More Reading = Less Writing

I am currently in the middle of Rana Mitter's Forgotten Ally: China's World War II, reviewed well in the Wall Street Journal. It winningly attempts to give China its due for the role it played in World War II. Having loved Barbara Tuchman's collection of essays that included a counterfactual piece entitled If Mao Had Come to Washington, I may pick up her Stilwell and the American Experience in China, 1911-45. After Mitter's book, Stilwell needs some rehabilitation.

In the last two or three months, I have just read John Irving's Cider House Rules, Dan Brown's Inferno and Jonathan Franzen's Freedom, which all deal with the population crisis and/or sex.

Since getting my Kindle, I have also breezed through:

The Heart of Haiku
Jane Hirshfield

Dear Life
Alice Munro

The Luminaries
Eleanor Catton

The Art of War
Niccolo Machiavelli

Guns
Stephen King

Bunker Hill
Nathaniel Philbrick

43*: When Gore Beat Bush—A Political Fable
Jeff Greenfield

The Way of Chuang Tzu (Second Edition)
Thomas Merton

This rediscovered penchant for reading has meant that I have spent considerably less time writing for this blog. While I do not intend, entirely, to abandon it, my posts will continue to be less frequent. I have some vague sense from the site stats that people do actually read this blog, but the number of subscribers to its companion Facebook Page has remained static (around 110) for over a year and only two people subscribed to the email version in 2013 and nine in 2012. I have not written anything Upworthy or viral. I am weary of going to places as a sort of reporter with my camera and, in addition to reading, want to turn my energies back to studying Chinese so, I am afraid, there will be fewer posts here than in the past three years. 

I will also be commencing a job search for the next chapter of my life, possibly back in the United States of America. 

My job responsibilities are finally picking up. I work at New Oriental in the Elite Program which prepares students in middle school to go to the USA for middle or high school. I am designing general science (earth science, life science, physical science) and social studies (American history, geography, and civics) curricula for the spring. I am using the Common Core Standards and would love any teachers reading this to be in touch about reviewing my two 64-hour (32 two-hour class) offerings. 

Finally, in February of 2013, I stepped up and rejoined the board of Project Laundry List. If this "life work" of mine is to bear further fruit, it will take a fair amount of dedication and stamina. Two years of mismanagement by a single board member and his hired hand have left the organization in rather dire straits. Managing a board from the other side of the world is proving difficult, particularly given the vagaries of the Chinese Internet and the range of time zones that must be accommodated for meetings. For instance, I will do a workshop at 3 AM Beijing time next week, which is 2 PM Eastern Daylight Time. 

All of this is by way of excuse for why you may see fewer posts in 2014. Still, if you wish to learn about something in particular, please let me know. 

My No Criminal Record Saga

in honor of the modernists

"All I ever did was shoot a deputy down..."

BAD MAN'S BLUNDER LYRICS - KINGSTON TRIO

What follows is a boring story which I shall do my very best to relate with wit and color so that you might be motivated to read it all the way through. Franz Kafka's The Trial is a story of a fictitious man arrested and prosecuted for some crime unknown to him (or the omniscient narrator), although I imagine some number of that book's readers have concluded that they know what felonious act was committed, human nature being so accustomed to jumping to conclusions. Sadly, this current author knows of no germane crime whose revelation or careful shrouding would add intrigue to the following tale. Rather, this is the story of law-abiding and rather boring characters (aka crashing bores), excluding this writer only by virtue of his high self-opinion.

This epic parable (if such an oxymoron might be permitted) concerns huge bureaucracies and a large number of forms and documents, stamps and signatures, clerical errors and some mismanagement, as well as the de facto monopoly of the US government on American notarial acts performed in the People's Republic of China..

Before we begin this story, let me establish some simple facts. To work in China as a foreign expert, one must obtain a foreign expert's certificate. As you might have assumed, there is a gargantuan bureau responsible for putting its imprimatur upon any applicant's expertise and suitability. As you might also have presumed, the implementation of rules and regulations varies tremendously from district to district. Still, all across the land, there is now supposed to be, in the packet of information presented to these officials, a statement of no criminal record. This particular regulation came into force some time around July 1, 2013, following a pedophilia scandal in the prior year. No clear guidance has been offered to employers about what sort of certificate will suffice to convince the Chinese bureaucracy of one's innocence before the law. It does not apply only to teachers and others who work with children, but also to the magnates of international conglomerates and the legions of consultants who come proffering their expertise to Chinese firms and its sprawling government. If thou hast a work permit then some record of thy criminal history or lack thereof must be enshrined in some folder in the ministry. If once you got sentenced for smoking marijuana and you work for an investment bank, the PRC Public Security Board (PSB) wants to know.

In Beijing there is an American embassy, as one would expect in the capital of a major recognized and friendly power. Part of that embassy is a consulate within which is housed American Citizen Services. They offer notarial services--each signature costing US$50 (the price is the same the world over). In order to make an appointment with the foreign service officers therein, one must visit a website and register at a time when the US government is open for business, which is not always the case in this Tea Partying age or ever the case on Wednesday afternoon and weekends. The expectation is that you will arrive half an hour in advance of your appointment. The contracted Chinese company whose job it is protect these important legates and their staff from an invasion will not let you into the building until fifteen minutes prior to your scheduled appointment even if particulate matter blackens the heavens and the waiting room is nearly vacant, as was the case on the day of my visit. You must appear bearing your passport and a copy of the appointment form printed from the aforementioned registration website.

In the United States there are fifty states and a number of districts and territories. Each has its own distinct set of laws related to the provision of notarial acts and to the provision of a statement of no criminal record or criminal background report. In Michigan, you just get pointed to a website. In the state of New Hampshire, where I last resided, the Department of Safety's Criminal Records Repository does not require, as some states do, a requesting party to appear in person. One may, instead, submit a notarized form that seeks to have the record (or proof of no record) mailed to you, your employer or some other appropriate party.

In New Hampshire, there is also the longest serving secretary of state in United States history...who happens to be a friend of mine. His office is responsible for licensing various trades and professions, notably and relevantly notaries public, justice of the peace, and commissioners of deeds. A commissioner of deeds is permitted to carry out the same duties as a notary, but outside of state borders, whereas a notary public is restricted to performing his office inside of the state. In New Hampshire, the law allows notarial acts to be performed outside of state borders by commissioners of deeds, but neither notaries nor commissioners of deeds can charge more than US$10 for a signature.

Now, with these facts established, let us commence the telling of this story. By August 15, my paperwork to transfer my foreign expert certificate was all completed save for the requirement of obtaining a record of no criminal history. August 15 was also, technically, my last day of work for my former employer, though they continued to keep my sizable bonus hostage until after this transfer of paperwork debacle was concluded. Keeping money earned by a former employee until documents are cancelled is a novel concept that they decided to try out on me even in the face of my increasingly angry protestations. (It is also worth noting that August 22 might have been my last day if they had consented to pay me for earned vacation, but that is not their habit, sadly.)

In early August, I went to the US Embassy ("This is is the worst run embassy and I have worked in 43 countries," said the man behind me in line) and obtained notarization of my signature requesting that the State of NH send legal proof of no criminal record to my new employer. This was mailed off by my current employer with a courier service in a timely fashion and the form was stamped on August 16. Either the failure of the state to mail it abroad in the SASE, the lack of an SASE, the unreliability of the mail, or malfeasance on the part of the courier company meant that this single sheet of paper was not returned. In the ensuing two months, the patient clerk who works for the State of New Hampshire dispensing criminal records (sometimes to real criminals!), spoke with me several times, eventually getting special dispensation to fax it, which also failed twice. Faxing is complicated by the fact that our working hours here and theirs in NH never coincide. Ultimately, she received permission to email me a PDF, which I printed and gave to Human Resources (HR). Success!?

Not quite. HR called the Public Security Bureau (PSB) Foreign Affairs Department to make sure that they would accept a facsimile of the original. They said they would not, so we dispatched the courier company again and waited for the original. The original at long last in hand, HR brought the packet of information to the bureau. Rejected! Why? First of all, I was told I would need a statement of no criminal record from Changchun, where I had most immediately lived for two and a half years. (In the end, this turned out not to be true despite my former company having gone, in the interim, to quite some trouble to obtain it.) Second of all, the Chinese bureaucrats have no way of knowing if the blue and red stamp on the printed copy of the form filled out with pen by me was truly and legitimately the original from New Hampshire. They suggested I go to my consulate and get them to certify it as such. This is not a service that American Citizen Services (ACS) offers. Instead, they will affix their signature and seal, the date and printed name of the signing consular associate on an affidavit in which I can swear that the copy (a copy of the original document) of the attached document(s) are real, but which excuses the embassy of any liability if I am perjuring myself. They attached two documents, my fancy NH Commissioner of Deeds certificate signed by her Excellency Maggie Hassan and the criminal record form, and they did so with a very fancy irremovable grommet instead of a staple. Rosie the Riveter would have beamed at their handiwork.

In the lively, cordial, fascinating conversation with the consular associate, she neglected to sign and seal the affidavit--a detail to which we shall return. She did, however, on my first visit suggest that I meet with the Deputy Consul to speak generally and at greater length about my concerns, giving me a number to call to set up an appointment. She also, in a helpful gesture, pushed through the gap underneath the plate-glass window a flow-chart that ACS has developed to assist foreign experts who must now wade through this process. It was at this point it came to my attention that some people had merely appeared at the embassy with a handwritten statement averring that they had no criminal record. In turn, the embassy affixes an affidavit to these statements. It is unclear to me on what grounds they can or have ever denied somebody a signature on such an affidavit. The consular associate also explained that the real criminals probably go through an agency and get this paperwork handled by an agent. She never even needs to look the next criminal in the face.

I took her advice and made the appointment with the Deputy Consul after having sent them a letter, which said, in relevant part:

The subject to be discussed is whether the Chinese government will allow US citizens outside of the US Embassy to act as notarial officers.

I have reviewed the information at http://www.passportsusa.com/law/info/info_630.html (non-official, but the best info I could find on the subject) and http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/86732.pdf, but there is no nation-specific information about relevant treaties, applicable Federal law and regulations, or the laws of China that govern.

I think it is not proper that US government maintain a monopoly on this service and charge five times ($50) the statutory limit in my state ($10) for providing a notarized signature. Furthermore, it is an added burden (and unfair, in my opinion) to Chinese and joint venture employers who must pay their staff to take the better part of half a workday to wait in lines, go through security, register and wait again after they may have had to wait several days for the next available appointment, as well.

The reason that I went to the trouble of getting sworn in as a Commissioner of Deeds (who can perform notarial acts outside of state borders for New Hampshire citizens) and tracking down a judge to get sworn is was precisely to work with the hundreds of foreign teachers who, according to a new law that went into effect in July, will need to obtain a criminal background check. I would like to offer this service to them at a nominal cost.

On a different but not unrelated note, unfortunately, I have heard that individuals have offered handwritten affidavits stating, "I have no criminal record" and the Chinese government has accepted this. This renders the system meaningless, allowing any pedophile or other dangerous criminal to simply perjure himself. That the Chinese government went so far as to pass a law of this sort is laudable. Properly carried out, it should offer protection not dissimilar from what we require of teachers at home in the USA. It is in the best of the interest of the United States and reputation of our foreign experts here to ensure that this protection is in place in a functionally viable manner so that we do not have an embarrassing scandal with a foreign expert who has manipulated the system.

If the conversation between our two governments on this subject has not commenced, I suggest that the time is ripe. If this email does not suffice to convince you, I should very much like to have an opportunity to meet you in person and further plead the case on behalf of the thousands of Americans in Beijing and China who may want convenient, affordable notarial services. In any case, I would like an answer about whether I can act as a notary. I am willing to appear in person if you request or so require.

I have courtesy copied the NH Secretary of State who prompted me to become a Commissioner of Deeds so that I might notarize criminal background checks. I am also copying the relevant person at my current and former employers in China so that they can be apprised of the information herein. 

When I heard back that they would be happy to see me, I sent a short follow-up note, which, in relevant part, stated:

I noticed that the Affidavit that you dated and stamped with your name and position did not have a signature or a seal per se. I assume that is the way you do these things normally and that the Chinese government will accept it as you returned it to me, but if this was something you overlooked and we can perfect the document further, please let me know so that I can bring it with me. I suspect that the Chinese bureaucrats who review these things will be looking for a signature where it says signature and a seal where it says seal. To re-purpose President Gerald Ford's most famous utterance, I am ready for this long international nightmare to come to a swift conclusion. 

Unfortunately, on the day I arrived for the appointment nobody had read between the lines in the first letter or read my plain and simple English in the second epistle. The first order of business in the meeting with the deputy consul was the pushing of some more documents through the slot beneath the plate-glass window, clearly there to protect the deputy from my growing sense of irritation. In these documents was a copy of the Chinese notary law that was conclusive and would have, had somebody read my letter with some semblance of care, precluded the need for an in person meeting. It states, among many other requirements, that all people doing notarial acts in China must be Chinese nationals. In our discussion, I explained that I was well acquainted with both congresswomen from my state of last voter registration and one of my senators, but was told meekly that if they received a letter of inquiry from a congressional office, they would probably recommend that the Chinese government not clarify the law as past experience has shown that such requests lead to more hurdles, not a simplification of the process in question. "I am not surprised," I chortled. "Red tape," I muttered, conscious of the double entendre.

As the conversation wound down, the deputy offhandedly reminded me that he had heard that my correspondence had mentioned something about the affidavit lacking both signature and seal. He informed me that, if indeed I was correct about the document, the associate had made a mistake by not signing and sealing. His implication that I might be mistaken about the document's state of imperfection again reminded me of the purpose of the plate glass window.

As it was in the possession of my HR department, I did not have it with me. Yet another (fourth) visit would be needed. In true fact, the plate glass window was not necessary and I maintained utter composure throughout the conversation, perhaps even leaving him with the feeling that I was a satisfied customer. Alas, though I made a number of quips about the terrible position that they must daily find themselves in with regards to placating some of our angry, self-entitled fellow citizens--the ones who make more specie being disproportionately shorter of patience--I was not at all content with the defeatist Catch-22 that he laid out for me. The government was unlikely to raise the draconian consequences of China's isolationist notarial law in bilateral conversations (admittedly a high hope), to look upon or respond favorably to a Congressional inquiry about why they had not sought further clarification of the new criminal record regulation, or to do anything whatsoever to enable me to establish a thriving side business as a notary. To add insult to injury, in addition to telling me nothing I wanted to hear, they had negligently fulfilled their notarial duties. How, really, could I be expected to be satisfied?

In the ensuing weeks, I have scribbled letters to the largest US NGO concerned with sexual crimes and to the national association of notaries public in the US. A response from these institutions is still wanting. They should, respectively, in my opinion, be concerned that there is a loophole in the Chinese criminal record regulation large enough for Jean-Claude Van Damme to guide two Volvo trucks through and be concerned for their clientele that nobody can notarize in China except consular officers. Out of respect for the hardworking consular officers in the "worst US embassy in the world", I have not written to anybody elected to Congress. Sadly, so far, I am left jousting at this windmill alone, left flapping in the breeze by my government. Woe is me. Josef K. and Joseph Heller, what am I to do?

Grieving and Gratitude: A Thanksgiving Reflection

There is, perhaps, nobody less deserving of the excellent people with whom I have been allowed to surround myself in this life, but this sense, honest and not a false assertion of humility, is, I would guess, probably widely shared. Indeed, how many other friends of Peter Conner Greer and Martin Capodice must feel the same way? We are and were graced by their presence.

When I left for Asia in early February 2011, I knew that my favorite English high-school teacher was living with cancer and that the husband of my dear friend, who was, in his own right, my dear friend, was also living with cancer. Knowing that I might not be there for their last days was one of the hardest parts of leaving.

A month ago, the latter person, Martin Capodice, passed away and today I have learned that my English teacher, Peter Greer, took a turn for the worse on Thanksgiving. He will return home for hospice--a process that mercifully only lasted a couple days for my other long-suffering friend.

The hardest part of being far away, as I just reflected in a letter to the daughter of my English teacher, is that you must delegate the giving of kisses. I did not express to her the coexisting truth: these temporal works of mercy are not assignable. You cannot be there for Thanksgiving and Christmas with your family. You cannot be there for your godson's wedding or your friend's funeral. No amount of cards or phone calls or delegated embraces can substitute for the spiritual fruit of being there yourself in the flesh, but there is some hope that a message of gratitude, an expression of love will provide some warmth and strength to the one about whom you are concerned.

"I don't think I know him as well as you do, but I adore him--he's just lovely and warm, and always has been," wrote a classmate of mine just now about Peter. Her assessment in the latter part of this reflection mirrors my own, but the first part made me wonder how well I actually know him. Comparisons are odious, as my father has always said, and it is true, I think, that we all know people differently. There must be some standard of knowing somebody better than somebody else, but I don't know what it is.

All this being true, still the hardest part of Marty's passing for me--I walked around the hutongs of Beijing in a daze for a couple nights upon hearing the news--was the realization that I did not know him that well. We don't know anybody that well. Death is always a robbery, taking somebody before you were permitted enough time in this life to go one level deeper or, sometimes, to say things that you wanted to say. As his wife said to me, "I just feel so lucky that I did get the time I had with him."

Amen.

A Second Visit to the Botanical Gardens after the China Tea Expo

On Monday, Deborah and I went to the China Tea Expo at the Beijing Agricultural Expo Center, not far from our home. Having not had breakfast, we asked a nice woman from Yunnan, who had just been at the tea expo I went to in Changchun in September, about where to find some food. She gave us six bao zi (three apiece) and then sat us down at her tea table. Kindly, she offered to warm them up in her tea cup cleaning tool so we re-steamed them perched upon the bottom of upturned cups in a basin of boiling water. 

After learning quite a bit from her, we were asked, of course, to buy something. I knew this was coming, but her tea was very expensive. We escaped with 150RMB of gold-foil wrapped cooked puerh. After leaving the consumed tea in the urinal (pardon me for sharing this detail, but see the picture below), we proceeded to the subway station.

More than an hour and a half later, we were back at the Beijing Botanical Gardens. I was anxious to see the inside of the world's largest, purportedly, conservatory. Deborah and I wended our way through each of the different major sections--a rain forest, a desert, an orchid zone.

It was a magnificent air day. You could vaguely smell the smoke from farmer's burning their fields, but the blue sky was a welcome sight.

"You Gotta Die of Something"

Reflections on Incense, air-filters, and PM 2.5, etc.

Encyclopedia Britannica states that incense was employed to counteract disagreeable odors, drive away demons, manifest the presence of gods, and to gratify gods. Incense burning has been practiced for centuries. Early Christian churches used incense in the Eucharistic ceremony, in which it symbolized the ascent of the prayers of the faithful and the merits of the saints. Later, incense was employed sporadically in the Church of England. Elsewhere in both Eastern and Western Catholic Christendom, its use during divine worship and during processions has been continuous [1].

There is a little bit of medical data out there on the web about particles emitted by incense. The conclusion of one study was, "When considering the worldwide prevalence of incense burning and resulting high respiratory exposures, the oxygenated organics identified in this study have significant human health implications, especially for susceptible populations." [2] A second, earlier study concluded, "The particles emitted in a domestic environment by a source of moderate intensity such as burning incense disperse throughout the house, even in rooms with closed doors and in rooms as far away as the next floor. This dispersion has significant implications in terms of evaluating human indoor exposure to fine and ultrafine particles." [3]

The consensus seems to be that it is not healthy. The following abstract offers a good overview:

In Asian countries where Buddhism and Taoism are mainstream religions, incense burning is a daily practice. A typical composition of stick incense consists of 21% (by weight) of herbal and wood powder, 35% of fragrance material, 11% of adhesive powder, and 33% of bamboo stick. Incense smoke (fumes) contains particulate matter (PM), gas products and many organic compounds. On average, incense burning produces particulates greater than 45 mg/g burned as compared to 10 mg/g burned for cigarettes. The gas products from burning incense include CO, CO2, NO2, SO2, and others. Incense burning also produces volatile organic compounds, such as benzene, toluene, and xylenes, as well as aldehydes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The air pollution in and around various temples has been documented to have harmful effects on health. When incense smoke pollutants are inhaled, they cause respiratory system dysfunction. Incense smoke is a risk factor for elevated cord blood IgE levels and has been indicated to cause allergic contact dermatitis. Incense smoke also has been associated with neoplasm and extracts of particulate matter from incense smoke are found to be mutagenic in the Ames Salmonella test with TA98 and activation. In order to prevent airway disease and other health problem, it is advisable that people should reduce the exposure time when they worship at the temple with heavy incense smokes, and ventilate their house when they burn incense at home. [4]

"You gotta die of something" was probably the glib response of some friend who was the object of my concern for smoking cigarettes. It is my response generally to the affliction of living in urban China. I don't own a mask, but I still inhale. They say, as I have reported previously, that a bad air day here in the capital is equivalent to smoking a pack-a-day of cigarettes. Never having smoked a cigarette or even put one to my lips, I am still fairly sure that experience would be preferable to getting my quotient of smoke from tailpipes and smokestacks. That said, I suppose I am just catching up with the nicotine addicts. I fear (deeply) that stressing out about the air is likely to contribute to my demise just as quickly as the particles themselves so I have adopted a laissez faire approach as best I can. Let it kill me, something will eventually.

Now, some might think education has little purpose if even one of their most environmentally-educated friends is not smart enough to don protection, so to speak. In fact, I am very concerned about climate change and air pollution (and over-population, if your thoughts went there), but when I asked the purveyors of the parts to a do-it-yourself air-purifying kit if they had measured the macro-costs of their tool, I was placated with, "What a great idea! We will have to look into that." I am concerned that if we all run air purifiers that run on electricity generated from coal, we will only make things worse. If we all fill the landfills with disposable masks, it won't be long before we are buried in a sea of them. If we try to cool the houses and stores of Beijing with air-conditioning, we will continue to increase the number of unbearably hot days. Accepting some level of suffering now so that more people do not need to suffer later seems like the right thing to do.

A degree of cynicism coupled with a healthy disdain for technological progress probably makes me more curmudgeonly than Wendell Berry, but I think we should not be afraid to ask deep questions about emerging, flash-in-the pan whiz-bangery, such as Superpedestrian's new project. Do we really need a better bicycle? I still sweat on an electric bike. What problem does this really solve and even if it solves my problem, does it solve a larger problem? Not if I am still going to own a Prius and the bicycle, too.

Well, I am concerned about PM 2.5, but I sure would like to find a good game of kodo...and those bikes do look like fun...so I will stop this train of thought about how to be holy in an age of consumption. Cough.

Japanese ladies adding smoke to the air as part of an incense-smelling game.

1. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/284645/incense

2. Characterisation of airborne particles and associated organic components produced from incense burning.
Chuang HC, Jones T, Chen Y, Bell J, Wenger J, BéruBé K.
Anal Bioanal Chem. 2011 Dec;401(10):3095-102. doi: 10.1007/s00216-011-5209-7. Epub 2011 Jul 17.

3. Characterization of particles emitted by incense burning in an experimental house.
Ji X, Le Bihan O, Ramalho O, Mandin C, D'Anna B, Martinon L, Nicolas M, Bard D, Pairon JC.
Indoor Air. 2010 Apr;20(2):147-58. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0668.2009.00634.x.

4. Incense smoke: clinical, structural and molecular effects on airway disease
Ta-Chang Lin, Guha Krishnaswamy and David S Chi3
Clinical and Molecular Allergy 2008, 6:3

Coal Mining Envy

Warning: Mining Equipment Pornography

dedicated to my old friend and accomplice Dr. Helen Caldicott

This picture is from Monday, prior to the grand opening ceremony

Friday at 1:27 PM

I am about to leave by bicycle for the China Coal & Mining Expo 2013. In the Chinglish version of their promotional website it says, "China Coal & Mining Expo goes back to 1985, when it was first held. It has since been the trade’s only national event every other year. In 2013, China Coal & Mining Expo will have been hosted for 15th anniversary."

In 2011, the bi-annual China Coal & Mining Expo attracted more than 410 exhibitors from 24 countries and regions, occupying more than 70,000 sq. meters, which made it the largest trade show in its sector. 

Friday at 2:59 PM

I am back home already. It is more or less over. It was supposed to run until 2 PM today, but registration closed at noon. Nevertheless, I wandered around the outside grounds with no pass and a camera. Here are the results. Really, it looks like a bunch of over-sized toys for men who like to play in the sand (and play with our future existence, I might add). Compared to the smooth bore of a nuclear warhead, though, one has to admit that these gargantuan dildos are much more exciting for the sadists who wield such weapons of mass destruction.

Penis Length Worldwide

Dr. Caldicott, to whom I've dedicated this post, wrote a book called Missile Envy, making unveiled usage of the pop psychology term "penis envy." As a review in the Christian Science Monitor put it in 1984, "'Missile envy' is partly the illusion that the bigger weapon is the better. It also touches the macho element in our society: The only way to forestall the enemy is to be bigger and tougher than he is." If your enemy is another coal mining company, then you would want to be at this trade show looking for the biggest, toughest hunk of water-squirting metal you could find--maybe from a German company like Krupp. If your enemy is mankind, the smaller Chinese versions will also do. 

The Confucius Temple & Imperial College

Last weekend I went to a nearby site and while I will write a few of my own observations, The Lonely Planet managed to offer such a good description that I thought I would repeat it here with attribution:

An incense stick's toss away from the Lama Temple, the desiccated Confucius Temple had a pre-Olympics spruce up that failed to shift its indelible sense of otherworldly detachment. Like all Confucian shrines, China's second-largest Confucian temple feels rather like a mausoleum, so expect peace and quiet. Some of Běijīng's last remaining páilóu bravely survive in the hútòng outside (Guozijian Jie) while antediluvian bìxì (tortoise-like dragons) glare inscrutably from repainted pavilions. Lumpy and ossified ancient cypresses claw stiffly at the sky while at the rear a numbing forest of 190 stelae (stones or slabs etched with figures or inscriptions) records the 13 Confucian classics in 630,000 Chinese characters. 

A ghastly footnote lies unrecorded behind the tourist blurb. Běijīng writer Lao She was dragged here in August 1966, forced to his knees in front of a bonfire of Běijīng opera costumes to confess his 'antirevolutionary crimes', and beaten. The much-loved writer drowned himself the next day in Taiping Lake. 

West of the Confucius Temple is the Imperial College (国子监; Guózǐjiàn), where the emperor expounded the Confucian classics to an audience of thousands of kneeling students, professors and court officials – an annual rite. Built by the grandson of Kublai Khan in 1306, the former college was the supreme academy during the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. On the site is a marvellous [sic] glazed, three-gate, single-eaved decorative archway. The Bìyōng Hall beyond is a twin-roofed structure with yellow tiles surrounded by a moat and topped with a shimmering gold knob.

I did not know about Lao She's trial here, but beyond this interesting tidbit, I found the appraisal accurate and the language vivid.

The first statue of Confucius that one sees upon entering the shrine.

Halberds at the gate to the temple. 

Caption in the museum reads, "According to the records, Confucius was nine chi and six cun tall and was called 'a tall fellow' by other people. Considering that one chi is equivalent to twenty centimeters, Confucius would be a strong man of 1.92 cm." This was only the tip of the iceberg in his glorification.

This is one of the hundreds of 190 stelae that the Emperor Qianlong, who reigned during

the time of the American Revolution, had inscribed with 13 classic books. I liked the 

stone of this one, with its mottled, China-like surface. 

Just before I took this beautiful picture, I had a wonderful conversation with a blustery German fellow and his Chinese wife, who were tourists from the Vancouver area, but there were not a ton of people around so it was much like Lonely Planet describes--a place where you can "expect peace and quiet."

Another statue of the great sage, Kongzi (孔子), fenced in with the red-ribbons of good wishes

A couple of large mythical beasts seem ready to devour the HVAC system, perhaps to preserve the blue-sky days. 

The lovely second story of a hutong (alleyway) home that has a straight view of the temple's grounds. 

"What? You did not do your homework?!"

 

The dorms of the scholars seemingly used a system of movable boards to transform their cells from beds into study chambers or an eating table.

The azure heavens with the celadon and golden ceramics that adorn the tomato soup red stone gate made for a gorgeous picture. "Gnarled cypress trees outside the gate create thick shade from the sun. On each side of the gate stands a huge marble stele inscribed in Mandarin and Mongolian ordering all horse riders, even the emperor, to dismount. The glazed yellow tiles on the roof reveal the temple’s past dignity." (from CITS)