Spring Break
From the back of a bus in China
One administrator shares his summer of unexpected connections
by Perry O. Hanson
Features | 8/28/07
Posted online at 11:42 PM EST on 8/27/07
My wife Susan and I ran for the bus with our guide, Guo Wei. We were off to explore the birthplace of Kung Fu at the Shaolin Monastery, an adventure dearer to Guo Wei than to us, but nevertheless, an adventure. I followed Susan and Guo Wei onto the bus. Susan took a seat on the left, Guo Wei on the right, and I found the remaining seat at the very back of the bus. The woman next to the open seat moved to it, and I took the newly opened seat. She pointed to her bag, now to my right, and suggested by hand-signals that I put my backpack on her bag, which I did. I settled into the seat, prepared myself for the three- to-four hour ride, expecting little in the way of excitement.
I was on a pilgrimage in China, where I lived as a child from 1946 to 1951. My goal was to visit all the places where I had lived (Beijing, Nanjing, Qingdao, Kaifeng) and to revisit Tai'an, where my grandfather, grandmother and their one-year- old daughter journeyed in 1902 to establish a mission, which eventually functioned as a church, school and hospital. The mission was located at the foot of Tai Shan, one of China's sacred mountains (climbed by both Confucius and Mao Zedong). My grandparents had six more children, including my dad, who was born and raised at the foot of the mountain.
The day after we arrived in Beijing we had taken a train to Tai'an in search of the Mission School, which we knew still existed in its modern form. At the Shandong Tia'an Middle School (high school to us) we were received by the principal, Zhang Yonghua, and his deputy, Liu Qingliang. It was a very moving experience, and when I arrived in the history room and saw my grandfather's name in Chinese listed as principal for three different terms, saw his picture and a 1927 diploma my grandfather had signed, I was overwhelmed. In honor of my father (now 92) and my grandparents, Guo Wei, Susan, and I climbed Tai Shan the next day and entered the South Gate of Heaven.
At the back of the bus en route to the Monastery, the woman to my right turned to me and said, "Hello, may I practice my English?" She turned out to be a middle school student travelling with her mother. We spent 30 minutes engaged in a conversation about learning English, traveling around in China, and her dream to go to America. Her English and diction were excellent, and at the end of our conversation she explained that I was the first foreigner she had ever met.When I next returned to China, she said, everyone would be speaking English.
It was then that I learned that the woman who had moved over to give me her seat also spoke English. She was a graduate student and teacher at the University of Henan on her way to visit her boyfriend, who is a graduate student at Beijing University, at his parents' home in the south of China. We discussed all kinds of issues related to politics and current challenges of development and pollution. And, thus, I learned that even from the back of a bus in China, fascinating connections can be made.
The writer is the Vice Provost for Libraries and Information.
I was on a pilgrimage in China, where I lived as a child from 1946 to 1951. My goal was to visit all the places where I had lived (Beijing, Nanjing, Qingdao, Kaifeng) and to revisit Tai'an, where my grandfather, grandmother and their one-year- old daughter journeyed in 1902 to establish a mission, which eventually functioned as a church, school and hospital. The mission was located at the foot of Tai Shan, one of China's sacred mountains (climbed by both Confucius and Mao Zedong). My grandparents had six more children, including my dad, who was born and raised at the foot of the mountain.
The day after we arrived in Beijing we had taken a train to Tai'an in search of the Mission School, which we knew still existed in its modern form. At the Shandong Tia'an Middle School (high school to us) we were received by the principal, Zhang Yonghua, and his deputy, Liu Qingliang. It was a very moving experience, and when I arrived in the history room and saw my grandfather's name in Chinese listed as principal for three different terms, saw his picture and a 1927 diploma my grandfather had signed, I was overwhelmed. In honor of my father (now 92) and my grandparents, Guo Wei, Susan, and I climbed Tai Shan the next day and entered the South Gate of Heaven.
At the back of the bus en route to the Monastery, the woman to my right turned to me and said, "Hello, may I practice my English?" She turned out to be a middle school student travelling with her mother. We spent 30 minutes engaged in a conversation about learning English, traveling around in China, and her dream to go to America. Her English and diction were excellent, and at the end of our conversation she explained that I was the first foreigner she had ever met.When I next returned to China, she said, everyone would be speaking English.
It was then that I learned that the woman who had moved over to give me her seat also spoke English. She was a graduate student and teacher at the University of Henan on her way to visit her boyfriend, who is a graduate student at Beijing University, at his parents' home in the south of China. We discussed all kinds of issues related to politics and current challenges of development and pollution. And, thus, I learned that even from the back of a bus in China, fascinating connections can be made.
The writer is the Vice Provost for Libraries and Information.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Nancy Antonio
posted 12/10/08 @ 11:15 AM EST
Really enjoyed your article. My brothers and I made a similar journey to Tongren, Kweichow province. I think our fatners worked together in China as liaison officers. (Continued…)
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