I was free this afternoon in Xian. People who know me - and Xian - would have no problem guessing where I would go. Yes, 书院门街, literally College Gate Street. So named, I believe, because it runs outside 关中书院. It was a 500 year old college established by a Ming Dynasty official who, having lost the favour of the emperor, return home to “study”. The college became an important center of learning in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Now the site is used as a modern day teachers’ college, closed to the public. At the far end of the street is 碑林. Another favourite of mine.
The street is lined with shops selling things related to writing and drawing - Chinese style. Shops that sell nothing but paper, stacks and stacks of them. Ink. Ink wells. Calligraphy. Stamps. Stones for making stamps. Red ink for stamps....
And then there are brushes. Big ones. Smalls ones. Wolf hair. Rabbit hair. Sheep hair. Human hair. I honestly did not plan to photograph the young lady. I was just sheltering from the rain next door, when I noticed and tried to take a photograph of the brushes. Then, suddenly, there she was, poking her nose out.
After that, I stood in the rain to photograph the brushes. Really like them.
I was getting wet, and hungry. So I jumped into this small dumpling shop, and took the table facing the street. Five dollars for 4 taels of dumplings (24 of them). Four for the beer. A good lunch, for only nine dollars. And I got to watch the people walking in the rain. Many of the stalls and shops were closed; and there were not many tourists - they were boring. The normal people were much more interesting. A woman walking a little dog. An elegantly-dressed lady came in asking for directions to her friend’s place - apparently she thought the shopkeepers should know her friend since they are in the same neighbourhood. A man walking stiffly with an umbrella, blocking my view...
The dumpling shop seemed to be run by four young women. One was cooking the dumplings, two were kneading the dough; one was chopping up vegetables for the fillings. One of them went out to deliver a bowl of dumplings, was caught in the rain, turned back to put a plastic bag over the dumplings, then went out again. They seemed to be doing OK running the shop with only four tables. I wish them success, and will make a point to come back to this shop next time I am in Xian.
3 comments:
Anonymous
said...
I went to the streets and places in Xian you reocmmended. Affected by the ancient history and cultural, poetic and romantic embience of the place, Chris even bought miniatures of Chinese classic books (he joined me in the last two days)and said that he would read after his retirement! Ann
Very happy that you like Xian. It is a special place for me. Whenever I am here, I always imagine the people and events that happened here, years and years ago. I am standing where the Zhou Dynasty started (more or less). Where People set off as explorers to the West. Where Tang Tai Chung killed his brothers, and forced his father to step down so he could be emperor... Where poets wrote those beautiful poetry that we are recitng today ...
If I could time-travel, I could shake their hands, listen to them, learn from them, ...
Yesterday, an old man in College Gate Street tried to explain to me the differences between the two words: 人and 仁. I felt like I was stepping back in time.
I was free this afternoon in Xian. People who know me - and Xian - would have no problem guessing where I would go. Yes, 书院门街, literally College Gate Street. So named, I believe, because it runs outside 关中书院. It was a 500 year old college established by a Ming Dynasty official who, having lost the favour of the emperor, return home to “study”. The college became an important center of learning in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Now the site is used as a modern day teachers’ college, closed to the public. At the far end of the street is 碑林. Another favourite of mine.
The street is lined with shops selling things related to writing and drawing - Chinese style. Shops that sell nothing but paper, stacks and stacks of them. Ink. Ink wells. Calligraphy. Stamps. Stones for making stamps. Red ink for stamps....
And then there are brushes. Big ones. Smalls ones. Wolf hair. Rabbit hair. Sheep hair. Human hair. I honestly did not plan to photograph the young lady. I was just sheltering from the rain next door, when I noticed and tried to take a photograph of the brushes. Then, suddenly, there she was, poking her nose out.
After that, I stood in the rain to photograph the brushes. Really like them.
I was getting wet, and hungry. So I jumped into this small dumpling shop, and took the table facing the street. Five dollars for 4 taels of dumplings (24 of them). Four for the beer. A good lunch, for only nine dollars. And I got to watch the people walking in the rain. Many of the stalls and shops were closed; and there were not many tourists - they were boring. The normal people were much more interesting. A woman walking a little dog. An elegantly-dressed lady came in asking for directions to her friend’s place - apparently she thought the shopkeepers should know her friend since they are in the same neighbourhood. A man walking stiffly with an umbrella, blocking my view...
The dumpling shop seemed to be run by four young women. One was cooking the dumplings, two were kneading the dough; one was chopping up vegetables for the fillings. One of them went out to deliver a bowl of dumplings, was caught in the rain, turned back to put a plastic bag over the dumplings, then went out again. They seemed to be doing OK running the shop with only four tables. I wish them success, and will make a point to come back to this shop next time I am in Xian.
3 comments:
I went to the streets and places in Xian you reocmmended. Affected by the ancient history and cultural, poetic and romantic embience of the place, Chris even bought miniatures of Chinese classic books (he joined me in the last two days)and said that he would read after his retirement! Ann
Very happy that you like Xian. It is a special place for me. Whenever I am here, I always imagine the people and events that happened here, years and years ago. I am standing where the Zhou Dynasty started (more or less). Where People set off as explorers to the West. Where Tang Tai Chung killed his brothers, and forced his father to step down so he could be emperor... Where poets wrote those beautiful poetry that we are recitng today ...
If I could time-travel, I could shake their hands, listen to them, learn from them, ...
Yesterday, an old man in College Gate Street tried to explain to me the differences between the two words: 人and 仁. I felt like I was stepping back in time.
Post a Comment