Yuqi: Mysterious Creature – Bigfoot

Yuqi, 05/23/09

Mysterious Creature – Bigfoot

There are many legends about so called “Bigfoot” in the whole world. In China, people call this legendary creature Yeren, and the word “Bigfoot” refers to the one living in America. However, what is it actually? This is the point of the matter but also a confused question that no one could give a clear answer now. According to the information people have found, Bigfoot (or Yeren) is “being between 2-3 meters tall, over 230 kg and having a footprint in the region of 30 to 40 cm long” (Zan) In Humboldt County, a place where Bigfoot is being suspected living in, people found “footprints, and large, unidentifiable scat, complexly constructed nests, and a few stray “unknown primate” hairs” that it left. (Streufert) In order to find the answer and explore the mystery of Bigfoot, scientists from all over world keep working.
Not like other scientific work, Bigfoot is harder to discover that also makes the results of exploration obscure. For one reason, Bigfoot has never showed its face as other large size animals – bear and ape – did. As an explorer said the Bigfoot is “a creature that has never left a skeleton behind that has been found by humans” (Streufert). Moreover, the deep mountains and dense forest where the creature lives in make investigation pretty difficult. For instance, Shennongjia, the place where yeren is suspected to exist in, is miraculous because there are sparse plants and endangered animals (Zan). Therefore, people doubt if yeren is one of the endangered animals that live there. Results from these obstacles, although it has been exploring for years, there's still no accurate evidence for its authenticity, such as the Chinese yeren. Scientist thinks that “to date no tangible evidence has been found to confirm the existence of yeren” (Zan). Therefore, the mystery of Bigfoot is still being enveloped by fog which is waiting to be cleared away.
Whether Bigfoot is truly exist or not, this unknown problem captures wild attention of the world. However, some evidence gradually appears and become convincing. For example, there are questions in article The Yeti Goes International – why governments in Himalayan area do lots of work on Yeti although it is possible a creature which fictitious and illusive? The author gave two reasons. “On one hand, if it turned out to be real it would be a rare, amazing, and endangered species; On the other hand, there’s money and publicity in the yeti legend regardless of whether there really is such a beast”. (Skeptic) In other words, governments in Himalayan who keep concerning yeti have two possible purposes. One is this mysterious creature could attract money benefits, and another one is the effort done for yeti is with the purpose of proving its existence and even protecting them because they might be rare and endangered. From this example, we can tell that yeren, as well as Bigfoot, is more likely to be real.
There is the achievement of discovery on Hubei Bigfoot – yeren which could prove its real existence. In 1977, an expedition went to Shennongjia and tried to find trace of yeren, but they didn’t see yeren with own eyes. However, as anthropologist Wang Shan said, they collected lots of hair that was very likely to belong to yeren, and later, through biologists’ analysis, it was really proved that not from humans and apes. (Zan) This could be a great encouragement and improvement in people’s work. Besides, the special geographic location gains more possibility of its existence. According to Guo Jianwei’s words, the environment in Shennongjia let him be more sure because “the Shennongjia forest area covers over 3,000 square km, with a complex natural environment and ideal climatic conditions for animals”, and he also said that "It is very possible for unknown species to live in the dense forest or remote caves there” (Zan).
In Bigfoot discovery, there is a very important thing that scientists, especially the ones who are in expedition team to explore Bigfoot or Yeren in their living places, need to pay attention to the creature itself. In other word, people cannot do only with a view to result of exploration. If Bigfoot is a creature that really exists and lives in own way, though human have no right to break their natural life or even kill them, intentionally or not, just life we protect other animals. According to people’s know to Bigfoot, it always tries to get away from human. Said by You Wenhai, a member in an investigation team for Shennongjia Yeren, “the way the site was left and the depth of the footprints show that the creatures had rushed away after being frightened” (Zan). This is also let us thinking of the work from government in Himalayan area. It is a really bad thing that some people use the attraction of Bigfoot to get money, but if people could do effort on keeping the creature in a better environment to multiply and survive, it also does help to discovery. Therefore, before taking any measure, people should consider much more aspects outside of the purpose of the creature’s mystery.
No matter Bigfoot is real or not, people cannot stop the discovery as they always do. Just like people’s question of Himalayan’s government, if this creature is not real, why so many scientists give themselves to the exploration? The scientists who believe in Bigfoot’s existence are running on the way to the truth. Looking at this creature in a scientific and also ordinary view, taking scientific measures to explore and treating the creature as an ordinary animal, we can look forward to the day that Bigfoot is unveiled and truly appears in the world.

Work Cited

Streufert, Steven. Bigfoot by the Roadside. 2008. Bigfoot Books. Willow Creek, Humboldt County, CA. 19 April 2009.
Zan, Jifang. “Hubei Bigfoot--Fact or Fiction?” Beijing Review Vol. 50 Issue 51: p44-45. 20 Dec. 2007
“The Search for the Yeti!” Skeptic. 2003: p101

YUQI BIOGRAPHY:
My name is Zhu Yuqi. I am a student in Humboldt College in Xi’an International Studies University, and I will also study in Humboldt State University in the next two years. My major is Globalization concentration in International Studies. I have a special skill in piano, and I also like listening to many kinds of music such as Pop, Folk, Indie rock, and my favorite Britpop. My hobbies are a lot. In high school, I studied geography and enviornment very well, so I still want to gain more professional knowledge in this field. Besides, I'm very interested in psychology. Most of my extra readings are about phychologies in self-cognition, carrer development, and interpersonal relationship and communication.
At present, besides the necessary study in college, my biggest dream is to continue travelling alone to every beautiful place in the whole world. I enjoy walking in strange cities, not famous spots, and feeling different atmosphere with only myself. My recent plan for holiday is Eastwestern China, and I might go to travel in the U.S. in two years.
This is my contact: zhuyuqi_0725@126.com
I'm very like to talk about music, psychology, travel, or any interesting topics with you.

Tina: Balance the Truth and Tale

Tina, May 23th 2009

Balance the Truth and Tale

With regard to the truth and the tale, the former one is telling about the fact, which existed on earth and we can prove it true using effective and virtual evidence to let the public to trust it. However, there is a great deal of people who make up many ostensible and inauthentic objects in the movies or the novels to captivate people’s eyes of which one is true which is not.
Bigfoot is a kind of animals that looks very much like human, some reports said the human beings has found our relatives. By means of reading several essays and articles what I looked for and including which the teachers sent to us, at the present I have a better understanding of the Wildman in China or the bigfoot in America. It was reported by the whole world for years.
“With one giant stride, the "wild-man" of China has stepped off the biological record. This big creature was two meters tall, had long red hair, left 40cm footprints, it even can walk and stand straight just like a human being, but it has no tails, although “tales told of the wild man evoke those surrounding of the yeti, or Abominable Snowman, or the Himalayas, and the Sasquatch, or Bigfoot, of the Pacific Northwest, whose existence is also unproved, discovering the Wildman is a continuous process, it is not a thing of the past.'' (WREN) The earlier record said that there were four scientific expeditions have searched for the wild man since 1976, concentrating on the mountainous, thickly forested Shengnongjia region of northwestern Hubei. And “in September 1981, Fang Jingchuan and two other members of a scientific expedition said they saw a wild man before it fled into a bamboo thicket. Researchers have found curious footprints, strands of hair and feces. But the mystery remains unsolved, for they have yet to capture or film a wild man.” (WREN ) Only with the footprint it seems no very precise to say the bigfoot is existing at present. And there are also some other things can be considered. The proofs including the videos, photographs, footprints, feces, hairs, dead bodies, in 1980 MengQingbao, a leader of an expedition, found 1,000 footprints, and which owns the highest trust is the persons who have seen the bigfoot by their own.
In China, there is someone who can say that he saw the Yeren by himself. “WuHan, China one evening last April in Cangyuan County north of China's border with Burma, a schoolteacher named Li Mingzhi heard the village dogs bark. He took his hunting rifle, thinking a wild animal was prowling about, and went out into the bright moonlight. He assumed that the human form he saw was one of the villagers and walked up to meet him. As Mr. Li told it afterward, he found himself face to face with a giant hairy primate. Mr. Li not daring to touch or shoot the creature, until it disappeared into the dense rain forest.”(WREN) We have no ideas whether it is true or not, maybe it is just a story. But one thing is that “where the Wildman or the Bigfoot appeared are all in the remote areas, The Shennongjia region, where the wild man has been most often reported, is a rugged area of high mountains ranging up to 10,000 feet and deep valleys with heavy vegetation and caves. It lies in a remote corner of Hubei Province”(WREN) Where there is a large of dense forests, woods, and brushwood for them to hide themselves not to be disturbed or damaged by the human beings.
As a result, the places bigfoot lived or hidden which added much more invisible difficulties to the bigfoot research, then the process of searching always not very smooth, still did not appear some strong believable proofs.
Between the tales, stories and the fact, is it really live among us, is it true to live on earth now, is it actual what just like the report said. “In the fascinating and comprehensive look at the fact, fiction, and fable of the North American "Sasquatch," award-winning author Loren Coleman takes readers on a journey into America's biggest mystery-could an unrecognized "ape" be living in our midst? Drawing on over forty years of investigations, interviews, and fieldwork on these incredible beasts, Coleman explores the modern debates about these powerful, ape-like creatures, why they have remained a mystery for so long, and what we can learn about ourselves from these animals, our nearest cousins”. (Loren) Yes, we research the bigfoot not only for the bigfoot itself but also has a better chance to do the study of the human being ourselves. To watch what we had and have disappeared. So from seeing the bigfoot the human can understand ours character from another point of view.
Well, why this big and curious creature has been reported and researched for decades, maybe this is not the story or the tale just like what the people described. In my opinion, something happened must have its own reasons ahead. However, in spite of the movies, the literature and the books to think up or to make the bigfoot true on purpose, then, the people all consider maybe it is really existing on the earth, although it does, nor like what appeared in the movie. Well, after my own study and research I can give a result that the bigfoot or the Yeren has existed before but I am not sure that whether they are still living now.
There are a couple of scientists who have already proved that they saw the creature’s footprints and feces as evidence to say the half-man and half-animal is still existing at present. (WREN) As saying goes “every corner has two sides”. But I think the existence side is much stronger. Because there were countless evidences stand out to say and emphasize that the bigfoot is not just in the book or in the movie, it was not merely described as the big creature which we can see in the television, after distinguishing tons of proofs the public cannot only say the bigfoot is only a nonobjective image which comes from the person who has conceived that. There are also a couple of scientists and biologists who are still researching on the Wildman, so it not only what the TV show reported or said, it has academic, professional sources and documentation. There are so many continuous reports about the bigfoot all over the world.
Nevertheless, no matter the fact and the truth, the tale and the story both of them can date back to their sources in the real life. whenever, wherever or however did it find and report, we can say that just keep the fact or the tale balance in our heart, not express or explain something is like this or like that on purpose. We human to respect what on earth have existed or never and ever have existed in order to keep the world balance.

Work Cited Page

Teresa Poole in Peking. Bigfoot a myth, China declares.
Wednesday, 16 December 1998.
<http://www.independent.co.uk/news/bigfoot-a-myth-china-declares-1191729.html>.
Chinese idioms.
CHRISTOPHER S. WREN. ON THE TRAIL OF THE 'WILD MAN' OF CHINA. June 5, 1984. <http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/16/theater/theater-review-fringe-festival-reviews-looking-for-bigfoot-other-lost-souls-651583.html?scp=8&sq=bigfoot%20in%20China&st=cse>
Loren Cloemman. Bigfoot. True story of Apes in America. Loren Cloeman:Books. Paraview Pocket Books (April 8, 2003)
<http://www.amazon.com/Bigfoot-True-Story-Apes-America/dp/0743469755>

TINA BIOGRAPHY:

Gender: female; Age: 21; Identity: will be a foreign student in HSU. Peraonal Hobby: 1> climb mountain in the open air and to kiss the nature under the beautiful sunshine, 2> to collect the inspiring and encouraging famous words or sentenses to a notebook, 3> to travel in order to have a better understaing of the human being’s culture religion and history, 4> to write something special and meaningful to leave a unforgetable memory in my life, 5>listen to some rock music to make the brain feel different and have more power. Personal Experiences: After traveling form the HongKong, the self-value has a great change. Because I heve seen a great deal of prosperity and advanced technology, which I have never seen in real life, it was the first time, so what have presented in my eyes did great shock in my heart and for a long time cannot forget. Because it has set fire to my heart. I always thinking that all the human beings are living in a certain earth, so as long as we do the great effort I have a strong belief we can achieve goals and the dreams. So my inspiring words are: “ as long as work hard, I will obtain something in the future more or less.”

Preston: A Mystery Covered by the Forests

Preston, May 21, 2009

A Mystery Covered by the Forests

One night, a special guest paid a visit to Steve when most of the people were sleeping soundly. As a result, the majority of people didn’t know what happened. Luckily, Steve felt it. “It was not a deer or bear and it left with depressions and big footprints.” (Streufert) What would you think it was? Personally, I would like to believe that guest must be Bigfoot because every now and then I can see news on Bigfoot appears in the media like the newspaper, TVs, websites and so on.
Bigfoot is mysterious to the people and “there has been great national interest in search for bigfoot since late 1960s and early 70s when films and newspapers began to show the Bigfoot.” (Bynum 354) People are born curious about those things and they have the desire to know how it really is. Whether Bigfoot exists or not is always a contentious problem that people are trying to solve, especially those researchers who are enthusiastic with it. Since then the research has never stopped no matter in the USA or in China.
Most of the people believe the existence of Bigfoot because of the big footprints near the forests and the vague photos taken by those witnesses. Scientists are always looking for evidence of the Bigfoot. “Some Chinese scientists began a yearlong hunt for bigfoot in 1995 with the purpose of investigating reports of a 7-foot Bigfoot.” (Oregonian) As a part of the world, this action of the Chinese scientists reflects the attitudes of people all over the world toward the Bigfoot. From this, we don’t fail to find that people would like to believe in the Bigfoot. Scientists in other countries like India, America, Russia where exists the possibility of Bigfoot spend quite a lot time and money on the research for Bigfoot as well. Some even just live in the forests and look for the evidence of Bigfoot day and night. The Snow mountains and the forests have been the home of some scientist. Chinese scientists who have interests in Bigfoot just live in Shennongjia with the hope to find Bigfoot.
Owing to the efforts of those scientists, we, more or less, get some information about the Bigfoot and people begin to know more about it. However, as Streufert says “it (the Bigfoot) is incredibly sly.” (Streufert) It leaves little evidence for scientists to follow and those big footprints often make scientists happy. Following the footprints, the scientists get nothing but confusion because the Bigfoot didn’t leave other evidence. Despite of the difficulty, the scientists made progress. Everything cannot be done in one time. We need to follow the steps. “Wang—the leader of the group of Chinese scientists in Shennongjia—said progress toward unraveling the myth of the wild man would of great scientific significance and it needn’t jump to swift conclusions.”(San Jose Mercury News) Their team does this job gradually and concludes that “the Bigfoot is human-like with about 440 pounds and 37 centimeters footprints—the biggest ones in Shennongjia in 1997” (San Jose Mercury News) The step by step efforts make the myth of Bigfoot covered by forests clear to the whole world.
Although we have known more about the information of the Bigfoot, people especially those scientists would never be satisfied these results. The determination to have a clear look of the Bigfoot drives them to continue the research. Luckily, in 1999, the Chinese scientists made breakthrough. “The scientists found 40-cm footprints, brown hair and chewed corn cobs at the spot where the hunter said he saw the beast, and concluded they were not left by a bear.” (China tracks red-haired corn-eating Big Foot) Although they did not see the creature, the evidence, which is believed to be left by Bigfoot, would make the existence of Bigfoot more believable.
Not only the scientists but also other common people find great evidence for us to believe the fact that there exists Bigfoot. Some people see the Bigfoot out of the forests or mountains by accidents. Even though they don’t see the Bigfoot clearly, that’s the best evidence to support the existence of Bigfoot. People especially those travel around the virgin forests would run into the situation where the Bigfoot has appeared every now and then. Just as Shang Zhenmin’s case, “he together with other five people saw a grey colored ape-like animal with shoulder-length black hair moving along a road through the reserve at high speed.” (Bigfoot spotted in China) One person said that we might doubt while we cannot deny that the six people were all wrong. The Bigfoot’s existence is a fact. This discovery in a sense encourages the scientists to work on the research. It is just saying there is a great chance to find the Bigfoot as long as we don’t give up looking for it.
More and more tourists have reflected that they see the Bigfoot in Shennongjia. Scientists would follow the directions and try to figure out the facts. Through the process, “although scientists failed to physically see any Bigfoot, they did collect lots of hair and excrement suspected of belonging to a certain kind of Bigfoot, and spoke to many witnesses.” (Zan) There is no doubt that the witnesses’ presentation and the results found by scientists support the existence of bigfoot, which make more and more people to believe that the bigfoot does live somewhere in the world.
Not only the Chinese but also people from other countries say to see the Bigfoot. This proves that the Bigfoot is not unique in China. The Bigfoot just as we human beings lives around the world. Tom Biscardi was the one to see the Bigfoot in snow. According to his description, “things came that when he heard a rustling in brush and he was surprised to see a blurry blackness rising from a squatting position. The creature was walking upright like a man, which was also denied as a bear.”(Breitler) To this situation, the scientists explained that “it is legitimate enough for the existence of bigfoot.” (Breitler) Biscardi’s meet with the Bigfoot seems a little stranger. Maybe it is because of Biscardi’s getting close to the Bigfoot and it wants to keep away with people. As a result, the Bigfoot wants to do something to drive away the stranger. This, in the eyes of the biologists, is acceptable. They see this as the nature of creatures, which makes sense to people. Since the little knowledge of Bigfoot we have and the mysterious places Bigfoot lives, the appearance or the things left by Bigfoot can be strange but accepted by people.
As is known, the world is larger than we think and absolutely there exists something animals or plants we don’t know like the Bigfoot. We cannot know everything in the world but we can try to know more. Taking the Bigfoot as an example, we don’t have the enough information about it but we are spending time and money on exploring it. That’s why we are here. We are here with the responsibility to solve the myth and turn the unknown to known.
Bigfoot—the myth of the nature, which is believed by most of the people, will be solved by the passional scientists who work on it. What we need to do is believing in ourselves and the existence of Bigfoot and keeping trying. Just as Greenwell says “If you start off by saying it’s impossible, then what you’re doing is you’re taking the short-cut.” (Locke) The optimistic attitude towards the Bigfoot is necessary to solve the myth.
With people’s optimistic attitude and never-stopping efforts, great breakthroughs are making all the time. The big footprints, and the presentation of the witnesses are all the evidence to make sure the existence of Bigfoot. According to what we have collected, we can make prediction of Bigfoot about its weight, height and other characteristics.

Work Cited

Streufert, Steven. Bigfoot in Humboldt County—Fifty Years or 50,000? Bigfoot’s Blog 29, Dec. 2008. You Tube. 17, Apr. 2009 <http://bigfootbooksblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/bigfoot-in-humboldt-county-fifty-years_29.html>
Bynum, Juyce. Bigfoot--a contemporary belief legend. Folklore: Maps & Territories 49.3 1992：352-357 17, Apr. 2009 <http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.humboldt.edu/ehost/pdf?vid=5&hid=3&sid=23299c57-392e-42cb-a608-7f112a5b994b%40SRCSM1>
Chinese Scientists will begin a yearlong hunting for Bigfoot Bigfoot/Yeren Reports from China 25, May. 1995. Oregonian. 17, Apr. 2009
Chinese Team hunting a Red-Headed “Bigfoot” Bigfoot/Yeren Reports from China 25, June. 1997. San Jose Mercury News. 17, Apr. 2009 <http://www.bfro.net/GDB/ASIA/CHINA/as_ch001.htm%20>
China tracks red-haired corn-eating Big Foot Bigfoot/Yeren Reports from China 6, Dec. 1999. 17, Apr. 2009 <http://www.bfro.net/GDB/ASIA/CHINA/as_ch001.htm%20>
Bigfoot spotted in China BBC News Asia-Pacific 30, June. 2003. BBC 17, Apr. 2009. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3033316.stm>
Zan Jifang Hubei Bigfoot-Fact or Fiction? Beijing Review 20, Dec. 2007. 17, Apr. 2009.
Breitler, Alex. "Bigfoot sighting leaves lasting imprint" 16, April 2005. bigfootencounters 17, Apr.2009
locke, Michelle. "Big hopes riding on Bigfoot exhibit Willow Creek, California " 15, June. 2000. bigfootencounters 17, Apr.2009

PRESTON BIOGRAPHY:

My name’s Zhu Wei. You can also call me Preston. I am a 20-year-old Chinese boy. I come from Shangyu, Zhejiang province. I am now studying in Xi’an International Studies University. I am the monitor of Humboldt College. We will go to Humboldt State University to study. I like to play volleyball in my free time. I also like travel and see different people, enjoying the beautiful scenery.