Foreign Realm, Dreamscape of the Heart (Selected Works of Jin Kemu)

Author: Editor-in-Chief: Ji Xianlin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1998-10-01
Features: Excerpt: A Conversation in Beijing By chance, I overheard a conversation that was quite interesting, so I recorded it for "Talks for Inspiration." The two speakers were represented as A and B. A: I heard you've recently developed an interest in Chinese and world cultures. I'd love to hear your insights. B: I rarely leave my home, and I know only a little about Beijing. How can I speak with authority when I'm just a local compared to someone who has traveled the world? A: Traveling more doesn't necessarily mean knowing more or thinking more deeply. I'm like a satellite, capturing a lot from all directions. I need someone on the ground, like you, to interpret what I've seen. B: How dare you? How dare you. But I'd love to receive some of the information you've gathered. You've visited the capitals of many countries. May I ask: What is one obvious feature of Beijing, the capital of China, that you can spot at a glance? A: The feature is simply "the capital of China." At a glance, you can tell it's not the capital of any other country. As soon as a plane enters Beijing's airspace, you can see it. B: What else do you think makes China unique? A: China is China, not any other country. How can you summarize its features in just one sentence? I'd like to know your thoughts. B: As someone who stays in Beijing and doesn't move, I see it as a place where you can observe the history of China at a glance and the changes in the world. Not all capitals offer this perspective. Looking vertically, as the capital, it has a history of at least 1,000 years. Beijing was built by five dynasties. These five dynasties were ruled by five different ethnic groups. The Liao Dynasty was ruled by the Khitan people, the Jin Dynasty by the Jurchen people, the Yuan Dynasty by the Mongols, the Ming Dynasty by the Han people, and the Qing Dynasty by the Manchus. Today's Beijing is both new and old; it was built over 1,000 years by many ethnic groups within the Chinese nation, yet it is also newly rebuilt, with new buildings appearing every day. This is the modern China's contribution to the city of Beijing. Go see Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. They are ancient buildings, yet they are also modern. The three gate towers have been removed from the square, the small houses for eunuchs have been torn down in the Forbidden City, and the Tiananmen Tower has been renovated many times. Have you ever been to the Great Wall? Was it built by Qin Shi Huang? The cement ground is from the modern era, right? Did you see the entire 10,000-li stretch? It was just a small section, wasn't it? Everyone considers it ancient, yet they know it's newly built. Everyone knows Beijing is Chinese, yet they often forget that China is made up of many ethnic groups. Of the five dynasties that made Beijing their capital, only one was ruled by the Han people. The Temple of Heaven, where emperors offered sacrifices to ancestors on the east side of the Forbidden City, has been transformed into the Working People's Cultural Palace. Further east is the new building of the Beijing Hotel. In Beijing, you can see the new within the old and the old within the new, the one within the many and the many within the one.