jeanne boden

no this is not belgium ...

It's Shanghai!

history commercialized 3

I told you I would come back to you with 'Mao Zedong shining through history'. Here we are.

On October 1st of this year the Chinese People's Republic celebrates its 60th anniversary: a reason to celebrate. Let the golden rays of history shine in all directions: the pictures of the establishment of the Chinese Communist Party are now available in gold! Take a careful look and you will see Mao Zedong on the Tiananmen Gate in front of all the loudspeakers announcing the establishment of the People's Republic of China - melted in gold. 

I asked the girl behind the counter what use it was to buy a 'Communist Party golden stick'. She replied: "You can offer it to a friend, or you can just keep it for yourself. It is a very nice thing to have'. Irony of history or Chinese pragmatism? Communism melted into gold!

history commercialized 2

I have known it for years that these things happen, but to see it with my own eyes was rather shocking. Recently I was walking along the streets of Beijing, where - like in the rest of China - people are always selling all kinds of stuff. I never really watch; vendors are just part of the everyday street image. This boy however drew my attention when I saw him taking out a big jade object from a plastic bag just as I walked along. Obviously this was an invaluable historical treasure!


Like me, other people immediately showed interest, checking and studying, discussing and bargaining. The jade object had the form of a turtle, a magical animal in ancient Chinese times. At the bottom it showed the reign mark from the time it was produced. Obviously the boy had no clue about what kind of treasure he had in his hands. Ridiculously low prices were offered for the object; prices on the other hand, that might have meant a half a years wage for the worker.
All kinds of things went through my head. 'This object should be  preserved, we should hand it over to knowledgeable people, to the capital museum, ...'. "I have to admit it also went through my mind for a second to buy it'. But I did not. Anyway, here we were, confronted with a situation like it is happening for decades. With all the building  going on in China treasures are found continuously. Sometimes they get attention and end up in the right place, but very often objects like this just start to circle with no one really paying much of attention to them. Thousands of years of Chinese soil is being turned upside down during these decades. Of course this means a confrontation with history.

history commercialized 1

Between 1966 and 1976 the Cultural Revolution took place in China.The 'four olds' - old customs, old culture, old ideas and old habits - were to be rooted out and to be replaced with revolutionary ideas. Young people organized themselves in Red Guard Brigades following Mao's orders, engaging in the destruction of whatever was old, turning against anti-revolutionary people, often intellectuals or even their own family members. Many Chinese were tortured and confronted with terrible actions of young people who were in fact often too naive to realize what they were doing. It was a dark period in China's history. After Mao Zedongs death these 'ten years of chaos' were denounced by the Chinese government as a mishap. It was a period that should be forgotten.

Ironically enough commercial interests these days result in the restaging of all the misery. These little statues at the Panjiayuan antique market in Beijing are wanted objects by collectors. And what is more: 'what the market wants can be produced'. The Cultural Revolution items, from Mao's Little Red Book to the badges have become tourist gadgets.

gold for the ancestors

'mister' boden in china

Let there be no doubt about one thing: I am a woman!

That however does not necessarily imply that I will always be addressed as "Mrs. Boden". Recently I was invited by the Nanchang government to give a lecture on how to do business with Europe and on what aspects Chinese companies should take into account if they want to go to Europe. I had known it before but I had forgotten about it: when the Chinese think you are very knowledgeable they will address you as 'mister', even when you are a woman. So for about five days I was called 包先生, or 'Mister Boden'. A patriarchal society?

hong kong

Hong Kong is not just one Island. The image most people have from Hong Kong is the skyline of Hong Kong Island seen from the opposite shore Kowloon. But it is much more than that.

As a result of the Opium Wars going on in the 19th Century, China lost several parts of its land to the British Crown: Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories. Historical evolutions turned Hong Kong into a mix of traditional Chinese culture with British influences. This picture is taken on Hong Kong Island: vertical life is a good term to describe this place.

mao zedong - shining through history

Mao Zedong gained an indisputable place in Chinese history. He was the one who reunited China after the 'age of humiliation' starting with the Opium War in 1840 and ending in 1949 when the Communist Party succeeded in gaining control over all of China. This year - 2009 - on October 1st the commemoration of 60 years of People's Republic of China will be celebrated. By that time Mao Zedong and the Communist Party may even shine more brightly ... I will come back to you about this!

chatting

According to the moon calendar a life cycle is 60 years. All the rest is extra: time to  be enjoyed. Seeing elderly people in China in the streets or in the parks often makes me realize they are really enjoying their old days. It must be nice to live in a culture where age is respected so much. 

beijing girls

And the times that all Chinese women had the same haircut equally belongs to the past.