Child is the father of man

Living on the 32nd floor of an apartment building, in a city with 20 - 25 million other people, gets you thinking about urbanization and its impact on a society. A short topical story read in Shanghai Daily to illustrate one kind of impact: anonymity.

Wu Ying, born in 1981 grew up in a village, daughter to a farmer. She dropped out of middle school to help her aunt in her beauty saloon. Very fast, she became wealthy. Allegedly by selling sheep placenta extract, an anti aging serum. In 2005 she became owner of a company, with a registered capital of over 300 million yuan. There was much speculation about what caused her sudden affluence. Only 25 years old, she was the 6th wealthiest woman in China. She squandered ruthlessly, donated millions to charities. Wu Ying became a much discussed sensation.

As more and more people got suspicious about the source of her income, some journalists ventured into her family's village. People there remembered how she always had a weakness for petty theft. Could it be that she hadn't changed at all?

Not long after she was tried and arrested for illegal fundraising, and later for financial fraud. Just last week, after much political ado, her death penalty was upheld with a two-year reprieve, which most likely means life-sentence.

Back to her village, where if one persons knows something, sooner than later, all the villagers will hear of it too. This is different in the city. It is much easier to live an anonymous life and create a new identity. There are many more examples of pretend-to-be top officials who accept bribes, live the high life, are famous and respected. It takes much longer before their crimes are revealed.

Moral: The child is the father of man, we should always be aware of someone's past.

Little pear in the big city

78 years ago, E. F. Lattimore wrote Little Pear and his friends, or 'kleine Sjang' for Dutch fans. A little boy on the Chinese country side, looking for adventure in his village. One of my favorite stories is about how Little Pear follows the ships on the canal until he arrives in the big city. His eyes almost fall out with surprise at all the things he sees there. Fortunately he meets some nice people and one takes him all the way back home to his brother and sister: Dagu and Erdu. Little Pear has a big story to tell!

Now, every time I rock Nelson to sleep, I stand in the window pointing out places to him.

'You see that empty plot? That's where Little Pear played today. His friends joined him and they let their kites fly high. They held a competition. Little Pear lost, his kite got stuck in a tree. He had to climb it to get it lose. He gave his candy to the boy who won.'

'Look, there in the big tower, that is where Little Pears uncle works. He is a businessman in a suit and with very smart shoes. A driver picks him up every morning. When they go to visit him over the weekends, Little Pear always gets presents. One day he even got a racing car!'

'Little Pear's father works at the construction site. He builds houses for people. First they have to take the old houses down. Look at the bulldozers over there! Then Little Pear's father helps to make high towers. It's hard work, every day of the week from morning till evening.'

'Little Pear's mother has cooked a nice meal. His father is coming home soon. It's time for Little Pear to go to bed now. He's had a busy day playing with his friends. Now his mother is singing a song for him, she has made his bed nice and warm. Little Pear may close his eyes now and dream about candy and toys.'

Well. Just practicing for the day he'll actually understand something of what I say :-)