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谢老师 – Teacher Xie
day 223: 东乐 (dongle) – 太平堡 (taipingpu) = 25,3km
2008-06-18.kmz show on large map
I once used to have a teacher whose last name was 谢 (Xie). He held class on Thursdays, and we called him 谢老师 (Teacher Xie).
谢老师, though a gifted cinematographer and a household name in the Beijing advertisement industry, seemed like a very angry young man. His favorite words during class were “我肏!” (the plain exclamatory “fuck!”) and “牛屄” (a combination of the characters for “cow” and “cunt”, thus interestingly forming a slang expression that is best translated into something like “badass!” or “awesome!”). He stayed with us for a semester, then he got busted on national TV for doing narcotics.
But it’s a different 谢老师 I was going to talk to you about today.
…
This is 谢建光 (Xie Jianguang) from 宁波 (Ningbo), a place not too far from Shanghai.
I chose to call him 谢老师 – Teacher Xie – because he is a true master of walking.
…while certain others run around whining about this and that, and taking sassy pictures with digital cameras, this good man has been walking around China ever since 1983, quietly and modestly.
“I’ve been everywhere” 谢老师 says and swirls his arms around – then he laughs: “and I’ve eaten just about everything.”
He stopped carrying a backpack at some point during the nineties. That’s when he got 林大 (Linda):
Wanna know something funny? 林大 didn’t even have a name until today.
“What’s the name of that cart of yours?” I had asked, and 谢老师 had looked at me in surprise: “Does it have to have a name?”
Why of course! Any good vessel required a good name!
谢老师 thought for a while, then he said: “can you pick a name for me? Maybe something from your country?”
I took a closer look at the cart, examining its body…
…and its interior:
It had to be a girl’s name of course…
I thought of plump bodies and round smiling faces, of friendliness and good health. I thought of milk and butter and eggs and bread, and I thought of wooden interiors capturing the warmth and protecting it…
Sweden!
Linda! (林大)
谢老师 wanted to know what the name meant, and when I told him that I had thought of a Big Swedish Mama he laughed and asked me to write it down for him.
…
谢老师 is not a tall man:
But he’s a big man at heart, who has been trying to spread his ideals of nuclear disarmament and environmental protection wherever he goes.
More facts about 谢老师, he:
- is 49 years old.
- lights the next cigarette with the last one.
- comes from the countryside.
- has only done 5 years of elementary school.
- has spoken in universities on numerous occasions during his travels.
- has a liking for German philosophy, especially Nietzsche and Kant.
- doesn’t believe in any religion, but likes to study them.
- got lost for several weeks in the plains of Inner Mongolia once, living on wild herbs and river water.
- wants to stop walking when he is 65, then retire and find a nice lady to settle down with.
- thinks that tomorrow might just be the day he will meet that special lady and stop walking.
- gets money from friends and supporters, helps out as a carpenter whenever he needs quick cash.
- has lost his both his index fingers while working as a carpenter.
- calls himself “天下第一疯” – “the first madman under the sun”
- always has a valuable piece of advice:
“Listen, lad” 谢老师 told me when we had dinner that night outside of a restaurant, “just try not to be too foolish. Of course you want to walk all the way home, and I respect that. Hey, I’d be the first to go with you if there was a chance that I could ever get the visa! But you German people just have to learn how to be a bit more flexible!
What are you going to do when you reach the 天山 (Tianshan mountain range in the west of Xinjiang) this winter, when it’s -30°C out there and you just can’t walk across? You’re going to have to find another way then, maybe even take a car or something.
Just remember: you’ve set the rules by yourself, and you’re always free to change them.
You can’t put yourself in danger. And try not to take too long! The way I see it, your girl is going to wait for you for a while, but nobody can wait forever. What if you finally make it home after five years, and she has already run off with someone else? – So you think you’re so awesome for walking all the way and sticking to your principles, but what good is that? It ain’t shit!!” he says, and then he laughs, leaning back, lighting another cigarette.
…
We took another picture with 谢老师’s shades on:
“Man, I just look so cool, don’t I?”
He said and laughed.
Soundtrack: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Zukerman) – “Violin Concerto No. 3: Allegro”
—total: 2862,7km
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June 20th, 2008 at 05:13
:-)
June 20th, 2008 at 05:42
kluger mann. wahrscheinlich bist du seit november unterwegs, um ihn zu treffen. vor allem, was die freiheit deiner wahl in bezug auf die fortbewegung angeht. folge ihm. und auch der rat in bezug auf das mädchen ist richtig. ich habe in rio de janeiro mal einen engländer getroffen, der mit einem sarg auf vier rädern unterwegs war. so eine art fahrradsarg. er schlief in diesem sarg, er hatte alles drin und drumherum, was er so brauchte, und er hat es hingekriegt, sich seine überfahrt nach europa von irgendjemand sponsorn zu lassen. grüße
June 20th, 2008 at 06:10
Grossartige Geschichte! Danke…
June 20th, 2008 at 06:38
Hahaha, was für eine geile und abgefahrene Geschichte. Vielleicht die beste bisher! Sehr schön – gar nicht mal so abwegig. Hast Du mal die Reisen von Klaus Bednarz gesehen oder gelesen? Also der Mann vom WDR. Der hat ja auch schon so einiges von der Welt gesehen und darüber tolle Reiseberichte verfasst! Hat sich dabei unter anderem wandernd, aber eben auch anders fortbewegt, z.B. per Schiff… Nun gut, ich denke Wandern sollte schon die Maxime bleiben – so bleibst Du Deiner Eigen treu -, aber wenn es denn mal einen Ort gibt, an dem es gar nicht mehr anders geht, dann ist das halt so… Manchmal muss man eben Kompromisse machen, um ein Ziel zu erreichen, das sich sonst unter Umständen nicht erreichen lässt.
June 20th, 2008 at 08:05
I am reading your blog 2 weeks now.. and it is a pleasure to read all your stories ;-).. incredible person the teacher Xie that you met!!
June 20th, 2008 at 08:53
mann, christoph, das war der erbaulichste und für mich bereicherndste blog-eintrag so far!
wie weise her xie ist.
:-)
June 20th, 2008 at 09:22
This man is very wise and you should keep him in your mind as your teacher.
June 20th, 2008 at 09:26
You two both are my idols!
CHEERS!
June 20th, 2008 at 10:16
A very fortunate meeting for you! A wise man knows from whom to learn, and recognizes when it is time to listen. Listen to him!! Learn from him! I hope you can spend more time with your new Teacher Xie. Remember what Confucius said: "Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers."
June 20th, 2008 at 10:44
wow, what a great man.
June 20th, 2008 at 14:24
This guy is a genius!
Also interesting to realize that it is not true that the Chinese are (1) always working, all of them, or (2) if they ever go on vacation, they do so in a big group.
June 20th, 2008 at 21:03
moin chris. scheint ja ein sehr interessanter mensch zu sein der lehrer.
ich bin nun auch wieder online und werde deine reise nun täglich von hier aus begleiten ;-)
und er hat recht verdammt…dont be foolish.
walk safe und komm heil wieder.
and remember fettschwein is watching u…so dont fuck up
June 21st, 2008 at 08:22
Ein sehr weiser, lebenserfahrener Gutmensch, der Herr Xie!
;-)
Viele liebe Grüße aus der Ferne,
Corinna
June 21st, 2008 at 11:10
Sandra: :)
Hermann: Haha, ein Sarg??
Norbert: Dank ihm!
Florian: A-Team oder MacGyver, das ist hier die Frage…
ggia: I think so too – welcome to the way!
claudia: Auf jeden Fall lacht er viel.
Mallory: And a teacher he is!
Steven: Haha, I'm a 小朋友,而已！
John: Hehe, wise men with long beards!
Charlene: Some might even say 牛屄.
Alfredo: Yes, he definitely proves a point!
Patrick: Alter, gut dass du wieder da bist!
Corinna: Gutmensch? …da muss ich erst mal drüber meditieren…
January 11th, 2009 at 14:24
你对中国或者中文很有研究吗?居然知道'肏和屄'这俩字!
你可真是牛比啊!~呵呵
欢迎你到山丹,我家就是山丹地
May 13th, 2009 at 07:10
You are a fantastic your lessons encourage me to do something similar in Mexico, thanks a lot and greetings.
June 8th, 2009 at 06:34
wzh314: 在德国慕尼黑读过两年汉学，后来在北京呆两年，中国哥们儿很多，所以可以说有一些基本的了解吧：）你们家山丹我很喜欢，可能今年夏天还要去一趟看看！
Osvaldo: Thanks, dude!
June 9th, 2009 at 05:47
I admire brave, adventurous people like you. Most persons would never think to break away from their comfortably constructed lifestyle to experience new sensations or explore past their daily routines. You are a very plucky young man ! Shall we call you Lionheart ?!
February 2nd, 2010 at 15:19
Christoph,
I just finished watching your video and thoroughly enjoyed it. Its great to see another persons joy from there travels. And as for Teacher Xie, he sounds like an amazing bloke. One who would be wonderful to spend an evening with getting pissed and listening to him tell stories of his adventures. Your both inspirational, just like the great Christopher Mccandless.
My question to you and you teacher is; I would like to travel like this as soon as I get out of school, although your video is an inspiration in it self, is there anything I should do? why do I keep procrastinating, should I just chuck some shit in a bag and go for it?
F
May 15th, 2011 at 17:14
让我好生佩服啊！！！！！
April 3rd, 2012 at 16:10
I want to make friends with you. But my English isn’t good.I’m a student,and i want to study English.But my English isn’t good until now.When i learn your trip. I though you are a man that have a positive man.So i want to make friends with you.And if i have a chance,i’m very will to join your trip. And welcome you to China.
Your best friend zhudengyu
June 8th, 2012 at 06:18
what a badass :)
hail to you, teacher xie!