I'm reading a book called Wild Swans by Jung Chang about the author, her mother and her mother's mother and their life in China. I'm currently reading the part about a time during Mao's reign in the early '60's when Mao asked the people for suggestions on how the country could be run better. However, it was a dishonest plot to find dissatisfied citizens and punish their arrogance by demoting them and sending them to labor camps in the western part of the country. Tonight I had dinner in the home of Mister Li who, it turns out, was one of those people who gave honest feedback to the government only to be punished by over 30 years of hard labor.
The great part is you'd never know he'd lived such a life! He's the man at Ditan Park whose big smile, butch hair cut and military salute welcomes me to the knoll each morning. He's been friends with Teacher Hong for five years, he says. The evening was arranged by my substitute translator, Jane, who wanted me to experience making Chinese dumplings at a family home instead of the restaurant experience. She met Mister Li one year ago. He lives just a 7 minute walk from Ditan Park and was willing to host the party. Jane bought some ingredients, including lamb, and we hiked up the six flights of steps to Mister Li's apartment. We were greeted by Master Li's 30 year old daughter, a woman-friend of Mister Li's – a woman about my age who owns a restaurant - and her son-in-law, in addition to Mister Li, age 68, himself. The son-in-law didn't stay long, so there were five of us for the evening. The dough for the dumplings was already made, so Jane put the ground lamb in a bowl and added various ingredients including oil, soy sauce, Chinese wine, spices, egg and grated green veggies. Using chopsticks she mixed and mixed them together.
She kneaded the dough and then, with wooden cutting board placed on the table, rolled out circles of dumpling dough, using a broom-handle rolling pin, eight inches in length. Quick and nimble fingers made the process look easy, but for this Westerner it wasn't! When properly rolled out the center is thicker than the edges, so that when you put a spoonful of filling in the middle you can stretch the dough around it and seal the edges all around. I've made won-tons for years, but I didn't mention that fact to the restaurant-owner-woman who kept taking the dumpling-to-be out of my hands to show me - yet again - how to stretch the dough and then seal the edges! Watching it done correctly many times doesn't make it easier to do! This, like so many things in life, takes PRACTICE!
Once the water in the wok was hot, the dumplings were cooked.
Additional side dishes included smoked fish, a green vegetable resembling cucumber only more bitter, some spaghetti-like noodles, and chicken soup complete with the bones.
We enjoyed beer with the meal and Mister Li brought out his home brew, appearing to be made from cranberries and sea horses!
Dinner conversation kept Jane busy translating our becoming acquainted with each other, asking and answering questions both ways. After dinner I presented them with the 4 pound container of mints I had brought from Helena. They were delighted! They said I could visit anytime I'm in town.
When the dishes had been cleared from the table, I invited Mister Li to sit down and I began "rolling" (massage technique) the top of his shoulder. He said things to the affect of, this feels good. This feels REAL good! I like how this feels! And so on. Soon the translator quit translating, but Mister Li kept talking as I proceeded to give him a neck and shoulder treatment like he's never had before. He loved every minute of it! Apparently he suggested to his woman-friend, that she learn how to do this "rolling," as she came over and tried to copy my technique. When I finished 15 minutes later, Mr Li got up, moved the chair out of the way, got down on his hands and knees and kowtowed, or bowed, down to me, saying, "I want to be your student!" I am now part of the family and they will make room for me if I want to stay there on my next trip to Beijing.
We took lots and lots of pictures. I gave brief sessions to the woman-friend and to Jane so they could experience the "rolling."The woman-friend, the daughter and Jane walked me to my hotel, a 15 minute walk, and Jane told me a bit more about Mr Li's experience in the labor camp. She said his hip was injured and he has a head/neck injury from those days. He is diligent about doing his exercises in the Park and feels it has helped him recover his health to some degree. This is one of the great things about travel – making a connection with people; a heart-to-heart connection.
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