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If you finished your high school education in China, you must have seen this picture in your history textbook.

It’s a map, at the first glance. But it’s not only a map. (see some background information for the map.)

It was drawn by a patriotic aircraft designer, Xie Zuantai, who was born in late 19th century, when China was under the ruling of Qing Dynasty, and was confronting multiple crisis from western world. 

In addition to indicating geography, the map was also a caricature. Glittered with greed, various threatening politic powers cast their eyes on different parts of China, expressing their intention of colony. 

The giant bear in the map, occupying the three eastern provinces and running amok, is used as a metaphor for the Russian Empire. A dog, occupying the Yangtze River area, metaphor Britain. A sausage, occupied Shandong, metaphor Britain; A toad, occupying Guangdong province, Guangxi Province and Yunnan Province, metaphor France; The sun rays extend to Taiwan, is a metaphor for Japan. The eagle hovering over the south represents the United States. Not only external powers are expressed, but also the corruptive and numb image of government of Qing Dynasty is shown vividly. From the map, the distribution of political powers in east Asia, the situation of China, the relationship between each other are so obvious that arouses patriotism of  numerous Chinese people. As warning, this picture was published in Chinese high school history textbook. 

Although this map can’t be regarded as a true map in a serious meaning, the apparent intention of  Xie makes us to think about mappings, help us to understand how map produce and express a world. Xie adopted a radical method (compared to merely making maps ) to arouse his compatriots’s patriotism, to stand up, fight against invaders and inactive government. Through his logic, we can easily understand that, mappings, are ways people express their understanding to the world except for the content itself, just like what McLuhan’s understanding the media. So, maps not only describe a world, but also produce a world.

As we could see through The Map of Current Political Situation, mappings does not just depict the landscape or represent geographies or ideas. It indicates relationships. Static object-space is shifted to space-time of relationship systems, so that we could understand space even it is separated from events that happens in it, even it is remade continuously by different people. Complex sets of relationship that need to be actualized are set through visual disclosure. That’s the instrumental significance of mapping. 

 

 

 

 

“What a weird city Beijing is.”

The first time when I arrived in my college in Chaoyang District in Beijing, from Shanghai, four years ago, I was murmuring to myself.

Before coming to Beijing in-person, my knowledge toward Beijing was the dignifying Tiananmen Squire and talkative Beijing grandpas with a sense of justice and a honorable accent, most of which came from media image. To my surprise, dirty streets, rugged sidewalk, and mixed flowing population consist of an image around my college, Communication University of China.

As you can see from the image, our college is located in far away from the center of the city.Relatively low living cost (including rent and price of product) attract as many immigrants as possible to settle down, living here together with us college students. 

What was our students’ most unforgettable experience was  hanging out with classmates or boyfriend/girlfriend along the west street after class, usually it was evening. Multiple flavor street food was made by people from different places. They talk to us passionately, asking our preference, who wants more sauce and who prefers less spicy. My favorite was a snake called roast noodles, which was the Northeast characteristic (see picture below). Plenty of smell consist of a pleasant symphony, just as the ballet mentioned by Jacobs in The Death and Life of American Cities.

 

However, inevitable noise ofter break-in. Those vendors along the west street had to confront with city guards. Although they set a we-chat group to share information about when and where city guards would show up, increasingly severe policy left no space for them to survive through making street food. Once one or two city guards appeared, a marathon competition would be put up immediately in the west street. Those who were caught by city guards, their production tools would be certainly confiscated, which, very likely, to be the majority of their properties. What’s worse, around 2000RMB fine, approximately their monthly income, is needed. Being caught by a city guard means a catastrophe to them.

As pre-journalists, we interviewed many of the vendors, trying to help them through our shallow experience and knowledge. However, books and research tell us that, it is impossible to save mobile vendors from the reorganization of cities.(see relevant news release by CUC-Action, which belongs to School of Journalism)

The major concern with street food is certainly, sanitary problem. According to an informal survey, among vendors around our college, nobody could provide his or her health certificate, not to say their food. It really shocked us when somebody claimed that the woman who sold Yunnan Rice was probably suffering from hepatitis B, though not proved to be true, students were not encouraged to buy street food by school official. 

As a result, street food disappeared as well as some small mobile vendors, and the west street became drab and dour since last year. Although street trading was encouraged this year, to relive unemployment problems brought by Covid-19, I don’t think street food will prosper again like it used to be. Time has changed, without consciousness.