Looking Back - then Forward

July 7, 2013

Sunday proved to be a very busy day at Tian’anmen Square and the Forbidden City.  I stood on the same ground where students demonstrated their dissatisfaction with the status quo.  They wanted a more open government and the freedom to make personal decisions.  The government eventually declared marshall law and moved on the protestors.  By the morning of June 4th in 1989, the square had been cleared and the death toll was great.  The number of dead is not certain.  Most of us in the U.S. who are old enough, remember the vivid television image of a young man standing in front of a tank.  He’d decided that this was his moment to stand for the change he believed in.  During this time, many Chinese were demonstrating their desire for governmental reform.  The short story is that many demonstrators were killed, and no significant change occurred.

China is in a period of rapid change.  Mao Tse-Tung, the leader of China's Cultural Revolution, died in 1976,  and as a foreign visitor to China, I have to say that it appears that the Chinese have moved on.  Many older citizens feel that Mao brought stability to a chaotic China and esteem his contribution.  At Tian’anmen Square the line to see Mao’s tomb was amazingly long.  Some in line were seated at they waited.  We did not have time to join them. 

I get the idea that Mao represents something different to many younger Chinese.  In the 798 Art Zone, for example, Mao’s image is often used in a kitchy and slightly irreverent way.  The Art Zone, or Dashanzi Art District, is in a decommissioned military factory.  It is reminiscent of Greenwich Village or Soho in New York.

"Made in China"

Street Art

The Forbidden City is impressive architecturally and by virtue of its scale.  As we passed through the outer courts, I snapped pictures madly, thinking that this was it; the final heavenly gate to the emperors’ residence.  I was wrong several times.  There are nine heavenly gates.  Nine is considered a lucky number.  I missed a movie, years ago, that I now want to see.  You may remember The Last Emperor from 1987.  Filming was done on location at the Forbidden City.

This tour day ended with a visit to a very famous one-shot-wonder.  The stadium venue for the 2008 Summer Olympics is commonly called the Bird’s Nest.  Humidity was very high along with the pollution, so our view, even though we were close, was disappearing into the vapor.  Sadly, the stadium is too big to be used for regular sports.  The seats could never be filled.  I understand that it will be divided into several, more manageably–sized stadiums.