, to HuaShan, one of the four sacred mountains of China. We took a cable ride up to the 5000 foot level, then walked up a thousand or so stairs to the one mile plus
Southern Peak. Some of the more adventurous and younger teachers headed toward the Northern peak at about 6700 feet. Most abandoned the effort around the 6000 foot level.

There were thousands of people on the mountain, including ladies and gentlemen senior to us, who ascended each step slowly, carefully and with assistance of family members, a few were barely able to ambulate even flat terrain without assistance, but all appeared serene and content to be in that lovely surrounding. Watching a few of them, I thought of tales of Native Americans who choose to spend the final moments of their lives in the solitude of the mountains of the Southwest.

We observed dozens of men whose job it is to carry a long, sturdy bamboo strip on their shoulders, on each end of which is tied bundles of foodstuffs, which they walk up to the 6200 foot level of the mountain. I do not know the distance they travel, except to say that each porter makes one trip per day, taking up to eight hours for the journey from the base road to their destination. Their loads weigh up to 200 pounds!

In the flat land south of Huashan is the Xiyuemiao, which, as close as I can determine, means Western Imperial Palace. Built in about 147 AD, is is modeled after the Forbidden City in Beijing, and is, in fact, called the Western Forbidden City. It was the resort of the Emperors for many dynasties, and served that purpose until the last Dynasty in the early 1900’s. The palace covers over 250 Hecaters of ground.

China continues to amaze and delight us. A few photos are posted for those interested.
The costumed photo, taken in the emperor’s chair in what we understand was his principal residence, was just another episode of delusional grandeur.

Enjoy!

The city of Dali is rather small by China standards, only about 1.5 million people (There are something like 115 cities in China with populations over one million).
It is a very charming city. Lots of space in the camera memory card was used. Dali is the site of a Buddhist shrine of three pagodas, one of which has shifted on its’ foundation, much like the more famous tower in Pisa, Italy. Whimsy overcame judicial stuffiness, and prompted the photo of the leaning Pagoda of Dali.
On Saturday, we took a boat ride on the beautiful ErHai lake which Dali abuts. Photos showing the lake, a monastery at the lake edge, the type of boats on which we traveled, and the primitive engines powering the boat are in the SOUTH CHINA 3 folder.
Sunday morning, after breakfast and a brief Church meeting, Janet and I exited our hotel preparing to board the tour bus for a walk through the old city, and then on to the airport for a flight to Kunming.

The Chinese Lunar New Year Celebration continues for several days. Saturday night had been cacophonous, with fireworks almost non stop, until we fell asleep. On Sunday morning, exiting the hotel, our senses were attacked by the smell of burnt sulfur and gunpowder. But the smell was forgotten when we saw a small parade of Dragon Dancers in the parking lot near our bus. What made the scene so memorable was that the performers were not exuberant young men leaping and yowling, accompanied by firecrackers. The head and body of the Dragon were managed instead by the loveliest group of “ladies of a certain age” that I have ever had the pleasure of encountering.
I fell in love with every one of them.
Perhaps it was the realization that the smiles on their faces, and the wrinkles in their brows were the products of a Chinese history encompassing political upheaval, military domination, starvation, and now, hope for a brighter future. Every crease had been earned, every moment of serenity had been harvested from experiences beyond my capacity to imagine. Their pictures are in the album.

The shops of the old city of Dali were unremarkable, very like the shops in every tourist area in China. But the experience of the place was made vivid by the contrast between the Ladies of the Dragon Dance and the younger people who passed us on the street, costumed in preparation to be a part of a parade, in further celebration of the Year of the Dog. Except for the fact that these were Chinese people, they might have been marchers in a Fourth of July parade in America.

We are back to teaching now. I remembered that spring semesters in my school days always seemed somehow anti-climactic. I sense the same attitude in our students, sort of a restlessness, and anxiety to see the school year quickly come to its’ end. It will be a challenge to keep them stimulated to learn.

Enjoy!