Made it to LA now on to my St. Louis and the Mississippi. π Can’t wait to see the folks π
We made a layover in Hong Kong, I think I’m in love!
Cool! Was walking through Seoul yesterday when we passed by the MBC offices near Yeouido Station. Got a chance to see a filming crew in action! Never seen one before, so it was amazing π He was in handcuffs and was running to jump in a car. Escape! π
Hello!
I’m back again with a little piece of life in China! Β One of the significant issues confronting expats living abroad is the Β matter of getting money back into the States. Β
Whether it’s because you still have family at home, you want to put it in savings, or (like me) you have US/China bills to pay – almost everyone goes through the process of moving money from abroad back home or vice versa.
First things first, in China cashΒ has three important vocabulary termsΒ – Yuan, Jiao, and Renminbi. Β Renminbi (RMB) is the official name of the currency, and if you want to exchange money to the US Dollar (USD), you need to know that RMB abbreviation. Β We usually say “I need to exchange RMB to USD.” On the other hand, one Yuan ( Β₯) is the most basic unit of money in China. In use, itΒ is equivalent to our $1 bill although the exchange rate comes out very differently. Anyway, aΒ bottle of soda here costsΒ Β₯3 which means three of the 1 Yuan bills (see above). Β They also have bills ofΒ Β₯5,Β Β₯10,Β Β₯20,Β Β₯50, andΒ Β₯100.Β Β₯100 is the highest possible bill you can use. Β Finally, they haveΒ JiaoΒ orΒ fractions of a Yuan (10 Jiao, 5 Jiao, and 1 Jiao). Β 10 Jiao has the same value asΒ Β₯1, so we just call it 1 Yuan. 5 Jiao are 1/2 of a Yuan (i.e. 50 cents). 1 Jiao is 1/10 of a Yuan (i.e. 10 cents). Β The Jiao either come in paper or coins. So we have Cash (Yuan Β₯) and Fractions of a YuanΒ (Jiao) used in the daily, current Chinese currency or RMB.
In some countries, it is probably more simple than others to send money. Perhaps because China is a UnionPay Nation, it can be rather difficult here. Β Union Pay is an alternative to VISA, Mastercard, ect. and is used in predominantly all Chinese banks. Β Of course, the banks in China are a little different too. Β For example, the bank card I was given does not include a security number or expiration date.And my phone number is 1***-****-****. Β Note the extra digit in the middle. Β So I have an incredibly difficult time using it online with American systems that require those details. Β More and more US businesses are modifying their system to accept Union Pay cards, but the additional information required for many credit card entry systems does not alwaysΒ work. Β
So how do we get our money from China into America?Β Currently, I have heard of fourΒ different primary methods or systems of transferring cash. OneΒ important factor isΒ how much you need to exchange. Chinese nationals can exchange quite a bit more RMB to USD than foreign expats. Foreigners can only change $3000 a day.Β
To do any of this you should haveΒ aΒ passport, valid Chinese VISA, a Chinese phone number, and your home address written in Chinese characters.
You also most likely need a Chinese bank account. There are many, many Chinese banks but only some of them work in the International Money Transferring business. For Paypal, only China Merchant’s Bank, ICBC, and China Construction Bank. For Bank-to-Bank transfers or Western Union transfers there are a larger group of banks, but still only the primary ones (i.e. Bank of China, China Construction Bank –I think you can only accept money, not send it though-, Agricultural Bank of China, etc.) Β I recommendΒ picking your method and then figuring out which type of bank account you need.
To open a Chinese bank account, you need to go during the work week (Monday-Friday) in order to get the right officials at the bank. The bank may be open on weekends, but the officials may not be there. I took a Chinese student and close friend with me. She had us bring our passports, VISAs, and recommended bringing a second photo ID like a driver’s license. We then wentΒ to the bank, filled out a lot of information on a form, and processed the account. Had to sign my name a couple times and then got my card.
I highly recommend that when you do this process youΒ do a couple things to simply the process later. First,Β bring your Chinese phone number and add it to the forms so it is attached to your bank account. You will need this if you ever want to add Alipay, use Taobao, check your account online, etc. That phone number is one of the ways they verify that you own the account – they usually send a verification code by phone. Paypal verification process also sometimes requires that you accept the verification code by phone to enter it into the registration process. Β Second,Β ask them to approve you for online banking and tell them you will use the card for online shopping. The Chinese translator can hep, but they have to actually approve you for using your card online or using it to pay for something. So go ahead and get that paperwork filed this first time.
Many people simply use the Chinese bank itself to transfer money over to a US Bank. Β Personally, I found it expensive and a bit of a hassle (especially since I work so much and getting to a bank with a Chinese student who can translate gets to be aΒ problem).Β
To do this, you need to bring them your Passport (and Visa) and the foreign bank’s name, mailing address, routing number, swift code, account number, etc. Β You then probably need to bring a Chinese student with you to translate depending on where in China you are (Shanghai, they might speak English, but I’m in Henan where that ain’t happening). Β It usually costs you a few hundred RMB on top of the exchange rate. Sometimes you have to exchange the money first and then transfer it. Sometimes they will do that for you. It depends.
This is the method I find simplest and most effective. It requires a series of steps, but once set up is extremely easy and cheap (4% fee). You can send up to $1000 a day and Paypal will do the currency exchange for you! To do this though, you will need two Paypal Accounts and two email addresses. πΒ
First, set up your US and China Bank Accounts. Make sure (as I said before) that the Chinese bank has approved you for online banking. China Merchant’s Bank, ICBC, and China Construction Bank are the only China Banks that this will work for! Β In a safe location, keep track of your account numbers and the full andΒ exact name that is on your Bank Account. This is very important especially for the Chinese bank because the name must be exactly the same or they will reject it.
Second, set up a PaypalΒ Global AccountΒ and use one email address.Β Β I recommend doing this with Google Chrome and then just right click on the page, hit “translate to English” and the Chinese will go away π Sign into the account and on the left click “Bank Accounts and Cards.” Now click “Link a Bank.” For country, choose “China-Bank Verification.” Name should be your first and last name as you used forΒ Paypal. Choose your Bank (the list in order is ICBC, China Merchant’s Bank, and CCB). Β Continue. They will ask you to verify that this is your bank account. To do so download the pin number software as instructed and refresh the page. Input your Phone Number (per the Bank records) on top. Then enter your ATM withdrawal pin number. Then the “verification code.” Β If done correctly, Paypal will tell you the account has been verified.Β
Third, set up a US Paypal Account using another email address. Go through the same process of linking and verifying your bank account but add the US Bank this time. Paypal will tell you the account has been verified.Β
Many choose to send money home via the Western Union Wire Transfer process. Western Union (θ₯Ώι¨θη – XΔ«bΓΉ LiΓ‘nmΓ©ng) is an American Financial Company that will allow you to transfer money either from the USA to China or China to USA. You can do this viaΒ Money Transfer -You have to physically visit their offices, but they have many agents in the bigger cities. You can locate an agent here. Conveniently, they give you a tracking number for your receipt. Inconveniently, they only accept US Dollars and their exchange rates (I’ve heard) are fairly high if you do it there.
Their fees areΒ
Last, of course many people simply carry their money home. Β If you don’t need to send money home monthly, it is an option to simply carry it home with you. Β There are two ways you can do this.
First, you take out cash in China and take it with you via plane back to the USA. I think this is dangerous because you are carrying too much money. Also, remember that RMB has its highest possible denomination in 100RMB (about $16). So if you take your money home in RMB, that’s a LOT of cash. If you take it in Dollars, it is dangerous.Β
Second, you can use your China bank card in the States. For example China Construction Bank has an agreement with Bank of America where you can withdraw money fairly cheaply and easily at their ATMs. You pay a small fee for using your card outside of China, but otherwise this is not too bad. Β Just remember to verify with your bank in China, because not all bank cards will work.Β
UnlikeΒ with Korea, China’s origin stories areΒ primarilyΒ Creation MythsΒ (which tell of the origin of the world), rather than simplyΒ Foundation MythsΒ (which more specifically relate the origin of a people, nation, or culture). Β Still, pinning down one final ChineseΒ myth about the origin of the world is an impossible task for even the best student of history. There are simply far too many varieties available, gathered from thousands of diverse cultural backgrounds and centuries upon centuries of oral story-tellersΒ offering their own unique twists and versions. Nonetheless, there are certain elements that carry through as sharedΒ themes in the different tales.
Mythology in China is rather special given the conflicting philosophies that pull and tug the stories in multiple directions. What many fail to recognize about the country is that it has at least 6 major religions/philosophical authorities working against one another. The first isΒ the traditional animismΒ or the belief that the earth or nature is alive and has a spiritual essence flowing throughout.Β Adherents believe that the plants, animals, and earth itself are alive and conscious. It is actually from this belief that most of the traditionalΒ origin myths come, since that is the oldest religion or philosophy. Following closely on its heels though is Taoism or Daoism, a religion based upon one of the oldest Chinese classics and book of divination called the I Ching. You will see some elements of Taoism within the origin myths as given because of its age and influence. Still, this religion found itself sharply in conflict with theΒ Confucian and Buddhist philosophers on many occasions. Oddly enough, Buddhism in China seems to mix elements of both Taoism and Confucianism although if frequently fought with them too. But it still offers its own unique twist to myth and legends. Then you have the ancestral worshipΒ affecting things. And of course the more recent impact of Christianity, Islam, and Atheism moving in.
The problem with the ChineseΒ myths is the whole Taoism, Buddhism, Ancestral Worship, Animism, and Confucian elements. Sometimes they agree on mythology and come together. Other times they disagreed and re-wrote the old stories with their own variations. It just gets a little confusing. Luckily, the different origin myths were usually old enough that they came out of the Taoist-Animist mix and have many similarities that bring them together into 3 interesting tales. In fact, many seek to combine the three stories into one that flows together.
SomeΒ Chinese mythology begins with the theory that the world was initially a giant ball of chaos, all swirling together. The chaos was made out of “Qi,” a sortΒ of gas or ‘energy,’ which-at the moment of the world’s beginning- suddenly split into two different elements. Some Chinese writers argue that this was an almost magical moment, with no sign of a creator. Others propose that it was triggered by a supernatural figure, and still others seem to suggest that the chaos was actually gods in conflict with one another themselves.
Regardless, the two elements that resulted were contrasts in masculinity and femininity, passion and passivity, hard and soft, dark and light, hot and cold.Β In western variations, we label them Yin and Yang. However,Β please bear in mind though that our “westernΒ adaptations of Yin and Yang” are often not actuallyΒ primary in the belief systems of the majority of the Chinese. Not all of them were Taoist,Β as noted above.Β So while the Chinese myths may mostly agree that the original universal elements were dual in nature, they don’t necessarily all agree with the significance or religious aspect the Taoists have given to those features.
The Pangu myth is one of those situations where the newer religions (in this case Taoism) added some stuff to the initial story so that it fit their point of view. Although it fits into the middle if you read the three versions as one story, it was actually the last one to appear in written mythology.
Once again, Β the world begins with chaos and utter disorder, but this time the chaos was confined inside the Hundun. The Hundun was shaped like a giant egg, and inside Yin and Yang, male and female, good and evil, light and dark all writhed around in a complete mess.
Inside the the chaos, there slowly grew a giant dragon named Pangu. For centuries he lived and grew, lived and grew. Finally he became so large that he was able to shatter the Hundun egg into two. All the chaos inside spilled out, with theΒ yin elements moving upwardΒ where theyΒ would become the heavens and the yang elements falling downwardΒ where it would become the earth. To keep the two from mixing again, Pangu resolved to stand in between them, holding them apart. Every day, Pangu grew ten feet taller, the earth ten feet bigger, and the heavens ten feet higher. Finally, after 18,000 years everything was as big as it was going to get. Pangu even added some creativity of his own by stomping on the earth to create the flat lands and using his hands to form some of the rivers.
Tragically, Pangu eventually reached the end of his life. As he did so, his body began to disintegrate over top of the earth. Breathing out his last, his breath transformed into the wind and clouds in the sky. His final words the thunder echoing over the land. The sweat and “bodily fluids” became rain. His eyes split into two-the left becoming the sun and the right becoming the moon.His skin became the earth and ground; His veins and musclesΒ hold the earth together. Β His arms, legs, and “extremities” were changed into the four compass points and five great mountain peaks (some later consider these to be part of the pillars Nuwa would later repair-see below). The blood and semen (yuck!) changed into water in the rivers and oceans. His hair became trees, plants, and stars. His teeth and bones the metal and rock. His marrows and insides the precious jewels like pearls and jade.Β
According to this version, humans actually came from the less than pleasant origin of “bugs” or “fleas” that had lived upon his body. Caught by his breath on the wind as they fell to earth, they became alive and were the original humans. To be honest, some people believe that rather than these being the origins of modern humans, the people created here were more like the dwarves, fairies, and other more supernatural figures. For example, this legend would have you believe that Nuwa and Fuxi were created from him in a similar fashion.
The story ofΒ NΓΌwa and earth’s creation come mainly from Β ancient textsΒ such as theΒ Huainanzi, Chu Ci,Β andΒ Shan Hai Jing.Β This story has several variations, but they tell a pretty consistent story over all. If you watched the recent Chinese 2015 film “The Monkey King” (excellent watch for students of Chinese mythology),Β you saw one version ofΒ NΓΌwa’s story.Β
Some myths suggest NΓΌwa and Fuxi were simply gods living upon the earth after its creation. Others claim that they were actually the children (grandchildren?) of Pangu himself. However, in literature, NΓΌwa’s story came 6 centuries before that of Pangu. Nonetheless, NΓΌwa and Fuxi areΒ depicted in ancient Chinese art as figures with the body of a snake and the top of a human. You can see anΒ ancient depiction of the two on the right. Theirs was a love story, andΒ one that is significant to the origin myth. ActuallyΒ NΓΌwa’s story comes in two parts – the creation of humanity and the salvation of the world.Β
1)Β The Creation of Humanity
When the earth and heaven were first divided, two supernatural figuresΒ lived on the earth. The first wasΒ NΓΌwa and the second her brother Fuxi. Although they were related, they fell in love with one another and wished desperately for the chance to marry. However, they knew that this was unnatural and were unsure about whether it was appropriate. So Fuxi climbed one of the great mountains withΒ NΓΌwa and they prayed. One story says they askedΒ that if the heavens approved of their love, then a great mist or fog wouldΒ gather. If the heavens disapproved, the fog would disappear. To their great joy, the mists of fogs grew very large and permission for their marriage was granted. Another story (the Shan Hai Jing) says that they got permission after they built two separate fires that morphed into one.
Some myths suggest thatΒ NΓΌwa created humanity with the help of her husband, but others suggest she worked alone. Either way,Β NΓΌwa got creative and began fashioning human figures out of a mixture of yellow earth, then Β after she became tired, she began using mud instead.Β To help hold everything together she added some ropes or cording to make them stand up. She also gave them legs instead of her own tail and created men and women so they would recreate on their own. Finally, when her work was completed, she breathed life into the figures and created humans. Unfortunately, those made out of yellow earth were of higher quality andΒ were thought to be the forefathers of the aristocracy. The peeople made out of mud were more common and became the ancestors of the poor, working folk.
NΓΌwa was delighted with her creation and loved them very much, seeing them as her children and treasures on the earth. So when they were in danger, she was willing to do anything to protect them.
2)Β The Salvation of the World
According to the most ancient of Chinese myth, the earthΒ originally had four separate corners, each of which held 1 or 2 pillars holding up the heavens. These pillars were the only point at which the heavens and earth were connected and had to be closely protected to keep the two from crashing into one another.Β There was also a concern of the moreΒ evil creatures using the pillars as a chance toΒ move up or down between the heavens and the earth.Β It was during the peaceful time when the pillars were working thatΒ NΓΌwa and Fuxi created humans. But tragedy struck.
GΓ²nggΕng or Kanghui, one of the sea gods or sea serpents, unfortunately had the dubious notoriety of having gotten into various fights with the “good deities.” After losing one of the battles, he grew angered (or embarrassed–the myths aren’t quite sure) and broke one of the pillars (named Buzhou Mountain) in a fit of temper. As a result, the whole sky began falling in the northwest as the earth rose in the southeast. This caused the entire axis of the earth to shift and resulted in complete and utter chaos. Fires, Floods, Animals going Wild and eating people-everythingΒ went haywire and NΓΌwaΒ realized something had to happen if the world was to survive.
The stories differ on what preciselyΒ NΓΌwa did to save the world,Β butΒ most go withΒ theΒ Huainanzi’s version. Therein,Β NΓΌwa went and found five blue stones,Β which she used to repair the broken sky (giving it the blue color). Then she Β cut of the four legs of the mythological turtle Ao and put them up as pillars to re-set the sky and earth in their places. She also killed off a black dragon who was helping to cause some of the chaos. It is unclear whether she survived her work- some myths have her dying as part of the final solution and sacrificing her body to reform the world. Others say that she lived in peace with Fuxi and helped establish the first Chinese government.
Naturally, some chose to accept the stories as independent of one another- particularly since the addition of Pangu came so much later. The minorities are more inclined to accept the Pangu myth, while the larger groups tend to pick up the NΓΌwa version. Β Nonetheless, others choose to produce some combination of the the three. It is fairly simple to see how this would play own.
As Version 1 states, the world originally lay in utter chaos with all the different contrasting elements mixed together. ThenΒ Version 2 picks up by stating the chaos however was confined in the Hundun egg, where Pangu grew until he split the egg apart. He is the father of the world, creating earth and the heavens from his body and efforts. When he died, his body mixed with the supernatural elements still in the air to formΒ NΓΌwa and her brother Fuxi. Together, the two of them created humans and rejoiced. However, all of Pangu’s hard work was nearly destroyed when the pillars he fashioned from his extremities were broken by Gonggong. To save the worldΒ NΓΌwa threw up the five stones to fix the sky and formed the pillars anew. Thus the earth was created and nearly destroyed, while humans managed to survive it all to become the illustrious Chinese we know today.
The varying religions like Buddhism, Animism, Taoism, and Ancestral Worship have picked apart and pieced together these three myths to suit their own story-lines. Thus, we have multiple versions of the Chinese origin myth existing today.Β
Whatever the version, the modern eye can clearly see the intricacy and beauty of Chinese mythology in all its forms and fashions. The details, the imagery, the themes and plots spread throughout. The Chinese legends are beautiful and full of magic, ingenuity, passion, and wisdom. The best part is that it is still preserved in the art and style of classic Chinese artistry still preserved today. Take a trip to Beijing and see the paintings on the ancient palace pillars. Β Look at the writings and painted visions lining the museum walls. Chinese mythology is a truly unique and stunning creation!
During my stint as a teacher here in China, I’ve had the opportunity to participate in several different campus activities with the students. One of the clubs I have worked with a lot is called the “Flying English Club.” Filled with a mixture of Freshmen, Sophomores, and Juniors, the club has a great collection of students from all around. Even some of the international students join in as a chance to meet Chinese students!Β
Last night, they invited me to a BBQ at one of their teacher’s buildings, so I went out for a night of fun and food. We had such a wonderful time! The students cooked delicious food including sweet potatoes, grilled meat (pork, beef, squid, chicken, mutton), broccoli, mushrooms, green beans, lettuce / grilled greens, tofu, and more. They had also prepared some delicious fruit trays with apples, pineapple, dragon fruit, banana, oranges, tomatoes, and other yummy snacks. So good! Β
If you have the chance to go out with your students and play, you should take it! It’s not every day that people can have so much fun π
βShe was free in her wildness. She was a wanderess, a drop of free water. She belonged to no man and to no cityβ ~ Roman Payne
Language Translation
Deceptively Blonde 