“completely different cultures and moral values” > If this was true, how come that we can communicate, and how could NUS aim to be the “classroom of the world”?
While I myself ain’t exactly a fan of LKY, i find all these arguments by westerners are quite amusing. Most of the time you try to impose your values on us but least you forget we ASIANS have completely different cultures and moral values than our western counterparts. Look at IRAQ, what a mess it is in now exactly because g.Bush is trying to impose his values and systems on a totally different environment. All those dictator definition of LKY has so far been given by a minority singaporeans plus his critics in the western media but do they have to live in singapore? are they stakeholders of this small island nation? Can they even comprehend running a country that is so small, with no resources except for her men and women and constantly being targetted by its neighbours?? look globally and you can see the seeds of western values being imposed and failed. Singaporeans, the majority at least have faith in this Govt although we may disagree with certain ways are being done. But nothing is perfect in this world.
Almost every mural made some effort (to my eye) to provide a hyper-exotic image of Dai life. Images of women bathing predominated on some walls; other areas depicted stylised dances, performances and ritual; while some others showed interactions between the Chinese State and the Dai.
I merely passed through this cultural park on the way to my main destination, which was elsewhere along the border, and (because it was almost deserted) I didn’t get a chance to explore the origins of the artwork.
As I said, I wish I knew more.
Hopefully the next time a New Mandala reader is in far western Yunnan they can make a short trip to Jie Gao and ask some of these important questions. If anybody is ever heading out that way, I am very happy to provide advice, maps and anything else that may help your preparation.
Hey Warren, Tou and the crazy Vientiane Scooter lot!
I know, because I’ve been to Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang with you guys and my heart bleeds when I see these pix of all my fromer Vespa friends from Vientiane. I hope nobody got hurt and everybody’s Vespa made it back safely to Vientiane. Miss you!
[…] First of all, I doubt if many tourists know or even care about political situations of Burma. Second, how much of their money goes to the people. It would be nice if communitiy-based and ethical toruisms kinds of travelling are major … – more – […]
The academics in Singaporean universities are almost double paid than their counterparts in Australia. This fact alone would be more than enough to could justify the honoral degree, I believe. So shut up, you good-for-nothing Australians!!
No, I am referring to Malaysia’s recently announced plans after the failure of FTA negotiations with the US, one of the main reasons for the failure being constitutional requirements on Bumiputra ownership of businesses.
I’m not claiming that they will actually have the political resolve to carry it out, just that it is a good idea, an idea that people might take more seriously given the frequent failure of electoral democracy in largely agrarian states like Thailand:
ENLAI YEOH – AP
Kuala Lumpur – …Abdullah also announced the creation of four more economic regions besides the Iskandar Development Region. They are the Northern Corridor Economic Region, East Coast Corridor, the Sabah Corridor and the Sarawak Corridor. The last two are on the Borneo island in the states of Sabah and Sarawak.
“The opening up of these new economic regions, in a concerted and systematic manner, will literally change the face of the country,” Abdullah said.
The announcements, aimed at attracting foreign investments, come at a time when the country is facing stiff competition from China and India. Still, Malaysia’s economy hasn’t fared too badly.
It expanded 5.7% in the fourth quarter or 2006 from a year earlier, bringing full-year growth to 5.9%. This was slightly better than the government’s earlier 5.8% forecast, and higher than the 5.2% expansion in 2005. The expansion was attributed mainly to the sturdy growth of services and manufacturing sectors.
In its economic outlook, Malaysia’s central bank on Wednesday projected that private sector investment will expand by 10.4% this year compared to 9.7% in 2006. Public spending would expand by 11.4%, up from 6.5% last year, it said. Manufacturing output was expected to grow 6.6% in 2007. AP
I have to second the ASSK comment. Amateur, ASSK hasn’t come up with anything new because she’s incommunicado. Blame everyone else for rehashing what she said 10 years ago, but it’s silly to accuse her of doing or not doing anything while under house arrest. There are plenty in the Burmese opposition movements that manage to participate in discourse without ever quoting ASSK. There are big differences between the public democracy campaign in the West and the US’s actions, and what people are doing and saying on the ground, as it were.
Amateur – from a stylistic analysis, I do agree that that these murals are a departure from the socialist-realism that was the officially-approved style for much of Mao’s China. A wider spectrum and diversity of artistic styles for state-sponsored art projects has been the trend in China after Mao’s death in 1976.
However, the (albeit small) selection of themes posted here by Nich do represent a continuity in public art for communist China. Images of a “radiant” Mao, and communalism in farming have been standards in state art for decades.The “celebration” of the country’s “national minorities” in official arts display has only really become the norm post-1976, with depictions typically portraying such minorities as an exotic Other. These murals, with the choice of representing the Dai through indigenous ceremonies and nude women (charateristically, Dai women have been renowned in China for their beauty as well as their penchant for bathing publicly in rivers), fall very much in line with other official examples of minority representation. Those interested can see Dru Gladney’s work on the subject (www.drugladney.com).
Nich, you only posted a small selection of the murals here. How strongly did you notice elements of Dai exoticization as you walked through the exhibit? What do local residents seem to think about the cultural park?
It’s kind of fitting, really: Lee didn’t respect the rule of law or democracy, despite his many other achievements. In order to give him an honorary doctorate in a field in which he does not deserve one (as opposed to, say, economics), the ANU Chancellor and Council bypass the institution’s normal procedures and consult none of its Asia or human rights experts!
Still, it’s worth keeping some perspective on Lee. While Singapore’s Internal Security Act (see http://www.asianlii.org/sg/legis/consol_act/isac143235/) still makes Australian terror laws look tame, Lee didn’t write the original – he just abused this colonial legacy. And Henry Kissinger won the Nobel Peace Prize.
Hmmm.. I thought the guy who isolated Burma was one of the Thirty Comrades with a taste for women and horse racing and a fascination with ideas of sacred kingship. And didn’t Burma achieve Least Developed Country status before sanctions were imposed?
As for ASSK, isn’t it a bit hard to stay up to date when you’ve been under house arrest? And what creative idea has the regime that has kept her under house arrest come up with, besides moving the capital to an agricultural university town?
I fully support you, Jon. Unfortunately, there is no place for such a “third” opinion in the American black-and-white ideology. If we are not supporting their blockade approach then we must be supporting the junta – according to the US-Logic.
And ASSK is now petrified as a holy cow who’s opinion is a sacred sermon of the West. Nothing against her personally but she seems to chew on the same old recipe that may have worked ten years ago but is hopelessly out of date. She is now far removed from the reality and the people and victim of her own popularity. If she is the brilliant mind that she is believed to be then she has to prove that she can come forward with a creative idea to break the stalemate and provide with a new perspective. Otherwise she will be just remembered as a “stone lady”.
I agree that the style of these murals is particularly interesting. You know a lot more about the influences than I, and I think that there are definitely interesting issues captured here. I wish I knew more about them.
I don’t know whether local artists (i.e. Dehong Autonomous Prefecture residents) painted these. Walking around, I was under the impression that different artists (or at least some deliberately different styles) were on display. Unfortunately, I can’t confirm that gut feeling or provide more information. For some context, Silas Xu (who translated the Chinese) felt that the language of some of the captions was particularly turgid. That could mean lots of things but it does have some potentially relevant implications.
Where the manager replies in the pages of the Nation, what is the article referred to as banned and quoted in the Giles new book, named
Far Eastern Economic Review January 10,2002.
Is this maybe available somewhere, as we all know: if something is banned it immediatly most of the times becomes very interesting.
Ah, this is my cup of tea. It’s interesting that the stylisation of these murals shows neither Chinese nor Dai influences. They are no different to paintings of European modernism, really. I think the last is a lot more modern than Ruben. Manet and Gauguin are definitely there, I can detect their signature of ‘brave and exotic’ women.
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ANU honours Lee Kuan Yew. Why?
“completely different cultures and moral values” > If this was true, how come that we can communicate, and how could NUS aim to be the “classroom of the world”?
ANU honours Lee Kuan Yew. Why?
While I myself ain’t exactly a fan of LKY, i find all these arguments by westerners are quite amusing. Most of the time you try to impose your values on us but least you forget we ASIANS have completely different cultures and moral values than our western counterparts. Look at IRAQ, what a mess it is in now exactly because g.Bush is trying to impose his values and systems on a totally different environment. All those dictator definition of LKY has so far been given by a minority singaporeans plus his critics in the western media but do they have to live in singapore? are they stakeholders of this small island nation? Can they even comprehend running a country that is so small, with no resources except for her men and women and constantly being targetted by its neighbours?? look globally and you can see the seeds of western values being imposed and failed. Singaporeans, the majority at least have faith in this Govt although we may disagree with certain ways are being done. But nothing is perfect in this world.
Murals at Dai-Jingpo cultural park
Thanks everyone for your comments.
Nong Juu,
Almost every mural made some effort (to my eye) to provide a hyper-exotic image of Dai life. Images of women bathing predominated on some walls; other areas depicted stylised dances, performances and ritual; while some others showed interactions between the Chinese State and the Dai.
I merely passed through this cultural park on the way to my main destination, which was elsewhere along the border, and (because it was almost deserted) I didn’t get a chance to explore the origins of the artwork.
As I said, I wish I knew more.
Hopefully the next time a New Mandala reader is in far western Yunnan they can make a short trip to Jie Gao and ask some of these important questions. If anybody is ever heading out that way, I am very happy to provide advice, maps and anything else that may help your preparation.
Best wishes to all,
Nich
Lao explorers reach Vietnam on Italian Scooters
Hey Warren, Tou and the crazy Vientiane Scooter lot!
I know, because I’ve been to Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang with you guys and my heart bleeds when I see these pix of all my fromer Vespa friends from Vientiane. I hope nobody got hurt and everybody’s Vespa made it back safely to Vientiane. Miss you!
Richard (the farang from Paxane 😀
The Irrawaddy on Burma tourism
[…] First of all, I doubt if many tourists know or even care about political situations of Burma. Second, how much of their money goes to the people. It would be nice if communitiy-based and ethical toruisms kinds of travelling are major … – more – […]
“Lee Kuan Yew – ANU is not for you!”
[…] and a write up of the protest at ANU here. It interesting reading the articles in various Australian papers. Read in the following order – […]
ANU honours Lee Kuan Yew. Why?
The academics in Singaporean universities are almost double paid than their counterparts in Australia. This fact alone would be more than enough to could justify the honoral degree, I believe. So shut up, you good-for-nothing Australians!!
ANU College of Law condemns Lee’s degree
No, I am referring to Malaysia’s recently announced plans after the failure of FTA negotiations with the US, one of the main reasons for the failure being constitutional requirements on Bumiputra ownership of businesses.
I’m not claiming that they will actually have the political resolve to carry it out, just that it is a good idea, an idea that people might take more seriously given the frequent failure of electoral democracy in largely agrarian states like Thailand:
ENLAI YEOH – AP
Kuala Lumpur – …Abdullah also announced the creation of four more economic regions besides the Iskandar Development Region. They are the Northern Corridor Economic Region, East Coast Corridor, the Sabah Corridor and the Sarawak Corridor. The last two are on the Borneo island in the states of Sabah and Sarawak.
“The opening up of these new economic regions, in a concerted and systematic manner, will literally change the face of the country,” Abdullah said.
The announcements, aimed at attracting foreign investments, come at a time when the country is facing stiff competition from China and India. Still, Malaysia’s economy hasn’t fared too badly.
It expanded 5.7% in the fourth quarter or 2006 from a year earlier, bringing full-year growth to 5.9%. This was slightly better than the government’s earlier 5.8% forecast, and higher than the 5.2% expansion in 2005. The expansion was attributed mainly to the sturdy growth of services and manufacturing sectors.
In its economic outlook, Malaysia’s central bank on Wednesday projected that private sector investment will expand by 10.4% this year compared to 9.7% in 2006. Public spending would expand by 11.4%, up from 6.5% last year, it said. Manufacturing output was expected to grow 6.6% in 2007. AP
The Economist on Burma’s pipeline possibilities
I have to second the ASSK comment. Amateur, ASSK hasn’t come up with anything new because she’s incommunicado. Blame everyone else for rehashing what she said 10 years ago, but it’s silly to accuse her of doing or not doing anything while under house arrest. There are plenty in the Burmese opposition movements that manage to participate in discourse without ever quoting ASSK. There are big differences between the public democracy campaign in the West and the US’s actions, and what people are doing and saying on the ground, as it were.
Murals at Dai-Jingpo cultural park
Amateur – from a stylistic analysis, I do agree that that these murals are a departure from the socialist-realism that was the officially-approved style for much of Mao’s China. A wider spectrum and diversity of artistic styles for state-sponsored art projects has been the trend in China after Mao’s death in 1976.
However, the (albeit small) selection of themes posted here by Nich do represent a continuity in public art for communist China. Images of a “radiant” Mao, and communalism in farming have been standards in state art for decades.The “celebration” of the country’s “national minorities” in official arts display has only really become the norm post-1976, with depictions typically portraying such minorities as an exotic Other. These murals, with the choice of representing the Dai through indigenous ceremonies and nude women (charateristically, Dai women have been renowned in China for their beauty as well as their penchant for bathing publicly in rivers), fall very much in line with other official examples of minority representation. Those interested can see Dru Gladney’s work on the subject (www.drugladney.com).
Nich, you only posted a small selection of the murals here. How strongly did you notice elements of Dai exoticization as you walked through the exhibit? What do local residents seem to think about the cultural park?
“Lee Kuan Yew – ANU is not for you!”
“Master for Mugabe”. Nice.
“Lee Kuan Yew – ANU is not for you!”
It’s kind of fitting, really: Lee didn’t respect the rule of law or democracy, despite his many other achievements. In order to give him an honorary doctorate in a field in which he does not deserve one (as opposed to, say, economics), the ANU Chancellor and Council bypass the institution’s normal procedures and consult none of its Asia or human rights experts!
Still, it’s worth keeping some perspective on Lee. While Singapore’s Internal Security Act (see http://www.asianlii.org/sg/legis/consol_act/isac143235/) still makes Australian terror laws look tame, Lee didn’t write the original – he just abused this colonial legacy. And Henry Kissinger won the Nobel Peace Prize.
ANU College of Law condemns Lee’s degree
Jon, are you referring to the joke that is Malaysia’s Cyberjaya Multimedia Super Corridor?
The “little Singapore” that after 10 years, is best known for the InventQjaya money laundering scam?!?
Murals at Dai-Jingpo cultural park
So all the Jinghpo have is the manau posts and no murals? That might be a pretty good deal after all.
The Economist on Burma’s pipeline possibilities
Hmmm.. I thought the guy who isolated Burma was one of the Thirty Comrades with a taste for women and horse racing and a fascination with ideas of sacred kingship. And didn’t Burma achieve Least Developed Country status before sanctions were imposed?
As for ASSK, isn’t it a bit hard to stay up to date when you’ve been under house arrest? And what creative idea has the regime that has kept her under house arrest come up with, besides moving the capital to an agricultural university town?
Murals at Dai-Jingpo cultural park
I find the painting insofar interesting as it seems to leave all the communist/socialist art behind which has been so characteristic for China.
The Economist on Burma’s pipeline possibilities
I fully support you, Jon. Unfortunately, there is no place for such a “third” opinion in the American black-and-white ideology. If we are not supporting their blockade approach then we must be supporting the junta – according to the US-Logic.
And ASSK is now petrified as a holy cow who’s opinion is a sacred sermon of the West. Nothing against her personally but she seems to chew on the same old recipe that may have worked ten years ago but is hopelessly out of date. She is now far removed from the reality and the people and victim of her own popularity. If she is the brilliant mind that she is believed to be then she has to prove that she can come forward with a creative idea to break the stalemate and provide with a new perspective. Otherwise she will be just remembered as a “stone lady”.
Murals at Dai-Jingpo cultural park
Thanks Sawarin,
These are very helpful comments.
I agree that the style of these murals is particularly interesting. You know a lot more about the influences than I, and I think that there are definitely interesting issues captured here. I wish I knew more about them.
I don’t know whether local artists (i.e. Dehong Autonomous Prefecture residents) painted these. Walking around, I was under the impression that different artists (or at least some deliberately different styles) were on display. Unfortunately, I can’t confirm that gut feeling or provide more information. For some context, Silas Xu (who translated the Chinese) felt that the language of some of the captions was particularly turgid. That could mean lots of things but it does have some potentially relevant implications.
I would be delighted to learn more.
Best wishes to all,
Nich
The Chula bookshop saga
Hi,
regarding the link from here to address:
http://rspas.anu.edu.au/rmap/newmandala/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/news.jpg
Where the manager replies in the pages of the Nation, what is the article referred to as banned and quoted in the Giles new book, named
Far Eastern Economic Review January 10,2002.
Is this maybe available somewhere, as we all know: if something is banned it immediatly most of the times becomes very interesting.
Thx.
Murals at Dai-Jingpo cultural park
Ah, this is my cup of tea. It’s interesting that the stylisation of these murals shows neither Chinese nor Dai influences. They are no different to paintings of European modernism, really. I think the last is a lot more modern than Ruben. Manet and Gauguin are definitely there, I can detect their signature of ‘brave and exotic’ women.
Were these murals painted by local artists Nich?