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| Wang Ji Ping Sculpture |
We
awoke to a beautiful sunny day. We were in Taiyuan.
This city has quite a
history. It
is an on-again, off-again type
city
in that
it
has been
conquered
and
reconquered many
times
since it
was
first
established.
The
area
began
to see
settlement
around the
6th century
BC. It
was
first
named
Taiyuan when
it
became
a part
of Qin’s empire
in 228BC. The
people
of Taiyuan were
strong
they
faced
many
periods
of war
and
conquest.
The founder of
the Tang Dynasty
came from
Taiyuan. Taiyuan has retained
its place
as a major
center
down through China's
continuous
changes
of Dynasties. After the
fall
of the
Qing Dynasty
Taiyuan became
an important
center
during the
warlord
periods,
1911-1949. It
fought
bravely
during the
Japanese invasion,
and
the
city
was
one to the
last
to fall
during the
Chinese civil
war.
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiyuan) has a very
interesting
write
about the
history
of this
city.
Today, Taiyuan is an
industrial center. This
is because
to the
coal
producing
mines
in the
area.
The
availability of coal
has allowed
Taiyuan to produce
much
of the
stainless steel
required
for
China's
industrial
machine.
Nevertheless,
Taiyuan is a fairly
clean
city,
and
it
is a good
place
for
tourists
to visit.
It
is also
a place
for
learning
as it
hosts
about 8 universities.
The
city
is also
a center
for
the
film
industry
for
movie
sets,
because
of the
well-kept old
quarter.
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| Entrance to the Jinci Temple Complex |
Our first
visit
on our agenda
was to
the
Jinci Temple.
I would say
that
this
was
more
like a park
than a place
of worship.
There were
flowers
abounding
with small
canals
and
old
trees
set
amongst many
bronze
sculptures.
The
main
temple
building
in the
park
was
called
the
Temple
of the
Goddess
it
is considered
as the
oldest
building
in Taiyuan. It was constructed in the tenth century. The
complex
has a natural
spring
that feeds
the
small
canals.
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| The park complex canals are fed by a natural spring. |
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| photo by |
We
arrived
during the
festival
period,
so
there was
lots
of entertainment
for
`the park
visitors.
There was music, singing and dancing. The
sound was
a bit over whelming. A
stage
was
set
up just
inside the
entrance
of the
park.
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| photo by |
It
was
suggested
that
we
take
a local
park
guide
who
could tell
about the
park
, and it's
significance.
The price was
right so
we agreed. It was a mistake. The
noise
of the
celebrations
overpowered
the
voice
of the
guide
to such
a point
that
we
sent
her on her way.
Festivals in China are a very noisy affair. Once
we
passed
the
stage
where
the
performances
were
taking
place,
the
park
began
to quiet
down a bit,
and
we
could see
why
it
was
considered
a place
for
quiet
meditation.
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| photo by |
The
bronze
statue
in front
of the
Temple
of the
Goddess
attracted
the
attention
of many
visitors.
It
was
almost
impossible
to get
a photo of it
without someone hanging
on to it.
I was
also
intrigued
by the
bronze
sculpture
of the
lion
that
stood
in front
of the
temple.
We
can see
the
mold
seams
which tell
us that
it
was
cast
using
a complex
mold
system
that was
crude
but
effective.
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| The temple hosted numerous sculptures and bronzes |
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| We can see the mold seams in this piece |
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| The laughing Buddha smile at us |
The
temple
park is
a great
place
to take
photographs.
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| The tree in the background is suppose to be one of the oldest trees in the area. photo by |
One of the
most
interesting
parts
of this
visit
was
the
exit.
We
had
to pass
along a path
that took
us into a gaggle of food
and
souvenir
stands.
The smells were delicious.
Most
of the
souvenirs
were
standard
Chinese cultural
items.
But,
you
looked
beyond the
glitz there were
some
rare
and
unique
items.
Our next stop was lunch
and then the Shanxi
Museum.
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| photo by |
The Shanxi Museum is a fairly new building. It
opened
in 2005, and
its collection
of Chinese cultural
relics was
outstanding.
The
entrance
to the
museum
was an
experience
in itself. Wide
open
expanses
surrounded
a building
that
resembled
a structure
that was
growing
up
and
outward.
It has three floors
to explore.
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| Vies of the grounds surrounding the Shanxi Museum. photo by |
The
museum
treated
its collection
as a historical
document
taking
the
viewer
back
to the
cradle
of civilization.
The
museum
did
a splendid
job
providing
visitors
with ample
documentation about the
objects
on display
I particularly
liked
the
bronze
and
ceramic collection.
I also
found
the
life
size
installations
to be most
realistic.
We
all
wondered
about snapping
photographs
of the
displays.
It was a real gold mine of Chinese
antiquity. There
were lots of items to see and talk about.
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| These bones were used by the Samans to predict future events |
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| Beautiful example of construction vessels. |
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| This was a life size installation. |
Examples of how artifacts were uncovered in an archaeological dig.
From the
museum,
we
travelled
to the
Shanxi University
to visit
Wang Ji Ping
and
the
university
studios.
I met Wang
Ji Ping
during one of my earlier
visits.
His creations
range
from table
top
to large
scale
installations.
He
was working on a large
commission
when
we
arrived;
nevertheless,
he
took
time
out to offer
us tea,
coffee,
cakes
and
fruit.
We
were
lucky
that
Wendy was
able
to translate
our questions.
Ji Ping
invited
us to wander
about
and
explore
his studio.
It was a treasure trove
of fascinating
objects. We
saw
his drawings,
his sculptures,
his doodles, and
some
of his personal
ceramic antique
pieces.
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| Wendy did a good job translating our questions and answers. |
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| We indulged our selves with fruit, cookies, coffee , tea and soft drinks. |
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| Work of Ji Ping's student. |
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| photo by |
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| Ji Ping's student photo by |
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Some of the antiques found in Ji Ping's studio
After we
completed
our exploration
of the
studio,
and
exhausted
the
fruit
and
cookies
that were
offered,
Ji Ping invited
us to visit
the
main
workshop
where
he
was
working
on his large
scale
commission.
I was awed at what I saw.
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| Large scale sculpture project of Ji Ping. |
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| Lrge scale sculptures or Chines cultural characters. |
The sculptures were depictions of Chinese Cultural characters. I have never seen a clay model at large as those under construction. They were about 5 meters high. It was really something to walk amongst the scaffolding built up around these clay objects. I felt that I was in the land of Gods. I questioned what they weighed, but it was lost amongst the excited chatter of the group. I also wondered how they were going to move the pieces. I have never seen clay work on this scale. He had a team of artists working with him. The studio was a beehive of activity. Ji Ping explained his process and showed us his model on how the elements of the sculpture would look when finished.
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| The model shown in background. |
