Chongqing, Chengdu and Confucianism along the Yangtze River

CHONGQUIN, China — Our flight from Hangzhou to this chartered city took two and a half hours. A point of departure or arrival along the Yangtze River, Chongquin is heavily industrialized so a heavy smog hangs over it. Today, most Chinese factories have undergone a great change since the ’90s stereotype of Chinese sweatshops: the big buzzing hive of menial laborers, medieval working conditions and outmoded equipment. In Chonquin, the clothing factory’s glistening white floor and brightly lit aisles look more like a modern office suite than a garment factory. In one corner automated cutting machines slice out fabric for men’s pants, a process that prevents waste of materials and requires only about half the staff needed to cut patterns by hand. A computerized system of ceiling tracks ferries the pants on hangers between sewing stations instead of having workers pass the pieces along. At the end of the assembly line high quality garments emerge sporting the name of Wrangler, Lee and Arrow.

The economic boom in China’s interior provinces

Our flight from Yi-Wu landed us in time for dinner in Chongquing. Our young lovely hosts Mu “Lily” Xiao Li and Lu “Michelle” Yan Ling took us to a European restaurant with Austrian baroque furniture, vases and porcelain dishware. The 15 dishes laid out started with French duck foie gras as aperitif. This western fashion trend was set by Madame Chiang Kai-shek. The high lifestyle these young lady entrepreneurs are experiencing is part of the economic upliftment of China that has spread from the major cities of Shanghai and Shenzhen to the interior provinces along the Yangtze River. Migrants who once traveled hundreds of miles in search of jobs near the eastern seaboard in industrial enclaves like Guangzhou can now find decent work closer to home.

Moreover after years of numerous planning and reforms which failed to move the country forward, China managed eventually to develop her industrial infrastructure: the transport sector, the highway systems, the railway network, the ports, river waterways and provincial airlines.

The formal awarding of the CMF plaques for membership and provincial Nienhuis Montessori apparata franchisee the next day was followed by a classroom demo I held with children in front of their parents. Wei, a three-year-old girl eagerly sat with me to do the Geometric Solids. Conducting it in English she readily identified and classified “rolling, sliding and rolling-sliding” families of wooden blocks. Referring to the Absorbent Mind and the “secret teacher” within each child the parents got excited to know that this allows one to easily learn and even absorb another language.

Before dinner we were taken to the Old Town, which was swarming with local and foreign tourists. Similar to our Vigan town with its cobbled stones, it had a quaint Mandarin bridge beside a narrow stream. Renovated 17th century Chinese teahouses alternated with gift shops and food stores on four parallel streets. Unlike Philippine heritage towns, handicrafts and old fashioned street foods are more numerous such as the local silk brocade, crocheted bags and the hand-woven bags from Tibet, Chinese paper-cut art work, brush paintings and charming taffy candy sculpture. That evening, when we dined at a restaurant perched on the mountain slope right beside the Yangtze, it rained heavily. Everyone, specially our hosts were so surprised for it has not rained for a decade. We took it as a good omen for the CMF preschool project.

Chengdu – gateway to Tibet, home to giant pandas

Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan province. Despite wholesale modernization it has preserved a sense of history with its fine temples, teahouses and serves as a springboard for Buddhist pilgrims to upland Leshen and Emeishan.

Again to keep up with the schedule, right after arriving with the noontime train our young couple hosts Mrs. Chen Lan and husband Pei YunFei rushed us to the famous Panda Breeding Station, directed by Dr. Zhang Zhike who has researched on these lovable black eyed bear with black waist band and paws. Indigenous to China, they are protected on 53,700 square meters bamboo alpine forest park with an altitude of 2500 m. and keeps cool at 4-15 degree Celsius. Forty kilos of special bamboo is consumed daily by the giant panda but only 20 percent is absorbed. Walking through the cemented walkway, an alert English speaking lady guide took us around. The breeding nursery section had a corps of nurses busy caring for the delicate newborn cubs, who average 125 grams. Mating season is spring but better propagation of the fragile cubs has been done by artificial insemination. The adult is 1.7 meters tall and weighs 118lbs. (male) and 98 lbs. (female).

The next day the CMF induction ceremonies were held in the Tianlei Montessori Preschool. The parents were very fascinated that a hyperactive little boy quieted down when I taught them how to gradate the difficulties of pouring, starting with beans, then sand and finally colored water. It demonstrated clearly that given the chance a child could always correct one’s error without being shamed. To observe the personality of Chinese teachers I asked one young lady to tell a story. I was pleased that her natural enthusiasm easily caught the full attention of the otherwise frisky children.

Jining, Shandong, Confucius country

It took three hours to fly to Shandong from Chengdu. The handsome young couple who hosted us, Annie Hui Jin and her husband Noble Chu WenHui, took us straight to the Confucian restaurant in Qu Fu the home town of Confucius. Ms. Yang Guang, a school directress of the QuFu Confucius Culture Center joined us for lunch. A waitress in a beautiful formal Chinese costume ceremoniously explained the 18 exotic health food dishes. Ms. Yang told us about Confucius’ teachings.

The desire of the Chinese to uphold honor for the country and live in an upright manner owes much to the Confucian vision. The influences of China’s greatest social philosopher, Confucius upon Chinese values and political doctrine have been colossal. His teachings found fertile ground in other Far East countries.

Winning the hearts of the people

Confucius (551-479 B.C.), whose original name Kong Fuzi or Master Kung, was born in poverty in the state of Lu (present day Shandong.) China was then governed by immoral government, feudal strife and oppression. Despair prompted Confucius to seek a code of ethics that would encourage rulers to govern fairly and win the hearts of the people.

Central to his beliefs was respect for the past and for authority, whether the elders of the family or leaders of the social hierarchy. However this encouraged the static nature of Chinese society. He stressed the importance of education and the study of the classical texts and rites. His teachings formed the basis of examination for the civil service right up to the 20th century.

Confucius never lived to see the practical application of his theories, even failing to assume a significant position of influence. He only achieved fame in the centuries after his death when his disciples put together his teachings in the Analects.

The new millennium education

Annie and Noble’s preparation for the CMF induction and franchisee ceremony took place right in front of their school across the Millennium Park of Jining. A chain of red balloons framed the doorway while a big crowd listened to the talk of Annie, government officials and me. My address drew a parallel between the New Millennium Goal of Sustainable Education and the introduction of a new educational system that guarantees an inner transformation within the nation through the very young children. Together with the parents and children, all where delighted with the huge firework display that concluded the event. A well-attended forum of parents and teachers was held in the auditorium of Hongkong Hotel where I demonstrated the merits of the Montessori Prepared Environment with four and five-year-old children.

The millennium effort of Beijing to uphold China’s honor

Stung by criticisms that its factories churn out shoddy merchandise and tainted food, officials in Beijing went to improve the quality and reputations of the country’s exports. Reforms aimed at forcing the country’s low factories to clean up their acts. Tighter pollution regulations are pressing companies to invest in expensive new machinery and improve their waste management systems. Stringent labor laws mandate overtime and severance pay. The laws provide far more protection to employees.

This way, profit margins have been preserved. Since 2004 a factory worker could earn $234, well above the monthly wages in other Asian countries. The Chinese currency appreciated as the Yuan has been unpegged from the USDollar. One Yuan is equivalent to P7.

China hopes that together with this economic progress the moral and human values may be lifted with the “new millennium” education.