Gu Zheng


cathy posted a querie prompted by the busker in the city who plays his chinese stringed instrument almost daily for the passerbys. pop music and karaoke aside, did i see much traditional music while i was in China.

the answer is yes and no. i did see some traditional music occasionally, but no it wasnt very often, and it wasnt very varied. the instrument i saw (and sought out) the most was the giant, stringed instrument, the gu zheng, which i fell in love with.


at one of the palaces, in fact i think it was the summer palace in beijing i saw a little orchestra performing for an hour or so, and that was pretty cool. i didnt stay to watch the whole show but i saw a bit.


traditional music in china is often used more for background music, for example in teahouse style settings, to provide a nice atmosphere for chatting and relaxing etc.

and yeh, probably the first exposure i had to the guzheng was in a teahouse the uni loved taking us to at the end of any sort of 'outing' we had. it was a really cool teahouse by the way, but looked quite expensive! i dont think i could've gone there if the uni wasn't taking us all the time.


oh, and i think there was a russian girl who worked there! it seemed quite cool, and while the place looked really good, i dont think the pay is all that great. im assuming that girl a) has an interest in chinese traditions and b) couldnt work as an english teacher. sensibly she seemed to be avoiding the third option usually available to the russian girls, working as dancers or waitresses who have to play dice games and entertain the customers in the nightclubs. we almost got into that, im more than glad that it fell through though!!

back to music. so yes, in this cool teahouse they always had teapouring demonstrations for us, with some random host blabbing into a microphone commentating the whole thing, while some girl prepared and poured tea (spilling a lot, always, which reassured me about my own ability of spilling tea) into many little cups, while the man on her other side plucked and strummed the guzheng for atmosphere.


i'd heard about and seen photos of the guzheng before i'd first heard it played, 'cause my exchange sister's older cousin (therefore my 'older sister') mentioned that she had started learning it about 3 years ago. i told her she has to teach me some basics one day.

photos, i stumbled upon amongst hunting for images of the forms of traditional dress in the ancient dynasties.
i love gu zhuang (ancient clothes), they're supposedly where japanese kimono stemmed from.
and finally i heard it, in the teahouse, and at a few other orchestral performances throughout the year.


at another of the palaces they had a hall dedicated to musical instruments, it had a cool name, but i've forgotten it. most likely something about heaven and music in harmony or something similar.

i was with my family at this time, so we browsed through and cameron admired all the types of chinese drums.



one weekend though, katrina's (who i tutored) mum took me inter-city to see their homecity and take me to a mountain and see her school (she was the principal of the school), and she decided to pick out some students who were delegated the task of performing for my pleasure. so i ended up having a boy who i cant even remember his name lugging a guzheng into the principal's office one evening and then a little concert/ recital was put on, in honour of me. haha.

he was really good! i was torn between just listening and watching how fast his fingers flew across the strings (much the way i watch cathy's fingers on the piano!) and trying to record movie clips on my camera.



most annoyingly the other people in the room, a few teachers, the boy's mum and friend were all happily carrying on their conversations over the top of his music. i didnt understand it at the time, and thought it was quite rude, especially as they were making him perform, and if he stopped they'd encourage him to play some more, but i've realised by now that that's just part of the way china is. they dont have a 'quiet audience sort of etiquette'.


i'll try and post a movie clip, seeing as i've just noticed we can now.
ohh, u will have to scroll up to the top and turn off the music first. (if u haven't already haha!)

one of my uni teachers recently spoke a bit about peking opera and even he mentioned how part of the reason the opera is so loud, and the voices so shrill is because it's designed to be done over the top of a talking crowd, also originally in an outdoor sort of setting. i laughed when he imitated how amongst the chatting of the audience, occasionally one guy would take note of a particular part in the opera and therefore leap out of his seat, to clap a few times and shout out 'good! good!'.

i laughed 'cause lou and i had been invited to see a student performed play at the uni sometime mid last year and during the thankyou speeches and like a raffle ticket announcement or something similar before hand there was this man in fornt of us who kept doing exactly that! leaping out of his seat to boom out 'good! good!' energetically and approvingly, at the most uncalled for times....i mean, there was no performance happening, it was merely a very uneventful introductory speech. and then to our utmost surprise, as soon as the play actually started commencing he got up and left!!


but yeh, so i felt sorry for this poor boy being dragged out in the evening to put on a show for a random foreign girl, for no reason other than that she was foreign and had come to see him perform like an animal in a zoo, meanwhile his performance seemingly being ignored. perhaps to him it's all very quite normal but i was quite disappointed with the other 'audience' members.

i was quizzed on one of my favourite pop songs and hence he was also forced to play 'superstar' by s.h.e haha! i thought it sounded quite cool hehe. i like the end of this movie, haha it's cute.
he says 'it's too embarrassing!!'

and finally i got to get up close and personal with the guzheng, and try playing it for fun a few times. although i wasnt doing anything in particular it still sounded nice. everyone laughed that instead of taping my fingers up (with like guitar pick type things?) like a real guzheng musician i was just using my own talon like manicured fingernails. haha



so yes, i have decided it is one of my life-goals to one day learn to play the guzheng, though i imagine they will be damn expensive and seemingly a china-only instrument as i've got no idea how transporting one to australia would go.

but yes, they are very cool!

ohh, and i bought a bamboo flute too, when i was first hanging out with leo, 'cause i was sick of listening to one of the korean girls in the dorm murdering her violin, and i regretted not having brought my flute. the guy in the music shop kind of gave a demo on the flute and it was cool...but it took me like a week before i could get a sound out of it. it was kind of too frustrating, so the novelty wore off quick.


in the end the flute i bought was a bit dodgy, 'cause i found two cracks in the bamboo, one of which i sticky taped and unsurprisingly it was much easier to play afterwards! the main problem though, was the flute was a different key to a usual silver flute, and so the fingers for each note where up the creek and i couldnt work it out, also, it depends on fingers covering holes, much harder than a key on a flute covering the hole so yeh, all in all it was a little too perplexing for me.

i meant to bring the flute home, and painstakingly go through and chart each note and fingering pattern next to the notes of my silver flute, so i can play it, but with packing luggage problems it ended up being in with all the stuff i left behind.
so, i guess i just have to bring it home this time then, dont i. ^_^

a beautiful spring afternoon

oh! it's suddenly started raining! it's been such a beautiful, warm summery day, and now just as the sun was thinking about setting it's started raining - what a surprise!


i had a long sleep-in today, as it's my day off and i've been exhausted every day this week, and then i leisurely took my time getting ready and went to Eastland shopping center by bus.

all the shops are pretty boring at the moment! i keep waiting for the clothes and things to jump out at me, but nothing takes my fancy really. well, occasionally there's something alright - but it's usually accompanied by a very evil multiple digit price-tag.

i did however stumble my way into kmart, and almost accidentally, I ended up buying a pair of tatami-mat thongs. i've had a liking for tatami mat shoes for about 8 years i think, but i never actually had a pair. guess they were one of those things i'd just look at, and keep putting off actually buying.

but yes, i passed a rack they were on amongst the ugliest looking 'summer footwear' u have ever seen, with a big sign saying there was 20% of all the shoes...so the expensive $6 tatami-mat thongs turned out to be $4 or something. haha.


they're good actually. because they will solve the problem i've been having of having no 'summery' shoes, that aren't bright white, or blue, and these are nice and soft and wont cut my feet. im quite pleased with my unexpected buy!

so pleased i came home and did the dishes, put on the dishwasher and did a load of washing. (parents are away yet again, in case u hadnt guessed). which reminds me, i keep planning to have a korean movie afternoon... i wonder if people are free for sunday afternoon?? maybe its too late notice... hmmm, we shall see.


i cooked an interesting dinner last night. it was crepes with a savory mushroom sauce. was quite cool to prepare, only i stupidly burnt the knuckle of my left index finger on the side of the fry-pan. ouch!

i love my bright green jade bangle from katrina's mum. it's so gorgeous! i really love the brightness of the green.

as soon as i saw it in the cold jade factory i knew it was the one i liked best! there's no word to describe that shade of green except 'brilliant'. now that's its warm t-shirt weather i should be wearing it more often. pretty!

im dying my hair again tomorrow, and teaching linda to make biscuits, cos they've never used their oven before! haha. and it's biscuits because i discovered that linda is a kindred spirit, another self-confessed biscuit addict! ^_^

okay, i should go hang the washing on racks, and then i should take a look at my new linguistics assignment, and try and make a good dent in it before tomorrow. maybe i'll watch a korean movie too, actually. lou recommended a good one for me the other day with lots of our fave actors/actresses in it! good, sounds like a good evening in!

drained.

omg i am exhausted!!! completely. we're just back from holidays and im feeling more emotionally drained than i have in a long time. so much is rollercoastering at the moment!

i didnt even make a full day of uni today and im feeling it! i skipped the first two hours and stayed in bed trying in vain to get a few extra hours sleep, to make up for the several hours lost. sleeping pattern is at an all time low! i cannot sleep before 2am. and when u're meant to wake up at 6:15am to get to school on time 3 days a week it's not going to be pretty! AND im so over going to china and i havent even been there yet. the long awaited events since receiving my exam timetable have become a nightmare - it all turned into such a big hassle!!

flights have been impossible! the dissapointments all started when i got my timetable. i'd been stupid and greedy and waited for my timetable so that i could then go and book the earliest possible flight to milk the most out of time, china-wise. and of course frigging japanese exam is on the 2nd last day of the exam period. so, if i had done what's advised i should've booked my flight about 5months ago, and i would've only been missing 1 or 2 days time at most.

however! cause i've left it so late, there are next to no availabilities and waiting lists who knows how long! originallymum and dad wanted to use quantas points to score a free trip, but we're way to late for that!!! if only i'd realised!! we looked at so many options, including going via tokyo, seoul, hongkong, but beijing and shanghai obviously isnt that frequent a destination for quantas it seems, and seats for frequent flyers are certainly not many. nothing around for at least a month or two after my exams finish...wasting my precious china time...

so, back to buying a ticket the normal way! dad chased up some agencies today and got them researching flights for me, but alas everything is seriously booked out! and shenyang is a tricky city to get to directly, but finally we have managed it. once again, flying japan airlines, which unfortunately means an overnight stay in near the airport, wasn't so bad last time, only i didnt take note of anything to do with getting to or from the place as i was in a group so i have no idea doing it alone. alas. can't be that hard, heaps of people do it everyday. and yes, technically i can speak some (very) basic japanese though generally one can find an english speaker to help out around airports in japan...so. alas my travelling to china day has now been turned into a two-day trip.. again, lost time. and the return seems to have been almost as troublesome as the getting there! i now have to come home 3 days earlier than i planned, and again, a two day trip, with a 6 or 7 hour wait in tokyo airport like last time. im going to take an engrossing book! last time boredom kicked in mighty early, and that was with a group of people to talk with too!

but, i will still have about 3 months in china, so really what am i complaining about? but argh. the organising of everything is really getting to me. it's so troublesome in every aspect so far. im trying to sort out my accommodation, and then working out when i will go to leo's hometown, and where the hell i will stay when im there, and if i have to pay money for that, or can scab it free, and how long i can stay there, and where i am before that, if im in beijing before that, and whether or not i'll be able to find work in just the 2months in shenyang, and if i'll have enough money for the house and for travelling to all these stupid cities and then to come home, and then what to do about accommodation just before i leave, and whether i would have to go to beijing to leave, and how i would get my luggage there conveniently, and which damn city i would leave from shanghai, beijing or shenyang. i kept changing the departure city, originally i was deadset on leaving from shanghai, and then after i told dad to research the flights for that i realised that that was no good, cos technically leo should already have returned to shenyang by then, and aiya what was the use of being in shanghai alone when all this trip is really about is trying to be with him. oh my god. if u managed to get through that all without feeling confused about places and what the hell im doing in each of them then u're doing better than me!

however, i now have a flight, leaving melbourne on the 23rd Nov bright and unearthly early in the morning, i.e. before 7am. and some day later on the afternoon of the 24th Nov i shall arrive in Shenyang airport, thankfully no trains needed, a nice direct flight, (via the overnight stopover in Tokyo airport's hotel, at least they have fairly decent baths being japanese and all!). fortunatley i now see that the 24th is a saturday, which is nice cos it means leo can come to collect me, in the afternoon, and not be skipping classes. also means i can spend at least a full day with him before he has classes.

the first 2 months should be spent in shenyang, living in a house (yet to be found, i've got one option which i wanna take, but i think its too expensive! and im suddenly not that confident in my job finding skills with only 2months working time! help! how am i gonna pay rent, train fares? etc). anyways. after that... all depends on leo and when he's going home, and if i can go with him, or if i need to delay and then go to see him later. and yes accommodation in that final month is very uncertain at this point. however after that little diversion at the end week or february leo and i shall return on the train to shenyang, and then say our final teary farewell on the 28th Feb until.....


... and that is the most depressing part thus far. the whole costs of this whole trip is so much more than i ever planned. and half of the costs i have to cover! and im no longer certain about job prospects - i guess i just have to try my hardest and work all the connections i can in 2 months! but.. i have absolutely no idea when i will next be able to see leo after this. he cant come here anytime soon that i know of, and even if he did it would be very brief. and i cant go there either. i have no money is the main reason. i have no job, and limited limited experiences. i have to study and finish my degree. and once again i would need money to return, let alone accommodate my living costs. so what's meant to be a nice happy trip is already overshadowed rather morbidly right from the start...and so many hassles in organising things along the way. let's just say im very very disheartened at this stage.... :(

what oh what will be the status of things at the end of this 3 months? im more than aprehensive. i almost dont wanna go.

thanks kate, thanks cathy ^_^ my mood has indeed lifted and all, all is well.
alas the holiday is at an end, though i already skipped my jap lecture today, cos i'd read the lecture notes and nothing of note was being discussed anyway, and i finally stopped procrastinating and squeezed out a terrible article for my jap writing piece to re-write on thursday. as long as i write something is all that matters though, and it more or less covers the topic so i should be fine.

the long awaited exam timetable has come out and just as i'd predicted language exams are indeed at the end of the examination period. unforeseen though, they are at the very end!! as in, the 2nd last day of the exam period. quite irritating as i'd been hoping for an early escape off to china-land, but ah, it's probably a good thing really. a friend of mine's been checking out the housing situation for me and there seems to be an opening in my previous apartment building where some korean people are moving out on the 20th november. i'd been thinking that would probably be too late, but i guess it will be perfect now, seeing as my final exam is on the 21st!

unfortunately prices have been raising...almost double what i payed last year!!! i would like something a bit cheaper. hmmmm. i shall have to discuss it with parentals i believe. and who knows, something else may turn up. early days yet.
and also i might get to enjoy a touch of warm-ish beachy weather this way too. who knows? haha

ooh, everyone should let me know if ur exams finish well before mine, i really shouldnt promise anything as exams are only 1 month away(!), and i do intend to study for them, yes, japanese will require a LOT of study it seems, linguistics too probably - but that's over and done with quick - in the first week, but perhaps with my later date of departure we will be able to organise a P.I. trip, even if just for a weekend. so yes, check your exam dates and we shall dream and discuss...

"Life is like a game of cards. The hand that is dealt you represents determinism; the way you play it is free will."
- Jawaharal Nehru