Jottings from the Granite Studio

June 4, 2008 came and went, an anniversary passing quietly here in Beijing under cover of national unity, official proscription, and general apathy.  Societies progress and develop not when they build a taller building or reach a set ratio of people:cars or families:television sets but when thought and thinking move forward spurred on by reflection, debate, learning, and understanding.  American society is littered with the detritus of history–slavery, colonialism, oppression, environmental degradation–but none of these problems would have been made better if we as a society had been systematically prevented from exploring, criticizing, and learning from our past.  Fifty years ago it was almost impossible for African-Americans to vote in some parts of the United States, now an African-American man is a candidate for the highest office in the land.  We still have a long way to go, but the way we–as human beings–move forward is to keep talking. Keep debating. Keep challenging old ideas and conventional thinking that tries to tell us, “That’s the way it was, this is the way it is.” 

On to the links:

Ma Jian has a thoughtful piece this week in the NYT that has the temerity to link the June 4 anniversary with the recent disaster in Sichuan.  Definitely check it out. One of the original China bloggers, Richard of The Peking Duck (mainland link) offers his own thoughts.  Also worth perusing are the comments to Richard’s post, some are thoughtful, others not so much.  Approach with caution.  Blogger Wang Jianshuo and Guardian journalist Jonathan Fenby also weigh in with essays worth reading.  Finally, The China Beat does its usual excellent job of rounding up a nice set of links (parts I & II) for further background and consideration.   (Keep in mind that even with the usual workarounds, some or all of the links above may be blocked in the PRC. Some things require no additional commentary.)

In other China history news, Prince Charles steps out of his palace digs to weigh in on the ongoing renovation of the Dazhalan’r neighborhood, the labyrinth of hutongs and market alleys south of Tiananmen.  Once the center of Beijing’s red light district (the Tongzhi Emperor was among a rather large club of imperial scions who partook on the sly of the area’s delights), this prime piece of real estate has been the subject of a tug-o-war between residents, preservationists, and city officials eager to put a more glamorous face on the Olympic City. 

Finally, in other restoration and preservation news, the original Qing imperial palace in Shenyang, first built in 1625, will undergo renovations this summer.  The smallest of footnotes amidst all the devastation and tragedy in Sichuan last month, but there is some sliver of good news in that the Qiqushan Temple in Mianyang, built during the Ming Dynasty, managed to avoid damage in the May 12 quake.   Experts credit the temple’s design for its survival with the weight of the roof resting on pillars as opposed to relying on the walls for support