Sep 14, 2010 | Music, Portraits
I met up with DJ Wordy this afternoon to interview him about the history of hip hop in Beijing. For those of you not in the know, DJ Wordy is a three-time DMC China DJ Champion and has toured all over the world with his phat beats and dynamic scratching abilities. His contributions to the Beijing hip hop scene are legendary. More recently, DJ Wordy spent a month in New York this summer and was taken under the wing of Damon Dash who wants to make inroads into China through his new DIY-inspired company, DD172. Hopefully by the end of the year a new CD from DJ Wordy will be out with artist collaborations from all over the world including those from Damon Dash’s roster such as Curren$y and Ski Beatz – local Beijing MCs would also be featured. If the project actually materializes, it could represent a great leap forward for underground hip hop in China. Beijing freestylers are in desperate need of some quality producers who can put their talents to better use.
May 16, 2010 | Music, Portraits
Two of my favorite rocker outfits are now working out of Shanghai. Duck Fight Goose, led by Miniless Records founder Han Han, and Booji are playing amazing concerts of their self-styled Death Ray Rock. Let it be known: Duck Fight Goose and Booji are officially killing it. Check out Dan Shapiro’s post on CNNGo for more information and other interesting facts.
May 5, 2010 | Music, Portraits, Youth
What could be naively described as a hipster transformation is taking place in Beijing. Although some may only dress the part, others are the first in China to truly embrace alternative lifestyles that fly in the face of social conformity so desperately imposed by the Chinese state. Whether shopping at second-hand clothing stores, scouring the Internet for fringe media, pursuing careers in the arts and generally rejecting the popular molds of their communist past, these youth are seeking to stand out from the masses. This increasing tendency toward individualism coupled with newfound online forums for self-expression is one the cornerstones of China’s emerging civil society and often comes with a social stigma that is hard to imagine outside of China. Many don’t wish to participate in a largely vacuous and unsustainable consumer culture taking hold of the country. While they might not brazenly attack the government, their embracement of such a lifestyle is a powerful statement in and of itself. The biggest congregations now occur at major music festivals sprouting up all over the country. All of these portraits were taken at the 2010 MIDI Music Festival.
Jan 14, 2008 | Portraits, Society
Homosexuality in China doesn’t elicit the same cross-burning fanaticism that it does in the United States. In all my time spent here I never heard of a hate crime aimed at a homosexual. Chances are that such occurrences might not get reported or covered in the media, and discrimination certainly exists in various guises, but I have yet to encounter people who label homosexuality as “evil” and support its whole scale eradication. Instead, sexual deviance tends to inspire curiosity and awkwardness amongst typical Chinese urban dwellers. It remains a latent oddity within the social milieu.
It still came as a bit of a surprise when Dinah Gardner, the longtime Gay & Lesbian columnist for TimeOut Beijing, told me we were going to the White Cloud Temple and the Source of Law Temple to ask monks about their respective views on homosexuality. Even though I consider myself well versed within the Daoist and Buddhist canon, it never really crossed my mind to ask such a question before and I was interested in how the monks would frame their responses. As the photographer, I could also sit back and watch the fireworks fly.
Lou Jiayong, a Daoist monk at the White Cloud Temple, was the first to get entrapped by Dinah. She started the interview with some elementary questions concerning Daoism and then popped him the big one: “In the West, Islam and Christianity often persecute homosexuals. How does Daoism feel about homosexuality amongst practitioners?” Lou handled the question surprisingly well. According to Daoist principle, homosexuality represents a metaphysical problem. The union of two Yang forces (male on male) creates disharmony within the Dao and must eventually be resolved. “If there is only Yin or Yang it is imbalance or disharmony,” stressed Lou. Homosexual relationships do not perpetuate natural life. At some point, Yin must mix with Yang to produce more babies. Lou did emphasize that Daoism would never discriminate against homosexuals but remained adamant that Daoist ideology could never condone what he considered lewd sexual acts and anomalies in the natural course of existence.
Zhi Yong, a Buddhist monk at the Source of Law Temple, remained unperturbed throughout his interview. Buddhist practitioners of any orientation are encouraged to stem their sexual desires in order to achieve inner peace. At the heart, there is no absolute right or wrong with regards to homosexuality. Zhi continued, “[Homosexuality] is abnormal to me, but of course from the point of view of a gay person, it is quite normal… In Buddhism everything has two sides. How can you say, ‘this is right,’ or, ‘this is wrong?’ There is no right or wrong in this world. For some people they are right, for others they are wrong.” While I might not support such moral ambiguity in other situations, being gay and Buddhist doesn’t represent a problem for lay people. Still, if you want to join a monastery you must leave any prurient thoughts at the door.