Peter Kershaw
(Monash University, Melbourne, Australia)
I first met Professor Liu Tungsheng when first I visited Beijing in 1986 and his action in bringing me to China re-opened an important chapter in my life.
During the last two years at school in England, I had to focus on science subjects that were examined for university entrance. The only relief was a compulsory English unit that, although taken less than seriously, allowed expression of more general interests. I had been introduced to the books of Pearl Buck that focused on the harsh realities of life for ordinary people in early 20th century China by my geology teacher. From this, my reading extended to earlier dynasties and to subsequent political developments. I wrote an essay, much longer than required or indeed welcomed, on “The changing face of China” that provided a summary and perspectives on the transition from imperial to communist rule. From the literature it seemed that, for the Chinese people as a whole, this development was beneficial, indeed essential, for future prosperity and stability and that the hostilities of imperialistic western nations towards it had been unacceptable on both political and humanitarian grounds.
I was disappointed not still to be at the Australian National University when initial exchanges with Chinese Quaternarists took place, although I remember meeting a number of them, including the exuberant Professor Sun Xiangjun, in Canberra and on fieldwork in north Queensland. But my dream of visiting China was realised in 1986 when I was asked to accompany Professor Donald Walker to Qingdao Marine Institute to give a series of lectures on Quaternary palynology to a group of about 40 young Chinese scientists, fostered by Liu Tungsheng and organised by Sun Xiangjun.
This was an invigorating experience and I enjoyed a follow-up of hosting several of the students in Melbourne two years later, and of having one of them, now Professor Weiming Wang of the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, as a visiting academic several years ago. I was surprised by a feeling of familiarity in Qingdao which I eventually realised stemmed from the similarity between the intensively managed and productive landscape surrounding the Institute and the garden allotments that were so popular around my home as a child in England, complete with bicycles. The high quality of the beer was probably also a contributing factor.
Afterwards I took a grand tour of major institutions of Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, Xian and Nanjing as well as universities in Beijing, Nanjing and Guanzhou and surrounding environments, all organised by Professor Liu. This was a fantastic experience that brought to life everything I had read. At that time the transformation to a more western lifestyle appeared to have only just begun and, to my mind, the predominance of uniform dress and lack of commercialisation at tourist centres gave an air of authenticity – an impression that had totally changed when I next visited China in 1992. From Beijing I visited the Great Wall and notable features of the Ming Dynasty courtesy of my guides Hao Haiping and Wen Chenyu from Chinese Acasemy of Sciences and spent a very pleasant afternoon with a charming student from the University of Beijing, Jiang (Olivia) Hong, at the Summer Garden. In Xian, my guides Zhou Jie, Ding Zhongli and Zhong Hongbo ensured that I saw everything from the details of the Liujiapo loess section to the Terracotta Warriors from the Qin Dynasty and I must have climbed every pagoda in the city. One highlight was the granting and organisation of a request to have lunch with a peasant farmer in his home. In Nanjing, mixed in with Buddhist temples, was an important visit to the mausoleum of Dr. Sun Yatsen (Zhongshan) that, unlike that of Mao in Beijing on my visit there, was open to the public. It was good to catch up with Drs. Tang Lingyu and Liu Jingling whom I had met previously in Australia and who acted as my guides. The tour finished in Guanzhou where I spent an enjoyable day with Dr. Zheng Zhou.
I feel very privileged to have had this once in a life time experience and will be forever grateful to Professor Liu and other Quaternary colleagues for it. China is probably the only country that has the potential to create a model for future sustainable development and I hope that this is attained using the insights of Quaternary research pioneered by the energy and dedication of Professor Liu. My own experiences show how the initiatives of persons of goodwill, such as he was, can have unanticipated and deeply felt effects.
