ANCESTORS 1 In the past – and in rural China today still – the most important item to be acquired, and an essential item at that, was the coffin. The coffin is intended to be the home of the body, whose soul is not completely detached but rather in the perpetual afterlife. [ + ]
ANCESTORS 1
In the past – and in rural China today still – the most important item to be acquired, and an essential item at that, was the coffin.
The coffin is intended to be the home of the body, whose soul is not completely detached but rather in the perpetual afterlife.
The afterlife is the life in which one remains forever, in the spiritual world. There is therefore no absolute detachment of the deceased from his or her family. After one’s death, a transformation will occur – usually within one to three days, sometimes longer, depending on the tradition – as a result of which one becomes an ancestor. As an ancestor, a person’s social continuity is ensured, even after biological death.
The coffin would be placed in the ground, and on top of it the ancestor’s treasures and cherished items, and then it would be covered by earth, creating a little mound, a tumulus . Around the tumulus, the tomb takes on the form of a womb, as death marks one’s birth into the afterlife. In addition, it can be seen as a kind of “alpha” sign, symbolizing that the end is the beginning.
It is said that the higher the grass grows on top of the tumulus, the greater the fortune of the ancestor in the eternity of the other world.
MASKS Coming to Shanghai was an experience for all my senses: my nose would be filled with different smells simply crossing from one street corner to another; my sense of touch was mesmerised by new, different surfaces; my ears couldn’t comprehend most of what was going on around me, as they were bombarded with explosions of different sounds everywhere I went; my tongue was happier than ever before, tasting so many different foods and so many different consistencies, compositions and combinations; the way it looked was often at odds from the way it tasted – and, most of the time, it was my eyes that were happily proven wrong. Every day, my eyes would be caught up in a symphony of movements and experiences – and, like the weather in any harbour city, the elements would change day by day, minute by minute. [ + ]
MASKS
Coming to Shanghai was an experience for all my senses: my nose would be filled with different smells simply crossing from one street corner to another; my sense of touch was mesmerised by new, different surfaces; my ears couldn’t comprehend most of what was going on around me, as they were bombarded with explosions of different sounds everywhere I went; my tongue was happier than ever before, tasting so many different foods and so many different consistencies, compositions and combinations; the way it looked was often at odds from the way it tasted – and, most of the time, it was my eyes that were happily proven wrong.
Every day, my eyes would be caught up in a symphony of movements and experiences – and, like the weather in any harbour city, the elements would change day by day, minute by minute. I made a promise to myself to observe more attentively, to concentrate on just one thing at a time and breathe it in, as if I were inspecting it. These inspections would sometimes take less than a minute. Sometimes, they would involve a combination of several observations made at different times, while others would occupy a much longer span of time, of relaxation, depending on whether the element was fixed or in motion. In most cases, without willing it, my brain would conduct a series of categorizations – categorizations that in most cases were proven wrong, because even static objects in Shanghai are constantly changing and moving; being displaced, relocated and dissolved.
The way Shanghainese people dressed on a normal day would always arouse my curiosity. Women especially, on a sunny day, would often wear gloves and large hats, carry umbrellas, and also wear masks – and men, too, would also wear masks. Indeed, after living in Shanghai for a while, there was no way I would contemplate riding my bike without a mask; some of my colleagues would not dare to go outside without one. Paradoxically, these layers of clothing that were meant to keep everything me white, clean and healthy would suppress the senses that were ordinarily revealed to me by Shanghai – the city where it is said that going jogging is more harmful that not exercising at all, as you simply end up inhaling, even more deeply than usual, the reason the Shanghainese don’t see the stars…
A SHANGHAINESE DAY 2 I imagine what my life would have been like if I had been a native Shanghainese grandmother… Like the others of my generation, we would all speak the same dialect, and take full advantage of our home, Shanghai. I get up at around 4.30 a.m., and meet known and unknown friends in order to exercise: tai chi fan, tai chi, dancing or a martial art. [ + ]
A SHANGHAINESE DAY 2
I imagine what my life would have been like if I had been a native Shanghainese grandmother… Like the others of my generation, we would all speak the same dialect, and take full advantage of our home, Shanghai. I get up at around 4.30 a.m., and meet known and unknown friends in order to exercise: tai chi fan, tai chi, dancing or a martial art. I could go to the park, to the street corner where the lilong and the high-rise compound meet, or to the deserted pedestrian promenade. An hour later, I tidy up my house, carefully say my prayers to my ancestors, with the help of incense that cleanses both the air and the energies in the house. Breakfast should be salty, as we lose lots of water at night. I wake up the only son of my only son, and help him to get ready for school. I go to the market and prepare lunch; and then I sit and talk to my neighbours about the latest news in the lilong – who has moved in, who has moved out, who has got married and who has died. After lunch, I’d better take a nap.
[ - ]GUESS WHO IS RIDING THE BICYCLE Shanghai and China historically have an impressive record in terms of the number of citizens who ride bicycles. It is not by chance that the bestselling model of bicycle in the world is Chinese. [ + ]
GUESS WHO IS RIDING THE BICYCLE
Shanghai and China historically have an impressive record in terms of the number of citizens who ride bicycles. It is not by chance that the bestselling model of bicycle in the world is Chinese. Flying Pigeon one of the most popular vehicles sold anywhere.
The Chinese have always made great use of bicycles, and they are good at it. They use them as trucks, mobile shops (selling products ranging from gardening items to food), whole-family transport, and as a means of crossing the entire city on a daily basis.
In one particular lilong, I get to meet a man who used the pedal of his bike to set in motion a sharpener he had attached to the wheel in order to file and sharpen all kinds of kitchen utensils.
However, the Shanghainese are not in agreement on certain issues, such as:
– Using bicycle lights at night and/or cycle helmets.
– Riding straight, like a Western cyclist. It is hard to shake the feeling that riding in a straight line might actually be more dangerous than navigating the city streets in a more winding, haphazard way… perhaps there is a secret to this?
– Using hand signals to indicate you are about to turn. In this case, there is just one thing that matters: keeping your arms safe, and using your head, eyes and ears, as the rules of the road in this city are quite different…
And… doing any of the above will immediately mark you out as… a foreigner.
TELEVISION Of course, one of these lives on display could be mine, too, as I live in one of these towers where there is no need to hide. I used to live in a lilong, though,which taught me to understand that this whole city is mine, and that we all form it, create it and make it breathe together. [ + ]
TELEVISION
Of course, one of these lives on display could be mine, too, as I live in one of these towers where there is no need to hide. I used to live in a lilong, though,which taught me to understand that this whole city is mine, and that we all form it, create it and make it breathe together. No need to hide. My window becomes the best possible TV, a screen showing what is happening here and now. At home, I just want to watch the city passing by my eyes.
[ - ]SEVEN – GHOST MONTH – GHOST DAY Seven is one of the few numbers that is as lucky in the West as it is in the East. In Chinese culture, all annual rituals are determined in accordance with the moon. [ + ]
SEVEN – GHOST MONTH – GHOST DAY
Seven is one of the few numbers that is as lucky in the West as it is in the East. In Chinese culture, all annual rituals are determined in accordance with the moon. In Chinese, as in Latin-based languages, the moon is female; it is the yin ; and it is the moon that determines the propitious day for every Chinese ritual. Accordingly, the seventh month in the lunar calendar belongs to the ghosts, and so it is known as the “Ghost Month”; (鬼月) and the fifteenth day of this month is the “Ghost Day”. On this day, the deceased, emerging from the lower realms, are believed to visit the living. As an important Buddhist and Taoist festival, many rituals are performed in order to ease the pain of the deceased, by transmuting and absolving their suffering; to achieve this, their appetite should be satisfied and prayers should be said.
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