On returning from visiting a school, I noticed a sign giving direction to the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. Those of you versed in Chinese history will remember that Chiang Kai-shek was the man who, among other things, led the Republic of China's government to Taiwan after the communist takeover of the mainland. Having heard that the memorial was a nice place to visit, I followed the directions and before long had it in sight.
The memorial hall is in a park surrounded by a white-walled and blue-roofed cloister of typical Chinese design. As a matter of fact, Chinese architecture and design dominates the entire memorial. The park consists of small gnarled and twisted trees that shade narrow paths and ring ponds teeming with monstrous goldfish. The hall itself is a giant white and blue pagoda-like building. The park also contains the National Concert Hall and the National Theater, both of which are red and white and of Chinese architecture. The point is that the designers decided to go all out with the whole Chinese motif, and I must say they got pretty close to pulling it off. As a man who has been in a Chinese buffet or two, I am pretty familiar with the oriental look, and I think the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial people can be proud of themselves. It isn't quite as real as the Hong Kong Express Buffet in Batesburg, SC, but then, few things are.
I moseyed on into the memorial hall, expecting at any moment to be turned away by someone demanding I buy a ticket to enter. This didn't happen at the door. I figured that they must let visitors into the lobby for free and then charge them to go into the various museums and exhibits. Wanting to see how far I could get for free, however, I slunk into the first exhibit. No one accosted me. The workers just smiled. The exhibit was rather smallish, so I realized that they bated visitors with this one to get them to pay for the better ones. Well, I didn't particularly desire to pay, so I charged into the next exhibit like I had business there and was not to be stopped or delayed. No one express the slightest desire to perform either activity, so I slowed down, and found myself in a rather perturbed state. It seemed that everything in the hall was free. All my slinking and charging was for naught. I was fine with the free part of it all, but I was highly disturbed that I had wasted a good slink and a charge. I determined to leave the premises immediately.
Before I could get to the door, my attention was arrested by the sight of three soldiers marching through the hall. They were in dress uniforms with shiny silver helmets. Their march was slow and deliberate. One knee would be brought up at a forty-five degree angle, with the foot pulled back so that the bottom of their boot ran parallel to the leg still planted on the ground. The hand that was not holding a bayoneted rifle was balled up and thrust straight out in front of their bodies. They would hold this pose for three seconds before snapping the foot down to the ground and bringing the hand back to their side. At this point the process was repeated for the other leg. They proceeded at a rather laborious pace. I quickly realized that this was an honor guard heading for some part of the hall I had not yet visited. There was nothing for me to do but follow them. I followed them right to the elevator. A museum worker ran up and pushed the button for them and they stood at attention, waiting for the elevator to arrive. Soon the doors opened, a few children ran off, and the guards marched on board.
Now I had never seen an honor guard take an elevator, so I thought for a moment that something might be amiss. Possibly there was trouble with whatever they were to guard and they must hurry to it. Maybe the gangster was trying to steal this precious item. It behooved me to follow and offer any assistance it was in my power to bestow. I dashed up the stairs, but was distracted by an exhibit of Chinese impressionist paintings on the third floor. After about ten minutes I remembered my mission and made my way to the fourth floor. Fortunately, I was not too late. The guards were slowly making their way to a large statue of Chiang Kai-shek. If the gangster had been there, I cannot say. Possibly they arrived soon enough to scare him off. They made their way to boxes, almost like large end tables, sitting on the floor on either side of the statue. After positioning themselves behind the boxes, they proceed suddenly pick up one foot and slam it down on top of their particular box. They then removed the foot and put it back on the floor. My guess is that they were testing to see if the box would hold them. Evidently the boxes past the test, for in a moment they stepped up onto the box. What followed was about fifteen minutes worth of saluting a gun twirling. The twirling was not rapid, but slow with many pauses and foot stomps between movements. I tend to think it was a sort of game or dance invented by little girls.
Well, I watched as long as I could and then made my way back home. I was a little bit disappointed I didn't catch a glimpse of the gangster. But at least I didn't have to pay for it.
No comments:
Post a Comment