Communist Construction
The thing that has possibly left the greatest impression on me from China thus far has been communist architecture. There is no doubt in my mind that there is a brilliant psychology behind every structure in the city.
Take Tiananmen Square.
On the West side of the square, the Great Hall of the People in its dominating size and lifeless presence looms over passers by and instills a sense of humility in their place amongst the affairs of 'The Party.'
To the South of the square lies the equally massive Mausoleum of Mao Zedong, where the bodily remains of ex-chairman Mao Zedong are on display. All can remember the sacrafices of the leaders of the revolution.
Combine these with the excessive width of Chan'an Road, the sheer vastness of Tiananmen Square itself, and the narcissistically large portrait of Mao watching over the every move of his people, and one gets the sense that communism and the party is still very much a part of the composition of everyday China despite the recent influx of capitalist influences.
posted by Sean | 11:33 AM
2 Comments:
Very precise. Enough to look at Moscow (where national holidays are conducted on the burial ground of the most -- um -- impactful characters in USSR history); Minsk (where even the public skating rink takes up a huge square across from Lukashenko's residence); Bucharest (where stalinesque humongous buildings that were meant to ooze autocracy (even of proletariat) are gaping with black holes of missing windows and (sometimes)unfinished siding.
Great posts! I'm glad to see that you finally made it to China. I love the photo of you on the Great Wall. That's one place I'd love to visit. Funny what you said about the language and comparing it to Japanese. I honestly don't think that there is another culture besides Japan that is so subdued and silent. Where else could you sit on a packed yet silent train. Enjoy China!
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