|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
||||||||
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
| |
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
 |
History in their Eyes What October 1 Means to Old Beijingers
|
| Zhang Shiying regards the 50th anniversary as
a happy time in China's history -- a time of surplus. "In the past, the average person was extremely poor," she says. "Often without enough to eat. Now, however, the average person enjoys a great standard of living." When asked what she considers to have been the greatest change since the founding of New China, Zhang immediately points to her tiny feet. They were bound when she was only 7 years old, thereby bequeathing to her a lifetime of intense pain and restricted movement. She smiles. "Thanks to Chairman Mao, foot binding no longer exists." Soft-spoken, Zhang can neither read nor write. She lauds the current accessibility of education to women. During her youth, women were denied many things, including schooling. However, since October 1, 1949, " a women's lot in life has improved immensely." |
 Name: Zhang Shiying Age: 78 Occupation: retired, formerly housewife |
Marriage arrangements have changed considerably since her own parental-arranged marriage 57 years ago.
"The structure of the family has also changed," she says. "Younger people no longer want to live with elderly relatives. But that's fine, too."
A widowed matriarch of five children, eight grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren, Zhang now lives with her son and his family. Her quiet dignity belies a painful past.
Name: Li Zhunqin
Age: 86
Occupation: retired, formerly carpenter"For me," says Li Zhun- qing, "China's 50th anniversary represents a time of great satisfaction, and it's all down to the foresight of Chairman Mao Zedong." "Before 1949, there was no security for many of the elderly.
"Without relatives to care for them, old people were left on their own. Many of them didn't do very well.
"Now the State cares for the elderly. At 86, I'm very fortunate. I have my own apartment and I also receive a pension. For this, I am grateful to Chairman Mao."
Marriages in the past were usually arranged by parents.
"I didn't even know my bride before I married her," says Li. Current marriages, based on love rather than pre-arrangement, meet with his full approval.
"Falling in love is great!" says the father of one, grandfather of two and great grandfather of one with a wide grin,
What if a bridegroom lifts his bride's veil on their wedding day only to discover an ugly face? Chuckling, Li responds, "Well, the groom would just have to accept it. Divorce was frowned upon."
Although a divorced man could remarry without censure, a divorced woman was doomed to a life of loneliness, according to Li.
"The social status of women in China has improved tremendously since those early days," he says approvingly, "but the recent trend in divorce is disturbing."
"October 1, 1949. Tiananmen Square. I was there! And as the red flag with its five yellow stars was raised for the first time, I wept openly." Even 50 years later, Guo can recall that day. He remembers the hardship of struggle and the joy of victory.
"An improved standard of living, the cultivation of international friends, developments in industry and agriculture, and an improved infrastructure" are the changes that have most impressed him since then.
Is the cost of progress worth it? What about pollution? Guo quickly responds. "The government is developing and implementing policies to address these issues."
Changes in the family impress him. "In the past, many families lived together as they couldn't afford to live apart. Now the living standard is high enough to allow adult children to live on their own."
Guo Yongtang and the love of his life -- his wife, Han Ling, Happily married for 51years.Name: Guo Yongtang
Age: 77
Occupation: retired, formerly farmer(also former liberation movement fighter)
Gazing at his wife Han Ling, Guo announces theirs was a love marriage -- not arranged. After 51 years, with offspring grown, there's just the two of them again. "I really enjoy it because we can do whatever we like," he says.
Guo adds he plans to be around for the 100th anniversary too.
Name: Cai Mude
Age: 83
Occupation: retired, formerly primary school teacherThe 50th anniversary represents recognition of a better life to Cai Mude. "When I was young, China was very poor," she says. "And life was extremely difficult. But in 1949, the prolonged and unified effort of the Chinese Communists culminated in the liberation of China. With the liberation came a higher standard of living, one which I am able to enjoy today."
Cai has noticed many changes.
"Society has become more stable and more unified. The government is loved and respected as well. Advances in science and technology are now allowing China to realize its full potential. This has contributed to a spirit of cooperation," she says.
"In the past, grown children were often dependent on their parents. Now those children have become more independent in building their own futures. Marriages are based increasingly more on love than on prearrangement."
She approves.
It was during the Japanese occupation that Cai met her husband. Theirs was a bond forged through shared hardships and difficulties, but sadly, she became a widow early on.
Cai likes the one-child policy.
"It allows the child to reap the undivided attention of the parents," she says. She, herself, has one child and one grandchild. For them, she feels, the future of China holds great promise.
Name: Fu Lei
Age: 74
Occupation: retired, formerly clerk"I came to this city in 1938 when I was 13. Beijing was such a dirty city. There were no high buildings, let alone green belts. In the winter when the wind blew, people couldn't open their eyes.
"People riding bicycles or even walking the street used gauze kerchiefs to protect their faces from the dust. Just like Lao She wrote, the city was wu2 feng1 san1 chi3 tu3, you3 yu3 yi4 jie1 ni2. Without wind, the dust is as high as a meter. If it rains, the streets will be covered with mud.
"But I still like this city as it is full of history, full of ancient things. I used to play with my little sister on the ancient city wall. Children today don't have this chance.
"Then my father died. My mother, my sister and I lived a very hard life. When I was in school, I ate lunch at the dining room. Every time, I bought the cheapest dishes to squeeze a little money to give back to my mother at the end of the month.
"I graduated from high-school and gained a place at Furen University. Because of money problems, I had to give that up and find a job.
"Without a father and a brother, my sister and I had to buy rice for the family. As rice supply was limited at that time, everyone would elbow their way to the front and grab the rice.
"We weren't as strong as the pushy men, and we often went back home crying empty-handed. Although I had a job, life was still so hard. I remember a cartoon in the newspaper of a car and a plane. The car on the ground represented the rise in salaries, and the soaring plane represented prices.
"When Beijing greeted its liberation, I was the mother of two babies. To tell you the truth, I had never felt such a spiritual release. It was the liberation of the soul, the liberation of women. Before '49, married women always faced the dilemma of losing their jobs. Now everybody is really equal.
"In the early 1950s, the life was still hard. I lived in a family of three generations. The happiest thing for me was to let everyone get enough to eat and enough to wear.
"You may find this hard to believe, but at that time, I had only one good shirt and I wore it only when I went to work. Going home, I washed it and changed into a humble one.
"I used to worry about the weather a lot, because if it rained, I had to dry it by the fire. My work unit was opposite Wangfujing. When Wangfujing Shopping Center opened to business for the first time, I went there, almost buying nothing except one toy watch, and I hesitated about which child to give it to.
"It goes without saying, things have changed completely. I am already tired of fish and meat. All kinds of clothes fill my wardrobe. My children have grown up, as have their children.
"The only thing I worry about now is how to make my life more interesting, more meaningful. Even in my mid '70s, I still think I am young at heart. I want to live longer, enjoy life, witness the further construction this city."
Name: Guo Shizhang
Age:75
Occupation: retired, formerly pharmaceutical researcher"It was the Chinese Communist Party who led the Chinese people in overthrowing the three big mountains: imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat-capitalism, which weighed down on the backs of the Chinese people before liberation.
"It was Chairman Mao who rescued the Chinese people from the abyss of misery, and made the Chinese people stand up and be masters of their fate.
"I am 75, so I have experienced three 'dynasties'. The Japanese occupation, the Kuomintang period and liberation. The three regimes made a world of difference to our lives. In old society, the poor had no social status and it was very hard to make a living.
"I left home and began my apprenticeship in a Chinese pharmacy at the age of 12 in 1936. During three years' hard times, the poor quality food barely appeased my aching belly. I couldn't get any pay and my family had to supply my clothes. One little mistake would lead to endless trouble, such as being beaten.
"The apprentice life in other fields was even worse. One of my friends apprenticed in a grocery. He was not allowed to talk at random. Before he started his apprenticeship, he had to sign a death contract, which said if he was grew ill or died, the grocery would not take no responsibility.
"The Peking Opera apprentice lived in a sea of bitterness. They also signed a contract with terms clearly stated: No responsibility taken if the apprentice were beaten to death.
"After apprenticeship, I worked in the North China Wholesale Pharmacy, which was run by Japanese. They watched our every move.
"After liberation, we gained more opportunities for education. We no longer worried about losing our jobs and I took a job researching organic synthesis at an organic chemical department in the Medical Science Institute.
"The old Beijing was surrounded by city walls. Outside the walls were vegetable gardens. All the roads were dirt roads huang tu tao tian "All is dust under heaven."
"There were no large buildings at all. Ordinary people didn't have tap water of their own, so we had to go quite a distance to the other end of the hutong to carry water. Before that, a man used to deliver water to households every day.
"It sounds like tall tales to the younger generations who never suffered under the yoke of the old society. Only people who have experienced the misery of the past can appreciate today's peace. So we are strongly opposed to Li Denghui's dangerous splittism and support the "One China" Policy.
"I believe we in the elder generation have a responsibility to teach young people about the past. I admit there is a gap in ideology, attitude towards life and many other aspects between the old and the young.
"But we elderly hope we can reach a consensus at least on one point -- cherish today's happy life, never forget history and make concerted efforts to build our country."
