Ric Swenson on tue 24 jul 12
Hi all y'all,
reading list....FACTORY GIRLS ISBN 978-0-385-52018-8...China life as it=
exists now..migrant workers perils.
WHO WILL RUN THE FROG HOSPITAL? Isbn 1-40000-3382-9 ..... a girl's life
and MAN'S SEARCH FOR MEANING, ISBN 0-6711111-66736-x .... a jew who sur=
vived the camps...timeless and haunting psychology.
good reads....
My latest readings of interest.....art and life.
Imperial kilns in Jingdezhen started in about 1004 AD...ciivil kilns operat=
ed earlier and attracted the attention of the Chinese emperors by 1004. Th=
e emeror then sent his best and most talented craftspeople to Jingdezhen to=
enjoy the pure Gao Ling Mountain porcelain clay..pure white like the Portu=
guese POCELANA sea shell.
We now live about 100 meters from Hutian..a Yuan Dynasty civil kiln. Esta=
blished early and operated for some 600 years I am told...probably with qui=
te a few rebuilds...last fired afew hundred years ago...now in ruins. Smal=
l museum attached and a nice lake/pond nearby.
It is about 50 meters from the Chang Jiang River (Yangtse) we have a small=
tributary stream flowing past our fourth floor condo that comes from San B=
ao area in the mountains...nice to hear the babbling brook as it flows to t=
he river nearby. The river's water provided liquid for mixing the clay and=
a way to transport goods to the world.
The discovery of porcelain clay at Gaoling (KAOLIN) near Jingdezhen town, =
pushed all kinds of worldly buttons.....WHITE clay? OMG! blue and white c=
eramics?? It spread through Europe like a Colorado wild fire.
The original name of Jingdezhen was 'CHANGNAN' which was mis-pronounced as=
'China' by Portuguese merchants, but became the name for most of us as 'Ch=
ina'..where did this work come from? Changnan... or China. The Emporer of=
the Jinge reign gave his name to Jingdezhen...the only city now known in t=
he PRC now by a reign title....a thousand years later. Most Chinese towns =
and cities are known by their relative geographic/compass position to a ri=
ver,lake or a mountain. ...or a word that describes its' quality (Beijing i=
s Bei=3Dnorth and jing =3D (capital) city) Nanchang is 'south flourish', =
Shanghai is "going to the sea") Few places here are named for people...like=
Joe Juneau, Chief Seattle, or the ilk....(or the Elk ...as in Elkhorn. Or =
Moose Pass?) Some town names in China are related to animals or colors... =
Tiger Mountain, Yellow River, Yellow Mountain, Tiger Dragon Mountain, etc.
The division of work began a LONG time ago. It continues today...some 60,0=
00+ potters in Jingdezhen...each with a different skill...not your America=
n/Western European studio potter idea at all.
Henry Ford made it famous by making cars in such fashion..brilliant industr=
ialist that the s.o.b. was....
I was trained in the American studio potter ideal....
Yeah...you do it all....make the clay, wedge it, knead it, pug it, throw or=
handbuild it, dry it, use geology/chemistry to formulate a glaze, mix it, =
apply it, decorate it, fire it (and build your own kiln too), ....glaze it =
and fire it and sell it....not so in China and never was that way. Speciali=
sts....specialists....clay makers, wedgers, throwers, trimmers, glaze and =
decorating and fire guys or gals....then the salespeople, packers, shippers=
, haulers, movers and shakers.
They get VERY good at their craft. Must be boring....but it works.
The guy who is building a HUGE studio /gallery nearby teaches art in Beiji=
ng....but his multimillion dollar studio gallery is now blocking our view o=
f the river....A very large,imposing, well design structure...lots of glass=
walls. Hope to see inside, once it is finished.
From Jingdezhen and many places like wuyishan.....They taught their crafts =
to the Japanese about 800 years ago...and to primative Korean potters too. =
and the Chinese learned from the Koreans and Japanese too.
we in the USA learned from the British and established Bennington Potteries=
and Albany NY potteries on the Hudson and we have grown since. the 1700's =
...Carolina potters, California potters. Minnesota potters, ad infinitum.
'Different stokes for different folks' as the song says.
We were individuals...not collectives...so we morphed differently than our =
asian counterparts.
One of my favorite quotes from Carlton Ball...when he and Susan Peterson in=
vited Hamada to visit USC was what Hamada said about some of the works he s=
aw there in California...... "Some of these pots look very nice...but they =
are not".
we live, we work, we fail, we triumph. sometimes only history will be the =
judge. "...When you're hot you're hot and when you're not you're not..."
or as we said in Alaska "Somedays you eat the bear...and...somedays the bea=
r eats you".
Living and working in China has changed me in subtile ways...I don't always=
see it...because I am living it day by day.
I see a family of four on an electric scooter...sandwiched together like a =
ham and cheese with mustard and lettuce. I shake my head and wonder what w=
ill happen if they meet a rushing taxi or a cement truck running a stop lig=
ht. So few rules here for vespa- like bikes....they don't obey lights or s=
igns...they are only responsible for what is in front of them...they say. =
Not my style. I ride my bicycle slowing and obey all the rules. Look BOTH =
ways, then cross...Wait for the pedestrian light....they look at me funny w=
hen I do...but training in kindergarten worked....65 years later I am still=
around....so far. I guess a lot of the cultural and societal differences b=
etween East and West that I noticed SO much when I first came here have sof=
tened and I am more acclimatized....just shrug the shoulders and 'keep on t=
ruckin'.
Regards,
Ric
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