His song remained in
his heart. Chang Ming had never
traveled to Tiananmen Square, Beijing. Instead,
he awakened this day to the guards bashing batons against cell doors; their
voices exploding into the ears of prisoner walls. His vision fogged, blood rushing to his head,
Chang Ming rose and tried to stand at the guard’s attention. Overcome by dizziness, he sturdied himself against
the wall. He slowly came off the wall ,
standing upright, smelling the stench of steamed cabbage 2 as the guard rationed
this and a cup of water for his daily breakfast.
The blood had dried on
the back of his head. Chang Ming feared
a concussion. He agonized over the irony
in asking the guards for medical attention; that something he desperately needed
could incite the guards to further punish him. 2
Chang Ming pondered how could the karma of such inhumanity be?
Chang Ming pondered how could the karma of such inhumanity be?
The scent of lotus
flowers, bought by his father Li Ping for his mother Lien Hua, filled the air as
Chang Ming remembered his childhood. He
was the first and only son of Li Ping and Lien Hua Wu. Most of Chang Ming’s life was spent in the
company of his grandparents who oversaw his daily care and provided moral
guidance.
Both of his parents
worked long hours and their relationship with Chang Ming was one of expectation. 3
Despite high marks in school, Chang Ming was somewhat aloof and felt apart from his fellow students. He preferred being alone and often overlooked the proper payment of respect to his teachers and elders. Once he forgot to offer a seat to an old man on a crowded train. Upon arriving home, his father shamed him and lashed him into submission over this offense. His mother stood by silently as it would not be proper for her to intervene in her husband’s affairs. 4
Despite high marks in school, Chang Ming was somewhat aloof and felt apart from his fellow students. He preferred being alone and often overlooked the proper payment of respect to his teachers and elders. Once he forgot to offer a seat to an old man on a crowded train. Upon arriving home, his father shamed him and lashed him into submission over this offense. His mother stood by silently as it would not be proper for her to intervene in her husband’s affairs. 4
Chang Ming did remember
an instance when his father was proud of his accomplishment. Chang Ming’s father paraded him around the
local market announcing, to anyone who would listen, that his son scored in the
upper five percent on the Chinese National Higher Education Examination.5 Such a score would guarantee Chang Ming
entrance into one of the top universities in the nation.
Chang Ming’s mother had
higher goals for him. She wanted him to
attend an American university. Over the
years, she and his father had saved most of their earnings toward this goal. Li Ping and Lien Hua would be honored for
their son to attend a prestigious university.
This would signal their success as parents to the rest of the community. Chang Ming’s imprisonment was not a part of
their future plans for him.
To Be Continued…
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_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Footnotes for nerds at heart and otherwise curious readers:
2 Chinese prisoners commonly receive cabbage and
water for a daily meal. On a diet
primarily consisting of cabbage and water, lawyer Guo Zhisheng lost 50 pounds
of his body weight while imprisoned seven years for subversion. Guo was jailed for his role in advocating
Christianity and the Falon Gong movement in China. He was released in August 2014 and claims to
have been denied medical care, experienced severe torture, malnourishment, physical and psychological
abuse while imprisoned.
3 Founding father of the People’s Republic of China
(PRC), Mao Zedong once said “women hold up half the sky.” Mao recognized the importance of woman in a
productive work force. Women constituted
46% of the Chinese workforce as of November 2011 [source: The Economist]; a
higher percentage than many Western nations.
4 Due to economic success and career advancement, working
women in China are independent and oriented toward achievement of goals. However, tradition holds a high place in the
lives of many Chinese women. From an early age, many
girls are taught the three submissions and four virtues (三从四德 San Cong
Si De). In Confucianism, a prevalent belief system, wives were
expected to follow a hierarchy of respect and submission as follows:
未嫁从父: obey her father as a daughter
既嫁从夫 : obey her husband as a wife
夫死从子: obey her sons in widowhood
妇德: morality
妇言: proper speech
妇容: modest manner
妇功: diligent work
5 The majority of Chinese high school seniors must
sit for the National Higher Education Entrance Exam (the Gaokao 高考). Scores from this exam are a prerequisite for
determining the national university these students will attend. A poor score may bring shame on the family
name and may cause the student to study a vocational career; something looked
down on by many parents in China.
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