I Am a Verb

July 9, 2013

 Morning and afternoon lectures were the bread on the Lama Temple sandwich.  Dr. Zhang Yanqui presented a stimulating and frank talk on her research about the new media; social media, and how it is impacting young people and the larger community.  Generally, Chinese people don’t express their opinions about challenging political issues.  The state controls mainstream media; print, television, and radio, but young people are turning to social media to “play to participate.”  She feels that social media is subtly impacting political thought through the playful conversation that occurs.  Following this talk, we toured the Tibetan Buddhist Lama Temple.

One of the many Buddhas inside the Lama Temple

Another remarkable speaker of the day was Professor Wu Qing.   She is a verb.  A retired professor, she at once talked to us of teaching with the heart and told her story.  The title of her talk was, “How I used to Be a People’s Representative.”  Her history has been difficult.  Born in 1937, when Beijing was called Beiping, She grew up during China’s Cultural Revolution.  Her father and mother were teachers who taught her to love, but she is a verb.  Verbs take action.  Some of the actions she took as a child and young woman caused her pain.  Wu’s story runs along the timeline of important political change in China.  From this small woman, came a deep, strong voice of confidence and an attitude that says she will tell her truth no matter what.  She speaks her truth in a poetic, loving rhythm that enters her listeners.  She is Maya Angelo.  She is Rosa Parks.  She is Frederick Douglas.  She is a verb.  I want to be a verb.  

Professor Wu Qing

 In my lifetime, I can only remember eating duck once when I was little, and I have no memory about whether I liked it or not.  The tiny, fuzzy, multi-colored duckling we got for Easter one year grew to be the terror of our backyard.  My brother, sister, and I couldn’t go out the glass door without being attacked.  He was nasty mean… 

Well, today I ate Peking Duck twice, once for lunch and again for dinner.  I like it.