Books at Fudan University (Part 1): Books and Travels in China (6)

Fudan University is one of Shanghai's oldest contemporary universities, found in 1905 by the Chinese scholar and Jesuit Ma Xiangbo (1840-1939).  At the center of the university is an enormous set of  towers, the Guanghua Towers, which reach nearly 150 meters.  Above is an image I took from one of the faculty offices there.  Below are other scenes from the university campus, and my visit to the university.

Jing-An Temple (Shanghai): Books and Travels in China (5)

Here is another example of bookish culture, though I only have the architectural grandness of the building to show:  the Jing-An Temple in Shanghai.  Though this temple has a long history, going back nearly two thousand years, its current structure is relatively new, dating to the Qing Dynasty.

Shanghai Travels and China Christian Council: Books and Travel in China (4)

Another return!  I so often fall behind on posting, because of so many other things that occupy my time!  I realized, after spending some weeks traveling for conferences and other things, that I should get back to writing a few more pieces about China, and show some of the interesting images I took from that trip.  Here are a few more images from Shanghai, and a visit to the China Christian Council there.  There were only a few on staff the morning I visited, but I received a pleasant welcome, exchanged gifts, and got a very nice tour of the campus, church, and book store.  Perhaps one of the most intriguing images I found was a defiled Latin inscription, which had been hacked at during the Cultural Revolution (see images below).  The book store of the CCC is plentiful--it has thousands of titles, many of which are not shipped abroad.  I was impressed with their offerings and the various activities they conduct.  Here is a sampling of my photographs that day.  (This was last July, and I figured it was time to share more of this trip!)

Book Cart and Lotus on a Shanghai Street: Books and Travels in China (3)

A Daily Offering...

Here's a little treat for your day: a daily offering of books!  When I first arrived in Shanghai it was sweltering, and I took refuge, of all places, in a local McDonalds.  Curiously, its food items were not what one might find in New York, Chicago, or elsewhere in the US.  Instead, they had infused aspects and flavors of Chinese culinary culture into the food items, including green tea sundaes, and pork sandwiches.  When I finally emerged from the air conditioned "Micky D's" (or "Mick-ee De'zi?") I found this great little truck and vendor, selling books out of the back!  I took this photo along with some of other vendors, including the one at the bottom, who was selling lotuses.  Of course, no one told me how to eat these things, when I did buy them.  So I found them incredibly dry and terrible to chew on.  When I did get the proper lesson in eating lotus, I discovered I hadn't been taking off the correct "plant flesh coating" of the seeds, which do in fact give you a bad feeling in your mouth.  Once this covering of the seed is taken off, the lotus seed itself is quite tasty!  Lesson learned.  

Books and Budai in Hangzhou: Books and Travels in China (2)

Happy Golden Statues

It's always a delight to come across statuary, as you never know what it's meant to represent until you take a good look at it.  And when one travels in places like China, you'll find a intriguing statues of various natures all over the country.  A couple quick items for today: this statue of what appears to be "a Buddha," often described as "the laughing Buddha."  But in truth, this Chan monk from the Late Liang Dynasty is known as the Budai.  There is a deeper history, which I won't fully go into here now, but it is an interesting expression of a rich tradition.

While visiting Hangzhou, I walked all over the town, and discovered some interesting places, including the local museum, which had many examples of antique Chinese books.  I offer a few images here.  This story is not finished yet, but for now, keep reading...

Words on a Hangzhou Street: Books and Travels in China (1)

Chinese on the Walkways

As I venture into the world of Chinese culture and Chinese books, I want to give you a taste of the many blogposts to come, based on my trip to China last summer.  Here, you will see a couple photographs I took, while walking in the city of Hangzhou, in the West Lake Region.  It was in an area of old shops, where a stream went through the town.  I found, as I was walking on the path, this series of "stone texts" embossed on the ground.  The letters are emblematic of an ancient press, and if you can read Chinese, or recognize its characters, you will realize that this piece of art in the photos below is a representation of an ancient printing press.  You can tell this, because the Chinese characters are all backwards!

It is an interesting representation of the "written arts," and many more examples will be shared as I go through the countless photos I took this last summer.  Well, words "under foot" may explain or confound us, but they are still there.  Keep your eye on the path.

Books on a Chinatown Street

When Books Accompany a "Theological" Message

It happens ever so often that I'll be walking down the street--usually in NYC--and there, all of a sudden, I come upon a display of books.  They could be on a table, they could be on the ground, on a tarp, on a box, on the ground, in a row..., what have you.  It is certainly always a curious sight, and for most of us bibliophiles, an attraction.  But I think there comes a time, when you just pass such biblio-expressions by, because they are frequent, or because the books look tattered, or old, or just plain uninteresting.  Sometimes, we're just too busy.  I reflected on this recently, on this thought that I've become a bit more apathetic to passing such book displays.  I'm not sure what it is, though it may be one of this aforementioned reasons.

Nonetheless, I'm usually more intrigued when I see some "signage" accompanying books on display or for sale.  I'm more apt to stop, even momentarily, to look at what's going on.  In this case, I was walking in Chinatown on a recent evening, and nearly stumbled over this regiment of books, set in a line along the wall of a building (I think it was either a convenient store or a bank!).  And there, right in the middle, was this sign.  It took a little maneuvering to actually see this, because the streets were filled with busy people, rushing by the books, and me!  But I was able to snap a few shots to share with you today.  Now looking at the actual sign in more depth, and some of the books on display, I'm more aware of the message, though it is perhaps an unclear and distorted "hamartiological" (i.e. relating to sin) cry, from a religious person on the street--the street, being a key stage for promoting one's agendas. Yet, despite any of these sin-laced proclamations, it is an interesting expression of the human desire to be heard, especially as we consider which item accompanies the other:  do the books accompany the sign, or does the sign accompany the books?  Or are the really more unrelated than the owner of this set-up intended?  I'm not sure we'll really know, as I didn't see anyone in that mad rush, passing by these books in the crowd; I didn't see anyone overseeing this display.  And yet, by a fateful and paradoxical chance, my own curiosity to examine this person's display and thoughts will go to a far wider audience than he or she ever intended, while remaining imprinted on a blog, cast around the globe, for a digital eternity.