I've never been impressed with Chinese art, and now I know why. During the cultural revolution, all the beautiful artifacts in China were destroyed. What I've seen up until now has been the second-rate stuff that survived the revolution. However, before the revolution when Chiang Kai Shek fled China he brought with him to Taiwan thousands of artifacts and works of art, saving them from being destroyed. Many of the best works are on display at the Palace Museum's permanent collection, and the rest are rotated monthly in the special exhibits on the first floor. Supposedly there are so many items in the collection that even if I were to visit every month for the rest of my life, I wouldn't be able to see everything. Naturally China wants them back, which is one of the reasons why it has been trying to take Taiwan.
I was amazed. I couldn't believe my eyes. I kept asking myself the same questions over and over... How did someone make this? How long did it take? What tools did they use? There were a lot of things that I wouldn't have believed were possible to make, but they were sitting there right before me. Most museums are filled with things that are valuable because they're old. This museum was filled with things that were old, but valuable because they're beautiful.I'm totally opposed to poaching elephants for their tusks, but I guiltily have to admit that the ivory pieces were by far my favorite. I spent almost thirty minutes staring at one piece in particular. It was a hanging ornamental decoration made of several ivory pieces, and the part I couldn't keep my eyes off of was an elaborately carved sphere the size of a baseball. It looked like a cluster of dragons and flowers laced together to form an ivory sphere. Inside the sphere was another elaborately carved sphere. The skill the artist must have had to carve designs into the inner sphere through the designs of the outer sphere without cracking the ivory was just mind-boggling. And it didn't stop there, there was another sphere within that one. In fact there were 17 concentric spheres, but you could only catch glimpses of the inner spheres through the carved designs of the outer ones. How does someone make something like that while keeping the outer spheres intact??? It may just be the most beautiful thing I have, and ever will see, in my life.
I also spent time examining the details in a collection of small ivory boxes. Each box was roughly the size of my pinky fingernail, yet had perfectly symmetrical patterns carved into them that you could view through a giant magnifying glass. It looked like the boxes were made of a mesh of white threads, except they were carved from ivory. Some of them were attached to chains made of carved ivory links, and each link was no bigger than a grain of sand. The links had to have been carved in that shape, not cut and glued together. How could anyone have the skill or patience to make such a thing?
There was a tiny boat, and inside the rooms you could see people having tea, or playing games on tiny tables. The people were smaller than a grain of rice. How do you carve such detail through a window the size of a pinhead? Resting in the center of the boat was a three-story pagoda with movable windows and doors, yet the entire pagoda was only the size of my pinky until the first joint. I just can't begin to describe the detailed designs.
There were a lot of other beautiful things made during a time when craftsmen competed with each other to create innovative works of art, like miniature bottles with elaborate scenery painted on the inside, using a tiny curved brush.
Obviously no photos were allowed, or I would have filled up my entire digital card in the museum. I would go back to Taiwan just to visit the museum again.
Falun Gong and Organ Harvesting
A few weeks ago while looking up news topics to discuss in one of my English classes, I came across an article about the illegal trade of organs. I learned that many poor countries have an organ blackmarket, and the article briefly mentioned that China sells the organs of executed prisoners.
Then through another article I learned that China executes more criminals per year than the rest of the world combined, many of whom were imprisoned for the crime of free thinking. Shockingly, many of the executions are carried out so that the organs can be harvested and sold to people in other countries looking for organ transplants. There was a detailed report about it on CNN with interviews of Americans who had gone to China for transplants and didn't know that people were executed to obtain the needed organs.
On my second day in Taipei, I met a woman who was handing out fliers. I said I didn't speak Chinese, so she gave me an English one. I briefly perused the flier while walking away, and when I realized that it was about protesting the executions and organ harvesting of political criminals in China, I went back to find out more. It turned out she spoke impeccable English and was from France, and was only visiting family in Taiwan for a short time. She wants people to know what China has been doing, and I had so many questions that she gladly answered. It must be hard standing out in the rain while people ignore you or take a flier just to be polite, so when I expressed interest she eagerly shared whatever she could.
She practices a meditation style called Falun Gong (like Yoga or Tai Chi) that became popular in China in the 1990s. The government banned it because it focusses on cultivating a spiritual mind, and arrested and tortured the leaders of the group in China. Some of them were cremated before releasing the remains to relatives, to hide the fact that their organs were taken and sold.
She explained that most Chinese people don't even know what their country is doing because of the suppression of information. The internet is monitored and sites are prohibited. Many of the Chinese people that she'd met had accused her of exaggerating or making up stories because they can't believe their government would do such a thing. They live in the bubble of information that the Chinese government has created and maintains. Many famous people from other countries are boycotting the Beijing Olympics because of China's record of atrocities on human rights, although I've forgotten the names that she rattled off.
Today I looked up a website with more information on Falun Gong and feel terrible for the people being persecuted as well as hatred towards a government that would not only allow this kind of thing to happen but actually implements persecution and torture. On Wikipedia it says
There are particular concerns over reports of torture, illegal imprisonment including forced labour, and psychiatric abuses. Falun Gong related cases comprise 66% of all reported torture cases in China, and at least half of the labour camp population. Since 2006, Falun Gong has alleged systematic organ harvesting from living practitioners, and an investigation led by two Canadian parliamentarians, David Kilgour and David Matas, has lent support to the claims.
I don't want to believe it, but all signs point to it being true. So what can I do? For now letting people know what's happening is a step. In class I'll share the fliers that she gave me.
Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall
The enormous monument (the black dot at the base of the doorway is a person) is set in the middle of a garden full of winding pathways and ponds, which I didn't explore because of the rain. And actually that's not even the name of the hall anymore. Last year the government changed the name of the hall to the "National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall" as part of its plan to erase Chiang Kai Shek's name from all public buildings. I'm not sure why. For example, the Chiang Kai Shek airport is now called Taoyuan Airport, and on the airport buses you can see the outlines of where they scraped off the old name and painted the new one on.
I love the sign near the doorway. Luckily, I was dressed appropriately that day.
The star-shaped sun design of the high ceiling was pretty cool. Inside the vast hall was a gigantic statue of Chiang Kai Shek, and on the walls were the names of the people killed in the 228 Massacre. The names might only be a temporary exhibit, considering the way the flowers were plastered onto the wall and the names were handpainted, and also the names don't appear in other photos I've seen of the hall. I like the way the flowers were jutting out of the wall.
So what's the 228 Massacre? I didn't know until I went to Taiwan. Shortly after the Republic of China gained control of Taiwan, a police officer used his gun to beat an elderly Taiwanese woman who refused to have her blackmarket cigarettes confiscated, and a crowd formed and someone got shot. An even bigger crowd of angry citizens formed, and on February 28, 1947 security forces were given permission to use machine guns against a crowd of demonstrators, which led to a period of martial law, the shooting of anyone who violated curfew, looting, rapes, executions, people vanishing etc. Talk of the incident was forbidden so the next generation grew up without knowing it had happened, and only recently in 1995 a public apology was given.I was about to leave when I noticed an elevator hidden in the corner. The sign inside was only written in English, suggesting that it was meant solely for foreign tourists. As you know, we foreigners are filthy with disease.
I hadn't realized it until I stepped out of the elevator, but the base of the memorial was 3 floors of additional rooms, with exhibits of Chiang Kai Shek's personal items (even two of his cars) and some rotating art exhibitions. Since I ignored history in school and don't know much about Chiang Kai Shek, seeing his old briefcase and uniforms wasn't very exciting for me.Taipei 101
At 509 meters it's the world's tallest building, at least until 2009 when the building in Dubai is completed. I like the shape and how the lights are a different color depending on the day of the week. On Monday it was red. How do they make such a tall building withstand both typhoons and earthquakes? If Taiwan can do it, it's only a matter of time before Japan follows suit.
You can pay to take the fastest elevator in the world and hang out on the observatory deck, but since it was rainy with little visibility, I didn't see the point. There's a separate door to get to the offices, which I found out when I tried to enter and a big scary guard stopped me at the door. He had a low voice and menacing face. I didn't need to speak Chinese to understand that he didn't want me going in that way.
No comments:
Post a Comment