Flag Product

AmoyMagic--Guide to Xiamen & Fujian

Add to my list

Send to friend

Compare prices

Shop for it: (added from 1 site)

Buy itamoymagic.com

See more products from this brand »

Added by 1 people

brettj added to brettj's...

0 Hearts

Description:

Frank Wei has walked on water since childhood but that’s not uncommon in his hometown of Pingnan (Ningde). I have seen several Pingnan peasants bearing heavy baskets walk completely across a lake. The secret is not in Taiqi or... See more » Frank Wei has walked on water since childhood but that’s not uncommon in his hometown of Pingnan (Ningde). I have seen several Pingnan peasants bearing heavy baskets walk completely across a lake. The secret is not in Taiqi or Kung Fu (though Pingnan folk are famous for their martial arts) but in the lake itself. The entire 40,000m2 Baishuiyang Lake lies only a few inches above a massive flat rock, making it the perfect venue not only for walking on water but also watertop sports events and bike races. Some folks even drive their cars across the lake! But Frank Wei has walked on water not just in Pingnan but everywhere else as well, from Xiamen to Běijīng to New York. Frank was born into a poor peasant family. His parents and grandparents were peasants, and he and his 4 brothers and sisters seemed destined to follow in their footsteps―behind the plow. His two sisters did not attend school, but his older brother, who finished only primary school, worked to help Frank and his younger brother finish school. Even so, Frank had to take his turns in the fields as well. Frank said, ‘I studied hard, but I also worked hard. I had to plant rice, and tend animals, and in middle school I spent my summer and winter holidays with the adults digging and plowing.” This grueling schedule of school and labor might have broken many people but for Frank it was a crucible from which he emerged strong of both body and mind. In 1984, this farmer’s boy was the top student in all of Ningde Prefecture, and earned one of the highest college entrance scores for the entire province of Fújiàn. Frank was walking on water as he left his mountainous home, but as he soon discovered, real life was much like Baishuiyang Lake―smooth on the surface, perhaps, but with treacherous pits just beneath, and the water walker was about to learn how to tread water. Frank entered Xiamen Univeristy’s (XMU) Foreign Language Department in 1984 as an English major and quickly rose to the top of his class. He thrived under the tutelage of foreign teachers from England, Australia and the U.S.A., and in 1988 he began an XMU graduate program in Comparative Literature Studies, where he studied under such professors as Chen Dunquan, Lin Yi Jin ( the niece of the internationally acclaimed writer Lin Yutang), and Yang Renjing. His thesis was a comparative study of images and poetry between England and Tang Dynasty China. During Frank’s second year of graduate studies he did so well on the entrance exam for a Hong Kong Chinese University doctorate program that he was offered a scholarship in comparative literature studies, but because of the turmoil following the summer of 1989, he was unable to get a passport from Xiamen University. After a futile appeal to XMU’s president, Wang Luolin, Frank threw in the towel. Frank was bitter about losing such an excellent opportunity and, as he said, “I lost all interest in comparative studies!” Frank continued his studies but his heart wasn’t in it, and he abandoned his dream of a teaching career. He took two part-time jobs on the side―one in a Sino-U.S. representative office and another in a foreign trade company. After graduation he sought a new direction. Trade was hot in 1991, and XINDECO (厦门信达 ) was the #4 firm in Xiamen, so he became a sales person in foreign trade and in short order was once again walking on water. Frank excelled in business as he had in academics, and after a year he became assistant to XINDECO President Gao Xiao, a well-learned entrepreneur who had taught at Běijīng Foreign Relations University and had worked in China’s Foreign Ministry for over 20 years. “I learned much from him about management and writing business documents,” Frank said. “He was a well learned entrepreneur, a scholar and a diplomat.” After two years as the president’s assistant Frank was sent to New York and Boston to help start XINDECO’s trading in the U.S. XINDECO bought a hi-tech facility from GTE in Boston to test a new thin-film display between 1994-1995. The venture failed, but while Frank was pursuing this deal he heard about a new idea See less »

Tags:

china

Comments (0)

Add a Comment:

Not a Kaboodler? Join Now, It's Free!

Email:

Screen Name:

Password:

Birthday:

Security Check
(Reload)

Enter Both Words

I have read and agree to the Terms of Service

Remember me on this computer.

Kaboodle will send you a newsletter and updates from your friends. You can unsubscribe at any time. Kaboodle does not sell or share your email address or personal information with anyone.

Cancel Already a Kaboodler? Sign in

AmoyMagic--Guide to Xiamen & Fujian

Comments (0)

Add a Comment:

Thanks for Hearting!

Not a Kaboodler? Join Now, It's Free!

Sign in to Kaboodle