The Gao Brothers are two Chinese artists named Zhen (born 1956) and Qiang Gao (born 1962) from Jinan , in the province of Shandong (located in the north east of China ).
99-477: Their works tend to be charged with political and social nuances, including their recurring use of Mao's image. Gao Zhen, the elder of the brothers, explained through an interpreter that "1968 was a crucial moment in the Cultural revolution, where political 'cleaning' took place. Our father, a simple laborer was thrown into jail. We still don’t know if he actually committed suicide as the authorities told us or if he
198-646: A cafe culture is emerging. What began as a small collection of ephemeral studios and other workspaces has become the third most visited destination in Beijing, after the Forbidden City and the Great Wall. 39°59′21″N 116°29′17″E / 39.989057°N 116.48793°E / 39.989057; 116.48793 Simplified Chinese characters Simplified Chinese characters are one of two standardized character sets widely used to write
297-421: A 15 km track of railroad between Beijing railway station and Dongjiao Station was built especially to service the factory. Caltech -educated scientist Luo Peilin (罗沛霖), formerly head of the preparatory group in 1951-1953, was Head Engineer of Joint Factory 718 during its construction phase. Luo, now retired in Beijing, is remembered by his former colleagues as a dedicated perfectionist whose commitment to
396-507: A bloody wound, now stands in front of Tiananmen Square. Victims of the 1989 repression have been depicted as martyrs sacrificed for the cause of democracy. Across the hand's palm a red Forbidden City appears on a yellow background. The Gao brother's series Sense of Space depicts the authors and other anonymous models, naked, locked in boxes labeled with titles such as "Prayer", "Waiting", "Anxiety" and "Pain". Contorted bodies attempt to enter into boxes too small for them. For about ten years,
495-489: A collective exhibition organized at the National Art Museum of China (NAMOC) where they exhibited their piece Midnight Mass, an inflatable installation representing a hermaphrodite sexual organ measuring 4 meters high. Midnight Mass borrows from surrealism the technique of the body's fragmentation and the notion of the "Anatomy of desire" from Hans Bellmer. However, both the material used (inflatable plastic) and
594-443: A component—either a character or a sub-component called a radical —usually involves either a reduction in its total number of strokes , or an apparent streamlining of which strokes are chosen in what places—for example, the ⼓ ' WRAP ' radical used in the traditional character 沒 is simplified to ⼏ ' TABLE ' to form the simplified character 没 . By systematically simplifying radicals, large swaths of
693-434: A conversion table. While exercising such derivation, the following rules should be observed: Sample Derivations : The Series One List of Variant Characters reduces the number of total standard characters. First, amongst each set of variant characters sharing identical pronunciation and meaning, one character (usually the simplest in form) is elevated to the standard character set, and the rest are made obsolete. Then amongst
792-407: A few revised forms, and was implemented for official use by China's State Council on 5 June 2013. In Chinese, simplified characters are referred to by their official name 简化字 ; jiǎnhuàzì , or colloquially as 简体字 ; jiǎntǐzì . The latter term refers broadly to all character variants featuring simplifications of character form or structure, a practice which has always been present as
891-442: A gradual decline and was eventually rendered obsolete. By the late 1980s and early 1990s, most sub-factories had ceased production, 60% of the workers had been laid off , and the remains of the management were reconstituted as part of a real-estate operation called "Seven-Star Huadian Science and Technology Group", charged with overseeing the industrial park and finding tenants for the abandoned buildings. The Dashanzi factory complex
990-541: A gun was made in 1964, April 28. This parable refers to the concept developed by Nicolas Bourriaud known as "alter-modernity" Bourriaud, that begins with the idea that today's artists live in a globalized culture that should be used not to deny their individuality but to create a new modernity - one made of openness and intercultural exchange. The execution of Christ illustrates this concept as it combines two fundamentally different cultures while preserving one another. The firing of Hu Yaobang and his disappearance encouraged
1089-404: A long-term strategy for obtaining revenue from new building leases was realized. A proposed arts school, artist-in-residence program, and requirements that tenants are involved in a creative industry provided cultural institutions with a sense that 798 would attract new talent and ideas. Last, multiple parks and plazas responded to community desire for more public open space. By the end of 2007, it
SECTION 10
#17328007140611188-610: A newly coined phono-semantic compound : Removing radicals Only retaining single radicals Replacing with ancient forms or variants : Adopting ancient vulgar variants : Readopting abandoned phonetic-loan characters : Copying and modifying another traditional character : Based on 132 characters and 14 components listed in Chart 2 of the Complete List , the 1,753 derived characters found in Chart 3 can be created by systematically simplifying components using Chart 2 as
1287-573: A part of the Chinese writing system. The official name tends to refer to the specific, systematic set published by the Chinese government, which includes not only simplifications of individual characters, but also a substantial reduction in the total number of characters through the merger of formerly distinct forms. According to Chinese palaeographer Qiu Xigui , the broadest trend in the evolution of Chinese characters over their history has been simplification, both in graphical shape ( 字形 ; zìxíng ),
1386-641: A public protest against the area's upcoming destruction that a showcase of art itself. The environmental performance artist Brother Nut installed his project, "Nongfu Spring Market," in 798 Art Zone in 2018. A commentary on pollution in China , this project received international attention including an article in The New York Times . One of the most (in)famous displays at the Festival was performance artist He Yunchang having himself cemented shut in
1485-514: A sustainable revenue stream to endow the pension fund of former factory workers. Third, international and Chinese non-profit cultural institutions investing in 798 such as the UCCA Center for Contemporary Art wanted to focus on culture and protecting the district's distinctive character. Finally, residents of adjacent neighborhoods were vocal about the need for community parks, recreation, and job opportunities. Considering these voices equally,
1584-529: A touch of ironic " Mao kitsch " to the place. In 2003, Lu Jie (卢杰) set up the Long March Foundation, an ongoing project for artistic re-interpretation of the historical Long March , inside the 25,000 Li Cultural Transmission Center (二万五千里文化传播中心). Around that time, Singapore-owned China Art Seasons (北京季节画廊) opened for display for pan-Asian art, and was one of several new galleries setting up at that time. The UCCA Center for Contemporary Art
1683-477: A vision plan which sought to re-purpose the district into a stable source of revenue while providing a much-needed destination for China's burgeoning arts scene. The plan needed to inspire multiple stakeholders with often divergent interests. First, the city government in Beijing wanted to ensure that the district would a visible and acclaimed destination. Second, the land-holder, SevenStar Group, needed to generate
1782-482: A wide variety of military and civilian equipment. Civilian production included acoustic equipment for Beijing's Workers' Stadium and Great Hall of the People , as well as all the loudspeakers on Tiananmen Square and Chang'an Avenue . Military components were also exported to China's Communist allies, and helped establish North Korea 's wireless electronics industry. After 10 years of operation, Joint Factory 718
1881-504: A wooden box with only two pipes for ventilation , and staying there for 24 hours before being chiseled out, prompting the proverbial " Is it art? " questionings. "Shock" exhibitions have become increasingly common in the Art District. In 2008 there were notable exhibitions of foreign artists from Italy ("Rabarama. Italian Shape", AnniArt Gallery 798, ): Rabarama and Cesare Berlingeri . The district's popularity has exploded since
1980-537: Is a complex of 50-year-old decommissioned military factory buildings boasting a unique architectural style that houses a thriving artistic community in Dashanzi , Chaoyang District , Beijing . The area is often called the 798 Art District or Factory 798 although technically, Factory #798 is only one of several structures inside the complex formerly known as 718 Joint Factory . The buildings are within alleys number 2 and 4 on Jiǔxiānqiáo Lù (酒仙桥路), south of
2079-440: Is actually more complex than eliminated ones. An example is the character 搾 which is eliminated in favor of the variant form 榨 . The 扌 'HAND' with three strokes on the left of the eliminated 搾 is now seen as more complex, appearing as the ⽊ 'TREE' radical 木 , with four strokes, in the chosen variant 榨 . Not all characters standardised in the simplified set consist of fewer strokes. For instance,
SECTION 20
#17328007140612178-554: Is at times embedded in their works as a message for all humanity. In 2002, the Gao Brothers left Shandong to settle in Beijing. Their art is protean, they refuse to be limited to only one medium, what is most important is the message at hand they are attempting to convey through their work. On August 26, 2024, Gao Zhen was detained by Chinese authorities under a law against "attacking the reputation and honor of heroes and martyrs". The Gao Brothers started their career in 1989 via
2277-454: Is derived. Merging homophonous characters: Adapting cursive shapes ( 草書楷化 ): Replacing a component with a simple arbitrary symbol (such as 又 and 乂 ): Omitting entire components : Omitting components, then applying further alterations : Structural changes that preserve the basic shape Replacing the phonetic component of phono-semantic compounds : Replacing an uncommon phonetic component : Replacing entirely with
2376-545: Is due partly to the presence of former post-industrial artists' dwellings. Those arguments have so far been ignored. In 2004, Seven-Star Group froze the rental of new spaces and prohibited all renewals. Tenants resorted to subdividing and subleasing their spaces, to which the Group responded by attempting to forbid subleasing to cultural organizations or to foreigners, hoping to drive out the artists. Tenants, despite some of them having leases still valid for several years, were given
2475-813: Is now discouraged. A State Language Commission official cited "oversimplification" as the reason for restoring some characters. The language authority declared an open comment period until 31 August 2009, for feedback from the public. In 2013, the List of Commonly Used Standard Chinese Characters was published as a revision of the 1988 lists; it included a total of 8105 characters. It included 45 newly recognized standard characters that were previously considered variant forms, as well as official approval of 226 characters that had been simplified by analogy and had seen wide use but were not explicitly given in previous lists or documents. Singapore underwent three successive rounds of character simplification , eventually arriving at
2574-623: Is referred to as the " big seal script ". The traditional narrative, as also attested in the Shuowen Jiezi dictionary ( c. 100 AD ), is that the Qin small seal script that would later be imposed across China was originally derived from the Zhou big seal script with few modifications. However, the body of epigraphic evidence comparing the character forms used by scribes gives no indication of any real consolidation in character forms prior to
2673-438: Is to become a major source of creative design instead of mere low cost low value-added manufacturing. (This issue has far-reaching implications in the domain of intellectual property protection in China - some experts believe that the local IP laws will start to be enforced only when China becomes a source of its own intellectual property.) A crucial participant in the lobbying effort is resident sculptor Li Xiangqun, professor at
2772-547: Is used instead of 叠 in regions using traditional characters. The Chinese government stated that it wished to keep Chinese orthography stable. The Chart of Generally Utilized Characters of Modern Chinese was published in 1988 and included 7000 simplified and unsimplified characters. Of these, half were also included in the revised List of Commonly Used Characters in Modern Chinese , which specified 2500 common characters and 1000 less common characters. In 2009,
2871-533: The Academy of Arts and Design of Tsinghua University , who was elected deputy of the 12th National People's Congress in 2004. Li presented the municipal government with a formal bill in February, requesting the suspension of the destruction plans and preservation of the buildings as part of an Olympic-caliber cultural center. Professors from architecture schools such as Beijing's Central Academy of Fine Arts and
2970-670: The Chinese language , with the other being traditional characters . Their mass standardization during the 20th century was part of an initiative by the People's Republic of China (PRC) to promote literacy, and their use in ordinary circumstances on the mainland has been encouraged by the Chinese government since the 1950s. They are the official forms used in mainland China and Singapore , while traditional characters are officially used in Hong Kong , Macau , and Taiwan . Simplification of
3069-510: The Sasaki Associates master plan for 798 endeavored to reach consensus with a long-game approach to redevelopment. Leading with clear principles and detailed guidelines, the plan was an opportunity to codify the values of the district. To address the city's concerns, connections from nearby transit stations were strengthened, historic buildings were cataloged, and guidelines for their preservation and adaptive reuse were outlined. Next,
Gao Brothers - Misplaced Pages Continue
3168-492: The Southern California Institute of Architecture have proposed various development plans for the area that involve preserving the buildings, although those do not appear especially profitable financially. Meanwhile, attempts have been made to appeal to the developers' sense of economics by pointing out similarities with New York's Greenwich Village and SoHo, where the high profitability of real estate
3267-459: The "external appearances of individual graphs", and in graphical form ( 字体 ; 字體 ; zìtǐ ), "overall changes in the distinguishing features of graphic[al] shape and calligraphic style, [...] in most cases refer[ring] to rather obvious and rather substantial changes". The initiatives following the founding of the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) to universalize the use of their small seal script across
3366-482: The 1986 General List of Simplified Chinese Characters , hereafter the General List . All characters simplified this way are enumerated in Chart 1 and Chart 2 in the 1986 Complete List . Characters in both charts are structurally simplified based on similar set of principles. They are separated into two charts to clearly mark those in Chart 2 as 'usable as simplified character components', based on which Chart 3
3465-520: The 1986 mainland China revisions. Unlike in mainland China, Singapore parents have the option of registering their children's names in traditional characters. Malaysia also promulgated a set of simplified characters in 1981, though completely identical to the mainland Chinese set. They are used in Chinese-language schools. All characters simplified this way are enumerated in Charts 1 and 2 of
3564-470: The Chinese government published a major revision to the list which included a total of 8300 characters. No new simplifications were introduced. In addition, slight modifications to the orthography of 44 characters to fit traditional calligraphic rules were initially proposed, but were not implemented due to negative public response. Also, the practice of unrestricted simplification of rare and archaic characters by analogy using simplified radicals or components
3663-479: The Chinese turn to East Germany where much of the Soviet Union's electronics equipment was imported. So at the request of then-Premier Zhou Enlai , scientists and engineers joined the first Chinese trade delegation to East Germany in 1951, visiting a dozen factories. The project was green-lighted in early 1952 and a Chinese preparatory group was sent to East Berlin to prepare design plans. This project, which
3762-591: The Dàshānziqiáo flyover (大山子桥). The area is anchored by the UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, the largest and most visited venue in the area. In recent years, it has been the main venue for the annual Beijing Queer Film Festival and Beijing Design Week . The Dashanzi factory complex began as an extension of the "Socialist Unification Plan" of military-industrial cooperation between the Soviet Union and
3861-480: The Gao Brothers have organized performances around the idea of hugging, a 15-minute couple embrace and then a collective embrace of 5 minutes occurs. Some models are dressed, others are naked. Since 2000, nearly 150 people, meeting each other for the first time through this experience, have embraced each other through organized meetings of this sort. 798 Art Zone 798 Art Zone ( Chinese : 798艺术区 ; pinyin : 798 Yìshùqū ), or Dashanzi Art District ,
3960-461: The area's "canteen". American Robert Bernell was the first foreigner to move in and brought his Timezone 8 Art Books bookshop, gallery and publishing office to a former factory canteen. One of Timezone 8's early employees was fashion designer Xiao Li, who along with her husband, performance artist Cang Xin , and Bernell, helped artists secure and rent spaces in the area. Through word-of-mouth, artists and designers started trickling in, attracted to
4059-575: The area's "community spirit", most galleries and spaces in Dashanzi do not charge either exhibitors or visitors. Instead, they generally sustain themselves by hosting profitable fashion shows and corporate events; among others, Sony had a product launch gala at 798 space, and watchmaker Omega presented a fashion show at Yan Club. Others include Christian Dior , Royal Dutch Shell and Toyota ; supermodel Cindy Crawford also made an appearance. Even Li Ka-shing 's Cheung Kong Holdings held an event in
Gao Brothers - Misplaced Pages Continue
4158-562: The artists district called 798 Art Zone in the Dashanzi Art District, and their work is internationally recognized. Both brothers were introduced to Chinese traditional art before they began their college studies. The older brother graduated from Shandong Academy of Fine Arts and the younger brother from Qufu Normal University (Qufu is said to be the hometown of the thinker, educator and politician Confucius ). The notion of "brotherhood", inspired by their own relationship,
4257-745: The best in China. Through its several danwei or " work units ", it offered considerable social benefits to its 10,000-20,000 workers, especially considering the relative poverty of the country during such periods as the Great Leap Forward . The factory boasted, among others: The factory even had its own volunteer military reserves or jinweishi (近卫师), which numbered hundreds and were equipped with large-scale weapons and anti-aircraft guns . Workers' skills were honed by frequent personnel exchanges, internships and training in cooperation with East Germany. Different incentives kept motivation high, such as rewards systems and "model worker" distinctions. At
4356-508: The center of Factory 798, it was and still is the symbolic center of the whole district. (Huang and Xu since designed at least seven spaces in the area and became the prime movers and de facto spokespersons of the District.) A glass-fronted café was set up in the former office section at the back of the 798 space, opening into a back alley now lined with studios and restaurants such as Huang's own At Café, and Cang Xin's #6 Sichuan restaurant,
4455-428: The character set are altered. Some simplifications were based on popular cursive forms that embody graphic or phonetic simplifications of the traditional forms. In addition, variant characters with identical pronunciation and meaning were reduced to a single standardized character, usually the simplest among all variants in form. Finally, many characters were left untouched by simplification and are thus identical between
4554-407: The chosen variants, those that appear in the "Complete List of Simplified Characters" are also simplified in character structure accordingly. Some examples follow: Sample reduction of equivalent variants : Ancient variants with simple structure are preferred : Simpler vulgar forms are also chosen : The chosen variant was already simplified in Chart 1 : In some instances, the chosen variant
4653-614: The city center. Then in 1995, Beijing's Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), looking for storage and workshop space, set up in the now defunct Factory 706. The temporary move became permanent and in 2000 Sui Jianguo , Dean of the Department of Sculpture , located his own studio in the area. The cluttered sculpture workshops have always remained open for visitors to peek at the dozens of workers milling about. By 2003, an artistic community of over 30 artists, designers, and publishers had developed. The first creatives to take residence in
4752-473: The country's writing system as a serious impediment to its modernization. In 1916, a multi-part English-language article entitled "The Problem of the Chinese Language" co-authored by the Chinese linguist Yuen Ren Chao (1892–1982) and poet Hu Shih (1891–1962) has been identified as a turning point in the history of the Chinese script—as it was one of the first clear calls for China to move away from
4851-430: The current government projects which call for the expansion of the neighboring industrial park to turn all of Dashanzi into a high-tech development zone similar to Zhongguancun . Landowner Seven-Star Group thus hopes to re-employ some of the 10,000 laid-off workers it is still responsible for. Influential members of the artist community and architects are lobbying various government instances to persuade them to allow
4950-428: The dimensions of the work bring it into the realm of contemporary art. With her large breasts and her long nose, Miss Mao , Mao Zedong's monumental icon, appears as a hybridization of Minnie and Pinocchio. She is a grotesque image of a monstrous mother figure and a liar. As Claude Hudelot and Guy Gallice, show in their book, The Mao, the abundant iconography of Mao spans 60 years of Chinese folk art, depicting tirelessly
5049-402: The district included artist Xu Yong, designer artist Huang Rui , publisher Robert Bernell, painter Li Songsong, and Beijing Tokyo Art Projects' Tabata Yukihito. One of the first exhibition spaces, Beijing Tokyo Art Projects (BTAP, 北京东京艺术工程), was opened by Tabata Yukihito of Japan's Tokyo Gallery. Inside a 400-m division of Factory 798's main area, this was the first renovated space featuring
SECTION 50
#17328007140615148-471: The district, which some found unsettling given the real-estate industry's designs on the land it sits on. As such, Dashanzi is now a center of Beijing's nascent " BoBo " (bourgeois-bohemian) community. Huang Rui and Xu Yong are good representatives of the type. A local guru of sorts is artist/curator/architect Ai Weiwei (艾未未), whose self-designed house in Caochangdi just outside the factory complex
5247-476: The early 20th century. In 1909, the educator and linguist Lufei Kui formally proposed the use of simplified characters in education for the first time. Over the following years—marked by the 1911 Xinhai Revolution that toppled the Qing dynasty , followed by growing social and political discontent that further erupted into the 1919 May Fourth Movement —many anti-imperialist intellectuals throughout China began to see
5346-433: The exhibition with a brick wall and then removing the bricks one by one. In September, "Left Hand - Right Hand" (curator: Feng Boyi ) showcased Chinese and German sculptors at 798 Space and Daoyaolu Workshop A. Among the works was Sui Jianguo's enormous concrete sculpture "Mao's Right Hand", which is just what the name suggests, and an example of modern Chinese art's ironic reflections on history. The first Beijing Biennale
5445-634: The first official list of simplified forms was published, consisting of 324 characters collated by Peking University professor Qian Xuantong . However, fierce opposition within the KMT resulted in the list being rescinded in 1936. Work throughout the 1950s resulted in the 1956 promulgation of the Chinese Character Simplification Scheme , a draft of 515 simplified characters and 54 simplified components, whose simplifications would be present in most compound characters. Over
5544-463: The first round—but was massively unpopular and never saw consistent use. The second round of simplifications was ultimately retracted officially in 1986, well after they had largely ceased to be used due to their unpopularity and the confusion they caused. In August 2009, China began collecting public comments for a revised list of simplified characters; the resulting List of Commonly Used Standard Chinese Characters lists 8,105 characters, including
5643-475: The following decade, the Script Reform Committee deliberated on characters in the 1956 scheme, collecting public input regarding the recognizability of variants, and often approving forms in small batches. Parallel to simplification, there were also initiatives aimed at eliminating the use of characters entirely and replacing them with pinyin as an official Chinese alphabet, but this possibility
5742-406: The founding of the Qin. The Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD) that inherited the Qin administration coincided with the perfection of clerical script through the process of libian . Eastward spread of Western learning Though most closely associated with the People's Republic, the idea of a mass simplification of character forms first gained traction in China during
5841-648: The fringes of the city as well. However, the area today sits right on the strategic corridor between the Capital Airport and downtown Beijing along the Airport Expressway . In the context of China's current real estate bubble , the district is highly likely to be demolished in the near future. Hints of development are already appearing with the western entrances of the complex flanked by the Jiuxian and Hongyuan luxury apartment towers. There are all
5940-528: The height of the construction effort, more than 100 East German foreign experts worked on the project. The resources of 22 of their factories supplied the construction; at the same time, supply delays were caused by the Soviet Red Army 's tremendous drain on East Germany's industrial production. The equipment was transported directly through the Soviet Union via the Trans-Siberian railway , and
6039-435: The high arched ceilings that would become synonymous with the Art District. BTAP's 2002 opening exhibition "Beijing Afloat" ( curator : Feng Boyi ), drew a crowd of over 1,000 people and marked the beginning of the popular infatuation with the area. In 2002, Huang Rui (黄锐) and hutong photographer Xu Yong (徐勇) set up the 798 Space gallery (时态空间) next to BTAP. With its cavernous 1200-m floor and multiple-arched ceilings at
SECTION 60
#17328007140616138-488: The images of worship of the Great Helmsman. Given the escalation of propaganda and the power of the image used in advertising, artists are left with a natural choice to divert and distort these images, often in an exaggerated and grotesque manner. In 2009, the Gao Brothers turned towards working with bronze. The execution of Christ consists of bronze statues of seven soldiers shooting Christ. The sculpture of Mao with
6237-466: The increased usage of 朙 was followed by proliferation of a third variant: 眀 , with 目 'eye' on the left—likely derived as a contraction of 朙 . Ultimately, 明 became the character's standard form. The Book of Han (111 AD) describes an earlier attempt made by King Xuan of Zhou ( d. 782 BC ) to unify character forms across the states of ancient China , with his chief chronicler having "[written] fifteen chapters describing" what
6336-465: The left, with the 月 'Moon' component on the right. Li Si ( d. 208 BC ), the Chancellor of Qin, attempted to universalize the Qin small seal script across China following the wars that had politically unified the country for the first time. Li prescribed the 朙 form of the word for 'bright', but some scribes ignored this and continued to write the character as 明 . However,
6435-463: The maximum amount of natural light into the workplace. Arch-supported sections of the ceiling would curve upwards then fall diagonally along the high slanted banks or windows; this pattern would be repeated several times in the larger rooms, giving the roof its characteristic sawtooth-like appearance . Despite Beijing's northern location, the windows were all to face north because the light from that direction would cast fewer shadows. The chosen location
6534-402: The most prominent Chinese authors of the 20th century, stated that "if Chinese characters are not destroyed, then China will die" ( 漢字不滅，中國必亡 ). During the 1930s and 1940s, discussions regarding simplification took place within the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) party. Many members of the Chinese intelligentsia maintained that simplification would increase literacy rates throughout the country. In 1935,
6633-426: The newly formed People's Republic of China . By 1951, 156 "joint factory" projects had been realized under that agreement, part of the Chinese government 's first Five-Year Plan . However, the People's Liberation Army still had a dire need of modern electronic components, which were produced in only two of the joint factories. The Russians were unwilling to undertake an additional project at the time and suggested that
6732-484: The obstacle-strewn project was a major factor of its eventual success. Joint Factory 718 began production in 1957, amid a grandiose opening ceremony and display of Communist brotherhood between China and East Germany, attended by high officials of both countries. The first director was Li Rui (李瑞), who had been involved in the early negotiations in Berlin. The factory quickly established a reputation for itself as one of
6831-480: The old buildings to remain, to help grow organically a cultural center that Beijing otherwise lacks. In 2003, International Architects Salon roped in architects from various international architectural associations and renowned architects like Bernard Tschumi and Coop Himmelblau 's Wolf Prix to help emphasize how important attractive spaces like Factory 798 are to the international design community. They point out that such communities are important if Beijing, and China,
6930-733: The opening of BTAP and 798 Space in 2002, with scores of galleries , lofts , publishing firms, design companies, high-end tailor shops, and cafés and fancy restaurants setting up. In 2003, around 30 artists and organizations had set up studios or offices in the area, with 200 more reportedly on the waiting list to move in. Fashionable clubs also sprang up such as Zhou Ying's "Vibes", known for its fetish nights. A former factory cafeteria became Yan Club (仁俱乐部), owned by well-known Beijing socialite and writer Li Xuebing or "Bing Bing" (冰冰), also owner of Sanlitun 's Jam House. Notable performers at Yan included Morcheeba in March 2003. In keeping with
7029-465: The other hand, young artists like Zhang Yue find this atmosphere particularly conducive to establishing one's career. In the course of one summer, Dashanzi Art District's Platform China Contemporary Art Institute and Unlimited Art Gallery afforded this rising artist two well-received solo shows. In the days of Joint Factory 718, Dashanzi was chosen for its peripheral position well outside the city center. The artists who later moved there were attracted from
7128-430: The public and quickly fell out of official use. It was ultimately formally rescinded in 1986. The second-round simplifications were unpopular in large part because most of the forms were completely new, in contrast to the familiar variants comprising the majority of the first round. With the rescission of the second round, work toward further character simplification largely came to an end. In 1986, authorities retracted
7227-465: The recently conquered parts of the empire is generally seen as being the first real attempt at script reform in Chinese history. Before the 20th century, variation in character shape on the part of scribes, which would continue with the later invention of woodblock printing , was ubiquitous. For example, prior to the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) the character meaning 'bright' was written as either 明 or 朙 —with either 日 'Sun' or 囧 'window' on
7326-541: The remaining factory workers. Some of the workshops are still operational on a small scale, mostly doing car repair or industrial laundry. Some local artists such as Zhang Zhaohui, a New York-trained art critic and curator, and architect Zhu Jun, a new Dashanzi resident, have criticized the Art District as being less about art and more about show. Says Zhang: "Few of the artists come to seriously practice art. Most of them just come for opportunities to exhibit and sell works or just have parties and gatherings." ( China Daily ) On
7425-481: The same set of simplified characters as mainland China. The first round was promulgated by the Ministry of Education in 1969, consisting of 498 simplified characters derived from 502 traditional characters. A second round of 2287 simplified characters was promulgated in 1974. The second set contained 49 differences from the mainland China system; these were removed in the final round in 1976. In 1993, Singapore adopted
7524-576: The same time, political activities such as Maoism study workshops kept the workers in line with Chinese Communist Party doctrine. During the Cultural revolution , propaganda slogans for Mao Zedong Thought were painted on the ceiling arches in bright red characters (where they remain today at the latter tenants' request). Frequent VIP visits contributed to the festive atmosphere. Notable guests included Deng Xiaoping , Jiang Zemin , Liu Shaoqi , Zhu De , and Kim Il-Sung . The Joint Factory produced
7623-467: The second round completely, though they had been largely fallen out of use within a year of their initial introduction. That year, the authorities also promulgated a final version of the General List of Simplified Chinese Characters . It was identical to the 1964 list save for 6 changes—including the restoration of 3 characters that had been simplified in the first round: 叠 , 覆 , 像 ; the form 疊
7722-417: The self-centered nature of much art in the area. The first Dashanzi International Art Festival, directed by the ever-present Huang Rui , was held from April 24 to May 23, 2004. This first edition, named Radiance and Resonance/Signals of Time (光•音 / 光阴), was beset by logistical problems arising from landowner Seven-Star Group's increasing irritation with the art community. As such, the festival became as much
7821-406: The spaces, and the overhead of renovating and retrofitting the rooms to use modern appliances. Another sign of creeping gentrification is the increasing number of luxury cars parked near the galleries; local artist Zhao Bandi purchased the first Alfa Romeo convertible in Beijing. Some (but not all) of the resident artists and their patrons are quite rich compared to other occupants of the area,
7920-429: The students’ protest at Tiananmen on April 21, 1989 ( Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 ). The demonstrations lasted until the beginning of June, when authorities decided to repress the revolt. The Chinese army repression on June 4, 1989, drew national and international attention. Numerous arrests were made. The Gao Brothers painted a kind of memorial in honor of the victims. An open hand, a hole at its center representing
8019-497: The traditional and simplified Chinese orthographies. The Chinese government has never officially announced the completion of the simplification process after the bulk of characters were introduced by the 1960s. In the wake of the Cultural Revolution , a second round of simplified characters was promulgated in 1977—largely composed of entirely new variants intended to artificially lower the stroke count, in contrast to
8118-833: The traditional character 強 , with 11 strokes is standardised as 强 , with 12 strokes, which is a variant character. Such characters do not constitute simplified characters. The new standardized character forms shown in the Characters for Publishing and revised through the Common Modern Characters list tend to adopt vulgar variant character forms. Since the new forms take vulgar variants, many characters now appear slightly simpler compared to old forms, and as such are often mistaken as structurally simplified characters. Some examples follow: The traditional component 釆 becomes 米 : The traditional component 囚 becomes 日 : The traditional "Break" stroke becomes
8217-489: The ultimatum of December 31, 2005 to vacate the premises. By 2006, public outcry was relentless, and prominent cultural organizations from around the world spoke up. An unlikely duo including SevenStar, a government-led consortium acting as stewards of a pension fund for former factory workers, and Guy Ullens , a Belgian philanthropist who had amassed the world's largest collection of contemporary Chinese art, commissioned Boston -based design firm Sasaki Associates to produce
8316-522: The use of characters entirely. Instead, Chao proposed that the language be written with an alphabet, which he saw as more logical and efficient. The alphabetization and simplification campaigns would exist alongside one another among the Republican intelligentsia for the next several decades. Recent commentators have echoed some contemporary claims that Chinese characters were blamed for the economic problems in China during that time. Lu Xun , one of
8415-476: The vast cathedral-like spaces. Despite the lack of any conscious aesthetic in the Bauhaus-inspired style, which grounded architectural beauty in practical, industrial function, the swooping arcs and soaring chimneys had an uplifting effect on modern eyes, a sort of post-industrial chic. At the artists' requests, workers renovating the spaces preserved the prominent Maoist slogans on the arches, adding
8514-399: Was a 640,000 square meter area in Dashanzi, then a low-lying patch of farmland northeast of Beijing. The complex was to occupy 500,000 square meters, 370,000 of which were allocated to living quarters. It was officially named Joint Factory 718 , following the Chinese government's method of naming military factories starting with the number 7. Fully funded by the Chinese side, the initial budget
8613-404: Was a trend-setter. In the absence of any rent control , tenants' costs have escalated. In 2000–2001, rents were 0.8 RMB per square metre per day (24 RMB or US$ 2.90/m /month, or about US$ 0.27/sq.foot/month). They increased slightly to 30 RMB/m /month in 2003, and then doubled to 60 RMB/m /month (US$ 0.67/sq.foot/month) in 2004. Total costs can be quite high considering the average 200–400 m area of
8712-464: Was abandoned, confirmed by a speech given by Zhou Enlai in 1958. In 1965, the PRC published the List of Commonly Used Characters for Printing [ zh ] (hereafter Characters for Printing ), which included standard printed forms for 6196 characters, including all of the forms from the 1956 scheme. A second round of simplified characters was promulgated in 1977, but was poorly received by
8811-431: Was decided that the area would continue in its current format of a special art zone. In 2009, the area has been refurbished and is thriving. 798's abandoned factory buildings have been transformed into new museums, galleries, and cafes. Fallow fields and once hidden courtyards have reemerged as settings for outdoor sculpture, fashion shows, and other cultural events. The roads have been repaved, new galleries have opened, and
8910-453: Was enormous for the times: 9 million Rbls or approximately 140 million RMB ( US$ 17 million) at today's rates; actual costs were 147 million RMB. Ground was broken in April 1954. Construction was marked by disagreements between the Chinese, Soviet and German experts, which led at one point to a six-month postponement of the project. The Germans' harshest critic
9009-419: Was held on September 18, 2003 at the Art District and featured 14 exhibitions. "Tui-Transfiguration" (curator: Wu Hung; tui here roughly means moult ) featured photographs by East Village chronicler Rong Rong (荣荣) and his wife, Japan-born Inri (映里). Their works notably featured their own naked bodies in various strange locales, and were generally well-received despite being criticized by some as typical of
9108-502: Was held outdoors in southern Beijing and then relocated to the Art District. On April 13, despite widespread fear of public gatherings during SARS , the exhibitions "Reconstruction 798" (798 space) and "Operation Ink Freedom" (25,000 Li Cultural Transmission Center) drew crowds of 5,000 and definitely confirmed the area's widespread appeal. In July, with Beijing in full construction boom, Wang Wei's "Temporary Space" (curator: Philip Tinari) featured workers completely enclosing an area of
9207-518: Was killed during his incarceration". At that time, Gao Zhen was 12 years old and Gao Qiang was 6. A retrospective of their work, "Gao Brothers : Grandeur and Catharsis", was organized by the Kemper Museum from September 17, 2010, to 2011, January 2. A brief presentation of their work shows the multifaceted nature of their art: the brothers combine diverse mediums such as painting, sculpture, performance, and photography. They currently work in
9306-576: Was set up shortly thereafter in one of the largest factories in the complex, and after recent renovations, serves as the anchor institution and most prominent, and most visited, art landmarks in the area. Several exhibitions of note took place in 2003. In March 2004, "Transborder Language", part of the First Dashanzhi International Art Festival, (curators: Huang Rui and Thomas J. Berghuis) combined poetry installation and performance art . "Blue Sky Exposure"
9405-465: Was split into more manageable components, such as sub-Factories 706, 707, 751, 761, 797 and 798. The first Head of sub-Factory 798 (the largest) was Branch Party Secretary Fu Ke (傅克), who played a major role in recruiting skilled workers from southern China and returned overseas Chinese . However, the factory came under pressure during Deng Xiaoping's reforms of the 1980s. Deprived of governmental support like many state-owned enterprises , it underwent
9504-675: Was the Germans' insistence, historical seismic data in hand, that the buildings be built to withstand earthquakes of magnitude 8 on the Richter scale , whereas the Chinese and Russians wanted to settle for 7. Communications expert Wang Zheng, head of Communications Industry in the Chinese Ministry of National Defense and supporter of the East German bid from the start, ruled in favor of the Germans for this particular factory. At
9603-682: Was the Russian technology consultant in charge of Beijing's two Soviet-built electronics factories (714 and 738), who was also head consultant of the Radio Industrial Office of the Second Ministry of Machine Building Industry. The disputes generally revolved around the Germans' high but expensive quality standards for buildings and machines, which were called "over-engineering" by the Russians. Among such points of contention
9702-473: Was to be the largest by East Germany in China, was then informally known as Project #157. The architectural plans were left to the Germans, who chose a functional Bauhaus -influenced design over the more ornamental Soviet style , triggering the first of many disputes between the German and Russian consultants on the project. The plans, where form follows function , called for large indoor spaces designed to let
9801-532: Was vacated at around the time when most of Beijing's contemporary artist community was looking for a new home. Avant-garde art was frowned upon by the government and the community had traditionally existed on the fringes of the city. From 1984 to 1995, they worked in run-down houses near the Old Summer Palace in northwestern Beijing, until their eviction . Many then moved to the eastern Tong County (now Tongzhou District ), more than an hour's drive from
#60939