Getting on a plane back to London in a couple of hours. The 7 weeks have been far too fast. Much has happened though, not much has happened in Hong Kong the last 3 weeks I have been here. Everything of course, revolved around my grandma’s passing.
I went to Beijing to get a feel of the people and geography, to see if I could see myself living there and I came out with a real desire to make a real life there. A desire so strong, nowhere else feels like home anymore. I started learning how to play a Chinese instrument when I was 20 and learning Mandarin when I was 23. Both of which, I stopped learning within the same year. But I have always had an inescapable desire to learn about China. In my early thirties, I am ready to make this reality happen.
Digital photos of Tai Po new indoor Market. Every area has one and they are pretty similar. They are split into fish stalls, meat stalls and fruit/veg stalls. Due to Avian Flu a few years ago, the live poulty is secluded to a small area. Only up until a few years ago, it was about all you could buy. Locals wouldn't buy chicken killed, washed and cling wrapped in polythene. They would choose a chicken from the cages and the owner would go get it, go to the back, kill, gut and pluck it for you. Upstairs is an open plan food hall with various restaurants (food isn't great though). The fish market is my favourite, a lively place with lots of swimming fish, crab, prawns, frog and eels. Walking around with some friends from Japan in March we saw a 2 ft fish flip off a table onto the floor before the man went for it, put it on the slab and whacked it's head with the butt of his cleaver. Sooner of later, this practice and these places may become a thing of the past too.
Pig's feet
Fresh and various Tofu
Live Prawns
'Dai Jat' crab, at this time of year only
Bloody fish
- J
In 1997 when I was in Hong Kong for my granddads funeral princess Diana died. In 2001 I was in Stuttgart when the planes hit the World Trade Centre. In 2004 I was in Holland when the Tsunami hit Asia. I always seem to be away from home when big news stories occur. But in 2005 I was in London when the bombing went off. In fact, I was halfway across London by the time it happened. I’d missed the Russell Square/Kings Cross underground bomb by about half an hour. Far from being far away, I was very close. Saying that, I was in London when the Sichuan earthquake happened.
The day I got to Beijing on Sept 16th, The Lehman Brothers went into Bankruptcy. We know what proceeded this, and we know what is following.
Nearly everyone on the planet is affected by the financial system. I have relatively little connection to it. But I do freelance and thus it may affect the amount of work available next year, although I plan to spend half the year in Beijing, which is less affected. I am unsure. Making money in the UK and bringing it to China makes financial sense. Money is worth about 4 times less though that should change rapidly as their currency is undervalued. You can get a beer for 20p from the supermarket yet pay £4.50 at a 5 star hotel.
Anyway.
Here in the world of Tai Po, Hong Kong, it keeps on chugging…
No one saw this kid running at the speed of light, but my camera caught him.
Sleeping on job.
Cigarette break interrupted.
Local movie theatre.
'Dickman' ... at your (dubious) service.
- J
Due to waiting for my brother, we arrived at the village just on time. But they had started early and were waiting for us. We got into white clothing and my uncle came to pick us up. Together we walked down the road and around the bend. It was only until we were approaching the mound that my mum broke down crying. As we walked up to the mound I saw my relatives, all in white, to the right was my grandmother’s casket. I held my mum as she was beside herself. The ritual began and we started bowing to the prayers of the ‘monk’. I had been to one other Chinese funeral, that of my grandfather 11 years ago so I knew what to expect. There are many rules and traditions to the ritual of the funeral, which is passed down, and even my auntie who organized it needed others to tell her the ways.
Before the casket goes into the ground, we have the last opportunity to look at the recently deceased. It was odd seeing my gran lying there done up by the mortician. She didn’t look bad. Only I remember her when she was alive only 4 weeks ago. It was strange. To me, she still felt alive, despite that I did become upset and it was a dizzying experience until she went into the ground.
The main aspect of the funeral is to hire ‘monks’- neither in robes or who are bald- to perform to music and ‘prayers’/’songs’ and to instruct us when to bow towards the gods and to the recently deceased. The bowing is done standing and on your knees depending and is done at about 20minute stretches with a 20 min break, followed by another 20 mins. This went on for about 3 hours. My grandfather’s went on for 6hrs. There is also the burning of fake money and paper- this I think is to give it to the afterlife to ‘spend’, an offering.
While on my knees bowing, getting up and then on my knees bowing again in the hot sun, I realized that after hours that far from being an alien ritual I was forced to perform at the behest of my relatives, I actually felt it was a necessary act to follow in the wishes and beliefs of my grandmother. It can be pretty painful on the knees, the calf’s, the feet and it can be pretty hot- but- I was going to do this for my grandmother so she got a good send off to the afterlife- whether I myself believe it or not, I knew she did.
My brother, who lacks common sense and social graces spent half of the time trying to talk to the family, who he hadn’t seen for 10 years and play with our little cousin who he’d never met. Although I do not disagree with him coming all this way to Hong Kong, he actually did come for a week to work in recent years and never contacted or gran or any of our family to meet. It reminds me of the film Tokyo Story where the son leaves the ritual of his mothers funeral and says something to the effect of, ‘I did nothing for her in life, I cannot make up for it in death’.
On the way home my brother asked me how my day was. I reminded him it was a funeral and added that he obviously didn’t feel the same way we did because unfortunately, he barely knew her. Moreover, he said he had a pretty good day connecting with family he hadn’t seen in over 10 years. These were times where tongue biting became a really useful skill. It was also a reminder as to why I hadn’t seen him in 3 years.
The funeral ritual seemed a real process in sending her off to the afterlife and perhaps it’s just me, but everyone seemed to have said goodbye by the end of it.
- J
Contigo Coffee Shop, Beijing.
Leaving the day after tomorrow and nearly been here 3 weeks. It’s been fairly eventful. One of those periods in life where I forgot what I didn’t know before I came but realize what I do now. And the more I know, the more I realize how little I do. I want to recap on the last 20 days here in Beijing.
Before I came I made small efforts through the internet to connect with people in Beijing. Those efforts resulted in making a social life here. It created friendships, feelings, fun times and experiences. With the connection with Sexy Beijing, it brought about some work that will be featured on their site. It also gave me the opportunity to come in direct contact with some of the members of the Hip Hop/Rock scene. Not that old and not that new, it is good to be witness to the evolution of this culture.
Of course my internal mood shifted dramatically 2 days ago when I found out that my grandma in Hong Kong passed away. Although I am geographically closest to Hong Kong, The news travelled from Hong Kong, to Holland (where an Uncle lives) to UK to my family and then to Beijing. Of all the family overseas, I am also the one who saw her most recently (3 weeks ago for the Mid Autumn Festival).
Two years prior, Beijing left and indelible dent in my heart and mind and I vowed to come back to possibly live and work. In my 10 days here in late 2006 I found a root to my cultural heritage I never did in the 20+ years of visiting Hong Kong. I started slowly learning Mandarin and I started the documentary about China, ‘Central Nation’. Central Nation is both my personal lifetime research about the history, culture and future of China that also serves the purpose of sharing and presenting this information in an art form, namely a film that eschews a mainstream form.
We must know nothing.
I only have one friend in Beijing and she works ALL the time. I needed more friends. Sightseeing alone is fine by me but getting around and not knowing how to speak the language is a struggle. Especially when I am Chinese, at first glance, most expect I speak it. It was time meet more people and to learn more about China/Beijing, from the people who live in it. I came across a popular site called The Beijinger while doing research in April this year. I came across the idea to meet new people in Beijing as I planned to come back in September. I put an ad out and got some replies from mostly young women. I put another ad out in August and got more replies. I also contacted the ones I had made contact with April. The young women I met here were surprisingly open to meet. And they were all so very different from one another. Personalities varied dramatically. Out of seven women, only one was originally from Beijing. Most were from other provinces. Also surprisingly, half had siblings. The shared trait they all have is that they were hospitable, genuine and loved China without being nationalistic (bar one). Spending time with each of them brought knowledge of new realities to me. I think I made four new friends and will see next year when I come back.
One small step.
I started watching Sexy Beijing early this year. It is an internet TV show that has 3 ‘channels’. One is called The Hard Hat Show which is about the continuing building development in Beijing, the other is Beijing Beat which features work by new film makers about music , arts and culture. The main one, Sexy Beijing features Su Fei (Anna Sophie Loewenberg), a lively Jewish American woman exploring different facets of love in the capital. I dislike most vox pops videos but this one was funny, lively and informative. It owes much to the presenting by Su Fei. I wanted to be part of Sexy Beijing. So I emailed them while still in London. I didn’t receive and reply for a few weeks. When Anna Sophie replied she said to email when I got here. So I did that. During the same week of the Shenzhou-7 space mission we exchanged a few emails and missed an appointment and shoot at Hooters. But we finally met at the beginning of my last week here. We both wanted to work together but due to Anna Sophie’s schedule, time didn’t allow us to shoot a Sexy Beijing. So she got in contact with a friend of hers who is an American Fullbright student researching Beijing Hip Hop. I met with him the same afternoon and we chatted for hours and made plans to shoot a piece about a collaboration between some rappers, MC’s (including Webber) and a rock band called Twisted Metal. So far we have been to the Modern Sky rock festival and done some interviews at their rehearsal. Tonight we shoot the gig.
Next year I hope to shoot more for Sexy Beijing and for the Fullbright student who’s a very smart young man and nice person. Getting in with some of the insiders of youth culture in Beijing and documenting it at the same time is a great unison that suddenly came to being after an email, a meeting and a phone call.
Anna Sophie is also a good person to know as she seems to know lots of people and said would love for me to meet them. To meet more people can create more understanding and also bring about the array of opportunities both social and work related that makes Beijing such an exciting place to be now.
Big Central Nation.
My friend here at Contigo mentioned a photographic book by a man who travelled across China. An ‘amateur’ photographer, he has done what so many in China have wanted to do, including myself. A self published 3 book set, it feels like one is travelling with him. A humanist take on life in various remote parts of China, and as far as I know, the only one of it’s kind. I met the man briefly at the book signing. He was humble and warm and welcomed contact with publishers in the UK if I might help make contact on his behalf. I felt incredibly privileged to have the possibility/opportunity do such a thing for such a book. I was excited.
Even though I know of the large and vast diversity of ethnic groups in China and the majority rural population, to see so much of it in the book opened up China as a whole planet of diversity and complexity. As far as I knew China in a political sense, suddenly it was not just made up of cities and internet users and city populations but also millions of rural populations with different cultural traditions to each other. This was China too.
I had a conversation (through translation) with a friend of a friend and she said if I ever created a film/films that documented what I intended, it would have to be a masterpiece.
The original enormity of the project just became a vast and lifetime exploration. The way I think about the project now is becoming more long term. I need to continually do my research through reading and contact throughout the years to follow. This is reflected in how little I have shot here, because I know it can be done next year.
I came back from shooting the rehearsal/interviews at 10pm on Thursday and got an email from my sister who asked me to urgently call home. It came as a shock that my grandma who I had just seen passed away. I do not yet know how or why. I felt sorrow for my mum who did not get to say goodbye although she had seen her in February this year. Loss is what I felt. The feeling of never meeting my grandma again is a reminder that everything has a finite life and that mortality defines us. We our ourselves and everyone we meet. Therefore, my grandma continues to live through us. My friend said it is said that we will all meet in the afterlife. Whatever we want to call it, I hope this is true.
- J
my grandma, mid Autumn Festival, Hong Kong. photo taken in 2006,
- J
Pig's feet
Fresh and various Tofu
Live Prawns
'Dai Jat' crab, at this time of year only
Bloody fish
