As we have been driven around Beijing you have probably taken note of the CCTV Building designed by Rem Koolhaas. Praised as the greatest work of architecture thus far in this century as well as propaganda and pornography it may be emblematic of China’s vision for the future. You can read more about the building here.
A Communist Utopia
An interesting article about the skyscraper erected in Huxai as a “new village in the sky.”
Young & Old
A perfect photographic representation of the unique generational co-existence within China. Young and Old united by history.
A Walk in…
Today our fieldwork focused on observing and documenting the way people experience Beijing’s pubic spaces. Individually or in groups people struck out on their own. The gallery below represents some of what I observed in Beihai Park. This park, located near the Forbidden City, was built in the tenth century. The park consists of temples, gardens, a large lake, and a stupa situated on an island hill. Intermingling within this landscape are hikers, boaters, calligraphers, dancers, lovers, martial artists, strollers, photographers, and dancers among others.
Mysterious Smoking Mushrooms
I encountered these on my walk down to the silk market in the Southeast part of the city. No idea what purpose they served other than being extremely bizarre. Any ideas??????
Field school map
Image by bluman via Flickr
I have created a Google map plotting the locations we have been visiting during the Beijing residency part of our field school. You can find it here.
Lunch at a Host Household
On July 9 the UO field work team in Beijing did intensive field work today in Jianguo – food, Red tourism, rose tea, and a hike up Miaofeng mountain to the Three Temples. Lunch provided a way to experience Jianguo’s goal to be tourist destination for experiencing local meals made from local products, both wild and cultivated. Lunch was hosted by Mr. Wong at the Host Household for Folklore Tours.
Following is what we were served.
We ate and drank from very simple paper cups, bowls, china plates, using the most rudimentary chopsticks.
Tea, beer, tomatoes with sugar, salted peanuts, elbow of pig, chicken, pork rib, tofu with moutain mushrooms, wild greens, fried river shrimp, a fish from the Yongding River,
rose pancake, egg pancake, fried roses (new recipe) and fried tree leaf (xiang chun tree),
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deer, fried flour (called gezhi after the sound it makes, and a wild vegetable filled pancake (referred to as revival food).
While we ate Mr. Wong talked to us about wine (1 glass sweet, 2 confident talk, 3 babble, 4 under the table), a drinking game involving ten descriptors, and chop sticks.
of museums and spaces for interpretation…
Shot in the “museum” or interpretive center at the temple complex on top of Miaofengshan (outside Beijing by about 40km), this picture from our fieldwork illustrates the flexibility of spaces used to make sense of culture and heritage. Filled with historic photos that help carry the narrative of the temples in conjunction with Mr. Wang’s stories and explanations, it also houses a ping pong table. While this may seem incongruous from some perspectives, it’s perfectly reasonable from others. And that’s the trick of interpretation: the space in play is more than an institution (i.e museum), but also more than a concept (i.e. truth or authenticity). This space is flexible and multimodal, allowing for visitors, culture workers, and other participants to engage in meaning-making.
On the topic of interpretation, here are links to two different articles. The first is about a museum in Fangshang County (west of Beijing) dedicated to the important revolutionary song, “Without the Communist Party, There Would Be No New China.” This piece was written in 2009, but recently revisited in another recent post here.
The second article tracks the history of the pipa in terms of its iconic role of “national instrument.” Adapted from a conference paper, it’s somewhat long but worth reading.
With both of these pieces, we should consider the question/issues of interpretation. What meanings emerge in each article? What are the perspectives of each author? What are the goals of interpretation? Many more questions likely linger, so have a look at these and consider the spaces for interpretation generated by ChinaVine and our field school.
Interpretation, the Ecology of Sound Artists, Squirrel Fish, and Future Collaborations
This morning we prepared for our field work in Miao Feng tomorrow. The main activity of the day were the presentations by Doug and John at Beijing Normal University. Doug gave an overview of ChinaVine emphasizing recent efforts to build and diversify dissemination of material and build participation through social networking platforms in the US and China. He also did an analysis of interpretive approaches used by scholars associated with ChinaVine. John talked about the ecology of sound artists living in Beijing. Yang Nan excellently interpreted our talks. In addition to Beijing Normal faculty/students and UO field school students the lecture was attended by Dr. Ye Tao Secretary-General of the China Folklore Society.
John presenting, Nan interpreting, and Yang Lihui listening
Following the talk John and Doug were hosted for dinner by Yang Lihui. Among the items served was squirrel fish.
Those having dinner included (going clockwise) An Deming, John, Willie Smyth, Yang Lihui, Ye Tao, Doug, and Liu Xiaolu. Mr. Liu is the Director of the Chinese Folk Literature and Art Association Department of International Liaison Institute of Folk Literature and Art. He talked with Doug and John about future collaborations.
a few snaps from Wednesday's Beijing tour…
I’ve pulled these from a Flickr stream I started. They represent scenes from our first full day in Beijing, during which we visited Tian’an men Square and the Forbidden City in the hot mugginess of a July afternoon. Plenty of other people were out along with us…
our ride around town, with Oscar the Guide
looking down Tian’an men Square, from the south to the north
the Square is dressed up for the 90th Anniversary of the CCP (which happened on July 1, 2011)
two shots from our portable photo studio session; top is the studio in action and bottom is a recreation of the photo he printed for us!
crowd entering the Forbidden City (south gate)
somewhere near the middle of the Forbidden City
leaving the Forbidden City (north gate)