Of War and Fun
by tdaxp ~ June 7th, 2009
Earlier I mentioned that China is very kid-friendly. This is true. The Fuwas, who danced with children in the National Stadium, are everywhere, often teaching good lessons. Some teachers model the Fuwa has working hard at school to encourage their students to do the same. And near where I live, the Fuwa demonstrate good manners, such as sharing with others and being kind to old people.
Similarly, China is an elderly-friendly country. While few things are handicapped accessible, the aged have a social life here which few in America (my grandparents happily accepted) also have. Yesterday we visited my wife’s grandmother, who is suffering from the mental effects of aging. While my Chinese is slowly improving, the universal language between us is boardgames… and her habit of whooping me in them.
I have yet to beat her at Chinese checkers. I have learned Chinese Army Chess (Luzhanqi) since last year, however, so hopefully I can do better in that.
Our day ended with a walk in a nearbye park. To my surprise it contains a tomb of a General Sun Yue, with an inscription by Chiang Kai-shek!
This tomb was built in 1928 for Sun Yue, a patriotic general during the period of the Republic of China, covering a semi-elliptical area of 53,000 square meters. Some inscriptions by Jiang Jieshi and others are preserved in the memorial hall.
Sun Yue’s wikipedia page is still under development, but as I have gathered, Sun Yue played a vital role in elevating the Fengtian Clique, which installed warlords sympathetic to the KMT in Beijing and helped bring down the Beiyang Government.
So that’s the day — Fuwa, Games, and History. Hope you enjoyed it. I know I did!
