...which is to say I'd never been there before last week. Born in 1960, I remember President Nixon's being the first U.S. head of state to set foot in that country, Chairman Mao's death, Deng Xiou Ping's initiative in opening China to the rest of the world, operating in the Taiwan Straits as a U.S. naval officer during at the outset of our confusing "One China Policy," the tragedy at Tian'anmen Square, the resurgence of China's economy overcoming that of the EU to become the world's 2nd largest, the Beijing Olympics, and most recently, China's emergence as a global economic & political superpower.
In spite of having nearly 50 years of personal observations re. China, in 2017, it remained, to me, disturbingly inscrutable. So when I had the chance to join my wife for a 2-day stop on the way home from Japan last week, We leapt at the chance - and what an experience.
As time was so short, we "had" to visit the two most-visted sites in all of China: the Forbidden City and The Great Wall. Both lived up to the hype; if you haven't been to Beijing, add it to your bucket list. Seriously.
It's almost impossible for an American to get his head around the idea of anything being truly "ancient". We know ancient sites and artifacts exist, but with less than two and a half centuries of our own history to consider, understanding something as being THOUSANDS of years old is almost baffling. This fact was brought to our attention upon learning that the bedroom structure in our lovely "hutong"-style AirBnB rental was older than Virginia's Jamestown Settlement. It was, hence, considered by the locals to be in a "new" neighborhood". Humbling doesn't even come close.
So, what I want to say is twofold: first, WHEN you have a chance to visit Beijing, look up and book a room at a place like our Sihe Hutong; it was within walking distance of the Forbidden City - not to mention terrific shopping and eating - and so much more than meets the eye. Second, as the story goes, during Nixon's first visit to China nearly 50 years ago, then Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, had a chance to meet his PRC counterpart, and Mao's right-hand, Zhou Enlai. When he, Zhou, entered the large and purposefully intimidating meeting room, Mr. Kissinger, being both a little "star-struck" and nervous at meeting this giant of a figure in Chinese history, attempted to break the ice with a question: "What do you think about the French Revolution?" After a uncomfortably long and silent pause, Zhou responded, "It's too early to tell."
THAT's what taking "the long view"looks like!
