From that time, in the first week of January, people swim across the river to celebrate the swim.

After Mao’s death, the swim became an annual event. However, over time, it was not so much a celebration of Mao’s swim but more a family outing by the brave and hardy. Not to mention partially frozen. It was largely a local affair with few people.

This year, 2010, saw a substantial change. People came from all over the region: young, old, middle-aged, rich, poor, students, workers. Significantly, as they were swimming across the river they held aloft placards of Mao. The placards were all saying thank you to Mao for making the new China.

We asked our friends why? They said that the placards were the people acknowledging that without the strong central government forged by Mao, China would not have fared so well from the Global Financial Crisis (GFC).

Interestingly, many of the swimmers holding aloft the placards where university students. They are the only children of the late 80’s who have surfed the wave of China’s growing prosperity. For them the Cultural Revolution is a footnote. They do not relate to it. Our son,who is not a natural historian I have to tell you, just rolls his eyes when his mother talks about those times. I suppose, just like many of my generation who rolled their eyes when their parents or grandparents talked about the Great Depression. Perhaps one day he will read Kaixin and discover his mother’s personal story. So, this new found interest by the university students in Mao is significant.

Gossip from the Forest, that is, Mei talking to her friends in Nanning, goes that since China started to open up in 1979, people have come to enjoy the universal pastime of government bashing. They like to sit around drinking cha, pi jiu and bai jiu (tea, beer and white liquor, dragon’s breath I call it, great stuff), complain about the government and bag the politicians. In China that tradition was briefly halted during the Mao era. It was taken up again with gusto after 1979. Democracy was one of the topics of conversation, as they wanted a greater say in the government.

However, our friends inform us, they all took a double take when they saw China host the Olympics. Saw how strong China had become at the 60th Anniversary Celebrations. Saw the way the government handled the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) and its aftermath. China sailed through the GFC while the ‘west’ crashed onto the rocks.

Would a babble of voices from the street have been of any real benefit, they asked themselves?

So, maybe, they came to think, the new China and the Communist Party weren’t so bad after all. Talk of democracy was now on the back-burner. This has been re-enforced as the central government listens more and more to the people. Democracy is something for the future, something to evolve over time.

Mao was not a hot topic of conversation for a long time in China. He did not even take centre stage at the 60th Anniversary celebrations in 2009. As Mei pointed out, that was given to Sun Yat Sen. It was his portrait that was held aloft in the parade. Sun Yat Sen is often referred to as the father of the nation. The order was not an accident.

The people swimming the river have revised their opinion of Mao. Instead of criticising Mao for his mistakes, they instead thanked Mao for making the new China. A China they are proud of.

The people we know and speak to regularly grew up during the Cultural Revolution. They are all middle-aged and mostly quite prosperous. They have seen the worst of China. However they now see it in perspective and embrace the new China. A China that they believe has evolved to a rich and prosperous country due to Mao laying a strong foundation. A foundation that provided the springboard for Deng Xiaoping’s economic, social and educational reforms.

In Mei’s words, “The placards show the west, very clear, we don’t want to change we are happy with the communist party.”

I had the privilege of chatting with two retired generals from the PLA who had both been on the Great March. I asked them about this new China, which seems to be embracing capitalism. They replied that without Mao making the new China in 1949 and creating the foundation, Deng could not have achieved his reforms. I am sure that all can be debated, but it is the view from people who actually made the new China. They then went on to say that when China has created enough wealth, it would then use it to fulfil the socialist ideals of the revolution.

One of the generals had been the Governor of a regional city for over 20 years. There is not much he doesn’t know about China during Mao and Deng Xiaoping.

“Why did you join Mao”, I asked them. They replied that it was a way to get a feed. Ideology came later. Neither could read or write when they joined. Both taught themselves on the Long March using sticks in the dust. If they had stayed with their families in the Old China they certainly would not have learned to read or write and there was a high probability they would have died before adulthood. So, in effect, they were risking little by being in the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA).

Mei often comments on the bravery and self-sacrifice of the soldiers in the PLA. She wonders what inspired such determination. We believe it was because for many, there was no home to go back to. For themselves and for their children, the only option was to go forward, to make a new China. And, Mao offered a new China and was obviously a brilliant leader.

After talking to the two generals, I was intrigued to find the full quote by Deng Xiaoping, ''Poverty is not socialism. To be rich is glorious''. Deng did not embrace capitalism as a capitulation of socialism. Rather, he would use capitalism to create wealth to achieve socialist goals.

Mei took her son to visit Mao’s home town, Shao Shan. They visited a cave where Mao used to go to think over problems. She said there was a definite aura in the cave, a definite powerful presence. Mei was not a fan of Mao, as her story of growing up during the Cultural Revolution shows. As they left, her son, who was four, said “silly Mao”. Mei said that it was as if an invisible hand had shoved her son in the back. He sprawled on the ground, breaking his arm and hurting himself quite badly.

I recall the story of the time when Deng’s reforms weren’t going so well. He went to see Mao in the mausoleum and asked Mao what he should do. Mao sat up and said to Deng, “You get in here, I’ll get out there and show you.”

Many taxi’s and cars in China have a medallion of Mao hanging from the rear-view mirror or on the dashboard. Mao is seen as a god in China and it is for good luck. That does not mean they want to go back to the bad times under Mao, but they do acknowledge Mao’s undoubted strong presence in the Chinese psyche.

The sons of the leaders who prospered under Mao are now assuming power in China. Mei and I believe they do not want to go back to pre-Deng economic times but they are concerned that China is losing its socialist values to capitalism. Thus China is in danger of betraying the hard-won gains of the Revolution. Gains their fathers or grandfathers risked their lives to achieve. There will be a tussle for power in China over the next decade between the reformers following Deng Xiaoping’s model and the traditionalists following Mao’s socialist objectives. We think they are essentially one and the same. They both seek as their objective social justice for all in a rich and prosperous China. Indeed, both camps need a rich and prosperous China to achieve the socialist goals. So there is little likelihood of strangling the golden goose.

As someone who grew up in Australia and was subjected to years of anti Mao thinking, it has taken me quite a while to see him objectively. This was not helped by hearing Mei’s story of growing up during the Cultural Revolution.

Mao, I now believe, has been much maligned. He was the right person to take power in China, he was the wrong person to wield it. He had the people’s welfare at heart but was blinded by ideology. Essentially, if all people were selfless and strove to help their fellow man, then Marxism, Socialism – whatever ism you want to use – would work. People, in general, are not. The majority of us, I have to say, are essentially selfish. Capitalism works well because it is founded on basic human psychology.

There was much hardship under Mao and he made some horrendous planning blunders. All of which wasn’t helped by Russia turning its back on China and the sanctions imposed by the ‘west’ until the 1970’s. Mao knew he had to sweep away the old China if the New China was to have a chance. The Cultural Revolution, apart from being a power play by Mao, was the extreme implementation of that. Would a softly, soflty approach have worked? Would it have given Mao the determination to win the revolution and establish the new China in 1949. I think not. Were the sacrifices made by the Chinese people who fought in the revolution and went through the 1950’s, 60’s and early 70’s under Mao worth it? That is for China to decide.

In the end, whatever the ‘ought’, Mao was the ‘is’. Without him, we certainly would not have the China we have today.

Articles

Children of the revolution
JOHN GARNAUT - The Sydney Morning Herald

The Communist Party has enjoyed enormous success in turning China into a powerful nation and lifting its citizens out of poverty. But the party is also a club that allocates political, financial and social privilege to its members. It has its own internal system of hierarchy and quasi-royalty, where revolutionary leaders bequeath their status to their children and children's children. Those descendants are called "princelings" in China.

Mao colossus strides a divide
Asia Times Online

The most recent chapter of this trend is a profound re-study of Mao Zedong's ideals and a benevolent revisionism of his legacy by prestigious scholars, both in China and abroad. Mao led the People's Republic of China from its establishment in 1949 until his death in 1976.

The global financial crisis has given analysts of Marxism a new role as protagonists, and intellectuals from some of the world's top universities are rethinking Mao Thought as a way to help close growing social and wealth gaps. In doing this, they are also trying to cast new insights toward the New Leftist movement itself.

Ban Wang, professor of Chinese literature and culture at Stanford University, rejects defining this "upsurge of interest" in Mao's thinking as New Maoism because "it is not a systematic restoration of the whole package of Mao's thought".

Power struggle behind revival of Maoism
Asia Times Online

As the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership tries to convince United States President Barack Obama and other world leaders that China is eagerly integrating itself with the global marketplace, the ultra-conservative norms and worldview of Chairman Mao Zedong are making a big comeback in public life.

In provinces and cities that foreign dignitaries are unlikely to visit, vintage Cultural Revolution-era (1966-1976) totems are proliferating. In Chongqing, a mega-city of 32 million people in western China, Mao sculptures - which were feverishly demolished soon after the late patriarch Deng Xiaoping catalyzed the reform era in 1978 - are being erected throughout government offices, factories and universities.

Deng Xiaoping was one of the shrewdest politians of the 20th Century. He had helped make the new China, but then seen it mired down under Mao. The China of the 1960’s was not the China he had envisioned. The first part of his comment shows his diss-satisfaction, ‘Poverty is not socialism.’. He did not criticise socialism or dismiss it. He merely pointed out that socialism and poverty did not have to be one and the same as had happened in Russia and China (to that time).

To achieve the true ends of socialism, social justice for all, requires weath. The most effective means of creating wealth is capitalism. ‘To be rish is glorious’ because it would allow China to achieve social justice for all, socialism. Hence, capitalism with Chinese characteristics.

Chinese characteristics also meant the capitalism would not be imposed on China. China would use capitalism for its own ends and in its own way.

To date, this has worked exceptionally well.

As to any imperialist ambitions, it is helpful to have an understanding of Sun Tzu, 'The Art of War' which counsels that you should never extend your lines or dissipate your strength on far away battles, and that the nation that does will surely lose the war.

Over history, China has largely heeded Sun Tzu’s imperative to stay at home and become strong, not seek out battles in far away and unfamiliar lands. However, when he wrote that advice, the world, for China, was China. It had no need to go anywhere. It was sufficient unto itself. Now, that boundry has expanded and ecompasses the globe. So what is far and near has changed dramatically. If can be argued, for example, that defending the flow of oil from Iran is now ‘near’.

Global trade and interdependency also makes countries that were far, near. China will have to engage with them in economic and trade negotians if it wants to sustain its own economic growth. Much of China’s rise and rise went un-noticed in the west. 2008 was China’s coming out party. Over that time it has quietly and patiently been expanding its markets and resources base. Africa is a good example, the ‘Stans’ and Russia is another.

Fundamentally though, China does not want to take on the responsibility and cost of being the world’s policeman. It prefers to heed Sun Tzu’s advice and concentrate on growing its wealth and improving the standard of living for all Chinese. Yet, over time, it may not be able to avoid the role of policeman if America is forced to pull back or relinquish it. Perhaps that is another reason China is prepared to go on purchasing US Bonds.

For a discussion about Deng - 'The True Father of China' in China Daily

DENG XIAOPING'S ECONOMIC REFORMS

Time Person of the Year - Deng Xiaoping

See over: 'The Lei Feng Story'

Lei Feng was a soldier in the early 1960’s. He was used a model citizen, and example to be lived up to by Mao Zhedong. Mao asked the whole Chinese nation learn about Lei Feng. Everyone my age read Lei Feng’s book and sang the Lei Feng’s song. Lei Feng was the good model we should follow; loyal to revolution, loyal to Communist Party. Even now, thirty years later, I still remember the song.

Lei Feng was born in 18 Dec 1940, at Anqin Village ( now change name to Lei Fei Village), Wang Cheng town, Hunan province. He was born in a very poor family. In autumn 1947 his parents and his older brother all died because there was not enough food and through hard work. Lei Feng became a orphan.

In 1949, Mao made the New China. Through the Communist Party Lei Feng was given a home again, he could go to school. In 1950’s land reforms, Lei Feng was given 3.6mu of land ( a chinese traditional unit of area), some furniture and some day to day things. In his life this was a big change. He felt grateful to Mao Zhedong and Communist Party.

When Lei Feng was 15 years old, China’s agricultural land was turned into co-operatives. Lei Feng gave back his 3.6mu of land to the village. He always supported Committee Party.

In 1956 Lei Feng finished Primary school ( in that time, it was rare for children from the countryside to finish Primary school). He then worked in the local town government. His first job was to help government levy grain. Then he did a lot of different jobs in the government. He always worked very hard, and helped the people. He wrote some articles in the newspaper to pay a tribute to Mao and Communist Party. He said, “if China didn’t have Mao Zhengdong and Communist Party, Lei Feng can’t have life”.

He wrote, “there is a limit to one’s life, but there is no limit to how much I can serve the people. I ‘ll use my limited life to serve people”. This he did. He always helped people anywhere, anytime. He always thought about other people first. He used his income to live just a simple life. The rest of his income he used to help other people and support the Communist Party.

In 1960 Lei Feng joined the army and became a soldier.

There were a lot of stories about how he helped the people. Such as, one day, during heavy rain, Lei Feng went to Shengyang to work. He got up early, 5 o’clock, cooked some steamed bread and went to the train station. On the way, he saw a woman carrying a girl on her back. They didn’t have anything to keep out the rain. So Lei Feng took off his raincoat and gave it to them and walked with them to the train station. Lei Feng then saw that the girl was very cold so he took off his coat and gave it to the girl to wear. Then, seeing they were hungry, he gave them his 'man tou' (steam bread) to eat. He also helped the train attendant during the journey.

In Chinese New Year, and on any holiday, he always went to the public places to help people, like the train station, the bus stations, public parks …..

When he was in the army, some of the soldier’s families had money problems, so Lei Feng gave money to them and helped them.

In army he always did the heavy jobs. He never thought once about himself.

Lei Feng quietly did many small things to help other people.

on the 15th Aug 1962, Lei Feng died.

After he died Mao asked whole the whole Chinese nation to learn about Lei Feng and to try to live up to his example to never think about themselves but always think about other people.

Lei Feng became a model citizen to the Chinese nation. The whole of China were talking about Lei Feng. Everyone want become like Lei Feng. People helped each other. Students must read the Lei Feng story book and must remember Lei Feng’s wisdom. At that time, everyone knew about Lei Feng.

Now, the Chinese people still know about Lei Feng, but the thinking is different. Some people think Lei Feng was Mao’s propaganda model for the politics. A lot of people now joke about the Lei Feng story. They change the Lei Feng’s song into a parody. The young generation don’t know about Lei Feng any more. No one is interested to know the Lei Feng’s song.

But, for all that, in the world, we still need Lei Feng’s values: be happy to help people.

Images from and for more information about the Lei Feng story

See Over for - 'Happy New Year'

Chinese New Year is very important in Chinese life. In the New Year everything is new. We like to buy a lot of new things before the New Year. We think that on New Years day, if you say good luck words, you never make any mistake. It means this year you will always have good luck. Parents never let their children cry on New Years day. The children, of course, use this to ask their parents to buy all the things they want. They can do anything they want do. When people meet each other they always say many best wishes to each other. Everybody must stop their job on New Years day, go home, and be with family together to celebrate with jubilation. No matter how far away you live in China, you always go back to be with parents together. We call this, “reunite with our family and relatives”. It is most very important in the Chinese mind. It is why Chinese airports, train-stations, long way bus stations, all are very busy and the ticket prices are very high….ha ha, this is make money good time.

In north China, on New Years’s eve, the whole family together make dumpling. In south China they make rice dumpling. Different places have different New Years special food. The same thing is that all must cook a lot of food and have a big meal. I grow up in South China. I still remember, that before New Year we made a lot of rice dumpling and deep fry sweet dumpling. We call this food, “you jiao”. My parents made a lot of New Year Cake ( made of glutinous rice), also Chinese date Cake, also Luo bo cake. We never could eat it all! We always gave some to the relatives or friends.

In Chinese culture, rice dumpling call “zhong zi” the words sound similar to the ones used to pass the imperial examination at the upper end of the list. New Year Cake in Chinese is “nian gao”. Nian is year, gao is high, it means that the life each year must be higher and higher. Any food have any food mean, all are good luck mean.

The New year’s eve dinner is very important. We cook a huge, sumptuous meal. This meal must have a fish. The word for fish is “ yu”. The is similar as the word for leave, as in 'leave over'. It means that if your leave some over that you will be able to save some money. So in the New Year’s dinner we must not eat all the fish, we must save some for the New Year day. That will mean “you yu”, which sounds similar to the words to save some money. It is why we cook a lot of food, which we can’t all eat. We must leave some for the next day. Usually on the New Year's day we do not cook any more. On New Year’s day, we can’t kill any animals or poultry.

I remember my father, on New Year’s eve cooked a huge fish. It was delicious, so we, the whole family ate a lot. Then we realized there was none saved for New Year’s day. What to do? Father said, “No problem, see, we have the fish head saved. We can make fish head soup tomorrow.”

Children are most happy in New Year because they all have new clothes, new shoes, new dress, and are given money in little red packets. We call this “ya sui qian” or “hong bao”. Parent put the money in a small red envelope to give to their children. I remember I got a lot of ‘hong bao” when I was young. Parents, grandparent, uncles, aunts , parent’s friends, all give “hong bao”. I was very very happy, I can used the money to buy any things I want. My son, before New Year, in China, lost his mobile phone down the toilet – don’t ask. He said he was going to use his “hong bao” money to buy a new phone.

At night we all go outside and let off many fireworks. On New Year morning the street all is red color from the fireworks red paper. Red is good luck color in China. So New Year first day you can see the red color mean good luck whole year. For many years the government stopped fireworks in the city. Now some cities can have fireworks again. After a ten year ban, Nanning, the city where I lived when I met my husband, allowed fireworks again. He with my family let off many fireworks. Then a friend took us out into the country where people we all celebrating the lifting of the ban with many, many fireworks. My husband said that it was like WWI. He then went to a street celebration which had over 100 dragons. People went onto the street and let off fireworks, often throwing them into the air and at the dragons. My husband joined in. He was the only foreigner, so people all gave him many strings of fireworks. He was deaf for three days after.

On New Years day, we never go to our friend’s home. Just have family together to “zou da yun”. This means the family will check where the New Year’s wealth god is. If the family walk in the direction of the wealth god, which can be north, south, west or east, they will attract wealth during the year. New Year second day, we start to visit relatives and friends.

Wiki Chinese Astrology

Wiki Year of the Tiger

Wiki Chinese Zodia - Including years for each of the animals

 See Over for - Mulan

Mulan’s father was a soldier and he was Mulan’s mentor. Mulam learned Wushu, the art of war, when she was very young from her father. When she grew up, she had outstanding Wushu skills.

At that time, the Sui dynasty was at war and recruiting soldiers. Mulan’s father must be recruited because of his military skills. But her father was old and Mulan worried about his health. The younger brother was too young. So she thought, “I am girl, but I am good at Wushu, why do I not change into boy’s dress and replace father”. She told the family her decision. At first they were shocked, but in the end they decided that Mulan was right and agreed. She was just 16 years old.

However, another obstacle was that a marriage had just been arranged with a young man who’s name was Ming Yue. When Ming Yue’s family heard that she was going to be a soldier, they felt this was not right. But they respected Mulan’s filial devotion, and they agreed too. Mulan worried that she didn’t know what time she can go back, or even whether she can keep her life or not. So she told Ming Yue that he can choose another girl to become his wife, “not wait for me”. Ming Yue said, “I wait for you”.

In that time both the men and women had long hair. How they styled the hair was different. Mulan changed herself to look like a man. She went to Songzhou to bear arms under Marshal He. She was very good at Wushu, and also looked good, so the Marshal liked her a lot. He soon took her under his protection and made her an advisor. This would mean very close contact and risk of discovery. Mulan told Marshal He she didn’t like to live with another person. She can’t sleep well. Marshal He agreed that she could live by herself in a small tent.

Marshal He’s first war was against the Hu. The Hu launched a sneak attack against Marshal He and couldn’t retreat. Mulan herself defended Marshal He and let him get safely back. From this time Marshal He was in admiration of Mulan, and appointed her as first General.

Mulan won many battles and after two years, Sui won. The emperor was very happy and called in all the Generals. Marshal He told the emperor that Mulan was the best one. The Emperor promoted Mulan to became Shangshu (just like second premier). Mulan had to met the emperor personally. This created a dilemma, since she could not deceive the Emperor, so she honesty told him that she is a girl. For impersonating a man, she could have been executed. She told the Emperor that she, just for her father, became a soldier. That she doesn’t want anything. She only would like to go home and look after her parents. The Emperor agreed.

However, after short time, the Emperor wanted another concubine. Marshal He wanted Mulan to have a good life, so with a good heart, he told the Emperor that Mulan was the right person. The emperor remembered that Mulan is young and beautiful, so he decreed that Mulan come to Changan ( the emperor’s Palace ) to become his concubine. Mulan was very sad. If she doesn’t obey the Emperor, her whole family will be killed. If she obeyed, how about her fiancée Ming Yue?

So Mulan hanged herself and died.

Marshal He was very sad, blaming himself for her death.

People who heard the story respected Mulan. So they wrote a lot about Mulan. Many poems were written. One very famous one is from the Bei Song dynasty. Guo Maoqian wrote “ Mulan Ci”. Even now in Chinese primary schools it is still used for a Chinese text book.

In the Tang dynasty, Emperor Li Shiming was greatly affected by the Mulan story. He commemorated Mulan by building a temple in her name. From that time, Chinese lunar calendar 8th of April, is celebrated as Mulan’s birthday. People from all over to Mulan’s temple to offer their respects and pray to her.

Pictures from Randall M's Mulan Page

See Over for - Feng Shui　
　

Feng means wind and shui means water.

Feng Shui has a long history. It is the science of your living place.

I was born in 1966, and I grew up in Mao’s time. In that time, we couldn’t talk about Feng Shui, because Mao argued against Chinese customs and folk wisdom. He said that it was feudal and superstitious and held China back. If China wanted to modernize it had to discard its old beliefs. No body can contravene what Mao said, so no one talked about Feng Shui. I did not learn that Feng Shui for several thousand years had been a part of Chinese culture until I was in high school, after Mao died, but I didn’t believe in it.

I have always liked to read many different books. When I read books on Chinese history, they would often talk about Feng Shui. I started to take note of Feng Shui and become interested in it. Also, I discovered that Mao believed in Feng Shui. When he had to think through great problems, he always went back to his hometown, Sao San, and visited his personal place in the mountain; a cavern, called “di shui cave”. He believed this place can help him to think clearly. I have visited this place and it has very strong Feng Shui. As we were leaving my son, who was only three, said “silly Chairman Mao”. He walked a few more steps and then fell, as if he were pushed, and hurt himself badly.

Throughout Chinese history every emperor chose the site and architecture for their palaces based on Feng Shui. The interior design of each room was based on Feng Shui. A river ran around the outside. The Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties embodied these principles. Fourteen Ming emperors and 10 Qing emperors lived in the palace; 600 years.

In Feng Shui, a rectangle is a good shape for a house and water means wealth. The palace was painted a deep rich red. The roof was gold. Red means fire. If your life is like fire it means you will have a rich life. Gold means kingly.

All Chinese cities, towns and villages are on a river. Chinese people like to live near water. This is good Feng Shui because water is very important in the people’s life. So water represents money, which means that if people have enough water (money)they can live a comfortable life. If their home life is comfortable then they can do a good job and make money.

In North China, the winter is very cold. So the houses all face south. This lets the sunshine into the house and makes the house warm. Some houses make a wall in the garden to face the front door. This wall call is called ‘bi zhao’ which means sunshine. This wall can keep the whole garden warmer and reflect heat onto the house. The wall is also used to stop bad spirits from getting into the house. Feng Shui says that you shouldn’t see through the house from the outside. In south China, the summer is very hot, so people built the house to allow the wind to come through the house, preferably with the rooms higher than the outside and stepping up. This means that your life always get better and better, higher and higher. So Chinese Feng Shui says that the house can’t step down from the outside.

As I got older, and have a lot of life’s experience, I have seen how feng shui can influence people’s lives. I now believe. I will tell you of one experience in my own family. My sister bought a new dresser with a large mirror. They put the dresser in their bedroom with the mirror facing their bed. After a few days, my brother in law’s schoolmate came to their home. This friend knew some Feng Shui. He told my brother-in-law, “don’t let the mirror to face the bed, this let you and your wife can’t sleep well and your children will have injuries from falls”. My brother in law thought, yes, they couldn’t sleep well, but he still didn’t believe. After two days, my little niece fell down and broke her arm. My sister hurried to move the dresser. After that they slept well.

I know one Feng Shui Master, he is a doctor. He knows Feng Shui very well. He doesn’t help the people see Feng Shui anymore; if good friend or he feeling like, he’ll do. His best classmate asked him to help her see their new office’s Feng Shui. When the doctor went to the building, he said, “I don’t want get in to see, this whole building’s Feng Shui is not good, this building’s land best left empty.” But they kept asking him, so he went into the building. He used “luo Pan”( Chinese Feng Shui says that you must walk around to check the orientation). When he checked, he said to them, “sell the office, you can’t use this, if you start to use, must have a person die in this building.” But this friend had used a lot of money to buy this office. He wanted to make a modern office. He didn’t want to sell. So he started the interior decorating. After three days, an electrician working on the job was killed. The owner still did not believe and finished building his office. He asked the Feng Shui Master to come again. The Master said that he should sell the office, that if he didn’t someone in his family must die, “you can believe or not, that is up to you”. Three months later their son died. The office now stands empty as no-one will buy it.

A lot of Feng Shui things let me believe and find Feng Shui miraculous. In our life we need a comfortable place to live. We can then concentrate on our work and our life will become better and better.

Kitchen Feng Shui

 
Chinese people say the food is like the sky; it is all encompassing. Food is very important in a person’s life. Therefore, the kitchen is a very important place in your home.

In Feng Shui, the Kitchen is a place of fire and water which should be in counterbalance. If we can balance the fire and water and keep the Kitchen clean, this is good Feng Shui.

How to balance?

Here are some basic Feng Shui principles about the kitchen:

1 The Kitchen is best located in the south of the house. Second best is the east or southeast.

2 The Kitchen’s door should not to face the toilet’s door, the front door of the house or a bedroom door.

3 The Kitchen’s door cannot face the stove.

4 The Kitchen cannot be located in the house front. It should be at the back of the house.

5 The Kitchen cannot be in the center of the house.

6 The Kitchen the floor cannot be higher than the living room or the bedroom.

7 The Kitchen cannot have a mirror. If a mirror faces the stove, this is very awful.

8 The stove should not be black or red in color

9 The stove cannot be beside the kitchen sink.

10 The stove cannot to face the refrigerator or a corner in the room.

11 There cannot be a window behind the stove and the wall cannot be made of glass.

12 The stove cannot back onto a wall with a toilet on the other side.

These are just some of the principles which will give your kitchen a good feng shui. Quite often, a simple change can change the feng shui of a room. For example, moving the stove.

　　
　　　
Wiki - Feng Shui

See Over for - Nv Er Hong
　
　

Shaoxing City, Zejiang Province, China, has a very famous wine. This wine’s name is called nv er hong. ‘nv er’ means daughter and ‘hong’ means red. Why does this wine have this name? It is a very beautiful story.

Long long ago, in Shaoxing, there was a tailor. He was a very traditional, so he really wanted to have a son. In old China, if the man married and he hasn’t a son, everyone look down on him. Also, if he hasn’t a son that means that when he dies he doesn’t have anyone to hold the his picture or now, photo, and attend the funeral; this was a very bad thing in the Chinese mind. Even in contemporary times, in the villages they still have this belief, it is so strong in the peoples mind.

So when the tailor found out his wife pregnant he was very happy. To mark the occasion he made a few jugs of rice wine. His intention was to wait for his son to be born and use this wine to give to all of his family’s people and all his friends.

However his wife gave birth to a daughter! He was very upset. He dug a big hole in his back garden, under the osmanthus flower tree, and he buried the jugs of wine in it.

Time elapsed quickly and the tailor’s daughter was soon grown up. She was very clever and beautiful. She was also an excellent seamstress, so the father’s business became stronger and stronger. The tailor was very pleased with his daughter. He thought that to have a wonderful daughter was not so bad after all. So he made a decision, he would let his daughter marry his best apprentice. On his daughter’s marriage day he invited all the family people and all the friends to come and have a big feast. The people drank a lot of wine and the tailor very very happy. He suddenly remembered the wine he had buried in his back garden. He asked a worker to dig up the wine.

When they opened the first jug, oh, everyone was surprised that this wine could smell so good. The color was like amber with a little tinge of red. The flavour was full and beautiful. People asked that tailor, “what is this wine’s name?”. The tailor had no idea, so he told all the guests this wine’s story and then the people all called this wine “nv er hong”.

From that time, every family that has daughter born makes a few jugs of rice wine. They dig a hole in the garden and bury the wine. When the daughter marries they dig the wine up and drink it at the wedding feast. So, to make “nv er hong” has become Shaoxing’s custom.

Nowdays, Shaoxing’s “hua diao wine” is actually “nv er hong”. Some people call it is “hua diao wine”, some people call it is “nv er hong”.

Nv er hong is a wine that is sweet, sour, bitter, pungent, tasty, acerbic; six tastes in one. When you drink, you first smell the delicious bouquet then you keep it in your mouth a long long time. You never forget how beautiful this wine is.

My father did this for his two daughters. My sister still has a bottle of it at her home.

Osmanthus Tree
 

See Over for - Kwan Yin

Kwan-yin (often referred to as Guan-yin) is a Mahayana Bodhisattva. She (although some people see Kwan-yin as a he) is an infinitely merciful Bodhisattva in the Chinese heart. Kwan-yin always looks after and helps people who are having a hard time or are suffering in their lives. This belief is very deep in the Chinese mind. When you get into trouble, are unhappy, or are ill, you can call on the infinitely merciful Kwan-yin Bodhistattva. Kwan-yin will come to help you soon. Kwan-yin shows the people who believe in her to be kind to everyone and to keep doing the right things to other people.

Whenever Kwan-yin Bodhistattva does anything it is from an infinitely merciful mind. She embodies egality, she cherishes all beings, she never has and end to almsgiving. So mercy is the essence of Kwan-yin Bodhistattva’s will, merits and virtues.

In China most Buddhism monasteries have statures of Kwan-yin. Also, many Chinese homes have statues of her. People often go to the monasteries to make a wish. They go in the morning before breakfast and at the night before dinner. They burn joss sticks and make wishes to Kwan-yin hoping the whole family is happy.

In China Kwan-yin is very famous. In the early times her name was “Kwan shi yin”. In the China Tang dynasty, the emperor’s name was “Li shi min”. In Chinese culture nobody can have the same sounding name as the emperor, so “Kwan shi yin” became “ Kwan yin”.

In Chinese Buddhism, Kwan-yin is one of the head Bodhisattvas. And in the Chinese people’s heart she is a female. She is perfect. Currently, in Buddhism, Kwan-yin has different xing xiang (images, forms, figures). They are: Kwan-yin with Ru Yi，absorbing human troubles and sufferings; Kwan-yin with Lotus in hand，symbolising the fully enlightened mind，away from all delusions; Kwan-yin with Joint Palms，with a smile, who listens to all cries with great patience; Kwan-yin with Sutra，who helps beings attain wisdom and enlightenment through the Dhama.

In the Tang dynasty, most Chinese people believed in Kwan-yin. They grew up to respect Kwan-yin and worship her in the three lunar calendar festivals: the 19th of February is Kwan-yin’s Birthday: the 19th of June is when Kwan-yin became a Bodhisattva; the 19th of September was when she became a monk. In Chinese popular tradition all three days are called kwan-yin’s Birthday.

During these festivals the monks in the monasteries chant Bodhisattva’s name, sing songs like ‘da bei zhou, Kwan-yin da shi zan and others.

Pu Tuo mountain is the center for Kwan-yin festivals and there is much pageantry.

People give Kwan-yin adoration and hope her benevolence in everywhere.

I believe in Kwan-yin and recite the following poem to her everyday:

Nan wu guan shi yin,
shi zi wu wei yin
da ci rou ruan yin
da fan qing jing yin
da guang pu zhao yin
tian ren zhang fu yin
neng shi zhong sheng le
jing du sheng si an

These words are chanted and cannot be directly translated.

TERMS:

Bodhisattva = in Tibetan Buddhism, a Bodhisattva is anyone who is motivated by compassion and seeks enlightenment not only for him/herself but also for everyone...

Dharma = Sanskrit; dhamma (Pali); the central notion of Buddhism; it is the cosmic law underlying all existence and therefore the teaching of the Buddha; it is considered one of the three "jewels" of Buddhism; it is often used as a general term for Buddhism

Mahayana  = Oxford English Dictionary Online - noun one of the two major traditions of Buddhism (the other being Theravada), practised especially in China, Tibet, Japan, and Korea — ORIGIN Sanskrit, ‘great vehicle’.

pu sa = bodhisattva; the bodhisattva guan yin; Buddha, deity, god; kind hearted person

Further Research

Guanyin (觀音, pinyin guānyīn, Wade-Giles: kuan-yin) is the bodhisattva of compassion as venerated by East Asian Buddhists, usually as a female. She is also known as the Chinese Bodhisattva of Compassion. The name Guanyin is short for Guanshi'yin (觀世音, pinyin: guānshì yīn, Wade-Giles: kuan-shih yin) which means "Observing the Sounds (or Cries) of the World".

It is generally accepted that Guanyin originated as the Sanskrit Avalokiteśvara (अवलोकितेश्वर), which is her male form. Commonly known in the West as the Goddess of Mercy, Guanyin is also revered by Chinese Taoists as an Immortal. It should be noted that in Taoist mythology, Guan Yin has other origination stories which are unrelated to Avalokiteśvara.

It should be noted that Guanyin's origin is still debated among scholars. The official Buddhist view is that Guanyin originated with the male Avalokiteshvara. While it is certain that this is where the name "Guanshi'yin" originated, the image of the Chinese Bodhisattva (along with her femininity) may be partly derived from other sources. Indigenous to the region where Guanyin first appeared was a local Goddess: the Queen Mother of the West. There is also some historical evidence to indicate that Guanyin's imagery was influenced by early Christian images of Mary, the Mother of Christ.

Bodhisattvas in Theravada Buddhism

The term Bodhisatta (Pali language) was used by the Buddha in the Pali Canon to refer to himself both in his previous lives and as a young man in his current life, prior to his enlightenment, in the period during which he was working towards his own liberation. When, during his discourses, he recounts his experiences as a young aspirant, he regularly uses the phrase "When I was an unenlightened Bodhisatta...". The term therefore connotes a being who is 'bound for enlightenment', in other words, a person whose aim it is to become fully enlightened. Some of the previous lives of the Buddha as a bodhisattva are featured in the Jataka Tales.

Bodhisattvas in Mahayana Buddhism

Mahayana Buddhism, on the other hand, regards the Bodhisattva as a person who already has a considerable degree of enlightenment and seeks to use their wisdom to help other human beings to become liberated themselves. In this understanding of the word the Bodhisattva is an already wise person who uses skillful means to lead others to see the benefits of virtue and the cultivation of wisdom.
The Mahayana encourages everyone to become bodhisattvas and to take the bodhisattva vows. With these vows, one makes the promise to work for the complete enlightenment of all sentient beings. Indelibly entwined with the Bodhisattva Vow is parinamana (Sanskrit; which may be rendered in English as "merit transference").

Kuan Yin - Compassionate Saviouress

There is still much scholarly debate regarding the origin of devotion to the female Bodhisattva Kuan Yin (also know as Quan Shi Yin and Kwan Yin). Quan means to inquire or look deeply into, Shi means the world of people, or generations, Yin means cries. The Boddhisatva of Compassion was inquiring into the suffering (cries) that has come down the generations. Kuan Yin is considered to be the feminine form of Avalokitesvara(Sanskrit), the bodhisattva of compassion of Indian Buddhism whose worship was introduced into China in the third century.

LINKS:

Wikipedia - Guan Yin

See Over for - Lin Biao

Lin Biao was the son of a farmer. He was born in Wuhan, China, in 1908. He joined the Socialist Youth League and attended the Whampoa Military Academy. It was there that he met Zhou Enlai. In 1926 he took part in the Northern Expedition which was aimed at curbing the power of the warlords who had risen to power since the collapse of the Ching Dynasty in 1911.

In 1934 he set out with Mao on the Great March.

Lin Biao was instrumental in developing the Red Army's military tactics, in particular guerrilla warfare. These were first used against the Japanese and then against the Nationalists led by Chiang Kai-Shek. In 1938 he was seriously wounded.

In 1945 he was given command of the North Western People’s Liberation Army. He did not attack the cities but concentrated on winning the support of the people in the country and small towns. In this he was highly successful. That enabled him to isolate and defeat units of the Nationalist Troops one by one until he eventually controlled the whole of Manchuria.

His army went on to help in the capture of Beijing, Wuhan and Guangzhou until finally, in 1949, Mao Zedong proclaimed the People’s Republic of China.

In 1955 he was promoted to the rank of Marshal after commanding the Chinese Army in Korea.

In 1966 Mao launched the Cultural Revolution to consolidate his power and to reclaim the revolution. To achieve this he unleashed the youth of the country as the Red Guards. Lin Biao, who was by then the Minister of Defence, gave speeches to schools urging the students to criticise anyone who were suspected of counter-revolutionary activities.

Lin Biao supported Mao and ensured that the army remained loyal. In 1967 Mao ordered the Red Army to take control of the Red Guards who by then had splintered into many factions and were out of control.

The Red Army forced millions of Red Guards to move to the country, thus destroying their unity and power.

At the 9th Party Congress in 1969, Lin Biao was nominated as Mao’s successor. The military had gained effective control of the party. In the Spring of 1969 during a border conflict with Russia, Lin Biao declared marshal law. He used this power to purge many of his rivals.

Mao became suspicious of Lin’s power and moved against him. He was supported by Premier Zhou Enlai and probably the faction headed by Mao’s wife, Jiang Qing. However, Mao’s assistant Chen Boda supported Lin. This splintered the Chinese leadership and threatened Mao’s power.

At the party plenum in 1970 Mao openly critised Chen Boda as a way of indirectly criticising Lin Biao. Chen disappeared shortly after. Then in September 1979 Lin was killed in a plane accident in Mongolia. The official reason given was that he was attempting to flee to Russia.

In the months that followed, virtually all the military high command was purged.

Lin’s fall from grace disillusioned many people who had supported Lin and looked up to him. Lin had been a strong supporter of the Cult of Mao. Many of his supporters had helped to purge challengers to Lin’s power and were now left to question their actions.

 Poster ordering the criticising of Lin Biao

See Over for  - Zi Shu Nv

Zi shu nv (Zi Shu means to brush your own hair, nv means woman)

Zi Shu nv were females who chose to remain celibate rather than marry. They were not nuns, rather they were women who decided to forgo the rigors of married life in Old China. They were to be found in Guangdong province.

In Old China the custom was for un-married women to wear their hair in a long braid. When they married, they changed their hair from the long braid to a neat bun. Usually, on their marriage day, their mother or an older female relative helped them to make the bun. The Zi shu nv were different. When they made decision to become a Zi shu nv, they either did it alone or asked an elder Zi su nv to help them make the bun. After they had made the bun, it meant that they would leave home and for their whole life not marry.

This is where the term, Zi shu nv derives from. If a woman married then someone from her family helped her to change her hair from a braid to a bun. The woman who chose to be a Zi shu nv had to do it alone or ask an elder Zi shu nv to help her.

They didn’t want to marry for many reasons. Most Zi shu nv were from the poor families. They really dreaded marriage because in old China married women had to work very hard. They had to do all the housework and they were required to listen to, and obey, their husband and mother-in-law’s every command. If they made even a little mistake they were beaten. Most married women never had enough sleep and were often not given enough to eat. Their whole life was spent just to looking after the husband’s family. It is not surprising than some young women chose a life of celibacy over a life of married drudgery.

In early times, most Zi shu nv stayed at their hometown or went to Guangzhou city to became a maid for the rich people. After the 19th century ended, some went to Southeast Asia to work. Many died overseas. Some managed to return to their hometowns where they gathered together and bought a house where they could live together in a community. 

One famous community house in Sun de town is called “Bing Yu Tang” which means ‘pure and noble’. Another one is in Zhao Qin city and is called “Guan Yin Tang”. ‘Guan Yin’ was a famous woman in China (I will write about her soon) and ‘tang’ means house or building. There are still a few Zi shu nv living there. This is China’s last group of Zi shu nv.

A Zi shu nv’s life was generally very sad. When they were young, they had to work very hard, to make money to support their family. They also had to put enough aside for their old age when they would often pay to join a community. Also, because they didn’t have any children when they died, they couldn’t be buried in their family’s graveyard. In Old China, this was very bad. So some Zi shu nv, just to secure a place in a family graveyard, would find a family where the son had died and ‘marry’ that son. They were then able to be buried in the family graveyard when they died. They didn’t live in husband’s family home, but they needed to pay a lot of money to the husband’s family. At all the Chinese festivals the Zi shu nv had to give their husband’s family money. Poor zi shu nv, she must be care how to do because she didn’t have enough money to find another family.

However, some zi shu nv enjoyed their simple life together. They worked together, ate together, they were happy together and they were sad together.

Now the Zi shu nv have become a part of Chinese history, but we still remember them and respect that they used their way to stand up for themselves.

See Over for - March of the Volunteers, China's National Anthem