In the Birds Nest

Changing Contours of China


John Samuel


Today is a freezing Saturday of December in Beijing. I was looking for Chairman Mao.

People said he might be there at the Tienanmen Square- that is where the place allocated to him. I went there looking for him. His huge portrait looked in a sort of splendid isolation. Mao is a lonely portrait of an old man in the new China. There were not many visitors at the Tienanmen Square.

Taxi driver told me that I should rather spend time in the happening place- the Birds' Nest.

Bird’s Nest- the venue of Beijing 2008 Olympics- did not look lonely. Even on a freezing morning, there were more than ten thousand people. Tens of thousands are coming to Beijing to see the pride of China- the gleaming architectural marvel designed by a French architect. And it is not free. One ticket costs 50 RMB (equivalent to 300 Rs). That does not decrease the queue. It is indeed the happening place. I looked for Chairman Mao there too. I could not find him anywhere in the enthusiastic crowd. At last I found him on the leather bag of a fashionable woman- Mao too may have new market in the branded world -like Che Guevara!

Since I could not find Mao anywhere, I asked my friend. She said Mao drifted away from public space and memory somewhere in the early eighties. He walked away to the labyrinth of history. His statues slowly but surely disappeared- one by one. First, from Public Square, then from office buildings and then from Universities. There is one statue remaining in Beijing- at the University for Chemical Industries. It seems Deng Xiaoping’s team erased Mao and Maoism from the public space and memory.

The art Museum in Beijing is now celebrating the paintings of New Era (1978-2008).These paintings are actually a witness of the changing tastes and contours of the society. I could see some beautiful realist paintings of the 1970s and then slowly the coloures and contours changed. Techniques too changed. Now one could see more globalised art- abstract paintings that could be done by anyone from any country- though there is a Chinese touch here and there.

Birds Nest too is a bit abstract. It is surrounded by the gleaming building and the glow of the new China. But somewhere behind the Birds Nest- very close to it- there is a temple dedicated to the Taoist goddess of beauty. Birds Nest is sizzling with thousands of enthusiastic Chinese tourists on a freezing morning- and there is a whole bunch of tourist agencies and souvenir shops- selling the pride of China- declaring the arrival of China on the global stage. When I walked to the 15nth century temple- constructed during the Ming Dynasty- they said it was closed. No one was there. They told me that it would not open on weekends.

The CCTV9- the government run English TV Channel- keeps reminding us about the "Strategic Economic Dialogue Meeting” of the two "super" powers- between the largest economy and the largest developing country in the world. Of course, the number of Olympic gold medals and the Birds Nest auditorium- with a capacity of more than ninety thousand people- reaffirm super power perception in the collective memory of the growing middle class Chinese people. There is more nationalism and the old Maoism and communist dreams seemed to have taken a backseat somewhere.

But there is a less visible world behind the glow of the globalised China. There are so many new confusions, social trauma, new inequalities and hundreds of millions of lonely people. There are layers and layers of China- not only in terms of its depth of history and civilization- but in terms of its society, people and culture.

Mao is not the only lonely man in the new China. Amidst busy traffic and crowded streets, there is a growing burden of lonely people- who are pushed in to the rat race of economic comforts and the ever –growing need for more money to buy new homes , new cars, and the latest gadget or holiday offer.

Someone I know had to go through a difficult time. She had to undergo therapy for a serious ailment. She was in the hospital for a couple of months. She came to meet me. I asked whether anyone was there to support her during those difficult times. Tears started making channels on her face- she was overwhelmed with a sense of unspeakable sorrow. She has a good house. She has a very good car. She got her degree from UK and she is a high value technical professional. But there was no one to visit her during her two months in the hospital. Her parents passed away. She neither got a brother nor a sister. She had a partner- for a couple of years. He moved to another country and no longer in touch. She was too busy in her work and earning more to pay more mortgages. She did not have time to get friends. Then she was hit by the unbearable burden of loneliness. It is in such spaces the new spiritualism and religion is coming in. There is a very significant growth of tantric Buddhism and evangelical Christianity- largely through cell churches.

During the time of Chairman Mao, there was a huge public education against superstition. Now even big office buildings are inaugurated with all ceremonies to ward off bad omen and bad luck. New sense of insecurity, loneliness and new superstition can be seen and felt when you scratch the glow of the new era. The new era and new capitalism seem to give a sense of new pride to many middle class Chinese. But that also increased the sense of insecurity and alienation.

Before the beginning of the new era, cycles defined the streets of China. A man with a cycle and enough earning for living, was an eligible bachelor. There was a binding force of community. Within the community, many meetings and festivals gave new opportunity to discover love and life partners. Such communities are more of nostalgia in the new China. There are still cycle tracks on the road. But the roads are full of cars- and it is no longer easy to cycle on a busy street in Shanghai or Beijing.

Beijing is booming. Shanghai still shines - almost like the Manhattan of the east. But there is also a concern about the increasing inequality and migration. The population of Beijing is touching 18 million. Now there is already a move to restrict migration to Beijing. Many young people consider a registration in Beijing or Shanghai as status statement. But that can not solve the new sense of loneliness among many young people- particularly professional women-in the midst of growing buildings, new KFC chicken shops and mushrooming massage spa in Beijing.

Mao may want to sleep peacefully in his grave. Maoism is not even in the Museum. There are two statues of a sad Marx and grumpy Engels at the Shanghai Institute of Administration. Marx in Shanghai could be the title of a novel about the new China.

China is an amazing place- one can discover layers behind layers every time. One can discover some new thing- food, taste or flavor- every time. China is still an amazing place- ever waiting to be discovered.