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A flute, a fan and a cup of tea to keep us cool
By Wang Yong |
August 3, 2010, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
TO cool off in this summer heat, try a flute, a fan and a cup of tea in a traditional Chinese room with doors and windows open to breeze, trees and stones.
It was nearly 40 degrees Celsius in Suzhou on Sunday. My wife and I were almost sun-stricken from walking on the sizzling concrete of shopping malls that have become unmistakable landmarks even in an ancient city like Suzhou.
We were on our way to an age-old garden in search of a regular get-together of amateur but devout guqin (seven-string Chinese zither) players. We did not find them in the garden. They were having a summer recess. Instead, we happened upon a group of older men and women, mostly retired, performing Kunqu Opera, an ancient genre of Chinese operas popular around Suzhou for its merrily melancholy melodies and romantic lyrics.
One elderly man played a flute while another person sang. Those assembled listened with a cup of simple tea and a small, embroidered fan at hand. My wife and I sat down quietly on the sill of the tall windows, cooling off in the soothing tunes.
What a contrast to the scene a few minutes before when we dragged ourselves through a sun-scorched shopping world in the center of "modern" Suzhou. No trees, no creeks, no stone paths that allow grass to grow and lower the temperature, but plenty of matchbox-like buildings erected to sell anything but coolness and contentment.
Thousands of shoppers wandered under the sun, thirsty for shade. Air-conditioners blasting heat from inside the chilly stores made passersby even more uncomfortable, while shoppers inside felt the heat of the human crowd lost in the misguided pleasure of shopping.
But inside Yiyuan (Yi Garden), built in the 19th century, people soon cooled off in open rooms. No air-conditioning - air constantly moving is at its freshest and coolest (in contrast to its coldest in a closed, air-conditioned room).
Listening to traditional Chinese music that's forever mild and reflective, one soon cooled down, not just in body but also in spirit.
Such is the low-carbon wisdom of ancient Chinese people, unfortunately lost in a "modern" world throbbing with the pace of bulldozers that sweep away the spirit of a simple and enlightened life, embodied in a flute, a fan and a cup of tea.
The International Energy Agency might have a hidden agenda when it announced last month that China overtook the United States as the world's No. 1 energy consumer. Indeed, China has challenged the conclusion as based on what it calls biased statistics.
But shouldn't we - Chinese people - pause a while in our race toward "modernization" and ask ourselves: can we do better in reducing our carbon footprints?
Even if China trails behind America in terms of energy consumption, there's no reason why China should be complacent about what it has done to nature in violation of its own ancient wisdom.
Xinmin Evening News reported yesterday that Shanghai reached a peak in electricity use yesterday, significantly because of increased use of air-conditioning during the heat wave.
In another report yesterday, the newspaper published a reader's complaint about her "modern" apartment in downtown Shanghai. Her flat has many large windows that look super modern but do not reflect the heat or use a heat-reflective film. She complained that her apartment, and many others in the same building, were as hot as sauna baths.
You see more and more similar super "modern" buildings in Suzhou as well. How does a city with more than 2,000 years of history and proven wisdom of simple living lose out to a few "modern" ideas that run counter to nature?
If only Suzhou designed its modern landmarks in line with its time-weathered gardens. In that case, China's per capita energy consumption would not be just one-fourth of America's - as Jeffrey Sachs says - it would probably be one-fortieth.
It was nearly 40 degrees Celsius in Suzhou on Sunday. My wife and I were almost sun-stricken from walking on the sizzling concrete of shopping malls that have become unmistakable landmarks even in an ancient city like Suzhou.
We were on our way to an age-old garden in search of a regular get-together of amateur but devout guqin (seven-string Chinese zither) players. We did not find them in the garden. They were having a summer recess. Instead, we happened upon a group of older men and women, mostly retired, performing Kunqu Opera, an ancient genre of Chinese operas popular around Suzhou for its merrily melancholy melodies and romantic lyrics.
One elderly man played a flute while another person sang. Those assembled listened with a cup of simple tea and a small, embroidered fan at hand. My wife and I sat down quietly on the sill of the tall windows, cooling off in the soothing tunes.
What a contrast to the scene a few minutes before when we dragged ourselves through a sun-scorched shopping world in the center of "modern" Suzhou. No trees, no creeks, no stone paths that allow grass to grow and lower the temperature, but plenty of matchbox-like buildings erected to sell anything but coolness and contentment.
Thousands of shoppers wandered under the sun, thirsty for shade. Air-conditioners blasting heat from inside the chilly stores made passersby even more uncomfortable, while shoppers inside felt the heat of the human crowd lost in the misguided pleasure of shopping.
But inside Yiyuan (Yi Garden), built in the 19th century, people soon cooled off in open rooms. No air-conditioning - air constantly moving is at its freshest and coolest (in contrast to its coldest in a closed, air-conditioned room).
Listening to traditional Chinese music that's forever mild and reflective, one soon cooled down, not just in body but also in spirit.
Such is the low-carbon wisdom of ancient Chinese people, unfortunately lost in a "modern" world throbbing with the pace of bulldozers that sweep away the spirit of a simple and enlightened life, embodied in a flute, a fan and a cup of tea.
The International Energy Agency might have a hidden agenda when it announced last month that China overtook the United States as the world's No. 1 energy consumer. Indeed, China has challenged the conclusion as based on what it calls biased statistics.
But shouldn't we - Chinese people - pause a while in our race toward "modernization" and ask ourselves: can we do better in reducing our carbon footprints?
Even if China trails behind America in terms of energy consumption, there's no reason why China should be complacent about what it has done to nature in violation of its own ancient wisdom.
Xinmin Evening News reported yesterday that Shanghai reached a peak in electricity use yesterday, significantly because of increased use of air-conditioning during the heat wave.
In another report yesterday, the newspaper published a reader's complaint about her "modern" apartment in downtown Shanghai. Her flat has many large windows that look super modern but do not reflect the heat or use a heat-reflective film. She complained that her apartment, and many others in the same building, were as hot as sauna baths.
You see more and more similar super "modern" buildings in Suzhou as well. How does a city with more than 2,000 years of history and proven wisdom of simple living lose out to a few "modern" ideas that run counter to nature?
If only Suzhou designed its modern landmarks in line with its time-weathered gardens. In that case, China's per capita energy consumption would not be just one-fourth of America's - as Jeffrey Sachs says - it would probably be one-fortieth.
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