Notes from the Tigers Cave

Posted by guest writer and author, James Marinero.

Is It The First Step On Another Long March?

China’s first aircraft carrier was bought in 1998 for $20m in an auction. She started life as an ‘Admiral Kuznetsov’ class aircraft carrier, with building starting in the mid 1980s. As the USSR collapsed, and by the time she was sold to a ‘front’ Chinese company, she had been stripped almost bare, and carried the name ‘Varyag’. Over the next decade, China refitted her in the Dalian Shipyard.

Early August 2011 saw her first open-sea trials, carrying the name ‘Shi Lang’ (East Wind).

A few commentators doubted that China would complete the project, but those who know the Chinese mentality know that the huge country wants to surpass the United States economically, politically and militarily, and have been driving hard to build their strengths in all these aspects.

The stance of the People’s Liberation Army Navy has been changing from that of an insignificant coastal defence force to that of a superpower with global oceanic reach. Projection of power with a global reach requires aircraft carriers. Carriers are very visible, and present a powerful picture of naval capability.

Carriers for modern high performance fighter bombers need an order of magnitude greater sophistication and systems integration than do Harrier carriers. That’s why some people have doubted China’s intent.

The Chinese commitment to joining the aircraft carrier club demands huge investment – the US has been building carriers for nearly a century, and the industrial capability to construct 50,000 ton carriers takes a generation and more to develop. The Chinese are leap-frogging – with a bare-bones carrier they can learn the fitting-out stage and replicate it, just as they have done with so many industries – trucks, trains, planes, consumer electronics. Ships hulls are not difficult to build (if not nuclear powered), and they did buy a set of plans with the Varyag.

Those who have been watching developments in China have known for some time that China was serious about this investment. There have been plenty of jokes about the Concrete Carrier they built in Shanghai, but the fact is that building a carrier is one thing, operating one efficiently 24 x 7 in all weathers when under attack is quite another. The pilots, aircrew and flight operations controllers have to be trained. Schools and lecturers are needed. But first you have to train the teachers. A whole logistics infrastructure has to be created. It really is a huge task, and China is not flinching.

China already has the Dong Feng 21-D carrier-busting ballistic missile, and now it has a carrier. China plays a long game, with strategic planning which may look a century ahead.

Shi Lang – The Taiwan Link

The Ming-Qing dynasty admiral, Shi Lang, invaded Tungking (now known as Taiwan) 300 years ago. Will the new carrier’s name prove to be apocryphal?

It is clear that naval tensions in the Far East are intensifying, and with the ongoing dispute with Japan and Taiwan over island chains in the South China Sea such as the Spratley Islands, further announcements are expected.

James Marinero writes topical thrillers with international political and espionage themes. Widely travelled, having worked in many countries, he smoothly blends fact, fiction and forecasts in his stories. ‘Gate of Tears’ looks at China’s naval growth and territorial ambitions.

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Tengu are mythical Japanese demon-gods (yokei) who live in remote forests and mountains of Japan. A typical Tengu has a red face with a long, somewhat obscene red nose. Tengu usually have bushy eyebrows and beards as well.

The characters that make up the work Tengu mean “heaven” + “dog” which is derived from the Chinese Tiangou or “heaven-dogs”. However, early representations of Japanese Tengu show them with beaks and feathers, like birds of prey. Later on, a distinction was made between powerful “dai-tengu” with human faces and long noses, and lesser Tengu which retained bird-like features and are called “crow Tengu” (karasu-tengu).

Tengu are often depicted wearing cloaks and wooden sandals, or “geta”. Geta usually have two “wooden teeth” placed across the soles to raise them above the ground. However, the tengu’s geta are famous for having just a single wooden tooth, so they have to balance precariously on them. Tengu carry a large eight-fingered yatsude leaf which serves as a fan and helps tengu to balance themselves on their geta. The yatsude leaf also helps tengu to fly and has other magical properties such as making noses grow or shrink in size…

Although Tengu are regarded as demon-gods who are either very dangerous to humans, or at least prankish and mischievous, some tengu are also regarded as benign and helpful and are worshipped as “kami” in some shinto shrines, especially in farming areas of Japan. Every year festivals are held in honour of tengu deities.

Tengu Masks

Tengu masks are used in tengu festivals, and have become sought after objects of craftsmanship in themselves. The most famous tengu masks are those of Fukushima prefecture.

There are two common types of tengu mask, the more famous being a red wooden mask with a long nose. In some cases the phallic suggestiveness of the nose is reinforced by the shape of the nostrils or the chin which may be carved into a scrotum-like shape.

The other common type of Tengu mask is one that depicts a karasu-tengu or “crow Tengu”. In this case the mask mask is painted in black, red and gold (depending on the style of the craftsman) and has a prominent beak.

Genuine Tengu masks can cost anywhere between $50 and $500 depending on the craftsmanship and the materials used. You can buy a Tengu mask direct from Japan via Japanese-Games-Shop.com.

Tengu Hanafuda

The game company, Nintendo, produce a Tengu Hanafuda playing card deck. This deck is famous for having a picture of a Tengu on the top of the box. There is a concealed pun in depicting Tengu on the top of a Hanafuda box. The word “hanafuda” means “flower-card”. “Hana” means flower, but the word “hana” also means “nose” and in the days when gambling with hanafuda cards was illegal, the way to show that you wanted to gamble was to rub your nose, which reminded people of the tengu demon-gods.

Tengu are noted for their arrogance and one tradition maintains that Tengu are the spirits of people who were proud or arrogant when they were alive. In Japan, if you want to show that someone is arrogant or snobbish you stick your fist on the end of your nose – as if the fingers were wrapped around a long, Pinocchio-like proboscis.

Tales of Tengu

There are a lot of stories in which Tengu and humans try to outwit each other and in many cases it is Tengu who is shown up to be the foolish party. Perhaps the most famous story is that of a boy who tricks Tengu by telling him he can see far away places by looking through a magic bamboo telescope. Tengu agrees to swap his cloak-of-invisibility for the bamboo stick. The boy puts on the cloak, disappears and causes mischief.

Finally, one story tells of how Tengu first arrived in Japan in open boats. Perhaps it was the shocking site of sunburnt European sailors with their red faces and “big noses” that is behind this story. Could the big nosed ruddy-faced tengu have been an early European traveller to Japan?

Whatever his origins, Tengu is a long established, well loved and celebrated part of Japanese folk tradition.

David Hurley