What is in a Name?

It was a spark of inspiration to try my hand at literal translation in Beijing in April 2009.

We were trying to get from Point A to Point B by foot, seeing as it was the most direct route compared to taking the underground. So there's this short straight section of road (multiplied by a few times for a few turns) which should bring us happily to dinner at a modern shopping mall. However, as with most things in China, don't forget the scale of things! 2 centimeters on a map work out to a lot more steps and sweat in a sprawling metropolis like Beijing. Not that we didn't know, having trod through the Temple of Heaven grounds the day before, but here we are, too far gone to turn back to Point A, but still a long and hungry distance from Point B. But I digress...

In the turn of a corner, we were at 正义道. All at once, we were greeted by a pretty promenade under an intricate canopy of almost bare branches. After all, spring has yet time to coax the life and colours out of these graceful trees. We were informed that this was a park. That's nice, and hey, isn't that a modern toilet smack in the centre? Solar powered, no less, and in spiffy silver. Strangely enough, without the space age looking toilet, the park would have reminded me of a similar promenade in Boston, MA, reclaimed from marshland.

That hunch was a hint to the history of the area. The guidebook tells us that this was formerly an embassy strip. Looking at this building, you'd probably expect it to be in some Western country, well, not China in any case. But here it is, next to a futuristic looking public toilet, on 正义道 in Beijing. I realise what an accurate snapshot that was of Beijing now in all its transition and transformation, but that's not the point of this blog today :-)

正义道 literally means path of righteousness. Besides sounding a happy resonance of Psalm 23:3, it evoked some irony for an area that housed diplomats of a bygone era, all jostling for a foothold in the Middle Kingdom. Today, the place is a quiet park, a convenient connector between two main roads. Quaint statues dot the promenade. Here a sweeper girl, there a musician. Quite a different flavour from earlier times, but still, no less, 正义道.

I haven't told you about 望京, the City of Hope yet! The usual tourist wouldn't detour here, but this is a pleasant northeastern suburb with a sizeable Korean community and modern amenities. My Korean friends have no problems getting ingredients from home here, the City of Hope.