Day 16: Li Po

Li Po, or Li Bai, was a wandering poet of China, native of Sichaun. He was born in 701 and died in 762. It is said that he used to be good in martial arts, and before he reached his twenties, he had killed several men. When he was in his twenties, he traveled down the Yangtze River, met his wife, and spent the rest of his life as a traveling poet. Maybe I'll be inspired like Li Po with my own poetry.

Li Po was the major Chinese poet during the Tang Dynasty,and was the poet for the emperor. It is believed that Li Po drowned while drunkenly leaning from a boat to embrace the moon's reflection on the water. Most scholars believe he died from cirrhosis of the liver or from mercury poisoning due to Taoist longevity elixirs.

There's a great movie series on Youtube that goes more in depth on the man behind Li Po:

Here's an example of his poetry:

On a Picture Screen

Whence these twelve peaks of Wu-shan!

Have they flown into the gorgeous screen

From heaven's one corner?

Ah, those lonely pines murmuring in the wind!

Those palaces of Yang-tai, hovering over there—

Oh, the melancholy of it!—

Where the jeweled couch of the king

With brocade covers is desolate,—

His elfin maid voluptuously fair

Still haunting them in vain!

Here a few feet

Seem a thousand miles.

The craggy walls glisten blue and red,

A piece of dazzling embroidery.

How green those distant trees are

Round the river strait of Ching-men!

And those ships—they go on,

Floating on the waters of Pa.

The water sings over the rocks

Between countless hills

Of shining mist and lustrous grass.

How many years since these valley flowers bloomed

To smile in the sun?

And that man traveling on the river,

Does he not for ages hear the monkeys screaming?

Whoever looks on this,

Loses himself in eternity;

And entering the sacred mountains of Sung,

He will dream among the resplendent clouds.

Li Po was not just a famous poet in China, but an inspiration to poets everywhere, particularly Ezra Pound. As a writer, I feel that he heavily contributed to poetry although in at least America he is not well known amongst my peers.

Moos'n Out.

Day 14: History of Rice

It is eaten plain, fried, with pork or soy sauce. It is eaten morning, noon and night. The crop is the second highest worldwide production and is the most important staple food for most of the world's population.

Image Courtesy of wellnessuncovered.com

Rice was first domesticated in the region of the Yangtze River valley, which is where I will be floating down when on a riverboat for a couple days in China. Hopefully, from the river I'll be able to see some rice paddies. Unfortunately it will not be harvest season in nine days.

The majority of rice produced comes from China, Korea, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar,the Philippines and Japan. Overall, Asian farmers account for 92% of the world's total rice production.

During the period before the Qin Dynasty (221 BC – 206 BC), rice was used to brew wines and offered as a sacrifice to the Gods. This rice wine is called sake, and I've never tried it. I've heard it's an acquired taste, but if my family has had it maybe I'll like it. We'll see.

Earlier this month Wellness Uncovered released an article stating that high concentrations of metals have been found in China's rice. The high-paced industrialization of the country has produced a wide-spread contamination, increasing the pollution in cities and waters, which hurts agricultural business, particularly of rice. Rice absorbs metals, particularly cadmium found near the mines and now it is believed up to 10% of the country's produce is contaminated.

As long as it's cooked I'm up for eating it. When I think of how many people in China live in poverty, and that their main food source has become contaminated, I feel bad. I want to do something. The only thing I know of is Freerice.com. Free Rice is a nonprofit organization that helps people learn many subjects by asking multiple choice questions, and whenever someone gets an answer right, 10 grains of rice is donated to third-world countries. What about China? China is the main producer and although it isn't completely a third-world country, the rural farmers need food too.

So when you get bored, play freerice and stop world hunger.

Moos'n Out!

Day 12: Moos'n Out in Mojo

So today we received more detailed information of our trip.

From the 5th through the 10th we will be in the city of Wuhan, doing a home-stay, and taking a river boat cruise down the Yangtze River. Although in March most of the streets in the US are flooded with melting snow, but in China, it is still window. Daily temperatures are reaching up to the 50s, but there is a chance of rain and clouds.

We're advised to wear layers, especially seeing most of Wuhan does not have central heating in the houses.

The boat trip is easy sailing, never more than 100 meters from shore and pretty smooth.The cruise is 2 nights and 1 full day, sandwiched between 2 half-days. There will be plenty of stops along the river for disembarkation and local exploring, plus some time gawking at the Pride of Chinese Engineering (the 3 Gorges Dam).

We also spent part of class watching Part II of the Gates of Heavenly Peace. This part focused on the days before the Tiananmen Square Massacre. Hong Kong sent money and supplies in support of the students, but by the end of May, the leaders were highly considering leaving. Some of the people present didn't truly care about the protest, but were only there to get famous.

On June 2nd, Liu Xiaobo joined the students and began a hunger strike. Xiaobo is a literary critic and human rights activist and was recently arrested after winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

Day 11: We Will Rock You

In 1974, people stumbled upon a tomb full of 8,000 clay figurines.
Each person was based on a real soldier, so every horse, chariot, and person is individualized.
The army was made for the first emperor of China, Qin's tomb. The accompaniment of the soldiers is supposed to represent his immortality. By bringing these soldiers to the afterlife, it was believed Qin would rule there as well. The whole tomb is still unexcavated, meaning there are more soldiers to be unearthed. The soldiers were in a 35 sq. mi. vault, but the location of the emperor's burial chamber is still unknown. There is a story written that the emperor is buried with pearls and gems on the ceiling to represent the sky, and an exact replica of China on the chamber floor, including mountains, the great wall, and rivers of mercury!
The army was discovered in 1974 in Xi'an province.

Image Courtesy of Beijing discovery tours

If you can't make the journey across the great Pacific, don't worry! All you need is a passport to visit our friendly neighbors to the north. From February 11 to June 26th at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. The exhibit consists of 240 warriors.
ADMISSION FEES
· Age 26 to 64 ............ $20
· Age 65 and more ...... $16
· Age 13 to 25 ............ $12
· Age 0 to 12 .............. Free
· Museum VIP's ............... Free
GROUP:
· Age 26 to 64 .......... $16
· Age 65 and more .... $12
· Age 13 to 25 .......... $10
· Age 0 to 12 ............ $2

I vote that this would be the great end to our China exploration.

Moos'n Out!

Day 10: It's Not White, It's Translucent

Image Courtesy of critteristic.com

The panda bear, known for being friendly bamboo eating creatures that are the sign of China, but what people don't know is they aren't actually black and white.The 'white' hair is actually translucent.

When Giant pandas are born it takes them 40-60 days just to open their eyes and the reach puberty between ages 5 and 7. The life expectancy of these cute bears is only 25 years. And when they are born they are so tiny. They are smaller than a person's finger! The cub is 1/900th the size of its mother. Except for marsupials, like a kangaroo, a giant panda baby is the smallest mammal newborn relative to its mother's size.

What's amazing is these big, lumbering bears, like all bears, can climb trees. Can you imagine a tree holding 165- 286 pounds?

There are a lot of common misconceptions about pandas. Pandas don't just live off bamboo. Skeletons have shown that they eat small prey and birds.

Pandas are protected by the Chinese government, and many instead of living in their natural habitat, the Himalayas, live in wildlife reserves, but are these endangered species safer in reserves, away from snow leopard? China might protect them, but what happens to the pandas when natural disasters happen?

It's still on my bucket list to see a panda in the wild, but maybe my best bet is to go to a reserve. I wonder if I can play with them, or is it like a zoo where there is a huge divide. I want to see a panda in the wild. Aren't they just adorable?

Day 9: Who are you?

The average age of people in China is 35, yet China is currently undergoing a crisis with the older generation. No one know how to take care of those with Alzheimer's or dementia. An article released in the New York Times last month, briefly described the situation.

Image Courtesy of The New York Times

Alzheimer’s and dementia used to be a shameful disease, but now China’s attitude is changing to deal with the expected 400 million people over the age of sixty in the next thirty years. Currently, China does not have enough people skilled in coping with dementia patients, including doctors, and there are few nursing homes that are trained to handle dementia patients.

Boston College is working on ways to slow down the onset of the disorder and alleviate health care costs, not only for China’s impending crisis, but globally.

The China Alzheimer's Project believes that in a matter of decades, dementia will be an epidemic. According to their website, Alzheimer's is missed diagnosed more than 75% and that only 21.3% of the patients have taken medicines.The China Alzheimer's Project was launched in September 2009, whose mission is to provided awareness and information about the disease, and to provide a better quality of life for patients and families coping with a dementia.

Image Courtesy of Life.com

Other non-profits across the country are working to increase awareness of dementia, and in May and October the Alzheimer's Society is hosting a six-day trek across the Great Wall.

There's a really good video about dementia patients in China on YouTube.

The Chinese has been using a moss plant as an herbal remedy to ward off dementia. Huperzia Serrata that has been brewed for centuries in tea. The moss is supposed to help with seizures, brain swelling, fevers and inflammation. During the 1980s part of the moss was extracted and put in a supplement, Huperzine-A that is fairly inexpensive. The supplement is supposed to help with memory, cognition, and the behavior of Alzheimer's. Research is being conducted currently at Havard to use the supplement as an anti-seizure medication, and it is the only supplement on the market to help with short-term memory loss.

So if you have a bad memory or are suffering from this disease, take these pills and remember to follow me to Beijing!

Moos'n Out.

Day 8: Moos'n out in Mojo

So Thursday's class was more of the same.

We got our itinerary, so you can follow my journey through China when I am out of contact. This is where my footprints will be:

Friday, March 4: Morning flight Burlington, VT to Newark, NJ, to Beijing, China.

Saturday, March 5: Arrive in Beijing in the afternoon. Two-hour flight to Wuhan. Stay in Wuhan’s Xinagu Hotel that night.

Sunday, March 6: Settling into Wuhan; visit with HuaZhong Normal University students and faculty. Home Stay in Single Sex Pairs – Night #1.

Monday, March 7: Wuhan – Home Stay in Single Sex Pairs – Day #2.

Tuesday, March 8: Wuhan – Royal Gorge exploration by boat.

Wednesday, March 9: Wuhan – Royal Gorge exploration by boat.

Thursday, March 10: Wuhan – Royal Gorge exploration by boat. Fly to Beijing – stay in Jiangou Garden Hotel.

Friday, March 11: Beijing – Great Wall of China “Wild Wall” Day Tour.

Saturday, March 12: Downtown Beijing - Tiananmen Square/Forbidden City in the morning; Shopping/markets in afternoon and evening.

Sunday, March 13: Leave Beijing; Return to Vermont.

The rest of class we finished Part 1 of Gates of Heavenly Peace.

The movie showed a clip of Chinese Government footage from the 1976 incident in Tiananmen Square. It was a funeral procession and it showed images of the citizens sad, and lining the streets in honor of the political figure, and the music in the background was grand, and depressing. It reminded me of a propaganda film I watched last year, Triumph of the Will, about a Nazi rally.

Both are propaganda pieces meant to show the support of the nation, with the dramatic music and footage.

The movie is wicked intense. It showed the dedication of the students and that no matter what, or well in their case, the lack of what, the government did, they wouldn't give up their dream. They had a Hunger Strike for over a week, and ended with a peaceful sit in. Students were being rushed away in ambulances from lack of food, yet they never left. They weren't afraid when the People's Liberation Army was ordered to enter the Square, and the leaders of the Student Unions decided to lay their lives on the line.

Can't wait to see what happens next.