Fresh air. Clean Water. A comfortable bed. High Efficiency Washer & Dryer. Subaru. Cable TV. I don’t really think I live a high-end lifestyle, I worry about car tires, health insurance and rent, yet sitting in our little Seattle bungalow looking over Lake Union on a quiet – so quiet – Sunday morning, I think, “wow, this is really something.” As I muse, I am drinking tea out of my favorite souvenir – a mug from Starbuck’s Xi’an store. I loved that city almost as much as I have loved anywhere. Their Starbucks did not feel commercial to me, surprisingly, rather the green umbrellas and mermaid logo infused the exotic with home, making it all feel somehow more organic to my heart’s rendering of time and place. Ok, so the Terra Cotta Warrior on the ceramic is sort of cheesy but it makes me love it all the more. The bottom of the cup tells me it was “made in China” and reminds me I had best get this last blog out. I can already feel my travel induced altered state of consciousness jumping into the slingshot, aimed directly towards the familiar.
The last day (was that yesterday??) Doug, Kevin & I spent in Beijing was a blast. We left the hotel at 6:30 am sharp, walked ten minutes to the Temple of Heaven and found our spot in the park. Peter & Rey from Allison & Bill’s group had just arrived too and we all warmed up on our own. The Chinese were arriving; it was a bit busier than the day before yet the groups in our proximity recognized us and nodded. (By the way, if one is over 60-and Chinese, then Park entrance all over the country is free; for foreigners of all ages its about $2). We all practiced together; sword, qigong, Taiji, fan. I also really enjoyed the folks who were simply fast- walking (the real Qi-Walking!) or jogging. Instead of headphones & and IPods, they carried their little radios listening to music and I assume, news. I especially enjoyed watching the teacher of one of the groups, a women in her 60’s I think, explaining the footwork by writing with chalk on the walkway. We all showed off for a man who was taking a lot of pictures and videos. He stuck around for much of our practice session, using his tri-pod and hand held to capture us from all manner of angles. I wonder where we will end up. On his wall, a slide show for his school project, CCTV or the trash bin on his computer!
We spent a good 2 hours practicing Taiji and Luohan and taking it all in. We were just about to leave when I lingered to watch a particular group that had captivated me. They were so great! Just as I turned to leave the teacher caught my eyes, I did a little salute to him and then he invited me in. I bowed to all and followed along with what I think was Sun Style Taijiquan. I didn’t know the form but the teacher took very good care of me, even slowing down so I could follow him. After I gave the whole group a hearty salute, which they returned, and we were off to breakfast.
After breakfast we were determined to find one of the 70 Beijing Starbucks. (Yes, you read that correctly). But, we didn’t want just any one; we wanted the “traditional” one that our guide, Miss Gu, had told us about. Luckily it was in the vicinity where our day of spontaneous tourism was taking us anyway. We cabbed over to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City (I’m very grateful my traveling companions were happy to simply do a “walk through” of the City, it is infinitely overwhelming and we were all dynastied out by that point), and walked over to one of my favorite parks in China, Beihei, with the Nine Dragon Screen. I had been introduced to Chen Taijiquan there 25 years ago during my first trip to China and I have a very spiritual feeling for that exact spot. It was great to share it with Doug & Kevin. By that point, we all were getting pretty fried. We walked into a “Hutong” district that I’m sure was once traditional but is now set up for high-end dining and tourism. We found the Starbucks though! It was indeed set up a little more to blend in, but still familiar. It was a beautiful day, the windy sky was dotted with kites and we sat outside under a green umbrella overlooking a small lake with our red bean scones & lattes. Heaven!
We cabbed again over to a crazy shopping district: Wangfujing Street. It used to be run down in the most fabulous way, but is now an outdoor walking mall flanked with Gucci & Prada. After pursuing “The” Foreign Language bookstore only to find an extraordinarily subpar selection of Taiji & Qigong books- Borders has quadruple at least – it was time to get out of there and head for the much-anticipated visit to the Silk Market. At least I anticipated it! I think my male travelling companions felt a bit trepidatious but I assured them they were in good hands with me. And indeed they were! I negotiated hard for our last minute gifts and it was a blast. It is touristy, loud, extremely over stimulating. I love it! At the same time it was poignant to see the economy has hit this market as well; there were many less tourists than last time and the way the locals negotiated seemed more tired too. I admittedly gave up a few more Yuan than I might have feeling hugely compassionate to the struggles of small businesspeople in this global economic climate.
After about an hour there, we had exhausted ourselves. Unfortunately the only glitch to a smooth wrap was trying to find a cab home. It was rush hour and I didn’t consider the only available cabbies would be lined up right out front, charging 4x as much for tourists. Whereas 4x as much ended up only being about $3 more, I just could not bear the thought of being intentionally taken advantage of. We walked and walked and walked some more to another area until about 45 minutes later we got a cab back for the “regular price.” We were starved! As you can see, my brain was on full melt down in its capacity to make rational choices.
Our last meal in China was a fabulous one. We ate “Fragrant Lamb ribs,” skewers of lamb and chicken, a beef noodle soup, spicy chicken & some yummy Bok Choy with mushrooms. Doug and I split a beer. It all ended up being around $15. The next morning it was up and out at 5:00 and onto the 10.5-hour flight. I felt glad to being going home but also I felt a surge of emotion as the wheels lifted up off the tarmac and tucked into the belly of the 767. Kevin said, “there is the Great Wall” and I unbuckled prematurely just to stretch over him and look out the window for that last glance. We continued with the sun on the horizon much of the way across the arc of the globe. We saw some stunning ice flows over Japan, the Berng Sea and the coast of Alaska. It was dark by the time we flew over the Puget Sound; we touched down in Seattle, around 5am, just about when we had left our hotel. It was still April 9th. We gained our day back! It felt great to ride in final cab of this long day to our cozy home and fall into bed irrespective of the fact that the sun was just coming up once more.
You’ve been very kind to read my perspective over these past two weeks so I thought I would end with a brief interview that I conducted with Doug & Kevin, my travelling companions. I asked them 3 questions and gave them about 3 minutes to think about it; I wanted their unfiltered impressions. I wanted to know what their 1) most and 2) least favorite part of the trip was and 3) what they will take back into their training/lives. Here are their words:
Doug: “My most favorite part of the trip was going to the parks. Seeing all the people exercising, practicing their art, carrying culture into their daily life, and not having it separate from daily life. The parks really bring that out.” “My least favorite was the drive to modernize society; it seems to be speeding things up fro the Chinese, changing their culture. “ “What I will take forward is a deeper sense of how our practice is part of our everyday living; that it can be reflected in everything we do. For me, this experience will take me deeper into the heart and mind aspect of my training. As a future teacher, I see more how teaching is a way to help people discover this (the heart/mind) for themselves. “ I also asked Doug if he would go back, he replied, “Oh YES! It was a real eye opener!”
Kevin: “My favorite part of the trip was the veritable feast of experiences that Grandmaster Chen Xiao Wang served up for us. He generously brought us into the Family Traditions, the School, the complete Way of Life that is Taiji in Chenjiagou.” He continued, “I am moved at how Taijiquan has evolved from a utilitarian martial art into a beautiful way of life.” Kevin said his least favorite part was “the air quality in Chenjiagou.” “What I will take forward is the desire to go deeper, much deeper into my practice. I highly recommend to any Taiji player to go back to the Motherland, to meet the people, the Village, who do not just practice Taijiquan, but live it.” I asked Kevin if he had anything else to add, “this was one of the most amazing cultural experiences I have ever had. In this and other areas of my life I am learning more and more about the importance of protecting culture so that we can hand it down to new generations. This is one of the gifts that the Chen family is giving.”
Well, it’s about time for me to go back to work. I guess it won’t be a big stretch to go from this trip back to the Training Floor. I’m excited to see familiar students and to meet new friends; I’m always happy to practice and share with people this tradition that has been bequeathed to me. It has given and continues to give me such a rich life. As the Silk Road that originated in Xi’an has showed us, the sharing of art and culture and the passing on of tradition is a long and revered path within our human race. It is a Way that cultivates not just an art for its own sake but a way that engenders and inspires our deep interconnectedness. It is a way, the way we evolve. I am humbled and grateful to be a part of this tradition.
May Peace Prevail on Earth.
Kim
This picture is from the lobby of our hotel in Xi’an, where I was writing and posting. Nicholis caught me at just the right moment!
Thanks so much for sharing your experience as well as your interview with Doug & Kevin. Maybe some day I will go to China. If not, you at least have given me a picture of the life there to compare to my experience in Japan 40 years ago. I love the descriptions of how Taiji is so much a way of life in the parks. I can't wait to practice again in the park this summer.
Posted by: Mira | April 24, 2011 at 10:54 AM