The Next Best Thing to a Trip to China

A beautiful October day in MA spent at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem.  Fortunately this is a privately-funded museum so it was not affected by the federal shut down.  Salem's main visitors center was closed.  Imagine all the disappointed tourists and how it affects October business with Salem being  witch headquarters!

 Meanwhile, my parents and I enjoyed a day in one of New England's finest museums.  The legacy of the sailing merchants and sea captains who brought back extraordinary pieces of art and culture is what originally formed the basis of this museum.   There is lots to see, and one of the best exhibits is the Yin Yu Tang Chinese house.  It was brought over from southern China about ten years ago.   We watched a a couple of interesting films on the process of dismantling and reassembling it here at the museum.  It was amazing to see on film the house in its original location in China, and then walk through it here.  The house is 200 hundred years old, dating from the Qing Dynasty.  It is also furnished with authentic household items from the original residents...everything from cooking utensils, bedding, clothing, writing utensils, and posters and propaganda from the Cultural Revolution.   Photos of the house were not allowed (not even outside photos, but not exactly sure why).  I managed to capture a few shots from inside the museum looking out at the house, but of course the architectural fascination is inside the house itself.

The house is situated right off the museum's atrium.

 A peek through the second floor of the museum provided the best view of the rooftop and the clay tiles.  Loved how this window was naturally framed by the ivy and leaves.  The house is built like a box with a central courtyard providing the only light.  None of the bedrooms had any windows.  Exploring inside the house was amazing...like stepping into the pages of Snowflower and the Secret Fan!  I think this could have been her house.   Or...maybe the house that OLan (from The Good Earth) worked in before she got married.....   One of the film documentaries included a wedding in 2003.  A little surprising that the bride even in this day and age was illiterate.  The groom met her working in a quarry.  All the food prep for the wedding feast was done by the women of the household...no wedding caterers for these guys. The groom's side brought over food and other gifts (like a live rooster and hen) in baskets carried on each end of a bamboo pole slung over their shoulders.  The word that came to mind was Primitive with a capital P.  There were so many incongruities:  the bride's house had electricity but the floors were dirt, and chickens were running around.  The kitchen stove was a clay and brick form with wood fire for fuel, but there was a mini van in their "driveway."  The bride wore red lipstick and blue jeans but didn't seem to be that far removed from the females in The Good Earth!
Also, it was a little unnerving watching some of the food prep...slaughtering of the pig and preparing fish, and watching them sauté the fish heads.  Not the most sanitary of conditions!  We left the theatre feeling as if we really had just been transported to China.

When I saw these shoes for bound feet of course I thought of Snow Flower again...

How about that round Chinese bed! This was produced for a foreign merchant, probably in Canton.

These pleasant blue and white design works were produced by a contemporary artist, Michael Lin.  The designs were influenced by oriental motifs on porcelains brought back by Dutch traders.  These blue and white patterns were so refreshing and reminded me of bed linens I would love to have.

Pretty staircase leading from one gallery to the lower level.  Very reminiscent of a ship, or maybe a New England church pulpit.  I would love to have a house with a staircase like this one!


The Taj Mahal!  This is a pure alabaster model from the West Asia collection.  Another destination on my travel bucket list!