Greenland Rocks, Begin Harbin
Background: International Education and Global Rock Exchange
The carving entitled "Tiger-Clawed Egg Fish" (see image, right) is guided by a comparative reading of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican and Andean interpretations regarding the intricate relationship between the arc of the horizon and movement of light as well as complimentary Eurasian and Asian insights regarding a “cosmic egg”, further suggested by the egg found on the Fish’s back. When gently nudged in either direction the carving will spin while too much force will produce an unhappy result. The “clawed” fissures and the colours of the piece, indicative of the horizon of a Northern Albertan Summer Twilight, helped prompt a Manchurian memory for the School of One Carver stemming from childhood family lore and an ancestor's supposed encounter with a tiger during a fishing expedition in and around Harbin during the early 1920s. Tiger-Clawed Egg Fish was completed at 12:18, June 3, 2015, an extremely important date in Canadian History marked by the formal government ceremony for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This work remembers the casualties and survivors of the Residential School System in Canada while considering the hope and promise of Reconciliation and international cultural collaboration.
The rock for the Fish originated in Kulusuk, Greenland along with another stone seen above. The recent history of the two rocks definitely exemplifies some of the Worldwide journeys of the carvings so integral to the goals of the Global Art Project. Both rocks were given to the School by MM, just before MM departed for an international education summer program in Brasil. The Northern and Global credentials of the two stones were further enhanced when the second, larger rock (seen right, above) was carved and presented as a gift to an award-winning International Student from Vietnam, although it remains uncertain as to where that piece may reside now. Following its completion, Tiger-Clawed Egg Fish was given to A.L. in anticipation of future Asian travels, beginning with an intensive language program in Harbin, China in July, 2015. Harbin is the sister city of Edmonton, hence explaining one reason behind the name of a very famous "northern gate" in Alberta.
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The closing events for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and its larger History in Canada may be found at, TRC
For some further information about travel to Kulusuk, Greenland, please see, Destination East Greenland
Tiger-Clawed Egg Fish Balancing on a Snow Globe, Edmonton, 2015
greenland Rock Travels I: A.L. In Harbin
The initial journeys of A.L. and the Tiger-Clawed Egg Fish to Harbin anticipated A.L.'s entry into the Honour's Program of Asian Studies, University of Alberta, in Fall, 2015. A.L. was born and educated in Edmonton before attending university and has always retained a deep-seated interest in Comparative Literature, Art, Cultural Studies and History. In short, A.L. also is an advocate for the Global Arts, and is definitely an enthusiastic collaborator in this project. A.L.'s cosmopolitan perspect undoubtedly has been fostered by family background rooted in the island nation of Brunei.
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Further information about the Harbin educational context of the vignettes may be found at: Harbin Intensive Summer Program
For a brief introduction into Brunei History and Geography, please see: Negara Brunei Darussalam
Mandarin Lessons, HIT Edition
05.28.24, July 22, 2015.
According to the local people there, the university I am currently attending was the best school to learn “the most accurate” Mandarin. The saying goes, “To learn accurate Mandarin is to go to Harbin, and actually to practice it would be to attend the Harbin Institute of Technology.” Surprisingly, a lot of Instructors that taught us accurate Mandarin here graduated from different universities found elsewhere in China.
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Korean Hero in China?
14:46:14, July 27, 2015
Before I came to Harbin, I thought that my first impression once I arrived to the city would be that everyone would be either Chinese or Russian, with a few other Europeans or Anglo-American minorities lurking around. I was truly surprised to find out that there are just as many South Koreans, in contrast to ethnic Russians, including at HIT (Harbin Institute of Technology) where I studied. There were two major reasons (other than obvious scholarships and cheap airfare) for many so many Koreans to be here: Although President Park Geun Hye's misinformation received an Honorary Degree in the Chinese Culture University in Taiwan (1987), she still became friends with Xi Jinping when he was still the premier of the Fujian province. Her friendship with him helped improve China and South Korea's relationship vastly. The second reason probably relates to the official commemoration, in January 19, 2014, of the Korean patriotic hero An Jung Geun, who shot Japanese Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi in 1909.
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For a brief, journalistic, introduction to the historical controversy surrounding the Korean hero, please see, An Jung Geun in Time
Russian Cathedral, Cultural [R]Evolution
14:00:06, July 31, 2015. 20°C
Another major highlight of any trip here would be to visit the Saint Sophia Cathedral, located near the Central Street, and to walk along the street itself. The church is significant as one of the main tourist spots in the city, but it also reminded me how of Harbin’s multiculturalism, a historical feature relating to its former independence from China as a Manchurian state which was also part of the Russian imperial domain for a brief period. It is a remarkable experience to see the Cathedral standing comfortably within the urban landscape, even if the inside no longer looks like a church. Instead, today the St. Sophia is a museum full of pictures and tiny models of what Harbin used to look like under Russian control. Why is it that? If the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution were strong enough in Harbin, that building should have become a pile of rubble because their extremist view on “Out with the Old, In with the New.”
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Japanese Relations and Sun Island Park
15:42:35, July 26, 2015.
I have to say that the biggest highlight of this one-month experience was to explore the Sun Island Park. The park was surprisingly fun, especially with the variety of activities available (and as an alternative to exploring Chinese and Russian culture in architecture) such as amusement park rides and a spot for petting animals. But what really made me happy was seeing a Sino-Japanese friendship section erected within the park in June 15,1988. The Japanese have had a very bad political reputation here of late, not helped by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visiting Yatsukuni Shrine, the strong Japanese stance on the Diaoyu/Islands Senkaku Islands, and the vehement denial by some Japanese politicians of the World War II war crimes in China. One of my biggest hope is that there would be peace between these two countries someday, but that will take some time to happen.
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Confucianist Reflection
22:59.25, July 18, 2015.
One thing that really surprised me was from my journey to China is how people to take Confucianism into a whole new level of worship, especially in the region where the philosopher originated. A lot of people, like me, have been taught to believe that Confucianism is not a religion at all, just a deeply imbedded philosophy used to justify patriarchal hierarchy and prescribe “moral rules”, and that ancestors were the only figures religiously revered through prayer. As it turns out, people, especially from the North and Shandong (where the largest Confucian temple could be found and where Confucius hails from), actually idolize him with godlike status. His disciples could be found praying at statues of Confucius. I also learned that throughout the Dynastic Cycles of History in China, moreover, emperors made several trips to pray for prosperity and harmony during their rule.
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