(Note to readers: this is not a general article about China! It is about my own life in China as an American long-term resident of Shanghai and currently a professor at Duke Kunshan University)
As part of my blogging practice, at the beginning of the new year, I often take the time to review my previous year and plan for the coming one. This is a good time to assess what went right or wrong over the past year and how to steer a better course for the future. I can also look back on personal or professional highlights of the past year and share them with others who might be interested in learning what my life is like here in China. And I can say a few words of gratitude to folks who made a difference in my life.
But first, a few words about 2020. As readers of my blog know, 2020 was a special year for me and my family, as it was for everyone. After leaving China in February, my two daughters and I became “stranded” in the USA for seven months, waiting for our opportunity to return to our lives in Shanghai and (in my case) Kunshan. We spent six of those months living with my parents in my hometown of Acton Mass. As it turned out, while challenging, especially for my daughters who had to be schooled remotely from 12 time zones away, this was a unique and wonderful experience in so many ways. Under the pandemic conditions, along with my daughters and parents, I enjoyed countless long walks on dozens of nature trails across Massachusetts, and I was able to take advantage of the summer months to return to my love of cycling across the rolling hills and gentle valleys of the place where I grew up all those years ago. That September, after much anxiety, we were able to return to China and resume our lives here in Shanghai.
The year 2021 was all about getting back into the swing of life in China. The pandemic continued to present limitations on travel—particularly travel abroad—and we experienced an occasional tightening of restrictions and the need for COVID tests and vaccinations, but otherwise life has been normal here in the PRC. Social life especially. Although we did have to teach online for one 7-week session this fall, otherwise we were able to deliver our goods in the classroom, at least to our Chinese students. Unfortunately, our international students are still “stranded” abroad and we do not know when they will be able to return to Duke Kunshan University. Here’s hoping that this will happen in 2022, and that DKU will go back to being the truly international campus it was always meant to be!
Speaking of DKU, my first debt of gratitude goes to the senior administrators who helped me make the transition to a full-time faculty position. After my previous contract ended in June, I became an Associate Professor of Chinese History with a full teaching load of four courses per year (one per session, as our semesters are divided into two 7-week sessions). Thus, after eight years of full-time admin roles in various institutions, I came full circle back to my original love for teaching and research. I appreciate the flexibility in scheduling that a faculty position allows. While we are “on the job” 24/7 in so many ways, we are not tied to a 9-5 office schedule. Other than our scheduled classes, office hours, and so forth, we are relatively free to plan out our days, activities, and whereabouts as we see fit (for any faculty member who disagrees, try being a full-time administrator for a change and you’ll see what I mean). One thing I learned from my experiences in 2020 was that I enjoy working from home rather than sitting in an office all day. As a professor, I am able to do so more often. Also, I feel that the “deep work” that we do as researchers, writers, and in my case, filmmakers, requires large chunks of flexible time and the ability to seclude ourselves from social obligations and meetings in the workplace.
This brings me to my biggest achievement of the year 2021. After working on my jazz documentation project for nearly 17 years (off and on mind you) I finally managed to complete a version of my 90-minute documentary film on the history of jazz in Shanghai, “A Century of Jazz in Shanghai,” which I am now pleased and proud to screen to live audiences. Much of 2020 and most of 2021 were spent in my home editing studio working on this film. Over the summer, as I’ve written in previous blogs, I also conducted many follow-up interviews and gathered new material for the film to catch the story up to the pandemic era. All of this involved countless hours of “deep work” as I progressed through version after version of the film. I conducted three separate public screenings in Shanghai over the fall and received positive feedback from different audiences including many people who are in the film. In 2022, I need to figure out more ways to get this film out to the public and eventually distribute it so that the rest of the world can see the finished product.
Meanwhile, over the past several months, I also managed to write a few articles on the history of jazz in Shanghai and other topics relating to live music scenes in China, which are going to be published in various publications over the coming year. In addition, I wrote some book reviews for different journals (still need to work on a few more this winter). Thus, while the film occupied much of my time, I was able to keep up with more “conventional” publishing work expected of us academics.
Another personal achievement in 2021 is also music related. After many decades of being a “closet” or “bedroom” or more accurately “living room” musician, playing piano and guitar in my home or with close friends, I managed to play more live gigs in Shanghai and Kunshan than ever before in my musical life. At the beginning of the year, I joined up with two musician friends, Jud and Johan, to form a “band” of our own (I use quotes because the three of us play guitars mostly, and we would really need a drummer and bass player to round out our band.) Mostly we played and sang songs in local bars and cafes in Shanghai, outside mainly, where we were occasionally joined by another guitarist named Tom. Sometimes, other people joined in the singing, but mostly I was singing the songs (or Tom when he was around). As the year progressed and we built up a set list of songs that we were confident playing to a crowd, we began to get more and more opportunities to play in live venues, mostly in open mic sessions with other musicians, but sometimes as our own band. Not only do I take great enjoyment in playing with other musicians and singing songs to a crowd, but it’s also good for me as a historian of music and entertainment culture to experience the life of the stage. I’m hoping that in 2022, we will continue to climb the musical ladder in Shanghai and get more opportunities to perform to different audiences on live stages.
One of my favorite places to jam: the Eagle Bar in Kunshan
Speaking of music, I managed to convince my university to allow me to teach a course on songwriting next semester. This is a four-day “mini-term” course. In preparation for the course, I’m boning up on songwriting techniques by reading books and listening to podcasts on the subject (I will have more to share on this subject in future blogs). I’m also trying to revive my own songwriting practice, which has languished over the years. It’s so much easier to play songs by established artists and bands that people already know and love, rather than to try to get people to like your own stuff. Even so, next year I’m gonna try to inject more of my own songs into the mix and encourage my bandmates to do the same. And through this mini-term course I’m also hoping to jumpstart a songwriting club on our DKU campus.
In terms of my China experience, the highlight of the past year was my month-long journey in June into the heart of China and up to the Tibetan highlands of Qinghai and Gansu Provinces. Since I already wrote a lengthy blog on that subject, there’s no need to elaborate on it here.
I’m also proud of the work that I did with the Shanghai TV crew led by David Wang, producing a series of short five-minute films on the battle for Shanghai in 1949, a major turning point in the history of our fair city, and indeed of China. Last month I was pleased to learn that our film series won an award for outstanding documentary of the year. It helped of course that the subject matter is of great pride to the Party, but I think it’s also because we did a smashing job of telling the story from the rooftops of Shanghai, giving Spiderman and Batman a run for the money.
Regarding said Party, I must express my gratitude to the government and people of China for taking such strenuous measures to keep the virus at bay, thus ensuring a largely normal life for most of us here in the PRC. That said, I can only hope and pray that other places around the world find some peace and rest from the viral waves, and that life starts returning to normal in the coming year. I also hope that the restrictions and limitations on travel will be relaxed in 2022, and I hope to return to the USA to see my family and friends there.
Speaking of friends in the USA, one thing that’s kept me connected with my American peeps is the old role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons. In spring 2020, I joined a campaign run by high school pal Jim Olsen, and along with some other high school classmates and friends, we’ve been on the campaign for nearly two years now. I must take a moment to express my gratitude to Jim for all the hard work he puts into creating an imaginative and adventurous scenario for us on a weekly basis. We meet every Saturday night on East Coast US time for a few hours of fun as we combat orcs, ogres and other heinous creatures while trying to complete various missions. It’s been a great way to keep up with friends in the USA, who are all struggling with the burdens of the pandemic times in which we live. Here’s hoping that our campaign continues through 2022 and beyond, and for the possibility of us meeting together in person sometime in the coming year.
I did mention writing about things that went wrong as well as what went well this past year. The main problems I had this past year were all health-related. First, early in the year, I had to deal with a long process of getting a root canal, which involved several visits to the dentist. Later in the summer, I had a long bout with a recurring illness that involves my digestive system. Once I was over that, it was on to severe back and shoulder pains, which lasted and kept moving around my back and shoulders throughout the fall. I did try to get into an exercise regime, but perhaps all those hours spent editing my film and other teaching and research related activities took their toll. I’m still recovering from the latest bout of back problems. Thus, for 2022, I hope that I can address my health issues and practice better exercise and health maintenance to avoid these problems in future.
My final words of gratitude as we move into 2022 go to my family members here in China and in the USA. Here’s hoping we will all be reunited before too long!