一清二楚

The lines in Beijing are absolutely ridiculous. During lunchtime, especially if I go to a fast food restaurant, is approximately half-block—guaranteed.  (“Beijing blocks” are my measure word for distance/length in China because Beijing blocks are long, and I’m not accustomed to using the metric system.) But although the length of lines here are intolerable, the wait is worth it because the food is always delicious.

Last Sunday, I took my good friend Morgan to the Badaling Great Wall. She has never been to China before, let alone Beijing, so I offered to take her there to see it. On the way, we waited in a long line for a train to Badaling, but the tickets were sold out by the time we reached the window. The next option: public bus. We hopped in a taxi and rode for about twenty minutes from Beijing North Railway Station to the Badaling Great Wall bus terminal. While we searched for Bus No. 919, we encountered a huge line of people. (This one was about 4 “Beijing blocks” long.) Almost immediately we were overcome with frustration and annoyance, but it was a beautiful day (blue skies, white clouds, pleasant winds) so it was the most ideal time to go to the Great Wall. We dragged ourselves to the tail of the line, often glaring at the people in the front of the line enviously.

We got to the Great Wall, climbed it, took pictures—the whole bit. But on the way down we saw a sliding car sign. We followed the arrows into a bustling crowd of people pushing and rushing toward a single hole carved into a gated window. This was the line. After we aggressively pushed pass little children, got tossed around by their stressed parents, and had our feet maimed by others’ heavy steps, we finally reached the window. I didn’t have the chance to see the ticket salesperson’s face; I just put the 60RMB inside the window and yelled “两张票!”(“Two tickets!)  After receiving the tickets, I climbed over a nearby fence to avoid the dangerous crowd behind me. An American guy turned toward me, sweat dripping from the tip of his nose, and said: “Over 5,000 years of civilization and they can’t stand in a line.” Although I was surprised to here him say this, overwhelmed by the stress of purchasing my ticket, this statement seemed so true and so clear to me at the time. Were the Chinese really civilized?

What changed my mind is the realization that in the stress of a moment like boarding a train or waiting for food in China, it is really easy to oversimplify the problems I encounter here. For instance, to answer the question why so many people stuff themselves into fully-occupied train cars or why drivers don’t often stop for pedestrians, I used to have a similar opinion to this American tourist: that the Chinese are uncivilized. However, as China becomes more and more commercialized, integrated into the global sphere, and rises as one of the world’s new superpowers, I don’t think it’s fair, let alone accurate, to say that Chinese people are “uncivilized”. I’ve realized the problem is double-edged. On the one hand, China is thriving economically at record paces. But on the other hand, China’s growth coupled with overpopulation breeds such stressful transportation situations. During rush hour, it is impossible to catch a taxi somewhere, especially if you aren’t going somewhere close. Taxi drivers earn much more money by making more short stops then longer ones during rush hour. You guys already know the story of Adam and I getting to ACC; the reason we hopped in the car with a complete stranger is because we couldn’t haul all over our luggage to campus from the train station. It was just too far.

The problem with whether or not the behavior of Chinese people is not a question of whether or not they are civilized. The American tourist’s attitude, as well as my own previous assumptions, depicts a narrow-minded perception of the daily lives of Chinese people. I appreciate that the Light Fellowship tries to alleviate this stereotyping of East Asia by giving Yalies the opportunity to explore the language and culture of this region. 所以，和以前比，我现在对这个情况了解得更清楚。(So, I now understand this issue more clearly than before.)