Incredible Chang'an
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Picture#1
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Script:
Chang’an –
Sparkling. City that never sleeps. Commercial hub. City for Cultural and
Religious studies, both local and foreign. A city in which the carnivals and
festivities capture your wildest imaginations…Chang’an will satisfy.
As a denizen here
since I was born, there is no better home than this – My type of town! The
time is 660 A.D., and Gaozong is in his eleventh year as emperor. Growing up
in the revered household of the Zhang family in Central Chang’an, it is a
privilege to have a mansion here, to have the trust of the Emperor.
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Chang’an is a city, to boast a
little, that has great planning. To make sure that its million residents are
at ease, up to 108 wards make up the city, with two markets in the West and
East side of the city. In the outskirts of the city are fortified gates, and
walls enclose each ward. This structure is pure genius, the wisdom can be
credited to generations of Chinese before our time. I heard Nihon’s modeling
their capital after our city.
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Picture #3
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The groundbreaking
architecture and city planning is not just limited to a map. Palaces, to name
a few notable ones, Daming and Xingqing were built, famous for their
eye-catching pavilions and parks. Not only that, the extensive canals that
run through the heart of Chang’an provide vital water supplies, also coal
during the winter to almost everyone in the city.
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Visual:
Picture #4
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The marketplace is an essential
part of anybody in Chang’an that I know. It is a place where the grown men,
women, and businessmen flock to early in the morning. Goods are bought and
exchanged, and products range from food to live stock, pottery to silk. It is
a crowded place, not to mention, noisy. I guess that’s what living with
millions of people is like! Leaving my servants to do the work, I like to go
to the marketplace. Thanks to the silk road, goods from all over the world
can be seen, from wine to ivory to pepper. Usually, foreign faces – Arabs,
Persians, Indians, and many others, accompany these products. I take great
interest in exotic products, but also take pleasure in conversing with
friends in the marketplace, playing a game of chess. The marketplace, to me,
is instrumental to social life in Chang’an.
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Visual:
Picture #5
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Script:
There are plenty of
recreational activities, in which men and women, young and old participate. Not
far away from my house is a Cuju field. It’s a popular citywide activity,
born and became popular in China. Not to mention men and little boys, but
even women could be seen playing “foot-ball”. Hell, I heard a group of 17
year old girls beat the army in a game of Cuju a couple years ago. There are
many venues for Cuju fields, and on a breezy day, I like to meet up with my
intellectual and scholar friends for a nice game of Cuju.
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Picture #6
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Script:
Cockfighting is also
a common sight, both among the rich and the poor. It can be seen both in the
marketplace and private homes, and it is one interesting sight. “Douji”, or
fighting chicken, is what it’s called. Roosters ready for battle would fight
for either food or their lovers, and until one of the roosters die, the crowd
watches and cheers in response to the every moves they make, every damage
inflicted. Commoners play it, intellectuals and aristocrats play, and I have
a hen myself. Being an avid Buddhist, however, I do not particularly seek
such cockfighting arenas, and certainly do not bet for such occasions.
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Visuals:
Picture #7
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Script:
This bustling city
isn’t just for us Chinese. It is for the Tibetans, the Indians and the
Persians. And they are naturally not just confined to the marketplace. The
distant civilizations to the South and West of our border have sent foreign
envoys to meet our emperor, and traders with new things to offer for our
people. Envoys from Shilla and Nihon come to Chang’an with tributes. The city
is a cosmopolitan melting pot, where connections made through the silk road
has made diplomatic missions in Chang’an a frequent occurrence.
But foreigners are
not underrepresented in other parts of the Chang’an life – it affects our
social lives as well. Already, Persians have established sizable communities.
Introducing Art and music of the Middle East, they have contributed to a
cultural diffusion found in very few cities at this time.
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Visuals:
Picture #8 &9
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Script:
Cultural diffusion –
speaking of this topic, we should not leave religions out. Chang’an is not
just a home for Buddhist temples and Daoist Abbeys, the Confucian ancestral
worshipping. It is also home to the synagogues, the Zoroastrian and
Nestorian-Christian Churches. As a Buddhist, a Buddhist monastery out of the
17 in Central Chang’an is within walking distance. The newly built Giant Wild
Goose Pagoda is also a must-see for Buddhists everywhere. Coming back from Xi
Tian, or India, Xuan
Zhang brought with him figurines of the Buddha, and they are all housed in
that Pagoda. Buddhist monks from distant lands, like the Japanese Kukai and
Indian Prajna, could be seen in the Xi Ming temple, teaching his disciples or
translating Indian scriptures. Back to the matter of religious diffusion, due
to the open nature of us Chinese, the Christians, the Zoroastrians and
Buddhists coexist with native religions, despite often drastically different
practices.
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Visuals:
Picture #10
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Script:
But, perhaps,
nothing tops this when it comes to describing Chang’an’s beauty – Carnivals.
Apart from the New year and other festivals on the calendar, the emperors and
the imperial court often throw parties for the people of our city. With more
than enough food for all, people are welcomed to watch graceful dances,
acrobatic performances, newly composed songs from the Music Bureau… the list
goes on. These carnivals last for three days to over a week, given the
generosity of the providers. Here is where everything comes together – the
rich art and music of the Tang, both foreign and local, the different animals
and goods that are on display and the wealth of different people and cultures
dancing and eating amongst each other. This, my friends – is Chang’an, and
without a doubt, it is the heart of 8th century cultural
diffusion, diplomacy, trade and entertainment.
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Works Cited
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"File:Emperor Taizong Gives an Audience to the Ambassador of Tibet.jpg." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 09 Nov. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Emperor_Taizong_gives_an_audience_to_the_ambassador_of_Tibet.jpg>.
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"Spatial Strategies in Esoteric Buddhist Art of Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE) China” | Buddhist Art News." Buddhist Art News | News on Buddhist Art, Architecture, Archaeology, Music, Dance, and Academia. Web. 09 Nov. 2011. <http://buddhistartnews.wordpress.com/2010/11/03/spatial-strategies-in-esoteric-buddhist-art-of-tang-dynasty-618-907-ce-china/>.
"Tang Chang'an History." School of Design and Environment. Web. 09 Nov. 2011. <http://www.sde.nus.edu.sg/changan/0925history.htm>.
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"Tang West Market to Be Rivived in Xian." China Travel Community, China Tour Reviews, Forums, Tips, Photos. Web. 09 Nov. 2011. <http://community.travelchinaguide.com/forum2.asp?i=38246>.
Vikachu's Silky Trip. Web. 09 Nov. 2011. <http://vikachuimagine.wordpress.com/>.
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