One of the adjectives too-often associated with China that I hate is "mysterious." It's one of those words that brings to mind a time when Asians were referred to solely as "Orientals" (um... we're not a seasoning) and the US wrote informatively racist pamphlets of how to tell us all apart.
Anyone's who's actually lived in China quickly realizes that it isn't really that much of a mystery so long as you're observant and put aside pre-conceived notions of the infamous "bamboo curtain." In the day-to-day aspect of it, China is an open book where you can regularly get glimpses into very private details of stranger's lives. If you've got some basic to intermediate Chinese skills, China opens up to you even more.
True to the cultural notion of group vs. individual, traditional Western notions of "private space" are often interpreted as "public spaces" here. There's no sense of "your space" or "my space" it's all the "group's space" and as a result you get a wonderful, voyeuristic array of outdoor dance lessons, constantly open front doors and incredibly public displays of both anger and affection.
Robert van der Hilst has created a beautiful collection of photographs of the interiors of local homes. The above photo shows an elderly couple who have instated a shower in the kitchen due to the apartment being so old that the regular taps don't have hot water. Thus the shower acts as both a shower and where she does kitchen washing up.
The best pieces in his collection for me are the ones like this photo where van der Hilst captures in perfect detail the emotional connection people have with the spaces they live. In his subject's faces and bodies you get one, brilliant moment frozen forever in time of something intimate and private that they're sharing with you.
it reminds me my childhood, living with my grandma and my aunt's family and sharing the space with them. It is very common in Shanghai. Most of people at my age grew up in this way. It is so grateful that I am not living that way anymore.
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