Day 8: July 11 - Xi'an

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

Schedule for the day.

Terracotta Warriors 兵馬俑
Lunch
Nursing Home Visit
Home Visit
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We had an early call time - 8am. We departed the Bell Tower Hotel and headed to the infamous Terracotta Warriors. Our tour guide, Ellen, gave us an exuberant amount of pertinent information. I will give you a synopsis of what I learned. (Feel free to comment or add any information you think is pertinent).

"Xi'an" literally translated means "West / peace" It was the ancient capital for 13 dynasties.

What Clay shared with us on the way there still stands out in my mind, "What you will see today (Terracotta Warriors) was never intended for anyone to see. It was for the after-life to ensure that the Emperor will be taken care of."

As I wandered throughout the different pits, this thought ran through my mind. Although all of the original paint has worn off everything, It was simply amazing seeing all of the intricate details in the warriors, the horses, the chariots, and armor. Can you imagine the amount of work it took to create all this. Can you imagine the amount of power Emperor Qin had? What comes to mind... If I was a local craftsman drafted into making this Army for the Emperor's afterlife, why would I be putting forth 100% effort into making these warriors? Is it because I love my Emperor and want him to have a wonderful after-life? Is it because I want good fortune for my family? or Is it because if I don't put forth 100% effort, I will be punished or killed? This could be a good springboard into deeper questions about religion, after-life, personal belief systems, and our reasons/motivations for doing things.

Qin Shi Huang, considered the First Emperor of a unified China. After unifying China, he undertook many grand reforms both political and economic some of which cost the lives of many of his citizens. Some of them are as follows; road system that ran throughout the nation, emphasis on standardization (money, measures, axel widths, etc..), the Great Wall of China, and the Terracotta Warriors.

Emperor Qin wanted to live forever. Because of this, he was on a never ending search for immorality. Ironically, it is reported that after he took some mercury pills (which were to give him life), it killed him. Another possible topic for students: What are present day Immortal Youth Elixirs?

Also, in his search for immortality. Qin sent one of his officers; Xu Fu on a voyage with 5,000 virgin boys and girls on a quest to find an "elixir of youth" (Tour Guide Ellen stated 5,000 boys and girls but upon doing some research, I found that different sources have different numbers. Some state 3,000 while others state only several hundred). If Xu Fu returned without the Elixir of Youth, he would be killed. Obviously, he never found the elixir and never returned. It is said that Xu Fu settled in present day Japan. This is proven by the many moments and gods dedicated and named in honor of Xu Fu.

Originally, Emperor Qin wanted to bury 1,000 live soldiers in his grave. His Generals, convinced him to make clay ones instead. They needed all the "live" soldiers they had to fight in real life.

Three Pits in the viewing area.
Pit #1 contains the infantry (one knot in hair)
Pit # 2 contains the archers/calvarymen/chariots
Pit # 3 contains the officers (Officers had a "flat chop" and Generals had two knots in their hair)

There are approximately 8,000 soldiers buried in the pits. Each soldier has a unique face which contains a fierce look. There was also a pit for concubines and slaves (not in viewing area). Concubines who didn't bear any children were buried alive in the pits. This was so that they could bear children in the after life. It was considered a great honor to have a relative buried alive with the Emperor! (Springboard for classroom discussion: What do we consider a great honor in 2010?)

Tour Guide Ellen stated that all Terrcotta warriors have a bit of a belly because the Emperor liked to drink wine. (I think that was more of a personal opinion?)

After the Emperor died, local farmers stormed in and knocked over many of the warriors and took all the weapons. Why? They were angry at Emperor Qin and wanted him to have a weaponless army in the afterlife.

After exploring the pits, we had a bit of time to explore the different exhibits in the Museum including the Bronze horses and Chariots. Also, in the lobby of one of the museums was a 22 foot tall Terracotta marionette used in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Tea House visit on Museum grounds - Somehow, I got mixed up on the meeting time and missed the entire Tea House portion. I sat outside waiting while everyone was inside the tea house. I find it a bit humorous that no one realized that # 2 was missing.
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Lunch: Flourshing International Hotel. Famous for their "wide noodle dish" Chinese scroll paintings were also brought to our table during lunch for sale.
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China's Elderly
China has two mandates/laws:
1. Children are to care for their parents.
2. Grandchildren respect their parents.

In present day China, this (following the laws) is not always possible because adult children need to leave their home towns/villages to find work in big cities. Parents are left behind.

In about 20 years, 300 million people in China will be over the age of 65. There are growing concerns for the aging population. Who will take care of them? How will the needs of the elderly be met?

Nursing Home Visit: Name: Chinese Aging _________?
We visited a nursing home in Xi'an. We were eagerly greeted by the founder of this home and her employees. The founder is a hard working and dedicated lady.
-There are about 100 residents in this home with a staff of about 15. Staff have 4 days off/month.
- On Saturdays, local University students come in to assist where possible.
-There is currently a waiting list of 80 waiting to enter this facility.
- Founder said "We don't care about making money, we care out of love."
- if you're 12 years old or older (disabled), you can not stay in "public institutions", that is why we
saw a 13 year old young man (seems as though he has cerebral palsy)
- some of the residents seemed to be high functioning mentally impaired individuals.
- activities for residents: 20 min. of daily exercise , mahjong
- medication - 90% taken care of by government (retirement benefits)
- Nursing home has a small "farm" which consists of cherry trees, corn, and cotton
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Family Visit. Stephanie, Rosalba, Adele, and I have dinner with local Xi'an family. Non-english speaking father came to pick us up. Using my limited Mandarin skills on the car ride to their home, I find out that he has one daughter who speaks English (whew!)

We enter a modern 3 bed/2 bathroom air conditioned apartment. Lovely mother/father and daughter. Daughter is in HS and is quite fluent in English. It is amazing as to her knowledge about American culture/music. This is clearly from media. She loves Adam Lambert from American Idol. Her bedroom is plastered with his posters. Both parents are very hospitable and offer us slippers to wear upon entering their home. We are fed tea and some light refreshments (nuts and fruit). The daughter is very excited about hosting us and asks a lot of questions about life in America. She wants to know if her HS counterparts have to do as much studying as she does.

Dinner is served. Many dishes are already on the table. The food is delicious and plentiful. However, the parents don't join us, they sit in the living room watching tv while the daughter entertains us. Once we are done with dinner, we're invited back to the Living room for more conversation and then a tour of the house. The daughter plays the zheng - an ancient plucked string instrument (a bit like the autoharp but much more complicated). When she plays, she is focused and artistic. While she is playing, her parents are beaming with pride and joy.

We exchange gifts. She is very interested in finding out more about the US/Culture/ and Adam Lambert and enjoys the photo books and school literature books we brought. The mom enjoys the big clay pot Rosalba brought! I also brought some fancy scented soap which the mom also enjoyed.

The daughter and mom shared that they will be going to HK in a few weeks. It will be their first time there. Purpose of going there - shopping! (Are all teen girls the same all over the world?) =)

It was a very pleasant evening![Edit by="josephchan on Aug 8, 10:56:44 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

Since I had a different home visit, I figured I would share.

I went to a home with Manny, Venus, and David.

The father spoke some English, but we were saved by the fact that he and Venus could communicate in Thai. His wife made dinner. We ate with the father and son. The son wanted to come to America to go to University. His father wanted him to do his undergrad in China, and grad school in the states. The father was very proud of his son's English skills. the son expressed an interest in going to MIT.

We ate veggie dished first, then some wonderful noodles were served. After dinner, the rest of the family came in the living room to join us. Manny had what seemed like an endless bag of gifts. The next day, the family delivered tea to us at the hotel.

Amanda

[clay dube]

First -- I love Joseph's avatar, Typhoon 3 is a big deal. Here's information about the typhoon warning system.
http://www.hko.gov.hk/informtc/tcsignal.htm

Second, thanks to Amanda for sharing information about her family visit. As with the small groups in Taipei at the Lishan High School, we had access to different informants and perhaps different perspectives. I hope everyone will chime in on the experiences YOU had. That's the point of the forum, allowing us to remember and share the impressions we gained.

Third, Joseph, what causes you to label the terracotta warriors as infamous? (I think this could be an interesting discussion starter -- How should we remember Qin Shihuang? Famous? Infamous?)

[Anonymous]

In response to Clay's questions.......Infamous or Famous? I meant to put down "world famous" but infamous will work to. Why?

Just as Genghis Khan was viewed as a brutal fierce warrior wreaking terror where ever he went, so too Qin Shihuang was known as a ruler who ruled by terror. Also, just as Genghis Khan formed the first unified Mongol nation and brought about many advancements, so too Qin Shihuang from a unified China and brought about many advancements. Qin Shihuang can be viewed as infamous because he brought about many untold sufferings to his people and ruled by terror. If people did not abide by his laws, punishment was severe. All this lead to the downfall of Qin.

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