One of my goals was to acquire contemporary Chinese piano music scores and literature related to this genre. My acquisitions at the bookstores mentioned in section 4 and the generous gifts and loans from Professor Zhou Guangren and Mrs. Jiang Wenye are documented in Appendix B. I returned with approximately 140 pounds of music books. Fortunately, the airport was packed on the morning of my flight and my luggage was not weighed. The MIT music library now owns a third of this collection.

My other goal was to established contact with musicians involved in contemporary Chinese piano music. I feel honored to have met and spent considerable time with the following: pianist Zhou Guangren; wife of composer Jiang Wenye, Wu Yunzhen; Chinese piano music researcher, Wei Tingge; modern Chinese musicologist, Liang Maochun and others. I plan to maintain these professional and personal friendships for a future time when I will return to Beijing.

I have newfound respect for the role of personal relations. Relationships are of importance to varying extent in business and career everywhere. In China, the role of personal relations is well-defined in all human interactions. This time-honored tradition sets up a bartering system by which favors are given and owed. In my brief immersion in this system, I have seen the strength of these friendships which transcend time and are often cultivated over generations. I left with a sobering thought, wondering at the extent of the debt I have incurred on this trip.