New Campus, Old Campus

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Antonio is native to Kaifeng. He and Jane are in my Advance English Writing course. They are working on speeches for a competition this fall. I helped them get started on their speeches last week. We met in the pool garden by my apartment and did some brainstorming. Today, we are meeting again to review their first drafts. Before we get to work I asked if they would show me some of the sites around town. We exit the south gate and work our way through one of the morning markets. Antonio has his bike but does not want to push it around town all morning so we stop at his grandmother’s house to keep it safe. Bikes are a hot item here in Kaifeng.

We head south through the Muslim quarter. There are market stands of fresh vegetables, beef, and lamb. Every third stall or so is a breakfast stop. They serve noodles, eggs, and soup. Antonio points out the breakfast spot with the best soup. There are many people sitting inside and an overflow out onto the street. Many young adults are carrying this popular soup out of the restaurant in plastic bags. How weird. I have seen this many times and I even took a bag of soup to go last week. It is weird, but practical. I guess there really is no reason to have a plastic, cardboard, or Styrofoam container…

Half way down the road I notice a church. It is about a block west. I ask Antonio if it is Christian. He says the word for it in Chinese but I did not recognize it so we decide to take a closer look. We enter the main gate and there is a pleasant young lady gesturing for us to enter. Standing out front are two statues of saints that look familiar. I do not know religions very well but I had definitely seen these saints at Catholic churches before. Antonio and Jane had never been in a Catholic church so I believe they were just as intrigued as I. Upon entering I am surprised that I don’t ignite into flames or get struck down by lightning. I guess God is off today or isn’t concerned with the likes of me. I think she is just a really nice gal. Those Christian extremist in the States may want to rethink their position on God’s position.

After walking through the pews and taking pictures of the painted glass we return to the Muslim market. The hustle and bustle has subsided as the breakfast hour is now over. I don’t mean to say the streets have cleared, the pace has simply lessened. The street T-bones into a larger street and I look to the right to find a Buddhist Temple. I ask Antonio if it is appropriate for us to enter and take photos. He did not know so he asked the Monk near the entrance. The Monk motions us in and says I should feel free to take all the pictures I like. In the center is a statue of the Buddha and to the right and left are deities, statues of the protectors. We pass through the first temple and enter the main courtyard were there are many people burning incense and praying. Antonio tells me that on the day of the Mid-autumn festival the temple is packed and a line of people stretches down the length of the road.

We continue east and take a right to find a Muslim Mosque. Again we ask if we can enter. The man at the entryway says it is ok to look around but do not take any pictures and do not enter the temple. I am content with looking around. The Mosque is colorfully decorated but void of statues and pictures. It is much more simple then the Buddhist Temple and Catholic Church. It is then that I realize I had just explored three different religions within a one block radius. I ask Antonio and Jane if this was common throughout China. They tell me that it is common but certain areas have a more dominant religion then others. Antonio points to the south and told me that there is a high Jewish population a couple blocks down. ?????

Jews in China? Yes, Jews are in China. Particular to Kaifeng, Judaism arrived as early as 600 CE and proliferated in Kaifeng during the Tang and Song Dynasties, 600-1200 CE. Kaifeng is located near the Yellow River and became a central commercial hub when it was connected to the Grand Canal via a western canal leading into Shandong Province. Kaifeng became the capital city of the Song Dynasty in 960 CE. It is believed that Bianjing, present day Kaifeng was the largest city in the world with a population of over 400,000. That is a little less then the population of Milwaukee but 1000 years earlier. Today there are about 4 million people living in Kaifeng and we consider this a small city. That’s right. One of the smallest cities in China is half the population of Chicago and 8 times the size of Milwaukee. Did I mention there are a lot of people in China?

The Jews had all but disappeared by the time The Peoples Republic of China was established in 1949 but have resurfaced in areas such as Kaifeng. One of the most impressive cultural differences between the West and China I have observed since my arrival is the great cultural, ethnic, and religious tolerance enjoyed by most. I am not going to claim that discrimination is non-existent. I have read a book or two. However, I will claim, from my experiences thus far, that in Beijing, Kaifeng, Zhengzhou, Xi’an and most of northern China, tolerance is common. Again, within a mile radius Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and Catholics share space. There are no violent crimes and there is no ethnic warfare. You are not suspect for being black, having piercings and tattoos, or practicing one religion or another. You can be gay. You can be straight. Do I get funny looks? Of course. However they are looks of curiosity, not fear, not disgust, not hate. Maybe it’s because Chinese culture has existed for so long or because there are so many people. Whatever the reason, the Chinese have figured out that there are more important things in this world then race, creed, color, sex, political favor, religious belief, sexual orientation and so on. Except for the whole Japan thing, but I’ll let you do research on that one yourself.

We hop on a bus and head towards the new campus. The bus is 1RMB, that’s 14 cents USD. This is my first time on the city bus or gong gong qi che. It is pretty crowded but you really can’t beat the price. It takes you all the way across town and the journey is not very long, unless of course the bus breaks down. It does. We wait a moment as the driver opens up the engine and begins to fiddle around with the motor. The campus is only a block away so we decide to walk. As we enter the gate our bus drives by and gives a friendly honk of the horn.

The campus is enormous! It is reminiscent of a State school campus. The buildings are megalithic and separated by parks, gardens, lakes, and sports fields. It is quite impressive. The campus is only 8 years old and designed for science and engineering students. Like my campus, the freshmen are lined up and practicing military drills. This campus has 30,000 plus students and every inch of the athletic fields are covered with freshmen in their military fatigues. It is quite a site.

We stop at the 7 story library and check out the archives. I can not help but take a look at the 1989 newspapers. I am too curious. The facilities are much like Beloit, only larger. There are study rooms on every floor and students fill every seat. There are multimedia rooms and each hallway has its own theme; history, math and economics, science, Eastern historical documents, and Western historical documents. I must say that I am very impressed. We don’t stay on the campus for very long. It is really just one massive building after another. The old campus has much more character. Plus, I think Antonio and Jane are eager to get to work on their speeches and I’m getting quite hungry.

We take a direct bus from the old campus to the new campus and I convince the students it is time for lunch, although it is only 11:30. They treat me to Hana Fuku which I am told it is a favorite among the students. I let Jane and Antonio do the ordering because I still do not recognize most things on the menu. We get a sweet and sour eggplant dish which is to die for! We also have some spicy potato and a meat sandwich thing. All very good. After lunch we return to my apartment to review the first drafts. They have a good start and I look forward to the final product.