Golden Mother of the Shining Lake | Queen Mother of the West

The Queen Mother of the West (西王母) is an ancient Chinese goddess whose origin can be traced back to oracle bone inscriptions of the fifteenth century BCE that record sacrifices to a "western mother". (Cahill, 1993) Even though these inscriptions illustrate that she predates organized Taoism, she is most often associated with Taoism. From her name alone some of her most important characteristics are revealed: she is royal, female and is associated with the west. (Benard, 2000) .

The growing popularity of the Queen Mother of the West, as well as the beliefs that she was the dispenser of prosperity, longevity, and eternal bliss took place during the second century BCE when the northern and western parts of China were able to be better known because of the opening of the Silk Routes. (Mair, 2006)

Her official Taoist title is Yaochi Jinmu (瑤池金母), or the Golden Mother of the Shining Lake. Historical (T'ang dynasty) biographers name her:

• Chin mu yüan chün, The Primordial Ruler, Metal (Gold) Mother; 
• Metal (Gold) Mother of Tortoise Mountain, She of the Nine Numina and the Grand Marvel; and
• The Perfected Marvel of the Western Florescence and the Ultimate Worthy of the Grotto Yin. 

Commoners and poets of the T'ang dynasty referred to her more simply as Queen Mother; Divine Mother; or by the ancient, familiar expression for "mother" or "nanny", Amah.

Much more at...
Xi Wangmu, the shamanic great goddess of China
by Max Dashu

The French Connections...

Today's news reports claim that China is ready to make amends with France over their pre-Olympic, anti-China stance on Tibet.

China ready to mend ties with France: govtAFP - 58 minutes ago
BEIJING (AFP) - China said Thursday it was ready to mend ties with France following a deep row over Tibet, in its first conciliatory move since tensions flared last year.
China Premier Wen's Europe Trip To Focus On Econ Cooperation Wall Street Journal
China says Wen offers Europe "journey of confidence" Reuters
Xinhua - International Herald Tribune - Bloomberg - EasyBourse.com
all 198 news articles »

While the headlines mention this as the "first conciliatory move," it seems they might have overlooked what has been going on in Harbin for the past several months. Each year one of the coldest regions of China celebrates its notoriety by immersing itself in the beauty and magic of the ice and cold season in a tradition that dates back more than a thousand years.

This year the theme is France... and it had to be planned somewhat in advance. Clever these Chinese, in so many ways. The Harbin Ice Festival was officially proclaimed in 1985 following the Cultural Revolution in China, but dates back to ancient times when villagers would partially freeze a bucket of water, remove the outer shell, put a candle inside and make an ice lantern. Be sure to click that link above to see a bunch of amazing photos and some videos depicting what an incredible event this has become.

China's first mass-produced hybrid electric car hits the market 2008 | BYD Auto, Chinese company backed by Warren Buffett

A Car in Every Port
BYD Auto: China's first mass-produced hybrid car goes on sale

BEIJING, Dec. 15, 2008 (AFP) -- China's first mass-produced hybrid electric car hit the market on Monday, its manufacturer said, in a move aimed at driving the nation to the cutting edge of the world's green auto industry.

The car is made by BYD Auto, a Chinese company backed by American Warren Buffett, one of the world's most successful investors who owns 9.9 percent of the firm.

The F3DM is also the world's first mass-produced plug-in hybrid car, meaning owners can charge it from powerpoints at home for the first time, as well as in specialised electric car charging stations, according to BYD.

BYD president Wang Chuanfu was quoted by Chinese media as saying that his firm and China were on their way to being world leaders in the fuel-efficient auto industry.

"Through the F3DM dual-mode electric vehicle, BYD will grab a head-start in the new energy automobile market," he said at the launch in the southern city of Shenzhen, according to Auto 18, an online platform for China's auto industry.

A spokeswoman for the company confirmed the launch took place on Monday, but gave no other details.

BYD, which also specialises in making rechargeable batteries, only started making cars in 2003 when it bought a bankrupt state-owned auto company.

Its hybrid car is planned to first go on the market in 14 Chinese cities, and the firm is initially focusing on striking deals for company fleets rather than individuals, mycar168.com, another auto website, quoted Wang as saying.

The United States, meanwhile, is currently examining the F3DM to see if it meets the necessary standards for its domestic market, a spokesperson for the firm was quoted as saying by pcauto.com.cn, another car-focused web portal.

Exports to the United States could begin from 2010, according to the report.

The Prius hybrid electric car, made by Japan's Toyota, is currently sold in China, but the F3DM is the first locally made hybrid vehicle to hit the market.

Other carmakers in China have also manufactured these types of hybrid cars but never released them for public sale, said Duan Chengwu, a Shanghai-based technical analyst with international market research firm Global Insight.

The F3DM, meanwhile, has beaten Toyota and General Motors in the plug-in area, as the two companies only plan to launch hybrid cars that can be charged from home in 2009 and 2010 respectively, Duan said.

BYD's hybrid car, which can run 100 kilometres (62 miles) on a full battery, will cost just under 150,000 yuan (22,000 dollars).

Duan expressed doubt that the F3DM would initially be successful with Chinese customers because of the high price.

"In the initial stage, I don't think Chinese customers will buy a lot of these cars, but BYD wants to use them to test the waters," he said.

"Ultimately, though, this kind of car has a big potential in the Chinese market, and in the world market, because we all know we need new energy cars to solve the environmental and oil crisis problems."

Duan said Chinese automakers still lagged behind Western companies in conventional car technologies, but were at a similar level when it came to hybrids.

"The Chinese manufacturers have the opportunity to leapfrog the traditional technologies and to gain a leading position in terms of new energy cars," he said.

Copyright 2008 -- Agence France-Presse

Discovering Yi-Fu Tuan

While teaching as a professor at the University of Minnesota in 1968 Yi-Fu Tuan began developing and espousing his philosophy of systematic humanistic geography. Of the two branches of systematic geography (physical and human) that exist, human geography employs many of the techniques used in the humanities such as source analysis and the use of text and literature to make findings.

Here's the abstract from an article Yi-Fu Tuan published in The Annals of the Association of American Geographers, February 2005 edition that explains it best:

The focus of humanistic geography is on people and their condition. Humanistic geography is thus not primarily an earth science, yet it is a branch of geography because it reflects upon kinds of evidence that interest other branches of the discipline. The following topics are briefly noted from the humanistic perspective: geographical knowledge, territory and place, crowding and privacy, livelihood and economics, and religion. The basic approach to these topics is by way of human experience, awareness, and knowledge. Humanistic geography contributes to science by drawing attention to facts hitherto beyond the scientific purview. It differs from historical geography in emphasizing that people create their own historical myths. A humanist geographer should have training in systematic thought, or philosophy. His work serves society essentially by raising its level of consciousness.

Tuan was born in 1930 in Tientsin, China. He studied at Oxford and earned a Phd at Berkeley. After fourteen years teaching at the University of Minnesota, he then moved to Madison, Wisconsin, citing the impending doom of a mid-life crisis that turned out to be mild. Tuan concluded his professional career at University of Wisconsin-Madison, in 1998.

Today Yi-Fu Tuan is a retired professor-emeritus of the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He gives many lectures and has recently published a book entitled Place, Art and Self.

Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience, published by Tuan more than 25 years ago, established the discipline of human geography, but it has proven influential in such diverse fields as theatre, literature, anthropology, psychology, and theology. Yi-Fu Tuan considers the ways in which people feel and think about space, how they form attachments to home, neighborhood, and nation, and how feelings about space and place are affected by the sense of time. He suggests that place is security and space is freedom: we are attached to the one and long for the other. Whether he is considering sacred versus "biased" space, mythical space and place, time in experiential space, or cultural attachments to space, Tuan's analysis is thoughtful and insightful throughout.

He currently resides in Wisconsin and I plan to meet him. Here's a great story about the young Yi-Fu... Lost in Place; Yi-Fu Tuan may be the most influential scholar you've never heard of.

Saving a lost art... Chinese Street Food

During the Maoist years street chefs were banned from providing their distinctive cuisine. Despite the invasion of McDonald's and KFC there are some people who are working to revive the diversity of foods and cooking styles provided in Chinese street food. Some of these vendors trace their lineage in the culinary arts back over 200 years and through 7 generations. Here's a clip on Beijing's Street Food...


And here's part 2...

Verite to Host 10th Symposium on Social Responsibility in China

Verite', a 2007 Skoll award recipient, is hosting its 10th annual symposium on Social Responsibility in China on November 19 - 20, 2008 in Dongguan, China. This year's symposium will explore current trends and innovations in social responsibility programming in China. Over one and a half days are devoted to hearing from leaders in the field who are charting new approaches to solving common social compliance problems. The format will be in interactive, facilitating sharing and learning among participants.

Topics will include:

• The role of civil society and workers in supporting sustainable change in working conditions in China
• The new Contract Labor Law, its application and impact on the workplace
• Worker engagement and other best practices for long-term sustainability in sourcing
• Transparency as the starting place for change

Sponsors include Macy's, New Balance Foundation and Target. Read about last year's symposium for a glimpse of what they accomplished in 2007.

The Virtual Gugong

The Forbidden City: Beyond Space and Time is a new Web site created under a partnership between The Palace Museum and IBM. The site provides visitors with access to an immersive 3-dimensional virtual world where you can celebrate and explore aspects of Chinese culture and history.

In late 2006 I visited the Forbidden City with my friend Yang Pei. We spent the day hiking deeper and deeper into the core, touring scores of niche museums that archived various time frames along the path of Chinese history. It was both physically and intellectually overwhelming.

The virtual Gugong site encompasses the latest Web 2.0 dynamics, encouraging visitors to join in the site community in order to share in discussion and gain access to a greater number of features. I am downloading the 204MB application that will permit me to enter the virtual world. A half hour later I am installing the application. And, click to run... little wheel turns and turns, nothing happens. Stay tuned... there must be an answer.