Halloween

Happy Halloween everybody! Although, being in States during this spooky holiday is much more entertaining, I can say that every Halloween I have spent in Beijing (3 now) has been crazy fun. Luckily, the majority of American residents in Beijing are in their twenties, so every foreign bar and club in the city had some sort of costume party last weekend. While most urban Chinese are aware of this festival and understand the core concept, the rise of the dead and of all horrifying creatures, they do not know how different age groups can celebrate it.

Since no Chinese children ever went trick or treating or carved pumpkins with their families (except those few lucky ones living in suburban compounds with American families), they make no connection between Halloween and hoards of candy, haunted hay rides, jack-o-lanterns, pumpkin pie, bobbing for apples, mischief night, and Halloween horror movies. Of course, when you become too old to receive lollipops at doorsteps, you turn this night of candy into a night of cocktails, and the only night of the year when you can wear (or not wear) anything you desire.

Many guys stay with the traditional scary (ghost, vampire, devil) especially for our Chinese friends that participate - to them this type of costume is the only one that makes sense. However, ladies have used Halloween to wear more scandalous outfits ranging from strippers to schoolgirls or sexy something (sexy devil, sexy witch, sexy bunny, etc.). Then there are those other costumes that are just amusing because they are either well done (pirate, ninja, cop) or they they are original and sometimes alarming - these can include a gay cowboy, a super sperm, or Mao Zedong.

I was Mao Zedong this year. At first, I was very hesitant to wear such a costume in Beijing. This man, although one of the worse and most destructive leaders in the 20th century, is still revered by many and will remain the father of Communist China as long as his portrait hangs at Tiananmen Square and his face is printed on the currency. Many young people have nothing good to say about this man, but then again, they have nothing bad to say either. When I discuss some of his accomplishments like unifying the nation and tearing down traditional barriers for women like foot bidding and concubines, it does not even compare to outweigh the horror that occurred during Mao's control (1949-1975). While the casualties of war were at a staggering number of 22 million (WWII - 19.5 mil., Civil War - 2.5 mil., Korean - 1 mil.), the deaths caused by Mao's reforms are estimated to fall in between 50-70 million. One reform called the Great Leap Forward convinced farmers that their only purpose as a Chinese citizen was to collect steel for transforming China's industrial base - less farmers led to less food led to 30 million dead from starvation.

It is amazing how easily it is to control the Chinese society into believing a history written by the Communist government, but I suppose without these lies and false heroes, the Chinese would have already overthrown the Party, sections of the country would break off, and we wouldn't be seeing a rising China but rather a stagnant post-Soviet mess. This is another topic for another day, so just enjoy the photos.