20,000,000 Teachers in Beijing

 

在 北 京 的 公 园   Zai4 Bei3Jing4 de Gong1yuan2    In a Beijing Park

三 人 行，比 有 我 的 市   San1 ren2 xing2, bi1 you3 wo3 de shi1

3 people walk together, there is my teacher

“When three people walk together, there is always something I can learn.”  Confucius said this 2500 years ago.  A man I met on the streets of Beijing also told me this after I said that 20,000,000 people on the streets of Beijing were teaching me Chinese language and culture. His English was limited and my Chinese was very limited, so it took several minutes of further conversation before I finally understood the general meaning of these words.  As an American on his first holiday in China, I was happy to have walked a brief time together with this teacher.

Of course I enjoyed the magnificence and grandeur of Beijing, the mix of traditional and modern art and architecture, the beautiful parks and streets, but was most impressed by the people who invited me to share a moment in their lives.

While admiring a photo exhibit of life in the Hu Tongs, the winding narrow streets and passageways comprising many of the old neighborhoods of Beijing, a woman approached me and asked for my thoughts.  In my broken Chinese I told her the photos were interesting and beautiful, and helped me to see what I couldn’t see with my own eyes.  A little later, a man came over and told me to come with him.  There was a meeting of the contributing photographers and others discussing the exhibition and they would appreciate the input of an American.  There was an interpreter there so that I and the few other non-Chinese speakers could understand and be heard.  I listened, made my comments, and got a deeper understanding of the old Hu Tongs of Beijing. 

Of course there were many other experiences; the old man sitting on a bench in the park inviting me to sit and talk for a while, the little boy playing in the street explaining his game to me, the policeman on the corner giving me directions, the street cleaner curious about the notes I was writing, the accordion player interrupting his Chinese folk music to play an American folk tune and many others all teaching me something of the life and customs of China.  In turn, I was able to teach a little of the life and customs of America.

Someday soon I hope to return to Beijing and walk again with my fellow teachers and learners.  So come walk with me.  On a small planet such as this one, our understanding and our respect of its people and its neighborhoods will surely increase as we all walk more with our friends from around the world.