博文
Beijing Sights and Thoughts -II then (1979) and now (2007)
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This blog piece is mostly for readers born during or after the Cultural Revolution. In 1979 after the normalization of Sino-America relation, I was invited by the Automation Institute of the CAS to visit and gave lectures. This was my first return to China after 30 years. I recall here some incidents in 1979 and contrast with the same in 2007.
1. The battery of my digital watch ran down during my visit in ‘79. My host was most accommodating. He thought he knew where a replacement can be found. We drove in the Institute car (a Shanghai brand car with curtains on the windows) all over Beijing to several agencies but cannot find a replacement. Both my host and I were somewhat embarrassed – I for causing so much trouble, he for not being able to find such a simple thing in all of Beijing despite being rather well connected. This morning (Oct.3, 2007) I walked down to the corner kiosk near my Tsinghua apartment and replace the battery for my current digital watch again for 8 Yuan (it would cost the same in dollars in the US. Another reason as to why the Yuan must appreciate sooner or later versus the dollar).
2. In 1979, I brought along for lecture a set of well prepared overhead transparencies for my lecture. But the Institute does not have an overhead projector. After much searching, they found an old Russian projector somewhere which was not really satisfactory. In fact it looked like the same model that was used by the USSR Academy of Science during my visit there in 1973. So during the next visit in 1981, we brought along our own overhead projector. Young students today probably cannot imagine a world without LCD projectors and PowerPoint software and wonder what an overhead transparency is.
3. During my visit in 1979, I brought along my Mother who has not seen her sister who remained in China for 30 years. The government was most considerate and brought my aunt form Nanking to meet with my Mother and allowed her to stay with my Mother in 前门飯店 – the only other hotel besides the Beijing hotel for foreigners. We were invited for an evening banquet by our host. When driving back to the hotel and passing through Tiananmen Square, my aunt ask the driver if a particular building was the mausoleum of Chairman Mao. The driver replied no because it was the National Museum building. Upon returning to the hotel, we all went to bed. At 3:00am in the morning, my Mother woke me up and said that my aunt is hysterical with fear and insists that I accompany her to apologize to our host immediately. I asked her why and for what. My aunt said it is unforgivable for a Chinese citizen not to know where the great leader Mao is buried. The driver surely has reported the incident to his boss. And we must immediately go to apologize. I was literally flabbergasted and had a taste what the Cultural Revolution has done to the psyche of ordinary people. Contrast this incident with what are being discussed on the ScienceNet currently. You get the idea how far China has come.
4. In 1979 ZongGuan village 中阕村 was literally among farm lands. The Automation Institute was a set of lower brick buildings reached by a dirt road among farms full of planted crops. No vestige whatsoever can be seen today among all the high rise office buildings, shops and super highways including the modern building that house the Institute today.
5. In 1979 it was point out to me a group of finished but unoccupied multistory apartment buildings. The reason was that the electricity supply of Beijing then was insufficient to run the elevators and pump waters up to the higher floors of the building. Last night, I was taking a taxi back to Tsinghua from the east side of the city along the third ring road. The endless blocks after blocks of neon lit shops, entertainment complexes, and restaurants speak of the power consumption of the city now. In fact it is difficult to imagine any city in the world (NY, London, Paris, and Rome even including Shanghai and Mexico city) that has the concentration AND spread of symbols of modern civilization as Beijing.
It is for these reasons and taking the larger view, I am optimistic and hopeful about the future of China despite all the current faults. However, complacency and self-satisfaction still should be avoided like the plague. So much remains to be done.
https://wap.sciencenet.cn/blog-1565-8262.html
上一篇：On Research, Education and Careers #7
下一篇：给科学网及我的博客的新读者
This blog piece is mostly for readers born during or after the Cultural Revolution. In 1979 after the normalization of Sino-America relation, I was invited by the Automation Institute of the CAS to visit and gave lectures. This was my first return to China after 30 years. I recall here some incidents in 1979 and contrast with the same in 2007.
1. The battery of my digital watch ran down during my visit in ‘79. My host was most accommodating. He thought he knew where a replacement can be found. We drove in the Institute car (a Shanghai brand car with curtains on the windows) all over Beijing to several agencies but cannot find a replacement. Both my host and I were somewhat embarrassed – I for causing so much trouble, he for not being able to find such a simple thing in all of Beijing despite being rather well connected. This morning (Oct.3, 2007) I walked down to the corner kiosk near my Tsinghua apartment and replace the battery for my current digital watch again for 8 Yuan (it would cost the same in dollars in the US. Another reason as to why the Yuan must appreciate sooner or later versus the dollar).
2. In 1979, I brought along for lecture a set of well prepared overhead transparencies for my lecture. But the Institute does not have an overhead projector. After much searching, they found an old Russian projector somewhere which was not really satisfactory. In fact it looked like the same model that was used by the USSR Academy of Science during my visit there in 1973. So during the next visit in 1981, we brought along our own overhead projector. Young students today probably cannot imagine a world without LCD projectors and PowerPoint software and wonder what an overhead transparency is.
3. During my visit in 1979, I brought along my Mother who has not seen her sister who remained in China for 30 years. The government was most considerate and brought my aunt form Nanking to meet with my Mother and allowed her to stay with my Mother in 前门飯店 – the only other hotel besides the Beijing hotel for foreigners. We were invited for an evening banquet by our host. When driving back to the hotel and passing through Tiananmen Square, my aunt ask the driver if a particular building was the mausoleum of Chairman Mao. The driver replied no because it was the National Museum building. Upon returning to the hotel, we all went to bed. At 3:00am in the morning, my Mother woke me up and said that my aunt is hysterical with fear and insists that I accompany her to apologize to our host immediately. I asked her why and for what. My aunt said it is unforgivable for a Chinese citizen not to know where the great leader Mao is buried. The driver surely has reported the incident to his boss. And we must immediately go to apologize. I was literally flabbergasted and had a taste what the Cultural Revolution has done to the psyche of ordinary people. Contrast this incident with what are being discussed on the ScienceNet currently. You get the idea how far China has come.
4. In 1979 ZongGuan village 中阕村 was literally among farm lands. The Automation Institute was a set of lower brick buildings reached by a dirt road among farms full of planted crops. No vestige whatsoever can be seen today among all the high rise office buildings, shops and super highways including the modern building that house the Institute today.
5. In 1979 it was point out to me a group of finished but unoccupied multistory apartment buildings. The reason was that the electricity supply of Beijing then was insufficient to run the elevators and pump waters up to the higher floors of the building. Last night, I was taking a taxi back to Tsinghua from the east side of the city along the third ring road. The endless blocks after blocks of neon lit shops, entertainment complexes, and restaurants speak of the power consumption of the city now. In fact it is difficult to imagine any city in the world (NY, London, Paris, and Rome even including Shanghai and Mexico city) that has the concentration AND spread of symbols of modern civilization as Beijing.
It is for these reasons and taking the larger view, I am optimistic and hopeful about the future of China despite all the current faults. However, complacency and self-satisfaction still should be avoided like the plague. So much remains to be done.
https://wap.sciencenet.cn/blog-1565-8262.html
上一篇：On Research, Education and Careers #7
下一篇：给科学网及我的博客的新读者
