NYT: Protecting China’s treasures from the ravages of war

The New York Times today has a story on a joint project between the Beijing and Taipei Palace Museums to retrace the routes by which the imperial collection of art and antiquities was moved from Beijing in advance of the Japanese Imperial Army in the 1930s.  (David Barboza, “Rival Museums Retrace Route of China’s Imperial Treasures,” NYT, July 6, 2010) Their research took the team to Chongqing:

“They were stored right about here,” Hu Changjian, a local [Chongqing] museum official, said of the artifacts, an unparalleled collection of more than a million objects from the Forbidden City in Beijing, including fine paintings, calligraphy, jade and porcelain dating back centuries. He added, “We think they dug caves in the hills behind us to store some of the treasures.”

The article also looks into the significance of the imperial treasures in legitimizing 20th century Chinese governments:

David Shambaugh, who with Jeannette Shambaugh Elliott wrote “The Odyssey of China’s Imperial Art Treasures,” said Chinese leaders had long viewed them as a means of validating their power, even under Communism. During the Cultural Revolution, when Red Guards tried to destroy anything associated with tradition, Mao ordered the museum protected.*

“Every successive regime used the

July 7th, 2010

Helen Couchman’s Workers

Beijing-based artist, Granite Studio friend, and occasional anonymous commentator Helen Couchman has been winging around the world this past month promoting her new book Workers.  Last December, Helen snuck onto the construction site for the Bird’s Nest and the Water Cube and offered to take the portraits of any worker who wished to have his or her photograph taken.  Helen then returned the next week and presented each person she photographed with their own copy of the print to keep.  The Australian newspaper The Age this week features an audio slideshow of Helen’s photographs and commentary on her project.  Be sure to check it out and congratulations, Helen!

August 7th, 2008

Two Bookworm events this week for those of us still left in Beijing

A number which seems to dwindle by the day…

Tomorrow night at The Bookworm, Beijing author and translator Eric Abrahamsen will be giving a talk in support of his latest project, Beijing by Foot.

“Forgotten Beijing comes to life as Abrahamsen researches the walks, discovering some of Beijing’s lesser known historical sights, from the underground tunnels traversing Beijing to exploring the trail of the recently demolished Milk Palace, where nursing women produced human milk for the consumption of the imperial court.”

I had the great fortune to accompany Eric on some of his research hikes and learned a ton that I never knew about even my own neighborhood. It’s sure to be a fascinating talk.

Also, on Friday June 20, artist Helen Couchman has put together a great panel to discuss her new book Workers, which is comprised of 143 portraits of construction workers taken last year at the Bird’s Nest stadium site:

“In December 2007, during her second extended visit to Beijing, Helen Couchman photographed a large group of Chinese workers engaged in construction work in preparation for the 2008 Olympic Games. Couchman chose a specific group of labourers, those building the vast bird’s nest stadium and swimming pool.

June 16th, 2008

Morning Tea: Quick links and a busy research month…

It’s a busy research and teaching month…but hey, aren’t they all? Some quick links this Friday morning. Fans of aviation history, mercenaries, or John Wayne movies in general will be glad to know that the WW II-era aviation squadron “The Flying Tigers” are getting their own memorial park in Yunnan. The new park will be located about 20 miles southwest of the provincial capital Kunming. The American Volunteer Group got its colorful nickname from local Chinese impressed with their derring-do and bravery. In 1937 the KMT commissioned U.S. General Claire Lee Chenault to reorganize the Chinese Air Force. After working under T.V. Soong and later Madame Chiang herself, Chenault began hiring American and other foreign pilots in the spring of 1941. More history of the AVG can be found here. An estimated 2,264 U.S. “Flying Tigers” members and more than 900 Chinese airmen who fought along with them died in the war. A painting by Ming Dynasty artist Qiu Ying (1494-1522) sold for a record 79 million yuan ($10.68 million), Xinhua reported on Wednesday. An illegal mining operation in Inner Mongolia collapsed a section of the Great Wall last month. Provincial authorities have arrested four men for their involvement.

November 8th, 2007

The falling face of "Made in China"

I understand the concerns of food safety, poisoned baby formula, unsafe tires, lead in the toys and whatnot, BUT…it’s the little things about shoddy Chinese merchandise that get me most. By way of example: YJ and I recently purchased a few paintings–not an original Picasso to be sure, but not the sort of stuff you pick up at the Silk Market. The problem is hanging them. Our walls are made of a strange material that is too hard for hammers and yet crumbles mysteriously when you try to drill/screw anything into the surface.

So we went to the local market to look for those ubiquitous little “sticky hooks”, finally finding some plain white ones. (Meaning: without flowers, bugs, butterflies, bunnies, or cutesy ungrammatical English.) We took them home, followed the little instructions: 1) place on wall 2) wait 24 hours 3) hang pictures. The pictures were not heavy and we used two or three for anything that weighed more than say, our hamster.

Sure enough in the 12 hours since, our walls have been raining paintings. I mean it’s a downpour.

I mentioned this to the shopkeeper who sold the hooks–Yes I know, but I like truly futile quests with

October 8th, 2007
 
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