BTC Xi’an university

Sunny warm

Day started with a lecture on Chinese history, from neolithic times, Oracle bones and onto lao-zi (600-500 bce) and dao, the way, also the time of confucian thinking.

Good story about Clinton in Xi’an visit. View of affairs and strange American views. Of course he can have concubine.

Confucian, good heart, replaced by legality, iron fist.

Skipped over Qin and Han to Sui and Tang. Imperial exams start, from 600 ad until 1905. Lasted 1300 years.

Power follows exams. "When you get power even your dogs and chickens will rise."

Foot binding starts 100 years after Tang dynasty and does not end until 1911. In Tang dynasty heavy women were preferred, plump was good.

Iron rice bowl, cultural revolution smoothed over.

Majong may have migrated to Nyc via the Jewish community in Shanghai.

A walk around the university after the talk. A student was assigned to us; she to practice English. After a tour of the student cafeteria (wanted to see the regional foods, we even sampled some), where each booth is rented for 24000 yuan a year and students seem to eat a high percentage of noodles and pizza equivalent) got to ask my two prepared questions. As a side note students eat here, a la Carte, for about 15 yuan a day. Use student cards to charge for food.

Where do you learn about America? Foreign speaker’s corner and US
newspapers such as the nyt. Another, American movies.

What do you think of America? Freedom. This is the usual answer. Dissected this time it meant, you can carry guns, choose and criticize you leaders and sex (meaning live together before marriage)

The museum visit was marginal except for the Tang dynasty horses-a polo playing ruling class. A bit bigger than the Asian museum in San Francisco. One interesting facet was the students, maybe 15,doing clay sculptures copying relics.