Explore #2: Fuzhou, Fujian

I am such a fan of Chinese history sometimes I surprise myself. The Yuans, Mings, Tangs are all a blur to me.  But my real interest is in Chinese modern history that starts from the Qing dynasty onwards.  I don't confess to know many details and persons but when I hear about someone being from a place I happen to be standing it, it gives me a nice little thrill. This was what happened when I was in Fuzhou recently. Fuzhou is a relatively unknown city to Singaporeans I think but it is the capital city of Fujian (yes the place that invented the ultimate curse-phrase "knnbccb!!"). 

The city used to be a water-town too, same as ZJJ in my previous post. But I dunno what happened la, but there isn't much water there anymore and certainly no sampans.  So we were hanging out in Fuzhou, in between meetings and our flight back to Shanghai and a native decided to bring us to Sanfang Qixiang (三坊七巷 - Three Lanes and Seven Alleys).  This place is a conserved cluster of ancient residential buildings dating from the late Jin Dynasty.  Er.. a bit like Clarke Quay but X a few thousand years. 

So this city is home to many famous people. And I mean MANY. And all very rebellious, chood pattern kind. What do I mean? One of the most famous is Lin Zexu, the Qing dynasty official who kickstarted (literally) the Opium War. Another one is Lin Jue Min, one of Sun Yat-Sen's 同盟會and part of the uprising against the Qing dynasty.  And then there is Ms Bing Xin, "a distinguished contemporary writer, poet, translator and social activist" who led a student movement against foreign aggression in the early 1900s.  Dunno what is with this place and activists but they sure left their marks on history.

The wall of fame.

So back to Lin Zexu. For those who are not as siao about Chinese history, here's an abridged version. So one day, the ang mohs realised - hey we have been buying so much tea and spices from China and bringing them back to ang moh land, we are giving away money instead of earning it! And the Chinese are not interested in our stinky cheeses and rotten grapes that we make into liquor, so we better find something that they wanna buy so we don't have this imbalance. What can we sell leh? AHA! Opium! It is evil for sure, but earning money is way more important. 

So the Chinese suck it all up literally and Lin Zexu, the one Qing dynasty official with morals, saw his fellow countryman falling prey to this terrible addiction. He wrote an impassioned letter to Queen Victoria, telling her to wake up her idea and to stop this evil business perpetuated by her "barbarians" subjects. Not sure if she ever read the letter but he finally buay tahan and confiscated all the opium in town and kicked it (see earlier reference about "kickstarting") into the ocean. His actions led to the outbreak of the Opium War which did not end well for China. This patriot was then sent to Xinjiang as an outcast of the government.


A wall outside Lin Zexu's memorial in Fuzhou.

Another famous Lin from Fuzhou is Lin Jue Min who fought for China to be free from the shackles of the Qing dynasty and the Manchus and to revive China. Very moving was his farewell letter to his wife before he joined the uprising.  Here's a translated excerpt:

My beloved YiYing:
I am writing this letter to bid you farewell forever. While writing this letter, I still belong to this world, but by the time you read it, I will have been a spirit in the after world. When I write this letter, my tears blend with the ink, I can barely continue. But I worry you would not understand my heart, and think that I abandoned you to die needless for a cause...I love you so much, because of this love, I now have the courage to face a certain death. Ever since we met (and fell in love), I have so often wished that all lovers will live and grow old together happily. Yet, we live in a time when the air is permeated with the smell of blood, and vicious thugs roam the streets - how many families can in fact lead happy lives? The bureaucrats hardly care while leading their decadent lives. I cannot feign compassion but assume no action. I will use the love I have in my heart for you to help all the people under the sky to have the chance to love whom they love. Because of this, I am not afraid to die and go before you...

Lin Jue Min died in the uprising in Guangdong. He was 24.


But the most romantic story that was told to us in Fuzhou had to be the one about Lin Jue Min's niece, Lin Wei Ying.  She was also an activist and a very talented individual who was loved by many men because of her beauty and talent. In particular, a man, Jin Yue Lin was so in love with her, he remained a bachelor all his life while she married another man. One day, he invited his friends to a dinner without giving a reason.  When they had rushed to the dinner and were seated, he announced that they were invited to celebrate his beloved's birthday.  She had already passed away by then.

Maybe Fuzhou shouldn't be famous for its heroes but for the love its heroes inspire.


Before I end off, here are some pictures of the conserved old houses we visited while there.


Wooden facades and small lanes.



Love this! Modern neccessities in an ancient setting. ha ha...

 

This house belonged to a rich family who could afford to have private performances in their backyard .

xoxo,
Tracy 
(P.S. Not sure what happened with my crazy fonts, but I'm too lazy to deal with it!) 

Always time for a peekture!