Another great article

Yet another great article on China by James Fallows, here.
I've found that Fallows is one of the few journalists who cover China well. Most journalists fear to stray far from Beijing or Shanghai, but he does.
The most telling line in the article is the part about the Sheriff.

Mr. 芮波's Neighborhood

Mr. 芮波 (rui4bo1) that's me! (rui4bo1) sounds a little like Riepl; at least it does in a Mandarin accent. Well here are a few pictures of my neighborhood while I'm finishing my next geography lesson.

Here is the view off the bridge over a small canal just south of the 北门
(Bei3men2, bay-men) or North Gate of the city.

The following two are looking south from the window of my study.

You can see the spires of downtown Kaifeng in the distance.

This is from west of campus, there is an old canal that runs past some abandoned factories.

And this last one is from an old mansion I visited with my class yesterday.
Its about 2 hours to the west of Kaifeng.

Chinese Geography: Lesson 2; China Proper

Well I had so much fun making that map and writing the last post that I think I'll continue. I think maybe I'll just start zeroing in on Kaifeng, and then see where we go from there.

So the in the last post we looked at what China isn't. So now we're going to explore what remains, which would be China proper. Cue the new map!

Click on it to make it big as well.

Well as you can see I've further narrowed down the map of China to "China Proper". I've also further divided it into various regions. A lot of this is my own interpretation as there is no standardized way of further subdividing the place.

Here are the major Geographic regions and what makes them special:

• North China or the North China Plain. It is a mostly flat broad area whose relationship with the Yellow River cannot be underestimated. Much of the sediment that makes up the land beneath my apartment where I sit comes from the river. The river and the sediment it brings enriches the land and fertilizes the crops. And often the river and (often because of) its sediment, floods in massive cataclysmic disasters drowning cities, killing millions and displacing millions more. (The Song dynasty capital of Bianjing is buried beneath the earth on which the modern city of Kaifeng currently resides.) Chinese people still farm here much as they have for many thousands of years on small plots of land just outside their villages. Beijing, the massive, growing, pulsing, modern city, is located in this region. But so is Henan province (where Kaifeng is), Henan is currently the most populous of the all the provinces at about 100 million. These 100 million are squeezed into an area about the size of Wisconsin. It is no wonder that Henan ranks as one of the poorest provinces in China. In addition to modern Beijing and dirt poor Henan, the region boasts many of China's historical places and artifacts. All but two of China's ancient capitals are located here. Confucius, Mencius, Laozi (Lao-tzu, founder of Daoism), Sunzi (Sun-tzu, and his art of war), and whole host of other famous historical personages were born and lived in the North China Plain. History is everywhere here.
• The North West is made up of many mountains and a large plateau. It along with the North China Plain was home to China's ancient past. The Yellow River runs through the Loess Plateau where it picks up the sediment that give it its name and color. Today the region is dry and getting more so. In fact most of northern China is drying out. This process has been going on for at least the past two millennia. Just over a thousand years ago this region was deeply forested and two thousand years ago it was wet and lush enough to support elephants, tigers, lions, and rhinos. The modern city of Xian (Shee-an) is located here. In the past it was known as Changan and was the capital of many dynasties. Just outside the city lie countless un-excavated imperial tombs as well as the famous terracotta warriors. Today this region has a large population of Hui (Hway) people. Though almost entirely indistinguishable from the majority Han Chinese, the Hui are technically one of China's 55 officially recognized ethnic minority groups. The thing which sets them apart is their religion, Islam. The Hui are the largest Muslim group in China. They exist all over China, mostly in the north, in pockets. Their unofficial capital is in Lanzhou (lan-joe) 300 miles to the west of Xian. (hmm, looks like I'll need another map...) There is a large Hui community here in Kaifeng, most of them live right around the campus. Their communities boast many Central Asian styled mosques (white tiled buildings with green onion domes and gold filigree). The men and some women (especially the older ones) wear white skull caps. They do not eat pork and their food contains lots of lamb and mutton. As well as many spices not usually associated with Chinese cuisine. Their food is much closer to Chinese cuisine than the Uygurs' is and many dishes overlap. And there is much more that they share with the Han Chinese than they don't. Hui people speak Mandarin Chinese and I've not met any that speak or read Arabic (even though there is often some Arabic on their restaurant signs which denotes the place as being halal -basically Islamic Kosher). I don't know to what particular kind of Islam they subscribe to but it seems rather mild compared to say Saudi Arabia. Although generally the Hui do not eat pork, many do drink alcohol and some even serve it in their restaurants. I've also visited a few Hui mosques with female imams (a Muslim religious leader) something completely unheard of in the Middle East. I've traveled a lot in this region; it is relatively close to Kaifeng and easy to get to and yet quite different from my part of China.
• Sichuan (suh-chwan) known perhaps to frequent Chinese restaurant goers as Szechuan (same pronunciation). The region of Sichuan in my map incorporates two provinces (well, one province and one giant municipality governed as a province) but really it is one entity. The province was only recently split 10 years ago, and most Chinese people still think of it as such. Geographically, Sichuan is a huge basin surrounded by mountains on four sides. The basin comprises the eastern half of the area shaded green in my map above. The western half of the province is made up of the Tibetan Plateau and really should be considered part of that region. (Most regions in China do not actually correspond well to the provinces. I've used them because it is easy, I'm sure in the future I'll be able to provide some better maps.) Sichuan is densely populated like Henan. The two provinces taken together dwarf Henan in terms of population (one out of every 50 people on earth is Sichuanese). Sichuan in Chinese is: 四川 (si4chuan1) meaning "four rivers", there are many more than four rivers which run through the province but this name surely speaks to the rich countryside which is able to feed its massive population. Though I have yet to visit, I find Sichuan to be particularly intriguing. Probably this has to do with the food; Sichuan style is my favorite kind of Chinese food. Known for its liberal use of spicy chili peppers in just about every dish. Sichuan cuisine also uses the Sichuan peppercorn (which is not related to either Indian black pepper or the New world peppers) which has quite a unique flavor. The Chinese call it 麻 (ma2) which means: numbing; and they can leave your mouth tingling afterwards. Often the dishes in Sichuan restaurants are 麻辣 (ma2la4), "spicy and numbing".
• South China, is an often used and yet poorly defined term. South China is, simply, everything that is not North China. I've heard numerous definitions for what and where South China is. I've heard its everything south of the Yellow river (probably the least true), everything south of the Yangzi river, everything south of the Huai river/ Qinling mountains, and even just the area around the cities of Hong Kong and Guanzhou (Canton). I've heard my professor from last year refer to Shanghai as being in the south, which at the time seemed pretty weird since it sure looks on the map that if Shanghai is anywhere it is in East China. But no. To him East China referred to the province directly to the north-east of Henan. So who knows. Really the difference depends on who you ask and where you are when you ask that question. The reason for this is that the idea of South China has as much to do with culture and language than latitude. The first thing to know about South China is that it contains most of China's diverse languages and ethnic groups. Where as North China is pretty homogeneous by comparison. (I'll get into the languages in another post, I'm sure) South China contains so much diversity because of one reason: its geography. The whole area is full of rivers, valleys, large lakes, and lots of mountain ranges which all chop up the area into many separate localities. For the longest time early Chinese migrants to the south settled in the river valleys where they found much isolation and where they developed many of their own customs and languages. South China is also home to many non-Chinese ethnic groups, whose languages and customs are quite different from that of the Han Chinese. (More on South China and its diversity later.)
  

Chinese Geography: Lesson 1; What is China?

In order to understand the geography of China one must first understand what is China and where is it. When people ask me, "Where in China are you?" "Where is Kaifeng?". I pause because this is not an easy question to answer. (Perhaps that's just what I get from reading too much.)

Often, I will say it is in North China or in Central China. But I don't know if it is clear what exactly that means. Probably not. So I am going to delve into one of my favorite topics: Geography. Hopefully it will be enjoyable.

What is China? A difficult question really, in my opinion. China is a country, right? Yes, but... Its more than that. I like to describe China as a sub-continent, at least geographically. Really it is just too big to be understood in the same terms as a country like say France or even the U.S. But why?

First, it is huge. Both in terms of size and population. Everybody knows that China has lots of people (and does it ever!) 1.3 billion. Although that is really an estimate. The place is too vast and varied for everybody to be counted exactly. I have heard that the margin of error in the common estimate of 1.3 billion is 300 million. That's the same as the population of the U.S.! So it is possible that there is another United States inside China. Or, for that matter less another United States. But more on population another time. In terms of size China is geographically about the same size as the U.S., maybe a little bit bigger, depending on whose calculations you look at.

Second, China is so varied in terms of languages and cultures and ethnic groups as to not be comparable to say France which is made up of French people who all speak French. (A generalization for sure but which is beside the point). Take as an example the language, Chinese, it is really a collection of languages (Mandarin, Cantonese, Fujianese, Shanghainese, Hakka, etc...). All of which do share the same writing system (with a few exceptions) but which are all totally unintelligible between each other when spoken. And yet there are many tens of millions of people in China who speak languages which don't even fall into that large category of Chinese.

My point I guess is that China is too big, too varied, too deep to be understood as a mere country.

So, enough blathering and on to the map:

(its a little blurry, I'm still working on my Photoshop skills)

China Proper and MORE China!

So in this map we see the national boundaries of China and inside them some regions which I have shaded blue and labeled. These regions surround China Proper and are places where throughout history the Chinese people have had much influence in and oftentimes even controlled but which up until quite recently have had few Han people living in them.

They are:

• The North East, known in the West as Manchuria. A term, which all though descriptive, is shunned by Chinese people since "Manchuria" has bad connotations and is reminiscent of the Japanese puppet state "Manchukuo" and the all bad memories of the Japanese invasion during WWII. Manchuria is a full of forests and mountains and lots of rivers. And it is the place where the Manchus originated, before they eventually conquered China in the early 1600s. They then set up the last of the Chinese dynasties the Qing (CHING) and have lent their name to various things Chinese, such as Mandarin (the language), a mandarin (as in a bureaucrat or official), and the Mandarin Orange (which are lovely and plentiful in the winter).
• Inner Mongolia is a region of grasslands and is generally too dry to support much agriculture. The inhospitably towards traditional Chinese-style agriculture being the major reason all these regions where never incorporated into the Chinese State until much more recently. Geographically Inner Mongolia has always been part of Mongolia and in the past both parts have at times been under the control of the Chinese state. The last time being under the Qing. When the empire collapsed in 1911 China fragmented into a dozen or so separate entities all headed by warlords who fought amongst themselves. When the Communists finally reunited the country in 1949, they were unable to re-conquer "Outer Mongolia", which was backed by the Russians, and instead recognised it as a separate entity. (Mongolia and Taiwan are the only two parts of the former Qing Dynasty that the Communists were unable to re-conquer.) Describing this place as "Inner" Mongolia and the nation of Mongolia as "Outer" Mongolia (in the past anyway) speaks to the China-centered mindset of the Chinese. That even more famous group of conquers, the Mongols, of course hailed from this region. (And when the took over in the 1200s they also set up their own Chinese dynasty, the Yuan Dynasty).
• Xinjiang in Chinese means "The New Frontier", which really isn't all that descriptive of a name, I know. I have heard it called Chinese Turkestan or East Turkestan by some; it is the West of the Xiyouji or The Journey to the West. Xinjiang is a huge place, with tall mountain ranges and sweeping deserts dotted with Oases and caravan towns. It is mostly inhabited by a people called the Uygurs (Wee-gur s). They are a Central Asian people and speak a language that is close to Turkish. In appearance they look Turkish or even like southern Europeans. On occasion I am mistaken for a Uygur, especially if I am by myself and speaking Chinese and in a place that few foreigners go. Uygurs are one of the Muslim groups who live in China, though certainly not the largest. Xinjiang has for most of Chinese history been China's link to the outside world. For a thousand years the Silk Road ran in and out of China, through this region and on to India, Persia, the Middle East, and finally the Mediterranean and Europe. Just like Mongolia this region has from time to time been under the control and influence of the Chinese State. Most notably the Tang Dynasty (from about 600-900 AD). It is also the place where China's grapes are grown and where its mediocre wine comes from. Uygur people also recently have begun to immigrate to China proper, where they look for jobs. They often set up Uygur restaurants (their food has a Central Asian flavor and is quite different from Chinese food) or rug shops. In Kaifeng and other cities I have often seen them grilling kebabs or selling slices of fruit-nut cake in the streets or night markets.
• Tibet or the Tibetan Plateau, is probably the best known of China's regions. It is very remote, difficult to get to, and very mountainous. The Tibetans like the Manchu, Mongols, and Uygurs have lived on the outskirts of the Chinese state for centuries, sometimes separate and sometime incorporated into the Empire. Today both Tibet and Xinjiang are experiencing government sponsored immigration of Han people (the ethnic group of 90% of the Chinese). They come from poor parts of China looking for work (the government has poured lots of money into both of these regions to improve their economic situation and tie them closer to the Chinese State).

Just some pictures I took around Kaifeng

I know its been quite a while since I've posted anything. I went for a walk in between some rain showers two weeks ago. It had been raining on and off for about a week and a half by then. It is now getting much better weather-wise and certainly much more in accord with what is to be expected from the season in Kaifeng.


Autumn in North China, where I live (more on the geography of China in a later post) is generally long and mild. The character for Autumn is 秋 (qiu1) and is made up of the characters for grain 禾 (he2) and fire 火 (huo3).

Contrary to popular conceptions, most Chinese characters are not pictures. Only approximately 10% are derived from pictographs or have a meaning related to their image. Autumn happens to fall into that 10%. Since most of the pictograph derived characters are simple/ natural concepts, it makes some sense that most seasons would fall into that category.

So in my humble interpretation the idea of harvest makes the grain component obvious. As to the fire I guess it either has to do with the burning off of field waste or possibly to warfare. Since in many traditional societies Autumn was the best time for raiding and making war. People were finished farming and now had the time to devote to marauding, pillaging, and burning. And all the now stored grain gave them something to steal.

Today looks like it will be yet another beautiful Fall day and I hope to go out and get some more pictures for you.

These are from our very wet, cold early Autumn, blech!

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This is an entrance to one of the older buildings on our campus. Which is probably one of the most beautiful campuses in China. (An opinion based mostly on my own biases).

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Here is a (wet and misty) view from my apartment window looking south over the older neighborhood outside of campus and in the distance, barely visible are the towers of the downtown area.

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Jackie Chan, keeping watch on a pile of junk in the stairway.

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A view along the city wall north of campus and on the border of Iron Pagoda Park.

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Another wet view of our campus.