"The Real China"

From the editor: The following passage illustrates all that go wrong when one tries do distill a half-thought-out, nebulous ideas into a few paragraphs, while sitting in an internet cafe with too little sleep and flys buzzing around one's head. In tone, direction, and style it is indicative of exactly how not to write about China, particularly after the first paragraph. Readers should not regard it as an accurate reflection of the Author's views. It is left here as a cautionary example for others. For a more mature, researched, and better written consideration of similar themes, readers are encouraged to consider this alternative.

[warning: rant follows]

Right now I am in Kaifeng, largest city in the world in the tenth century when it was capital of the Song Dynasty, but now a happy enough provincial backwater teeming with markets. It is also, I have been assured several times by other foreign tourists, "the real China". I don't really know what to make of that: I think it goes back to the 'post-tourist' idea, a rejection of travel as a quest for some kind of authenticity, as any such authenticity (be it a temple, a tour, etc.) will necessarily be staged for the tourist.

But on the other hand, after spending a few days in Xi'an (capital of most of the dynasties from the Qin to the Tang) I can sympathise somewhat. You see, in Xi'an you are assaulted by "History" constantly, in the form of temples, pagodas, museums, the (underwhelming) Terracotta Warriors, etc. etc. but it is not history that is on show, in fact, but myth. Or, more specifically, the mobilisation of historical narrative to stabilise a vision of the past seen not from the point of view of the actors, but from the point of view of the contemporary nation-state. (Talking here about 'public history', not the work of Chinese historians.)

This is uni-dimensional history, where the outcome has been decided in advance (in the sense that only results, but not causes are emphasised). Thus in Xi'an you are told that China is a 'glorious nation', that the Qin dynasty was renowned for 'uniting the country', that the Terracotta Warriors are 'the eighth wonder of the world' etc. etc. That the Qin lasted 20 years and was overthrown by soldiers and peasants rebelling against the tryannical rule of the Emperor is not mentioned. Just an example.

But maybe it is just this process, the mythologisation of history at the service of the nation that speaks loudest about "the real China"? And the fact that all the over-restored 'sights' seem to include space for a faux Tang-dyanasty KFC or McDonalds is the icing on the cake... For a much more literate consideration of what I'm trying to get at, see the Italo Calvino extract in the sidebar to the right...

Anyway, in Kaifeng now, wonderfully lacking in historical monuments and plentiful in night markets. If I can I'll post some photos of the places I've been recently, that didn't incur my wrath to the extent that Xi'an did.