19th century China through the eyes of a Scotchman

A Manchu bride, Beijing (1871) ::
© John Thomson / Courtesy Wellcome Library, London / CC BY 4.0

I don't know about you, but I pretty much adore unique historical photographs from China.

The ones presented here are clearly something very special, because the Scottish photographer in question largely bypassed the trap most of his contemporaries invariably walked into: Deliberately staging and thus essentializing 'the exotic' of 19th century China and her people.

John Thomson (1837-1921), a native of Edinburgh, first moved to Singapore in 1862, then went on to Siam, Angkor Wat and Phnom Penh.

After eventually settling down in Hong Kong in 1868, he spent the following four years travelling extensively across China, taking photographs of Chinese people from all walks of life, architecture, local customs or regional sceneries. A geographer, travel writer and gifted pioneer of photojournalism, Thomson was markedly different from other masters of the lens in the colonial era as he demonstrated a rare interest in and pronounced respect for his varied subjects.

A married couple, Xiamen / Fujian province (1870) ::
© John Thomson / Courtesy Wellcome Library, London / CC BY 4.0

After his death in 1921, wealthy American collector Henry Wellcome acquired a set of Thomson's original glass plate negatives that are still held today by the Wellcome Library in London.

Thanks to a painstaking conservation and digitization process involving 660 original negatives, select prints from this laudable project have been shown in exhibition halls all over the world.

A selection of these stunning images is currently on display at The Textile Museum and The George Washington University Museum in Washington, DC, alongside contemporaneous items of the textile museum's beautiful collection of fabrics and accessories from the Qing dynasty.

The exhibition, entitled 'China: Through the Lens of John Thomson (1868-1872)', is open to visitors until February 14, 2016 (for more information, see also this article in American Photo).

And providing you want to delve deeper into the fascinating world of 19th century China, of other parts of the Far East or of Cyprus, Thomson's last stop before returning to Britain, visit the site dedicated to him at Wellcome Library or browse the complete catalogue here. You won't regret it.

Thomson with two Manchu soldiers, Xiamen / Fujian province (1871) ::
© John Thomson / Courtesy Wellcome Library, London / CC BY 4.0

Deciphering the Chinese sphinx

© Anderson Riedel / Flickr / CC BY 2.0

Only a short while before Xi Jinping's first official US visit in his capacity as Chinese president, I noticed with slight irritation that a theme disturbingly prevalent in earlier narratives has re-emerged in the media (for an example, see here).

That is, professional commentators desperately trying to figure out what the supposed new strongman is all about and tending to view China's current top leader as a persona somehow shrouded in mystery. There is such an awful lot of hyperbole in many of these 'how does the Chinese sphinx tick' pieces that I can't help to cringe.

It is especially vexing given the very real risk of perpetuating the age-old myth of the 'inscrutable Chinese'.

Not to be misunderstood: I know perfectly well that access to the secluded quarters of Zhongnanhai is highly restricted and analysing the inner workings of Chinese elite politics is no easy feat. Nor is the venture to entangle the personal from the political (if that's even possible) or to fully comprehend a politician's broader agenda (if there is one at all).

Nevertheless, there is most certainly no need for an advanced course in contemporary psychoanalytical theory and practice.

With regard to Xi Jinping, it would clearly help to hear and read what the man actually says.

A good starting point might be his book 'The Governance of China' (Amazon), a compilation of nearly 80 speeches and addresses released in October 2014 with mighty official fanfare.

I know, I know, it doesn't make for the most entertaining reading; on the other hand, nearly all main ideas and ideological underpinnings are laid out there for everyone to see (for a short summary, see this recent article in The Atlantic. The author coins the term 'Xiism' for the latter's special brand of ethno-nationalist Marxism).

Much of the widespread failure to dissect what's going on is due to the fact that Chinese sources and original statements are woefully ignored in most of Western mainstream coverage. It should be self-evident by now that monitoring the headlines and op-eds of officially sanctioned English-language publications, such as China Daily or Global Times, is definitely not enough.

But back to the man in question. Assuredly, CCP head Xi Jinping is a lot more affable and charming than his predecessor Hu Jintao, according to accounts by Westerners who have met him in person (should suffice to look at him, by the way).

True, compared to Hu, the very incarnation of wooden technocrat and party apparatchik, everyone would look affable (I always had this weird imagination he would just splinter into a thousand pieces if you push him too hard). The part of reaching out to the Chinese people and engineering populist stunts was left to his amiable sidekick, premier Wen Jiabao.

All in all, the best profile of alleged mystery man Xi Jinping I have come across so far is the one by Evan Osnos, entitled 'Born Red' and posted online by The New Yorker a while back. Very thorough, based on an impressive variety of interviews with Chinese and foreign informants from different backgrounds and using a lot of Chinese-language material as well as talks and texts by Xi himself, the extensive portrait is not only positively enlightening but also exceptionally well-written.

I strongly urge you to take the time to read all of it.

(Note: In case you have wondered now and then why I rarely refer to excellent German sources or authors, myself being German and all, the reason for this is quite simple.

In my very humble opinion, there are - sadly - next to none. Period. No sinister motives on my side whatsoever.)

china beats presents :: Broken Thoughts

Guest post by Eclectic Beatmaster (German version here)

Transforming mathematics or physics into music is not a brand new approach by modern experimental or electronic artists, but it is always good for some really brilliant gems of the genre.

'Wave Function Collapse', the new ten piece - patterns he calls them - album from Broken Thoughts aka Luo Keju from Kunming, was inspired by a theory in physics.

'In quantum mechanics, wave function collapse is said to occur when a wave function - initially in a superposition of several eigenstates - appears to reduce to a single eigenstate (by 'observation').' 

(Wikipedia)

Well, seems to be a great concept for some sound-based works of art. Let's see what the young Chinese artist is telling us about his inspiration and approach to the album.

© Luo Keju

'I've always been fascinated by such concept and I believe it has best described how a lot of things work, including the creation of music in a way. I start with random materials and nebulous melodies from my subconscious, put these clips of different lengths together on loop, then just allow things to happen spontaneously, while I observe and interfere, shaping out the details. These become the album - 10 "patterns" created over the last 20 months. They are soundtracks to imaginary films, and experiments inspired by and dedicated to the beauty of mathematics and physics.'

Well said.

My suggestion: Grab your headphones and start floating into this fantastic mix of cinematic glitches, slowly but steadily rolling with waving loops and tender beats.

 
The album was released on August 19, 2015 via net label Abstract Reflections where you can legally download in three different qualities, from 320 kbps up to 24bit FLAC.

If you want to support the artist, name a price and buy on Bandcamp.