GEORGE JOCHNOWITZ
SS
didn't know the story either, and were quite upset to learn that when the
villain, Haman, was hanged, his sons were executed, as well. Our cele–
bration of Purim deepened our knowledge of the differences between
American and Chinese culture.
After Purim of 1989, a student came and asked me if he would be
invited to our Passover seder. The question surprised me, but we had in
fact brought matzohs and haggadahs with us to China . I told him that
we would invite friends on the faculty to the first seder and graduate
students to the second, but we just didn't have room for our eighty or
so undergraduate students. "Last year Miss Ruth invited the under–
graduates," he said.
We got to know a Muslim colleague at Hebei University during our
first stay, in 1984, and he invited us to services at the local mosque at
the end of the month of Ramadan. It was the first time I had seen an
Islamic service. I should add that in 1984 we also attended Presbyterian
services at a house in Baoding that was used as a church. On our sec–
ond visit, in 1989, we attended Buddhist services in Shanghai and Inner
Mongolia, which we visited during our spring break. The Lamaist Bud–
dhist Mongolian worshippers looked more devout to me than the Han
worshippers in Shanghai, but I must add that one can't judge devout–
ness by looking at people while they pray. China does not accept the
idea of freedom of religion, but those forms of religion that are not con–
sidered threatening are functioning freely. Two plus two equals five.
Other groups, of which the Roman Catholic Church is the best known,
are not a ll owed to worship. Two plus two does not yet equal four.
We never attended a Marxist service in China; strictly speaking, there
is no such thing. Instead there were required political meetings for fac–
ulty and students at Hebei University, and someone we knew said they
were like church. When my wife asked how, he answered, "They are
boring." Perhaps I should have asked whether I could attend, but I
didn't. I am told that there are no more required political meetings
in China.
China recently cracked down on a spiritual group called Falun Gong,
which, clearly, is considered threatening. I know almost nothing about
the beliefs of this group, but its ability to mobilize lots of protesters at
short notice is already a threat to the government.
It
is not clear whether
Falun Gong is considered dangerous because of its dogma or because it
is an example of civil society.
In the days of Chairman Mao, there could not be anything resem–
bling civil society; all loyalty was to the state and the Communist Party.
There was no loyalty to one's friends and family. Reporting relatives and
