A long time ago, back in our Polish Communist days, I read a good deal of Timothy Garton Ash who wrote a great essay about Uses of Adversity and life in communist countries. I find it so relevant here.
I had a most interesting class today and the long and short of it is that already (after a brief 6 weeks), I have discovered that there are least two Chinas. Both live side by side, everyone knows they both exist, they accept this and continue to live as if there were really only one China. The one China is the one that everyone talks about; it is not just the official line, but it is also what people tell themselves, everyday and on lots of levels. There are too many examples to focus on one but what happens is that everyone is searching, desperately for everything to work out, go smoothly, be positive and good...something they can say, "yes this is working," "see our economy is moving forward", peace will prevail in the world. This official China and the one that exists politically but also the one adopted my most in society.
The other China is what really happens everyday and everyone knows it. ..it is that life here remains so hard, people are struggling, their apartments are so small and every decision has to be approved by someone. Their lives are controlled, decisions are imposed on them, and they know their limits. Everyone is aware of this second reality but they also know that there is so little or nothing they can do to change this. So, why acknowledge it? What can one person do to change a place/culture/society like China. This is the reality: things don't work as the plan suggests, most people cannot buy most of the luxury goods that fill the shop and everyone is "coloring within the lines" only because they know what will happen if they don't. Yet, this reality is truly so awful and so unlikely to change, why bother getting it to it..why bother even acknowledging it. Instead, focus on the positive and go around the lines when you can and hope you don't get caught.
I learned much of my Polish by hearing and practising how to complain about communist life, politics and the unfairness of the world. I would sit with friends and hear about their lives, the choices they were forced to make, the lack of opportunities and their sacrifices and the indignity they had to face in so many ways we as Americans could not imagine.. Often, there was not even a bathroom in the apartment...but at these times, when we were all together, eating, drinking and bonding...nothing else seemed to matter. At least together we had reality and at least when we were together we were not forced to "live within the lie".
There were many uses and lessons for adversity.
Today was the first day that a few students confided in me that they too acknowledged this second China...moreover, they long for change and even more opening up. I don't think they had anything particular in mind but I just think they long for more opportunity to express themselves as individuals.
Yet, if you come here for a short visit, I think you would be most surprised by the smiles, the kindness and the optimism...everyone is indeed hopeful and China will march on and they will march together. Where the Chinese march to and how long it takes is anyone's guess but what is not is that even if they don't say it or won't even directly address the multitude of problems, discomfort or indignities they face, everyone, underneath it all, knows there are at least two Chinas.
I continue to wonder if I will have any of these Poland-like bonding sessions, will our knowledge of China stay as superficial as some would like it to be...Jeff says that he will not go to another huge feast where we all sit around the table and compliment each other excessively and then eat and eat...and at the end share some "real thoughts" through toasts.
I can see what adversity has done for so many Chinese..they are incredibly hard working and unbelievably competitive (imagine how difficult everything is when you have to compete against 1.3 billion) but what else will it do...for them? our girls? us?
2 comments:
Sounds familiar: like the two Americas. The land of plenty espoused by the corporate elite and the confiding politicos and believed on one level by the masses, and the other reality of the ever widening gap between the haves and the have nots. As we continue to graze in the land of plenty, the credit card and other debts (trillion dollar war to name one) mount. The gap widens as the middle class move more and more to the have nots. And we happily wave and smile to all that want to visit (well, at least we used to; now we fingerprint them when they land at our airports). I can't wait to see the Chinese version of this!
It seems that people focus on what might be, and that keeps them going, tolerating what is inconvenient at the time, hoping that things one day will be better. But what happens if it never materializes? I think you could ask the folks living in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Oman, Yemen, and Egypt those questions. Let us hope that China does not get off track.
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