A small war that mattered - 40 years since the Damansky Island tragedy

Technically, the Damansky conflict was a local two-episode frontier engagement between Chinese and Soviet soldiers on March 2 and March 15, 1969. Statistically, it was, for the lack of a better term, small.

Today it is remembered for what it was in fact: a real shooting war with its own dead and its own heroes; a war that was misrepresented by the Western, Soviet and Chinese media in a big way, all the while in reality it triggered one of the major shifts in the Cold War global balance of power.

In 1969 I was six. Too young to have known that ‘Stalin and Mao are listening to us’ or that ‘the Russians and the Chinese are brothers forever.’ These songs belonged to the generation of my parents as did their Chinese college classmates and friends who, by the end of the 1960s, were already embers in the fires of the ‘Cultural Revolution.’

Nearly every family had someone in the armed forces. Besides, the Soviet Union was populated by members of my parents’ generation, the bearers and recipients of every effect of the Khrushchev Spring, including a somewhat laxer security discipline, so the initial media blackout never worked. In 1969 boys in my kindergarten stopped their usual war games of ‘the fascists and the Soviets’ (the Great War was only 25 years in the past and fresh in the memories of our parents and grandparents), switching for a while to ‘the Chinese and the Soviets.’

The full truth about the war on Damansky, including the number of casualties, was told to the Soviet people several years later. As it was the rule, it took a Politburo decision to release the figures to the newspapers, television and radio. Many engagements that had happened before March 1969 (over a dozen clashes between 1967 and 1969) never made it into the media at all, except limited-circulation military journals and the restricted-access party bulletin ‘Arguments and Facts’ (now a major tabloid).


In 1969 the Soviet people still lived off the emotional legacy of its WWII victory and the peace that had come to our land with it, had come to stay forever, as we believed then. Russia never knew the nuclear shelter hysteria on the same scale as it happened in the US and Britain. We somehow believed, even in the worst times of the Cold war, that common sense would prevail. It was then that Yevtushenko wrote: ‘You want to know, if the Russians want war – you ask the quiet of our fields, you ask the birch trees, you ask the soldiers who sleep beneath their roots…’ In 1969 over sixty dead in a frontier clash was a catastrophic loss. Afghanistan was still very far ahead along the road of History.

In the context of international politics and Western media’s coverage of international events Damansky was partly lost behind the big problem of the day: the Soviet Union’s principle opposition to the introduction of the West Berlin constituency in the election of a president of the Federal Republic of Germany.

In April-May 1969 Western newspapers started placing more articles about the conflict. Everyone, it seems, was trying to find out who had started the hostilities. Some blamed the Soviet Union and spoke of an aggressive trend in Soviet politics that had established itself after the Prague Spring of 1968. Some blamed the Chinese calling China an ‘anti-status quo power’ which is ‘pushing its boundaries to establish ‘lines of actual control’ to claim them later as legitimate borders.’ Judging by the tone of the articles, the Damansky conflict for everyone in the West was ‘a clash between the Communist giants,’ and therefore, an event useful for the Western cause.

Only later, closer to 1970-71 did the Western papers start speculating in earnest that the Chinese provocative moves on the Soviet borders including ‘the incident on the Chenpao Island which the Russians call Damansky’ had been a clever signal to Washington that Beijing (or rather Peking) had arrived at the decision to take the side of the West against the Soviet Union in the Cold War.

Today these speculations may look realistic and feasible enough, taking into consideration Henry Kissinger’s secret visit to Peking in 1971 and everything that followed, including China – US anti-Soviet cooperation in many ‘hotter’ areas of the Cold War including Africa and Afghanistan. It is most probably true that the Damansky conflict triggered the beginning of that cooperation, starting from the same Peking visit by the then US Secretary of State. In the beginning of the 1970s China-US cooperation and coordination of anti-Soviet efforts was rapidly gaining speed.

Why did it take so long after the supposed ‘signal’ for the two sides to start talking to each other about that desperately needed cooperation? Two years in the Cold war context were like two decades, if not two hundred years…

Russian experts believe that in fact there was no signal at all. A major clash on the Chinese-Russian border, cleverly used by spin artists on the both sides (China and the West), indeed became a launching platform for a new alliance that was destined to last for over a decade.

Russian historians of the conflict insist today that for the invasion of Damansky there was no direct order either from People’s Liberation Army Headquarters or the Chinese Politburo. The attack, in their opinion, was perpetrated by the local authorities, military as well as civilian, of the Chinese province bordering Russia, without direct approval from the center.

That is, most probably, true, especially if we consider the partial independence of Chinese provincial governors in military affairs, and the devastatingly blind zeal of provincial ‘Culture Revolutionaries’ in comparison with the somewhat easier drive of their Peking colleagues.

The fact that the leadership of the two countries immediately started looking for opportunities to meet and talk, the way the meeting was conducted and the speed with which it was organized (the famous Airport summit of Kosygin and Chou En-lai) all speak of deep concern over the events that could have triggered a war between two giant countries, and of the lack of ill or suicidal intentions in both central governments.

Summing up this column I would like to quote from the website DAMANSKI-ZHENBAO, belonging to the Fidelity Foundation in support of frontier guards’ veterans. The website states that on Damansky:

‘Best sons of two great nations paid with their lives for the inertness of political mentality.’

Evgeny Belenkiy, RT

The Spread of Buddhism Among the Chinese

During the third century B.C., Emperor Asoka sent missionaries to the northwest of India, that is, present-day Pakistan and Afghanistan. The mission achieved great success as the region soon became a centre of Buddhist learning with many distinguish monks and scholars. When the merchants of Central Asia came into this region for trade, they learnt about Buddhism and accepted it as their religion. By the second century B.C., some central Asian cities like Kotan, has already become important centres for Buddhism. The Chinese people had their first contact with Buddhism through Central Asians who were already Buddhists.

When the Han Dynasty of China extended its power to Central Asia in the first century B.C., trade and cultural ties between China and Central Asia also increased. In this way, the Chinese people learnt about Buddhism so that by the middle of the first century C.E., a community of Chinese Buddhists was already in existence. As interest in Buddhism grew, there was a great demand for Buddhist texts to be translated from Indian languages into Chinese. This led to the arrival of translators from Central Asia and India. The first notable one was Anshigao from Central Asia who came to China in the middle of the second century. With a growing collection of Chinese translations of Buddhist texts, Buddhism became more widely known and a Chinese monastic order was also formed. The first known Chinese monk was said to be Anshigao's disciple.

The early translators had some difficulty in finding the exact words to explain Buddhist concepts in Chinese, so they often used Taoist terms in their translations. As a result, people began to relate Buddhism with the existing Taoist tradition. It was only later on that the Chinese came to fully understand the teachings of the Buddha.

After the fall of the Han Dynasty in the early part of the third century, China faced a period of political disunity. Despise the war and unrest, the translations of the Buddhist texts continued. During this time, both foreign and Chinese monks were actively involved in establishing monasteries and lecturing on the Buddhist teachings.

Among the Chinese monks, Dao-an who lived in the fourth century, was the most outstanding. Though he had to move from place to place because of the political strife, he not only wrote and lectured extensively, but prepared the first catalogues of them. He invited the famous translator, Kumarajiva, from Kucha. With the help of of Do-an's disciples, Kumarjiva translated a large number of important texts and revised the earlier Chinese translations. His fine translations are still in use to this day. Because of political unrest, Kumarkiva's disciple were later dispersed and this helped to spread Buddhism to other parts of China.

The Establishment of Buddhism in China: From the beginning of the fifth century to around the end of the sixth century, northern and southern China came under separate rule. The south remained under native dynasties while the north was controlled by non-Chinese rulers. The Buddhist in southern China continued to translate Buddhist texts and to lecture and write commentaries on the major texts. Their rulers were devout Buddhists who saw to the construction of numerous temples, participated in Buddhist ceremonies and organised public talks on Buddhism.

In northern China, except for two short periods of persecution, Buddhism flourished under the lavish royal patronage of rulers who favoured the religion. By the latter half of the sixth century, monks were employed in government posts. During this period, Buddhist art flourished, especially in the caves at Dun-huang, Yun-gang and Long-men. In the thousand caves at Dun-huang, Buddhist paintings covered the walls and there were thousands of Buddha statues in these caves. At Yun-gan and Long-men, many Buddha images of varying sizes were carved out of the rocks. All these activities were a sign of the firm establishment of Buddhism in China by the end of this period.

The Development of Chinese Schools of Buddhism: With the rise of the Tang Dynasty at the beginning of the seventh century, Buddhism reached out to more and more people. It soon became an important part of Chinese culture and had great influence on Chinese Art, Literature, Sculpture, Architecture and the Philosophy of that time.

By then the number of Chinese translations of Buddhist texts had increased tremendously. The Buddhist were now faced with the problem of how to put their teachings into practice. As a result, a number of schools of Buddhism arose, with each school concentrating on certain texts for their study and practice. The Tian-tai school, for instance, developed a system of teaching and practice based on the Lotus Sutra. It also arranged all the Buddhist texts into graded categories to suit the varying aptitude of the followers.

Other schools arose which focused on different areas of the Buddha's teachings. The two most prominent schools were the Ch'an and the Pure Land schools. The Ch'an school emphasized the practice of meditation as the direct way of gaining insight and experiencing Enlightenment in this very life.

The Pure Land school centres its practices on the recitation of the name of Amitabha Buddha. The practice is based on the sermon which teaches that people could be reborn in the Western Paradise (Pure Land) of Amitabha Buddha if they recite his name and have sincere faith in him. Once in the Pure Land, the devotees are said to be able to achieve Enlightenment more easily. Because of the simplicity of its practice, this school became popular especially among the masses throughout China.

Further Development of Buddhism in China: In the middle of the ninth century, Buddhism faced persecution by a Taoist emperor. He decreed the demolition of monasteries, confiscation of temple land, return of monks and nuns to secular life and the destruction of Buddha images. Although the persecution lasted only a short time, it marked the end of an era for Buddhism in China. Following the demolition of monasteries and the dispersal of scholarly monks, a number of Chinese schools of Buddhism ceased to exist as separate movements. They were absorbed into the Ch'an and Pure Land schools which survived. The eventual result was the emergence of a new form of Chinese Buddhist practice in the monastery. Besides practicing Ch'an meditation, Buddhist also recited the name of Amitabha Buddha and studied Buddhist texts. It is this form of Buddhism which survives to the present time.

Just as all the Buddhist teachings and practices were combined under the one roof in the monasteries, Buddhist lay followers also began to practice Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism simultaneously. Gradually, however, Confucian teachings became dominant in the court and among the officials who were not in favour of Buddhism.

Buddhism generally, continues to be a major influence in Chinese religious life. In the early twentieth century, there was an attempt to modernize and reform the tradition in order to attract wider support. One of the most well-known reformist was Tai-xu, a monk noted for his scholarship. Besides introducing many reforms in the monastic community, he also introduced Western-style education which included the study of secular subjects and foreign languages for Buddhist.

In the nineteen-sixites, under the People's Republic, Buddhism was suppressed. Many monasteries were closed and monks and nuns returned to lay life. In recent years, a more liberal policy regarding religion has led to a growth of interest in the practice of Buddhism.

Source:www.buddhanet.net

Chinese ethnic groups-miao

Distribution and Population:
The Miao ethnic minority has a population of 8,940,116 which is larger than most of minority groups in China. After immigration in a long history, today they live mainly in Guizhou, Yunnan, Hunan, Hubei, Hainan Provinces and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Prefecture. They are divided into several branches, such as Black Hmong, White Hmong, Striped Hmong, etc.

Language:
The Miao language, which belongs to the Miao-Yao group of the Sino-Tibetan phylum, has developed into three dialects: the dialect of western Hunan Province, the one of eastern Guizhou Province and the one of ChuanQianDian (Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan). Due to a long time living with the Han and other people, they can also speak the Chinese, Dong and Zhuang languages. They have been writing their own Miao language based on Latin since 1956.

Religion:
The Miao people believe that everything in nature has a spirit, which incombination are mighty enough to control their lives. Every time there are disasters, they will invite a wizard to perform ceremonies designed to drive out the devil ghost. They worship their ancestors so much that memorial ceremonies are very grand. Sacrifices such as wine, meat, and glutinous rice are costly. Some Miao also believe in Catholicism or other Christian religions.

Food and Food Culture:
The staple food of the Miao ethnic minority is rice. Other dishes are meat and acidic soups. Pickled vegetables, hot seasonings and home-made wine are common at the table. Glutinous rice becomes a must during festivals and celebrations.

Crafts:
The Miao people are very skilled at handicrafts, such as embroidering, weaving, paper-cutting, batik, and jewelry casting. The Miao embroidery and silver jewelry are delicate and beautiful. From hats, collars, and cuffs to skirts and baby carriers, the patterns on their clothes are extremely colorful, complicated but with clean lines. Girls of around seven will learn embroidering from mothers and sisters, and when they become teenagers, they are quite deft.

Clothes:
Clothes of the Miao ethnic minority are diverse across regions. Men wear short coats and trousers, while women decorate themselves with very dainty and dazzling skirts and jewels. On their skirts, there are many patterns taking themes from life such as flowers, birds, etc. One of the most attractive, pleated skirts has as many as forty layers!


Festivals:
Divided by regions, the Miao people celebrate their festivals at different times, but they all have many, like the Dragon Boat Festival, the Huashan Festival, the Pure Brightness and the New Rice Tasting Festival (Chixin Jie). Among these, the Miao Spring Festival is the most important one that is held during the lunar ninth to the eleventh month.

The New Rice Tasting Festival is worth mentioning. To express their gratitude for the harvest, they will stream the newly ripe rice, brew wine with new rice, cook dishes with newly-picked vegetables and freshly caught fish.

The Lusheng dance is a unique musical performance of the Miao ethnic minority during nearly every celebration. While playing the lusheng, a kind of wind instrument, they dance in demanding patterns, and sing to each other.

link

link

Some 20 mln Chinese workers lose jobs amid global crisis

BEIJING, February 2 (RIA Novosti) - Around 20 million rural workers in China were forced to return home after losing their jobs as a consequence of the global financial crisis, the Xinhua news agency said on Monday.

About 15.3% or 20 million of the country's 130 million rural migrant workers have lost their jobs as the global slump takes affect and employers halt production, said Chen Xiwen, director for the government office on rural policies.

In December last year, the country's government warned in a document that 2009 could be "possibly the toughest year" and called for extra measures to create jobs and increase rural incomes.

In the fourth quarter of 2008, China's economic growth slowed to 6.8%

China sentences two to death over melamine milk

BEIJING, January 22 (RIA Novosti) - A Chinese court has sentenced two people to death and three others to life behind bars over last year's melamine-tainted milk scandal, the Xinhua news agency said on Thursday.

The contaminated milk powder killed at least six children and left another 300,000 ill. The melamine was added to the milk in order to make it appear richer in protein.

The court sentenced Zhang Yujun to death for producing the tainted milk in the Shandong province in eastern China. Geng Jinping was handed the death sentence for selling toxic food to dairy companies.

Another man, Gao Junjie, was also condemned to death, but his sentence has been suspended for two years and could be later converted to life.

Tian Wenhu, the female head of the Sanlu dairy giant at the center of the scandal, was sentenced to life in prison and a $2.9 million fine, Xinhua said. The Sanlu Group was accused of knowing that it was selling toxic milk, and Wenhu pleaded guilty to the charges against her. Two men were also given life sentences.

Six others, including Sanlu employees, were given sentences ranging from five years to 15 years. Another 39 people are still awaiting trial.

The toxic milk scandal led to a ban on Chinese-produced dairy products in Asia, Europe and North America.

World's largest dinosaur fossil field discovered in Shandong

Scientists in east China's Shandong province have discovered what they think could be the world's largest dinosaur fossil field.

So far, the site located in Zhucheng city has produced 7,600 fossils, and more are expected to be found, Zhao Xijin, a paleontologist from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told Xinhua.

Not only is the field significant in terms of its vast quantity of fossils, but also in the evolutionary sense, as it may help provide an answer as to why dinosaurs disappeared, Zhao said.

Most of the fossils in the area date from the Late Cretaceous of the Mesozoic Period, when dinosaurs became extinct, Xinhua writes.

In the 1960s, a number of duck-billed hadrosaurus fossils were discovered in the area during an oil expedition. The largest one, discovered two decades later, is currently on display in the local museum. Since then, more than 50 tons of fossils have been unearthed there, according to Xinhua.

Last March, several fossil fields were discovered in the towns of Longdu, Shunwang, Jiayue and Zhigou during mining expeditions. The Longdu field alone has so far yielded more than 3,000 fossils, one of them being a 2-meter-long skull of a large ceratopsian, the first one discovered outside of North America, Xu Xing, a researcher from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, told Xinhua.

New genera of ankylosaurus, tyrannosaurus and ceolurus have also been found in the area, Xu said.

According to Zhao, in the time of the dinosaurs, the area might have had abundant water resources and grasslands, which made it an ideal habitat for duck-billed dinosaurs. Researchers say that a volcanic eruption could have caused the dinosaurs' extinction, and that a subsequent flood could have brought the fossils to the current site.

China, which has seen a rapid rise in the number of rare fossils unearthed on its territory in recent years, is facing a growing smuggling problem. Last January, hundreds of kilograms of Chinese dinosaur fossils were recovered from warehouses and cargo containers in sting operations in Australia, according to Reuters.

Excavation in Shandong has been suspended for the winter months, but will resume in the spring, Reuters says. A report of the findings will be published at the end of next year, Zhao said.

Shandong has plans to build a fossil park on the site.

Textsource: Xinhua, Reuters

Paintings of Zhu Xunde

Prelude to Spring


Lasting Flow In


Watering Festival


Lotus Rain


Picking Pepper


Picking Lotus


Early Autumn


Voices of the Mountains