Ex Orientem

Yes, I've been away for a while - a business trip to China! I'm just now getting enough breathing room to write something.

Let me start by saying that - although I tried not to have any - every preconceived notion of what China would be like was completely blown away. I saw no evidence of the heavy-handed oppression of the communist government trying to control the lives of its citizens & stifle the Word of God. In fact, from what I could tell, the government doesn't seem to have anything under control. The first advertisement I noticed exiting the airport was a huge, across-the-whole-interstate billboard for Mercedes automobiles. I saw more premium cars in China that I have in the U.S.: Bentleys, Ferraris, Jaguars, Range Rovers, BMW's, etc. Interesting that Buick is considered a premium brand over there. A little American exoctica, no?

I would say that China is far more of an over-the-top & out-of-control capitalist economy than the U.S., at least since the early 20th century. The perfect metaphor is the ubiquitous traffic officer found at every intersection - dressed in a lovely green uniform with white gloves, whistle in mouth, attempting to control traffic & direct pedestrians whilst maintaining his composure. In truth, he's completely ignored by the stream of cars, scooters, & bicycles barreling down on him from every direction.

Regarding the Faith in China, it seems to be alive & well. I wanted to go to the old & lovely Jesuit missionary church, St. Ignatius cathedral, but was instead Shanghai'd by an American cooworker to another church - St. Peter's. The new building was a 3-level affair with socializing space & classrooms on the first 2 floors & the church proper on the third. The furnishings, artwork, statues, & stained-glass windows were new, contemporary, well-executed, though a little kitchy. So much for the thoughts of being smuggled under cover of darkness to an obscure basement to participate in a secret Mass said quickly in hushed tones by candlelight while scouts keep an eye out for the authorities. The music was loud & contemporary, but with unmatched vigor & enthusiasm. I got the impressoin that a certain resident American ran the show, & had very nearly suceeded in turning the parish's liturgy into a carbon-copy of that found in the ubiquitous, banal American suburban parish. I nearly fell out of my pew when they actually sang Kumbaya during the "blessing of the kiddies." So much for "inculturation". The congregation for this English-language Mass was an even mix of Chinese & foreigners, about 500+ by my estimate, though it was clear that some of the Chinese were escorting the visitors, & not regular parishioners.

The Chinese priest's English was good, but with a thick accent. He was very, very careful & deliberate in his priestly motions - evidencing the struggle he's endured for being a priest of Jesus Christ in China - in great contrast to the smaltzy Haagen-Haas tunes erupting from the praise band. The Gospel was of the Lord Jesus observing how many gave to the temple treasury from their surplus with great fanfare, while the poor window quietly gave her 2 coins - all that she had. Matched with this was a reading from Elijah about another poor widow who also offered everything she had, but through God's blessing, it became enough to last her & her son through an entire year of famine (as noted in a previous post, no one remembers the reading from Paul anymore). The priest recalled how in the 80's when Catholics were finally permitted to worship openly, his local community wanted to build a church, & even though they were very poor they gave everything they had until the church was built. He emphasized that they sacrificed the basic needs of life, but did so with joy at seeing the church go up to the glory of God. He contrasted that to now, when people are so much more prosperous, yet give comparably so little. He mused whether another persecution might be needed to strengthen people's faith. He preached the Gospel for about a half hour, & I'm better for it. May God bless our faithful priests!

The people of China were welcoming & gracious hosts. I was treated like a visiting dignitary the entire time I was there. I was fed continuously. I ate squid, eel, octopus, crayfish, shrimp, mussels, crab, fish of every type - including one that was brought to me live in a pail so I could approve it before they cooked it - & who knows what else. I did turn down the jelly fish, live snakes, & monkey brains, though. At one very nice restaurant, I was told that a certain platter contained pig's ears & that "We don't waste anything." I was thinking, "We feed these to our dogs," though I'm sure we eat things that would seem pretty strange to them. Plus, I didn't see a single fat Chinese person during my entire visit. I impressed everyone with my chopstick skills.

About half of my trip was spent in & around Shanghai, but the other half was in Hangzhou, which is a lovely area out in the country side. There I stayed in a hotels that I'm ashamed of how nice they were. Since I woke up at 2:30 in the morning everyday, I worked with the office back home via e-mail, then went running along the edge of West Lake at about 5:00. The area is famous for it's lotus blossoms, quaint bridges, & green tea. I was amazed at how many people were out & about before dawn, doing tai chi, saying prayers, or just hanging out with friends by the lake before work started. I even saw a column of civilians young & old marching in formation, being led by an officer in green uniform with whistle. The first morning, as I was making my way down to the waterfront, I heard people yelling. And they kept yelling. Being more curious that I was alarmed, I went to check it out. Turns out that some old folks are charged with yelling at the geese every morning to keep them off the sidewalks so they stay clean. Most of these photos are from these morning jogs.

I was very impressed with China, which is good, I guess, since I will likely have to go back in January. It desperately needs to get its situation with pollution under control, as you can see from ever-present haze in the top photo, but this is definitely a nation on the rise. However, as I discussed with one of my Chinese hosts, the country is in great danger of disconnecting from the past & forgetting who it is in its mad rush to embrace all things technological & modern. Perhaps a lesson for us all.