china: day six

Today was the tour of the terra cotta army. I had wanted to see it since Dr. Coble's class two years ago, but I have not been allowed to go because of my fever. My one degree Celsius fever. Fortunately, where there's a will, there's a way, and through a mechanism I cannot fully explain I found myself at the museum. I did run into the other group briefly--something I'd been hoping to avoid--but no harm came of it.









The soldiers are, well, something else. Each one has a unique face, and there are many hundreds of them. They are a testament to the power of a culture's beliefs about death. What if Western Europe had not been dominated by the Christian idea that "You can't take it with you?" At first, I thought of the soldiers as a massive waste of time and resources. All of those laborers and artists put effort into artifacts the emperor would take with him to his grave. But then I realized that the soldiers had repaid China many times over in the knowledge of military and religious history they preserved, not to mention the tourism dollars they bring in. What goes around comes around, I suppose.










In the evening, I ate with Dr. Li at a restaurant just outside the University gates. It was my first experience eating at a restaurant not intended to cater to English speakers. The menu was entirely in cangjie, and nobody on the premises spoke English. I did have a Chinese speaker with me, however, and he ordered for both of us. I wrote down the names of the better dishes we had, so I could be able to order them again next time. The restaurant specializes in Sichuan cuisine, and it doesn't mess around. We had chicken with green onions and pork with peppers, in addition to a plate of mild fried vegetables. The mild dish and the rice were crucial for offsetting the spiciness of the meat dishes. Everything was fantastic. It had the true essence of the wok, the flavor that I can never produce at home with an electric stove. I hope to return soon.