Teacher Xie

Posted on

You are currently viewing a placeholder content from Google Maps. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.

More Information

I once used to have a teacher whose last name was Xie ่ฐข. He held class on Thursdays, and we called him Teacher Xie ่ฐข่€ๅธˆ.

Teacher Xie, 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 “Fuck! ๆˆ‘่‚!” and “Badass! ็‰›ๅฑ„!” (a combination of the characters for “cow ็‰›” and “cunt ๅฑ„”, 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 Teacher Xie I was going to talk to you about today.

This is Xie Jianguang ่ฐขๅปบๅ…‰ from Ningbo ๅฎๆณข, a place not too far from Shanghai.

Teacher Xie

I chose to call him 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” Teacher Xie 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 Linda:

Teacher Xie's cart

Wanna know something funny? Linda didn’t even have a name until today.

“What’s the name of that cart of yours?” I had asked, and Teacher Xie had looked at me in surprise: “Does it have to have a name?”

Why of course! Any good vessel required a good name!

Teacher Xie 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…

cart with newspaper clippings

…and its interior:

inside of the cart

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!

Teacher Xie 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.

Teacher Xie is not a tall man:

group picture with Simba

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 Teacher Xie, 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 “the biggest fool under the sun ๅคฉไธ‹็ฌฌไธ€็–ฏ”

serious Teacher Xie

…and he always has a valuable piece of advice:

“Listen, lad” Teacher Xie 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 Tianshan ๅคฉๅฑฑ mountain range in the west of Xinjiang this winter, when it’s -30ยฐC 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 Teacher Xie’s shades on:

shady Teacher Xie

“Man, I just look so cool, don’t I?”

He said and laughed.



  • Hermann

    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

    Reply

  • Norbert

    Grossartige Geschichte! Danke…

    Reply

  • Florian

    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.

    Reply

  • ggia

    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!!

    Reply

  • claudia

    mann, christoph, das war der erbaulichste und für mich bereicherndste blog-eintrag so far!
    wie weise her xie ist.

    ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply

  • Mallory

    This man is very wise and you should keep him in your mind as your teacher.

    Reply

  • Steven

    You two both are my idols!
    CHEERS!

    Reply

  • John

    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."

    Reply

  • Charlene

    wow, what a great man.

    Reply

  • Alfredo

    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.

    Reply

  • Patrick

    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 ๐Ÿ˜‰

    und er hat recht verdammt…dont be foolish.

    walk safe und komm heil wieder.

    and remember fettschwein is watching u…so dont fuck up

    Reply

  • Corinna

    Ein sehr weiser, lebenserfahrener Gutmensch, der Herr Xie!

    ๐Ÿ˜‰

    Viele liebe Grüße aus der Ferne,
    Corinna

    Reply

  • Christoph

    Sandra: ๐Ÿ™‚
    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 ๅฐๆœ‹ๅ‹,่€Œๅทฒ๏ผ
    John: Hehe, wise men with long beards!
    Charlene: Some might even say ็‰›ๅฑ„.
    Alfredo: Yes, he definitely proves a point!
    Patrick: Alter, gut dass du wieder da bist!
    Corinna: Gutmensch? …da muss ich erst mal drüber meditieren…

    Reply

  • wzh314

    ไฝ ๅฏนไธญๅ›ฝๆˆ–่€…ไธญๆ–‡ๅพˆๆœ‰็ ”็ฉถๅ—?ๅฑ…็„ถ็Ÿฅ้“'่‚ๅ’Œๅฑ„'่ฟ™ไฟฉๅญ—!
    ไฝ ๅฏ็œŸๆ˜ฏ็‰›ๆฏ”ๅ•Š!~ๅ‘ตๅ‘ต
    ๆฌข่ฟŽไฝ ๅˆฐๅฑฑไธน,ๆˆ‘ๅฎถๅฐฑๆ˜ฏๅฑฑไธนๅœฐ

    Reply

  • Osvaldo

    You are a fantastic your lessons encourage me to do something similar in Mexico, thanks a lot and greetings.

    Reply

  • Christoph

    wzh314: ๅœจๅพทๅ›ฝๆ…•ๅฐผ้ป‘่ฏป่ฟ‡ไธคๅนดๆฑ‰ๅญฆ๏ผŒๅŽๆฅๅœจๅŒ—ไบฌๅ‘†ไธคๅนด๏ผŒไธญๅ›ฝๅ“ฅไปฌๅ„ฟๅพˆๅคš๏ผŒๆ‰€ไปฅๅฏไปฅ่ฏดๆœ‰ไธ€ไบ›ๅŸบๆœฌ็š„ไบ†่งฃๅง๏ผš๏ผ‰ไฝ ไปฌๅฎถๅฑฑไธนๆˆ‘ๅพˆๅ–œๆฌข๏ผŒๅฏ่ƒฝไปŠๅนดๅคๅคฉ่ฟ˜่ฆๅŽปไธ€่ถŸ็œ‹็œ‹๏ผ
    Osvaldo: Thanks, dude!

    Reply

  • Marsha

    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 ?!

    Reply

  • Fletcher

    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

    Reply

  • zhangxin

    ่ฎฉๆˆ‘ๅฅฝ็”Ÿไฝฉๆœๅ•Š๏ผ๏ผ๏ผ๏ผ๏ผ

    Reply

  • zhudengyu

    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

    Reply

  • ahmet

    what a badass ๐Ÿ™‚
    hail to you, teacher xie!

    Reply

  • huang

    Xie is a great guy, as far as i know, he is still on his way.
    I have no idea whether it is the best way for someone to find the true meaning of the life(if this is the key question concerning the fundamental happiness lays in people’s deep heart), but the courage and indomitable behavior truly inspiring.
    ็ฅไฝ ๅ’Œ่ฐข่€ๅธˆ้ƒฝไธ€ๅˆ‡้กบๅˆฉใ€‚ไฝ ไปฌ้ƒฝๅพˆ็‰›้€ผใ€‚

    Reply

  • Stella

    I would think โ€œๅคฉไธ‹็ฌฌไธ€็–ฏโ€ means more like “the BEST madman under the sun” rather than โ€œthe FIRST madman under the sunโ€ ๐Ÿ™‚

    Bro, did you use sunscreen at all? ๐Ÿ˜›

    Reply

  • Milk cup

    Hey๏ผsaw you at YouTube once, you are really a

    Reply

  • mostafa from Tehran-IRAN

    Our humble & great master “Teacher Xie” has a really pure soul! He is the greatest and most innocent explorer of all time…I love him guys!

    Reply

  • roger

    you both are so crazy !ๆญฃๅœจ่ฏปไฝ ็š„ใ€ๅพ’ๆญฅไธญๅ›ฝใ€‘๏ผŒๅ’Œไฝ ็š„blogไธ€่ตท่ฏป๏ผŒๆ„Ÿ่ง‰ๆŒบไธๅฏๆ€่ฎฎ็š„ใ€‚ๆฏๆฌก็œ‹ไฝ ็š„่ง†้ข‘๏ผŒๅฌๅˆฐไฝ ่ฏดโ€œhello๏ผŒๆˆ‘ๆ˜ฏ่€้›ทโ€๏ผŒ้ƒฝๆœ‰ไธ€็ง่Žซๅ็š„ๆ„ŸๅŠจใ€‚

    Reply

  • Matt

    Teacher Xie has passed away, RIP.

    Reply

  • ๅ›ญ

    ่ฏปๅˆฐ่ฟ™้‡Œ็š„ๆ—ถๅ€™๏ผŒ็œ‹ๅˆฐ็š„ๆ–ฐ้—ปๆ˜ฏ่ฐข่€ไธ€ๆœˆไปฝๅทฒ็ปๅŽปไธ–ไบ†๏ผŒ่ขซไฝ ไปฌ็š„็ฒพ็ฅžๆ‰€้œ‡ๆ’ผ….้˜ป็ขไบบๅ‰่ฟ›็š„ไปŽๆฅไธๆ˜ฏ่‡ชๅทฑ็š„่„šๆญฅ๏ผŒ่€Œๆ˜ฏ่‡ชๅทฑ็š„ๆ€ๆƒณๅ’Œ็ต้ญ‚ใ€‚

    Reply

  • luanyue

    ่€้›ทๅ•Š ่€้›ท๏ผŒไฝ ไธ€ๅฎš่ฆๅฅๅฅๅบทๅบท็š„ๅพ’ๆญฅไธ‹ๅŽป๏ผŒไธ่ฆๅ‡บ็Žฐๆ„ๅค–๏ผŒไฝ ๆ˜ฏๆˆ‘็š„็ฒพ็ฅžๆ”ฏๆŸฑใ€‚ๆˆ‘ไนŸๅ–œๆฌขๅพ’ๆญฅ๏ผŒๆˆ‘ๆƒณๅพ’ๆญฅไธญๅ›ฝ๏ผŒไนŸๅƒไฝ ไธ€ๆ ทๆ‹‰ไธ€ๅฐๅฐ่ฝฆ็Žฏๆธธไธ–็•Œ๏ผŒๅฏๆฒกๆœ‰ๅ‹‡ๆฐ”่ฟˆๅ‡บ็ฌฌไธ€ๆญฅใ€‚

    Reply

  • Mit Doshi

    Xie !! Man ๐Ÿ™‚ Your Spirit of the Adventure was just outstanding. Congratulations !! And god bless you.

    Reply

  • Deniz Yanikoz

    In fact, you are the teacher Xie. You have the soul of teaching, Xie Jianguang is a very experienced man that can be an example to you in your teaching way. Even he’s done and ready to retire as i see. As a result dear Christoph, you need more good examples in your way improving your potential. Keep walking…

    Reply

  • Mehrab Shaleen

    Wisdom is both easy and hard to come across

    Reply

  • Ethan W

    He passed away in early 2018 in Heilongjiang, doing what he loved. Rip, I wish more people knew his story. People think he is mad and crazy, but he was just living life the way it should be.

    Reply

  • Joshua

    Blessings for these two wise wanderers
    Philosophers meet on the road of life

    How did he pass ?

    Reply

  • Masaki Ling

    2015ๅนดไนฐไบ†ๆœฌใ€Šๅพ’ๆญฅไธญๅœ‹ใ€‹ๅดไธ€็›ดๆฒ’ๆœ‰็ฟป้–‹๏ผŒๆœ€่ฟ‘ๆ‰ๆŠŠๅฎƒ็ฟปๅ‡บไพ†๏ผŒๆ˜จๅคฉ็œ‹ๅฎŒใ€‚ๅคšๅนดไน‹ๅพŒๆ‰้–ฑ่ฎ€้€™ๆœฌๆ›ธๅ่€Œๆ˜ฏไธ€็จฎๅฅ‡ๅฆ™็š„ๆ„Ÿ่ฆบ๏ผš้ฆ–ๅ…ˆๅคง้™ธๅทฒ็ถ“ๆฒ’ๆœ‰้€™ๆœฌๆ›ธ็š„่ณผ่ฒท้€ฃๆŽฅไนŸๆœ็ดขไธๅˆฐไปปไฝ•ๅฏไพ›ๆŸฅ่ฉข็š„ไฟกๆฏไบ†๏ผŒๅฎƒๅœจๆŸๅ€‹้›ปๅญไธ–็•Œ่ฃกๅทฒ็„ถ้Šท่ฒๅŒฟ่ทก๏ผ›ๅ…ถๆฌก๏ผŒๅฝ“ๆˆ‘ๆ‡ท่‘—้’ฆไฝฉๅ’Œๅฅฝๅฅ‡ๆƒณไบ†่งฃ่ฌ่€ๅธซไน‹ๅพŒ็š„ๆ•…ไบ‹ๅด็™ผ็พไป–ๅทฒ็ถ“่ฟ‡ไธ–ๅ‡ ๅนดไบ†โ‹ฏโ‹ฏ้€™ไบ›่ทจ่ถŠๆ™‚ๅ…‰็š„็ป“ๅฑ€ๅ†ๆฌกๅฐ่ญ‰ไบ†ๆ›ธ่ฃก็š„ไธ€ๅฅ่ฉฑ๏ผšโ€œไธญๅœ‹็š„็™ผๅฑ•ๅฐฑๆ˜ฏๅฆ‚ๆญค๏ผšไป–็š„ๆญฅไผ็ขพ้ŽๅŸŽ็‰†๏ผŒๅคๅฏบๅ’Œ่ฉฉไบบ็š„่บซ้ซ”โ€ใ€‚ไฝ†ๆ˜ฏไปŠๅคฉ๏ผŒๆˆ‘ๆƒณๆˆ‘ไธๅฟ…็‚บ่ฐข่€ๅธซ็š„้›ขไธ–่€Œๅฟงไผค๏ผŒๅ› ็‚บๅฆ‚ๆžœไป–้‚„ๆดป่‘—๏ผŒไป–ไนŸๅฐ†็„กๆณ•ๅ†็นผ็บŒๅพ’ๆญฅ๏ผŒ็„ก่™•ไธๅœจ็š„ๆ ธ้…ธๅ’ŒๅฐๆŽงๆœƒๆฎบๆญปไป–็š„็†ๆƒณใ€‚ๆˆ‘ๅบ†ๅนธไนŸ็›ธไฟกไป–ๅทฒ็ถ“ๅพ’ๆญฅๅŽปไบ†ๅคฉๅ ‚๏ผŒๅธถ่‘—ไป–ๆฐธ้ ่‡ช็”ฑ็š„้ˆ้ญ‚ใ€‚

    Reply

  • Randall

    I’m here in 2022. God bless Mr. Xie. A true inspiration.

    Reply

  • Sebastian

    Thank you for that story ^^

    Reply

  • congzheng zou

    great men !

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *