China, the place where the melanine incident sprang up from, the land of many thieves, of cheats and crooks, this was my destination. To the Northern Eastern part of this daunting land I proceeded, into the industrial city of Shenyang. What a welcome, a swirling tornado of gritty dust greeted me and newspaper shreds flapped at my ears. It was winter time, frigid cold and dry as rock. All the trees were hibernating, and there was hardly a shade of green unlike Singapore, except those hardy evergreens in the summer palace. The atmosphere was quite depressing, which explains why during winters, suicide rates tend to be the highest. The barreness of winter really exacerbates feelings of decay and death.
As I journeyed pass the city, I cannot ignore China's staggering rise to a global economic power. Tall, fanciful architecture arrested my eyes, again testament to the local government's endeavour to outshine its neighbouring counties. What is unsettling is that this fast pace of development is juxtaposed against slums at the parks, high levels of pollution and uncivil behaviour frequently encountered.
This is the view from my friend's apartment
Me trying to jostle with the fire, I'm a natural griller
Sitting on this piece of rock in the Summer palace with my buddy Yun LongApart from these general observations, I enjoyed my time snow skiing, walking around the place with my broken adidas shoe, eating (woah fantastic) and spending time with Yun Long's family. I did a lot of firsts in this trip, like eating bugs, playing with fire, witnessing a classic chinese squabble,snow skiing, doing quiet time daily during a vacation, and of course 1st Christmas spent on a plane and airport.
More importantly, through this trip God is putting a burden in my heart for the lost souls in China. Everyday I see them going through the routine, seeking after wealth, stealth and health, with no greater purpose in mind. As Yun Long's mum and 2 aunts and grandparents shared about their experiences during the CULTURAL REVOLUTION from 1958 to 1968, I realise why the Chinese are notorious for what they are now today. Books were banned and educated people massacred. During exams, answers were written on the board, and teachers are specially chosen from the worse performing candidates. (they had open answers)
Back then, they had to sing praises to Mao Zedong (they all call him lao mao now) 3 times a day and dance whenever nationalistic music is played. I found it hilarious but failure to do so is death by hanging. The scary thing was that even your friends and relatives could betray you and denounce you as a spy, so as to gain extra rations or promotions.
This I believe, led to the culture of backstabbing, ruthlessness and self-centredness we often see in chinese Chinese. But within this family I stayed with, they were very nice and I was very troubled. Even as non-Christians they could live so carefreely, as if without, we do we as Christians get choked up by the thorns of life, when we have God with us, with His mighty right arm that will deliver us. I was asking God whether God is really revelant in their lives. I left a chinese Bible in their house and hope they read it. Because after I leave, I don't think anyone will reach them with the gospel. I believe that God will touch their hearts and transform them.
The result of the 1 Child policy in 1979 :p a happy family potrait with my intrusion
Appetising, appealing? 2 of them got eaten by me, its flesh is yellow
1 comment:
Hey Chong Lip, I'm glad you had fun in China. But... as a student taking CSE, I think it's not true to say the Chinese have completely no compartment in their heart for a God.
The aftermath of the Cultural Revolution may have implicated a dog-eat-dog, trust-no-one mentality in the Chinese society, but at the same time it has left behind a vacuum. What is consolatory is that amidst a society increasingly driven by materialism, some are willing to fill this vacuum with a supernatural stuffing, although it may not necessarily be the Christian entity of a God. What is disturbing is that others continue to fill this vacuum with fluff and filth, or, in their pursuit of a God, got into trouble with the state government... such is the case of Falungong.
And speaking of getting into trouble with the government, we need to remember that the autonomy of any religion in China is to quite a large degree controlled by the people up there (not in heaven, but in Beijing) which explains why there are a lot of "underground churches" in China. And though Christianity is a state-recognised religion, it is also recognised by the state as a foreign influence. As such religions/philosophies more rooted to the Chinese culture like Confucianism and Taoism are naturally given greater freedom, even encouraged (ironically, Confucian virtues are deemed as a way to counter the vices that arise from this rapid industrialisation in China)
Still, I think you and I can agree that the world's most populous nation is starting to feel the impact of the gospel, and I can really sense the revival that's coming to this great country :):):)
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