China | MUSEUM FATIGUE

Mystery Object #25: Chinese Rockery Fountain

February 23, 2019 by Museum Fatigue

While visiting the Nanjing Confucius Temple area a few months ago with some visitors, I happened cross an incredible object. It was a water fountain for sale in a tourist shop at a dramatic discount. I was immediately captivated by its motion and drawn in by its fascinating and unconventional details. My companions initially thought that I was joking when I stopped to watch the fountain, and then after I inquired about its price, they realized I was serious. Look […]

Categories: China, Culture, Mystery Objects, Objects of Power, Uncategorized • Tags: water fountain

The Nanjing River Bridge Gets a Facelift for its 50th Anniversary

December 30, 2018 by Museum Fatigue

Two years ago, in the fall of 2016, the Nanjing River Bridge (南京长江大桥) was closed for extensive renovations. The first Chinese-constructed bridge across the Yangtze river, when it opened in December 1968 it was extolled as an example of China’s “spirit of self-reliance” (自立根生). Its opening was also the high point of the rustication program of “sent down youth” during the Cultural Revolution, and former zhiqing with whom I have worked over the years have commented on the significance of […]

Categories: China, Objects of Power • Tags: Cultural Revolution, Nanjing River Bridge

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No Earthrise in China?

December 28, 2018 by Museum Fatigue

This week was the fiftieth anniversary of the perspective-changing image of the Earth taken from Apollo 8 while in lunar orbit on Christmas Eve 1968. The iconic photograph of the Earthrise—the first color image of Earth from space—and its effects on our understanding of our home planet were the topic of many articles in the media this past holiday week. So imagine my utter surprise when I showed this photograph to a classroom of over seventy Chinese college students at […]

Categories: China, Environment, Photography, Scripts • Tags: Earthrise

Crowd Control at the Beijing Station Ticket Window

December 26, 2018 by Museum Fatigue

One of my earliest memories of life in China was fighting for tickets at railway stations and movie theaters where the idea of lines was a culturally alien one. Decades later while it is common to see folks in urban China line up for everything in a way that is familiar, some spaces are still being negotiated. As interfaces between the urban and rural, train stations remain just such a potential space. Urban China, however, has numerous examples of design […]

Categories: Bodies, China, Discipline, Uncategorized • Tags: Beijing Railway Station, design, queue

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The Strange Case of Nanjing Bicycle Sacrifice

September 27, 2017 by Museum Fatigue

On two separate occasions, in different parts of Nanjing, I have observed a local practice of bicycle use that is a sad commentary on value and waste in urban Nanjing—bicycles chained to the ground along the side of the road as ritual sacrifice. While they were created to be ridden for transportation and enjoyment, the sad, twisted objects with their tortured frames pegged to the ground will never again be used as a means of locomotion. Their “bicycleness” has been […]

Categories: Bicycling, China, Mystery Objects, Ruins • Tags: automobiles, Nanjing, parking, trash

“Liu Xiaobo” and the Power and Weakness of the Digital

July 14, 2017 by Museum Fatigue

char nametoberemoved[11] = {‘L’, ‘i’, ‘u’, ‘ ‘, ‘X’, ‘i’,’a’, ‘o’, ‘b’, ‘o’, ‘\0’}; When he died yesterday, Liu Xiaobo got quite a lot of press in the West. A Nobel Peace Prize winner and notable participant in the Tiananmen protests that culminated in the events of June 4th, 1989, he was an iconic dissident figure. In fact, I have a hunch that when we look back from some future point, Liu Xiaobo’s passing will have also marked the eclipsing […]

Categories: China, Memory, Technology • Tags: censorship, Digital Culture, Liu Xiaobo, WeChat

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Demolishing the 2010 Shanghai Expo Saudi Pavilion

June 29, 2017 by Museum Fatigue

The other day while bicycling past the site of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, I happened upon the destruction of one of its most famous destinations—the Saudi Arabia pavilion. It was already in such a state of advanced demolition that at first I didn’t even recognize what it was. The frazzled, suicidal palm trees standing like jumpers on the edge of the rooftop three stories up were what initially caught my eye. I didn’t have time to stop for more than […]

Categories: China, End of Times, Ruins • Tags: Expo 2010, Saudi Pavilion, Shanghai

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Chinese Bicycle Parts Diagram

June 13, 2017 by Museum Fatigue

While living in Nanjing this past year I have spent quite a lot of time bicycling around the city and surrounding area. I’ve had the chance to get to know my local bike shop owner and have been learning new things about enjoying my favorite pastime in China. One of these days, when I find the extra time, I’ll post some photos and routes and perhaps write a bit about cycling in China. For now, however, I thought I’d share […]

Categories: Bicycling, China • Tags: bicycle parts, chinese language

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Firing Squad

June 4, 2017 by Museum Fatigue

Categories: China, Photography, Tourism

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The Window Washer As Chinese Culture

November 22, 2016 by Museum Fatigue

In the popular imagination “Chinese Culture” is something which emcompasses those different things which are unique to China. Chinese cultural things on display at tourist sites will likely include things like silk brocade, cloisonné, jade carvings, paper cuts, calligraphy and teapots. As a Nanjing taxi driver described to me last week there are also telling habits that can be used to distinguish Chinese from others: “Americans drink coffee and Chinese drink tea.” Of course, simple reflection on many of these […]

Categories: Bodies, China, Culture, Labor • Tags: fear of falling, window washing