Winter begins, tradition continues, and Will shakes the Spear

To the editor:
    It’s official, winter is now here. According to the traditional Chinese calendar the first day of winter was on Thursday, November 8th. Brrr! Early morning riding on a bicycle is a little bit brisk.     For many reasons the custom of weddings seems to pick up around now. And a typical Chinese ceremony involves lots of fireworks. Usually a team of boomers will show up with their collection of rockets and firecrackers. The rockets are mostly of the bang variety. Eight or so are used. The firecrackers number a few hundred and usually the finishing touch is to lay the line of firecrackers out in a heart. All the snappers are red.
    With their increasing wealth the Chinese are embracing many of the customs that mark a Western wedding. Often the poor groom is stuffed into a fancy Western suit with strong Victorian hints. Top hats, tails and powder blue coloring. It’s sometimes your worst prom nightmare repeated.
    This morning as I went out on the town, there were three weddings proceeding. One obviously had a lot of money wrapped up in it because for the first time since I have been here I have seen a true stretch limo. On its hood was a huge, heart-shaped bouquet of roses, lots of fancy rose lines radiating out from the heart. The couple will have two ceremonies, one in traditional red dress for the bride and the other in the familiar white dress. I wish them well.
    Tradition rules in this country. While it rapidly embraces the new, old ideas and habits are observed. This often explains why it is that when you walk from one building to another you should beware of the difference between street level and entrance level. In the U.S. over the last few years an effort has been under way to have as seamless an entrance as possible. I have become very good at recognizing how friendly the concrete sidewalk is.
    When you ask why someone would put a small step between the outside and the inside of a business a typical response is tradition. It is believed that evil will not come into the building if it has to climb up a step. Evil travels only in a straight line. Thus when it hits a barrier it stops because it is not smart enough to go over the barrier.
    My students enjoy telling me about this tradition for some reason. Along with the tradition is plenty of blame accorded to the victim. You should watch where you are going! Everyone knows that you pick your feet up when entering a building! Keep your eyes on the ground so that you do not fall. Wonderful! Concrete 10 – Orph: goose eggs!
    On a much happier note, I have detailed in the past my efforts to improve spoken English with my students through the use of Shakespeare’s plays. This led to two appearances by invitation at Shakespeare conferences. One in England in September and the other in Ohio last month. Talking to the professionals, who know far more about the twists and terns of the language than I do, was a thrill.
    To that end I have had an article published in the volume “Shakespeare at the Centre”. (ISSN 1475-7141) Very short but with pictures of some of my students trying to give voice to Will’s Words. The journal is available to all who visit the Stratford-upon-Avon home site of Shakespeare. Libraries can get a copy by contacting the fine people at the Center. Google should be able to take you to their site and put you in touch with the responsible parties.
    As I said, its only a short article. But it is really nice to know that after all these years from high school a hunch paid off about how Shakespeare could help. A small nod to Dr. A for the inspiration about writing. A little bit of cheeky pride never did nobody harm.
Orpheus Allison
Shanghai, China
orpheusallison@mac.com