Villlage Life Outside Datong, China

We stopped in a very nice village outside Datong on our way to the Yungang Grottoes to get a glimpse of what small town life might be like.  Our guide did qualify the stop by saying that this was a place where people stayed by choice and had a nice life, implying that might not be true across China.

According to the 2010 census, 51.3 percent of China's population lives in rural areas. This is down from 63.9 percent in the 2000 census, which used a different counting system, and over 95 percent in the 1920s. There are around 800 million rural peasants and migrant workers--roughly 500 million farmers and 300 million to 400 million excess unskilled rural laborers. It is almost certainly lower now.  I fist went to China in 2014 and it continues to urbanize.

A typical village farmer grow rice, corn, chilies and vegetables on a half acre of land, and maybe keeps some chickens and pigs. Farmers produce enough to eat but not much to sell. There are inadequate basic public services such as education, health and applications of new technologies. Typical rural families live in simple wooden houses, use outhouses and cook in shacks over open hearths. Note everything about this photo, from the housing to the manual removal of corn from the cob, to the way that corn is stored.

Nine Dragon Screen, Datong, China

 

Nine Dragon Wall in Datong was built during the regime of the first Emperor of Ming Dynasty. It is a screen wall in the gate of the residence of an Imperial prince, Zhu Gui, who is the thirteenth son of Zhu Yuanzhan. It is the oldest and largest glazed-tile Nine Dragon wall still extant in China.

It is famous for its still perfect glazed-tile work, as can be appreciated in this detail view. With 426 glazed tiles fired specially in five different colors, the exquisite design of green wave at bottom is as sea, blue background as sky and white as clouds. The glazed nine dragons on the wall are expressing their varying movements vividly, rising out of the sea and chasing the mythical suns with the supernatural ability to control the forces of nature. Painted in different colors, these nine dragons are lively just like flying swiftly upward. The clearance among the dragons was filled with stones and float grasses. Two fierce and colorful dragons disport among clouds and water, chasing between them a Flaming Pearl of Wisdom. These dragons only have four toes on their feet, since five-toed dragons were reserved for the Emperor himself.

Shanxi Shaved Noodles, China

There is a Chinese saying that can be loosely translated to, "There is no satisfaction without noodles," which pretty much describes my take on life. 

We spent our entire last trip to China in the north, where there is plenty of rice, but handmade noodles are a staple for breakfast.  In Datong we had dao xiao mian is also known as Shanxi knife-cut noodles, referring to the province in Northern China east of Beijing where the dish originates, and describing the age-old technique of using a knife to quickly shave wheat noodles off a block of dough into a boiling pot of water. The resulting noodles are fresh, wide and comforting; a perfect base onto which sauces and flavors can cling. 

The traditional method of making these noodles is tricky to do and fascinating to watch.  One uses a very sharp knife and has a pot of salted boiling water ready. With your left hand, hold the oval dough pointed downward at a 30º angle, with the downward-facing edge resting on a cutting board. This will help you make smooth, even cuts. With your right hand, shave the knife down the dough to create thin noodles. There's a Chinese saying to help you visualize this technique, "Knife doesn't leave the dough, and doghdoesn't leave the knife." It should be a continuous loop.

Huáyán Temple, Datong, China

 

Huayan Temple is the largest and most perfectly preserved temple of the Liao (916-1125) and Jin (1115-1234) dynasties in China.  It is east facing because the sun was worshipped in that time.  Emperors in the Liao Dynasty sincerely believed in Buddhism, so they built many monasteries. The Huayan Monastery was originally the ancestral temple of the imperial family, offering sacrifices for emperors of the Liao Dynasty. In the middle period of the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644), the temple was divided into two parts the upper and lower monasteries and was renovated and enlarged several times to its present form.

 It was the imperial ancestral temple, enjoying prominent position at that time. Then it was destroyed in a war. In 1140 during Kin Dynasty, the temple was reconstructed.  The upper one referred to as the Grand Hall housing five large Ming Dynasty Buddhas, and the lower section referred to as the Sutra Temple containing a library of some 18,000 volumes of Buddhist writings. After several repairs in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the temple formed today's scale.  On top of the hall are color paintings from the Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasties (1644 - 1911) portraying dragons, cranes, flowers, all of which are images often found in Chinese legends on Buddhism.

Huayan Pagoda is the second largest pure wooden tenon and mortise structure after Yingxian Pagoda in the country. This pagoda is 43 meters high. Under the pagoda is a 500-square-meter underground palace, which was constructed with 100 tons of copper.

Chanson d'Automne by Paul Verlaine

In preparation for the D-Day Landings in Normandy on 6th June 1944, Operation Overlord, the BBC had signalled to the French Resistance that the opening lines of the 1866 Verlaine poem “Chanson d’Automne” , a widely known poem at the time, were to indicate the start of the D-Day operations. The first three lines of the poem, “Les sanglots longs / des violons / de l’automne” (“The long sobs of autumn violins”), meant that Operation Overlord was to start within two weeks. These lines were broadcast on 1st June 1944. The next set of lines, “Blessent mon coeur / d’une langueur / monotone” (“wound my heart with a monotonous languor”), meant that it would start within 48 hours and that the resistance should begin sabotage operations especially on the French railroad system; these lines were broadcast on 5th June at 23:15 GMT.

 ‘Chanson d’Automne’

The long sobs
Of the violins
Of Autumn
Wound my heart
With a monotonous
Languor.
All choked
And pale, when
The hour chimes,
I remember
Days of old
And I cry
And I’m going
On an ill wind
That carries me
Here and there,
As if a
Dead leaf.
– Paul Verlaine

Sculpture of Rice Making, Datong, China

A sculpture to making rice is a bit surprising until you think about it.

Rice is the most important human food crop in the world, directly feeding more people than any other crop. Nearly half of world’s population – more than 3 billion people – rely on rice every day.  Rice has also fed more people over a longer time than has any other crop. It is spectacularly diverse, both in the way it is grown and how it is used by humans. Rice is unique because it can grow in wet environments that other crops cannot survive in. Such wet environments are abundant across Asia. The domestication of rice ranks as one of the most important developments in history and now thousands of rice varieties are cultivated on every continent except Antarctica.

When and where the domestication of rice took place is not specifically known, but new archaeological evidence points to an area along the Yangtze River in central China. Researched by a team of Japanese and Chinese archaeologists unanimously indicate a median age of over 11,000 years. Another discovery of possibly the oldest settlement found in China, which is located closely upstream from the other sites, gives credence to the new findings.

Rice can be boiled or steamed, or else first ground into flour and made into noodles, breads, cakes, and other products. Besides the standard domestic cooking methods summarized here, rice can also be processed into other rice-based food and drink products.

Banana Bread

Since childhood, the hidden silver lining in having the bananas get too ripe to eat was the potential for banana bread.  the easy and delicious solution to a problem.
Of late, with most of the kids out of the house, and much more sporadic shopping trips that are aimed at the one ingredient we need and the few things that we could use, mostly using the farmer's market and our local CSA in the summer and Costco in the winter to supplement with fresh fruits and vegetables, we just do not seem to have all that many bananas that might get to the banana bread state.  More is the pity.  The low oven temperature creates a less burnt exterior.

1 cup granulated sugar

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter

2 large eggs

3 ripe bananas

1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan. 
2. Cream the sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. 
3. In a small bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Mix in the milk and cinnamon. In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 
4. Add the banana mixture to the creamed mixture and stir until combined. Add dry ingredients, mixing just until flour disappears. 
5. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Remove bread from pan, invert onto rack and cool completely before slicing. 

West of Memphis (2012)

This is a documentary about a miscarriage of justice that took three previous films, a lot of famous people, and a team of investigators to get to the point where an injustice was reversed. 
In 1993, the bodies of three young boys were found bound, mutilated and drowned in a drainage canal in the Robin Hood Hills neighborhood of West Memphis. A month later, three local teenagers were linked to the crime after one of them confessed; the prosecution claimed it was a satanic cult murder.  The community seized upon this, not paying much attention to how the confession was elicited or who made it, and as a result, a guilty verdict was achieved and nobody else was closely investigated.
This film does that.  They get a team of forensic pathologists to look at the evidence, there is new DNA information, and there is one suspect identified who was never looked at very closely, maybe because he had what turns out to be a largely fabricated alibi and perhaps a sympathetic police force.  The ending is not as satisfying as you would hope but better than might have otherwise happened, and it demonstrates that if you get it wrong the first time, it is very hard to undo that in the criminal justice system.

Via Carlota Green Salad

I read this salad dressing recipe in detail, and while I did not follow it to a T, which the article in the New York Times states is critical to success, I did make one of the best salad dressings that I have made in a long time, and I did follow some principles.  I used locally grown flavorful lettuce because it is way better than anything that I can buy, but this is well worth reading through from beginning to end.

• 2 heads butter lettuce, such as Boston or bibb
• 1 romaine heart
• 1 large Belgian endive
• 1 bunch watercress
• ½ small head frisée

For the dressing:

• 1 large shallot, minced
• 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon aged sherry vinegar, plus additional, as needed
• 1 tablespoon warm water
• 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 ½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 ½ teaspoons whole-grain mustard
• 1 ½ teaspoons honey (optional)
• 2 sprigs thyme, washed and stripped
• 1 large clove garlic, finely grated
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Wash the greens: Fill a sink or large basin with tepid water. Remove any wilted or damaged leaves from the butter lettuce, romaine and endive. Trim each head at the root to release whole leaves. Leave butter-lettuce leaves whole, but halve large leaves of romaine and endive on the bias, then drop into water. Trim and discard any roots and long stems off watercress, and drop remaining leaves and tender stems into water. Trim and discard dark green outer leaves and tops from frisée until only light green and white parts remain. Trim at the root to release leaves, and drop into water. Swirl greens in water, then drain. Wash twice more in cool, then cold, water, then transfer to a salad spinner to dry. Gently wrap in clean dish towels, and set aside.
2. Place the shallot in a fine-mesh strainer, and quickly rinse with cold water. Allow to drain, then place in a medium bowl, and add vinegar and warm water. Allow to sit for 2 minutes, then whisk in oil, mustards, honey (if using), thyme, garlic and a large pinch of salt. Taste, and adjust salt and vinegar as needed.
3. To serve, gently pile a generous handful of greens into a serving bowl, then sprinkle with salt, pepper and a generous drizzle of dressing. Continue with another handful of salad and more seasoning and dressing, repeating until you have a glorious, gravity-defying mound of salad. Top with a final drizzle of dressing, and serve immediately.

Alabama Get Away

The Handmaid's Tale imagery is a very appropriate reaction to the Alabama abortion restrictions passed last week.  I have let it sit for a while, and my anger has not dissipated.
As the Grateful Dead song says,
Alabama get away
Only way to please me
Turn around and leave
And walk away.
Which is what I would do if I ever had reason to consider living there.  All too often I wonder about succession--is it still an option for the American South?
The criminalization  of abortion is not about personhood starting at conception.  That is a religious rather than a biological determination.  It is about men controlling women, thinly veiled in imposing religious beliefs of a minority of Americans onto everyone.  The Founding Fathers might well support the patriarchy, but not based on religion, and let's face it, those guys have been dead for a hundred years.  So start letting your representatives know exactly how you feel about that.