7. Two Kingdoms
The One Ear Man was on the Shanghai "Maglen," a high-speed train going NorthWest from Shanghai and Beijing. The train left Shanghai's Hongqiao Railway Station some time ago. It crossed the Yangtze River, made famous by Chairman Mao Zedong’s swim in 1966. It has been an uneventful trip, and the novel he is reading, A House Divided, by Pearl S. Buck seems a little too heavy in the “navel gazing" and light on the action at this particular point in the story. Buck is rapidly becoming one of his favourites. She has such a passion for the ordinary people, especially those that work the land. She has almost a religious fervour about China at the turn of the 20th century. The One Ear Man has learned so much about China’s history and its people from the setting of the three novels.
Sitting across from the One Ear Man, the Three Travelling Companions seem a little bored. His conclusion is based on a large number of times they have passed back and forth the tattered magazines in their possession.
The One Ear Man did enjoy watching the scenery roll by. Their train has just entered the Shandong province from Jiangsu. He honestly wished that they travelled past the Yellow Sea as they did the East China Sea where Shanghai is located. But we are too far inland, the One Ear Man concluded.
The TV monitor mounted on the wall continued giving the time, weather, location and speed of the train. This is a High-Speed Rail and can reach upwards of 430 km/h, according to the information pamphlet that came with his boarding pass. The information is written in Cantonese, Mandarin and English. So, most commuters had no trouble with understanding.
Time went by. “You know, just sitting here reminds me of a little story. Would you like to hear it?”
The Three Travelling Companions quietly sat there. No acknowledgement other than giving each other a quick look. They indeed offered no indication that the One Ear Man should proceed. Being both a college teacher and a storyteller, he took the lead and began his story.
“Once upon a time,” the One Ear Man opened with, “in a far off place there was a kingdom by the name of Able. In another distant location in the opposite direction, there was a kingdom named Idle. They were half-way around the world from each other. There was so much distance between the two nations that they know very little about the other’s lifestyle, even today.
“Now the Kingdom of Able have mainly rural people who till the land. They work very hard for everything they get. Ancestors are admired. They have a place of honour as family members. They pass on life’s lessons to the children. The farmers pays their taxes to those in charge. When the crops were bountiful, they make a more substantial payment. When the harvests were not so bountiful, the "fees" paid are meagre.
“Other than taxes, the people in charge leave the people alone to fend for themselves. If a family works the fields very hard and the crop was good, they eat well. The opposite is also true. In bad times such as floods and drought, many people travel to the city and beg on the streets for a little silver.”
The Three Travelling Companions put aside the tattered magazines and settled down to listen to the One Ear Man’s story. From their appearance, they probably come from the Kingdom of Able. Perhaps their grandparents or great-grandparents farmed the land.
The One Ear Man continued, “I met a descendant of such hard-working people.” I met her at the college I teach at. She was taking a professional upgrade. She still takes schooling even at the age of 41.
One day, The Lady from Able told me, “You know One Ear Man, when I first came to the Kingdom of Idle, the border guard asked my two children and me a series of questions. My children and I could not answer because we did not understand what was being asked. So they put us in a little room and brought us an interpreter. We were terrified. That was seven years ago.
“Since that time, my two teenage children and I have studied English. We know enough now to function in this culture. The children are enrolled in school. Music and the arts are essential in the Kingdom of Able. Both take music lessons. My children spend their summers with tutors. This is not because they have failing grades. But because they succeed. Too much time is idle in the Kingdom of Idle. I enrolled and graduated from a local college as a Health Care Aide.
“It took some time, but I did find a job,” she continued. “Now, I work six days a week with one day for the children and friends.”
“I have a late model car and am saving for a downpayment for a house. I gave up a house in the Kingdom of Able. I gave up so much to come here. I could not bring much money to this Kingdom. Only a little. But I like owning a house. Someday I will have one again.”
The One Ear Man noticed that the Lady from the Kingdom of Able did not talk in a boastful manner. She didn’t brag. Her tone was matter-of-fact. For her, the lifestyle she and her children live is as natural as getting up in the morning and having a bowl of Zhou or fish congee, mantou or steamed buns and tea for breakfast.
“The Lady from Able will succeed because that is her nature and culture,” he concluded his story.
What he did not say to the Three Travelling Companions is that he has been thinking all along of the many people he knows in the Kingdom of Idle that are over 40 years of age, still living in their parent’s basement and having not worked a week in their adult life. The Kingdom of Idle certainly has a different lifestyle and culture.
Dwelling on Aldous Huxley’s novel, The Kingdom of Able and the Kingdom of Idle are genuinely a point, counterpoint. No question.
Sitting across from the One Ear Man, the Three Travelling Companions seem a little bored. His conclusion is based on a large number of times they have passed back and forth the tattered magazines in their possession.
The One Ear Man did enjoy watching the scenery roll by. Their train has just entered the Shandong province from Jiangsu. He honestly wished that they travelled past the Yellow Sea as they did the East China Sea where Shanghai is located. But we are too far inland, the One Ear Man concluded.
The TV monitor mounted on the wall continued giving the time, weather, location and speed of the train. This is a High-Speed Rail and can reach upwards of 430 km/h, according to the information pamphlet that came with his boarding pass. The information is written in Cantonese, Mandarin and English. So, most commuters had no trouble with understanding.
Time went by. “You know, just sitting here reminds me of a little story. Would you like to hear it?”
The Three Travelling Companions quietly sat there. No acknowledgement other than giving each other a quick look. They indeed offered no indication that the One Ear Man should proceed. Being both a college teacher and a storyteller, he took the lead and began his story.
“Once upon a time,” the One Ear Man opened with, “in a far off place there was a kingdom by the name of Able. In another distant location in the opposite direction, there was a kingdom named Idle. They were half-way around the world from each other. There was so much distance between the two nations that they know very little about the other’s lifestyle, even today.
“Now the Kingdom of Able have mainly rural people who till the land. They work very hard for everything they get. Ancestors are admired. They have a place of honour as family members. They pass on life’s lessons to the children. The farmers pays their taxes to those in charge. When the crops were bountiful, they make a more substantial payment. When the harvests were not so bountiful, the "fees" paid are meagre.
“Other than taxes, the people in charge leave the people alone to fend for themselves. If a family works the fields very hard and the crop was good, they eat well. The opposite is also true. In bad times such as floods and drought, many people travel to the city and beg on the streets for a little silver.”
The Three Travelling Companions put aside the tattered magazines and settled down to listen to the One Ear Man’s story. From their appearance, they probably come from the Kingdom of Able. Perhaps their grandparents or great-grandparents farmed the land.
The One Ear Man continued, “I met a descendant of such hard-working people.” I met her at the college I teach at. She was taking a professional upgrade. She still takes schooling even at the age of 41.
One day, The Lady from Able told me, “You know One Ear Man, when I first came to the Kingdom of Idle, the border guard asked my two children and me a series of questions. My children and I could not answer because we did not understand what was being asked. So they put us in a little room and brought us an interpreter. We were terrified. That was seven years ago.
“Since that time, my two teenage children and I have studied English. We know enough now to function in this culture. The children are enrolled in school. Music and the arts are essential in the Kingdom of Able. Both take music lessons. My children spend their summers with tutors. This is not because they have failing grades. But because they succeed. Too much time is idle in the Kingdom of Idle. I enrolled and graduated from a local college as a Health Care Aide.
“It took some time, but I did find a job,” she continued. “Now, I work six days a week with one day for the children and friends.”
“I have a late model car and am saving for a downpayment for a house. I gave up a house in the Kingdom of Able. I gave up so much to come here. I could not bring much money to this Kingdom. Only a little. But I like owning a house. Someday I will have one again.”
The One Ear Man noticed that the Lady from the Kingdom of Able did not talk in a boastful manner. She didn’t brag. Her tone was matter-of-fact. For her, the lifestyle she and her children live is as natural as getting up in the morning and having a bowl of Zhou or fish congee, mantou or steamed buns and tea for breakfast.
“The Lady from Able will succeed because that is her nature and culture,” he concluded his story.
What he did not say to the Three Travelling Companions is that he has been thinking all along of the many people he knows in the Kingdom of Idle that are over 40 years of age, still living in their parent’s basement and having not worked a week in their adult life. The Kingdom of Idle certainly has a different lifestyle and culture.
Dwelling on Aldous Huxley’s novel, The Kingdom of Able and the Kingdom of Idle are genuinely a point, counterpoint. No question.
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