What Would Wang Do?

Facepalm

2012-01-02T20:38:00.001Z

One of China's most widely read bloggers Han Han recently posted an article on Chinese politics - on his vision, what he hopes and what he realistically expects, both in the near and distant future.

In a country known for censoring independent voices, Han Han muses on everything from everyday minutiae, current affairs, as well as extremely sensitive yet always painfully relevant political issues.

Coupled with the fact that his blog has garnered an impressive 520 million views, he's definitely one to watch.

Instead of finishing his post, I immediately scrolled down to the comments section to gauge the reactions to his thought-provoking material. I see this:

To translate:

[comment 1] no effin' way I'm first! ahahaha!
[comment 2] FIRST!! o YEHH
[comment 3] (slightly more relevant comment on democracy)
[comment 4] FIRST COLUMN FIRST COLUMN FIRST COLUMN FIRST COLUMN

Ways to be loved

2011-09-17T13:10:00.001+01:00

We all want to be liked, don't we?

Whether it's on campus or in the arena of work, the ability to forge a good 'bromance' (and its other permutations) is obviously advantageous in life.

But what can one do to be liked? What would Wang do?

Introspection

2011-08-28T18:28:00.001+01:00

I've been neglecting this blog again. This is getting pretty cyclical now. I hover between eagerly posting my thoughts to share with friends, to hastily removing or editing posts that I feel do not reflect what the blog is or should be about.

In some ways, it kind of reflects what stage I am at in my life.

For the longest time, I'd been driving myself (and others) crazy, talking about how unsure I felt about everything. When asked about what career I'd like to do, where I see myself in 5 years, etc., I had no clear picture at all. Some aspects of each career option appealed, but not all. I had no idea what my own 'brand' was - what I stood for, what values represented me, and what I wanted to achieve in my life.

Recently, I've been thinking about this a lot, and perhaps the accumulative result of all this reflection, coupled with relevant and educational experiences has actually helped clarify some of my confusions.

While I cannot pinpoint exactly how I want to turn out, or where I eventually want my career to go, I can say that I am happy with how things are at the moment. I have become just that little bit more confident. How? Not by accomplishing anything per se, but by becoming more sure of myself and who I am. This is a necessary result of constantly looking to see the relationality between my personality, and the cultures within which I was raised.

The more I look inside myself and analyse my cultural backgrounds, the more I realise how strongly my values are linked to my heritage. The distinctive Chinese notions of filial piety and hard work, but also the equally distinctive Western values of meritocracy, freedom and autonomy. The more I look around myself, the more I understand about my own interests - whether they be professional, intellectual or otherwise. And one of those, in fact, is a deep-rooted interest in the way in which this British-Chinese dual cultural heritage heritage plays out, especially for British-born Chinese (BBC) like myself. So one of the things I got involved in was a London-based artist Mike Tsang's photography and text-based project, which looks specifically at the increasingly influential impact that BBCs have on contemporary British culture. This is especially close to my heart, and after having worked with some inspiring and influential Chinese figures in Britain (now by that I don't mean powerful and wealthy), I've begun to understand the significance of flying the flag for such an underrepresented yet potentially very influential minority in the UK. I think this'll be a theme in most of my blog, as it underpins all of my thinking.

I suppose you can never really expect to predict the future, nor should you expect to completely emulate someone else's success story. Stop expecting MBA books to hand over the precise pathway to success. Rather, being sure of your own values and understanding your cultural and personal story is key to harnessing your true potential, all the while remaining authentic to yourself.

...and pigs can fly!

2010-11-17T19:41:00.000Z

So some of you might've read David Cameron's intention to double the trade between the UK and China to £63bn by 2015. True to his word, he's already signed a number of agreements that aim to boost business in the UK and strengthen trade links with China.

(If you want to save me regurgitating and risking plagiarising the FT, feel free to read the economic backdrop to this decision here).

What really caught my eye though, was his somewhat unexpected decision to kick-start this 'heavyweight trade mission' with... the export of pigs to China. From Newcastle.

Seriously? With already half the world's pig population, China doesn't really strike me as particularly pig-deficient. Sure, we consume a hell of a lot of pork, but what warrants the need for pigs from the other side of the world?

Quite understandably perhaps, the initiative, which is meant to bring up to £45m worth of business in the next five years, is driven by the need for good quality, healthy pigs.

What's wrong with Chinese born and bred pigs, you might ask? Meet Zhu Jianqiang (猪坚强), otherwise known as 'Strong-willed pig'. She was born with only two front legs, and has become something of a celebrity in China.

Her owner, Wang Xihai recalls: 'My wife asked me to dump it but I refused as it's a life, I thought I should give it a chance and unexpectedly it survived healthily.'

He trained her daily by lifting up her tail, and within 30 days she was able to walk upside down. And despite receiving a high offer from a circus in exchange for Strong-willed pig, he refuses to sell her.

'She proved to us that no matter what form a life is, it should continue to live on. I won't sell her how much the offer is.'

Let that be a lesson unto us all.

Rant

2010-10-21T10:55:00.001+01:00

Why is it the minute men start working, they flirt with you under the pretext of 'doing business'? Where's the transparency that our economy is crying out for nowadays?

"You never know, we may need a Chinese speaker. You're so talented, you beautiful, English - no! Japanese rose."
"I'm an MD with wife and kids and I have two positions available, p.s. I'll really miss you when you go away!!" (Ok maybe not the wife and kids part, but the rest is true!)

My guilty pleasure: Korean, Taiwanese Dramas

2010-10-16T13:33:00.003+01:00

I'm currently curled up on the sofa with some authentic green tea (not the weird Sainsbury's sachets or the extortionately priced, high-end green teas provided in five star hotels) in my Hello Kitty mug, watching this random Korean drama called Cinderella's Sister. I'm only into the first or second episode, but it seems to be ok so far. Here's the English description on the back of my (pirated) DVD case (edit: card, anyone who buys pirated DVDs know that they come wrapped in a plastic film and a protective card):

"She has neither aspiration nor emotion, and her smile is sarcastic. Eun-jo is a girl who has apathy towards life. Her mother, who has been living as a single mother for 18 years, finally found the right person to marry and brought Eun-jo into the stepfather's house.

A decent house and a decent family... Eun-jo feels that everything in this house does not fit for her. The most unbearable thing she faces is the stepsister Hyo-sun, who is the apple of her father's eyes and beloved by everyone in the house."

One thing I love about Korean dramas is the intensity and sincerity of emotion expressed; most of the time it's not cheesy at all, and I actually nearly cried 5 minutes into the first episode. Maybe they have better actors and place more emphasis on choosing the right music, portraying emotions through body language as well as through words. Although the Korean drama market is probably just as saturated as the Taiwanese market, in my opinion it seems to keep things classy, classic and engaging. Plot isn't as important in Taiwanese dramas, I'd say, because you know how things will turn out, but you watch it for the unique comedy value that the producers and actors bring to the performance. In fact, the most popular Taiwanese dramas are all so similar that they actually cross-reference each other very openly. For example, in the newest Vanness Wu drama, Next Stop Happiness, the head of the village calls himself Hua Ze Lei, which is a blatant reference to Vic Zhou's character Hua Ze Lei in Meteor Garden.

When I refer to dramas, I'm ashamed to say I can only speak for those 'popular' dramas that are a hit with tweens, teens and (at a push) those in their early 20s. I think I've become sufficiently dumbed down by these silly but very entertaining dramas now, so any recommendations for more 'mature' stuff would be much appreciated! I now find myself laughing at the appalling acting in dramas like "Let's Go Watch a Meteor Shower'.

Here are some of the dramas that have taken up so many valuable hours in my life when I could've been doing other more productive things. I love them all. :)

First one is Huan Zhu Ge Ge. This was one of my favourites!! It's a Chinese drama, and I loved it as a child. I used to read the book and watch the drama, it had everything you'd want - martial arts, romance, exciting plot. The main character is the girl in the bottom left corner, who became so famous as a result of this drama that she found it difficult to become recognised as anything else than 'Princess Pearl'. Her character is vivacious, quick-witted and playful, with a kind heart. I also LOVED the soundtrack. Amazing.

Next up is Qing Shen Shen Yu Meng Meng/Romance in the Rain. Based on a book by the same author who wrote Huan Zhu Ge Ge, it's set in Shanghai in the 1920s. The soundtrack is arguably better than the drama itself, but like any genuine drama-lover, my attachment to the songs grew from watching the drama. Definitely give this a go!

Ok, Meteor Garden (below) was the one that got me into the whole craze of Taiwanese dramas. Even my parents eventually got to knowing their names when they appeared on screen. At one point, my mum actually said to the TV 'Lei, I love you!' Nuff said. These guys went on to become extremely famous and starred in other dramas, formed a very successful boyband, most of whom are solo artists to this day. The endearing part is that the guys, who play four heirs of the most influential families in Taiwan, actually come from a very modest background. And everyone knows the public love a rags-to-riches story. 'Liu Xing Yu', the title song, is one of my absolute favourites at KTV!

Jen recommended Miss No Good to me, and it's so funny! That's the best way to describe it. The girl with the unruly hair and zero social etiquette seeks out the famous stylist (right) in a desperate attempt to get a makeover, so as to impress a guy from school. But she finds herself becoming attracted to the stylist, whilst at the same time dating her schoolfriend. Classic love triangle. Very fresh and unpretentious humour.

Yayyy, Next Stop Happiness!! Vanness Wu from F4 aka one of the actors in Meteor Garden stars in this drama with another of my favourite actresses, Ady An. Ok I think I only love her because she's pretty. Anyway Vanness had been having a hard time coming back to the entertainment industry, some of his solo artist endeavours flopped a little, and even in his breakthrough drama he was still criticised for his sub-par Chinese and distinctive slanting eyes. He then underwent a transformation, learning Chinese using English phonetics, trained his body to death and wore iris-enlarging 'circle lenses' in a bid to make him more attractive to the entertainment industry. And it worked. There are several (excessive) shots of him taking his top off or just lying there topless, but I was majorly impressed by his skill at playing a silver-tongued lawyer and reeling off so many complex lines with such confidence! Don't be fooled by the title, this drama WILL MAKE YOU CRY. The theme tune is gorgeous though, it'd be another KTV favourite of mine, if I could actually sing it without butchering it.

Ok I'm still not halfway through. This has Vic Zhou from Meteor Garden, and Park Eun-hye. It's called Silence because a) Park Eun-hye doesn't speak Mandarin, and b) her character can't speak. This is such a sweet drama!! The theme tune is average but still good.

Coffee Prince is so cute! It's a Korean drama, and it's a really genuine, more true-to-life drama than the overly romanticised and dramatic walking away/just-missed-each-other scenes. The lead character is a very tomboy-ish girl, and gets mistaken for a guy, and then decides to keep up the pretense to work at his all-male cafe. Too bad that the guy ends up falling for her, and thinks he's gay! Hilarious, and very cute.

One for the tweens, or those who love teen dramas. I loved this. It's basically a school/uni setting, with the usual basketball playing (that's how Asian dramas like to present the guys, I think they think it looks 帅...) Mike He (bottom left) is your typical bad boy, but Rainie (bottom right) manages to delve deeper and understand why he is the way he is, and slowly makes a place for her in his heart. Sweet.

Ahhh I loved The Outsiders!! I still do. It's about mafia peoplez. Very dramatic, lots of fighting. A story about love, life, friends, and surviving in the mafia world. Ady An (centre) plays a very studious, talented piano player, who falls in love with Dylan Kuo (bottom left). She runs away from home to start a new life with Dylan, but things take a turn for the worse when he and his friends end up joining the mafia. Initially it was to protect their girlfriends, and they vowed never to kill anyone. But you see them all becoming embroiled in this world which was too powerful for them to fight against or escape... There's a sequel to this, and I love it just as much. The theme song for The Outsiders 2, 'Hei Se Kong Jian' is great! It's about how the 'grey areas', the blurred boundaries between good and bad that lead you to becoming someone you no longer recognise.

Last one, yay! Vic Zhou and Barbie Xu in Mars, a great Taiwanese drama. I loved their performances, and I think the two actually got together whilst filming this drama. It's very moving, definitely worth watching. The most famous song in this soundtrack is 'Rang Wo Ai Ni/Let Me Love You.' A classic too!

I should add that all popular dramas are widely available to watch for free on Youtube/Tudou etc., with English subtitles. Even the pirated DVDs probably have English subtitles. Happy watching!

Update

2010-10-03T00:16:00.003+01:00

So much time has passed and I still haven't gotten round to writing everything I'd been planning.

I graduated yesterday!! It was pretty surreal, more on that later when I have better pictures. I did write a post about general graduation-related sentiments just below.

Right now, I've been considering possibly all the career paths in the world. I'm not sure what I want to do, and to be honest I'm not sure I'm meant to know. But I want to seriously explore my options and carefully plan my next strategic move. What I know I don't want, is to find a job just to for the sake of paying rent, or find the generic kind of job that Chinese parents like to boast about. At the very least, I would need to want it for myself. My mum says that choosing your job is like choosing your husband - it effectively determines your lifestyle. My current problem is, I want the kind of lifestyle that no conceivable/realistic job can offer me.

In the meantime, there's still so much that I need to update on here.

I've yet to write about China, the amazing places I explored, the great people I met at Peking University and the life-changing Philosophy course that I took (Economics, not so much, apart from the farmer joke..).

Just to give you a taster, here's a link to my friend Chloe's blog. She's so bubbly and vivacious, but beneath her cute Taiwainese-like (okok she's from Changsha but still) mannerisms is someone who makes piercingly intelligent observations and writes with an impressive combination of force, clarity and style. She's just one example of why I loved my time at PKU.

http://summer2010china.wordpress.com/2010/09/18/concluding-sentiments/

Post-graduation thoughts

2010-10-02T23:48:00.002+01:00

Our family isn't really big on constantly saying/expressing love, and it's the case in many Chinese families. The notion of having to verbally tell someone 'I love you' is seen as somewhat contrived, because real love is unconditional and unwavering.

So it's really times like these, during big occasions, where you really feel AND see the love. My dad spent a lot to fly back from China to attend my graduation (AND drive us all there), only to return back the next day. My grandparents, uncle and auntie insisted on buying me gifts, and even though my mum had already gotten me a jade bracelet this summer, she insisted on getting me some more presents on behalf of my family.

I was pained to see them spend so much time, money and effort on this one occasion in my life. At any other time, this kind of frivolous spending would be frowned upon. My grandparents, and parents, who grew up in poverty had always extolled the virtues of being frugal. I suppose for them, it's not just one ceremony, or one occasion, but an expression of how proud they are of me and how much they love me.

Frankly, I was just happy that I'd managed to graduate! (Woop woop).

Surviving Chinese traffic

2010-08-23T13:46:00.002+01:00

Confucius say: When crossing the road, always walk behind the fat guy.

But if one day you notice people following you, it's time to go to the gym.

The value of grandparents

2010-08-20T18:29:00.000+01:00

Summers in China are always busy - we're always running around doing something or another, and before I know it, it's time to go back to England, and my grandparents hug us goodbye with tears in their eyes, knowing it'll be yet another year before they can see us again.

Unlike the average child growing up in the UK, I could never just walk round the corner to visit my 'nana'. Instead, I would only see my grandparents for one or two months a year, during our annual trip back to China. Even this is privileged enough, as plane tickets to China are pretty expensive. You'd think that we'd make more effort to get closer to our relatives because of the distance imposed on us, but this imposed distance often proves as a barrier to real communication. In England, my parents would only occassionally tell me stories about my grandparents (e.g. your grandad had a tough life), and likewise my parents would report back to them about the more notable aspects of my life (e.g. she's doing well at school). As a result, we tended to get typecast into certain roles, such as 'Lisa's the clever, academic, fat one' and 'Lily's the supermodel-esque gifted dancer'. While it annoyed me for a good while, I've come to realise that these labels actually make it easier for them to get to know us, and makes them feel closer to us in a short amount of time. So, while we don't end up actually explaining and sharing our hobbies and news, we instead move straight into making the most of spending time with loved ones, eating our favourite dishes that our grandparents lovingly prepare for us and just basking in the joy of being reunited.

Now, I've had enough of being typecast as a 2-dimensional figure (it's fine when you're young and all you do is play Snake/Space Impact on your Nokia 3310 while on holiday), especially as I'm facing a lot of important turning points in my life. In brief, I need all the advice I can get, and I need to communicate with my family on a much more deeper level, so that I can explain my point of view and engage in more meaningful dialogue with them. Plus, I'm becoming more and more independent, in terms of being surgically attached to Alex and being of an age where I'm carving out my own path, and where even marriage doesn't seem that far away. People have already been asking about my relationship with Alex, wondering where he is, and talking about weddings. Needless to say, my family have a lot of advice to give, and lots of stories that they feel might be appropriate to share with me now more than ever.

I was just about to set out and take a walk around Chengdu when I sat down for an impromptu chat with my grandparents about careers and relationships. They have really reinforced some notions that I had always accepted and agreed with, but never really taken to heart in the way I might do now.

My grandfather told me that you must be able to 吃苦 - literally speaking, this means to be able to stomach bitterness, i.e. to be able to endure hardship - be it emotional, physical, within your professional life or otherwise. Now this saying is very popular among Chinese people, especially of our parents' generation and above, for it has been the key means of survival and success. My grandad talked to me about the hardships that he suffered: he lost his mother at a very early age, and was then put into the care of his stepmother. 'Now, do you really expect that your stepmother will treat you well? Of course not', he said. I couldn't detect any hatred or blame in his tone; he had long since forgiven her for the cruel way in which she treated both him and his sister, such as refusing to give his sister new clothes when she was going through puberty, subjecting her to public humiliation.. He ran away from home and started working at the age of 14, and during this time, he didn't keep in touch with his family, so they presumed him dead. He later procured a highly regarded position within the civil aviation, which, combined with his unwavering dedication and work ethic, still draws admiration from his peers today. He eventually returned back to his family, and dutifully sent money back to them every year, even coming back to take care of his stepmother when she fell ill. On her deathbed, she finally apologised for having treated him so badly over all those years, and thanked him from the bottom of her heart for being there for her at a time when her own daughters were not.

Later, I asked him about how he met my grandmother. He said that he knew he wanted her from the minute he laid eyes on her; she was dressed in plain, unadorned clothing, without any make-up - a practical and down-to-earth girl. When he met with her and her family, both sides shyly consented to the relationship; my grandfather said that he did not mind and agreed to go out with her, and my grandmother, after being pushed by her family ('go on, say it, he already has!') consented too, after which my grandfather replied quite matter of factly that 'that was that - 就这么说定了', and that since he occupied a civil position he must have a final confirmation so that he could report back to his boss.

Since then, they've spent over 50 years' together. They celebrated their gold wedding anniversary two years ago - there's a pair of gold pigs snuggling up against each other sat on the TV, with the words 'harmony and happiness' 和谐幸福 inscribed below. It hasn't been easy though, with my grandfather becoming blind at the age of 48, never having actually seen my 16 year-old sister, diabetic at 58, and most recently, contracting life-threatening heart problems. All the while through, my grandma has always been there by his side, though her health is far from satisfactory. She's been religiously administering his insulin injections, making sure he eats at the correct time, leading him across the living room to the dining room in case he falls, and leading him back again when he wants to sit down or brush his teeth. She knows he loves to listen to the national news at 7pm, and always makes sure the TV is switched on and that the right channel is selected. Every day, she undertakes all the household responsibilities- going to market, paying the bills, cooking, cleaning, dealing with broken appliances, liaising with workmen. While you often hear her complaining about my grandfather and calling him a 死老头子(annoying old man) when she gets fed up with repeating herself (he has difficulty hearing so can't often hear her), she's incredibly affectionate, and it's apparent in everything she does that she's always thinking of him. When he's sat on the sofa minding his own business, fanning himself with a bamboo fan like most old Chinese men like to do, she'll say, 'Hey have some fruit, it's not that sweet (therefore ok for diabetics)', and will proceed shove a slice of pear in his hand, or directly and haphazardly into his mouth. Even though he's trying to watch his weight, she'll often feel sorry for him and constantly ask if he's hungry, and put some more food into the bowl of food that she prepares especially for him at every meal. My grandfather told me that he was immensely grateful for her unwavering devotion, taking care of him when sometimes he fears that she's not even able to take care of himself. Even though on a day-to-day basis, such feelings aren't vocalised, he expresed his gratitude loudly and clearly, and when my grandma came to tell him to hurry up and take his medicine, though her voice was as resonating and 唠叨(nagging) as it usually is, her eyes were watery, her face aglow, lit by a deep smile that spread from ear to ear.

What then, can I take away from this?

That grandparents are one of the most valuable and rewarding sources of learning and inspiration.

That hardship is nothing to be feared. While the modern world is full of self-imposed structure, while business success is compared to a secret recipe or series of steps one needs to take, there are no limits to human possibility. The possibility lies within us - even 'talent', or 'fate', lies within us - it's nothing more than the blood pumping through our veins, the spirit of determination and unwavering commitment that drives us to a certain goal. (Ok the last part was taken from a soppy goodbye speech from China's equivalent of Pop Idol 快乐男声 but still, I really liked it!).

That I need to keep in mind my ultimate goals in life. My grandfather, looking back on his life, is content with his legacy, with his devoted wife, with his succesful daughter and son and their respective marriages, and his grandchildren. His contentment is something I'd like to strive for.

That the long-term survival of a relationship lies in the maturity of perspective that we bring to it; this is something other than the tumultuous passions and the be all and end all of romantic fictions. Good, long-term relationships are like familial relationships - they are forever, and must not be lived out in the threat of unnecessary ultimatums. We grow them like we grow our relationships with our family, learning from giving, as opposed to taking, and solidifying our foundations until they are unshakable, until the love is unconditional.

A new direction...? Or maybe a change in perspective.

2010-08-19T17:55:00.001+01:00

I've never been completely satisfied with this blog. First of all, I've always written it when I'm in a rush, so the presentation, grammar and just general content is a bit shallow. Plus, it didn't engage much with the reader. Looking back, there was really no value in what I was writing.

Maybe it's a question of readership; I don't know who's reading, and I don't know who my 'target' is. Perhaps I do know who it is, and maybe it's too wide. Or perhaps I'm being too selective in what I'm writing, and when I do write, it's very held back, so that what does come out on here is only the scrapings of the facts of my life, as opposed to the meaningful parts that can be gleamed from it.

I think it's a mixture of all of the above. The blog started out as a quick way to 'report' back to everyone about my year abroad in Paris, but now I want it to evolve into something a bit more personal and meaningful. It won't be a barrage of intellectual musings, but I'll try to bring more of myself into whatever I write. What value does a persona blog have, if it can't allow you directly engage with the blogger's thoughts?

So much has been going on in my life since finals, since results day, and over the summer in general. One reason I'm still writing this is to engage with all my friends, especially those with whom I'm not lucky enough to see or talk to all the time. Sometimes I only have enough time and energy to share my experiences and chat to one friend, even though in an ideal world, I'd love to speak to so many more.

This is essentially why I'm writing this blog. Even though I may be abroad/bad at keeping in contact/occassionally withdrawn, I genuinely want to keep in contact with you and share what's happening in my life (and in my brain) with you. I'm pretty apprehensive about writing in a comparatively more intimate style and about much more intimate thoughts online, but I hope it's worthwhile. :)

5.12: Rebuilding lives, remembering lives lost - Chengdu 2008

2009-05-12T16:40:00.032+01:00

Some of you may be aware that today marks the one year anniversary of the earthquake that hit Sichuan Province, China. You may have seen your friends write a post in their blog, change their Facebook status or ask you to donate to this cause.

Raising awareness is one thing that I am sure that my fellow friends, whether Sichuanese or not, Chinese or not, have done very well. But what does it mean to you? So what, frankly, if you know that one year ago today (and a day ago, if we're being time-zone correct) an earthquake occurred? What I want to do is to raise sensitivity, to let you know how it affected me, and show you this piece of news through my eyes. For those of you who've read this on my Facebook, 'just keep scrolling, scrolling...'

Now, I am very much aware of how my other post today on softball is juxtaposed with this one, but as I said to one of my friends, I suppose it reflects the mixed sentiment that my Sichuanese family feel to this day, which is coincidentally my little sister's birthday.
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Rebuilding lives - Chengdu, 2008

I had originally planned to visit both Beijing and Chengdu this summer. After a phone call from my overly superstitious father, I had decided that volunteering for the Beijing Olympics wasn't worth a) the scorching sweat-fest, b) the 人山人海 crowds, or c) the potential terrorist activity. Rather, I decided to fly straight to Chengdu, where it pretty much has all three, to a lesser degree, topped off by continuous aftershocks. In fact, since I have arrived there have been two aftershocks, one of which I felt in the middle of a telephone interview! Not surprisingly, the interviewer was more than understanding when I informed him I was slightly distracted... No matter what the situation was like in Chengdu, nothing could prevent me from coming back to visit relatives whom I may no longer be able to see in future, to find out what the earthquake was like first-hand, the climate post-earthquake, and to do something about it. As soon as I came through the ShuangLiu airport, enormous red banners of appreciation, solidarity and encouragement overwhelmed my eyes, replacing the usual commercial billboards that I would usually be confronted with. Various areas of Sichuan government sent their messages of deepest gratitude to everyone who helped them during their time of need, all the while encouraging everyone to come together and rebuild their lives. Since Chengdu was not hit too badly by the earthquake, its people have managed to move on with their lives comparatively better than those in Wenchuan, Dujiangyan and other areas nearer the epicentre. But it touched everyone, and each has their own story to share. My grandfather is blind, diabetic, and overweight. My grandmother isn't in very good health either. They live on their own, on the 3rd floor of an apartment block with their housekeeper. During an afternoon nap at 2:28pm, my grandfather rose and fumbled around in the bed-side table for something, his head bobbing slightly. My grandma, slightly irked, urged him to keep his head still, worrying for his delicate state of health. But his head kept on bobbing, and soon the bed was shaking from side to side, and the wardrobe perpendicular to the bed shook violently. In an attempt to avoid being hit by the wardrobe, my grandfather shuffled slowly a few inches along the bed. This would have done absolutely nothing if the earthquake had been just a bit stronger. The earthquake carried on for at least 2-3 minutes but felt like longer, and soon my aunt drove round to pick them up. She had been alone at the time of the earthquake, her husband stationed in Tibet, and her son inexplicably and worryingly ill in hospital. They came out slowly and downstairs into the courtyard, where everyone had gathered. Only then did my aunt rush to hospital to pick up my cousin. They spent the night in the car, parked outside. None of them slept a wink, kept awake by fear and the sound of sirens rushing back and forth. Later on they were informed that those were ambulances driving frantically to Dujiangyan, an area hit more severely by the earthquake. My grandmother on my father's side was in the Qingcheng mountains, a lush mountain retreat whose fresh air, taoist relics and mountain views make for a popular holiday destination. The Qingcheng mountains were more drastically hit than Chengdu, and she was playing mahjong while it happened, took shelter and then went back to it after it had ended...! The people of Chengdu eventually calmed down after the the first aftershock, as the news reported that the city would generally be safe and that no-one need worry. We were lucky though; Chengdu is an extremely densely populated city, with a total population of 10.44 million, 3.30 million of which live in the urban area. As one of the most developed cities in China in terms of GDP increase, social consumption etc., its repercussions would be more seriously felt.

This summer, I visited a prosthetic limb factory that had temporarily been turned into a recovery centre for young children recently fitted with prosthetic limbs as a result from the earthquake, an opportunity that afforded me me a much deeper and more personal insight into the earthquake, to see exactly how it changed lives. Here we met some children (and in some cases, their families, and even adopted/sponsoring families) and listened to their story.

In her school of 900, over 600 remain missing but only 200 are actually reported as missing. Her school in Pingyuan is located near the production site of military weaponry, therefore the country wishes to attract as little attention to the area as possible, downplaying the casualties of that village. This girl has lost half her leg, and because there is no padding her knees constantly rub against her limb. She hasn't been practising much, and both children find it rather painful to walk.

People living nearer the epicentre weren't so lucky; a week ago I had the opportunity to visit some people who had been affected by the earthquake. My mother's friend sponsors an earthquake orphan, and took us to see some children who she also comes to check upon whenever she has time. We arrived outside a modest looking residential area, which was in fact a factory for prosthetic limbs. The only other indicator of this, apart from the sign outside, was a wheelchair store located directly opposite. The survivors who need amputations have their operation elsewhere, and eventually come here for a prosthetic limb fitting, spending an average time of about a month here before they go home. In many cases, 'home' means tents in a foreign village, with or without parents.

'The boy who lived', literally. He's been getting used to his prosthetic limb for about two weeks and is quite good with it. It's more difficult for him; because he's lost his entire leg the limb rubs against his hip socket, and he needs a strap around his waist in order to attach it. It also means that he needs to remove it and re-attach it completely every time he goes to the toilet.

My sister and I were excited about this meeting, but also very nervous. The children's bravery and optimism was commendable; at one point, two children were engaging in a prosthetic limb fight, smashing their spongy legs against each other - recklessly, because they wouldn't feel a thing. Most children were at school during the time of the earthquake. The boy that I met was a twin; they were in the same year on the same storey but in different classes, and his brother made it out in time and lost only his hand. He, on the other hand, did not. Being on the first floor, it collapsed underground, where he stayed for over seventy-two hours. It took three hours for the rescue services to rescue him, after which his heart stopped beating five times. One doctor was on the verge of pronouncing him dead when another doctor refused to give up, and his heartbeat resumed. His father rushed over straight away from Moscow, and has been looking after him ever since.

Some children have no other option than to be brave; as one girl's baby sister was brought into the room I realised that these children have been forced to grow up earlier, and must shoulder more responsibility now. Some were more fortunate, and had support and assistance from their parents as they tested out their prosthetic legs. The government covers the entire cost of the prosthetic legs, which are worth at least tens of thousands of RMB. That doesn't mean it's not difficult though, and the limbs that the children are fitted with are often hard without padding. Every child has to return here each year and have a new fitting, and I assume that it's after their height stabilises that they obtain the better quality limbs. I wondered how jaded this experience would make them in years to come. Even now, nearly three months on, the inevitable and overwhelming attention and pity that we'd express as our hearts go out to them - how do they deal with it? How do they feel when complete strangers come bearing childrens' books, taking them out for dinner and showing them a kindness that seems only proper to real family?

Either way, I was relieved to see that people are indeed trying their best to deal with the situation and live as best as they can. I marvelled at the efficiency of the government and the balance the it struck between acknowledging, helping and consoling the affected whilst at the same time providing a gentle but firm encouragement and an unwavering faith in their future, without hardly a mention of the Olympic games (which is pret-ty hard to find nowadays!). Speaking of which, some child survivors of the earthquake competed in a mini children's Olympic games recently, and still managed an impressive win. 钢铁是怎么炼成的！With the ever imminent Olympics and the torch arriving tomorrow in Chengdu, I am somewhat glad that, despite the inevitable controversy over sport, politics and China (+ the potential terrorist attack in Chengdu that might eliminate this Wang, and millions of other Wangs in Chengdu), this will be an opportunity for the people of China, and Sichuan, to continue rebuilding their lives, and to feel the overwhelming solidarity that comes from such a national pride.

Currently in Paris, I am volunteering for 3 different charities; one is a general French charity, another is for Chinese abuse victims, but for me the most interesting one is a project that I am working on that aims to rebuild a part of Sichuan post-earthquake. I am the only translator for a giant construction project which will, by the construction of one giant school (uniting several middle schools and high schools which previously stood alone before the earthquake) possess new and improved facilities, with earthquake preventative measures as their main priority. I've lagged behind on this project and feel awful about it, and there is no excuse for 'forgetting' it now. I can't wait to go back to Sichuan this year and see how things are back at home. Natural disasters will always be just that - natural disasters (not karma/a just reward for China's stance on Tibet in the way that some ignorant, over-opinionated and under-IQed people claim ahem Sharon Stone). For every day, I'm sure that there's a corresponding natural disaster of some sort; and who's to say that we ought to remember this day more than another, just because of the number of innocent people/children killed? Every disaster is profound, and in this post I hope to have made today a little more accessible, a little more personal, and more meaningful for you.

I'm now a 'blogger'...

2009-03-13T21:49:00.005Z

The concept behind 'What Would Wang Do': Well, it's not so much what I'd do in hypothetical situations, more like 'What IS Wang Doing??' What is Wang even doing with her life, why has she still not graduated yet, why is she living with a 58 year old smoker who told her he eventually wants to find a 30 year old Chinese wife?

Hopefully I'll actually post stuff here! I dunno, there are still some aspects of blogging that I'm not comfortable with - sharing so much, so publicly is still something that I need to get my head round. Am going to take some time out tomorrow and create my first real blog entry. Stay tuned! :)