Arts and Leisure

Saturday, June 26 It is still raining... enough on that topic. Our luggage arrived last night just before 10:00. I have no idea where it was. Someone lost a few things out of an unlocked outer pocket, but otherwise it was none the worse for wear. This morning we headed for the Shanghai Art Museum, a brand new world class museum worthy of the splendid artifacts which it contains. We were given 2 1/2 hours, which would be generous, perhaps even excessive for the average tour group, but not nearly enough for us history teachers. I started at the top, in the bronze coins, then to the costumes, then the jade. On the third floor were incredible scroll paintings and an impressive exhibit of furniture. Below was the porcelain, and a fascinating display of a village where porcelain was made. The kiln ( a replica provided) was fascinating -- It looked like an Indian long house (made of brick, slopping up a hill). The slope carried the fire, which was located at the bottom, up through the various pieces to the top. Evidently the best porcelain pieces were placed at the top of the kiln, where the fire was hottest -- the slope was gentle -- less than 30 degrees, but enough to have the desired effect. As a group we are keeping a journal. A different person writes the entry every night, and tonight is my turn. Writing to you has helped me keep in journal mode. Because we wandered around at our own pace through the museum, I asked everyone tonight to name one piece that they would like to take home with them or bring students to visit. It was fascinating to see the range of items that made such an impression -- a reflection of the incredible quality of the museum, but not surprising given the long history of Chinese arts. I ran into trouble in the bookstore when I found they would send books home for $4 a kilo... Oh well, this is an opportunity not to be missed. We were rounded up all too hurriedly from the museum and headed off to lunch at a popular tourist spot with "Mongolian barbecue." It is sort of the Chinese answer to Benihana. You walk along a buffet of fresh uncooked food and select what you want -- beef, chicken, etc. and vegetables. Then you add the sauces of your choice -- garlic, ginger, lemon, soy, etc. and then you turn over your bowl to a cook who stir fries it on a large hot round plate -- not wok shaped, but having the same effect. It was a fine meal and anyone who was not happy had only themselves to blame because they picked the ingredients. It occurred to me that Chinese food stores in the US could offer to send the food ready for the wok -- I often find that delivery orders come slightly cold and overcooked. After lunch we were herded into the obligatory gift shop. These places never have the real bargains, but I did have a Chinese seal carved, since it was entertaining to watch the man carve it, and for $6 it was about as reasonable as you can find in a market. From there we headed to the "Jade Buddha Temple" which was not significantly different from the temple we saw in Beijing except that it had a white jade Buddha and even more interesting, a white marble reclining Buddha which was a gift from Buddhists in Singapore in 1989. Religion is now tolerated in China and lots of people were praying and lighting incense. I guess it is a reflection of the former anti-religious sentiment that the official guides don't hesitate to stand right next to -- practically on top of -- someone who is praying and offer their explanation of the temple in a loud tourist-guide voice. The day was to end with a visit to another garden which is right in the middle of another tourist Mecca called "Old Shanghai Street." The occasion was dampened by a significant downpour, but I made an effort to draw a few sketches which I will add to the official journal -- sorry, no sketches on the Internet. We are now back at the hotel, about to have a meeting where we will share insights from the trip so far and take stock (as a group ) of what many of us have shared in individual conversations.