Jamie Greenbaum

The Australian National University, Australia
Exchange to Peking University, China

My Endeavour Award allowed me to be fortunate enough to enjoy a 6-month project based at Peking University in Beijing. The project was for a provisionary translation of a seventeenth-century compilation of common philosophy, anecdotal, and historical quotations. Although I was attached to Peking University, and spent much time in the library there, I also had connections at the National Library of China and, as I soon realised, one of their editions of the text was superior to any others and I consequently spent much time there as well. Moving between the 2 places, and seeing some tourist and not-so-tourist sites, also gave me a good look at different parts of the city.

Beijing is laid out in a way that is familiar to those who have grown up in a grid city, making it easy to find your way around. It also has an increasing number of ring roads providing the base of the traffic infrastructure. There is some disagreement over where the first ring road is, with some claiming that it follows the outline of the Forbidden City; but the second ring road is clear and it runs around what was the Inner City when China was taken over by the Manchus, who were the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). In those days, Beijing had 4 main sections and you can still see some of them today – and I’m sure that television programmes that are broadcast during the Olympics will point some of them out. Most important was the Forbidden City, which I’m sure you’ve visited if you’ve been to Beijing – that was where the Emperor lived, and the place was made visually famous to Westerners most recently by Bertolucci’s film ‘The Last Emperor’. The other famous performance to take place there (for western culture) was when they staged Puccini’s opera ‘Turandot’ there, with Zubin Mehta conducting. If there is one part of the opera that has come true it’s got to be the famous aria, ‘Nessun Dorma’. Beijing is now a big modern city and it operates 24/7 – there is no need for sleep here: some people work all night, others party all night.

Outside the Forbidden City was the Imperial City which housed most of the government offices and so on. Today in Beijing you can still see some remnants of the Imperial City wall – especially if you walk towards the east from Tiananmen Square. The towering off-red wall with the fine small garden behind it is a piece of Chinese history that still stands. Completely surrounding the Imperial City was a larger area, somewhat confusingly known as the Inner City, and this is where the second ring road now is. It’s also where a very useful circular subway line now runs, and many of the stops on the line preserve the older names, so that even though you can’t see the city walls and gates which were torn down in the 1950s, you can still visit the sites and put your imagination to use. The Inner City was reserved for the Manchus. By law, the Chinese were only allowed to live in the Outer City, another large section to the south, which came to include the most famous Chinese building, the beautiful, circular Temple of Heaven. It’s all changed today of course. Nowadays, people of Chinese and Manchu descent live side by side, wherever they like.

I visited the Forbidden City a few times, though much of it was being restored in time for the Olympics. However, that was as a tourist, and so I spent more time near the branch of the National Library which housed the older books I was interested in. This branch is in what was the Imperial City, just outside the north-west corner of the Forbidden City, so it was pretty central – in fact it’s beside one of the lakes that run through the centre of Beijing. This was fantastic, and I loved being there. In the heat of summer I was often tempted to take a long-ish lunch stroll along the side of the lakes and watch people play chess, fly kites, or fish. Chess is played everywhere in public, and many street corners draw large crowds. The Chinese game, like the one we play, is related to the old Indian game, so the basics are pretty easy to follow because many of the pieces have similar moves. Perhaps the most interesting difference is social – anyone from the crowd can offer their advice and commentary on the game at any point. So while there are technically only 2 people playing, the audience gets quite involved and the games can be quite lively – being a foreigner meant I stood out, and I found it a good way to get to chat to the locals while they politely pretended to only just beat me, rather than obviously thrash me.

Once I’d digested lunch, and been soundly beaten enough, I’d go back to the library and resume my project. The staff were magnificent, and even though I frequently asked for the same books over several months, they never showed themselves to be bored with my requests. The library was a pleasant environment to work – good wooden tables and chairs, and large windows. If, like me, you find that preferable to strong air-conditioning and glaring neon lighting, you’ll enjoy any time you spend there. Partly because of the good environment and help of the staff, I was able to finish a provisionary translation of the book. I’ve spent months, since, clearing up some of the more intractable sections – where even the modern Chinese commentators say they’ve really no idea what a particular passage refers to, or where they disagree on the interpretation.

I’m sure that others who have gained an Endeavour Award will agree with me – it makes for a marvelous, intense experience, and the full wealth of what has been offered and experienced only becomes clear in hindsight. I’d love to do it all over again – and I should put in a plug for the Endeavour staff back in the office. I was lucky enough to not run into any trouble and consequently didn’t need to call on any emergency assistance or anything, but it was good to know that help was there if needed – it allows you to concentrate on what you’re doing. So thanks all, and please send me again.

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