From Far East to East #02 - "Inside Out China 101"

Dinspre est către est จากทิศตะวันออกถึงตะวันออก From Far East to East 동쪽에서 동쪽으로 Зүүн зүгээс зүүн хойд зүгт De l’est vers l’est 从东到东 С Востока на Восток

Mâncare.Natură.Oameni.Arhitectură อ า ห า ร . ธ ร ร ม ช า ต . ค น . ส ถ า ปั ต ย ก ร ร ม Food.Nature.People.Architecture 음 식 . 자 연 . 사 람 . 건 축 Хоол.Байгаль.Хүмүүс.Архитектур Cuisine.Nature.Gens.Architecture 饮 食 . 自 然 . 人 . 建 筑 Еда.Природа.Люди.Архитектура

Razvan - George GORCEA Mulţumiri speciale părinţilor mei pentru susţinerea si încrederea pe care mi-o acordă. Mulţumesc mamei mele pentru că m-a făcut să descopăr din copilărie natura si aventura. Mulţumesc tatălui meu pentru că-mi este mentor permanent si se îngrijeşte de formarea mea.

Remerciements particuliers à Monsieur Remy Butler, pour m’avoir ouvert les yeux à l’Asie, et pour l’affection paternelle qu’il me porte.

© 2011 Razvan-George Gorcea

This episode is dedicated to Huang Xing, Thanks for explaining and showing me the Chinese culture

Š 2011 Razvan-George Gorcea

episode 02

“Inside Out China 101�

Into the deep of rural areas of Southern China

Please note that: *This is NOT a general image over China.

It is a particularly countryside situation in an accelerated process of transformation. It shows a personal view.*

LOCATIONS : - Yongxing Town, Chenzhou, Hunan Province, China - Village near Yangshuo, Guilin, Guangxi Province, China

STILL A MANUAL WORK

Village near Yangshuo, Guilin, Guangxi Province, China

FOOD

In many of the rural areas in China, the land continues to be hand-worked. People have their own terrains and work their field with the same tools and techniques like centuries before.

FOOD

Often, the household task must be shared by the children (boys and girls) with their family.

COOKING FUEL

Village near Yangshuo, Guilin, Guangxi Province, China Yongxing Town, Chenzhou,

Hunan Province, China

FOOD

If in the traditional villages the wood or bamboo is the main cooking fuel, in the rural developing towns, industrialized bricks of coal is used and sold on the street.

FOOD

Traditionally, the smoking place is located in the back of the house and the smoke goes directly in the room to preserve the meat mainly.

DISHES

Home dinner in Yongxing,

Hunan Province, China

FOOD

Although the dishes contain a wide variety of healthy vegetables, medicine herbs and spices, everything is shortly fried in oil or cooked. Here, in this part of China, almost nothing is eaten raw.

RICE AND WATER

Rice field

near Yangshuo, Guilin, Guangxi Province, China

FOOD

The main fields are occupied by rice cultures, well harvested in the hot humid climate of South of China.

They are situated everywhere around the villages.

CITY AGRICULTURE

Street in Yongxing,

Hunan Province, China

FOOD

In recently urbanized areas, people keep their rural lifestyle.

The smallest piece of soil can be a small culture of vegetables. In many contemporary developed Western cities this kind of proximity agriculture is re-introduced with a high ecological or community value.

DRIED HERBS

Market in Yongxing,

Hunan Province, China

FOOD

In the traditional Chinese gastronomy, medicine herbs are regularly used. The medical effect is naturally imbedded into the daily food.

RICE TERRACE LANDSCAPE

Approaching Guilin, Guangxi Province, China

NATURE

The perfectly flat rice fields follow the level topography lines and create a specific landscape. The villages and the hills become islands in a sea of rice fields.

NATURAL BLESSING

Yangshuo – Guilin area, Guangxi Province, China

NATURE

The sub-tropical monsoon climate has four mild but distinctive seasons. The mild humid weather offer a rich variety of exotic fruits, rice culture and many other plants.

The karstic relief with its green hills was inspiration to many Chinese poets and painters. There are particularly geological formations and lots of caves

NATURE

“LAOWAI!”

Yongxing City, Hunan Province, China

PEOPLE

There are many rural towns like this where people have never seen a “foreigner” (=”laowai”) before! So you get instantly all the attention and you feel followed with the look from the bikes, cars and shops. Talking between them, more and more people gather to see “the foreigner” and even to touch or interact with him.

PEOPLE

An extremely special feeling I had in a high school where all the students were following me from the balconies.

THE “ONE-CHILD POLICY”

District entrance in Yongxing City, Hunan Province, China

PEOPLE

The traditional family had before around 4-6 children or more. This world known control of population started in the ’70 as a measure to limit the huge population growth of China. The married couples have been limited to have only one child in urban areas. Exceptions are made in rural case, where two children are allowed if the first one is a girl.

After more than 30 years things changed little about the policy but it made profound social changes in the Chinese society. The new generation of unique children is allowed to have more babies, but the divorce rate of young couples is highly increasing.

PEOPLE

The families’ situation is written with chalk on blackboards outside, common for some group of blocks.

IS IT A GIRL? It’s quite common to read on the walls Government messages like: “It is the same if you have given birth to a girl or a boy!”. The traditional preference for a boy was highly influenced by the “onlychild policy”.

So there were many cases in which families abandoned girls, especially in rural area, where the man is considered superior and the support for the parents’ family. As a result the percentage of girls dropped quite drastically in favor of boys.

Villages near Yangshuo, Guilin, Guangxi Province, China Yongxing City, Hunan Province, China

PEOPLE

Nowadays the situation is changing a lot as having a girl has become an advantage due to the unbalanced population.

PEOPLE PEOPLE

LARGER FAMILY

Yongxing City, Hunan Province, China

PEOPLE

The Chinese concept of family extends to cousins (which are also called “sisters” or “brothers”) or even further relatives.

So it is common to rise up the children together as they would be siblings.

LEARNING FOR EXAMS

Yongxing City, Hunan Province, China

PEOPLE

High school students pass all day long at school (from 6 am to 10 pm) to pass their final exams.

From a class around 40-60 students, only 7-10 can have a place in an university depending the rank of the high school and their score. More recently the situation is changing as the high number of students doesn’t offer the certainty of a good job.

PEOPLE

GAMES & GAMBLING

Yongxing City, Hunan Province, China

PEOPLE

Many middle age people consider they finished their active working period and spend lot of time playing games and gambling.

While they’ve put some money apart, they send their kids to have better education and now they expect their children to get a job and take care of them.

PEOPLE

CRAFTSMEN

Yongxing City, Hunan Province, China

PEOPLE

Mainly the old people continue to do the hand-crafted tools or objects, as the country is highly industrialized. In the last years they became more popular, having a tourist attraction.

A TRADITIONAL VILLAGE

Village near Yangshuo, Guilin, Guangxi Province, China

ARCHITECTURE

“Long live chairman Mao!” (an expression used as for the king or emperor) was written on the walls of villages.

There aren’t many villages that keep the ancient traditional houses. Nowadays the preserved one get more end more attention with the highly developing tourism.

The following example is a special case with some high officials’ houses, and it hasn’t become yet a “museum village” filled with tourists.

CITY GATES AND ROADS

Village near Yangshuo, Guilin, Guangxi Province, China

ARCHITECTURE

The village is very compactly build with narrow roads and enclosed living quarters. City gates make the connection with the outside farmlands. The houses do not open toward the public space of the road, which is limited by high opaque walls instead.

ARCHITECTURE

ENTRANCE GATES AND RANKS

Village near Yangshuo, Guilin, Guangxi Province, China

ARCHITECTURE

The entrance gates have all different shapes and inscriptions according to the importance of the house. On this page – the ancestors’ hall, used to celebrate the ancestors or to hold the elders’ council. On the next page – several public officials’ quarters with their inscription (they received first, second or third rank at the imperial court examination).

ARCHITECTURE

HORIZONTAL MAZE

Village near Yangshuo, Guilin, Guangxi Province, China

ARCHITECTURE

Passages, inner courtyards, halls ‌ the houses are organized on a horizontal pattern, with several steps and rules.

The relationship between living spaces is highly influenced by the social rules of the society. The linked inner courts play an essential role in the public/ private aspects of the house.

ARCHITECTURE

ARCHITECTURE

MATERIALS AND DETAILS

Village near Yangshuo, Guilin, Guangxi Province, China

ARCHITECTURE

Nowadays, the new industrial material are mixed with the natural traditional ones (adobe, brick, stone, timber). There still can be found beautifully crafted ornament with cultural meaning. Even though the new vernacular architecture changes shape and materials, it can be notice that some traditional construction methods are kept within (for example the use of the bricks).

ARCHITECTURE

THE NEW RURAL CHINA

Yongxing Town, Chenzhou, Hunan Province, China

ARCHITECTURE

Most of rural areas are in a continuous transformation process.

Although there is an actual planning, the general aspect is rather chaotic, with a lot of speculation and disrespect for the existing way of life.

The economic boom creates profound changes in the rural landscape.

NEW ROADS, OLD ROADS... SAME WAYS?

Yongxing Town, Chenzhou, Hunan Province, China

ARCHITECTURE

The rapid change of the village into town or city it’s on the same wave length as the change of people’s lifestyle. The “imported” model of road becomes occupied by the inhabitants quite “naturally” and people continue their previous way of life.

ARCHITECTURE

NEW VERTICAL HOUSES

Yongxing Town, Chenzhou, Hunan Province, China

ARCHITECTURE

A huge change is produced in the housing typology. The horizontal model, with the extended family is transformed into a vertical one. Although they live in blocks of flats people tend to block their views and re-create the inner sense of the house, isolated from the outside. In this Southern area most of the buildings don’t have heating system.

EDUCATION FACILITIES

Yongxing Town, Chenzhou, Hunan Province, China

ARCHITECTURE

The education still keeps the most important role. If in ancient times the public exams to be a Government official were considered a life goal, now the honors changed name into Bachelor, Master, PhD and so on.

This is a high school were thousands of students learn and live in dormitories. As the competition is very tough, the families make all the sacrifices for their children to receive better education and finally a decent job or rank.

Imperial Examination Hall – Qing Dinasty, Guilin city

ARCHITECTURE

If in ancient times the public exams to be a Government official were considered a life goal, now the honors changed name into Bachelor, Master, PhD and so on.

High school in Yongxing Town, Chenzhou, Hunan Province

Mulţumesc! ขอบพระคุณครับ !

Thank you ! 감사합니다 ! Гялайлаа !

Merci ! 谢谢 ! Спасибо !

Thanks to my translators: Huang Xing - Chinese Anton Ivanov - Russian Patrick Bayarsaikhan - Mongolian Lassamon Maitreemit - Thai Yun Young Mi - Korean Kim Dong Hee - Korean

Thanks to Alexandru Senciuc PROMOTED

BY

Š 2011 Razvan-George Gorcea

:

Razvan-George Gorcea

Born in 1986 in the city of Suceava, Romania, he grows up in the beautiful region of Bucovina, surrounded by mountains and monasteries. The success in mathematics competitions allows him to travel in different parts of Romania along with his studies.

He begins the architecture studies at ÂŤ Ion Mincu Âť University in Bucharest. At this point, space and urban explorations become decisive for his education. He begins extensive travels in all Europe, before and during his studies in Paris since 2007. A larger interest evolves into the understanding of human settlement development and its cultural mechanisms.

His one year journey in Eastern Asia changes completely his perspective, creating of wider sense of global consciousness. Now he tries to put together the knowledge he acquired and renew the out-dated models with an intercultural approach.

Razvan - George GORCEA

Mai mult decât un jurnal foto More than a photo journal Plus qu’un journal photo Mai mult decât o călătorie turistică More than a traveller’s trip Plus qu’un voyage touristique Integrare totală în cultură Immersion into the culture Immersion dans la culture Descoperind MANCAREA Discovering FOOD. En découvrant la CUISINE Admirând NATURA Celebrating NATURE Célébrant la NATURE Cunoscând OAMENII Connecting with PEOPLE Entrer en contact avec les GENS Inţelegând ARHITECTURA Understanding ARCHITECTURE Comprenant l’ARCHITECTURE Schimbare permanentă a reperelor Permanent change of perspective Changement de perspective “Vestul” devine “est” The “West” becomes the “East” “L’Ouest” devient “l’est” Observatorul devine actor The viewer becomes actor L’observateur devient acteur Fotografiile capătă sens The photos get meaning and notes Les photos prennent du sens Fiecare împărtăşeşte o poveste Each one has a story to share Chacune partage une histoire