Bengfort.com

Last weekend, Andy, a friend and myself rode our bikes to one of the most famous outdoor markets in Beijing, Panjiayuan Market. Considering that the market is only one mile from our apartment and rather famous, Andy and I were both baffled that in our respective 4 and 2 years living in Beijing, we hadn’t been there even once. We remedied that last Saturday. Panjiayuan initially became famous as an “antiques” market. Unfortunately nowadays real antiques are hard to find, and much of it, like the rest of China, is “fake old” -newly created but made to look old (Think the remodeled Forbidden City, Qianmen and all the “historic” hutongs that were really knocked down and rebuilt in the past decade). However, if you’re not actually looking for antiques, Panjiayuan is a wonderful place. The outdoor market sprawls under a series of pavilions, with vendors displaying their goods on the ground or in crudely crafted stalls. You can buy anything from ceramics to coats of armor. And there aren’t only Chinese vendors, but foreign ones as well. I spotted a group of Africans selling wooden carvings of giraffes and elephants. It was interesting to see the reverse bartering, the Chinese customer trying to get a lower price and the foreign vendor refusing to budge. It was very amusing. I had a little trouble bartering at this market, as most of the vendors didn’t play by the rules. They quoted one price, and when I said it was too expensive and walked away, they did not ask me what my “best price” was. Maybe they could tell that I wasn’t really interested in parting with my money, who knows. In any case, I didn’t end up buying anything, but I did take over the bartering for a painting my friend wanted to buy. I have to admit it wasn’t my best haggling experience, but I believe the price was fair. 195 kuai for a large oil painting (initial asking price was 350). And in the end I did make purchases at the glasses market (“spectacles city”) next to Panjiayuan. One pair of glasses and two half-year contacts all for a grand total of $36. Not bad.

Scene from the Ballet "Red Detachment of Women"

Sunday was Women’s Day, and I celebrated by doing a stereotypically feminine thing -going to the ballet. The ballet was a revolutionary Communist creation titled the “Red Detachment of Women,” a propaganda piece that only mildly resembled classical Western ballet. If you are familiar with ballet, or recently seen the Curious Case of Benjamin Button, then you know that ballet is all about the lines. In this ballet, the dancers certainly had a line, but not what I would consider a classical ballet line. Rather, the lines were more rooted in tai ji and martial arts, and in some cases were dissolved all together when the ballet veered off in the direction of traditional Chinese folk dance. Of course at the time this ballet was created (it premiered in 1963 at the very same theater we went to on Sunday-wonder which seat Mao sat in…) the anti-rightest, anti-capitalist, and anti-West mentality was in full swing. Anything deemed bourgeois or Western was immediately labeled counter-revolutionary and banned. Ballet of course, is a typically Western art form, and the only way it survived in Maoist China was by radically changing the form and content. Although the most fundamental principles of ballet were retained, a lot was changed to purge its bourgeoisie nature. In fact, several dance moves were strictly prohibited, including the pas de deux and echappe. Also, using these French names was also banned. Grace and beauty, principle tenets of Western ballet, were replaced with strength and militarism. In fact, the dancers all underwent military training in order to rehearse the ballet. According the history of the ballet printed in the program, “An army general pointed out that the female dancers looked like women [no duh], not soldiers. They immediately stopped rehearsing and sent the dancers…for military training.” As result of this training, clenched fists replaced elegant hand movements, pirhouettes were sharp and precise, leaps were meticulously timed, and all throughout dancers were dressed in soldier’s uniforms carrying assorted weaponry -swords, handguns and long rifles. The most shocking moment of the ballet, given that it is indeed a ballet, is when the evil landlord is shot. As he staggers off into the horizon, half-dead, the Red Army steps into formation and shoots after him, firing simultaneously, shot after shot after shot. It was in the most literal sense of the word, overkill. Chairman Mao’s impression of the ballet also cracks me up. 方向是对的， 革命是成功的，艺术上也是好的。 “The direction was correct, the revolution was successful..the artistry was also good.” His last comment on the artistry seems a mere afterthought, which it probably was. We all know what Mao’s priorities were, and it was definitely not art or culture. But, despite the overtly communist connotations of the ballet, it was still highly entertaining and culturally enlightening. I would certainly place this ballet among the so-called 70% good that came out of Mao’s China.

As the camera panned from the waving athletes parading their colors at the Olympic Open Ceremony to their respective nation’s leaders sitting in the stands, it was clear that the joy of one world coming together and engaging in friendly competition was not a sentiment equally shared by the world’s top leaders, at least according to their facial expressions.

As the camera panned from the waving athletes parading their colors at the Olympic Open Ceremony to their respective nation’s leaders sitting in the stands, it was clear that the joy of one world coming together and engaging in friendly competition was not a sentiment equally shared by the world’s top leaders, at least according to their facial expressions.
When the British team entered the stadium, the camera shot to Gordon Brown, who smiled reservedly and waved. President Bush and wife gave their classic, well-rehearsed wave and bemused smile that they display at every public event, which at least imparted a small sense of enthusiasm and joy of attendance. Russia’s Vladimir Putin didn’t even crack a smile when his compatriots paraded in, and instead remained rather grim, as did the elderly Chinese woman sitting by his side (Who was she?) But his grimness was no match for the Chinese statesmen, who despite all the hype, media attention, BILLIONS of dollars spent, countless international battles to save the “face of the nation,” extraordinary economic policies and pollution measures, and 7 -count them, 7- years of waiting, their faces did not show the slightest trace of pride, joy or enthusiasm. Instead, they were stoic, blank, even hostile looking, as they watched, as we Americans joked, for any one of the thousands of performers to mess up and then order him jailed for “subverting state power.”
I guess the Chinese government has always been above the law it dictates and the slogans it spews, including the sartorial slogan, “Volunteer’s Smile, Beijing’s Image.” I guess in it’s efforts to clean up Beijing’s “image,” the Capital Spiritual Civilization Construction Commission missed the country’s leaders. Hu was not smiling, and was probably even wearing white socks with black shoes (gasp! what an uncivilized country this is!).
However, in truth Hu’s dour face was an anomaly amongst the super excited Chinese people within the stands and out on the streets of Beijing. In the two hours leading up to 8:08 on 8/08/08, even babies were proudly displaying their Olympic spirit with flags stuck into their hats, in their pockets, taped onto their shirts, and fake tatooed on their faces. Having had the day off, the atmosphere reflected that of a holiday. It was like Christmas. We even began shouting “Happy Olympics!”

(奥运节快乐！）with the same cheer as one would say Merry Christmas or Happy Birthday. The volunteers and even the policemen were in a good mood. Earlier that day I even had a nice chat with a policeman and helped him help lost foreign tourists. Everyone, except Hu, was in a good mood and showed it openly.
Even the goverenment’s idiocy in closing off an entire ring road (way to convenience your citizens and tourists there government) was not enough to really dampen our mood in the beginning. It was hot and we walked 1 mile to our destination after the subway could only take us so far. However, we finally got to the Emperor Hotel and sat on the roof of Yin bar, drinking free champagne as we watched the first half of the Opening Ceremony. The ceremony was truly incredible. Zhang Yimou does know how to put on a good show, although it is interesting to note that many of his films are banned by the government, and now he is a tool of the state. I guess times change.
Many more Olympic posts to follow!

Everyone knows that food is an important part of culture, and nowhere is it so evident than in China. Whereas food in nearly all cultures is important for physical and social reasons, food in China has a stunning variety of importance attached to it. Banquets are frequently used as a lubricant to butter up government officials and wheedle business deals; “Have you eaten?” has been and still is a common expression of greeting in China instead of a plain “hello”.

Everyone knows that food is an important part of culture, and nowhere is it so evident than in China. Whereas food in nearly all cultures is important for physical and social reasons, food in China has a stunning variety of importance attached to it. Banquets are frequently used as a lubricant to butter up government officials and wheedle business deals; “Have you eaten?” has been and still is a common expression of greeting in China instead of a plain “hello”; Traditional medicine lays great emphasis on holistically altering your body’s chemistry by advocating and prohibiting the ingestion of certain foods and herbs; Plenty of symbolism and superstition are attached to certain types of foods (I’ve eaten a deep-fried fish eye because it would ‘bring me luck’); and even physical beauty is associated with things that you can chew, swallow and digest.

Peter Hessler offers amusing insight on this last subject when he shares what his Chinese students of English envision “Shakespeare’s woman through Chinese eyes” to be like. Apparently this beauty would have fingers as “slim as the root of an onion….so slender that scallions can’t compare with them,” her skin would be “soft and white, like cooked fat,” and her waist would be soft as “water grass”.

Food and physical beauty seem to have quite the connection in Chinese culture. Kao Tzu, a Chinese philosopher, did after all say “Appetite for food and sex is nature.” This being the case, some Chinese expressions link food and female anatomy more scandulously, and a seemingly innocent phrase about eating something may not be as innocent as one might think, as Andy found at recently.

There are a lot of phrases in the Chinese language that use the word “to eat” in a non-scandoulous way: 吃苦 chi ku is a commonly used phrase that means “eat bitter,” in other words, suffer/endure hardship. 吃醋 Chi Cu literally means “eat vinegar,” in other words be jealous ( primarily in a love affair).

After his coworker invited his usual Starbucks buddy to go downstairs for coffee and they both forgot to invite him, Andy playfully pretended to be jealous when they got back. His Chinese coworker told him that he loved to Chi Cu (be jealous). Andy, jokingly says he just loves to Chi Doufu.

吃豆腐 Chi Doufu – literally means to “eat tofu,” and according to my Chinese dictionary means “1) to tease; flirt; 2) engage in minor sexual harrassment.” Aside from the fact that flirting and sexual harrassment, even “minor” sexual harrassment, are verrrry different things, neither of these meanings are correct.

Upon utterance of these words, the Chinese coworker gasps in horror. Andy of course doesn’t understand her reaction, until after much coaxing he finally gets her to reveal the real meaning of this phrase. Apparently it means, in the words of the Chinese coworker, to “lick breasts.”

I missed my weekly bike ride this weekend because the air pollution was too bad to even be outdoors for more than an hour, much less exercise heavily. I also decided to skip an outdoor pool party, but still managed to float around in an indoor pool for a couple hours with friends. Overall, we were trapped indoors all weekend because the air resembled pea soup. Except not green, just white/gray.

I missed my weekly bike ride this weekend because the air pollution was too bad to even be outdoors for more than an hour, much less exercise heavily. I also decided to skip an outdoor pool party, but still managed to float around in an indoor pool for a couple hours with friends. Overall, we were trapped indoors all weekend because the air resembled pea soup. Except not green, just white/gray.

The air pollution index has been over 100 for the past four days. 113 on Thurs, 110 Friday, 115 on Saturday, and on Sunday it hit 125 right before the measurement deadline (Caijing Magazine).

However, despite the pollution index reports, the government assures us that the air quality is not as bad as it looks. Regard this sentence from a magazine article quoting a government official. “…..Haze/Fog does not represent air pollution. He [the govt official] expresses that this haze/fog decreases air visibility, but ‘it is like being in a bathroom taking a shower where you can’t see the person across from you.’”

The new subway line opened! Non-Beijingers will probably fail to feel any excitement about it, rightly so, but for those who have been watching the development of Beijing’s new infrastructure, everyone can now let out the one word they have kept bottled up for the past two months -Finally! Originally scheduled to open in May, authorities have kept delaying the opening date, until it got to the point that no one knew when the subway line would open, not even the government spokesman! This past week, when an official was asked when the line would open, he said …before Monday! Maybe even Friday, or Saturday! He really had no idea.

The new subway line opened! Non-Beijingers will probably fail to feel any excitement about it, rightly so, but for those who have been watching the development of Beijing’s new infrastructure, everyone can now let out the one word they have kept bottled up for the past two months -Finally! Originally scheduled to open in May, authorities have kept delaying the opening date, until it got to the point that no one knew when the subway line would open, not even the government spokesman! This past week, when an official was asked when the line would open, he said …before Monday! Maybe even Friday, or Saturday! He really had no idea.

But fortunately, the subway opened this past Sunday. Andy and I celebrated the occasion by packing up our folding bikes with the intent of taking the subway all the way to the end of the line (about 24 km out) and then biking back (After our 70 km ride the previous day.. ugh! I need to get bike shorts!)

Unfortunately we encountered a little snag. The rules clearly state that no bicycles are allowed on the subway, which is completely sensical. However, we had our bikes folded in half, with the seat removed, and stuck in a bag. It looked exactly like a piece of baggage, which you ARE allowed to bring on the subway, if not for the simple reason that the subway is now connected to the Airport Express, with the hope that more people will use the metro to get to the airport instead of taxis or cars and thus contribute to improving the quality of Beijing’s air.

However, due to new security rules for the Olympics, everyone has to pass their bags through an X-Ray machine. Fine. But then, they discover it is a bike.

“Forbidden to take Bicycle on Subway” we were formally told in Chinese. Having already taken our bikes on the metro once before, we were told that the rule forbidding bicycles all of a sudden began yesterday. We then argue that even though it is a bicycle, it is folded up and in a bag. It should be considered the equivalent of a piece of luggage. However, after the X-Ray they know its a bike in there, not clothing, pirated dvds and bottles of baijiu, so they argue we can’t bring it on the subway. We argue back saying that if we are allowed to take this thing in a bag on an airplane and a train, we should be allowed to take it on the subway. I even say, “what if we were going to the airport and it was a piece of our luggage? We should be able to take all our belogings to the airport on the airport express. What if tourists to the Olympics bring their own bike and are coming from the airport. What do you say to them?” After this, we were told to wait a sec while they talked to a supervisor.

After waiting 5 minutes, standing by the X-Ray machine, the person comes back and tells us to go right in, without any further ado. Apparently they realized their irrationality. I love it when I (logic and reasoning) win.

I think I am nutrient deficient; the most telling signal is that my hair has become unprecedentedly thin, weak and brittle. I used to have nightmares in which I lose all my teeth, now I will probably have nightmares about losing all my hair!

I think I am nutrient deficient; the most telling signal is that my hair has become unprecedentedly thin, weak and brittle. I used to have nightmares in which I lose all my teeth, now I will probably have nightmares about losing all my hair!

I have noticed however, that for this past month, my diet has been conspicuously devoid of fresh fruits and vegetables, to an extreme degree. I had been eating a lot of rice and meat curries, noodles, a lot of Middle Eastern dishes (kebobs, couscous, and hummus with bread), and Chinese dishes that although have vegetables, don’t really seem to deliver on nutrient content due to the unhealthy amount of oil and MSG.

I have decided to fix this, and have been stockpiling on fresh fruits and veggies, and making dinners that are at least 60% fruit/veggie related. Hopefully that helps with my hair situation. Now hopefully my nightmares are limited to my shadow coming to life and strangling me to death (not just mine, but in a crazy dream I had last night, everyone’s shadow comes to life when direct sunlight creates the perfect silhouette, and they then try to strangle their “owners.” Once the human is dead, the shadows were free to assume an independent life. The only way to escape a shadow that has come to life is to run into the shade or a dark room. It was a very strange, graphic dream.)

*White Mans= Vitamins in Chinglish.

I wrote a post a few weeks ago about how I have lost several friends due to the government’s increasingly severe visa restrictions. Those who had been living, working and studying in China for the past two years or more were suddenly denied renewals on their visas, and ultimately, they were forced to leave the country altogether, some never to return. Now it seems that not only foreigners are getting kicked out of Beijing, but Chinese citizens as well. The government of course wants to show a good face to the world, and as such has unleashed a rather cruel campaign to get rid of all the migrant workers, “freelance recyclers” (a word that Andy coined, referring to those who scavenge through trash receptacles looking for cardboard and plastic bottles to take to a recycling center for a small sum of money), and any other riffraff that would make the city lose face if a Westerner was to spot one and hand over their empty plastic bottle for recycling.

The government is also swift to deport anyone with a trace of minority blood in them that could maybe harbor a grudge against Han imperialism and refuse to do the “Jiayou Aoyun, Jiayou Zhongguo” cheer at the stadiums (the one with the claps and the thumbs up sign) consequently causing China to lose face. Mongolians and Tibetans are particularly targeted, and my life is directly affected as a result. Andy and my very good friend is one quarter Mongolian, three quarters Han Chinese. Her parents live in Inner Mongolia, and although she has been living and working in China for the past 6 years, is incredibly smart, speaks fluent English, has absolutely no police record or history, because of that 1/4 Mongolian in her blood, her residence permit is being denied extension, and she now is forced to leave Beijing for two months. By the way, she is absolutely the coolest Chinese person we have ever met, has a great sense of humor, is extremely informed, and although proud and supportive of her country (when I asked whether I should introduce her ethnicity as Inner Mongolian, or Chinese, she said without hesitation, Chinese, because Inner Mongolia is China), she is objectively aware and acknowledges the flaws in some of her government’s policies and practices.

If the government wants to make enemies of its own people, it’s doing a rather good job. If she had been allowed to stay in Beijing, she would have supported the Olympics, continued to contribute to the Beijing economy, and done her part, like she has been doing all along, to befriend Westerners and make them feel at home. Now however, her opinion of the Chinese government, based on a text message sent this morning, is “F***ing Olympics. F***ing China. I hate this government.”

Japan was a very educational experience. Things we learned:

1) Never eat at a restaurant that does not have a menu or prices listed. It most certainly will be exceed your income bracket. Especially do not do this if you don’t even know the language.

2)How to argue in Japanese. Any argument is ten times more fun when done in a silly and cutesy language. Hai/iie arguments are way more fun than yes/no arguments.

3) The only phrases you really need to know to get around probably in any country are a) Where is the bathroom? b) How much? c) Please give me this/that d) Excuse me.. (and then have a map and point)

4) China is not the only country in which foreigners are pulled over and requested to pose for photographs. Japanese/Korean tourists do it too. Andy and I were waylaid by many the school group to pose for photographs and answer badly spoken English questions. Andy is probably more tired of it than me. “Your eyes are so blue! You nose is so high!”

5) English speakers have an easier time getting around in Japan than Chinese speakers. You’d think that since Japan and China are each other’s largest respective trading partners and are right next door to each other, and that the characters are the same, that a Chinese speaker wouldn’t have a big problem in Japan. Wrong. Cathy had to use English to get around, so much so that people mistook her for another American like Andy and I. In fact, they would begin speaking Japanese with her, she would reply in English, and I would have to step in and save the day with my extremely rudimentary Japanese.

6) Starbucks was cheap in Japan compared to everything else!

It has been 8 days since the massive earth quake that hit Sichuan. I didn’t even feel the 3.9 earthquake that hit Beijing 10 minutes afterward, so I did not quite understand or register the impact of this event on the Chinese psyche until the day after. On Tuesday I had a conference call with NY, and they asked how things were at the office in regards to the tragedy. My first response, since there was no damage in Beijing and work had not really stopped, was that everything was running as usual. My coworker on the other hand, replied that this is a terrible tragedy and everyone across the country, even those who hadn’t felt the slightest tremor, were deeply affected, and that it was dampening the work spirit. Yesterday, there was three minutes of mourning for the earthquake victims. We were all in a meeting at the conference room, when all of a sudden sirens started wailing and drivers laid on theirs horns as if to let the dead hear their outpouring of grief. Despite my initial alarm at the sudden sound, and no relief when my coworker told me it was “the earthquake” (she omitted “in memory of the victims of” the earthquake, and I thought for two seconds that it was a warning siren for another earthquake), the 3 minutes of “non-silence” was truly a moving experience. All traffic stopped, including the busy ring roads. Everyone stopped what they were doing and just stood with heads bowed to commemorate the tens of thousands of people that died. The self-mobilization was truly inspiring, and it was impressive that for 3 minutes, 1.3 billion people were absolutely still. It was this display of humanity that really made me think that China is turning over a whole new leaf. Unfortunately, it is probably a good bet that China’s unusual response to this calamity (most of the time the government will try to cover up disasters) was probably a calculated PR move suggested by an agency for the sake of the Olympics. However, I hope this is not the case, and that China is beginning to take steps in a new direction.