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China, by nature of its character and its people, has been both vastly different and strikingly familiar. Describing my reaction to the small sample of Chinese that I have interacted with (which by my qualification of “sample” may sound unnecessarily arrogant; I am not testing, but merely enjoying my surroundings) would be as complicated as describing the multitude of opinions and personalities that manifest themselves in Americans. That in itself was unexpected.
Yesterday, the 21st, I met an international relations student that was not only hard on America for our wealth disparity but even more critical of the Chinese government, its foundations and its policies. The day before our guides would hardly feel comfortable enough around us to give the group an opinion of even the most insignificant issue. There have been moderates, a few Mao loyalists (although as our experience at the Mao Mausoleum testified to, the reverence is fading with age), and a good number of democratic sympathizers.
Class today with JIN Canrong, one of the most respected scholars in China, has been incredibly frustrating. While he trumpets the diversity of the CCP (an 80 million person organization with varying ideas and personalities) he congregates Americans, the most diverse population in the history of the world, into a single homogeneous group. Lecturing from that assumption leads to multidimensional misconceptions. The issue lies in the fact that someone who is clearly very intelligent yet has a fundamentally clouded view of American history, politics, and culture operates as an influential international relations scholar. It seems likely that political interactions between the U.S. and China will become more difficult as individuals like this on both sides of the Pacific are on one side encouraged and on the other side allowed to influence public opinion.
Despite some of these difficulties the students we have met here are functioning and learning, for the most part, independently from these influences. That makes me optimistic.
I will now turn to my favorite aspect of traveling, the scenery. I am incredibly excited to see the Chinese countryside. The idyllic landscapes that I have for a long time admired are hopefully right around the corner. Beijing is, in places, a beautiful city. The government has visibly made the attempt to include some much needed greenery amongst the urban sprawl.
I have already determined from my short time here that I am not a city man. There is destitution beside “modern” development. It is frustrating to see a landscape that is so beautiful being exploited and ruined for the sake of the terribly constructed buildings and roads that are popping up constantly. By one look at the infrastructure of Beijing it is easy to see where they intend to get their two generations of projected double digit growth; reconstruction. There society is inflated; their population, their economy, their opinion of human nature, and the perception of the benevolence of their government. At some point, China, as the US is soon to experience as well, will regret the abuses economic modernization and mechanization has instituted upon the land and the people. The smog, even on a clear day, is the worst I have ever experienced. Dr. Hua pointed out that 16 of the top 20 polluted cities in the world are in China. That trend must reverse immediately.
There are numerous other significant observations to discuss from my time in China, but I would hate to miss new experiences while writing this blog. I hope my thoughts will be better stratified and developed by my next contribution. Good bye from China!
-Zach Barnes, May 22, from the People's Republic of China
Yesterday, the 21st, I met an international relations student that was not only hard on America for our wealth disparity but even more critical of the Chinese government, its foundations and its policies. The day before our guides would hardly feel comfortable enough around us to give the group an opinion of even the most insignificant issue. There have been moderates, a few Mao loyalists (although as our experience at the Mao Mausoleum testified to, the reverence is fading with age), and a good number of democratic sympathizers.
Class today with JIN Canrong, one of the most respected scholars in China, has been incredibly frustrating. While he trumpets the diversity of the CCP (an 80 million person organization with varying ideas and personalities) he congregates Americans, the most diverse population in the history of the world, into a single homogeneous group. Lecturing from that assumption leads to multidimensional misconceptions. The issue lies in the fact that someone who is clearly very intelligent yet has a fundamentally clouded view of American history, politics, and culture operates as an influential international relations scholar. It seems likely that political interactions between the U.S. and China will become more difficult as individuals like this on both sides of the Pacific are on one side encouraged and on the other side allowed to influence public opinion.
Despite some of these difficulties the students we have met here are functioning and learning, for the most part, independently from these influences. That makes me optimistic.
I will now turn to my favorite aspect of traveling, the scenery. I am incredibly excited to see the Chinese countryside. The idyllic landscapes that I have for a long time admired are hopefully right around the corner. Beijing is, in places, a beautiful city. The government has visibly made the attempt to include some much needed greenery amongst the urban sprawl.
I have already determined from my short time here that I am not a city man. There is destitution beside “modern” development. It is frustrating to see a landscape that is so beautiful being exploited and ruined for the sake of the terribly constructed buildings and roads that are popping up constantly. By one look at the infrastructure of Beijing it is easy to see where they intend to get their two generations of projected double digit growth; reconstruction. There society is inflated; their population, their economy, their opinion of human nature, and the perception of the benevolence of their government. At some point, China, as the US is soon to experience as well, will regret the abuses economic modernization and mechanization has instituted upon the land and the people. The smog, even on a clear day, is the worst I have ever experienced. Dr. Hua pointed out that 16 of the top 20 polluted cities in the world are in China. That trend must reverse immediately.
There are numerous other significant observations to discuss from my time in China, but I would hate to miss new experiences while writing this blog. I hope my thoughts will be better stratified and developed by my next contribution. Good bye from China!
-Zach Barnes, May 22, from the People's Republic of China