More napa

Jessica underneath the garlanded porch.
My favorite part of the wedding was when Sarah, Jessica, and I were waiting in a separate room before the ceremony (in the room marked by those two windows at the back) and we were peaking out of the curtains and watching everyone sit down. It reminded me of playing with them when I was small. I kept on getting really choked up throughout the weekend because I kept on thinking about how we had been friends since we were 8!
Jessica's family (whose house we crashed for the weekend) and Shana, another old friend.
Seth and I snuck off to the vineyard behind the house to steal some Mondavi grapes.
And had a photogenic moment.
I was also overjoyed to see Bethany, who dazzled the crowd in an ultra flattering yellow frock.

Here comes the bride. . .

Two weeks ago, Ms. Sarah Short transformed into Mrs. Tony Hernandez--and taking into consideration the groom's statement during the wedding that "nobody leaves this marriage unless they're in a coffin," it does seem that I was lucky enough to be witness to some seriously life changing events.
The beautiful bride and the mother-of-the-bride. I am so sorry I didn't get a close-up of Sarah's hair--a miraculous do of whorls and rhinestone. Sarah was actually quite relaxed throughout the whole wedding. In fact, I've never seen her so happy!
I was a bridesmaid along with our other dear friend, Jessica. This is a picture of me and Sarah's new niece, Nene (the flower girl).
The whole ceremony took place in Sarah's parents' house in Napa. Everything was so beautiful, and the backyard was rife with spots for photo ops. Here is Sarah in front of the koi pond.

The Number One Hole in China

Right now, my dad and I are in Hong Kong relaxing after our fast paced 2 weeks in China. It has all gone by so quickly that we can hardly believe we're returning home tomorrow! Below is another posting on Xian.The number one tourist attraction in Beijing is the Terracotta Warriors, built for the tomb of Emperor Qin (2nd c. BC). While none of the major tombs have been excavated, this gives us fuel for the imagination for what they must look like, in terms of scale.
These 7,000 entrenched soldiers, found in battle formation holding bronze weapons, was the biggest archaeological discovery in Chinese history. The warriors are located about 1.5 km away from the main tomb area, and were intended to serve the emperor in his afterlife. The soldiers were found in the 1960's by a farmer who was building a well. (Incidentally, this farmer now has a permanent station in the Terracotta Warriors Museum autographing museum books and has a very foul temper, I think he is probably under contract by the government).
Each soldier is about 8 feet tall, and have different outfits and hairstyles according to rank. The outfits are so detailed that you can even see the treads on the bottom of the shoes!
Dad in front of a general.
A nearby smaller pit, that is believed to have served as the headquarters of the higher ranking officers.

All Roads Lead to Xian

The past three memorable days were spent in Xian, one of the most ancient cities in China, home to 13 dynasties and almost all of the most famous art. They don't have a subway system in Xian, supposedly because whenever they dig, they hit some archaeological relic. There are more than 80 imperial tombs around Xian dating back as early as the Han dynasty, 2nd c. BC, and stretching into the Tang Dynasty (7th century). Rulers in the Tang dynasty would start building their tombs as soon as they came to power. The Chinese always think BIG, and nothing proves it like the Tang Dynasty tomb of Qinliangshang. The tomb is built a mountain for protection, with a long pathway leading up to it marked by large stone guardian statues.
My dad at the entrance to the tomb.
A winged horse stone sculpture.
Since they have not formally excavated the tomb of Qinliangshan, we couldn't enter it, but we could go into some smaller tombs of lesser princes and princesses. This is a stone sculpture of a sheep from the outside of Prince Zhanghuai's tomb.
The tomb has a long ramp that leads down into the inner chambers, and the walls are covered with beautiful paintings.
From the tomb of Princess Yongtai.
A picture of the ladies in waiting.
It was a long ride to the Famen Temple, the oldest Buddhist site in all of China. The building has been completely rebuilt in recent years.
The reason why we went there was for the relics that were unearthed a few years ago, when an earthquake destroyed most of the original stupa. In the foundation of the stupa, they found an underground "palace" that housed several golden reliquaries containing remains of the Buddha. The shot below is of this secret chamber, where the golden bounty was found.

Plumpening Dumplings

Last night my dad and I attended the Tang Dynasty Culture Show, which included a 20 course dumpling banquet followed by a performance of music and dancing. I had been really looking forward to this for months: I am somewhat of a dumpling maniac, and if I could, I would sit around eating dim sum all day for the rest of my life. I will give you a few highlights of the meal from hither on.This is the second course of dumplings, my favorites being the pumpkin ones-bright orange at right. A lot of the dumplings were shaped to look like the thing that was inside them, like a fish with a tail.
The all time crowd pleaser were the piggy dumplings on the third platter. You can see them in front with two little black eyes, snout, and tail. Also outrageously ergonomically edible were the walnut dumplings (at 12 o'clock).
We ate almost all of the steamed dumplings before I remembered to take a picture.
The last course was a lucky dumpling soup, into which the waitress put 6 tiny dumplings. However many you got equalled something e.g. 1 = peace, 2= double happiness, etc. I happened to get none, which didn't particularly surprise me. The only thing was that the waitress could only explain the meaning up to four dumplings, and so my dad repeatedly started saying to her, after 4 it means death. . . DEATH!!!
Some after pics of our binge.
Who's the glutton with the pinkest shirt?
After the calorie fest, there was a really amazing performance based on "Tang Culture." They played on instruments that existed during the Tang dynasty (7th-9th c.) many of which are reconstructed based on the models found in tombs, and used music of the Tang dynasty that was preserved in historical records. I think this lady is playing on a zither of some kind.
One of the most interesting instruments for me to see was this set of bells. I'd studied quite a lot of them, dating back as far as the Han Dynasty (220 B.C.), when they were buried in tombs with their owners.

It was also cool to see the costumes I had seen in paintings put to life. There are many images of women dancing with scarves and long sleeves from the Tang dynasty. Although some of these acts got a little hokey, most prominent being when the the women came out in skimpy leotards draped in sequins and gold lame, I felt myself being rocketed back into my past life as a courtly concubine.

En chine on se portent les tevas

Yesterday was the long awaited visit to Datong, a Buddhist site built during the Northern Wei Dynasty (late 5th century). I've been reading about these caves for the last three years and was very excited to see them in person.
There are about 45 caves carved into a cliff, ranging from modest to gargantuan in terms of size. Many caves had a large central image of the Buddha with surrounding attendant deities. I think that the intended effect was one of immensity, cosmic enormity, in an attempt to convey the power of the Buddha to his devotees. Some statues were 100 feet tall, stretching from floor to ceiling! I think that you can not help but feel overwhelmed.

Datong was actually the first large scale Buddhist work in China. The Northern Wei Dynasty was Turkish in origin, and the emperor forced his own minyans to adopt Chinese culture. He did so by mandating an adoption of Chinese clothing, language, customs, and religion. Buddhism had been around China in various hybrid forms from the 2nd c. B.C., but the Northern Wei canonized it in stone.
And of course, the most interesting thing about this to me is the Indian influence. Before this site, there had been no major excavations in stone in China. That started in India many years before, along with Buddhism. Both of these were transmitted to China by travelers, monks, and merchants via the silk route and maritime routes. Datong is located at the very edge of the silk route in China, and so this kind of carving was likely transmitted via these paths. Remember those Buddhas in Bamiyan, Afghanistan, that the Taliban blew up? If you compare the two sites, you'll see the connection.
In India, many Buddhist caves were carved in order for the patron to ensure his own dharma, or merit. Bigger size = more merit.
The other real Indian influence is the portrayal of the body. This is the most famous cave in Datong, and you can clearly see the body underneath the robes of the central Buddha. Soon after, this practice is abandoned in Chinese art.
Don't look at my shorts! Note: the red thing in my hand is an enormous visor that says I went to Tianamen square in Chinese. Lots of people have been staring and laughing. Don't hate the playa, hate the game!
This cave had a central stupa in it instead of a Buddha. This is more along the lines of what you would see in Indian caves. In all of these caves, the central image is freestanding so devotees can walk around it in prayer.
The Buddha is replicated thousands of times to show his enormity. Lastly, we went to see a monastery from the 12th century in town. Inside were gorgeous clay sculptures of the Buddha and his followers with their original paint, although a little dusty. I loved these statues; the postures were so lively and fresh, and their facial expressions so serene.

Alright, so it's been a bit of lecture this post, but I'm practicing to be an educator, after all. And art is my special friend!

Fujian and Beijing

What up? What up? China has been good to me and my family so far. I started in the south with my professor and worked my way up north to meet my dad. Traveling with my professor's family was great, because the Fujian region is not visited much by foreigners, and so you really need Chinese. Because I was hanging with the Chinese, that meant I got to go to all of the places that I would have never chosen for myself--like places where they bring out bamboo tablet menus in dingy looking seafood restaurants that happen to serve excellent sea snails (my first time!)

The photo is of me in front of a giant Lao-tze from the Song dynasty. It is carved into one of the surrounding mountains of Quanzhou, and had we hiked higher up (we would have but it was too late) we would have seen several other carvings of buddhas, giant Chinese characters on peaks, ancient runes to past emperors and sea gods.

It does look like I might have a project in front of me. I am researching an Indian merchant community that settled in China during the 13th century. These bas reliefs of yalis, mythological animalistic figures, have been taken from an Indian temple and reinstalled into a Buddhist shrine. There are lots of other Indian carvings in the local museum, all of which are significant for surveying cross-cultural interactions.

The next picture is of me (wearing the same shirt and some intensely dorky shorts which I have not since removed) and my dad in front of the Forbidden City in Beijing. Beijing is a rather fantastic city, with so much to see and do. Though our somewhat unscrupulous tour guide dragged us to every tourist trap "factory" in the book to pick up souvenirs, we still managed to have a fabulous time. Of course we visited the Great Wall. . .
. . .and listened to impromptu Beijing opera in the park! I have to say that Beijing park was really inspiring. The retirement age here is really young, around 45, and most of the people in the park seemed to fit into the retiree bracket. Not only did the park provide a great community for the elderly, it also allows them a place to stay really active. I saw so many people playing hackey sack, practicing Tai Chi, doing Tango. . . definitely not the scene in Central Park.

I will be back soon, as I have internet access in my hotel room for the next 24 hours.