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Sun Dawu 孙大午: Philosopher (4)
"The safety of the whole depends upon the mutual protection of every part." Sir William Blackstone
A tide of mass hysteria gripped Beijing in April 2003. This particular hysteria was caused by SARS and fuelled by disinformation. Vegetable and fruit prices rose 100% based on speculation that Beijing would be cordoned off. The prices of vinegar, disinfectant and medicine rose considerably. Many rumors exaggerated the direness of the situation. For example, I heard that airplanes would be used to spray disinfectant over the city.
Beijing became a ghost town when the inflowing tide of people escaped to the safety of their barred doors and windows. People were afraid to talk with neighbours either in person or even over the telephone. They seemed almost to think that the virus could be spread over the telephone lines. Each apartment, business and store walled itself up against the world---imprisoning their inhabitants and restricting outsiders.
I took the subway to the museum. The train was virtually empty. When someone coughed, people moved ten feet away. Sitting across from me was a young woman in a mask. She was constantly rubbing her hands in palpable fear. At the museum, a clerk sat behind a panel of glass. She wore an N95 mask and surgical gloves. She picked up my entrance fare with tweezers. Then she disinfected the money with a spray.
It was necessary to return to the Dawu school after the international worker's holiday as I needed to make preparations for the new college. Canadian officials from the embassy had inspected our Middle School. They found a satisfactory situation.
Ironically, I met Sun most often on the track and field as opposed to the office or boardroom. It was here that I learned more about the man. It was our habit to exercise at 5:45 am each day. He would visit the track with his wife and they would jog several laps. He would listen to the Voice of America on his radio for the latest news.
Sun showed some interest in my training program. He said that it was very different. He asked me what it was called and I replied kick boxing. He told me that my high punches were rather effeminate. I replied that I was preparing to meet a taller opponent, but he countered that elbows would be more effective. Then he showed me his kata or set routine.
Sun pointed to an empty field beyond the wall. That is where I will build the college. This declaration surprised me. Up until this point,he had only wanted to utilize one of the existing buildings. Now he wanted to erect a new complex which would be independent in every way from the Middle School.
At an off-hour office meeting, I proposed to Sun that we hire an Australian colleague at the middle school on a temporary basis. His response told me much about the man and his highest priority. He said that it was necessary to legally keep the middle school and college separate in terms of staff as they were different legal entities. He did not wish to break the law because he believed that the law was paramount. I agreed with him, but countered that the teacher could legally be employed at the middle school while the higher grade students would be practically identical with those who would later enroll in the college. He replied that respect for the law was our primary concern in both actuality and appearance.
Professor Frank A. Kretschmer showed an interest in developing a textbook. Prof. Kretschmer had completed several textbooks on behalf of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, prepared entrance examinations, advised doctoral candidates on their dissertations and taught writing theory and practice for some fifteen years in the People's Republic of China. He accepted the challenge of devising a course textbook specializing in English for tourism and culture for the proposed college.
Sun asked me to write an article for the student newspaper. He did not dictate its content nor make any suggestions as to what I was to write; in other words I was free to express my opinion. I concentrated on three areas; namely, respect for elders, the importance of hard work and the nature of change. With respect to elders, I advised students to respect their leaders who serve them. It was a student's duty to pay attention to parents and listen to teachers. Finally, it was his/her duty to respect himself/herself through self-knowledge; afterall he/she will be an elder to someone, too.
I extolled the importance of diligence by referring to the activities of the Chinese bee and Canadian beaver. The bee visits over 1000 flowers in a single day. Its reward is food and our reward is honey. The beaver is busy building his house which provides it with shelter and shows us the necessary skills to dam rivers.
Finally, I wrote that everything that we see or perceive is subject to change. For example, instruments indicate that the continents move by several inches every year. However,there exist virtues that do not change: beauty,goodness,justice and truth.
In one lecture, I was trying to convey the concept of question and answer with regard to family names. I would ask the students "What is your family name? The answer was "My family name is SUN". It inspired me to write a poem at the Dawu School. It is called The Question Mark. Sun asked to read it. I have dedicated it to SUN Dawu.
This will mark the first publication of any of my poems. It may be difficult for a western reader to appreciate the fact that it is illegal to publish avant-garde poetry in unofficial magazines or books within China and impossible in official media. The Public Security Bureau (PSB but not PBS) may not look benignly at an unsanctioned literary composition of free-form which is characterized by the freedom of poetry and the structure of philosophy.
孙大午 sundawu sun dawu Confucian entrepreneur China agriculture philosopher
Sun Dawu 孙大午: Philosopher 5
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