打太极拳、拉二胡、画中国画：Studying Taiqi，Erhu and Chinese brush painting

I decided to write a little summary some of my studies here, since my classes are quickly drawing to a close and I’m sadly moving onto other things for the time being. I wrote it originally in Chinese, because final exams are next week and I really, really needed some practice. Enjoy!

　　我学了太极拳三个月了，我现在能打一个很简单的２４步骤态样，也学了一半的太极剑态样。　我的老师，杨老师，的父亲是一位太极拳名家。杨老师老了，　不过还很康强、手脚灵活，　老了的时候要打太极拳，我觉得你要现在开始。　在公园跟老人打太极拳是一个我的梦想，我喜欢在中国老人能自由行动、健身、社会化、尊重的，比西方不同的，我想退休以后在中国花时间打太极拳、搓麻建、等。原初.我看过太极拳以为很漫漫的，所以容易的，然后打太极拳觉得很不舒服，我的身体不太自然的，我真知道每个奥妙的步子才能觉得强力的、大大方方。但是，　还有一些很难的步子，我要联系努力．．．很高兴有足够时间啊！

For my three months here I have been taking Taiqi classes, so far we’ve finished the basic pattern and over half of a sword combination (with my new practice sword!) The late father of our teacher (Yang) is apparently a very well-known Taiqi master in this area, although she hasn’t really mentioned much about him, we hear rumors…Teacher Yang is incredible, she is an older woman but she continually surprises us with her strength and flexibility, I know a lot of people think they will take up Taiqi when they’re older, but really you have to start as young as possible to get to her level. My little fantasy with Taiqi has always been to practice Taiqi in the parks with the old folk, it’s such a common thing to see around China, I love the way that seniors here are very independent, they go out with friends, exercise everyday in the outdoors and enjoy the general respect of their community. It is quite different to the Western culture of loneliness and isolation so prevalent in the older population. When I’m retired, I will come to China, do Taiqi and play Mahjong all day long. Bliss. When I first watched Taiqi, I thought it was slow and therefore easy, when I started practicing I was at first quite awkward and off-balance but when I learned the moves thoroughly it felt as natural as breathing, although some moves are just crazy-hard (how does Teacher Yang keep her leg above her head for ten seconds without breaking a sweat?) luckily, I have plenty of time to improve…

　　在南京大学我也开始学了二胡，我第一次来到中国看到一个老公拉二胡，我觉得是很特别的乐器，二胡自然的声音比唱歌差不多， 我不会唱歌，所以我要拉二胡我的老师很熟练的、友好的和用汉语为教我, 学什么东西用汉语你的汉语水平一定提高了，因为二胡是一个特别的中国乐器，为什么用英语学吧？二胡不太难的，我已经会弹钢琴，不过我的手很小，有时候不太舒服，我也觉得为把那个弓比把筷子办法一样的，对西方人很麻烦。我拉二胡以后，不会用筷子，因为我的手疼痛的。

I have also started studying the Erhu (Chinese traditional instrument, a two-stringed cello), when I first came to China I was fascinated by this instrument that old beggars would play on the streets, it has a really ‘Chinese’ sound to it, and it’s pitched similar to the human voice. Because I can’t sing for peanuts, I might as well play the Erhu. My teacher is great, she is incredibly skilled and has toured Europe playing in orchestras, she also insists on using only Chinese in our lessons. Can I just say, the best way to learn a language is to study something, anything using that language. Also, why on earth would I study a Chinese instrument in English? It would just be strange, like reading Shakespeare in Chinese (apparently, they really struggled translating the ambiguous line ‘to be, or not to be’) Erhu isn’t too hard to learn with a bit of patience, but my hands are quite small and some positions can be uncomfortable. Also, the technique for holding the bow is actually the same as holding chopsticks, so a bit of a disadvantage for Westerners…after a long session of playing Erhu my hand hurts so much I can only eat my rice with a spoon.

　　最后，我每个周一学了中国画，在家，我学人物写生了，不过在这儿没有地方能随便画画儿吧，我了解能画中国画的时候我很高兴！我们学了很传统的中国画，比如画了果园、竹子、梅花、对虾、等等。我画了很多画，要联系很多，能中国画送给我家人。我买了毛刷和墨水，所以我能继续画中国画，我很败兴的因为我想画金鱼，我最喜欢的中国画，不过我的老师说了比较难的，没有时间，能自己画画儿。

The last thing on my busy schedule, every Monday I took classes in Chinese brush painting. At home I do art classes, so I was really excited when I found that these brush painting classes were offered at the University. We studied really traditional figures, like orchards, bamboo, plum blossoms, shrimp etc. You get shown the method for this and that and then you just have to practice it over and over until every brush stroke is perfect. I did a wardrobe full of paintings, I think I know what all my family will be getting for Christmas this year, and next year too. I bought my own brushes and ink too so that I could do my own stuff once classes were over,  I was disappointed because we never got to learn the fish design, which is my favourite in traditional Chinese art, our teacher said it was a bit more advanced and we ran out of time. I guess I will just have to work it out myself (maybe with a little YouTube help too…)

我学了三个特别中国的技艺，连时间不太长的，也了解了三个重要的学语言办法：

Three things that  I learned about studying language from studying some random stuff in China:

1。如果在将来要做什么东西，要现在开始吧。(If you want to do it well when you’re ‘older’, you have to start now.)

2。如果你要语言学得好，不能只学语言，要学每个东西用那个语言，也很有意思的。(If you want to study language, don’t just study language, study random things using the language, it’s way more interesting.)

3。如果要改进什么水平，与其等待为老师教你，不如自己尝试。 (If you want to improve, rather than waiting for the teacher to teach it, just go ahead and try to work it out for yourself.)

Peace ya’ll

Lea, Teacher Yang, Martyna and I in our Taiqi outfits (Photo: 11/13 LKorva)

Learning the technique for painting plum blossom (photo: 11/13 emccall, painting by lecturer)

Dystopia is PM 2.5

I look outside my window and I am blinded by the strange yellowy glow, the highrise buildings I can normally see are completely obscured. There is no horizon, I start to feel claustrophobic. I look away and down at my hands instead. I try and pretend that it is fog, but fog does not smell like petrol and dust. I jump as a guy walks into the elevator wearing a black face mask, the filter on it is creepy, not like the pink bunny ones that people normally wear. In class, we hear the news that schools in Nanjing and Shanghai have been closed. I understand why as we sit through four hours of dry coughing, my teacher has to drink water before she can speak. My nose is running, my throat is raw, I’m really tired, I know I do not have a cold because everybody else says that they are feeling the same. People with good jobs don’t have to go to work. The construction workers outside the classroom aren’t so fortunate, they continue to jackhammer the pavement into the night.

Like the dystopian futures predicted by Sci-Fi writers for centuries, we are being poisoned by the very air that we breathe.

People talk all day about the air quality, like commenting on the weather, but underneath every comment lies a modicum of fear. Afraid that it will only get worse as the years progress, China has not committed to improving their air quality levels, their stance is that high levels of PM 2.5 is merely the by-product of economic development (Particulate Matter size 2.5 microns is the main category of pollution monitored by government departments and is fine enough to enter the respiratory system.)

Recently, there was a report of an 8 year old girl living in Jiangsu province who died of lung cancer, it was linked to air pollution (see report: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/chinas-choice/2013/nov/07/china-air-pollution-eight-year-old-cancer, The Guardian, Duggan, 2013).

People are being killed by something which you can see, taste, smell, choke on. Where are the protests, where is the outrage, where is the anger? I see complacency by the people as well as by the government, just as predicted, centuries ago…is this the perfect sci-fi dystopian future?

Imagined Dystopia: Original 1982 artwork for the Sci-Fi movie “Blade Runner”

Dystopia: Industrial Jiangsu Province, China, 2013

The Laowai effect

The Laowai 老外 (laowai-foreigner) effect. I’ve probably mentioned before that being a foreigner in China means you will encounter many interesting, strange phenomena. It’s mostly limited to staring, photos (hiding in the background of your photos so it looks like you’re posing together.. ) random people wanting to make conversation with you more than they would at home, free drinks, overpriced clothing, shouts of ‘hello’ or ‘welcome to China’ without an attempt to converse any further, being discussed by people whilst they’re standing right next to you, being told “I don’t speak English” even when you’re already speaking Chinese and old people trying to pawn their son/daughter/niece/nephew/family-friend/that guy onto you.

So what can one do with this mix of positive and negative experiences, positive and negative attention brought on simply because of how you look? Everyone reacts differently; unphased, aggressive, embarrassed, amused, uncomfortable, etc. Some people glory in their new-found fame, and some people use it as an opportunity…

Today, I asked a 30-something Westerner guy in my class how his weekend was. He began to regale myself and the other students with a tale of his trip to a mountain village with a Chinese woman he had been chatting to for at least a week on popular IM service, WeChat. He told me how lucky he was that she didn’t ask him to meet her parents, because in China-speak that apparently means “we’re getting married!”

Or so he’s been told.

Anyway, so he goes on a wonderful hike up the mountain with her and her two young children. At the top, she tells him why the husband is no longer around. She was really upset and in tears after telling him of her tragic past. Leaning forward he taps his nose knowingly, a serious look on his face, “Chinese men are awful” He tells me “There’s something totally wrong with them and the culture here.”

That night he, like the model gentlemen that he is, decided to not make a move.

“It didn’t feel right after she told me about her ex.” he said with a frown. Suddenly his expression clears,”… I definitely had the opportunity…My mates were disappointed though when I told them, we all thought it would be a  more…interesting trip…ah, well, I have this date next week with a Chinese woman, she’s a fashion designer…”

Myself and the guy sitting opposite me shared equally bewildered looks, before turning back to our books without comment.

This is not the first time I’ve heard this guy say things like this, gloating about how many Chinese women he dates. This is not the first guy here I’ve heard say things like this, for example the 20-something who told me that he had so many women chasing him just because he was white, he dated some of them and his girlfriend broke up with him when he mentioned this (‘she wouldn’t marry me,’ he told me, ‘and now she wants me back because there are so many women here who will.’) Looking to the perpetuated stereotypes of Chinese women, some expat men say that they want a Chinese girl because they are ‘traditional women’ who know how to ‘treat men’, who are so much more attractive and more feminine than these gosh-darn Western women. Apparently, it is because Chinese men ‘don’t respect women like we do’ that Chinese women are so ‘crazy’ about Western men.

I think anyone who has spent any period of time in China has met at least one laowai who has said a combination of the above.

I raise it here, because it is shameful, inexcusable behaviour. These people and these sorts of statements manage to be racist as well as sexist and to offend both Chinese men and Chinese women…actually, all women everywhere!

So, yeah, I’m kind of sick of hearing this sort of thing.

I’d say ‘go home’…but I wouldn’t want anyone there to have to endure your bigoted attitudes either.

I’d warn the women here about you…but they’ll figure it out even before you refuse to see their family and slink off back to the WeChat ‘find-a-friend’ function.

What some Laowai must think happens in China… (Image: CharismaMan.com 2013)