Mulling in Beijing

Amongst many enjoyable moments during my carefree stay in Beijing, 2 mornings deserve further mention. Beijing has so many vast natural parks. After a few days of visits to tourist attractions, one morning I decided to take it easy and made my way to the nearest park to just sit down and read a book. Though the temperature hit 31 degree, positioning myself in a densely shaded area provides cool comfort in the breeze. I spent the whole morning reading whilst occasionally amusing myself with evesdropping. A group of 4 elderly men and women were playing some form of card game in the vicinity, spicing the quietness with occasional laughter and laments. Nearby a grandma and her daughter were playing with a toddler, delighting at his antics and bantering about his mischiefs. The sound of a Chinese flute wafted in the breeze. These 2 set of people were there at the same spot the whole morning . Though I have not stayed long enough to form a conclusion, my first impression after visiting this park as well as the one at Tian Tan and GongWangFu is that people seem pretty relaxed especially the elderly. Groups and groups are scattered all over practicing choral singing, dances, various chinese musical instruments not to mention the taiji groups and various other exercises. There were also many grandma and grandpa taking their grandchild (I notice all came with one kid) for a walk/run in the parks whilst amusing themselves chatting with their peer.

Although I must confess I do not frequent the parks in Singapore often enough, just by a proportinate estimate that BJ's population of 17 million is 3 to 4 times that of Singapore, I know instinctively our engagement in cultural activites in the park is absolutely rare in comparison. Maybe we practice indoors because we are more shy haha. Mind you quite a number are of very high standard. At Tian Tan I watched a choral group of 6 women who harmonised so well accompanied by a man playing erhu and their instructor who was the flutist as well. I sat at a bench next to them and had a morning of free entertainment. I often wonder whether having gone through various hardship including the cultural revolution from 1966 to 1976, these older folks now appreciate the peace they now can enjoy.

Another day found me at a deserted inner court of GuGong (The Forbidden City)wondering how many women wasted their lives in that court, which supposedly facing north east with its cold dampness, was meant for the forgotten concubines of the emperor. The trees which were hundreds of years old would have borne witness to the tears that flowed in these chambers. I wondered how they coped with life without a future. I imagined many would also have found a way to find peace within themselves through acceptance and living for something else worth living for.

On my trip back, I was reading an article in the Herald Tribune entitled "The Joy of Less" by Pico Iyer. He began with a quote from a young Dutch woman Etty Hillesum on the way to her death in the Nazi camp: "The beat of my heart has grown deeper, more active, and yet more peaceful, and it is as if I were all the time storing up inner riches...My (life) is one long sequence of inner miracles."

Pico Iyer then went on to describe how when he travelled to off beaten tracks, he noticed that the people he met who are mired in difficulties and often warfare seemed to have more energy and optimism than the friends he grew up with in privileged, peaceful Santa Barbara, California, many of whom were on their fourth marriage and seeing a therapist. The gist of the article is about happiness being the pursuit of what really matters ie. according to him happiness "arose out of all I didn't want or need, not all I did." Somehow when reading this article, my mind kept on seeing scenes of the old folks' contented faces in the parks of Beijing. I also wondered whether the forgotten concubines rationalised to arrive a similar conclusion to sustain their existence.