Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2000 03:53:42 -0700 (PDT)
From: Josh D'Aluisio-Guerrieri | Block address
Subject: 10, The Final Chapter
To: XXXXXX

Chapter Note: I actually wrote this a while ago, but have not been able to access Yahoo since (which is where it was stored). I already don't agree with some of it, but it IS what I thought one afternoon some weeks ago... so read on.

10, The Final Chapter
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Devoted readers,

At my present there is a beginning and an end. (you knew that) Though I'm about to visit one of the most unique places in China, I have decided to end my writing short of the end of my travels. (but you didn't know that)

I've realized that every time I come to China, I find something besides carrying out my original plan to occupy my time. Three years ago when I first came to China to begin studying Chinese, I learned probably 25% of what I should have since I quit class and worked instead. The second time was no better, since I again spent most of my days working or playing, with very little studying in between. This time I would summarize my goals as 1) study Chinese as I 2) see the majority of China, with an emphasis on how it exists *outside* cities. From the look of things, I'm getting better at following my plan and moving towards my goals.

But, in terms of my goals, exactly how have things looked for 8 months? I still remember when I left at the end of last year; mom trying to convince me to at least write postcards. Though I intended to *occasionally* write *short* accounts of my experiences (if only to confirm [remind of?] my existence), I never expected that my nature to "do more, or none at all" would kick in when it came to writing about what I was doing. Perhaps I was afraid of the misinterpretation that brevity allows, or maybe I felt there was simply a minimum percentage of my trip I had to report in order to give it a more "serial" flow. In the end, all this writing has turned out to be a double-edged knife (oh, that would be a dagger, wouldn't it?): on the one hand, writing more about my experiences has forced me to look back and analyze them for what was memorable, interesting, or important (and not necessarily only to me, either); on the other, spending almost all of my spare time maintaining a journal to reference when writing to all of you took almost all of the time I would have otherwise spent studying Chinese. So I didn't follow my plan perfectly (in many ways an impossibility in China, I might add), but at least the expense to one goal enhanced my success with the other.

Even considering the first two "work visits," I would never say that what I HAVE done in China, though not exactly according to plan, was not still highly beneficial. On the contrary, I would claim that though my Chinese has certainly suffered to a certain degree, what I HAVE done has served to broaden my experience in many directions I never would have thought to explore.

Irony pervades. Because during the first two visits to China work prevented me from studying, I decided not to work the third time and give myself a chance to concentrate on studying; what happened instead? I merely encountered something else that would usurp my time: writing.

At least I've discovered this now before it was, once again, too late. I feel that no longer writing is a prerequisite to finally learning Chinese at a rate resembling what I've always aimed for: the speed that would be marked on the dial as 'damn fast.' Where I am now in my studies requires it if I'm to get any further, otherwise I'm simply maintaining my current level of ability. (no, that's not acceptable.) I've long wanted to set a kind of "quota" for my learning, but before myself have always been other responsibilities too important to take lightly; either to an employer (work), or readers (you guys!). No more; I'm going to finally allocate some ACTIVE study time. (most of what I've learned in China to date has been done VERY passively.)



CONCLUSION:

What are my views on China as a country after all this? Well, though they haven't changed significantly, they're less fuzzy. For one, I see it as more of a "section of the world" than a cohesive unit. Politically, it follows Beijing, but politics aside, China is divisible into many countries by race, lifestyle, and language. In high school Economics we did an activity where pairs of classmates took a map of the United States and logically combined the states so that there were only about five total. It wasn't difficult to think of justifications for a number of possible reorganizations, and student pairs each had different answers. That is a mark of a strong, efficient country. To do that same activity using China, answers would be frighteningly similar. The Chinese government knows that, and has for a long time had policies in effect to gradually reduce the revolutionary potential that resides in such an easily divisible country.

The basic necessity is to homogenize the population and balance the country, but doing so is a long process (especially considering the logistical complications introduced when dealing with 1.3 billion people spread across 9 million sq km of land, of which only 10% is arable (www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/ch.html)). The government has an important head start since the Han people are already a majority within China (without a majority to work with, the Chinese Communist government would never have lasted 50 years), yet something else is needed, a more immediate solution. The Chinese have found one, albeit a temporary one: propaganda. People know what the government wants them to know, which is obviously only going to support The Party. Knowledge is the ultimate form of control. Freedom of speech will not be tolerated. Liberal citizens shall be dealt with severely. "No, the "Freedom of Speech" article in China's Constitution [C2A41] was an accident, we just haven't had the time to remove it yet!" Back to the main stream of things, necessary for propaganda is control of media, and for now the government has that. You don't publish or broadcast anything the government doesn't like. If you do, you may not regret it, but they'll get you nonetheless. All this propaganda (and a little bit of army, I suppose) buys time for the long term, main method of homogenization: mass movement of people. Where? Go west, young Han people, go west (okay, not only west, just get out of the already well-controlled, stable areas). The government encourages, and in some cases forces, citizens to move from the overpopulated, Han-dominated East to the underpopulated, minority-filled West (as well as in a few other directions).

But with China launching itself into the technological age with help from every other country that wants access to its consumer base, many speculate that the government's propaganda shield won't last much longer (especially with the advent of the internet, and the predictions that the number of Chinese internet users will go from less than those of Japan in 2000, to more than the US by 2005 (www.virtualchina.com/infotech)). Others aren't so quick to say so, instead providing the alternate view, that technology will only increase the Communist government's capacity to propagandize and control, simply offering it a new method.

True, the control can't last forever. One day, the Chinese will start to think for themselves; but if the Communist Party keeps playing it smart, it should succeed in creating a more balanced "entity" I would then call "China," as well as keep itself going for a while longer (but The Party itself in its current form will not see the end of China, as it will be forced to change much sooner than that). So what happens then? The world's next leading superpower? If not that, barring any catastrophic, unexpected turn of events, China will certainly be high in the ranks. (It's already a member of G20. Is G9 next?)

On its way towards that goal, China isn't slowing down, either. Though the "country's" mind-boggling rate of development can be attributed mostly to learning from the experiences of other countries and its large number of errant workers willing to build anything for almost nothing, it's still impressive in terms of sheer speed. Infrastructure is just a single example of an area where China has done in twenty years what other countries have gradually done over a century. What will this country be like once it has to innovate on its own or fall behind again? Well, the Chinese certainly aren't the most creative of the world's peoples, but they're experts at copying, so maybe they'll manage to keep up.

NOTE: In the above part of the "conclusion," I said a lot of things in single sentences that could easily be expanded into books. (just the number of tangents I was able to think of and along while writing it is a testament to its simplification of reality) I would like to explain some of my points in more detail, but not so much that I'm going to spend any time doing it. This isn't a thesis, you know, and though it's a "conclusion," it doesn't do much more than pose lots of questions (but we all know that's what conclusions are for, right?), so in many ways I've still only barely explored these topics! [but don't intend to stop any day now]


Switching the focus away from politics and towards things closer to me during my travels... I'd first like to say that, even though I didn't learn anything that I would've learned in a classroom this year, I did learn many things no classroom can teach. (it had to be said) However, two things I haven't learned: smoking and drinking. I was once told by a Chinese, "if you don't drink with us, you'll never understand China." I don't think drinking bucketloads of potent spirits promotes conscious thought.

Now that we know my opinions are conscious and not alcohol-induced, let's move on... I've discovered a tendency of mine where I often notice the good things about something before the bad, and as a result eventually forget much of what attracted me to it in the first place, the good. China is just such a "something." For many people who have visited China before, one of the first issues that come to mind would be staring. In case you didn't know, you are often stared at in China; one of the starers will inevitably say "foreigner," at which the number of starers will double. There's not much you can do other than ignore it (you can't even stare back, as they always outnumber you!). I used to dislike it, but I've been stared at for so long now, it basically goes along with being alive. (not to mention, every winter I get stared at in the U.S. since I'm one of the few (even in Berkeley) who's comfortable wearing summer clothes year round, so I'm not new to the staring thing) Now on to the things that I'm still working to prevent from getting on my nerves...

If the starers say something, 99% of the time its "hello," which I'm attempting to teach my ear how to filter out; if they actually talk to me, that's usually not any better than a walk-by (or run-by) "hello," since they rarely have anything unique to say. Yes, I can see it from their point of view, they infrequently or never talk to foreigners, so naturally they'll have all the basic questions ready for you, but from my point of view, I CAN'T TAKE IT ANY MORE ("where are you from?" "U.S." "oh, U.S. is good, China is bad." -- imagine if every single conversation you ever had started that way...). If I'm in the mood, the temporary solution is to tell them I'm from some place I'm not, and describe "my life that is not," otherwise, I reserve conversations for people who look like they've got something new to offer. This leads to the primary negative aspect of China that has affected my trip: ignorance. Not often do I meet someone with a unique point of view on anything because either 1) they're an average Chinese and therefore never attended high school, or 2) propaganda has them by the eyelids and is holding them shut, tight. For that reason, and because politics is the topic most affected by propaganda, I intentionally avoid it. But during one of the last political conversations I did have, when I pointed out to one girl that propaganda controlled her argument and she knew nothing but half of her own side, she said, "I know, but that's how I was raised, with propaganda telling me all this, and now it's what I believe." Those two words, "I know," really stunned me. So some people are even conscious of it. Where's the bliss in that? The next generation is going to be very different.

What do I like most about this place? I definitely like the fact that people are always willing to help me if I need it, but that's a human thing, and not unqiue to China. What I like that's unique to China is just that: everything that makes China unique. Language, history, and customs/traditions all appeal to me, so it is when I am speaking the language, at a historic place [that is NOT over-run by Chinese tourists], or while visiting minority villages that I am reminded of why I'm interested in this place.

Unfortunately, Traditional China is taking a beating of late, and along with it everything I love about it. It's written langauge was simplified by the Communists, historical sites are [almost] ALL over-run by Chinese tourists, and minority villages are giving over to commercialization and materialism, dopping the past in a race for the best seat in the future. Yes, things will never be the same, but I'm hooked anyway. While here, I may long for the family and luxuries of home, but while I'm in the U.S. not a day goes by that I don't wonder what I could be doing in China. Maybe now that I've seen most of the place, I'll wonder a little less; or maybe I'll just make a life of bouncing back and forth.

Thanks for reading.

Josh.