What about Mao’s encounter with Dao Jingban? Anyone aware if this took place in Beijing? I doubt Chairman Mao came so far to meet the local leaders… As for Sipsong Panna, Zhou Enlai was in Jinghong around that date too, and there are some pictures of him wearing the traditional male headgear which have been much exploited by official propaganda.

I have no interest in naive Western-centricity or simple Orientalist discourse.

Actually the creators of those VCDs seem to be ultimately following contemporary Thai or Shan models -but you can also find that some of the “messages” they send are very close to what the PRC state expects the Tais to do, that is, sing, dance, flirt, attend public school, etc. Anyway, and although doing politics is risky in Sipsong Panna, some songs do try to emphasize a kind of traditional political identity diverse to the one the state is trying to impose

I find the discussion on art pointless: why should these murals be seen as examples of “Western” artistic influences and those produced after the 1950s not? Besides, are you sure it is not possible to find traditional Chinese art traces on these murals?

China and Yunnan
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ams/china/

Burma
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ams/burma/

You can see that in Tai Lu music CDs too.

The young rock-like singers and the folk ballads are wonderful made for Tais themselves, but the PRC tourist videos feature Tai Lu women dancing in bikini tops (?) and then there is (or was) Maing La in Wa controlled Burma that people reported was a sort of surreal Pattaya or Las Vegas of sex for PRC tourists.

Thanks for the photos of De Hong. It’s nice to see what it looks like for real nowadays, having only travelled through the area via old history books. There are some really nice detailed topographical maps of western Yunnan online. If I can find them, I’ll post the link.

To be ‘new’, China’s choice (in art) is quite slim. She has to abandon most of her twentieth century histories, but at the same time, can’t go back too far coz ‘faiths’ might return too hastily. I guess that’s why the authority (artists?) settled for a variety of Western genres (but no cubic or square is allowed). I hope to see more pictures to confirm this hypothesis. There’s another issue summed up in this question– is there such a thing as Chinese modern art? This has implications far beyond art, and China.

Nong Juu, you can find the ‘exotic within’ in almost every country on this planet. The Thais have a similar treatment to indigenous populations locating in the upper North. Also, I remember how the Thai authority (of Prem administration) kept preaching us to help the ’starving nongs’ of Isan when I was young. Everytime I switched on a TV, the only image I saw perpetually is children eating soil. For China, I think the ‘exotic within’ have turned into pure commodities. The 50 plus groups of ‘minorities’ are no longer there to be looked at, the Chinese state is really making an enterprise out of them.

I’ve heard that the indepedent art scene of the Dai community is
quite lively, anybody have some info on this?

Nong Juu,

Almost every mural made some effort (to my eye) to provide a hyper-exotic image of Dai life. Images of women bathing predominated on some walls; other areas depicted stylised dances, performances and ritual; while some others showed interactions between the Chinese State and the Dai.

I merely passed through this cultural park on the way to my main destination, which was elsewhere along the border, and (because it was almost deserted) I didn’t get a chance to explore the origins of the artwork.

As I said, I wish I knew more.

Hopefully the next time a New Mandala reader is in far western Yunnan they can make a short trip to Jie Gao and ask some of these important questions. If anybody is ever heading out that way, I am very happy to provide advice, maps and anything else that may help your preparation.

Best wishes to all,

Nich

However, the (albeit small) selection of themes posted here by Nich do represent a continuity in public art for communist China. Images of a “radiant” Mao, and communalism in farming have been standards in state art for decades.The “celebration” of the country’s “national minorities” in official arts display has only really become the norm post-1976, with depictions typically portraying such minorities as an exotic Other. These murals, with the choice of representing the Dai through indigenous ceremonies and nude women (charateristically, Dai women have been renowned in China for their beauty as well as their penchant for bathing publicly in rivers), fall very much in line with other official examples of minority representation. Those interested can see Dru Gladney’s work on the subject (www.drugladney.com).

Nich, you only posted a small selection of the murals here. How strongly did you notice elements of Dai exoticization as you walked through the exhibit? What do local residents seem to think about the cultural park?