I Ching

If oracle bones represented the earliest form of writing in Chinese civilization, the first book or ideological system was the I Ching -易经, (also Zhou Yi - 周易), usually translated as the Book of Changes, a system devoted to foresee the future.

The I Ching is sometimes considered as the Fifth Confucian Classic, as it was compiled by Confucius. He indeed edited most of the written production before him. The I Ching has not only influenced Confucian and especially Neo-Confucian thinking but is also deeply rooted in the Daoist and the Yin-Yang theories.

The book, as it is received, consists of two parts, the classic and a series of comments. The classic (the actual I Ching) was originally a divination book with a divination method by which 64 signs or symbols (gua 卦) are generated and interpreted.

In my opinion, while the West has relied on mathematics to calculate, and as a result of it science has been developed, Chinese focused in foreseeing basically other people intentions, which, if actually unpredictable, Chinese considered convenient to analyze a number of possibilities or hypothesis in advance to identify easier and faster the one which actually turns up.

A question

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Chinese history

Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese civilization.

The first Chinese dynasty is supposed to be the Xia Dynasty (夏朝; ca. 2070 BC–ca. 1600 BC) but the written history of China can be found as early as the Shang Dynasty (商朝 c. 1700 – c. 1046 BC). Oracle bones with ancient Chinese writing from the Shang Dynasty have been radiocarbon dated to as early as 1500 BC. The origins of Chinese culture, literature and philosophy developed during the Zhou Dynasty (周朝; 1045-256 BC).

A Chinese character, also known as a Han character (汉字; Hànzì), is a logogram used in writing Chinese (hanzi) Japanese (kanji). Chinese characters are also known as sinographs, and the writing system sinography. In the Chinese writing system, the characters are monosyllabic, each usually corresponding to a spoken syllable with a basic meaning.

The number of Chinese characters contained in the Kangxi dictionary compiled during the emperor Kangxi, in 1716, in the beginning of the Qing Dinasty, has 47.035 characters, but full literacy in Chinese language requires a knowledge of between three and four thousand characters.

Shāng dynasty, oracle bone script coexisted as a simplified form alongside the normal script of bamboo books (preserved for us in typical bronze inscriptions) as well as extra-elaborate pictorial forms (often clan emblems) found on many bronzes.

Mainland China adopted simplified characters in 1956, but Traditional Chinese characters are still used in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Singapore has also adopted simplified Chinese characters.

A question

Master Mo, (479 BC. to 372 BC) a critic of Confucianism with his doctrine of Universal Love and Mutual Profit -兼相愛交相利, was contested by Mencius as follows:

'Master,' said Mencius, 'your aim is great, but your argument is not good. If you, starting from the point of (mutual) profit, offer your persuasive counsels to the kings of Qin and Chu, and if those kings are pleased with the consideration of profit so as to stop the movements of their armies, then all belonging to those armies will rejoice in the cessation of war, and find their pleasure in the pursuit of profit. Ministers will serve their sovereign for the profit of which they cherish the thought; sons will serve their fathers, and younger brothers will serve their elder brothers, from the same consideration - and the issue will be, that, abandoning benevolence and righteousness, sovereign and minister, father and son, younger brother and elder, will carry on all their intercourse (cooperation) with this thought of profit cherished in their breasts. But never has there been such a state of society, without ruin being the result of it. If you, starting from the ground of benevolence and righteousness, offer your counsels to the kings of Qin and Chu, and if those kings are pleased with the consideration of benevolence and righteousness so as to stop the operations of their armies, then all belonging to those armies will rejoice in the stopping from war, and find their pleasure in benevolence and righteousness. Ministers will serve their sovereign, cherishing the principles of benevolence and righteousness; sons will serve their fathers, and younger brothers will serve their elder brothers, in the same way - and so, sovereign and minister, father and son, elder brother and younger, abandoning the thought of profit, will cherish the principles of benevolence and righteousness, and carry on all their intercourse upon them. But never has there been such a state of society, without the State where it prevailed rising to the royal sway. Why must you use that word "profit?." (Mencius Book, 告子下 - Gaozi II)'

(“先生之志則大矣，先生之號則不可。先生以利說秦楚之王，秦楚之王悅於利，以罷三軍之師，是三軍之士樂罷而悅於利也。為人臣者懷利以事其君，為人子者懷利以事其父，為人弟者懷利以事其兄。是君臣、父子、兄弟終去仁義，懷利以相接，然而不亡者，未之有也。先生以仁義說秦楚之王，秦楚之王悅於仁義，而罷三軍之師，是三軍之士樂罷而悅於仁義也。為人臣者懷仁義以事其君，為人子者懷仁義以事其父，為人弟者懷仁義以事其兄，是君臣、父子、兄弟去利，懷仁義以相接也。然而不王者，未之有也。何必曰利？”(孟子 - 告子下)

Why according to Mencius and the Confucians, who ruled China for 2000 years and have shaped Chinese thinking, instead of talking of profit (mutual benefit - as Mozi actually says) -something obtained by cooperation-, people has to consider the goods as a gift (fruit of benevolence and righteousness) of the ruler?

Does not it clearly show that we are stupids? or, at least, that we have to simulate that?

Why never has there been such a state of society, without the State where it prevailed rising to the royal sway?.

Tian an men

When we arrived to Beijing we started to leave less our room, would sit there both just silent. Time went by and we were thinking about to move to Belgium to meet some friends there and look for a job. But we would not move, even if the 10 days went by and she stayed illegal there.

Then a miracle occurred. People in the Spanish Embassy told me about a delegation of Madrid Complutense University setting up a research center in Beijing. I approached them when they finished a meal with the Embassador and handed over to them my CV. They said they had already arranged to hire somebody else there. But later that evening they sent someone to tell me to go for a breakfast meeting next day. I would be in charge of setting up the research center there, later a director would come, they said. But that never happened and I became the director of the center.

Some nuances came from the guy who lost his job opportunity; he rose a feeling against me in the small Spanish community there he was quite integrated with.

Never mind, my link with China had rooted. We went back to HK for renewing our visas. Now with support of the university we were cooperating with. I got a work permit.

Our first daughter was born there. We named her Meili, she is now called Melina. Chinese authorities did not allow us to register her Chinese as she was not ¿ethnically? Chinese.

Bitterness in Hong Kong

It was such a nice trip to Hong Kong. About three days in the train. Just enjoying our adventure and buying beer and Chinese fruit and snacks people would sell directly through the train windows. We shared our room with an interesting Englishman and interesting Chinese people too. The train would go to Guangzhou, there we had to take another two hours train to HK.

Hong Kong was impressive. We liked it so much. I was as if you leave the dirty Chinese country side to enter into a city hight street full of lights and amusement. We stayed in Nathan Road, in a cheap room for poor tourist, but still so interesting and well located...

After some walks around we went to the Chinese consulate there and applied for our visas. In some days we would have them ready and go back to Beijing. But, again, something miserable happened to us; Chinese would not allow Russians to enter into China twice inside six months (so many Russian traders were crossing the border at the time). That was the rule. So my wife could not get back into China. We entered again in despair. Russians are very badly treated everywhere regarding visas; when we went to Jerusalem from Cairo in an all paid trip, my wife was stopped at the border by the Egyptian police and forced us to go back to a town nearby where to make an statement assuring the Egyptian authorities that she would come back to Egypt (and paid some taxes for filling up a paper). Then we could cross the border. But we had lost our travel agency bus and service and had to go by a common bus to Jerusalem among Palestinian escorted by heavily armed Israeli soldiers with machine guns.

Well, well, well, again in HK, what to do but bitterly cry. Nothing. Just we went to the Consulate to cry lauder and lauder, telling them she had her luggage in Beijing, she would not have enough money to go by plane over China to Russia, etc. Finally they gave her a 10 days transit visa which would allow her to cross China by train, so that we went back to Beijing without an idea about what we could do or how to manage.

Next day

Days ran fast and my wife arrived one month later. She arrived at Tianjin airport and came by bus with Russian buyers to Beijing to a Russian hotel near Ritan Park.

It was great. Well, first we knew her visa was group visa and she did not have stamp on her passport, so we went by wonderful train trip to Tianjin airport for them to sign her visa. Beijing sorroundings were muddy and dark, if not for nice sunshine most times. I had met the Russian manager in charge of the coats transport from Shanghai to Irkutsk, Yura, he was living there with her family and they all were very intelligent and kind.

Christmas arrived. Yes, also in China. People were busy there arranging parties. We had a great Christmas with friends. But New Year was not very successful; we tried to join some Koreans there in our building but they were not receptive, anyway it seemed quite boring with what they were doing. Then we crossed the campus to the Chinese side and it was good fun there, but we arrived too late and it soon finished.

I was having Chinese lessons; my nice teacher put me a Chinese name, 李佳伟, Li Jiawei.

Time passed and I had sealed my visa twice, one per month and my wife had it just once, both without inland renovation possibilities. So, we left for Hong Kong to renew our visas abroad.

All was nice in Beijing next day

The plane finally left next day for Beijing. The guy I mentioned from Hong Kong was staying in a hotel in Beijing and boarded a van going there, I joined. When we arrived to the hotel the guy understood I did not have any place to go and started to get less nice. I went to the hotel entrance and picked up a taxi to a foreign languages institute I had got a brochure of it before leaving Spain. All the time was raining, actually heaven was pouring water, and it was an all around dark evening. I got into the taxi and we travelled for well more than an hour, I could not see anything through the windows just I noticed we had left the city. I was getting a bit scared, would not know how to ask or what I could do. Then we arrived to that institute or university, it was full of water all around, I left the taxi and got in the school entering into the water, heading towards a possible reception desk there where to ask for some lodging. It was November, about 9:30 pm. No need to go that far. I saw some Russian guys around and briefly told them my situation. They said: just come over with us, a colleague of us usually sleeps with his parents at the Embassy and you can take his place (the Russian Embassy in Beijing is a whole city, by the way). Fine. I slept there, when I got up next day they were all gone. I could not even thank them. I went down the stairs to the campus and heard a voice talking in Spanish, it was a catalan girl studying there. She suggested to me that I could go to another such language university in a more central area where I could rent a room. I picked up a taxi and did as she told me. All was nice in Beijing that day...

Half fly

Then we were told that due to bad weather the plane was cancelled. I returned back with my luggage to the hotel and met other people. Next day was the same, and the day after. One day, we were about to enter the plane. A number of foreign people were living at the airport, we would get some food there (rice and spinach in aluminum trays). We would keep a fine humor; there was a very witty Englishman all the time making me laugh making jokes with the poor Chinese. There was a guy from Hong Kong having some fun with us too.

Finally, one day, we entered the plane and it took off. We finished our plane meal and were joking about our counting system for the previous days: going to the airport: 1 point, check in: 2 points, waiting room: 3, boarding: 4 points, leaving: 5 points – Bingo!.

No, I said, 6 points: arriving to Beijing.

Suddenly we could hear some Chinese from the speakers, the voice seamed worried, Chinese people there also became worried. It was a very bad sensation, specially the food in the stomach started to remove, I felt sick, I thought we were falling down.

No, we were just back to Harbin airport. Beijing weather was too bad for the plane to land there.

Buying a plane ticket in China in November 1993

I picked up my luggage and went to airport to buy a ticket to Beijing.

Can you believe that what I saw there was one of the most astonishing and depressing experiences I have ever had? Chinese people, though having had a 5000 years old culture had not learnt yet to queue. They would just go to the ticket window without making up a line and all at once trying to get attention of the vender behind a very small window protected with iron bars. Violence was beyond any description, everybody was pushing each other in different directions in order to get closer to the window. I was terribly shocked and down, I would not know what to do, I did not even dare to move. I was about to cry thinking that I would never leave that place as I would never leave my luggage and enter into that terrible turmoil . After a long while looking in despair at the amazing spectacle, I started to move around.

Later, when in China I had lot of opportunities to notice that problem Chinese people have. For instance, when in the Beijing universities, waiting everyday for the self-service meals you would need to get closer to the one before you as to put the bodies together and the one behind you would do the same. If you would let some space between you and the one before, somebody would, and would feel entitled to, to enter in between. It seems there at the universities were taking place the first steps in development of the queuing systems in China.

After a while I met a Russian guy, he was one of the people I had known the night before (I suspected he belonged to the Russian mafia, as he tried to convince me that mafia in Russia was very beneficial and playing a well needed role considering the circumstances in Russia by then). I asked him about how to solve the situation; it was so easy: actually, given that situation in China, foreigners were allowed to buy tickets in the hotels, I just had to go to Harbin city (30 kms away from the airport) and buy the ticket in a hotel there. Great. We picked up a taxi and I bought a plane ticket to Beijing. Later that day, I should leave. I checked in and expected to leave.

Second landing in the Middle State

One day, my luggage came back to Khabarovsk. And I was finally able to enter in China again, this time to the honorable town Harbin, one hour away from Khabarosk. The plane left at about 7 pm, I almost spat on the ground on my way to the plane swearing myself never to have deals with Russians again.

But when I arrived to Harbin it was really dark there, so many Chinese with rucksacks, luggage, pushing you rudely and ruthlessly, there was kind of an airport but all was so confusing you would not tell. I felt so lonely, so afraid….. What to do? Where to go?

Yeah! To the Russians. Yes, to the Russians. I went to them like a dog asking what to do? where to go? Then it was fun again. They led me to a hotel nearby very similar to my childhood boarding school, with so many beds in the same room. I am not joking, probably 50 or 100 beds per room. But my Russian friends asked for better rooms. And we got them, now just double rooms. Then we had dinner, we relaxed and we were all happy.

Early morning next day, however, everyone had dissapeared.

How ordinary people saved my life

Of course, in the end I did not die. Some people arrived there at about 3 am with a car and invited me in. It had heating, Gott sei dank.

I was the first one to enter in the Chinese Consulate, picked up my visa, and went straight to the hotel to pack up my things and then to the airport (it was funny, it was there an international side very well equipped). Paid my ticket, checked in my luggage but when passing the police control and they checked my passport they stopped me. Your visa is overdue, they said (and funny, I assume, they thought). I explained to them what had happened in detail, but he added another argument; I had not sealed my visa in any place in Russia, every foreigner had to have his visa sealed in an office called Obir in Russia -or SU. I knew that, but as we stopped in Moscow just for about two days and flew to Sakhalin almost inmediately I had forgotten it.

I could not leave. My luggage, however, left for China with all my things, all my papers, clothes, including my shaving machine. Just the money was with me. The police told me to go to the local police station there and ask for a way out.

The local police made me write a declaration of my case, made me go to the bank to pay a reasonable fine and from that day on I would go round the airport all day waiting for my luggage to come back before using my ticket for China. It would not arrive next day nor some days after. My beard was growing long, and my state of mind started to become a little bit moved.

I would call to my wife in Moscow and to my family in Sakhalin. My parents in law send me some money and a big pot of caviar from Sakhalin with a friend. I would eat it with the spoon (and with bread too, of course).

How I truly thought I had arrived to my end

Three days left. I had two possibilities then; this is to say; two Chinese consulates where to get visa; in Moscow or in a new one set up in Khabarovsk. Even if my wife was in Moscow; Khabarosk was closer to Irkutsk and to China and I would depart immediately. So I bought a ticket for the next plane to Khabarosk. The flight was kind of leaving Irkutsk at 11 pm and arriving in Khabarosk at 3 am. The seat I was in would let the back fall down behind, so I had to keep upright without back support and my neighbor in the row was with a big dog which was also lying down in my side. I just could not believe it, but I was alone, I could not tell, nor complain.

Well, the plane landed in the middle Siberia, in a field of snow (most of the time was snowing), we got out of the plain and walked a long way until we reached a kind of house with just a deck but kind of without wall, doors or window, there our luggage arrived. 3 o´clock am, everybody left, I left too, where? I did not know (nobody was there to be asked), I was again in the field of snow with nothing to see just all dark around. Then a young guy turned up and offered me to lead me to a hotel for $20, I said $10 would do, I do not really remember how much I paid in the end. He led me for about two minutes and a hotel for crew people was there to be seen.

I lodged there and some hours later I went to the Chinese consulate. I duly arrived there at 9 o´clock. All the visas for the day were already given. East Russian were very busy doing business with China and it was very difficult to get a visa there; people would queue there during the night and get the visas just within the first 30 minutes after the consulate opened.

By chance, next day was holidays, so I lost one more day. Then I did not sleep in the hotel and in the late evening I went to queue at the Consulate door.

Khabarovsk is a city pending on the Amur river and the Chinese consulate is right at a park at the Amur side, right in the deepest. It started to freeze. I did not have suitable clothes, It was getting colder and colder, it was all dark, nothing was there to be seen miles away, it was really too cold, I had arrived to my end, I thought.

Imprisoned in Irkutsk

Indeed. We landed back to Irskutsk and the police entered the plane to check for our documents, asked for my Russian visa, I would not have it.

As it was late in the evening they held me and put me shut in an airport room (actually a waiting room) for the night. Early morning they put me queuing at the ticked window to buy a ticket for the next plane leaving for China. Yes, if you do not have a visa airport police will automatically deport you back to the place you come from. But I did not have Chinese visa and Chineses would also automatically deport me back to Russia. I speak Russian, I told the police what had happened and what would happen, they would not care.....(Later, somebody in Russia told me it was a movie with that plot; somebody get deported between to foreign countries without any way out)

I was about to reach the sales window when the crew turned up with the police and saved me. They had decided to tell them my unlucky story. Irkutsk airport police did not know what to do with me, they decided to call to Moscow for instructions but it was there six hours earlier and Moscow was not at work, they put me again in the room waiting for Moscow answer.

Six hours later I was brought to the police station, they had not received any bad information about me but either a way forward, they did not know how to solve the situation.

Suddently, somebody thought about checking the rubbish bin there. There was my visa in pieces. Soviet Union visas were not stamped in the passport but clipped in it. I had still three days permit to stay in Russia. They glued the visa pieces together and set me free.

Landing in China for the first time

Next day we learned that Irkutsk airport was bankrupt and every plane had to buy its own fuel on the spot and by its own means. They would give priority anyway to passenger planes and we had to wait there some time until the fuel tracks arrived one by one refueling the plane. Finally, after a couple of days, just one track was missing and we expected to be able to leave that night. In the evening we entered the plane and the airport police came to check our departure documents. My wife was not allowed to leave because she still had her old Soviet Union passport –and in it the Chinese visa we got in Spain- We decided that she would fly to Moscow to change her passport and we would meet later in Beijing. She left the plane, I stayed. Actually the track in the end did not turn up that night and we slept one more night together.

Next day she took the first plane to Moscow, later the fuel track arrived and I left for Shanghai. It was fun with the crew. We arrived in Shanghai Hongqiao airport. Right on the ground where the plane landed the coats exporting company representative, called Yura -I had a good relationship with him later- was waiting for us. He got shocked and terribly angry when he saw me. He started shouting at the crew. He said that passanger were not allowed in cargo planes at Shanghai airport, as Shanghai airport has the toughest regulations in China. He decided I would stay in Shanghai as a crew member and go back to Irkutsk after loading the plane (the crew would give me back later $500 my father in love had paid them).

I spent two days drunk with the crew members touring, shopping and enjoying Shanghai. When we went back to the plane and I got back my passport a pain in my stomach abruptly and bitterly finished with all the joy of the previous days. It was kind of a sudden indigestion after a heavy meal. My Chinese visa was sealed. I suddenly realized what I should have understood in advance and what it meant.

1993 - From Sakhalin to China

After living in London Ms. Thatcher fall in 1990 and in Moscow the putsch in august 1991, Mr. Gorbachow hijacking and finally the Soviet Union collapse I came back to work in the Japanese Pavilion at the Seville Expo 92 where I could make some money to continue my trip to Egypt, this time with my wife, from Sakhalin island, I actually married her in the Spanish Embassy in Cairo.

We married again in Spain in order to let my family to know her. Then we moved again to Russia, to Sakhalin, for her family to acknowledge me as her husband. Then we decided to move to China. I had started to learn Russian, Arabic and Chinese in Berlin when studying International Relations and Peace Research there and I would accomplish my plan this way before becoming a family man and search for a job.

My father in law arranged with a local cargo airline our trip to China. It was a big plane, I think an Antonov, it was full of Japanese cars we brought from Sakhalin to Irkutsk. From Irkutsk it had to leave for Shanghai to pick up a fur coats cargo. We arrived to Irkutsk at 3 am and were received by people with Kalashnikovs taking care for the cars downloading, once it was done we went then to the airport crew hotel to wait for our departure to China.

China from Berlin

I started to study Chinese at the Technishe Universität Berlin, TUB, in 1988. I had a Chinese girlfriend there. I met her right after she arrived from Guangdong during Chinese New Year 1989. I invited her to dance in a Chinese New Year event organized by Chinese students in Berlin. She was very pretty and the Chinese students would kick me when dancing with her.

We started to meet; everybody would say we were a nice couple. I had a funny relationship with her because I was a fully spiritual person then but one night she came for a rock concert close to my place, the rock concert was something really shocking for her and too exciting for both of us, she wanted to leave, it was heavily snowing that night and I invited her to stay in my place…

It is too difficult to tell what happened after, sorry about it – I cannot publish it in this blog, though it would really give you an insight about China….

We experienced together all the activities in Berlin against the Chinese government for the Tiananmen events…

At the end of 1989 I moved to London. She wanted to come over in 1990 but she did not manage. I met her last time in Berlin on feb. 1991 on my way to Moscow. She invited me to a Chinese party there and return me back some money I had paid for her in London.

你好!

你好!
I am Manuel Herranz,current Chinese name 妈慕白.
Thank you for your visit
I am very honered and pleased about it.

I am starting this blog on China to share with you my experiences and knowledge on China after many years of dealing with Chinese and many years studying Chinese language, economy, culture, politics and especially classical Chinese philosophy and/or Chinese thinking.

I am starting this blog focusing briefly first on Chinese classical philosophy, then in Chinese history and finally I will try to expose the characteristics of Chinese way of thinking and its difference with Western way.

But first I will dedicate some post on recalling my relationship with China.

You are welcome to exchange your thoughts about it.