In my previous post I mentioned a bit about city life, or at least, city life as I see it. I would like to expand on that note.
I’m what my family refers to as ‘simple country folk.’ I was raised in the Rocky Mountains and the total population of the three towns I live near in Montana makes up about 30,000 people. My move to the Los Angeles area was more than just a shock for me. Moving to my university presented a great challenge in that it not only forced a change (which I haven’t always been good at), but it also changed my entire environment and put me in a very lonely situation I hadn’t actually experienced before – I didn’t know one single person when I got to College and that can be a tough situation for an introvert like me. In the first two months I started the process of transferring back to Montana somewhere just to be back in a familiar environment. The Father had a plan though because I met a certain Communications professor and I had a certain roommate. The combination of the two people gradually changed my mind and the second semester I returned. Though there was a moment where I had to force myself into what I thought was an uncomfortable position, it paid off…well, to be honest, I paid more than my share for tuition, but that’s for another time. Anyway, back to my first point.
I have become very familiar with city life since that first big move in 2006 and I don’t just mean the Los Angeles city life, I mean Washington D.C., New York, Seattle, Bangkok, HoChiMin, Chiang Mai, Calcutta, Dubai, Rome, Paris, Brussels, London, and a lot more that I won’t mention. I am not trying to brag, I am trying to convince you that I’ve seen a lot of cities and here’s a fact: All cities have bad traffic, bright lights, too many people and a wasteful amount of places to spend money. Cities have more than just negative qualities though; they have jobs, conveniences, social establishments in which to meet people and various other opportunities. Upon my arrival in Harbin I have felt the same way that I feel in every city – a little claustrophobic, a little excited but mostly, the city just feels like something normal to me. One day as Jared and I were walking through the city on an exploration I became a bit downcast and told him that Harbin presented the hardest challenge for me. Harbin has presented the hardest challenge for me because I have always envied Chinese culture. As a boy I constantly hoped that I would find an old man who would teach me traditional Chinese art forms and above all, Kung-fu. Naturally, there was a very slim chance of that specific occurrence in Kalispell, Montana. Regardless, my family indulged my dreams and bought me anything with Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan on it. Packed away in my mother’s house is my copy of, “The Art of Expressing the Human Body” by Bruce Lee. I think I must have read through that book three times by the age of 13. I think you, and especially those who know about modern China, can guess that even in China these types of dreams don’t have much place either.
I won’t go into depth, but from about 1966-1976 Chairman Mao led China and encouraged a cultural revolution in order to change China’s course and role in history. The objective was to avoid following the same path as China’s soviet allies, Russia, and recreate their economy. Mao knew that China was a traditionally elitist society and therefore put his efforts into China’s youth. Many youth were organized into groups called the Red Guards and, long story short, their mission was to detach Chinese society from the past and this was done by rapid modernization, or rather, by destroying any relics that tied people to the past and superstitions. This process, called the “Great Leap” in China, may also be considered the obliteration of culture. Today, if you happen to walk around a Chinese city you will notice something…it is not very Chinese. Beside the character writing and food, the cities are industrial and relics of ancient Chinese culture are rare to see if you ever do see them.
So, this letdown in the culture department has been a great source of disappointment since I arrived. On the morning of the 15th however, all of that changed. My alarm went off at 4:15am and I got up in a hurry determined to bike the city before dawn and see what I could find…and of course by ‘see what I could find’ I mean I went looking for where old men practice kung-fu. I had no facts and no specific place about where to find them, but I’ve heard some gossip through the grapevine that gave me an indication of the area I should search. I arrived at a large Russian cathedral downtown where many older people practice taichi and other types of exercises, like slapping their arms and legs for blood flow, bouncing off of trees while grunting and yes, ping pong. I sat and watched an old man practice his taichi for about an hour and I could tell he was thrilled to have an audience. I watched and wondered what this 80-something-year-old man had been through. He definitely had a long and wise story behind his eyes and beside that, he was, like most old people in China, in incredible shape. At one point (I think for show), he did a jump kick in which his legs did a full split in the air…I was more than impressed and he knew it. Eventually, a Chinese friend of mine called. My friend was aware of my quest, as I had been telling him about this desire for some time. He met me at 5:30am and took me to a nearby park known as, Children Park. When you enter Children Park you do so through a castle gate – a modern castle gate, of course. Something very curious happens when you walk through that gate this early in the morning. Firstly, you might hear a Chinese flute or the Erhu playing in the distance, everywhere people are painting the ground with Chinese characters using a water brush and taichi is happening in every corner of this place. At one point I thought I heard the announcement speakers that litter China spouting out some song about national pride, but as we rounded a corner we realized it was an actual choir of about 50 people singing loud and strong. Trees fill this place and when you are there it feels like you have left the city. From traditional fan dancing to Chinese opera, I saw everything I ever wanted…except I didn’t see any kung-fu…not at first.
~Johnny Young
I’m what my family refers to as ‘simple country folk.’ I was raised in the Rocky Mountains and the total population of the three towns I live near in Montana makes up about 30,000 people. My move to the Los Angeles area was more than just a shock for me. Moving to my university presented a great challenge in that it not only forced a change (which I haven’t always been good at), but it also changed my entire environment and put me in a very lonely situation I hadn’t actually experienced before – I didn’t know one single person when I got to College and that can be a tough situation for an introvert like me. In the first two months I started the process of transferring back to Montana somewhere just to be back in a familiar environment. The Father had a plan though because I met a certain Communications professor and I had a certain roommate. The combination of the two people gradually changed my mind and the second semester I returned. Though there was a moment where I had to force myself into what I thought was an uncomfortable position, it paid off…well, to be honest, I paid more than my share for tuition, but that’s for another time. Anyway, back to my first point.
I have become very familiar with city life since that first big move in 2006 and I don’t just mean the Los Angeles city life, I mean Washington D.C., New York, Seattle, Bangkok, HoChiMin, Chiang Mai, Calcutta, Dubai, Rome, Paris, Brussels, London, and a lot more that I won’t mention. I am not trying to brag, I am trying to convince you that I’ve seen a lot of cities and here’s a fact: All cities have bad traffic, bright lights, too many people and a wasteful amount of places to spend money. Cities have more than just negative qualities though; they have jobs, conveniences, social establishments in which to meet people and various other opportunities. Upon my arrival in Harbin I have felt the same way that I feel in every city – a little claustrophobic, a little excited but mostly, the city just feels like something normal to me. One day as Jared and I were walking through the city on an exploration I became a bit downcast and told him that Harbin presented the hardest challenge for me. Harbin has presented the hardest challenge for me because I have always envied Chinese culture. As a boy I constantly hoped that I would find an old man who would teach me traditional Chinese art forms and above all, Kung-fu. Naturally, there was a very slim chance of that specific occurrence in Kalispell, Montana. Regardless, my family indulged my dreams and bought me anything with Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan on it. Packed away in my mother’s house is my copy of, “The Art of Expressing the Human Body” by Bruce Lee. I think I must have read through that book three times by the age of 13. I think you, and especially those who know about modern China, can guess that even in China these types of dreams don’t have much place either.
I won’t go into depth, but from about 1966-1976 Chairman Mao led China and encouraged a cultural revolution in order to change China’s course and role in history. The objective was to avoid following the same path as China’s soviet allies, Russia, and recreate their economy. Mao knew that China was a traditionally elitist society and therefore put his efforts into China’s youth. Many youth were organized into groups called the Red Guards and, long story short, their mission was to detach Chinese society from the past and this was done by rapid modernization, or rather, by destroying any relics that tied people to the past and superstitions. This process, called the “Great Leap” in China, may also be considered the obliteration of culture. Today, if you happen to walk around a Chinese city you will notice something…it is not very Chinese. Beside the character writing and food, the cities are industrial and relics of ancient Chinese culture are rare to see if you ever do see them.
So, this letdown in the culture department has been a great source of disappointment since I arrived. On the morning of the 15th however, all of that changed. My alarm went off at 4:15am and I got up in a hurry determined to bike the city before dawn and see what I could find…and of course by ‘see what I could find’ I mean I went looking for where old men practice kung-fu. I had no facts and no specific place about where to find them, but I’ve heard some gossip through the grapevine that gave me an indication of the area I should search. I arrived at a large Russian cathedral downtown where many older people practice taichi and other types of exercises, like slapping their arms and legs for blood flow, bouncing off of trees while grunting and yes, ping pong. I sat and watched an old man practice his taichi for about an hour and I could tell he was thrilled to have an audience. I watched and wondered what this 80-something-year-old man had been through. He definitely had a long and wise story behind his eyes and beside that, he was, like most old people in China, in incredible shape. At one point (I think for show), he did a jump kick in which his legs did a full split in the air…I was more than impressed and he knew it. Eventually, a Chinese friend of mine called. My friend was aware of my quest, as I had been telling him about this desire for some time. He met me at 5:30am and took me to a nearby park known as, Children Park. When you enter Children Park you do so through a castle gate – a modern castle gate, of course. Something very curious happens when you walk through that gate this early in the morning. Firstly, you might hear a Chinese flute or the Erhu playing in the distance, everywhere people are painting the ground with Chinese characters using a water brush and taichi is happening in every corner of this place. At one point I thought I heard the announcement speakers that litter China spouting out some song about national pride, but as we rounded a corner we realized it was an actual choir of about 50 people singing loud and strong. Trees fill this place and when you are there it feels like you have left the city. From traditional fan dancing to Chinese opera, I saw everything I ever wanted…except I didn’t see any kung-fu…not at first.
~Johnny Young